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- Thread starter adgy-san
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jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
The Clinic - I watched this on the DVR last night, having recorded it after seeing it in the top 10 list of one of the Bloody Disgusting writers. I don't remember which writer or how high they ranked it, but I hope it wasn't too high. Cameron (played by the recently deceased Andy Whitfield) and his pregnant wife Beth stop at a motel in the midst of an Australian cross country car ride. That night, Cameron leaves to go do something and comes back to find his wife missing. His wife wakes up in an abandoned warehouse in a bathtub full of ice, no longer pregnant and with a scar on her belly. She comes across four other women in the same situation. The five them start trying to figure out where they are and why this has happened to them.
I didn't really care for this one. Some of the violence/gore was pretty good and it wasn't an outright bad movie, but it was a little bit silly at times and the reveal/reason it was happening wasn't anywhere near as clever or surprising as I thought they thought it was. Not really even worth a rent, in my opinion.
Since I had a different opinion, I will post a different pic, with the late great Andy Whitfield on it.
Ok, Take Wolf Creek, toss in a little Hostel...and a little INSIDE(if you have not seen...shame on you). I won't expand on Adgy's thumbnail of the plot...he's right on about that. But this is a nice little lurid movie that has (in my opinion) a real dandy conclusion. Whitfield is basically a cameo, so that was disappointing. But this movie really makes ya feel kinda icky, and in a horror movie...that's just what the doctor ordered. I may be more the audience for this, because, as already long established, I watch a **** ton of crappy horror flicks. So this one worked for me simply because it was unique, and while not perfect, entertaining. Recommend a rent, or if you can get a cheapie like I did, buy it.
Ok, I have seen Brimstone & Treacle, I Sell the Dead, and now this. As a fan of the whole graverobbing/body snatching sub-genre...I can easily say this was the best. First off, I know...John Landis...I understand those with an anger. He did get away with murder. He will have to answer for that in the next life, or not. But damned if the man still does not know how to frame a shot or tell a story. And he sure knows how to pick a costumer/cinematographer/dialect coach...because this movie is beautiful and technically spotless as far as I am concerned. You know what really sells it? The cast. Seriously, there hasn't been this amount of charming massed together in a while. Pegg=WONDERFUL. Ok, that's not enough, Serkis, in a moment where he is allowed to act without a skintight spandex suit and tennis balls, sleazy and...charming(sense a pattern here?). Jessica Hynes(Spaced...damnitall if you haven't watched Spaced, go away) well, she's damned awesome, and dare I say...Charming(I dare I dare). Isla Fisher is a little weak linky, but she's just so pert/cute, I'll give her a pass. Toss in Tom Wilkinson and the amazing Tim ****ING Curry and...MAGIC. Nice little blinkandyou'llmissit cameo by Christopher Lee and I'm loving myself. Ignore the critics who panned this, if you want a nice little slice of fried gold, I say buy a decent used copy.
ironmaiden
Prospect
Just watched "Water for Elephants." I will say that I don't like the way Reese Witherspoon looks in this movie. I love, love Robert Pattinson. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two. I did love the period clothing/costumes & scenery. The story was very interesting, but I probably wish I would've watched it with another leading actress, perhaps, a brunette, not a platinum blond. From what I hear, in the book she's a brunette. I wish they would've picked a goddess-like young actress & placed her in this role instead. Reese's attitude, persona seems a bit modern for this role. I don't know, I watched it and I was left thinking, "Meh, could've been better."
ironmaiden
Prospect
I watched Black Swan today. Horrible movie. Though, extremely HOT women. I especially like the lesbian sex scene. Anything and everything else was total rubbish. They seriously, need to come up with better story lines. I'm getting tired of stupid movies like this one.
Kings Provisional
Bar room hero
See Adgy's review. He says way better than I would. But I will add that I was surprised, I enjoyed it more than I thought it would. Gina Carano was better than I thought she would be and I agree with Adgy: she would be great as Wonder Woman. I know some are turned off by the fact she is a former MMA fighter and some has described her as "manish". I thought she cleaned up quite well and was pretty hot in a lot of scenes.
Gina looking hot.
Let me start by saying that I am sucker for movies like this. I am a bit of a WWII buff and especially the aircraft, so I was dying to see this. So therefore I liked it, despite it's many flaws. Keep in mind that it was done by good ol' George Lucas and all know the path he taken in his later movies. I get the idea he wanted this to be a "family" movie and I can see why: This is a story that should be told. The fact that so little is known by people today about the Tuskegee Airmen and the first black airmen is sort of shameful. So Lucas wanted this to be accessible to all. If you are expecting "Saving Private Ryan" with airplanes you will disappointed. It is not a gritty, hard movie that shows the horrors or war. You get an idea with a few scenes of bombers being shot down and the terror of being on those planes as they plunge in flames out of the sky but it is pretty mild. There are cliches and some pretty goofy lines, the German flight leader, who is the nemesis in the movie, looks like a bond villain with his blond hair, piercing blue eyes and menacing scar. BTW they one of the lines that made me cringe was when said German flight leader snarled a line in German and the subtitle read "Die you foolish African!" WTF? But the air combat scenes are pretty good ( some are unrealistic but hey, it is a movie) and it cool to see the planes in action. And the German flight leader has a bad-ass 109.
