What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

UNHINGED – Caren Pistorius honks her horn at the wrong moment. Russel Crowe goes mad in a car. On the surface, ‘Unhinged’ feels like a throwback to the nineties social thrillers, ‘Falling Down’ being one obvious reference. There’s stuff to do with raging males, the ubiquity of surveillance tech, the pressures of living on the breadline – all quite standard really, but it’s also surprisingly nasty when it gets its fangs out and there’s fun to be had in watching Crowe trash his life and everyone else’s.

DAWN BREAKS BEHIND THE EYES – This reminds me of a horror tendency from the last twenty years or so, the ‘neo-Giallo’ that perhaps began with films like ‘Amer’, which basically ratchet up the genre’s style till it pops. In this case the accent is more on broad Euro horror, but there’s still that infatuation with seventies atmospheres. It’s about a couple falling apart in an old castle where the air hangs heavy with supernatural weirdness… or maybe something else entirely. Very atmospheric first half, a pile-up of lovingly filmed gothic sets, but then tonal shifts make other demands as the story and ‘feel’ splinter. I wanted to get more from it. Festival fave still worth checking out.

ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNEMENT OF CHAMPIONS – I like movies that seem to be about the underlying malevolence of a mechanistic, meaningless universe - ‘Final Destination’, ‘The Cube’, ‘The Game’. There’s something very gripping about watching plot, narrative etc being reduced to a series of game-based ‘fight for your life’ encounters, like The Crystal Maze on the rampage. This sequel doesn’t do much to extend the already derivative original, but the appeal in this case is ‘more of the same’, and that’s what we get. I really enjoyed this one, and I like where this franchise appears to be heading.

THE UNINVITED – This is an American studio remake of Kim Jee-woon’s masterful ‘A Tale Of Two Sisters’. The original had a really elegant atmosphere that fused melancholy with a sense of oblique foreboding. As expected, the multiplex-friendly revision takes a relatively ‘meat and potatoes’ approach, but in some ways it’s actually more satisfying as an overt thriller, with the original’s Hitchcockian elements centre stage in the mind games that play out between Emily Browning and Elizabeth Banks. The wrap-up and the supernatural elements are rote, but overall this was an enjoyably suspenseful watch.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNEMENT OF CHAMPIONS – I like movies that seem to be about the underlying malevolence of a mechanistic, meaningless universe - ‘Final Destination’, ‘The Cube’, ‘The Game’. There’s something very gripping about watching plot, narrative etc being reduced to a series of game-based ‘fight for your life’ encounters, like The Crystal Maze on the rampage. This sequel doesn’t do much to extend the already derivative original, but the appeal in this case is ‘more of the same’, and that’s what we get. I really enjoyed this one, and I like where this franchise appears to be heading.

THE UNINVITED – This is an American studio remake of Kim Jee-woon’s masterful ‘A Tale Of Two Sisters’. The original had a really elegant atmosphere that fused melancholy with a sense of oblique foreboding. As expected, the multiplex-friendly revision takes a relatively ‘meat and potatoes’ approach, but in some ways it’s actually more satisfying as an overt thriller, with the original’s Hitchcockian elements centre stage in the mind games that play out between Emily Browning and Elizabeth Banks. The wrap-up and the supernatural elements are rote, but overall this was an enjoyably suspenseful watch.

Not seen any of the Escape Room films. I must check them out. Sounds good from what you say.

I also really liked The Uninvited. A Tale of Two Sisters is probably my favourite Korean movie so i went into the remake with trepidation, let's say. But despite all the shite masquerading as remakes Hollywood produces this actually worked really well. Maybe helped by Emily Browning who can flip between stuff like this and edgy indie cinema, such as Sleeping Beauty, with ease.

[MrBarlow]

The Ghost And The Darkness. 1996.

Decently paced action thriller set in Tsavo concerning a British tycoon behind schedule on a bridge hires a new man Val Kilmer to speed things along and encounters a pack of lion feeding on the locals.

Kilmer didn't have a great time on Island Of Dr. Moreau that came out before this but in this film he sunk into the part and director Stephen Hopkins has said he pushed Kilmer to his limits and both had a great working partnership.

Tom Wilkinson plays the arrogant tycoon who doesn't care about anyone or anything except getting the bridge built, back in the day rich guys had projects that had to be done on time and to them time is money, right from the start when we see him speak boldly and honest you still want to smack him in the mouth.

Michael Douglas who served as producer takes on the role of Remington the big game hunter, who comes across as a tough man who expects everything to be right and perfect. During the scene where they hint and has a miss fired rifle, you see him act out aggressively then tones it down as if he has had that problem before and also a sense of humour.

The cinematography is decently done from the arrival in Africa and then from the attacks and a decent POV shot of a lion taking its time scooping out its prey mixed with a brilliant score by Jerry Goldsmith who mixes the music that blends in well with parts of the plot. May seem a mixed bag of a film with a few plot holes but still entertaining.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

The Ghost And The Darkness. 1996.

Excellent film.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Excellent film.

I hadn't watched it in a while and came across it and forgot how good of a film it was.

[J Harker]

Haven't seen this film for decades. Makes me want to watch it now.

Sent from my SM-G780G using Tapatalk

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Haven't seen this film for decades. Makes me want to watch it now.

Sent from my SM-G780G using Tapatalk

Hope you enjoy it again if you get the chance to see it Mr Harker

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Haven't seen this film for decades. Makes me want to watch it now.

It's not easy to get a physical copy. I chanced across a region one edition on dvd in my local charity shop a few years ago.

There's an expensive US blu and no doubt a cheaper European one with a bloody great sticker on the front.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

I hadn't watched it in a while and came across it and forgot how good of a film it was.

How good? Eh?

You called it a mixed bag, full of plot holes but still entertaining.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

How good? Eh?

You called it a mixed bag, full of plot holes but still entertaining.

It is a mix bag of action, suspense, and some humour and mild horror

The plot hole are basically thanked by someone wanting more screen time. How come during the last bit Samuel and John find Remington tent in a state. John going through the bushes and yet some how Samuel gets to the body of Remington quickly? that has to be the biggest unknown answer in this film.