I have said this other places, but it is amazing to me how taking From Duck til Dawn and moving the setting and tweaking the main characters can make this movie's subtext and themes so different.
I saw it several weeks ago, and I keep coming up with new takes on what it is saying to the audience. One of the first movies to make me feel something in a long time.
A travelling magician checks into a large, rundown hotel that he can never leave.
I was looking forward to this one after seeing the trailer a little while ago, as it looked pretty weird. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit too weird, after about 30 minutes of random nonsense I gave up and watched some old Dr. Who instead (Tomb of the Cybermen).
A travelling magician checks into a large, rundown hotel that he can never leave.
I was looking forward to this one after seeing the trailer a little while ago, as it looked pretty weird. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit too weird, after about 30 minutes of random nonsense I gave up and watched some old Dr. Who instead (Tomb of the Cybermen).
It's a pretty slow and focused movie. You want to be in the mood for watching the glacial change of mental states in the protagonist and the people he deals with. I figure the movie won't work for you otherwise.
Personally I didn't even find it particularly weird. That probably says more about me than the movie, though I'd argue if you accept from the beginning that you are watching a mental journey, the physical expression of it makes a good bit of sense and is even pretty predictable.
Not a movie I'd recommend or that I imagine I'll watch again in the foreseeable future, but not terrible for what it is.
I haven't seen The Running Man since I was about 14 years old when It was the big saturday night ITV movie, with the advert being paired up with Gladiators which would be showing earlier in the afternoon. My friend came over to watch it with us and it was a laugh, considering that Doom and Mortal Kombat was all the rage at the time and it was pretty much in that same dumb-but-fun tradition.
But for those who've not heard of it before, Ben Richards is framed for gunning down civilians in a protest and ends up on a cruel TV show called "The Running Man" , which involves running for one's dear life from psychopathic killers called "Stalkers" who use a charming selection of tools and methods to butcher the contestants.
If you like 80s sci-fi action movies like Predator and Robocop, then its not quite up to the standard of those classics but the action, music and supporting cast are rather impressive for a glorfied vehicle for Arnold. It's still worth adding to the slate!
A travelling magician checks into a large, rundown hotel that he can never leave.
I was looking forward to this one after seeing the trailer a little while ago, as it looked pretty weird. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit too weird, after about 30 minutes of random nonsense I gave up and watched some old Dr. Who instead (Tomb of the Cybermen).
It's a pretty slow and focused movie. You want to be in the mood for watching the glacial change of mental states in the protagonist and the people he deals with. I figure the movie won't work for you otherwise.
Personally I didn't even find it particularly weird. That probably says more about me than the movie, though I'd argue if you accept from the beginning that you are watching a mental journey, the physical expression of it makes a good bit of sense and is even pretty predictable.
Not a movie I'd recommend or that I imagine I'll watch again in the foreseeable future, but not terrible for what it is.
Yeah, it's not a bad film, I just got totally the wrong impression from the trailer, I was expecting a quirky fantasy movie.
Had I known it was a somewhat arty exploration of the human mind, I wouldn't have even tried it, that's not my sort of thing at all.
This is a Peter Cushing vehicle that I had never seen before. They have the Doctor, Barbara, Ian, and Susan. These are all characters from season 1 and the first Doctor Who when it was a bit more grounded in history before spinning out into sci-fi too.
This is like watching a Dr. Who episode made by people who had only had Dr. Who described to them and never watched any of the show. None of the characters are anything like the O.G.s, the theme music is super-swingin' 60's Exotica, Peter Cushing is nigh-on unrecognizable, and the Daleks are.... very colorful with the same favorite voices.
A beautiful looking Ghibli film set in a post apocalyptic world filled with strange creatures and colorful plant life. And Metal Slug vehicles of all stripes.
Nausicaa is an aerobatic hero whose strength is her compassion and love of peace.
Watch it.
Starship Troopers
Kills bugs good.
Even if satire is dead, the film has enough action and humor to entertain anyone.
Rico is a ground pounding protagonist whose strength is his lack of compassion and contempt for peace.
M:I 4 down. For the second time in a row, Ethan's love interest didn't show up for the next movie, but at least this time they worked it into the story.
This movie is ok, but strangely forgettable and never actually feels as high stakes as it is claiming to be, because we know by now that Ethan will just pull a win out of the bag regardless of what goes wrong...
Finished Lola Rennt (or 'Run, Lola Run!' in english). Really of it's time, but a pretty damn good movie. Basically, the main character, Lola gets a call from her boyfriend Manni. He's affiliated with some underground crime ring or something, and leaves 100,000 Marks on a train by accident. Lola has 20 minutes to somehow get enough money to him before he gets his ass capped by the mafia. It's a simple setup, but it REALLY does a lot with it. (I'll refrain from spoiling what happens) As a film it's dated, but that's by no means a bad thing. It's the kind of film you expect to enjoy ironically, before the sketchy animated segments and banging electro-music turns it into genuine enjoyment. It's so silly, but the acting is played so straight, and the overall convergence of all the themes, music, cinematography, and everything else really make it a unique, awesome film. A solid 8/10, completely recommend!
here's a link It's only has german subtitles, but it's not that hard to understand if you know a bit of deutsch
bullisariuscowl wrote: Finished Lola Rennt (or 'Run, Lola Run!' in english). Really of it's time, but a pretty damn good movie. Basically, the main character, Lola gets a call from her boyfriend Manni. He's affiliated with some underground crime ring or something, and leaves 100,000 Marks on a train by accident. Lola has 20 minutes to somehow get enough money to him before he gets his ass capped by the mafia. It's a simple setup, but it REALLY does a lot with it. (I'll refrain from spoiling what happens) As a film it's dated, but that's by no means a bad thing. It's the kind of film you expect to enjoy ironically, before the sketchy animated segments and banging electro-music turns it into genuine enjoyment. It's so silly, but the acting is played so straight, and the overall convergence of all the themes, music, cinematography, and everything else really make it a unique, awesome film. A solid 8/10, completely recommend!
here's a link It's only has german subtitles, but it's not that hard to understand if you know a bit of deutsch
This is one of my favorite films from one of my favorite film eras where a small team could make a really cool idea on a fairly limited budget. If you enjoyed this I highly recommend "Intacto".
bullisariuscowl wrote: Finished Lola Rennt (or 'Run, Lola Run!' in english). Really of it's time, but a pretty damn good movie. Basically, the main character, Lola gets a call from her boyfriend Manni. He's affiliated with some underground crime ring or something, and leaves 100,000 Marks on a train by accident. Lola has 20 minutes to somehow get enough money to him before he gets his ass capped by the mafia. It's a simple setup, but it REALLY does a lot with it. (I'll refrain from spoiling what happens) As a film it's dated, but that's by no means a bad thing. It's the kind of film you expect to enjoy ironically, before the sketchy animated segments and banging electro-music turns it into genuine enjoyment. It's so silly, but the acting is played so straight, and the overall convergence of all the themes, music, cinematography, and everything else really make it a unique, awesome film. A solid 8/10, completely recommend!
here's a link It's only has german subtitles, but it's not that hard to understand if you know a bit of deutsch
This is one of my favorite films from one of my favorite film eras where a small team could make a really cool idea on a fairly limited budget. If you enjoyed this I highly recommend "Intacto".
Wasn't even alive back then, but I still vastly prefer films like Lola Rennt to stuff that comes out today. Late 90's films like The Matrix, Johnny Mnemonic, etc. Were they that good? Certainly debatable, but they're so sincere and know what they want to be it's hard to not like them. I find them far more entertaining than a lot of blockbusters today, which seem to be allergic to sincerity. Seriously, take a shot everytime someone says 'erm, he's right behind me, isn't he?' or something of that caliber that completely ruins any buildup or tension (the fallout series is a prime example). You'd be six feet under in no time.
The late 90’s early 00’s movies, especially Sci-Fi, were exploring nascent and emerging technology though. Stuff so new, previous science-fiction hadn’t really predicted it.
