Last Film You Watched + Your Comments?

[Leatherface]

That's right, though I'd guess it was more a reaction to the censorship in the UK at the time rather than a stylistic decision...

RE: KILL LIST... don't get me started on that one, Leatherface! Anyone that doesn't have a problem with how that film turns out is too easily pleased by piss-poor narrative, IMO. There seems to be two schools of thought on this: those that seem to think the fact that it doesn't really make sense as a film means it must be like, DEEP. And those like me who really feel that the film-makers got two-thirds of the way into the script and didn't really know how to end it, so just made it up as they went along. For the record: no, it wasn't a surprise that KILL LIST ended up playing out a sub-WICKER MAN situation (very badly). The real surprise was how shoddy a way they threw out character motivation and narrative sense in order to get there.

If it was TRULY a clever film, you'd watch it the second time and all the signposts would be there in order to justify the ending. But they aren't in a true sense, simply squeezed into the meandering plot in order to provide some semblance of completion. It's a lazy script seemingly eaten up by even lazier movie goers quite happy to mistake haphazard writing for profundity.

Thanks, Dave. I agree with what you said. It pisses me off so much because there are so many things I love about the film - but it's just another case of a solid two thirds of a movie completely undone by a truly ludicruous and nonsensical finale that feels forced in and inappropriate.

I mean, if that was the ending, what was the whole point of having him do the whole 'kill list' in the first place? What WAS the significance of the priest thanking Jay before he killed him? What WAS the meaning of what the child pornographer said to him just before HE died? These are questions that are just so bloody annoying because there is really no answer at all - and like you say, that's not because the maker(s) were being sly and smart and 'all the answers are there, you just have to look' - no; it's that they had no fucking idea. Goddamn it.

[jockfun28]

Escape From LA- Not John Carpenter's or Kurt Russell's finest hour or two, however compared to most unimaginitive sequel's you could do worse, cheese is smeared all over the screen & it certainly lack's the seriousness of it's earlier counterpart but as throwaway popcorn entertainment, it is pretty hard to beat nice continuity of having Jamie Lee Curtis as the Narrator/Continuity & AJ Langer is just a pretty dreadful actress who dosent know the meaning of emotion & pretty much ruins the entire thing, which is probably why the film gets such a bad rap, she is certainly no subsitute for Adrienne Barbeau & it is always a pleasure to see Pam Grier playing a Transexual

[Dave Jay]

Gord bless ya, Leatherface - also, if you want a shit-hot assassin to end up in the situation you expect him to end up in, would you a) choose someone who kills quietly and cleanly, or b) someone who kills victims in their kitchen as they scream at the top of their voice - surely inviting the police - and also randomly kills people who were not even on the list in the first place?

Or maybe the voodoo-hoodoo sect knew that he would react like this beforehand? But, even if that's the case, why would they want him to start randomly shooting as many people from their group as possible, as happens in the climax, just for the sake of killing his wife? It just doesn't make any frickin' SENSE!

[Leatherface]

I feel your pain, Dave. It was only when you responded to my initial post that I realised how pissed off I am with this film. Damn - I want to like it so much.

[Dave Jay]

Lots of things to admire: great performances, good, tense direction (initially)... but it's ultimately an empty exercise, which I wouldn't mind were there not so many people on the 'net currently claiming it to be some kind of puzzle to be solved by those intelligent enough to solve it.

But there there is no puzzle. It's just fucking nonsense.

[Leatherface]

Empty exercise pretty much covers it, indeed. Such a shame.

[thehamish]

Watched The Grey. more or less a horror film in all but name, the best "man-against-nature" scenario i've seen for a while, some nice moments only let down by a formulaic approach towards the end.

[jockfun28]

Star Wars Episode's 1, 2, 3 & 4 on Blu, well treated myself for my Bday these as well as Jurassic Park Trilogy, well what can i say, the prequel trilogy looked & sounded amazing, of course they still have there faults but was pretty blown away by them. Blu brought out something in the colour schemes that wasnt there in the original DVD release & the Digital Yoda in Part 1 fit in nicely with the rest of the series, Part 4 i doubt it has ever looked as good found the 6.1 soundtrack to be a lot stronger anyway only 2 more left to go, worth the moeny if you can spare it

[Dave Jay]

GOTHIC - another in my long line of 'films I should have seen by now but didn't 'coz there always seemed something better to watch', I finally got round to viewing Ken Russell's much-maligned literary chiller via MGM's UK DVD release tonight. Hmm, well... I've got to confess that the first half-hour of this film is almost comically bad in places, particularly with regard to the clunky dialogue that the leads are forced to spout (Byron & Shelley were literary geniuses; needless to to say, GOTHIC's scriptwriter was not) and, to top it off, Russell encouraged such OTT performances from his cast that it often comes across as local am-dram (of course, Julian Sands ALWAYS comes across a bit local am-dram, but still...).

