What movie did you watch today?

[Spartan]

About halfway through a bank holiday weekend movie marathon:

Belle de Jour (1967)
Completely out of my comfort zone with this film but I enjoyed it. Catherine Deneuve played an ice cold fox awakening her inner slut and becoming a classy hoe. Need to watch this again because I'm not 100% sure whether the ending was real or fantasy.

Man of Violence (1971)
Avid fan of many Pete Walker's horror movies. This was a crime thriller with a pretty convoluted plot about a bisexual, racist, twat with awful dress sense cought in the middle of Chelsea kaftan-wearing gangsters, a pop band called Flossie & The Crunch and a coup d'état in some fictional North African country. Silly film but fun in places.

The Big Switch (1968)
Pete Walker's legit film debut. Club-hoppin' advertising exec, who pulls birds within seconds, gets framed for murder and is embroiled in a scheme to smuggle into the country some geezer and his old dear. The protagonist in this film is even more unlikable than the one in Walker's Man of Violence. The sixties British slang in this film belongs in A Clockwork Orange, who the fuck talks like that? The shootout on Brighton Pier's ghost train is straight up hilarious.

Election (2005)
Johnnie To's insight into the triad social culture, it's hierarchy and a baton relay race. Enjoyable film and I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters, Lok and Big D fighting for godfather status. Ending was pretty awesome.

Confessions (2010)
Excellent revenge thriller from Japan about a teacher who wreaks vengenance on the two pupils responsible for her daughter's death. A smart and emotional ride into the very meaning of vengeance and how it consumes us and those around us. Had low expectations initially but this impressed me a lot. This and The Horseman might very well be two of the best revenge movies in recent years.

The Black Panther (1977)
Disturbing true life crime drama based on Donald Nielsen aka The Black Panther, a military/survival nut who went on an armed robbery and murder spree all over England which eventually led to the kidnapping and death of a wealthy heiress. Obscure British film and one that deserves better recognition as I was hooked throughout with an absolutely amazing performance by Donald Sumpter playing the lead. Chilling and grim throughout, I was blown away by this. A very dark film.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

Favorite part of Confessions is the small dance-scene, that's the way, ung-huh ung-huh, I like it



La Moustache (2005) - This is indeed a movie about a mustache. A typical French psycho-thriller/drama. A man shaves off his everpresent mustache, only to wonder if hes going insane when no one seems to notice it's gone. It's a decent film.



Elena (2012) - This follows up on the immense promise Zyvagintsev's debut The Return seemed to make. Elana is the study of tarantulas in a jar, according to himself. I see it as mainly a classical story that takes a familiar theme and makes it morally ambigous to the point where we end up having little idea what to think of anything or anyone. Immense elegance is required on behalf of the directors, scriptwriters and actors and they all deliver. So does Phillip Glass' recycled score in this context. A political reading is possible, we seem to be witnessing class warfare in it's purest form, each of the characters seem to represent different players in capitalist society. It's best to say little of the plot as it could be summarized in a paragraph (this movie is SLOW), but we have a rich, hardworking man, his rich, freeloading cunt of a daughter, a poor, hardworking woman and her poor and lazy son. Elena is the wife of the rich man who's health is starting to fail him. Elena wants to help her no-good son who has started a lazy and careless family in an industrial suburb. The rich man won't indulge them, but he happily supports his apathetic daughter. You might guess where this is going. I thought the daughter was underused as she could have supplied a bit of life in this drama. This is a huge film however and a future classic, or at least it will be considered as such in many circles.

[drizzle]

About halfway through a bank holiday weekend movie marathon:

Belle de Jour (1967)
Completely out of my comfort zone with this film but I enjoyed it. Catherine Deneuve played an ice cold fox awakening her inner slut and becoming a classy hoe. Need to watch this again because I'm not 100% sure whether the ending was real or fantasy.

nobody knows, it's purposefully ambiguous. either the whole movie or just certain parts of could be entirely in her head

you should watch the Election sequel too, it's just as good if not better than the first one and together they make up something greater than either part in itself

[Spartan]

nobody knows, it's purposefully ambiguous. either the whole movie or just certain parts of could be entirely in her head

Buñuel was a cheeky bastard for doing that.

Coppin' the Election sequel for sure.

