What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by James Morton

MEMPHIS BELLE - typical wartime American crap

I'm no fan of the film, found it a bit dull really.

But it is a true story of real men that went through all that.

It's also just as much (if not more actually) a British film as an American one.
So either way 'typical wartime American crap' is either factually incorrect from a production point of view or rather insulting to those typically crappy wartime Americans that risked their lives as it's actually a true story.

[DeadAlive]

I quite like Memphis Belle, but isn't it actually a British film featuring a lot of American actors for authenticity? (And sales to the US market of course.) Wasn't David Putnum the producer? I know the director was English.


Trick R Treat

Enjoyable but just a tad over hyped horror anthology that Lovefilm finally decided to send to me. It will never take the place of the original Halloween as a seasonal favourite for me, but it may be worth a revisit when it is a little more seasonal.

[pedromonkey]

just watched Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, thanks to WongFeiHung62, cheers mate.

Very enjoyable film, very unintentionally funny, but man do the japs know who to make a man in a rubber suit look cinematic. Alot of destuction and ends with a slightly knackerd godzilla walking out to see...

[Pete]

The Diabolical Dr. Z - not Franco's best work, but worth a look.

[bdc]

"The New York Ripper - Whats with the ridiculous duck noise, it cheapened the story. Still well filmed and enjoyable though."
I like the duck in New York Ripper...weird and wonderful.

[vincenzo]

La Dolce Vita

Absolutely superb.

[42ndStreetFreak]

"The Burbs"

One of those original box office disappointments that went on to become a well loved film when it hit VHS and TV.

And it still holds up. The humour is just as good, funny and well done and there is actually nothing in the film that really dates it. Change the household technology a bit and it could be set now.

The controversial ending still works, even if it becomes a lighter film because of it.
But then again it is a Tom Hanks comedy so perhaps darkness was never really a comfortable option.
And at least the possibly darker ending is delivered and used as far as Hank's character goes and the speech he makes.

Anyway, it's funny and well acted with Hanks and Bruce Dern (in a truly wonderful role) in really fine form but the basically forgotten Rick Ducommun certainly more than holds his own as Hank's barely sane friend.
And Corey Feldman is certainly having as much fun as the audience.
Courtney Gains is, as always, a ginger nutter beyond compare and of course Henry Gibson is always worth a watch!

Good times.

[Gigantor]

Originally Posted by snapon

what was your fave story.mine has too be something to tide you over.with the great Leslie Nielsen.

Solid stories all around but Ilike THEYRE CREPPING UP ON YOU and THE LONELY DEATH OF JORDY VERRILL and there's FATHERS DAY ok ok I like them all.

[42ndStreetFreak]

"Harpoon: Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre"

Full review: http://www.beardyfreak.com/rvharpoon.php


Iceland’s first full on exploitation movie invents a scenario where some ex-whalers have taken to murdering tourists instead of taking them on sight-seeing trips.

This loss of income and lifestyle is a nicely Icelandic take on the ‘automated butchery’ that put the family out of business in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”…something obviously intentional.
And for the most part this local take on that idea works very well.

That’s not to say the screenplay does not have some faults, in the first part of the film, with excess flab.
Add the large group of, pretty much all unlikeable at the moment, characters and the first 15 minutes of the film do not herald much hope for the audience, away from a nicely messy axe death.

Thankfully though, once the utterly wasted and dubbed over Gunnar Hansen is injured (in one of the worst above the title name dropping cameos out!), the film starts to come to life as barely a minute has passed, after the group has climbed aboard the killer's boat, before the nicely nasty gore and violence is unleashed.

And, although pretty sparse, this violence and gore is well done and delivers the goods.
People are dispatched by knife, hammer, axe, shotgun and even a ship deck harpoon gun!
Certainly heads more than roll in this sucker.
We also have some nicely gratuitous breast exposure to add to the pile of grimy exploitation goodies on offer.

So as a ‘backwaves psycho family flick’ the film works well and delivers all it should even if there is nothing groundbreaking or surprising here.
But there is more thanks to the unusual screenplay that offers up some sudden surprises as far as characters go (especially the bizarre Endo!) and how the set-up plays out,

The last part of the movie especially becomes completely off-the wall and full of unexpected events, especially when the film splits the action up into various locales at about the 60 minute mark.

As such the final 20 minutes of the film, a film that has been toying with doing “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” at sea, suddenly becomes a delightfully eccentric work full of unexpected twists and weird events and (at last) truly forges its own identity.
And really this is when “Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre” becomes a very unusual, even unique, work that defies the audience’s expectations.

Overall then a pretty standard, but well made and satisfying, psycho family, horror film that we have all seen countless times before.
But when the screenplay becomes brave enough to do its own thing this well above average horror film becomes something extra special and unexpected and as such gets a whale-sized, hearty, recommendation.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Nice review 42nd.

I'm really looking forward to watching this.