|
|
Post by Bartwald on Oct 15, 2010 13:50:57 GMT -5
Got yourself the Hammer box set, slayrrr? I like all the movies you described above, but The Reptile is my favourite.
|
|
Brad_Bane
New Member
Who needs an iPad when you have the Sansa Clip+?
Posts: 42
|
Post by Brad_Bane on Oct 15, 2010 16:24:15 GMT -5
I plan on seeing "Red" tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know what I think then.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fenril on Oct 16, 2010 22:31:44 GMT -5
In the last two weeks or so:
Agora (2009). Alejandro Amenábar (The others; Tesis; Abre los ojos)'s latest film is an epic period film having to do with the fall of the Roman empire and the rise of Catholicism. Very thought-provoking and definitely worth a look.
The sentinel (1977). A haunted house / satanic thriller combo. Pretty well done, and with lots of atmosphere as is the case of most 70's thrillers. Also quite preachy and more than a little homophobic, so I wouldn't really recommend it.
Sei donne per l'assassino (1964; aka Blood and black lace). One of the earliest ghiallo films and one of director Mario Bava's best. While the plot is more than a little ludicrous (a series of murders in a model house in which everybody has a dangerous secret of sorts), it is merely the excuse for several stunning set-pieces. Worth a look.
Legion (2010). An apocalyptic thriller having to do with humanity's last stand against God and his army of angels. Surprisingly good thriller, reminded me in equal parts of the Prophecy movies and the tv series Supernatural.
|
|
Brad_Bane
New Member
Who needs an iPad when you have the Sansa Clip+?
Posts: 42
|
Post by Brad_Bane on Oct 18, 2010 3:44:27 GMT -5
I really enjoyed "Red." Saw it with my brother at a nice, out of the way movie theater in Waco, Texas, the Hollywood Theaters Jewel 16. Great performances all around, as well as there should be, since there are no less than three Oscar winners in the cast. Also, there are some great action scenes, shoot-outs, and an awesome fight between Bruce Willis' Frank Moses and emerging geek movie god Karl Urban's CIA assassin.
Also, is it just me, or does Helen Mirren continue to get sexier and sexier as she gets older? Man, that looks like a lady who could teach you a thing or two!
I'll try to post a lengthier review of "Red" later this week in the "Reviews" section.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Oct 18, 2010 9:01:41 GMT -5
I'll try to post a lengthier review of "Red" later this week in the "Reviews" section. Great, looking forward to it! And you already got me interested in the movie - with that Helen Mirren remark, too, of course. I remember falling for her when watching Mosquito Coast, but never afterwards. I'll let you know if this movie changed this... |
|
|
|
Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 18, 2010 11:29:16 GMT -5
Got yourself the Hammer box set, slayrrr? I like all the movies you described above, but The Reptile is my favourite. No, not really Bart. Every Friday throughout October, one of the TV channels here in the US, Turner Classic Movies, is honoring Hammer with marathons of their films every week. The first week was the first four Dracula movies, the second week was an isolated mixture of films (the ones I posted which you remarked on), last Friday was their four Mummy films, next week (or this Friday, for those keeping track) will be another random assortment of films, and the last Friday will be the first four Frankenstein films. I'm really looking forward to them. The Mummy-When a doctor uncovers a burial chamber for an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the murderous guardian mummy arises to vanquish the party who did so, but unknowingly stumbles upon the reincarnated lost love in the wife of a potential victim, forcing him to choose whether to obey orders or carry out a life-long idea. This one here just absolutely owns, pillages and destroys the original it's just a crying shame so many prefer that one over this one, when this one is far and away better in just about every area. From the mummy actually being on-screen to some fantastic action, a never-ending series of confrontations that are exciting, thrilling and just plain fun, a frenetic storyline and plenty of other areas here that it's impossible not to love this one. The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb-The discovery of a strange coffin in the Egyptian desert leads to a mysterious rash of murders when the recovery party arrives in London, and it's eventually found to be the work of an ancient spell that reanimated the body of the pharaoh within searching for the reincarnation of his beloved from the past, leading them on a race to stop the creature's rampage. Not really all that great, this one here is mostly just dull without a whole lot going on. Most of it is consumed with the handler