One complaint I have, and this is a bit technical and this movie is not alone in this, is why is it the Germans only fly BF-109s and Me-262 in movies? Were the hell are the FW-190s? They were actually better planes than the 109s. And they were made in large numbers. In fact the ME-262s, the jet fighters, were usually accompanied by an escort of 190-Ds as they were easy targets during take off and landing. Also the 190-D was hell of a plane, it could more than hold its own against the best Allied fighters So first the 262 would tear through a bomber formation and cause havoc, the the 190-ds would scream through and do more damage. Some historians say that if Germany would have had more of the 190-Ds sooner the air war might have been different. So why are they never in WII movies?
A model of a Fock Wulf 190-D in the 262 escort squadron.
Sort of a downer of a movie. A group of guys survive a horrific plane crash in the middle of nowhere only to set upon by a pack of wolves. Liam Neeson is great as always and the story is simple but holds your attention. But like I said a bit of downer, this is a group of broken men with sketchy painful pasts trying to survive in an extremely hostile environment and things are not going well. But I liked it.
The other thing is it is a reminder how deadly wolves are if you tangle with them. I think in modern times we forget just terrifying having a wolf nearby was for people back in the day. Now days an expert hunter sets out some dead animal as bait, hides in a blind and pops the wolf with high powered rifle when it shows up. But back in the day.............. well, there is a reason why wolves are the villains in so many fairy-tails. Or why werewolves were thought to exist. In the Middle Ages wolves were cunning, deadly creatures that at times would terrorize towns and villages. There is a wolf about? No way you want to go into the forest. When I was in Yellowstone last year I was talking to a park ranger and complained that I had seen a lot of animals but not a wolf. He told me that was a good thing, you only want to see wolves a great distance, because if you see one close while you are hiking or camping you may be in trouble. If they are that close they are deciding whether to attack you or not. One night we did hear wolves howl in the distance and it was pretty eerie. I don't know if wolves are that relentless as they are in this movie, after all it is a movie, but it shows you just how nasty wolves are.
I had a couple of hours to kill. Not bad but pretty standard stuff, nothing memorable. Years from now when you talk about movies with friends you won't quote lines from this movie or recount scenes. But that said it was not horrible. If you have seen the trailer you know what to expect. The plus is Elizabeth Banks is in it and I have always liked her.
And Genesis Rodriguez is diabolical.
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IceDogsFan
Prospect
Um.... WOW!
D
darby
Lurker
So I saw this for the first time tonight.
Am I to understand that the feeling of "what the f***?" it generates is supposed to mirror the feelings of Duke and Gonzo?
I watched it start to finish even though I was really out as of the 30 minutes mark waiting for some kind of payoff. Of course, there was none and there was just nothing entertaining about it.
Diehard
Elegant
Been on a horror movie binge the past month and this month. Watched a ton, guess I'll list them off.
Vacancy
Bereavement
Case 39
Session 9
The Shrine
Hostel I and II
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Poltergeist
The Last Broadcast
1408
Secret Window
Eden Lake
The Girl Next Door (not the one with Elisha Cuthbert)
Wolf Creek
Eyes Without A Face
Antichrist
May
The Omen (the original)
The Uninvited
Insidious
Midnight Meat Train
I enjoyed alot of them, I didn't really care for Hostel II, Midnight Meat Train, Secret Window, Session 9, and The Shrine. My favorite ones were Hostel, May, and Insidious. The one that disturbed me the most was The Girl Next Door. I cringe even thinking about it because of all the sick, gruesome, and horrid things that occur, and it's compounded by the fact that there was no paranormal stuff or monsters - it very well could happen in real life.
I've watched a few non-horror movies as well that were good.
I love Polanski films. The Tenant shows the main character gradually becoming paranoid and mentally unstable. And like so many of his movies, the ending packs a real punch.
I'm a huge Gasper Noe fan, he certainly isn't one to shy away from visceral, graphic, and disturbing content. The main character has a pretty warped view of the world and is not someone you sympathize with. It's a masterful character study and kept me engaged from start to finish.
If JD, Adgy, or anyone else can recommend any other good horror flicks, particularly ones that involve paranormal stuff as well as suspenseful movies that have some basis in reality, I'd be very grateful.
Vacancy
Bereavement
Case 39
Session 9
The Shrine
Hostel I and II
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Poltergeist
The Last Broadcast
1408
Secret Window
Eden Lake
The Girl Next Door (not the one with Elisha Cuthbert)
Wolf Creek
Eyes Without A Face
Antichrist
May
The Omen (the original)
The Uninvited
Insidious
Midnight Meat Train
I enjoyed alot of them, I didn't really care for Hostel II, Midnight Meat Train, Secret Window, Session 9, and The Shrine. My favorite ones were Hostel, May, and Insidious. The one that disturbed me the most was The Girl Next Door. I cringe even thinking about it because of all the sick, gruesome, and horrid things that occur, and it's compounded by the fact that there was no paranormal stuff or monsters - it very well could happen in real life.
I've watched a few non-horror movies as well that were good.
I love Polanski films. The Tenant shows the main character gradually becoming paranoid and mentally unstable. And like so many of his movies, the ending packs a real punch.
I'm a huge Gasper Noe fan, he certainly isn't one to shy away from visceral, graphic, and disturbing content. The main character has a pretty warped view of the world and is not someone you sympathize with. It's a masterful character study and kept me engaged from start to finish.