Add in CGI making certain films possible where practical effects would’ve been at least ruinously expensive? And we again got Genuine Novelty.
Sure, bullet time and unnumbered once ground breaking effects are now old hat, and even wildly overused. But for those of us of sufficient vintage to have Seen It First? It’ll always have that special meaning.
Automatically Appended Next Post: 90’s in particular also benefitted from widespread and genuinely affordable home media. And so those who saw a film they enjoyed in the cinema could easily buy a copy a few months down the line to be watched and watched again.
Older stuff, particularly for my niche Horror, from the 60’s and 70’s less so. Some of it hasn’t seen a home media release until relatively recently. Some of it remains largely lost media.
Which means, again particularly for horror, the literal watershed movies, which didn’t necessarily do a thing first, but were the first to get past censors and find a wide market? Are seen After The Shock, and so lose a lot of cultural context.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: The late 90’s early 00’s movies, especially Sci-Fi, were exploring nascent and emerging technology though. Stuff so new, previous science-fiction hadn’t really predicted it.
Add in CGI making certain films possible where practical effects would’ve been at least ruinously expensive? And we again got Genuine Novelty.
Sure, bullet time and unnumbered once ground breaking effects are now old hat, and even wildly overused. But for those of us of sufficient vintage to have Seen It First? It’ll always have that special meaning.
Automatically Appended Next Post: 90’s in particular also benefitted from widespread and genuinely affordable home media. And so those who saw a film they enjoyed in the cinema could easily buy a copy a few months down the line to be watched and watched again.
Older stuff, particularly for my niche Horror, from the 60’s and 70’s less so. Some of it hasn’t seen a home media release until relatively recently. Some of it remains largely lost media.
Which means, again particularly for horror, the literal watershed movies, which didn’t necessarily do a thing first, but were the first to get past censors and find a wide market? Are seen After The Shock, and so lose a lot of cultural context.
I see what you mean, but personally I think a lot of horror movies have aged pretty well. Romero's Dead trilogy is a great example. Are the special effects somewhat cheesy nowadays? Yes (in the first two films, Day of the Dead doesn't look real but it is still pretty gruesome). Are extras in grey bodypaint pretending to be fentanyl addicts, occasionally chowing down on a person still scary? Not really, but the themes and setpieces, as well as the plots manage to still be pretty grisly and scary, even in the era of VFX and green-screen. Sure, the blood does look fake, but when someone is torn apart it's still shocking. The zombies by themselves are not too scary, but it's the idea of being in that situation and what they represent that makes it damn-near terrifying. I think horror films with good writing and situations can age well
But stuff which, at the time, really pushed what you could get in cinemas, can lose its cultural context all too easily.
In the UK, we had the Video Nasties List. I’ve seen many of those, and by today’s standards they’re really pretty tame. And so the key is try to watch them in context. So, buying other preceding horrors, and seeing what they didn’t even try.
This even goes for Hammer, once notorious for Blood ‘n’ Boobies, despite really not showing a huge amount of both. But they did show more than before.
The Exorcist has probably suffered the most. I’ve seen it, and it’s certainly got atmosphere. But it’s not actually scary to me. At all.
And I do mean scary, not uncomfortable. Hostel I would say is more uncomfortable. But not actually scary. For gruesome, I’d NOT recommend The Night Train Murders. I’ve seen it, and it’s a well made film, to the point of being genuinely difficult to watch.
But stuff which, at the time, really pushed what you could get in cinemas, can lose its cultural context all too easily.
In the UK, we had the Video Nasties List. I’ve seen many of those, and by today’s standards they’re really pretty tame. And so the key is try to watch them in context. So, buying other preceding horrors, and seeing what they didn’t even try.
This even goes for Hammer, once notorious for Blood ‘n’ Boobies, despite really not showing a huge amount of both. But they did show more than before.
The Exorcist has probably suffered the most. I’ve seen it, and it’s certainly got atmosphere. But it’s not actually scary to me. At all.
And I do mean scary, not uncomfortable. Hostel I would say is more uncomfortable. But not actually scary. For gruesome, I’d NOT recommend The Night Train Murders. I’ve seen it, and it’s a well made film, to the point of being genuinely difficult to watch.
The Exorcist is certainly a little scary, but I do think a lot of the horror came from seeing something so new and disturbing at the time, now it's not that scary, but it can be really shocking. The cross scene is a prime example.
I maintain the real scares in The Exorcist are not from Reagan or the demon, but the sheer helplessness that Reagan's mother feels and evokes.
There is something wrong with her little girl and nobody can tell her what it is, let alone help her. Going to Father Karras wasn't an act of religious belief, but of pure desperation for anything.
As discussed by others, a good flick. Probably not my favorite Coogler flick, but its probably the best film of the year.
I mainly had some quibbles on the vampire rules/mechanics:
Spoiler:
Bit confused on how Stack and Mary were able to not be slaved to Remmick, whereas the others were. Everyone else went insta-evil, but they both feth off into the forest while everyone else watches Remmick go full pulp comic book villian and explain his plans/motives long enough to be killed by Smoke and a rising sun.
On a lighter note: The rules lawyers part of my brain wonders if they could’ve invited the vamps in one by one and killed them individually. The humans gave a pretty good accounting of themselves even when they got bumrushed. If they picked their fights, they could’ve triumphed!
And no one gets to veto the Asian chicks mass invite? That’s not fair.
I love horror. I love horror portmanteaus. And this is a decent horror portmanteau. Little bit scary, little bit silly, little bit satirical.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Back on the slashers
Moon In Scorpio
Well, we’re not mucking around as we’re off the races more or less straight away with two killings. And effectively shot - close up of the knife doing its work, without us actually seeing a person stabbed.
Stars Britt Ekland.
Seems this was made in 1987, but it looks much older in style and clothing.
Speaking of fashion, as it was at the time, our pet loony is another escaped patient from a Mental Hospital. And I think it’s Britt Ekland. Maybe.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh dear. A Nam flashback with the least interested looking soldiers I’ve ever seen ever. Nominal Goodies and Nominal Baddies both.
Also, I can’t tell if Britt Ekland is putting in a good performance as someone gone round the bend, or if she’s just terrible. But she’s not the killer. Someone else is. And we’re never told why. They just are.
Absolutely dreadful film.
Automatically Appended Next Post: New Year’s Evil
In which our loony has decided to murderise someone as Midnight tolls in US time zones and New Year’s Day begins. And phones in to a New Wave/Punk Rock party show to declare his intent.
Note the killer isn’t travelling to do this. He’s staying put in the one time zone, so there’s no need to explain how the hell he’s travelling so far and finding a victim.
This is pretty good! Lots of New Wave music which whilst average examples of the genre is right up my street. Dumb Blondes is a legit bop though.
insaniak wrote: M:I 4 down. For the second time in a row, Ethan's love interest didn't show up for the next movie, but at least this time they worked it into the story.
This movie is ok, but strangely forgettable and never actually feels as high stakes as it is claiming to be, because we know by now that Ethan will just pull a win out of the bag regardless of what goes wrong...
M:I 5 and 6 done. These have Rebecca Ferguson in them, so are inherently better than any of the movies that came before.
Turns out I had actually seen both of these before, but my brain had done some weird frankensteining of these two and Dead Reckoning, taking bits of them and confusing them into a single movie. Makes much more sense, now.
Anyway, both excellent. They do a good job of always leaving you guessing just whose side Ilsa is actually on, and things don't always go Ethan's way so there actually feels like some real stakes, where the previous movies had all started to feel a bit cartoony and predictable.
Orphans! Nightmares! Dirty Old Men! Mental Hospitals!
1988 slasher/thriller, which does a decent job of keeping the audience guessing. And in doing so, flirts with a number of other film archetypes, particularly The People Under The Stairs for the early part.
