What movie did you watch today?

[Comedy Quaddafi]

Ghostwatch (1992) - The UK had a War of the Worlds-moment when BBC aired this ghosthuntershow on Halloween with known tv-personalities actings as themselves. It probably wouldn't work today but what a stunt. Apparently it has never been shown on telly again.

[Career Over Like Mike(NJJ)]

Ayo Spart and/or Yak - either of you seen Hyena yet? From the same fella who directed Tony:



Trailer looks somewhat generic, but the Sight & Sound review + article on it got me fiendin' to see it. Heavy Melville influence meets Herzog's Bad Lieutenant but without any kind of redemption.

[Spartan]

^ Not even seen Tony.

It Follows | 2014


Finally caught it (no pun intended). Far from perfect, but an excellent horror film nonetheless. Maika Monroe on a roll with this and The Guest. Hard to go in any detail without spoiling it for others, so I won't.

[drizzle]

Frankenheimer goes to Japan with solid results, it plays like a more thoughtful A-list version of something Chuck Norris might've made with Cannon. Goes through all the usual tropes you get in 'white man becomes convert/savior of an exotic ancient culture' movies, but that comes with the territory and the execution of the formula is above average. Most of the overt corn happens in the slow middle where the protagonist learns stuff, but the strong beginning and end make up for it. Glenn is dope as a typically dick-ish and racist 80s american who becomes more noble via exposure to bushido, Mifune kills it as usual even though the material is probably beneath his talents. Frankenheimer is likely a fan of Fukusaku and Gosha, some scenes look inspired by classic Japanese yakuza and samurai flicks from 60s and 70s, which goes a long way considering a good 90% of the movie takes place in Japan. And the action looks pretty good too, thanks to some good work by some random dude named Steve....

[drizzle]

Very fun australian zombie jawnt with lots of energy and cool ideas to spice up the genre but not that much budget and a kinda thin grasp of what it wants to accomplish overall. I think the makers managed to come up with a few totally novel things that have never been done in a zombie movie before, really curious for Spartan to confirm/deny on that. But getting that new stuff on screen along with some gore and good lols is pretty much as far as the makers planned. Despite some clear flaws, the movie manages to hit that same unhinged anything-goes tone of early Peter Jackson and if you go beyond the Oz context you can make favorable parallels to Raimi's Evil Dead series and more recently stuff like Hobo With A Shotgun - which is a really good look for a no-budget feature coming out of nowhere.

[Spartan]

I can't confirm or deny anything as it isn't out until May over here.

[drizzle]

It's leaked dawg

[Y@k Bollocks]

Ayo Spart and/or Yak - either of you seen Hyena yet? From the same fella who directed Tony:

Not even heard of it, but very much like Stephen Graham and Neil Maskell. On at the Ritzy in Brixton. Will try and catch it.

Only new thing I've seen lately is '71. Loved it.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

Soylent Green (1973) - Solid sci-fi but I enjoyed the last half of the movie much more. It took a while to get going but settled very well. Richard Fleischer has a quite interesting filmography but you don't hear his name a lot. I need to see more of his films.

[Tommy Bunz]

Word. The Narrow Margin, Violent Saturday, Mr Majestyk, Fantastic Voyage are all great. And of course Conan.
I think Tora Tora Tora is overrated though personally.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

What about Mandingo and The Last Run w/ George C Scott?

[Spartan]

The Vikings, The Boston Strangler and 10 Rillington Place are dope as fuck. That Conan sequel was terrible, though.


RIP violentsaturdays.

[Tommy Bunz]

Its terrible compared to the first one, but on its own merits its so silly that I still enjoy it. Feel the same way about Red Sonja too for that matter.

CQ, I actually bought The Last Run on dvd from the Warner Archives, never got around to watching the damn thing though.
I've heard really good things about The New Centurions and The Spikes Gang too.

[drizzle]

New Centurions is excellent downbeat cop drama, George C Scott is fucking devastating in it.

+ Compulsion
Armored Car Robbery
Trapped
Last Run

Fleischer is a G and then some. His progression from cheapie short noirs in the late 40s to more complicated noirs and crime dramas later on is epic, and the dude knew how to inject some action in there to keep things moving.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

Birdman (2014) - I didn't really like it to be honest.

Swingers (1996) - This must have great back then but didn't age well. The lead is terrible.

Man on Fire (1987) - Not nearly as epic as the 2004 film and much darker in tone.

[Y@k Bollocks]

Swingers (1996) - This must have great back then but didn't age well. The lead is terrible.

Yeah, I thought it was great when it came out. Watched it recently and it has aged terribly. Can see how it influenced a lot of dross too (Entourage and the like).