If JD, Adgy, or anyone else can recommend any other good horror flicks, particularly ones that involve paranormal stuff as well as suspenseful movies that have some basis in reality, I'd be very grateful.
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jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
Good list there little brother. Yeah, The Girl Next Door(based on the Jack Ketchum book, which is actually even more disturbing) is a hard watch. The worst horrors are those that are steeped in real circumstances. I will get back to you with some recommends since you seem game to watch movies that make you feel uncomfy. Off the top of my head, if you have not seen Inside or Martytrs(or even Fronteirs) you should seek them out. They are all French and all really unpleasant. Martyrs bruised my soul and I suspect it will never heal.
jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
For the first time in a while, 3 movies in the theater worth dedicating a day to @ Universal. Thanks to the lax security and tremendously co-operating start times! And of course to my seat mate Kingsqueen.
First off I would like to disagree vehemently with Kings Provisional's portrayal of wolves up a few posts. The EVIL they represent is far overdone. No other animal mirrors the concepts of human family patterns as far as I know. For the most part wolves have been hunted to extinction and yet they are still persecuted. This is not the forum for it, but I can post all kinds of reference material but all you really need to know you can look up yourself.
And the fact that the wolves=villain a little too heavily is the ONLY problem I had with this movie. It's a tremendous film and Liam Neeson (as well as the rest of the cast) are just fantastic. It's a heavy, heartbreaking movie filled with characters that you love, who are torn away from you so savagely, so immediately, that you barely have time to mourn them before another horrible thing happens. It's about survival, and man's laughable inability to measure up to true nature, and it's the movie of the year for me so far. There is a framing device with Neeson's character that is done so well that when you get the 'reveal' it's shocking. And considering what else is happening in the movie at the same time...well, it got to me emotionally. CANNOT RECOMMEND ENOUGH.
This was a nice little surprise. The kind of movie that they don't make anymore, and yes, I know that sounds cliche'. It's an old school atmosphere/jump scare movie. The funniest thing is that it's basically the 'strange happinings in an English village' portion of the Hot Fuzz storyline. My only complaint is that it was a little repetetive as far as the attempts to scare. Too many fuzzy face when someone turns around scares back to back. I have to figure it has something to do with folks just not knowing how to make movies like this anymore. Minor complaint really. Saw it with a healthy crowd of 'youngsters', who laughed at a lot of the cues, simply because they were old fashioned and kids are jaded today. I really feel for Daniel Radcliffe. He really is a decent actor and is trying so hard to distance himself, but the repeated 'Get you wand out Harry' taunts from the audience makes me think he is facing a real battle with that.
Thankfully all the 'best superhero movie' praise on this one are well earned. Through all the origin movies that we have all suffered, you never really related. You never get that 'wow, that could happen to me' feeling. Until this. And it's really a portrait of what would happen if people who don't deserve powers all of a sudden got some. No nobel causes, just having the ability to give yourself over to your base desires. Revenge, personal gain, and just simply being a massive *******. The only drawback was the third act. It was effects heavy and for the first time in the movie it seemed like the director lost the ability to balance story and character with a 'big finish'. Not at all a deal killer and I still highly recommend it.
For the first time in a long while I am not ashamed to look at the top 3 movies of the weekend. Please America...let's see more of this. Smart, entertaining movies that do not cater to lowest common denominators.
First off I would like to disagree vehemently with Kings Provisional's portrayal of wolves up a few posts. The EVIL they represent is far overdone. No other animal mirrors the concepts of human family patterns as far as I know. For the most part wolves have been hunted to extinction and yet they are still persecuted. This is not the forum for it, but I can post all kinds of reference material but all you really need to know you can look up yourself.
And the fact that the wolves=villain a little too heavily is the ONLY problem I had with this movie. It's a tremendous film and Liam Neeson (as well as the rest of the cast) are just fantastic. It's a heavy, heartbreaking movie filled with characters that you love, who are torn away from you so savagely, so immediately, that you barely have time to mourn them before another horrible thing happens. It's about survival, and man's laughable inability to measure up to true nature, and it's the movie of the year for me so far. There is a framing device with Neeson's character that is done so well that when you get the 'reveal' it's shocking. And considering what else is happening in the movie at the same time...well, it got to me emotionally. CANNOT RECOMMEND ENOUGH.
This was a nice little surprise. The kind of movie that they don't make anymore, and yes, I know that sounds cliche'. It's an old school atmosphere/jump scare movie. The funniest thing is that it's basically the 'strange happinings in an English village' portion of the Hot Fuzz storyline. My only complaint is that it was a little repetetive as far as the attempts to scare. Too many fuzzy face when someone turns around scares back to back. I have to figure it has something to do with folks just not knowing how to make movies like this anymore. Minor complaint really. Saw it with a healthy crowd of 'youngsters', who laughed at a lot of the cues, simply because they were old fashioned and kids are jaded today. I really feel for Daniel Radcliffe. He really is a decent actor and is trying so hard to distance himself, but the repeated 'Get you wand out Harry' taunts from the audience makes me think he is facing a real battle with that.
Thankfully all the 'best superhero movie' praise on this one are well earned. Through all the origin movies that we have all suffered, you never really related. You never get that 'wow, that could happen to me' feeling. Until this. And it's really a portrait of what would happen if people who don't deserve powers all of a sudden got some. No nobel causes, just having the ability to give yourself over to your base desires. Revenge, personal gain, and just simply being a massive *******. The only drawback was the third act. It was effects heavy and for the first time in the movie it seemed like the director lost the ability to balance story and character with a 'big finish'. Not at all a deal killer and I still highly recommend it.