[Employee]

Darkness has descended over the northwestern town of Cold Rock. One by one, its children are disappearing. They leave behind neither clues nor credible witnesses, but instead a legend, a story cloaked in shadows passed from neighbor to neighbor… And with it, a building sense of terror which threatens to devour what’s left of the community itself. Superstitious locals talk of ‘The Tall Man,’ a mysterious figure who takes the children away, never to be seen again. But Julia Denning (Jessica Biel) has no time for legends or superstitions. A nurse doing her best for the emotionally distraught and economically devastated former mining town, she tries instead to preserve a semblance of normality both at work and at home. Until terror enters her own front door. Waking up in the middle of the night, she races to her child’s bedroom, only to discover an empty bed – and a hulking specter in the downstairs doorway who steals off into the darkness with her boy (Jakob Davies). As Julia follows in pursuit, she will stop at nothing and will risk everything to save him. Joined by determined investigator, Lt. Dodd (Stephen McHattie) and the town’s local sheriff (William B. Davis), the chase is on and with it the quest for answers: Who is ‘The Tall Man’? What has become of the children? Soon, the town of Cold Rock will have the answers it so desperately seeks, answers that will shake the community to its core. A suspense-filled thriller like no other, THE TALL MAN mines a corrosive world of fear and terror before ultimately revealing its own unimaginable truth.

Inexplicably bad.

[Employee]

From the masters of horror who brought you The Blair Witch Project comes a terrifying new vision of evil that will redefine horror once again. A mysterious evil is waiting for Molly (Gretchen Lodge), who moves with her new husband into her late father’s empty country house. Haunted by dark demons, she is soon left alone to confront a lurking presence inside the house – one that could drive her beyond the edge of pure fear. Hailed as “guaranteed to haunt you” (Dread Central), Lovely Molly breaks new ground in raw, cutting-edge horror, delivering scares that slice to your very soul. You will never want to turn off the lights again!

Twas aight.

[Employee]

Amazing; underrated.

[Spartan]

Love Exposure (2008)



I need to watch this four hour epic again and see how it holds up a second time because words like "classic" and "masterpiece" are flashing up a lot in my head right now.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

It's a classic and a masterpiece without a hint of doubt.

Sono is a genious and LE is probably his best film, which speaks volumes.

[Spartan]

Sono has drastically improved as a director, that's a certainty.

[jay]

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Can't help but thinking of Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers while watching this... The dedication of Jiro, his sons, and the egg sushi chef is awe inspiring but at the same time kind of confounding. Up at 6am everyday, doing the exact same thing, day-in/day-out for decades on end (70 years in Jiro's case), seems crazy. The pressure on the son's to carry on the legacy seems insurmountable but they both seem to be doing their darndest. Fascinating stuff

[alpha]

espn 30 for 30: Unguarded(2011) A great docu about a guy who hit rock bottom 3 times and in the process throws a potentially great nba career.

Bdd-Ass 2012: Danny Trejo just being awesome. The dialogue was hella funny and a great "b" movie. If you were already thinking of checking it out I recommend it.

[Spartan]

Love Exposure (2008)



I need to watch this four hour epic again and see how it holds up a second time because words like "classic" and "masterpiece" are flashing up a lot in my head right now.

For any of the UK heads reading this - its on Film4 tonight at 23:05. It's worth staying up late.

[Spartan]

The Theatre Bizarre (2011)



Horror anthology laced with some pretty big cult names (Udo Kier, Katrina MacColl, Debbie Rochon Richard Stanley & Tom Savini) and a bunch of can't act for shit amateurs. Surprisingly graphic in terms of gore and nudity but overall these short stories were a mixed bag, Buddy G's short film, I Love You was perhaps the best of the bunch which isn't saying much when compared to another The Accident feeling like a Terence Malick style road safety commercial. All of the stories are introduced and tied together with a Grand Guignol intro, presented by the constantly odd Udo Kier as the film's puppet like Crypt Keeper. As a big fan of portmanteaus it's a decent time waster but it's not even fucking with classics like Creepshow or From The Grave.

[Spartan]

Outpost II: Black Sun (2012)


Gone is Carpenter's The Fog influence and it's replaced by an Indiana Jones meets Resident Evil vibe, including a straight rip-off from Raiders of the Lost Ark in one particular scene. The new characters are really unlikable, chiefly the Nazi hunter chick who seems to only serve as another played out final girl. The plot's attempt to do something new is overtly ambitious losing much of the flavor that made it's predecessor so good, not to mention a dire twist ending. All of those issues could have been tolerated in all honesty, but what really pissed me off the most was just how lame the immortal stabby stabby Nazi army was.

God Bless America (2012)

Started off with great potential and ran out of steam fairly quickly. Loved the premise but much of the Bill Hicks style venomous satire was quickly lost with the introduction of the female co-star. She was both awful and a massive hindrance to the film. Second half of the film also felt rushed and very sloppy, by the finale, I stopped caring. It's an OK film I guess but I can't help thinking this was wasted potential. A let down.