As with many films in this series, it’s not terribly original. But it is very well shot and has some pleasing surprises.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Darkroom
Someone is a loony, and it might be the dirty peeping Tom. But let’s face it it probably isn’t.
Stars nobody you’ve heard of, but the male lead looks a bit like Morten Harket from out of off of Aha. And the acting is dreadful.
I’ll sit it out, because I’m tough like that. But to be honest, I really don’t care who’s doing it. I just wish they’d get a wriggle on and bump off the rest of the cast.
Blind Date
Surprise surprise chuck, this film has nowt to do with caterwauling middle of the road tv presenter Cilla (who incidentally was very rude to my Auntie once). Will it be a Lorra Lorra Fun? Or only marginally better than sitting through Cilla strangling yet another song without somehow leaving the audience baffled as to how anyone saw fit to give her a recording deal?
This is actually pretty good! Central conceit is a man’s vision is partially restored via technology. Which is interestingly realised on-screen as him seeing a black background, but with the shape of objects visible as pixelated white lines. Sure it’s a fairly basic SFX, but it suits the underlying tech being experimental. Anyways he witnesses a murder and plays a role in stopping a serial killer. Also stars Kirsty Alley, which is nice.
Heck, try figuring out the lyrics to Scotland's Gloryhammer song, "He Has Returned." (Great music video though)
Spoiler:
An ancient legend born
His coming was foretold
A cybernetic champion
For the battle he was sworn
On mighty wings he'd fly
To make the epic fight
But when the war for time was won
He flew into the night
He stormed the ports of Cellardyke
And felled the dread witch-queen
Then liberated Cowdenbeath
Saviour to all machines
Hero forged in Heaven by the gods of old Dundee
Lays waste to all before him with a hail of holy steel
He has returned to Dundee
For the battle raging over the seas
He's the saviour of the world, and he's ready to fight
Blasting higher into space
The stars drawing him into his fate
He's the savior of the world
He has returned
Ancient technology
Now reprogrammed to (destroy the wizard)
Sacred combat must be found
With mighty heroes of the crown
Now the cosmic dust has cleared
Can it really be?
The Robot Prince of Auchtertool
Stands right in front of me
Far across the stars he travelled, yearning to be free
In search of epic battles to escape his destiny
He has returned to Dundee
For the battle raging over the seas
He's the saviour of the world, and he's ready to fight
Blasting higher into space
The stars drawing him into his fate
He's the savior of the world
He has returned
He has returned
With eyes ablaze with crimson fire
And great boronic wings
His armour wrought from powersteel
He is the Mecha King
With solar-powered rocket guns
And lasers on his head
The Robot Prince of Auchtertool
Will fight until he's finally dead
Robot Prince of Auchtertool
Over thy robot kingdom rule
Electronic lord of war
Destined to reign forevermore
Robot Prince of Auchtertool
Over thy robot kingdom rule
Electronic lord of war
Destined to reign forevermore
It's the same feeling I get when I read certain posts here.
Cilla Black was a terrible singer from the 60’s that, in the 80’s became a middle weight light entertainment show.
Known for tiresome shows and catchphrases based on a force Liverpool accent, one such show was Blind Date. Which happens to have the same name as a slasher flick.
Here she is…allegedly singing. Warning. I accept no responsibility to your audio equipment, organic or technological.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Streets of Fire 1984
Apparently, this choked at the Box Office, but I’m not sure why. A neo-noir rock’n’roll movie. Akin to Burton’s Batman, its aesthetic is oddly timeless. 1950’s cars, 1980’s music. Clothing a mix of the two. A city seemingly perpetually raining and at night.
Starring we have Willem Defoe, Rick Moranis, Diane Lane and Bill Paxton among others.
Got to say? I’m loving this. Elements of 80’s action movies tied up with 50’s gang fights, via just a touch of The Warriors. And with a really nice soundtrack of 50’s and 80’s rock’n’roll.
Perhaps this was just a bit ahead of time. But it’s overall stylings would prove quite the influence on Robocop, Also, an influence on Streets of Rage, at least according to the chap that designed Cody in Streets of Rage.
Willem Defoe is superb, and for once Rick Moranis isn’t playing a wimpy character.
Definitely worth a watch. A solid proof that a film bombing on release does not a bad film make. And Y’know? If you fancied an 80’s rock’n’roll double feature, I think this would pair fairly well with Purple Rain
Essentially an incel loony before incel loonies were defined. Not sure if we’re meant to pity him.
Not an especially easy film to watch, because the distress of the victims is really well done on-screen. Also there are moments where the loony (whose identity is never a mystery) stares right down the camera. Sometimes whist monologuing, sometimes whilst stalking. Sounds like bad cinematography, but it adds to a certain claustrophobia, like we’re stuck there with him.
Some are great, many are bad, most are entertaining on some level.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Skinned Alive 1990.
Low budget gross out shocker. Kind of a cross between early Peter Jackson and House of 1,000 Corpses. Made as a comedy horror, rather than “oh god what have we done, quick, we’ll have to play it for laughs”.
A film of admittedly narrow appeal. Too gross for comedy fans. Too comedic for horror fans. But for those like myself who enjoy its specific bandwith, it’s greatly enjoyable.
One of those low budget shockers from a time when the people making them genuinely tried to make the best film they could on a limited budget and with limited skill, and knew their limitations,
Automatically Appended Next Post: Funeral Home 1980
Also known as Cries In The Night.
Canadian Slasher, and not a terribly gripping one I’m afraid. Noticeably lacking in atmosphere, this is proving a bit of a chore to watch.
Bit of a shock-free Psycho clone at the end of the day.
Supernatural revenge slasher from 1980, in which a man with special educational needs is unjustly killed by townsfolk, having been falsely accused of hurting his friend, a young girl.
When tracked to his mother’s farm, he’s found hiding as a scarecrow, the four men shooting him to death.
A scarecrow then starts stalking the four….one….by….one.
Apparently a Made For TV horror. Now, it’s not gory. Whilst it’s clear something unpleasant has happened to someone, it’s all entirely off screen. And honestly? It really doesn’t feel Made For TV.
If it wasn’t the clear suspicion one of the killers has a positively unhealthy interest in the young girl, I’d say this would be a good entry to point to horror for older kids, say early teens.
It still holds up! Beautiful artwork, great songs, a moving story (if you don’t think about it too hard). Watch it.
The only thing that bothers me is how often they describe the beast as hideous or ugly when he looks like a doe eyed werewolf at worst. He doesn’t look human, but he’s not a festering mutant covered with boils.
The live-action remake that kicked off the craze, and it is actually pretty good. However, it was also directed by Kenneth Branaugh! Of course it looks gorgeous and "pretty good"!
Sadly, I wish it had flopped and spared us what came next but there is no denying this is a solid and strong flick.
Apparently, this choked at the Box Office, but I’m not sure why. A neo-noir rock’n’roll movie. Akin to Burton’s Batman, its aesthetic is oddly timeless. 1950’s cars, 1980’s music. Clothing a mix of the two. A city seemingly perpetually raining and at night.
Starring we have Willem Defoe, Rick Moranis, Diane Lane and Bill Paxton among others.
Got to say? I’m loving this. Elements of 80’s action movies tied up with 50’s gang fights, via just a touch of The Warriors. And with a really nice soundtrack of 50’s and 80’s rock’n’roll.
Perhaps this was just a bit ahead of time. But it’s overall stylings would prove quite the influence on Robocop, Also, an influence on Streets of Rage, at least according to the chap that designed Cody in Streets of Rage.
Willem Defoe is superb, and for once Rick Moranis isn’t playing a wimpy character.
Definitely worth a watch. A solid proof that a film bombing on release does not a bad film make. And Y’know? If you fancied an 80’s rock’n’roll double feature, I think this would pair fairly well with Purple Rain
One of my all-time favourites. Moranis is kind of a wimpy character, but he's competent in his field and wields some power. Not sure if it was ahead of its time, but it found its place as a timeless, extremely entertaining film.