For the first time in a long while I am not ashamed to look at the top 3 movies of the weekend. Please America...let's see more of this. Smart, entertaining movies that do not cater to lowest common denominators.
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B
BigBrown
Lurker
Cool. Now I wanna go see The Grey.
jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
It's a beautifully shot movie as well.
adgy-san
PJ Harvey is God
That story is, in fact, based on a true story, too. There was a film made called An American Crime with Ellen Page and Catherine Keener that is, supposedly, a more realistic telling of those same events. I haven't seen The Girl Next Door, or read the book, yet, but An American Crime felt like a punch in the stomach. It was a very hard watch.
JD's recommendation of Martyrs, Inside and Fronteirs is probably what my first recommendations would be, too. Inside and Martyrs are probably my two favorite horror movies of... well, maybe ever. Maybe. Some other recommendations, off the top of my head:
Black Christmas (the original)
A Tale Of Two Sisters
The Human Centipede
Let The Right One In/Let Me In (they're both great)
The Woman
Dream Home (the Chinese movie, not the recent Daniel Craig one)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original)
I Saw The Devil
Rabid (Cronenberg)
Cold Fish
Nightmare Detective
Frozen
Thirst
The Innocents
Shutter (the original)
Possession (the one with Sam Neil)
That should be enough to get you started.
jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
Seen both American Crime and Girl Next Door. AC came off a little 'act-y' with Keener swinging for the fences. GND is far more effective. Adgy's list is real solid Diehard, if only a little Asian heavy(but it's Adgy so whattya expect). Dream Home is one of the most violent Asian flicks, or foreign flicks I have ever seen and I saw the Devil flat out rocks. Man, you really liked Black Christmas Adgy...I am gonna have to see that all the way through(saw bits/pieces in my youth).
adgy-san
PJ Harvey is God
So I saw this for the first time tonight.
Am I to understand that the feeling of "what the f***?" it generates is supposed to mirror the feelings of Duke and Gonzo?
I watched it start to finish even though I was really out as of the 30 minutes mark waiting for some kind of payoff. Of course, there was none and there was just nothing entertaining about it.
That is one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time.
For the first time in a while, 3 movies in the theater worth dedicating a day to @ Universal. Thanks to the lax security and tremendously co-operating start times! And of course to my seat mate Kingsqueen.
First off I would like to disagree vehemently with Kings Provisional's portrayal of wolves up a few posts. The EVIL they represent is far overdone. No other animal mirrors the concepts of human family patterns as far as I know. For the most part wolves have been hunted to extinction and yet they are still persecuted. This is not the forum for it, but I can post all kinds of reference material but all you really need to know you can look up yourself.
And the fact that the wolves=villain a little too heavily is the ONLY problem I had with this movie. It's a tremendous film and Liam Neeson (as well as the rest of the cast) are just fantastic. It's a heavy, heartbreaking movie filled with characters that you love, who are torn away from you so savagely, so immediately, that you barely have time to mourn them before another horrible thing happens. It's about survival, and man's laughable inability to measure up to true nature, and it's the movie of the year for me so far. There is a framing device with Neeson's character that is done so well that when you get the 'reveal' it's shocking. And considering what else is happening in the movie at the same time...well, it got to me emotionally. CANNOT RECOMMEND ENOUGH.
This was a nice little surprise. The kind of movie that they don't make anymore, and yes, I know that sounds cliche'. It's an old school atmosphere/jump scare movie. The funniest thing is that it's basically the 'strange happinings in an English village' portion of the Hot Fuzz storyline. My only complaint is that it was a little repetetive as far as the attempts to scare. Too many fuzzy face when someone turns around scares back to back. I have to figure it has something to do with folks just not knowing how to make movies like this anymore. Minor complaint really. Saw it with a healthy crowd of 'youngsters', who laughed at a lot of the cues, simply because they were old fashioned and kids are jaded today. I really feel for Daniel Radcliffe. He really is a decent actor and is trying so hard to distance himself, but the repeated 'Get you wand out Harry' taunts from the audience makes me think he is facing a real battle with that.
Thankfully all the 'best superhero movie' praise on this one are well earned. Through all the origin movies that we have all suffered, you never really related. You never get that 'wow, that could happen to me' feeling. Until this. And it's really a portrait of what would happen if people who don't deserve powers all of a sudden got some. No nobel causes, just having the ability to give yourself over to your base desires. Revenge, personal gain, and just simply being a massive *******. The only drawback was the third act. It was effects heavy and for the first time in the movie it seemed like the director lost the ability to balance story and character with a 'big finish'. Not at all a deal killer and I still highly recommend it.
For the first time in a long while I am not ashamed to look at the top 3 movies of the weekend. Please America...let's see more of this. Smart, entertaining movies that do not cater to lowest common denominators.
I am really glad you liked all three. The way things are going, I'll be lucky if I get to see any of them in the theater, but here's to hoping.
adgy-san
PJ Harvey is God
Yeah, I don't know what it is about that movie that made it stand out so much for me when I watched it, but it did. I recently acquired the Blu of it and am eager to re-watch it and see if it still has the same impact.