[alpha]

Liked whiplash a lot. Thought the plot moved pretty damn quick.

Horrible bosses 2 was pretty fucking bad. Fan of the original but the sequel needs to burned in a dumpster.

[Spartan]

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning | 1985


The one with more fakery than Lorraine Kelly, foul-mouthed hillbillies, and them damn enchiladas. Maybe I've gotten soft in my old age, but Roy Burns is a lot more palatable these days than some of da gawd J.V's incarnations, and his body count is nothing to scoff at. This is all thanks to the cannon fodder located in and around the film's half-way house - one of the most incompetent rehabilitation centres since Slaughter Hotel; how on earth Victor, the world's most angriest teen was allowed to go near an axe let alone work with one is beyond my comprehension. Unlike Alice Hardy and Crazy Ralph, it's worth noting that Reggie the Reckless did not return for any subsequent sequel and insured his survivor stripes in the franchise's Hall of Fame; along with the likes of Ginny Field and Tommy Jarvis. The film also serves as a perfectly acceptable bridge between two of the superior sequels in the whole series. Hated it back in the day, but I guess I can appreciate it a lot more now.

[Spartan]

[REC]4: Apocalypse | 2014


An entertaining but wholly generic swan song to one of my fave horror franchises in recent memory. As much as folks (wrongfully) hated [REC]3: Genesis, it did at the very least stay faithful to the whole mythology behind the source of the outbreak, whereas in this entry it's largely redundant. Continuity errors aside, there is a lot to still like about this film: its break-neck pacing, claustrophobic setting, demonic monkeys, and of course, the return of Angela Vidal - which all adds up to a good night's viewing experience. Overall however, it's a shame this franchise didn't evolve into something truly ambitious and spectacular to live up to the previous entries' build-up; instead we are given The Hidden meets 28 Days Later.

[Spartan]

The Den | 2013


If there ever was a movie meant to be watched on a computer then it's mostly definitely this. Ingenious execution of the POV format and the entertaining critique on the perils of online social networking are the film's strongest points. In the oversaturated found-footage/POV market, The Den is definitely an example of one of the better offerings in recent years. However, it lacks that effective punch that turns a competent and well realised horror film into an exceptional one; it lacks any real venom. Still an enjoyable film and one of the better internet themed horror flicks since ceecee's porno.

The Taking of Deborah Logan | 2014


This could have been the best film about Alzheimer's Disease since Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Deep Blue Sea but it squandered everything by being content in adhering to painfully predictable and thoroughly generic clichés associated with found footage horror. The finale did have a whiff of The Borderlands about it, which was cool. That, along with a very memorable scene were the best things about this film, but it did bore the hell out of me for much of its ninety minutes running time.

[LilLeftBrain]

Cam Girlz 2015 Directed by Sean Dunne



Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film 2012 Directed by Hanly Banks

[Blockhead]

I watched "Hunger games Mockingjay 1" on a plane last night cause delta airlines are cocksuckers who still rock the "screens come down from the ceiling" style of flights.. It's a dope movie if you like to watch Jennifer lawrence weep while looking at rubble.

[ric]

Prometheus - First time seeing it since the theater. If you can pull this thing out from under the rubble of collapsed expectations, you get an extremely good looking and entertaining scifi jawnt with moments of occasional stupidity. I have a feeling time will be more kind to it than the initial reactions were. BUT, with that said, there are two alternate scenes on the DVD which do a better job of explaining some plot details then the versions included in the film, and that kind of shit again brings you back to the point where you get UMAD about what this movie could have been in theory

just rewatched this did a thread search. this is the best I can find but yeah agreed that the movie is better than the initial reaction pegged it as. that said. upon rewatching the best way to watch this movie is to stop giving a shit about what it's about if that makes any sense which leads me into the point that the storytelling is not sweet which actually when you look at the entire history of alien movies (and really most movies made when the guild writers are writing) the storytelling is soooo much better. even resurrection which sucks but at least there's a decent story to everything. it doesn't even make sense to call this character driven. it's really more like... concept driven drivel that you watch play out and hope they do something that's cool.

which brings me to this point here. I've never seen lost but the writing must be horrible. like vickers loves and hates dada waylon. and vice versa. fucking why? no reason. why does vickers go on the quest? what kind of d grade bullshit is that? the Shaw lady is a fucking archeologist how does she know about dna and shit but the captain of the ship only knows about commanding shit and the boyfriend doesn't know shit about anything he just had an idea that worked out and suddenly he's the boss?

anyway like I said earlier in post. concept driven drivel that you hope turns out cool and that ridley probably said 'I need xyz to happen and I need you to take it from place to place' and then he wanted an update to the morality shit and this is what came out of the lost guys mouth. just some slimy black shit that wriggles around

also watched alien vs predator
I'm always disappointed. that's all there really is to say. somehow they got some decent actors but how the lead actress is so bad is a little confusing then.