@BobtheInquisitor: Yeah, it's a bit weird. They designed this very cuddly beast character people grow to care about over the course of the film and when he turns into the prince dude again in the end, everybody just wants the beast back. I feel bad for the prince.
It’s the Mortuary. I’m in the Mortuary. In that case? I must be deid!*
Another slasher, this time with satanic undertones, and young Bill Paxton as a bit of a dweeb!
It’s got really good atmosphere this one, and I think Scream may have taken some cues from the Loony’s look. Which, now I’ve watched almost 50 classic slashers in the past few months may be something original to this one.
It’s otherwise a bit by the numbers overall, but very enjoyable.
*I’m going to leave that reference unexplained, on account it’s one only Scottish Dakkanauts of a similar, as ever undisclosed, vintage might recognise.
The only thing that bothers me is how often they describe the beast as hideous or ugly when he looks like a doe eyed werewolf at worst. He doesn’t look human, but he’s not a festering mutant covered with boils.
Yeah, cartoon beast is hot. Unlike the live action one.
Also cartoon beast doesn't neg you for your choice in literature, so he is just way better personality-wise.
The only thing that bothers me is how often they describe the beast as hideous or ugly when he looks like a doe eyed werewolf at worst. He doesn’t look human, but he’s not a festering mutant covered with boils.
Yeah, cartoon beast is hot. Unlike the live action one.
Also cartoon beast doesn't neg you for your choice in literature, so he is just way better personality-wise.
I don't think the choice of Emma Watson as the beast was too bad of a choice for the live action version.
GitS is a beautifully animated movie with an interesting premise and well executed action. I really loved the moody establishing vignettes. The cityscape feels both real and fantastical. The story is done well, and if I had seen this before Akira and Patlabor and bits of Evangelion, I might not have dismissed anime so quickly.
We saw the dubbed version, which has some very distinct voice acting. After hearing the actress who voiced the Major, I get why they went with ScarJo for the live action version.
My son wants to see more in this vein. Is it true the only other GitS worth seeing is Stand Alone Complex? What other anime movies have a similar style or cyberpunk aesthetic? Tubi has Appleseed, Jin-Rob and a few others, but not Bubblegum Crisis (which I want to see for the Streets of Fire influence).
automatically appended same post
I love Streets of Fire. I frequently play Going Nowhere Fast and Tonight is What it Means to be Young on YouTube.
Human (cartoon) Beast just looks kind of weird, like if Owen Wilson played a dark elf. Belle looks a bit disappointed.
GitS is a beautifully animated movie with an interesting premise and well executed action. I really loved the moody establishing vignettes. The cityscape feels both real and fantastical. The story is done well, and if I had seen this before Akira and Patlabor and bits of Evangelion, I might not have dismissed anime so quickly.
We saw the dubbed version, which has some very distinct voice acting. After hearing the actress who voiced the Major, I get why they went with ScarJo for the live action version.
My son wants to see more in this vein. Is it true the only other GitS worth seeing is Stand Alone Complex? What other anime movies have a similar style or cyberpunk aesthetic? Tubi has Appleseed, Jin-Rob and a few others, but not Bubblegum Crisis (which I want to see for the Streets of Fire influence).
The second GiTS movie (Innocence) is pretty good too and follows on from the first film.
Dominion Tank Police is pretty old but very 80s pop/cyberpunk.
Ergo Proxy deals a lot with androids and identity, but from what I recall it's more dialog heavy and less action so it might not be an easy watch depending on your son's age.
You need to get the right version of Appleseed. The newer ones appear to be populated by uncanny valley doll-like creatures. The original Appleseed manga is just awesome. The industrial design and attention to detail are amazing. Dominion Tank Police is awesome, but also maybe a bit adult. I remember greatly enjoying Cyber City Oedo 808, but that also might be a bit adult. Or it might be terrible because I had terrible taste as a teenager
Automatically Appended Next Post: Vexille was pretty good. The CG animation again was a bit doll like, but I liked the equipment they got to play with.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ooh, Bubblegum Crisis? I never saw it myself, but everyone loves a girly hardsuit
Ghost in the Shell is strange in that they've got multiple continuities.
Films 1 and 2 are basically a single series entity
The Stand Alone Complex series 1, 2 and Film are another continuity
Then there's another series (I forget the name) which is essentially another continuity that does a prequel kind of deal.
Interestingly its my personal belief that SAC could 'almost' be a prequel to the two original films. There's certainly a LOT of elements that set the Major up for the events in the films - though Togusa kind of breaks it entirely as he's not different just way more developed and further along by the end of the SAC events.
That said they are 100% worth it. I will only warn that NOTHING touches the original film in terms of its animation. Even the second film comes up second to the first.
Also if you're looking for more generally serious anime I'd recommend
Ergo Proxy; Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood; Wolf's Rain.
I'd honestly throw Akira and Patlabor in as well as ones I've enjoyed.
Hellsing is well worth it. The original is more dated animation but has wonderful pacing and character development. The newer is much more modern/better animated; but entirely loses a lot of character development in favour of taking the story a lot further. It's good but having seen the original you can see some of the shallowness in a few characters
Though if you purely want mech-action you could also look up Gundam. Though its a BIG Collection of stuff so there's a lot of variety. Heck I've hardly dipped into any of it (mostly because a lot of stuff only got a USA release years ago and never got a UK one on DVD blueray)
Is the Stand Alone Complex film a stand alone? Or would we need to see the series first? I don’t think Tubi has the 2nd movie.
I’ll add Ergo Proxy and a few others to the list.
I think I’ve seen Hellsing, but I don’t know if I’m actually thinking of Vampire Hunter D. I’ll save that for Halloween time if he’s still into animation.
Stand Alone Complex the film is basically the end-cap on the SAC series 1 and 2. So its best to see it all in one go - series 1, 2 and then the film.
Note that the SAC series is actually a bit closer to the original Manga. It's also somewhat more upbeat, esp in season 1; but still touches on loads of serious points.
Vampire Hunter D the film is actually really good and well worth having in there.
Overread wrote: Stand Alone Complex the film is basically the end-cap on the SAC series 1 and 2. So its best to see it all in one go - series 1, 2 and then the film.
So the answer to the question of "is it stand alone" is "no".
Streets of Fire was the film that taught me that studios would release multiple videos for the same song. The video I knew as a kid for I Can Dream About you just showed the in film music group The Sorels, featuring Robert Townsend.
Bubblegum Crisis is rather anime, but the good sort, I'd say. I really enjoy it. It's tauted as "the cyberpunk anime", and in this case (and Ghost in the Shell's) I agree there. Bubblegum Crisis (2032, I wouldn't bother with later iterations. MAYBE Bubblegum Crash and AD Police, which were direct spin-offs, but even they aren't as good) is just hella rad looking. I'm all into the look of 80s sci-fi anime, and its got some of the greatest robot designs I know of. It's more "anime" than Ghost in the Shell though due to being a tv show.
Jin-Roh is alright. Always feels a bit style over substance to me.
Perfect Blue isn't cyberpunk, but just a darned solid psychologial thriller.
I watched the first two episodes of Pluto, which is a newer thing (should be on Netflix). It's about a futuristic society with loads of robots. Very Aasimov. Seems good. Also very moody.
Yeah, Gundam. I got into that a while ago. I'm into the "Real Robot" stuff, and especially enjoy when stuff like logistics, replacement parts and unprepared/not-so-well-equipped/etc units are on display, so I worry most of the things which depict any other timelines or post-One-Year-War stuff gets a bit too wacky for me. Watched the first three films, Char's Counter-Attack, a bunch of episodes of 08th MS Team (ok to good), a handful of episodes of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (jury's still out on that). All rather anime of course, lots of slapping of people, because it's the 70s. Well, in the beginning. Also watched the first two episodes of that Netflix CGI show, which I did not enjoy.
Peter Sellers stars as Pirate Captain Dick Scratcher, ably supported by Spike Milligan.