I will say, though, that any movie with Olivia Hussey in her prime is probably worth watching regardless...
jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
Best time at the movies in a long while Adgy. See the Grey first. You know I am not like you when it comes to seeing films on a big screen. I almost enjoy watching at home more. But it really is a beautifully shot movie and DESERVES to be seen in a theater.
Kings Provisional
Bar room hero
My family was torn apart and killed by wolves, I barely survived.
But seriously! I think you misunderstand what I said about wolves or perhaps I said it badly. I never said wolves were evil, just that they can be deadly in certain situations, and you should not mess with them. My point was that the fact they can be so deadly is the reason they ended up as villians in fairytales and the like. I actually like wolves.
BTW I agree with you about them persecuted, as I alluded to with guys "setting up" wolves with bait then smoking them with a rifle at a safe distance.
And the more I think about it the more I like The Grey, it is probably one of the best movies I have seen in a while now.
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adgy-san
PJ Harvey is God
Ok, getting caught up. Going to add links in case you can't see the images and don't know what movies I'm talking about.
Haunted - I swear, I set this to record before I knew it had Kate Beckinsale's boobs in it. I did. Serious. So, Aidan Quinn is a professor at some high end british university who makes a side living debunking paranormal phenomena. And he gets a letter from a woman who lives in the town he grew up in, where he accidentally killed his sister, complaining about her house being haunted. So he goes to investigate, hoping to put the woman's mind at ease. And, of course, he finds out that there are such thing as ghosts.
The actual reason I DVR'ed this was because a lot of the reviews on IMDB said it was underrated and creepy. A bunch of people saying that is usually enough to make me curious. I didn't find out until I was watching it that a very young Kate Beckinsale shows herself without a shirt multiple times. That was a bonus, but it didn't do a whole lot to help the movie, honestly. It wasn't bad, but it had a very definite TV-movie sort of feeling. There were a couple decent creepy bits, and the ending wasn't too hard to guess in advance, but it was pretty solidly entertaining otherwise. Just not anything special.
Nothing But Trouble - Hadn't seen this since I was a kid, and I remembered it being gross and funny, so I was happy to see it pop up on a movie channel recently. Chevy Chase, Demi Moore and a couple friends are driving through a small podunk town and get pulled over by John Candy for speeding. Candy takes them before the judge, Dan Akroyd and **** gets weird. I didn't find it as fun or gross as I remembered, but it was still pretty entertaining in a ridiculous WTF sort of way. A lot of reviews call it one of the worst movies ever made, but I thought it was fun.
Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages - A silent film from the 1920's that is something of a documentary about the history of witchcraft from the middle ages until present (1920's) day. Lots of people in rubber suits and makeup that actually looked pretty good, considering when this was made. The guy painted up as the devil was really cool looking. The film itself is fairly interesting, though requires a certain amount of attention span that not everyone possesses, with stories about what happened to people who were accused of witchcraft and stuff. Really, though, the visualizations are what make this a worthwhile. Sometimes the imagery used is creepy, sometimes it's funny. I was hoping the music would be a little darker and more foreboding, which would make me want to acquire a copy of the soundtrack, but it was a little too light most of the time for me. I watched the actual silent version, and I just read that the DVD released by Criterion includes an alternate version narrated by William S Burroughs. Bet that's interesting. Recommended only for people with immense patience and an interest in witchcraft or people dressed up as demons.
Essential Killing - Vincent Gallo is a terrorist who kills some white (US? UN?) soldiers in Afghanistan. He is captured, tortured some in a detention camp and then while being transported through Serbia or Russia or somewhere snowy and mountainy, escapes after the truck holding him gets into an accident. He then spends the rest of the movie running from soldiers and trying to survive the cold wilderness.
I remember when this film was announced, or first reported on. It sounded ****ing nuts. Looking it up, I saw it mostly had good reviews (83% on Rotten Tomatoes) and even though Vincent Gallo is supposedly a huge *******, he can be a good actor, so I decided to give it a try. It was not at all ****ing nuts, but was instead a very restrained, almost slow movie. The torture scenes felt, to me, to be fairly tame as did any and all subsequent killings. I'm not sure if that's because it was intended that way or because I've been desensitized by horror movies. Anyway, it was a pretty solid survival flick and it was interesting that they went with the middle eastern terrorist stuck in the snow angle, but it worked. I never got the feeling that they were being overly preachy or political about it and I'm not even sure I know what the point of doing it the way they did it was, but it was a decent film. Worth a rent, maybe, or a watch if it happens to be on again.
Legacy - Do you like Idris Elba? If so, you need to see this. Do you dislike or not have an opinion about Idris Elba? Then you need to see this so your answer to the first question is yes.
Elba plays a black-ops soldier, home from a particularly difficult assignment in which he ended up captured and tortured. As he stays holed up in his apartment, his mind starts to unravel and he becomes more and more dangerous, both to himself and to others. I really, really liked this movie. It's pretty low budget, has only about two actual locations and of the film's 95 minute runtime, there's maybe 5 minutes in which Idris Elba is not on screen. He does a ****ing fantastic job with it, too. Intense, twisted and surprising. Very highly recommended.
Air Force One - I had never seen this before and BoobyTrap wanted to watch it, so we did. Harrison Ford is the president and his plane gets hijacked with him and about half of his cabinet onboard. But he's also a Veteran, and then kidnappers, led by Gary Oldman, just ****ed with the wrong dude.