Yet the film becomes far more watchable as it settles down and Ken Russell's visuals are given room to shine. Nevertheless, I couldn't shake the feeling that Russell was kinda caught between wanting to 'do his thing' in unshackled fashion while also being expected by his backers to provide some kind of commercial product. This didn't stop the likes of ALTERED STATES still hitting all the right notes, but GOTHIC is a film about madness that never seems quite mad or extreme enough.

So GOTHIC is not top-shelf Ken Russell. But, perversely, I ended up quite liking it, even with its awful, clunky, modern-day coda. After all, Russell is now dead and gone, yet throughout much of GOTHIC you can almost feel the ghost of our Ken stood behind the camera, sardonically chuckling to himself as he sets upon yet another over-the-top, censor-baiting set-piece.

[thehamish]

GOTHIC - another in my long line of 'films I should have seen by now but didn't 'coz there always seemed something better to watch', I finally got round to viewing Ken Russell's much-maligned literary chiller via MGM's UK DVD release tonight. Hmm, well... I've got to confess that the first half-hour of this film is almost comically bad in places, particularly with regard to the clunky dialogue that the leads are forced to spout (Byron & Shelley were literary geniuses; needless to to say, GOTHIC's scriptwriter was not) and, to top it off, Russell encouraged such OTT performances from his cast that it often comes across as local am-dram (of course, Julian Sands ALWAYS comes across a bit local am-dram, but still...).

Yet the film becomes far more watchable as it settles down and Ken Russell's visuals are given room to shine. Nevertheless, I couldn't shake the feeling that Russell was kinda caught between wanting to 'do his thing' in unshackled fashion while also being expected by his backers to provide some kind of commercial product. This didn't stop the likes of ALTERED STATES still hitting all the right notes, but GOTHIC is a film about madness that never seems quite mad or extreme enough.

So GOTHIC is not top-shelf Ken Russell. But, perversely, I ended up quite liking it, even with its awful, clunky, modern-day coda. After all, Russell is now dead and gone, yet throughout much of GOTHIC you can almost feel the ghost of our Ken stood behind the camera, sardonically chuckling to himself as he sets upon yet another over-the-top, censor-baiting set-piece.

True true....it's a sad shame that whilst trumpeting certain kinds of "british" cinema (god awful period and historical event films) especially during thatcher's realm, our true talents were marginalised and frowned upon. ok, Gothic is no masterpiece, but it bears repeated viewing if only for the fact that it isnt She''ll Be Wearing Pink Pajamas.....

[Dave Jay]

She''ll Be Wearing Pink Pajamas! Christ, I'd forgotten about that old tosh.

Quick one tonight: a couple of years ago I went on an Italian crime film spree and was loving it (THE BIG RACKET, VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS, that sort of thing... and my own fave THE CYNIC, THE RAT & THE FIST which doesn't get mentioned as often but which I thought was an absolute cracker), but somehow got waylaid. Well, I finally got round to seeing CALIBER 9 tonight and it completely knocked me out, so I'm back on track: both ALMOST HUMAN and the Fernando di Leo Collection are top of my list for next month's buys...

[Sgt Sunshine]

Roberto Rossellini's "Roma Citta Aperta" (Rome open city).
First part of his War Trilogy and released a mere 5 months after the end of the war.....
I've no idea why they don't release all 3 as a Region 2 box-set....there is a Region 1 one.

Here's Maria Michi who makes her first film appearance here....



Cheers
Sgt S

[Kel E]

I've always been curious to see Haunted Summer, the other movie about the writing of Frankenstein from around the same time. Never hear anything about it so maybe its kind of lame...

Watched Zulu and Zulu Dawn.
Films I had heard of but never in such emphasis that it made me curious to watch. Zulu had some novelties--like Neil McCarthy "Calibos" from Clash of the Titans and Nigel Green in a fairly prominent supporting role--and some suspenseful "the natives are restless tonight" moments.

Zulu Dawn was faster paced, and the scenes of zulus swarming over fields was pretty scary for this whitey! I sure wouldnt want to be in front of them.

[Leatherface]

Black Swan - One I had been meaning to get around to watching for a while. Given the experience I was expecting, I felt somewhat underwhelmed and a little disappointed. Portman is excellent at conveying both aspects of her character however, and some of the 'body horror' elements were interestingly Cronenbergian.

[Dave Jay]

Just finished watching CORMAN'S WORLD - overall I thought it was great, but had a few issues with it:

The big thrill for me was hearing Jack Nicholson talk at length about his pre-EASY RIDER exploitation career, something I've never heard him do before. For once, Julie Corman and Gene Corman were given their due and Scorsese was also eloquent as ever, but then he has never really denied his roots and always took an interest in the b-movie world even as his career went stellar (I have an old Fangoria from 1982 where he personally pays tribute to David Cronenberg as being a director who deserved more respect than he was getting at that point in his career). Overall, it looks like they got just about everyone that mattered to appear apart from Coppolla and Cameron, which probably tells you more about them as people than it does about the doc itself.