I’ve never heard of this before, and hopefully it’ll be one of those gems Amazon Prime offers up via Mighty Algotihmo.
But with Sellers and Milligan involved, it can’t possibly be utterly dire.
Automatically Appended Next Post: So, the sets and locations are fantastic, but the rest sadly isn’t terribly good.
Apparently it was plagued with production problems, not least of which was Sellers’ being unstable as filming immediately followed his split from Liza Minnelli.
And it’s just not terribly funny. There are bits where it is, but the whole of the thing just isn’t coming together.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Carry On Columbus
The final entry in Britain’s long running innuendo laden gag fest movies.
And it’s…alright. It’s the same bawdy humour, but with comedians from the 80’s and 90’s, who were known for much edgier and more political fare. So it all feels a bit more restrained than perhaps it should.
For instance, Rik Mayall is the Sultan. Rik is Rik, naturally. But without the swearing and manic energy he feels a bit squandered.
To modern eyes, it’s kind of “you can’t make them like that anymore”. But more from the “because comedy has moved on” angle than racism, homophobia and that being valid sources of humour.
If this has been released even 10 years earlier than its 1992 debut, it might be better regarded. Instead, whilst it’ll still scratch your Carry On itch, it feels oddly sanitised. Not by censors. Not by script. But because the comedians involved aren’t given their usual anarchic free reign.
Is the Stand Alone Complex film a stand alone? Or would we need to see the series first? I don’t think Tubi has the 2nd movie.
I’ll add Ergo Proxy and a few others to the list.
I think I’ve seen Hellsing, but I don’t know if I’m actually thinking of Vampire Hunter D. I’ll save that for Halloween time if he’s still into animation.
If you're adding Vampire Hunter D to the list I'd go with the second one:- Bloodlust. They're both stand alone films, but the first one has very dated 70's animation while the second looks absolutely gorgeous and holds up well even 40 years later.
I also saw a few people mention Dominion Tank Police, not sure how old your son is, but I feel I should point out that this features android, cat-girl strippers and very penis-shaped anti-tank mines.
Nothing quite competes with the original GitS, but the suggestions here are great. Akira definitely needs to be on the classics watch list if you haven't already seen it.
Patlabor is a good call. Also in terms of Gundam I'd recommend 08th MS Team or 0083 Stardust Memories as shorter, self contained bits of the world.
It depends on how you approach it I think. If you go in looking for 90 minutes of action packed big boomy robot fights, you'll be disappointed. Its a police procedural set in a world where police departments need to be equipped to deal with broken or subverted big stompy robots.
The plucky hero and their team need to use what they have available in terms of skills and equipment to sort something out before it gets out of hand. No rocket circuses here!
The engaging bit for me is how heavily thought through the mechs are, and how they would intersect with normal police duties, operational and logistical issues. Most of it is pretty slow, as far as I can recall though Haven't watched it for ages.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Thinking about it, this make sit similar to GitS and Dominion, but the former involves a paramilitary unit, rather than a police patrol unit, so can amp up the action, and dominion is just basically mental and deliberately over the top in its comedy.
Perfect Blue is definitely something special. It was wildly ahead of its time but definitely forward thinking enough to not feel dated. If you like it, check out Paranoia Agent, which is similarly way, way ahead of itself in a lot of ways. It's a shame Satoshi Kon wasn't able to see his visions come true.
Supernatural slasher flick. In which it’s not a loony, but a demon. And it’s going around doing horrific things to women.
It’s not for everyone. It’s just the right side of exploitation trash and titillation, but only barely. The attack scenes go on for too long and make for uncomfortable viewing. But they’re not especially graphic.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Wacko!
And now we come to the end of the Slasher Collection. At least for now, this is the most recent entry, with none up for pre-order.
And this seems to be an attempt to do Airplane! for the horror genre. It even stars George Kennedy, alongside Joe Don Baker.
Sadly, it’s just not terribly funny. It feels very Film Student, and not in the good way. The jokes are rapid fire, but unlike Airplane!, they’re not delivered straight. Which renders them painfully unfunny. Scenes come, fail to raise a grin, and just end.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Seedpeople
A 1992 straight to video affair. It’s kinda Body Snatchers meets Critters/Gremlins.
Mysterious plants crop up around a small American town. And they start transforming the unlucky townspeople in plant freaks.
I’ll be honest? I’m loving this. It’s not even a good film as such, but it’s fun. And the creature costumes are pretty well done for a small budget affair.
However, there are shades of Troll 2 here. But only shades. Like it’s walking a tightrope above Troll 2 Quality, but walking it well.
Can a trio of light-based superheroines save the universe?
It's okay, but a very weak entry in the Marvel catalogue.
On the plus side, the teleporting fight scenes are very well done, and I think they do a good job on introducing Monica and Kamala for those who didn't watch their TV series.
On the negative though, the villains characterisation is exceptionally weak, even by the franchises very low standards, it feels like they cut a lot out of the movie itself, and, personally, I still find Kamala Khan very annoying.
At least I'm almost caught up on everything Marvel, I think.
I love a good Final Destination movie, me. They’re big, but they’re typically not clever. And they’re not really trying to be.
This one has a terrific opening splatter scene. Sure, it’s ridiculous and overengineered, but what’s Final Destination without a proper Rube Goldberg opening death fest? And there’s a particularly satisfying squishing in there to boot.
And sure, there’s gore. But the whole thing is so studiously overblown you can’t help but giggle. Well. I can’t. I promise I’m not a sociopath!
As with any lengthy franchise, if you’ve not enjoyed the others there’s really nothing here to persuade you otherwise. But this is a return to form.
I've always seen that the fun of Final Destination has always been in the core of finding the most Rude Goldberg ways to kill people possible with the added twists therein when it's feeling like putting in some effort. Usually they're at their best imo when they are tongue-in-cheek and chuckle worthy about it.
Do you like films an out outer space? Do you like films about aliens? Do you like films about the US Space Force tracking orbital debris fields? Without spoiling too much, one of those things will feature heavily in the climax of the movie!
Elio is a space adventure about loss and found family. It tugs the heartstrings just fine, but doesn’t have as much for grown ups in the audience as a classic like Wall-E. Your enjoyment of its humor will be proportional to your appreciation for Lrrr from Omicron Persei 8. Visuals were great, too.
The Life of Chuck
Thanks for 39 great years, Chuck.
Great movie. Overall it’s bittersweet, but through it you get all the feels and some good laughs. Great actors give great performances, with Mark Hamil and Matthew Lillard as the standouts for me. Worth seeing just for the drum busking scene and its lead up. Will make you want to learn how to dance.
LordofHats wrote: I've always seen that the fun of Final Destination has always been in the core of finding the most Rude Goldberg ways to kill people possible with the added twists therein when it's feeling like putting in some effort. Usually they're at their best imo when they are tongue-in-cheek and chuckle worthy about it.
It reminds me of long running UK hospital drama Casualty in its early days, before it became about who’s shagging who among the staff.
Every week the first act was following the patients-to-be, trying to guess what’s going to happen to land them in Casualty.
Definitely at its best when done as a black comedy. And yes folks, I’m still wary of following logging trucks. We don’t get many of those where I am, but we do get them!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Now watching the sort of classics you’d think a film fan would’ve seen by now, but hasn’t,
Unhyginic CyrilDirty Harry
A pretty brutal film about a pretty brutal cop. Shoot first, ask question never, and sod judicial process I guess.
Absolutely a movie of its time. Definitely gritty, but don’t know enough to say it’s realistic.
Clint Eastwood is of course the eponymous Needs A Bath Kevin “Dirty” Harry Callahan, but I never realised the baddie is Andrew “Garak and Cenobite Fodder” Robinson, so that’s nice.
And I’m enjoying it. The music is particularly well used to build tension and tell us something about Scorpio’s state of mind.