Didn't really care for it. It was entertaining enough, and it's always worth it to watch a Gary Oldman performance you've never seen, but the movie was really predictable and silly. Harrison Ford makes the same exact facial expressions and throws punches the exact same way in all of his movies, apparently. It's old. The supporting cast did a fine job and Oldman was particularly enjoyable, but... yeah, there just wasn't much to this one.
Super - Rainn Wilson is a normal, average guy whose former addict girlfriend, Liv Tyler, gets hooked back on the drugs thanks to her sleazy ******* boss, Kevin Bacon. Distraught at losing the love of his life, he sees and is inspired by a fictional superhero known as The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) to become a superhero himself. Along the way, he acquires a sidekick (Ellen Page) and together they team up to beat up crime and win Liv Tyler back.
Holy ****, I loved this movie. It's funny, wrong and ****ed up. A dark comedy as good as any I've seen in a while. I have some slight issue with the ending, but beyond that, this is a favorite. Another winner from James Gunn. Loved it.
Dressed To Kill - Nancy Allen is a high end prostitute who witnesses the murder of one of Michael Caine's psychiatry patients in an elevator. Michael Caine comes home from the police station and hears a message on his answering machine from a former patient of his (that he stopped seeing because he wouldn't agree with the patient's desire to undergo a sex change operation) basically confessing to the murder. Michael Caine and Nancy Allen investigate!
Thought this was ok. I don't remember where I read that this was a pretty good movie, but Brian DePalma is usually worthwhile, so I gave it a shot. I got the feeling that the film was much more effective back when it was originally released because I felt like I'd seen a lot of this already. It wasn't hard to predict what was going to happen. Some of the kills were pretty awesome, though and I could honestly watch Michael Caine in anything, so I'd say I enjoyed the movie, just not a whole hell of a lot.
The Killing - Stanley Kubrick's first real feature film is about a group intending to rob a racetrack. As in all heist movies, it doesn't really matter how meticulously you plan, something is eventually going to go wrong. Sometimes during the heist and sometimes not until after. An excellent movie with a super great ending.
Blue Valentine - Plot synopsis: Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams go from happy young couple to dysfunctional, ****ed up older couple, with scenes from the early and later periods of the relationship mixed together. A sad, but kind of nice little film with good performances by both leads. I'm assuming the "provocative" moniker comes from the scene in which Gosling gives Williams oral sex, but that really didn't seem too outlandish to me. I realize it's not something you see very often...
This movie felt very similar to Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind to me, except nowhere near as awesome or affecting. Not that it was trying to be, but it gave me the same kind of feelings. A lot of the romantic bits were nice, and the dysfunctional bits were sad and it ends really well, with a perfect dovetailing point of the two points in their life/relationship. I liked it.
House Of Games - Lindsay Crouse is a psychologist and an up and coming star writer who offers to help one of her patients who is a compulsive gambler. She goes to the House Of Games, where her patient says he owes 25 grand and talks to Joe Mantegna who is owed that money. He offers to forget the marker (which is actually only $800), if she will help him out in a poker game by watching for a tell on another player when he's out of the room. She is then drawn into a whole new world of con-men that she never knew existed.
I really liked this movie. I don't know why I haven't seen Joe Mantegna in more starring roles, but I also really like him. Some of the acting in the film isn't very good (Lindsay Crouse kind of sucked) and some of the twists are a little easy to predict, but it works. Writer/Director David Mamet does a really good job of making you feel like the main character, being fascinated watching these guys play games on people, even though some of the twists are a little predictable, as I mentioned. It kind of felt like an Andrew Vachss book, only without all the dirt and reality. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The Vanishing - A couple are on vacation and road-tripping through France when they stop to get gas at a busy station. The girl leaves to go get some sodas at the convenience store thing and never comes back. 3 years later, the guy is still looking for her, obsessed with finding out what happened. He goes on TV to plead with the kidnapper, saying that he isn't interested in punishing, he just wants to know what happened. The kidnapper sees the broadcast and decides to give the guy exactly what he wishes for.
I know it's early in the year, but this is without a doubt the best movie I've seen so far this year. It is ****ING AWESOME, and that's a word I don't use as much anymore since Dr Naysay started giving me **** for using it so much. I feel perfectly justified using it here, though. It's a slow-burn, intense film that has one of the most mouth-agape, "holy ****ing ****" stick-with-you-forever endings I've ever seen. ****ing phenomenal. I'm tempted to buy it immediately because I NEED to have this in my collection, but the ****ing Criterion DVD doesn't have a single special feature. I don't know how that's possible, but it is. So I'm really hoping they've got a re-release planned sometime soon. Highest possible recommendation. I'm probably building it up too much and someone's going to be disappointed, but the reviews on IMDB are almost all insanely positive and it didn't ruin anything for me, so I'm leaving it in.
The director, George Sluzier, directed the American remake with Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock. Apparently they changed the ending for American audiences, though, which is both sad and unsurprising. I imagine it's something a lot of people will find unsatisfying, even if only because it's not something anyone would expect. I hear the remake is ****ty beyond that, anyway. Supposedly, Jeff Bridges' performance is pretty out there (as the bad guy). I'd like to see it just out of curiosity.
Diabolique - Another great foreign movie with an apparently ****ty American remake. This is a French movie from the 50's about two women (the wife and the mistress) who team up to kill the husband, an abusive *******. They kill him and hide the body, but then things start to happen which make them doubt whether or not they actually did succeed, especially when the body is not found where they left it.