[ric]

Spartan (2004) - Basically a Val Kilmer one man show rescuing Veronica Mars. An entertaining action flick with a few clever twists.

my ninja I think you completely misunderstand this one. this is a really good movie. mamet delivers. seriously I cry several times per viewing nowadays. that's not even some mental health shit (partly sometimes) but that's how straight to the heart the writing and execution is for this film. took me repeat viewings to really feel it through and through even after I had an idea what was going on I didn't feel it like that until later. also really cements Kilmer as a super forgotten actor in my opinion and serves as an object lesson that great acting is so much more than mere transformation. and almost everybody in this movie dominates their roles and Kilmer assists and plays great collaborative as well as solo music here. and on that note the score is excellent as well. the thing about the acting is that because of what's going on in the writing and in the dialogue the tone is so hard to get right cause they act the way they act precisely because the emotional content and the character relationships (other/self/world) drive the movie not the action arc and the thing is all this shit is subtle as fuck. the key to the line delivery is the enunciation and emphasis considering the context. see its easy to think that this kind of thing is pure style or merely drawing attention to thing xyz but part of the achievement of this film is that everything is multi dimensional and it all wraps beautifully together. a difficult thing to execute acting wise especially because the music doesn't hold your hand it just helps set the emotional context. and what's even more amazing is that there's this level of realism that is the overall basis for the feel of thing movie and that everything can be that subtle yet filter through that lens is just even more awesome

mamets material here about aloneness/connection is basically perfect and the actors but most especially kilmer execute with amazing dexterity

a lot of people miss how deep the artistry is here. a delicate tapestry. seriously one of my favorite movies. it is 120 am pst. I am going to wake up tomorrow with a half day off work and watch this movie.

[ChaMerZ]

The Wild One (1953)

Marlon Brando

Dialogue was great. Music was phenomenal. Great camera work. Incredible.

[Career Over Like Mike(NJJ)]

The Wild One (1953)

Marlon Brando

Dialogue was great. Music was phenomenal. Great camera work. Incredible.

Operation Castle-level hot take from da gawd ChaMerZ here.

[ChaMerZ]

uhhh ... what?

Wild One was pretty swagged out. I remember catching bits and pieces of it growing up, but I never watched the entire thing up until the day I made that post.

Growing up with aspirations of starting a bike gang, Akira proved to be the more potent motivator though.

[Spartan]

Just going to post what I can be bothered with.

The Duke of Burgundy | 2014
Busted lesbians and gorgeous cinematography in this visual throwback to seventies erotica. Much like Strickland's previous film, this focuses on establishing atmosphere first and foremost and an almost fetishistic attention to details. I would have thought a beautiful looking film like this would have fit clam rubbers, tbh. Half-Greek Pete had the insanely hot Tonia Sotiropoulou in his previous film, he couldn't hire her for this? Just imagine this shit with soft focused arty shots of Jessica Paré eating out Kate Beckinsale on one of those Huey P. Newton wicker chairs! I might enjoy it more if the non-attractive lesbians thing becomes less of issue for me from subsequent viewings. It's incredibly stylish and highly watchable, regardless.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | 2014
Calling it now: Hipster film of the year! Actually thought this film was made in Iran, but it turns out feminist bloggers' pin-up Ana Lily Amirpour filmed the whole thing in L.A. with friend-zoned Elijah Wood producing it. The film is certainly flawed with a few loose ends that bother me, but I still liked this a lot. Less of a vampire film and more of an off beat western. I might have to cop that soundtrack, if I can't download it anywhere.

Digging Up the Marrow | 2014
I'm guessing Adam Green felt that if Ti West could make a Jim Jones mockumentary for VICE Magazine, he could take a stab at the P.o.V / Found Footage sub-genre too. It's ok, it takes a while to really go anywhere. Cool cameos by Kane Hodder, Mick Garris and Tom Holland appearing as themselves were appreciated. This felt less a film about monsters living underground and more about showing off Green's materialistic success. Film had a few interesting twists and turns when it remembered there was a plot needing to move forward, but it felt like a chore to sit through most of the time.

[Blockhead]

Just saw "The seven five" doc. It was great. Those dudes were out of their fucking minds.

[intuition]

went to see "ex machina." thoroughly enjoyed. thought it was wonderful.