But it plays a little fast and loose with the facts - it states more than once that Corman never made the jump to working for the majors as his proteges had done, which isn't exactly true. He made a few films for the majors in the late sixties and early '70s and produced a few more in the mid-'70s, but none of them made much impression and his biggest budgeted movie, VON RICHTOFEN AND BROWN, was a massive flop. His experience with the majors was probably similar to Russ Meyers' - they were both square pegs trying to fit in a round hole.

And then there is this theory that keeps getting repeated over the past few years: that JAWS and STAR WARS alone somehow killed off the theatrical b-movie business. Sorry, but I really don't think that this was felt to be the case at the time - it's just one of those things that, through repetition, has become movie lore over the past 5 years or so. Post-STAR WARS, New World and Millennium (Corman's first post-New World outfit) probably had its most fertile period and the (relative) hits kept coming, both financially and/or critically: PIRANHA, ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, SHOGUN ASSASSIN, HUMANOIDS, GALAXY OF TERROR, SAINT JACK, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, FORBIDDEN WORLD, SUBURBIA, LOVE LETTERS... and tacky, z-grade space opera though it may be, STARCRASH was one of the biggest financial hits of Corman's career. Yet most of these movies don't even warrant a mention in CORMAN'S WORLD.

In truth, Corman just got a little left behind: look at HALLOWEEN, which hit big a year after STAR WARS - costing only $500,000 yet doing five times the amount at the box-office that even the most successful New World pic could ever expect to do. And b-movies continued to be considered a theatrical concern up until around '86-'87. Sure, Corman, AIP and Avco-Embassy may have given up the ghost early but the likes of Empire, Cannon, Crown, Atlantic, DEG and others all managed to carve out some kind of niche in the theatrical market during the 1980s.

And JAWS and STAR WARS themselves were far from unprecedented, as the majors had always released what could only be seen as b-movies writ large: from THEM! in the '50s through to THE TOWERING INFERNO just prior to the release of JAWS in the '70s. But what the majors would never try to compete with (at least initially) was the rampantly non-PC, bad taste element in exploitation movies that gave them such cache amongst the young. In that regard, I'd say that the likes of ANIMAL HOUSE, PORKY'S and Paramount hitting big with FRIDAY THE 13TH would have put the fear of God into your average b-list producer much more than STAR WARS, which was a high-end product that was near-impossible to directly compete with.

But primarily, it was the fact that, in the mid-to-late '80s, the US majors then bought up damn-near all of the means of theatrical distribution. Pair this with the years of video home entertainment that had, of course, eaten in to the grindhouse and drive-in circuits, and add the fact that many 1980s b-movie companies had gotten a little too big for their boots and over-extended their growth, now finding themselves unable to repay their debts, and you have a far more believable reason for the REAL collapse of the theatrical b-movie market by 1988 (this, by the way, being a full 13 years after JAWS' original release). Post-'88, direct-to-video and/or some kind of alignment with a major studio was pretty much the only way to survive through to the 1990s, which is why the '90s proved to be such a tedious decade for exploitation fans.

Lastly, I didn't much like being constantly reminded of DINOSHARK and other shitty Sci-Fi channel movies, which in CORMAN'S WORLD are depicted as carrying on a grand old tradition, when any true b-movie fan knows that they are part of the problem with today's indie scene: bland, generic product thrown together with little care and near-contempt for their intended audience - the polar opposite of New World when it was firing on all cylinders.

But, all of that aside, the final 15 minutes of CORMAN'S WORLD was surprisingly moving, with Roger accepting his honorary Oscar and Nicholson welling up during interview, saying, "Sorry, but talking about the old times makes me so sentimental..." For this alone I thought that CORMAN'S WORLD was, overall, an absolute charmer. Recommended.

Sorry to ramble on!

[Kel E]

Oh boy I want to see that documentary-especially for the Nicholson stuff I had heard about. I know he appeared at a convention in the early 90s (promoting that werewolf movie he did) and jumped into recollections about the old days (covered in fangoria). I think that theory about the decline of the B movie makes more sense that the Star Wars killed it off theory. I'd guess that the profits of Jaws and Star Wars got big corporations interested in buying the studios and that eventually led to the sorry state of today.

On a related note I watched Superman the Movie the other day--the first film I saw in a theater (drive ins were my previous filmgoing venue) which to me stands as the moment when the major studios took a stab at putting all their resources into a spfx heavy film much like Star Wars but with more class I thought. This film could have been a total disaster and they got lucky once Donner was brought in. I think Superman is the best of the superhero movies--it had an all-star cast and despite the heavy comical moments with Hackman it treated the Superman character completely seriously. Absolute genius to have a pimp be the first to see Superman in his costume.