This movie gets a lot of mention for being Hitchcock-esque and it really deserves it. It feels a lot like a Psycho to me. It's really well done and the climax is fantastic. Creepy and expertly executed. The cinematography is great, especially during the climax and all the acting is good. I also give this a very high recommendation, especially if you're into Hitchcock type thrillers. I'm kind of curious to see the original, but mostly because I have a weird fascination with Isabelle Adjani.
Haunted - I swear, I set this to record before I knew it had Kate Beckinsale's boobs in it. I did. Serious. So, Aidan Quinn is a professor at some high end british university who makes a side living debunking paranormal phenomena. And he gets a letter from a woman who lives in the town he grew up in, where he accidentally killed his sister, complaining about her house being haunted. So he goes to investigate, hoping to put the woman's mind at ease. And, of course, he finds out that there are such thing as ghosts.
The actual reason I DVR'ed this was because a lot of the reviews on IMDB said it was underrated and creepy. A bunch of people saying that is usually enough to make me curious. I didn't find out until I was watching it that a very young Kate Beckinsale shows herself without a shirt multiple times. That was a bonus, but it didn't do a whole lot to help the movie, honestly. It wasn't bad, but it had a very definite TV-movie sort of feeling. There were a couple decent creepy bits, and the ending wasn't too hard to guess in advance, but it was pretty solidly entertaining otherwise. Just not anything special.
Nothing But Trouble - Hadn't seen this since I was a kid, and I remembered it being gross and funny, so I was happy to see it pop up on a movie channel recently. Chevy Chase, Demi Moore and a couple friends are driving through a small podunk town and get pulled over by John Candy for speeding. Candy takes them before the judge, Dan Akroyd and **** gets weird. I didn't find it as fun or gross as I remembered, but it was still pretty entertaining in a ridiculous WTF sort of way. A lot of reviews call it one of the worst movies ever made, but I thought it was fun.
Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages - A silent film from the 1920's that is something of a documentary about the history of witchcraft from the middle ages until present (1920's) day. Lots of people in rubber suits and makeup that actually looked pretty good, considering when this was made. The guy painted up as the devil was really cool looking. The film itself is fairly interesting, though requires a certain amount of attention span that not everyone possesses, with stories about what happened to people who were accused of witchcraft and stuff. Really, though, the visualizations are what make this a worthwhile. Sometimes the imagery used is creepy, sometimes it's funny. I was hoping the music would be a little darker and more foreboding, which would make me want to acquire a copy of the soundtrack, but it was a little too light most of the time for me. I watched the actual silent version, and I just read that the DVD released by Criterion includes an alternate version narrated by William S Burroughs. Bet that's interesting. Recommended only for people with immense patience and an interest in witchcraft or people dressed up as demons.
Essential Killing - Vincent Gallo is a terrorist who kills some white (US? UN?) soldiers in Afghanistan. He is captured, tortured some in a detention camp and then while being transported through Serbia or Russia or somewhere snowy and mountainy, escapes after the truck holding him gets into an accident. He then spends the rest of the movie running from soldiers and trying to survive the cold wilderness.
I remember when this film was announced, or first reported on. It sounded ****ing nuts. Looking it up, I saw it mostly had good reviews (83% on Rotten Tomatoes) and even though Vincent Gallo is supposedly a huge *******, he can be a good actor, so I decided to give it a try. It was not at all ****ing nuts, but was instead a very restrained, almost slow movie. The torture scenes felt, to me, to be fairly tame as did any and all subsequent killings. I'm not sure if that's because it was intended that way or because I've been desensitized by horror movies. Anyway, it was a pretty solid survival flick and it was interesting that they went with the middle eastern terrorist stuck in the snow angle, but it worked. I never got the feeling that they were being overly preachy or political about it and I'm not even sure I know what the point of doing it the way they did it was, but it was a decent film. Worth a rent, maybe, or a watch if it happens to be on again.
Legacy - Do you like Idris Elba? If so, you need to see this. Do you dislike or not have an opinion about Idris Elba? Then you need to see this so your answer to the first question is yes.
Elba plays a black-ops soldier, home from a particularly difficult assignment in which he ended up captured and tortured. As he stays holed up in his apartment, his mind starts to unravel and he becomes more and more dangerous, both to himself and to others. I really, really liked this movie. It's pretty low budget, has only about two actual locations and of the film's 95 minute runtime, there's maybe 5 minutes in which Idris Elba is not on screen. He does a ****ing fantastic job with it, too. Intense, twisted and surprising. Very highly recommended.
Air Force One - I had never seen this before and BoobyTrap wanted to watch it, so we did. Harrison Ford is the president and his plane gets hijacked with him and about half of his cabinet onboard. But he's also a Veteran, and then kidnappers, led by Gary Oldman, just ****ed with the wrong dude.
Didn't really care for it. It was entertaining enough, and it's always worth it to watch a Gary Oldman performance you've never seen, but the movie was really predictable and silly. Harrison Ford makes the same exact facial expressions and throws punches the exact same way in all of his movies, apparently. It's old. The supporting cast did a fine job and Oldman was particularly enjoyable, but... yeah, there just wasn't much to this one.