going around making accusations against the guilty party without really letting the mummy get any kind of screen-time, mostly just propped up in his display case. Also, it commits a rather egregious sin in that the mummy is never active full-time once he's been awakened, rather going back into his catatonic resting state and remaining there until called upon, but the film does resolve itself nicely with a finale far too good to have been attached to a plodding film it came before. The Mummy's Shroud-In 1920 an archaeological expedition discovers the tomb of an ancient Egyptian child prince, but when they return home with their discovery, the expedition members soon find themselves being killed off by a mummy, which can be revived by reading the words off the prince's burial shroud. Pretty much a carbon copy of the previous one, with the exact same faults and problematic areas almost verbatim. Again, it's mostly a series of warnings and threats issued against the offending party-members, the mummy being inactive until needed and being off-screen and not starting his rampage until quite late in the film and again saved by a finale far too good to belong to such a film, only this one has some more definitive positives beforehand so it manages to become a little more enjoyable effort. Blood from the Mummy's Tomb-Returning home from an excavation, an archeologist's daughter finds that her resemblance to the recently-unearthed queen's tomb he uncovered allows her soul to possess her in an effort to be unleashed in the world again, and they must race to stop the ceremony from being completed. A much more enjoyable effort than the previous two, mostly due to it dropping the rather predictable efforts that had followed in the previous ones and concentrating more on a supernatural explanation for everything, mixing in some body-possession and exorcism efforts into the usual Egyptian ethos, allowing it to be incredibly fresh and innovative. The deaths are a lot more elaborate and gruesome, the action a little better, but frankly, you still can't help but notice the complete lack of mummy action and how it pretty much just sits in the museum doing nothing all the time, making it's discovery rather useless as the action isn't predicated upon it being removed but rather the amulet, so it doesn't really even need to be there. Dark Remains-When their daughter tragically kills herself, a couple move into an isolated farmhouse in the country to try to move on, but her insistence at seeing a ghostly figure around the house claiming to be her daughter starts a search into a terrifying secret of grisly deaths in the area and they race to stop them before more are committed. Pretty damned impressive micro-budget ghost film, not a whole lot of outside interference but a rather exciting series of encounters setting off the investigation, those are actually rather good and creepy at times, and it's really only let down by the fact that the ghosts never actually do any damage in here. But still, I've seen a lot worse. The Final-Tired of the years of abuse and torment inflicted upon them by a group of students at their high school, a group of outcasts kidnap them and hold them hostage during a party, inflicting the damage and torture back upon them in retaliation for what they did to them. Actually a good bit of fun, much less preachy about the dangers of bullying than I figured but more about their revenge, which unfortunately means a lot of Saw-esque moments in that it's just about torturing them in front of everyone, but at least for once there's something interesting going on while it's not concentrating on the torture. Samurais-A Tokyo law officer travels to France to investigate the rebirth of a powerful demon through his daughter and finds a strange cult devoted to ensuring the rebirth is successful. Okay, this one quite frankly has become a favorite simply because the dubbing in this one is just so absurd that it's impossible not to notice it, which usually doesn't happen at all. It's frankly so bad that it becomes a source of enjoyment, not that the rest of the film doesn't have a lot to like as this one is actually a rather decent modern kung-fu film with a lot of rather decent fighting, forgetting the overuse of wire-fu and making things more grounded and a lot more realistic, really only overdoing it during the final fight which is handled in a skillful manner to make it detrimental to the fight. The mixture of video-gaming and horror elements with the demon's birth are also nice additions, and overall this was a rather entertaining effort. Scooby-Doo: Curse of the Lake Monster-I really don't know why I'm admitting to having watched this, but frankly, I've been a huge fan since my childhood and I still keep up with just about everything involved in the franchise, and this wasn't all that bad of a film, if only because it thankfully doesn't use the cliche of unmasking the monster at the end but rather goes for more of a supernatural angle that just makes it feel really unique and enjoyable. Funny in the right places, continuing the storylines from the TV shows and making them seem like they all belong in the same universe is a nice plus, and it wasn't all that boring, so it's a fast watch. Not sure if I liked this one or the other live-action film, but they're both entertaining. |