Deadgirl (2008)


Film is all types of wrong. Two horny high school losers stumble upon a naked zombie woman in a derelict mental asylum where she's raped to high heaven for the rest of the film. It's Jörg Buttgereit meets Larry Clark. Despite it's fucked up premise, I actually enjoyed it. Very similar to The Woman, where the monster is not the real monster. Amidst it's dark theme, it surprisingly had some genuinely funny scenes, for instance; popular jock shitting his intestines out and the comical abduction attempt. None of the characters' actions made much sense and the film has some very obvious flaws, but even for an alternative-zombie flick such as this, I was more than happy to just switch my brain off and enjoy the ride.

[Spartan]

Absentia (2011)



Cover art is tacky and misleading as hell, it's a superb slow-burner horror dealing with missing people and how their loved ones are affected. With the exception of the skinny cop with glasses, this kick-starter film had some very solid acting, notably the two leads, Katie Parker and Courtney Bell. Really well written and directed, Mike Flanagan might be an important name to keep an eye out for in future. Worth checking out even if you hate horror flicks as it's an intelligent and mature alternative to all the over-saturated teen oriented stuff around.

[nigga roach]

Livid (2011) - Martyrs almost killed the French horror-genre by raising the bar unfairly high, finally there's a new film to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of European cinema: enter Livid. Maury and Bustillo previously made A L'interieur, an extremely violent and ultimately shallow movie which mostly provides thrills, though never cheap, it didn't have much else to offer. Their new films is like a poetic and gothic fairytale with a classic but fresh story. The gore of A L'interieur is replaced with wonderful atmosphere and terrifying shocks. Aside from that it is as gorgeous film in dark colors with painteresque camera placement and an obsessive eye for detail. The best horror of 2011 without much contest and a powerful statement of intent from the two directors. I liked Black Swan a lot but this is the true Suspiria of the modern age.

I just finished watching it and you're correct, Maury & Bustillo have definitely improved since their previous effort Inside. I have some issues with the ending, so I'll probably give it another viewing soon but this was still excellent. The overall tone of the film was top notch. Kind of a dark fantasy film you'd get from Del Toro with classic Argento, speaking of which, I loved the horror movie references, especially the Suspiria one.

grabbing the BluRay of this now. if it's in anyway comparable/near the same level as Martyrs it's got to be worth a watch

[Spartan]

I wouldn't go as far as saying it's up there with Martyrs, it's still an excellent film however and well worth the watch.

[bbatson1]

I watched Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074608/

It stars

James Caan
Elliott Gould
Michael Caine
Diane Keaton

Two hoplessly out of their class con-men attempt to pull off the largest bank heist of the l9th century. They gain the enmity of the most famous bank Robber in the world and the affection of a crusading newspaperwoman.


Has anyone ever seen this movie? I've never met anyone that has before. I like it a lot. It has that real 1970'2 feel to it plus it's set in the late 1800's which I like. Really good performances by everyone involved. I have no clue why it's rated so low on IMDB.

[Spartan]

Entrails of a Virgin (1986)


Horny photo shoot crew spend the night in a deserted cabin in close location to a philosophical rapist mud man where he promptly kills them, unfortunately for the female cast - he rapes and then kills them. That's the entire plot. Much of the film's short running time consists of awkwardly uncomfortable, fogged-out, soft-core porn and what little horror within rips off some fairly obvious films. The unlikable cast are dispatched pretty quickly except for the film's terrible final girl, with a closing shot of her standing on a volcano left impregnated by mud rapist man. Despite understanding it's cult appeal, it's wholly a vacuous film and a shite one at that. What's worth noting is how bizarre Japanese censorship is: you can't show genitalia but you can show huge wads of cum for some reason.

Entrails of a Beautiful Woman (1986)


Follow-up to the above mentioned movie, this time it's a yakuza themed rape/revenge style movie. After the multiple rape and hilarious suicide of a drugged-out woman, a nurse decides to seek revenge. Revenge doesn't go according to plan as she too is captured, shot up with drugs, raped and left for dead. Bizarrely, she then turns into a skin-less demon with optional slimy vagina or huge toothed cock, depending on her yakuza victim of choice. The plot was slightly better than the first movie but then again anything would be. I don't know what kind of twisted fuck would get off on the sex/rape scenes as they were even more horrifying than the first movie and seeing some yakuza broad blowing a rubber toothed demonic cock is hardly cinema at it's finest, but this was slightly better than Entrails of a Virgin.

NSFW

[Comedy Quaddafi]

^lol



Thale (2012) - Yet another Norwegian film using mythology as the fundament for an off-key horrorstory, but this is no Troll Hunter. The film is lowbudget but makes good use of ressources and the acting is natural enough, though the story leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion. The film is rather dark but the tension is often cracked by the goofy cleaners who are two of the film's two protagonist. The other is the Huldra which they find in a bathtub full of milk-like goo, they discover that there are plenty people who want a piece of her. The story seems somewhat incomplete when the credits roll and can't quite support the environment vs. nature-theme it seems to have going. The Huldra herself is rather attractive with remarkable breasts, they are never really on full display though we are constantly offered glimpses of sideboob and underboob which is perhaps the thing which annoys me most about the film. Just show the damn tits, for fuck's sake.