I’ve got the rest of the series lined up for watching too. So expect more comments on the Slightly Grubby Darren Dirty Harry films.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Magnum Force
Mucky Ronald Dirty Harry Callahan returns in a sequel a good bit more gritty that the first. And there’s a cop that’s had enough, and is going around offing wrong’uns with extreme prejudice. And indeed sometimes people who just happened to be in the wrong’uns presence.
An oddly challenging film. The baddies being murdered are scumbags, benefitting from the rigours of due process. So on one hand, it’s hard to have sympathy with them.
But the question remains that if the rule of law breaks down, why should anyone obey it?
It’s clear to see how this and Stinky Colin Dirty Harry had a real influence on future media, such as Judge Dredd, Robocop and even modern tv police procedural.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Enforcer
Besmirched Robert Dirty Harry returns in this third outing, apparently based on a fan fiction unsolicited script submission.
Joining as Harry’s partner is one Tyne Daley, who’d go on to portray Mary Beth Lacey in 80’s cop show Cagney & Lacey.
This time there’s a terrorist group menacing San Francisco, and two career criminals are using them for their own ends.
There’s a bit more comedy at play here than the other Muddy Callum Dirty Harry films. And to be honest, it genuinely reminds me of Jaws in places, with nobody taking Harry seriously that they’ve got the wrong man. Given this came out a year after Jaws, I wouldn’t rule it out as an inference.
The slightly lighter tone is working for me. And again I can see its influence on Judge Dredd, with More (Tyne Daley) being the Anderson to Harry’s Dredd.
And I’ve got to say, there’s a good bit more Dectoring going on than I initially expected in these.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Sudden Impact
Unkempt Algernon’s Dirty Harry’s fourth outing, and the first from the 1980’s.
Stakes are lowered somewhat here, as Harry finds himself inadvertently crossing paths with a vigilante. A vigilante going after the gang that SA’d her and her sister ten years previous.
With Harry off his patch, and mostly resulting to fisticuffs this does make for a nice change of pace.
I wouldn’t say there’s exactly character development as such, but it welcome all the same.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Dead Pool
Untidy Malcolm Dirty Harry’s fifth and final movie.
Quite the supporting cast with Liam Neeson, Jim Carrey and Marc Alaimo.
Thankfully Jim Carey isn’t in it for very long, so that’s a big old plus in my book.
What’s intrigued me having watched all five in a single day is that, whilst the series is known for its catchphrases? They’re not used film to film. Indeed “Go ahead Punk, make my day” doesn’t turn up until Sudden Impact - and is only said twice.
Netflix’s Grenfell Tower documentary. Only watch if you want a massive dose of how crap capitalism can be, mixed with the worst kind of governance at national and local level. All respects to the 72 dead, and all those traumatised by the tragedy.
They have some of the emergency call snippets from people calling for help basically as they are dying, so only watch when you are in a good place mentally.
It doesn’t go into a great deal of technical detail, but it covers the main points clearly enough.
They’ve definitely stood the test of time. I mean, you can tell when they were made by style and attitudes, but it’s never too much. And oddly, Callahan isn’t exactly a butthole.
He’s not womanising, he’s not trying to fit up minorities, he’s not threatening stoolies.
I mean, yes he’s extremely trigger happy and would almost certainly be drummed out of the force today. But that he’s never presented as a the perfect copper etc? That’s a nice touch.
Lovingly crafted by animate Richard Williams from the 1960’s to the 1990’s, the Thief and the Cobbler was to be his magnum opus until reality, and lack of funds took it out of his hands. There was a butchered, Disneyfied cut released by Miramar to piggyback off of Aladdin’s success, but it was pretty much forgotten. In the 2000’s, the ReCobbled cut was created by fans to ‘complete’ the film in accordance with Williams’s vision. This is the version we saw.
First of all, the animation is incredible where it is completed. I can think of few movies like it. Unfortunately the only reason to watch The Thief and the Cobbler is for the spectacular hand-drawn animation. The story is basic and the pacing is amateurishly uneven at best. Williams clearly spent a lot of time animating scenes that should have been shortened or cut. On the other hand, the animated set pieces will make you forget all about those issues.
If you’re interested in weird, highly skilled animation, watch this movie. If not, skip it.
That's something that pops up on youtube every so often - and yeah the animation work is amazing. As is the dedication of fans to keep tweaking and improving and adding to it to try and complete it.
Rogue One 100% has that "there's a LOT of deeper stories here than we have time for" feel to it; but they manage to walk that REALLY razor fine line between the film feeling hollowed out and rushed; and deep and engaging enough to be good. And they walked it so darn well!
"If you hadn't stopped me we could have taken it. Dead or alive, what's the difference?"
Buncha yanks in a foreign country trespass in search of loot. The native dude who owns the place investigates what the commotion is about only to get shot by a trigger-happy American with the biggest gun he could get his hands on. The Americans aren't finished yet and figure it's best to drug the guy and get him to make inappropriate advances towards the group's lady to get a pretext for bludgeoning him to death. Only they decide to stick him in a cage instead to get some extra kicks out of their trip. And that lady ain't no lady. Ladies don't light dudes on fire.
Dude finally manages to escape and goes Rambo on his captors' asses. Who will live? Who will die? Will any kind of justice prevail? Watch this gruesome home invasion thriller to the end and find out!
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
"Don't you think you're making a lot out of nothing? He's chained and you have the bull prod."
Buncha yanks out for blood go to the same foreign country to trash the place our hero from the first movie calls home. Dude's all chill, having a grand day until he spots the Americans. PTSD flashbacks, a classic thousand yard stare and some dynamite fishing later, he's abducted to a Florida black site where he is kept without trial or legal counsel and subjected to electroshock torture and unethical medical experiments.
Will he escape incarceration and go Rambo on his captors' asses? Will he seek his way home? Does an illegal alien even stand a chance against a riled up redneck posse? Watch this harrowing prison drama to the end and find out!
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
"Listen, we can create an entirely new form of life!"
Buncha yanks in their own country go combing the wetlands in search of our hero from the previous two movies. They don't stumble around and hope to get lucky like their countrymen in the other movies. Oh no! For they are men of SCIENCE! and use sonar to get the drop on the poor illegal alien who's just been trying to get by and live in peace. To what end? Mad science, of course. Something something helping evolution along, prattle about tweaking humans to survive the colonization of space, stuff like that. And so once more our hero finds himself set on fire, captured and subjected to medical experimentation.
How much abuse can one dude take before he loses the will to go Rambo on anyone's ass? Is inhuman conduct a solid foundation for the betterment of mankind? Did that mountain lion actually think things through? Watch this thought-provoking science thriller to the end and find out!
...
I saw the first movie before but never the sequels. It was high time to change that. And well, not to sound overly dismissive or anything, but I'm not sure one misses out by only watching the original movie. It feels a bit like Jurassic Park. The first movie has everything covered and explores the clash between out of their depth humans and the rampaging fishy dude pretty conclusively. The second movie turns the situation around by giving the humans the upper hand until things go ever so predictably south, and at least that part adds something of value to the conflict between humans and fishy dude. The third movie goes off the deep end by departing from most familiar themes, getting communication going between humans and the fishy dude and generally sidelining the titular hero for some tenuously related conflict to the point where you might question what you are even watching.
Overread wrote: Rogue One 100% has that "there's a LOT of deeper stories here than we have time for" feel to it; but they manage to walk that REALLY razor fine line between the film feeling hollowed out and rushed; and deep and engaging enough to be good. And they walked it so darn well!
I really need to rewatch it with Andor as context. I had gotten to where I felt a little blinded by the parts of act 3 that don't involve the main cast and less impressed with the rest of it. Curious to see how much the additional material given to so much of the cast has changed that.
"Don't you think you're making a lot out of nothing? He's chained and you have the bull prod."