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Oct 18, 2010 12:34:57 GMT -5
The first week was the first four Dracula movies, the second week was an isolated mixture of films (the ones I posted which you remarked on), last Friday was their four Mummy films, next week (or this Friday, for those keeping track) will be another random assortment of films, and the last Friday will be the first four Frankenstein films. I'm really looking forward to them. Sweet! Their Frankenstein series is my favourite of the bunch and the first movie belongs to my all time favourite horror films. |
|
|
|
Post by Phoenix on Oct 18, 2010 16:28:41 GMT -5
I watched The Knowing. HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 19, 2010 11:28:32 GMT -5
Sweet! Their Frankenstein series is my favourite of the bunch and the first movie belongs to my all time favourite horror films. Not on my end. I think the first one's one of their weakest efforts, without Cushing an Lee it wouldn't have much of anything going on. I reviewed it a while back when I was under the Movie Police when I first arrived here and didn't care for it at all, I thought it was pretty boring and plodding. The Universal Frankenstein series is definitely my favorite, though with Hammer I have to go with their Dracula series. I haven't seen much in those I didn't like, even though some are higher up than others. |
|
|
|
Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 20, 2010 10:30:33 GMT -5
Vacancy 2: The First Cut-A couple vacationing on a trip back home stop off at a motel in order to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation at home, but instead stumble upon a group of psychos using the buildings as the base for a series of snuff films using the customers as the unwitting cast members and forcing them to fight off the deranged men to get away. A whole lot better than the original, which I'm not fond of at all, as there's a lot more action, better confrontations and a much better vibe about the whole thing. It's a slow-going one that takes a while to get going, but I've definitely seen worse.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Oct 20, 2010 12:34:18 GMT -5
I watched The Knowing. HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yes, it definitely is! Did you make it till the ending, though? Pretty grim for what was supposed to be a crowd-pleaser... slayrrr - yeah, alright, it's a question of taste, I guess. For me, for example, the moment when the monster is shown for the first time is the most effective introduction of it EVER. Plus, I think Lee makes for the most believable of all Frankenstein monsters. |
|
|
|
Post by Phoenix on Oct 20, 2010 12:53:43 GMT -5
Legion (2010). An apocalyptic thriller having to do with humanity's last stand against God and his army of angels. Surprisingly good thriller, reminded me in equal parts of the Prophecy movies and the tv series Supernatural. Agree with you on this one. I thought it would be terrible, but it turned out to be a pretty good rental. Bart *SPOILER ALERT FOR THE KNOWING TO ANYONE WHO HASNT SEEN IT* - The ending wasn't amazing but I suppose it was nice to see Nicholas Cage die after such a horrendous acting performance. LOL. I am still confused why they attempted to make his son hearing impaired. It was really strange. And why would aliens pick an inferior human to start up the human race somewhere else? Just odd. |
|
|
|
Post by Fenril on Oct 20, 2010 19:26:33 GMT -5
And why would aliens pick an inferior human to start up the human race somewhere else? Just odd. " Inferior human"?! |
|
|
|
Post by Phoenix on Oct 21, 2010 15:48:24 GMT -5
And why would aliens pick an inferior human to start up the human race somewhere else? Just odd. " Inferior human"?! Hmm bad choice of word there for sure! Sorry I didn't mean to offend fenril.  I wish they would have explained why they picked his son - maybe he was a genius or something. I finished watching Iron Man 2 - pretty fun but a little over long. 2 hours for a superhero movie is just too much for me nowadays. |
|
|
|
Post by Fenril on Oct 21, 2010 16:23:43 GMT -5
Hmm bad choice of word there for sure! Sorry I didn't mean to offend fenril. Fine; the thing is that I am hard of hearing and have to use hearing aids, so imagine how much that remark stung. |
|
I wish they would have explained why they picked his son - maybe he was a genius or something.