[Spartan]

[REC]³ Génesis (2011)


Such a hard film to write about: on one hand I liked it...a lot; on the other, it intentionally ditches all the elements that made the previous films the best current horror movie franchise today. It completely jumps the shark in so many ways, notably the intense, hectic, claustrophobia from the previous films in favor of a colorful looking, rom-com, splatter-fest. Running parallel to the events from it's predecessors, [REC]³ is located away from the apartment complex and is set in a plush wedding reception. The shaky first person cam is intentionally ditched twenty minutes into the film's running time where the film's title finally pops up, letting the viewer know it has opted for more traditional cinematography. It's a brave move by director, Paco Plaza, one that would undoubtedly piss off fans of the series. Humor also takes a prominent role here as oddball supporting characters like an armor-clad Mexican waiter or shot-gun wielding John Sponge (a Spongebob Squarepants knock-off) kids' entertainer valiantly and comedically fail to lend their support. The leads are the film's newlyweds and their love-fuelled struggle to find one another amongst the demonic outbreak. The bride, Leticia Dolera is really bad-ass in this and not to mention incredibly stunning despite all the shit she endures throughout the film.In many ways, the film does draw comparisons to Shaun of the Dead and even From Dusk Till Dawn but the big one has got to be Lamberto Bava's Demons in a major way. It's very entertaining and legitimately funny, without the {REC} title, I wouldn't have had any problems with it whatsoever. As a third instalment to one of the best horror movie franchises around however, it's a major step in the wrong direction and it left me broken hearted.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

REC apocalypse will be directed by Balague and should be a return to what we'd expect from a REC-film.

[Spartan]

Interested to see what Jaume Balagueró does with the final instalment. He's ditching the shaky cam too apparently but I'm expecting it to have the same seriousness and dark tone evident in the first two movies. Angela is back which is a plus.

[Spartan]

Election 2 (2006)


Violent sequel to Johnny To's sublime triad drama, set two years after the first film and it's time for new elections in determining who will be the latest godfather. Liked this film about the same as it's predecessor. Loved seeing how Jimmy Lee reluctantly underwent through businessman to godfather status. Film taught me a lot about dog food too. If a third film ever gets made, I want to see more Jet in it.

Juan of the Dead (2011)


Mistakenly wrote this film off before even seeing it as another Shaun of the Dead rip-off, other than it being a zombie comedy, it surprisingly isn't. All of the characters apart from Juan's hot daughter were really unlikable but they quickly become more endearing as the movie progressed. The jokes are just about as much political and social satire as they are about bloody carnage. Found it funny how the TV broadcasts initially described the zombie outbreak as political dissidents sponsored by the US government. The film sports one of the greatest mass zombie slayings I've seen in along while which makes this a must watch for any comedy or zombie fan out there. What really appealed to me however, was just how good and epic it felt despite it's very low budget. The run down city of Havana and the thousands of extras really sold the apocalyptic premise well.

[drizzle]

Spectacular early 80s cheese, inspired by Enter The Dragon and Dirty Dozen, about a karate champion/mercenary putting ye olde team back together to rescue a scientist from a dictator with the most inexplicable henchwoman and fake beard ever put on screen. All the karate fighters are white (although most surprisingly look legitimately good at karate), there is rampant hilarious racism and sexism, the WTF factor is off the charts ... this is a classic of kitchy lowbudget stupidity





A little known standout from the very uneven crop of Shaw Bros' gritty modern actioners. The plot is decent enough if you can follow it, but the real money is in the frantic pace and abundant violence that shies away from martial arts and opts for gunplay and stylized brawling. The movie feels like a halfway point between frantic gritty American and European action movies of the late 70s and John Woo's reinvention of heroic bloodshed (which happened only a few years after this was released). Highly recommended if you have any idea what any of the words above are referring to. This one impressed the shit out me when I found it in my formative stages of nerdery, and does it even more now that I can properly put it into context of cinematic time periods and influences.

[aleph]

Always meant to see KAKA- Kill Or Be Killed was pretty amazing to me as a kid tho I haven't seen it since

[drizzle]

I'm really surprised they released the sequel but not the og. I've never seen either of them prior to this DVD, but heard a lot about both. Honestly very disappointed they're holding out on Kill or Be Killed.

[aleph]

I'm really surprised they released the sequel but not the og. I've never seen either of them prior to this DVD, but heard a lot about both. Honestly very disappointed they're holding out on Kill or Be Killed.

And here I was like a dope about to mosey on over to Netflix. Cheesus

[LilLeftBrain]

Jeff, Who Lives At Home -- segel elevates everything. well enjoyed