Buncha yanks out for blood go to the same foreign country to trash the place our hero from the first movie calls home. Dude's all chill, having a grand day until he spots the Americans. PTSD flashbacks, a classic thousand yard stare and some dynamite fishing later, he's abducted to a Florida black site where he is kept without trial or legal counsel and subjected to electroshock torture and unethical medical experiments.
Will he escape incarceration and go Rambo on his captors' asses? Will he seek his way home? Does an illegal alien even stand a chance against a riled up redneck posse? Watch this harrowing prison drama to the end and find out!
You missed the best thing about this movie! It's Clint Eastwood's first film!
"Don't you think you're making a lot out of nothing? He's chained and you have the bull prod."
Buncha yanks out for blood go to the same foreign country to trash the place our hero from the first movie calls home. Dude's all chill, having a grand day until he spots the Americans. PTSD flashbacks, a classic thousand yard stare and some dynamite fishing later, he's abducted to a Florida black site where he is kept without trial or legal counsel and subjected to electroshock torture and unethical medical experiments.
Will he escape incarceration and go Rambo on his captors' asses? Will he seek his way home? Does an illegal alien even stand a chance against a riled up redneck posse? Watch this harrowing prison drama to the end and find out!
You missed the best thing about this movie! It's Clint Eastwood's first film!
I considered mentioning his appearance but opted against it because he blames the missing lab rat on the cat and when it turns out he was responsible all along, he doesn't even apologize to the innocent little fur ball.
I didn't want to mar my entirely evenhanded review of these movies by condemning the deep depths of human degeneracy that they occasionally feature all the time from start to finish without even the slightest respite ever.
"Don't you think you're making a lot out of nothing? He's chained and you have the bull prod."
Buncha yanks out for blood go to the same foreign country to trash the place our hero from the first movie calls home. Dude's all chill, having a grand day until he spots the Americans. PTSD flashbacks, a classic thousand yard stare and some dynamite fishing later, he's abducted to a Florida black site where he is kept without trial or legal counsel and subjected to electroshock torture and unethical medical experiments.
Will he escape incarceration and go Rambo on his captors' asses? Will he seek his way home? Does an illegal alien even stand a chance against a riled up redneck posse? Watch this harrowing prison drama to the end and find out!
You missed the best thing about this movie! It's Clint Eastwood's first film!
I considered mentioning his appearance but opted against it because he blames the missing lab rat on the cat and when it turns out he was responsible all along, he doesn't even apologize to the innocent little fur ball.
I didn't want to mar my entirely evenhanded review of these movies by condemning the deep depths of human degeneracy that they occasionally feature all the time from start to finish without even the slightest respite ever.
I always thought that it was interesting that Eastwood plays a villian for his first role.
Since I learned from Del Toro that the Creature is not the bad guy in these films.
You certainly need to take a very specific point of view to make out the gill man as the bad guy in the first two movies. By the third movie you'd be hard pressed even then.
Overwhelmingly he's the designated bad guy more than an actual bad guy.
M3gan is the eponymous killer doll of this campy ‘horror’ film, and the only one who stands a chance against her is Ronny Chieng. Comedically speaking. Those two made this movie. Hopefully the sequel will bring in an Al Madrigal, Desi Lydic or Wyatt Cenak to counterbalance her sass.
Fun movie. Not scary at all, but full of memorable lines and character actors.
The Triplets of Belleville
What if Studio Ghibli were unapologetically French?
This was the kind of weird and engrossing animation we were looking for. Yes, the first five minutes have something very un-PC during the introductory back-in-the-day flashback, but even with that the whole movie has a comfortable, warm, early Pixar feeling to it. I just wanted to spend a lot of time in the movie.
The animation is distinctive. The humor is sometimes pretty spicy. (All the Americans are corpulent, for example.) The music slaps. The backgrounds and set design are top notch. The storytelling is so well done that the film doesn’t need any dialogue. Watch it.
At the Door. The Strokes
A animated music video.
It’s mostly a pastiche of recognizable animated movies from yesteryear, but gorgeous. Better quality than the next most obvious music video animation. We really enjoyed watching this.
After this we started Daft Punk’s music video movie, Interstella 5555, but ran out of steam two songs after Harder Faster.
oh man, hadn't thought of the triplets of belleville in years
as a kid, i can remember seeing a trailer for it and then searching for what felt like ages before
i was able to get a copy, on vhs because it was the long long ago
I think it might have been the tape that eventually killed my old vcr also, now that i think about it
For my next trick, watching a bunch of Tigon films.
The Sorcerors, Curse of the Crimson Altar, The Haunted House of Horror, The Beast In The Cellar, Doomwatch, Witchfinder General andThe Blood on Satan’s Claw.
The Sorcerors, Curse of the Crimson Altar, The Haunted House of Horror, The Beast In The Cellar, Doomwatch, Witchfinder General andThe Blood on Satan’s Claw.
No one is making you do this to yourself.
…right? Slip a subtle Ghostbusters quote into your next post if you’re being held against your will.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
greenskin lynn wrote: oh man, hadn't thought of the triplets of belleville in years
as a kid, i can remember seeing a trailer for it and then searching for what felt like ages before
i was able to get a copy, on vhs because it was the long long ago
I think it might have been the tape that eventually killed my old vcr also, now that i think about it
I don’t just love Horror. I don’t just have a particular fondness for Folk Horror. I’m a nut for the history of it all. Hence I love my Hammer, Amicus and Tigon films. All pretty small and oddly successful until they, typically, very suddenly weren’t, British Studios.
I like seeing how people did a lot with not very much other than a smallish budget and Strict Censorship Rules.
To see the boundaries ever so subtly pushed ever further back. Extra “blood” here, even more gratuitous booby there. Just seeing transgressive elements be pushed and pushed and pushed with skill.
And because of the restrictions? We often wind up with something pretty interesting and creative. Not necessarily good. Art doesn’t need to be good to be interesting.
Unless it’s Art from Terrifier, which is an awful film series which really needs to learn some restraint and skill.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also. I’ve seen The Blood On Satan’s Claw before and it’s absolutely fantastic. Genuinely gripping and unsettling.
The film Disney doesn’t want you to see. No, the other one. The other, other one. The not racist one where no animals were killed.
I had read the books it was based on to my son years ago, but still remembered them enough to notice how lifeless and bland the movie seemed in comparison. Something about the animation and the voice acting felt cheaper and lazier than even The Sword and the Stone. It doesn’t help that the animation of the boy walking about felt like traced over footage from TSitS, which was traced over footage from The Jungle Book. And all the faces felt extremely formulaic for Disney of that era, like background character stock from old TV spots. Even the not-human Gurginwas just Short Mustachioed Character number 3 with some dog ears added.
The only real revelation was Gurgi’s voice, which sounded just like the LOTR movies’ Gollum….and also like the Glomer from Punky Brewster cartoon.
MDG, are there more than 24 hours available where you live? Are you stuck in the Heart of the TARDIS with the Mad Monk (I assume he's still in there)?
I wake up, run the dishwasher, sweep up, and throw some laundry in the machine and swoosh! Half the day vanishes into the great vortex that swallows time like Pac-Man on PCP.
How can you watch so many horror flicks in such little time? And paint 30k robots? And post on here... etc?
Please explain how you've copied the Time Stone and made it work for you.
As M3GAN was a fun mix of Robocop and Childsplay, the sequel is M3GAN mixed with shades of T2:JD and Metropolis, and what a jolly good experience it is too. Thumbs up.
As M3GAN was a fun mix of Robocop and Childsplay, the sequel is M3GAN mixed with shades of T2:JD and Metropolis, and what a jolly good experience it is too. Thumbs up.
We’re seeing this next week, so I’m glad for this positive review.
This was a pretty funny action comedy. It wasn’t on the same level as an Airplane! or even an Anchorman, but was consistently amusing. Mark Wahlberg and Will Farrell are both great at playing dysfunctional, unlikeable jerks. They’re also the least acab of all the police officers portrayed. The film would make for a good This Aged Great episode.
If you like comedies where the humor comes from each character being a different flavor of stupid bastard, check it out.