Super - Rainn Wilson is a normal, average guy whose former addict girlfriend, Liv Tyler, gets hooked back on the drugs thanks to her sleazy ******* boss, Kevin Bacon. Distraught at losing the love of his life, he sees and is inspired by a fictional superhero known as The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) to become a superhero himself. Along the way, he acquires a sidekick (Ellen Page) and together they team up to beat up crime and win Liv Tyler back.
Holy ****, I loved this movie. It's funny, wrong and ****ed up. A dark comedy as good as any I've seen in a while. I have some slight issue with the ending, but beyond that, this is a favorite. Another winner from James Gunn. Loved it.
Dressed To Kill - Nancy Allen is a high end prostitute who witnesses the murder of one of Michael Caine's psychiatry patients in an elevator. Michael Caine comes home from the police station and hears a message on his answering machine from a former patient of his (that he stopped seeing because he wouldn't agree with the patient's desire to undergo a sex change operation) basically confessing to the murder. Michael Caine and Nancy Allen investigate!
Thought this was ok. I don't remember where I read that this was a pretty good movie, but Brian DePalma is usually worthwhile, so I gave it a shot. I got the feeling that the film was much more effective back when it was originally released because I felt like I'd seen a lot of this already. It wasn't hard to predict what was going to happen. Some of the kills were pretty awesome, though and I could honestly watch Michael Caine in anything, so I'd say I enjoyed the movie, just not a whole hell of a lot.
The Killing - Stanley Kubrick's first real feature film is about a group intending to rob a racetrack. As in all heist movies, it doesn't really matter how meticulously you plan, something is eventually going to go wrong. Sometimes during the heist and sometimes not until after. An excellent movie with a super great ending.
Blue Valentine - Plot synopsis: Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams go from happy young couple to dysfunctional, ****ed up older couple, with scenes from the early and later periods of the relationship mixed together. A sad, but kind of nice little film with good performances by both leads. I'm assuming the "provocative" moniker comes from the scene in which Gosling gives Williams oral sex, but that really didn't seem too outlandish to me. I realize it's not something you see very often...
This movie felt very similar to Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind to me, except nowhere near as awesome or affecting. Not that it was trying to be, but it gave me the same kind of feelings. A lot of the romantic bits were nice, and the dysfunctional bits were sad and it ends really well, with a perfect dovetailing point of the two points in their life/relationship. I liked it.
House Of Games - Lindsay Crouse is a psychologist and an up and coming star writer who offers to help one of her patients who is a compulsive gambler. She goes to the House Of Games, where her patient says he owes 25 grand and talks to Joe Mantegna who is owed that money. He offers to forget the marker (which is actually only $800), if she will help him out in a poker game by watching for a tell on another player when he's out of the room. She is then drawn into a whole new world of con-men that she never knew existed.
I really liked this movie. I don't know why I haven't seen Joe Mantegna in more starring roles, but I also really like him. Some of the acting in the film isn't very good (Lindsay Crouse kind of sucked) and some of the twists are a little easy to predict, but it works. Writer/Director David Mamet does a really good job of making you feel like the main character, being fascinated watching these guys play games on people, even though some of the twists are a little predictable, as I mentioned. It kind of felt like an Andrew Vachss book, only without all the dirt and reality. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The Vanishing - A couple are on vacation and road-tripping through France when they stop to get gas at a busy station. The girl leaves to go get some sodas at the convenience store thing and never comes back. 3 years later, the guy is still looking for her, obsessed with finding out what happened. He goes on TV to plead with the kidnapper, saying that he isn't interested in punishing, he just wants to know what happened. The kidnapper sees the broadcast and decides to give the guy exactly what he wishes for.
I know it's early in the year, but this is without a doubt the best movie I've seen so far this year. It is ****ING AWESOME, and that's a word I don't use as much anymore since Dr Naysay started giving me **** for using it so much. I feel perfectly justified using it here, though. It's a slow-burn, intense film that has one of the most mouth-agape, "holy ****ing ****" stick-with-you-forever endings I've ever seen. ****ing phenomenal. I'm tempted to buy it immediately because I NEED to have this in my collection, but the ****ing Criterion DVD doesn't have a single special feature. I don't know how that's possible, but it is. So I'm really hoping they've got a re-release planned sometime soon. Highest possible recommendation. I'm probably building it up too much and someone's going to be disappointed, but the reviews on IMDB are almost all insanely positive and it didn't ruin anything for me, so I'm leaving it in.
The director, George Sluzier, directed the American remake with Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock. Apparently they changed the ending for American audiences, though, which is both sad and unsurprising. I imagine it's something a lot of people will find unsatisfying, even if only because it's not something anyone would expect. I hear the remake is ****ty beyond that, anyway. Supposedly, Jeff Bridges' performance is pretty out there (as the bad guy). I'd like to see it just out of curiosity.
Diabolique - Another great foreign movie with an apparently ****ty American remake. This is a French movie from the 50's about two women (the wife and the mistress) who team up to kill the husband, an abusive *******. They kill him and hide the body, but then things start to happen which make them doubt whether or not they actually did succeed, especially when the body is not found where they left it.
This movie gets a lot of mention for being Hitchcock-esque and it really deserves it. It feels a lot like a Psycho to me. It's really well done and the climax is fantastic. Creepy and expertly executed. The cinematography is great, especially during the climax and all the acting is good. I also give this a very high recommendation, especially if you're into Hitchcock type thrillers. I'm kind of curious to see the original, but mostly because I have a weird fascination with Isabelle Adjani.