Is he even acting? Let alone portraying a distinct character?
I mean, that’s [my] joke. Him and Wahlberg both have this issue with their performances.
From people who knew him in real life, it sounds like he’s actually a good person in real life who just plays that one type in everything. Word on Mark Wahlberg in real life is….quite different.
He does nothing Bill Murray hasn’t done. Except Bill Murray is actually funny with it.
Kinda like Alan Carr and Julian Clarey. Except when Julian Clarey did it being a gay man was actually controversial. And Julian Clarey played it with charm.
I don't know that this is a show for me exactly, but I did find the premise hilarious. I rewatched the intro of the villains several times because it makes me laugh. "A demon boy band? What makes you think that will work?" Romantasy Demong King guy. If we can sell an entire genre of kinky fairy sex, demon boy band is completely marketable.
And i gotta say the heroines are all pretty likeable for just being quirky teenagers but to me their manager kind of steals every scene he is in.
It's a fun movie. It's not even my kind of movie at all but I still found myself enjoying it!
Done the trilogy in a oner, as it does work as a single extended story.
What’s impressive here is that whilst there is a template to these movies? They don’t feel like your standard “same again” sequels. Each has a ton of character development, and keeps the underlying formula pretty fresh.
It’s also kinda amusing that despite getting the girl, LaRusso can never keep them.
Done the trilogy in a oner, as it does work as a single extended story.
What’s impressive here is that whilst there is a template to these movies? They don’t feel like your standard “same again” sequels. Each has a ton of character development, and keeps the underlying formula pretty fresh.
It’s also kinda amusing that despite getting the girl, LaRusso can never keep them.
Really fun little trilogy.
I'd like to see your thoughts on the Hilary Swank Karate Kid flick.
This is a beautifully animated adventure story about a cat surviving a flash flood and making friends along the way. The animals are cute and behave like animals, with some exceptions as this is a Sci Fi or fantasy movie. The backgrounds are wonder inspiring. The animation style is soft edged and simply rendered and for some reason makes me think of Myst. My wife declared it “the cutest movie ever”.
Watch it.
Fantastic Four (2005)
The cheesy one that is fun and released.
It’s fun in a 2000’s superhero kind of way. The Commish and Captain America elevate the story. Doctor Doom feels more like the punchable douche trying to shut down a ski resort in an 80’s movie than a threatening villain, but that fit the tone of the film.
I hope the new movie coming out manages to be better.
Boris Karloff and Ian Ogilvy star in this low budget 1967 British horror/thriller.
Premise is an elderly professor/inventor and his wife use a cunning device on Ian Ogilvy, which let them feel what he feels, and control his actions. Only…the power gets too much for Mrs Professor, and she goes off the deep end wanting ever more thrills.
And it works. It really works. I think it could be taken as an allegory for drugs on the mind, as Ogilvy’s character becomes ever more unpredictable in behaviour, going from a suave, charming guy to a risk taking violent man. At least some of the time. I’ll be honest I might be reading things into it the writer didn’t intend, but it is still there.
If this was made today, I could see it going a bit torture prawn and overly shocking. But the stuff in this film (reckless driving, petty theft, getting into fights with his friend) start so innocuous, and then spiral.
It’s just really well made, and I think it could be described as a forgotten gem. Definitely, definitely give this a watch if you get the chance.
But I’m afraid that doesn’t mean it’s terribly good. It’s not bad though. Just pretty average, outside of the gorgeous visuals.
I'm going to need you to be a bit more specific. Silent era Nosferatu(1922), Klaus Kinski Nosferatu (1979), or Skaarsgard hanging dong Nosferatu(2024)?
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Curse of the Crimson Altar
Another Tigon offering from the Swinging Sixties. Good Gravy It’s Racy Mother! Drugs, booze, how’s your father, chips, dips, chains, whips.
The opening scene is really a bit much for a movie of such vintage, and took me entirely by surprise.
Stars Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff. Also Michael Gough as a Butler, a role he’d go on to play in Batman and Batman Returns.
Seems it wasn’t well reviewed when it first came out, but I’m greatly enjoying it. Which leaves part of me wondering if the contemporary reviews were extra sniffy because it’s quite racy for the era.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Witchfinder General
A notorious one from Tigon, and a horror classic. What’s particularly impressive is that it (entirely accurately) paints Matthew Hopkins as little more than an opportunistic, sadistic scam artist.
This was the film that kicked off my interest in the era of Witch Hunts, and eventually lead me to read Hopkins’ own book, which is a frankly laughable attempt at apologetics for his nonsense and scam.
Dracula vs Marvel - Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned. (1980)
Look. I had to gap-fill a Wild Warg Chieftain with milliput...and this randomly auto-played on Youtube. So it just happened, okay? Working with metal is a pain in the ass and I needed something in the background.
So yeah, ummm, Dracula visits Boston, whisks away a devil worshipper and they have a son, and there's this doberman who tracks down evil, and Satan is pissed with his loyal following...vampire hunters who are ****ing useless and they team up with the descendent of one of Draccy's love children and...its in Boston and other vamps are annoyed with playing second fiddle to him...God also has his own super hero, but that's giving too much away and its NOT who you think it is...sigh...
The silliness of Marvel mixed with the random antics of vintage anime...with fangs. I don't know how on god's green earth this ever became a thing but it is what it is and we have to deal with it.
So bad its fun and I might pop it on again at Halloween.
“We’ve already discussed the appropriateness of Steven Seagal as a role model!”
First of all, the “Slay Queen” guy from the trailer isn’t in the movie. Looks like a few things from the trailer didn’t go into the movie. The movie is only about as campy as the first movie, unless you include genre shifts and genre-appropriate plot over complexity as camp, or cheese. Also, there’s at least one punchable Musk stand in.
The film is less Terminator 2 than it is a Mission Impossible parody meets Fast 5 with a healthy dollop of Upgrade. It’s also very funny and a little shmaltzy in parts. There’s some getting-the-crew-together heist energy, a couple dressing-up-to-infiltrate-the-party scenes, the unnecessary-stunt scene, some sleight of hand, etc.. Ivanna Sakhno plays a good villain.
Never really thought about Mission Impossible as I only saw the first one back in the 90s, and that was it. Otherwise it was the classic TV show which was pretty good as I remember it.
Never really thought about Mission Impossible as I only saw the first one back in the 90s, and that was it. Otherwise it was the classic TV show which was pretty good as I remember it.
The overly-complex plot with a mcguffin, heist, dubious government agents and a double-cross feels like all spy thrillers these days. The totally pointless cliff jump gliding scene feels like a specific call out of the M:I franchise.
I bet they planned to use the old TV show theme if they could get the rights, just like they used the Knight Rider theme during the car chase.
But I’m afraid that doesn’t mean it’s terribly good. It’s not bad though. Just pretty average, outside of the gorgeous visuals.
I'm going to need you to be a bit more specific. Silent era Nosferatu(1922), Klaus Kinski Nosferatu (1979), or Skaarsgard hanging dong Nosferatu(2024)?
while the particular book title escapes me at the moment, i recall an urban fantasy story i read where they talked about the silent era movie
the vampire was real, and being in the movie was a big breaking of all the laws, but he was so old and powerful and frankly scared the piss out
of basically everyone so he never got called out on it
By all accounts the man who played the vampire, Max Schreck, had a fairly standard career as an actor in Germany during that time. He did theater tours and appeared in some early silent films that were part of the German Expressionism movement. Perhaps the book you are thinking of was the inspiration for Shadow of the Vampire (2001), which is a fictional retelling of the production of Nosferatu with John Malkovich playing the director F.W. Murnau and William Defoe as Max Schreck/Count Orloff. In the film Max Schreck is shown as a weird guy who believes he is a vampire, which is why Murnau hires him, and as the production goes on people involved in the production keep getting disappearing, and at the end it is discovered he actually is a vampire.
I feel bad for the prince.