Given the amount of press Lucas and Spielberg were getting in the late 70s and 80s(everything was compared to Star Wars or Raiders and dismissed for coming up short) its interesting how some of these films can be re-assessed today. Dragonslayer was called a star wars wannabe and Clash of the Titans was deemed too old fashion--but I find myself reserving higher praise for them than either Star Wars or Raiders which wears thin in the dramatics after a few decades.

Also caught Capricorn One after a spell. Never hear much about this but its actually a pretty decent action flick with some nice visual moments (the menacing helicopters, the cropduster chase which i think must have been an influence on the asteroid sequence in Empire Strikes Back since they copy some of the shot angles, and the great ending with Brolin crashing his own funeral). Telly Savalas was supposed to cameo in Superman at one point but better that he was in this.

[Dave Jay]

Yeah, I mean of course STAR WARS and JAWS were game-changers in the way that they created the 'event' movie and ultimately led to major studios betting everything against a big opening weekend rather then allowing a film to travel around the country, picking up word of mouth state-by-state as it went (so not a positive change, then). But in CORMAN'S WORLD, the film pretty much finishes in 1977, as if to say, "Yep, that was it, nothing happened after STAR WARS."

It wouldn't have hurt to have had another 10 minutes added to at least bring things up to 1983, when Corman sold New World (and for a shit-load of money, it must be said, as the company was still an attractive going concern). Instead, the doc strangely hints that Corman simply moved into making slasher movies in order to survive through the '80s - which, SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE aside, we know not to be the case.

[TheRoadWarrior]

@Kel E -

I watched Capricorn One recently having thought about on and off for a while, you know, the way you get that urge to revisit a film because you think it has a lot more to it or might have something to say?

I enjoyed scenes like use of the flares and the attendant sense of doom once each man is caught and effectively snuffed out. Chilling.

I'm surprised they haven't remade it as the story lends itself imo to an update in these cash-strapped times, but as a remake (like many, I'm generally not a fan of the process....) they'd probably ruin it.

@DaveJ -

It's strange how cinema history runs. I nearly bidded on the original script for Damnation Alley, the 1977 film which was supposed to be the big hit of that year.

Star Wars being made in the wings and not tipped to do well.

The original script to DA was found in a box of Roger Zelazny's papers, Zelazny was happy enough with the first script but in subsequent rewrites the story/film was changed significantly and he only got to know about it when he sat down and watched the cinema release of the film and was shocked.

It's a curious film and has something of a cult following now. The music by Jerry Goldsmith is eerie as hell and powerful. Some of the effects hold up well, especially the strnage skies after the war and I liked Murray Hamilton's Base Commander role, he doesn't say much, is only in the film briefly but watch his face as the nukes come over the pole - perhaps the best acting in the entire film.

After that opening sequence Jan Michael Vincent's antics seem too much like light frolicking around in the post-apoc world as he plays around on his motorbike avoiding giant scorpians. Everything in the world has mutated of course and is dangerous and wants to eat you after the radiation has settled. You get the impression we're supposed to be shocked by this but it's such a cliche, even back then and given too much attention.

The standard character conflict with George Peppard is set up as fairly cliched stuff but it's still got something as a film besides.... and the battle-bus is interesting and a set-pice in itself.

I understand it was restored a few years ago and is driven around the States to various shows.

A dvd has recently been released for Damnation Alley, look out for the cockroaches scene and those skies!


nb-
The Novel-
Damnation Alley as a novel is still very readable: Hell Tanner, last of the biker angels and a character who doesn't seem to have many redeeming qualities outside of his toughness learns about himself and humanity on the road. He must run the gauntlet of the Alley, a stretch across the USA which is the only way through a hostile-as-hell landscape. Tanner as a ormer smuggler/outlaw who hate authority, he's chosen as the man for the job which is to drive through hell to Albany to deliver medical supplies to plague victims. He's the only one who's been deep into the interior and returned alive.

Some of the visuals in the novel have definitely stood the test of time and hook you in but in contrast the film got into trouble with its sfx and this is a shame.

Much of the 60s New Wave writing has dated but on the whole it's a much better story and far more cynical and hard-edged than the film. The skies and blasted landscape are all in there and apart from the mutant it rains huge rocks. Thre are stand-out scenes such as the use of the battle-buses flame-throwers to blast through miles of brush creating an enormous wildfire but given what the planet has suffered already, it's enough to make a latter-day environmentalist shudder.

And then there's the monitors on the bus (there's no windscreen to see outside folks, just a screen!) so naviagation is a strange replication of reality outside of the bus with blind spots ledning it the 'unreality' of a video game.

The novel is short and only takes a day or so to read, don't be fooled by its rough edges.

Apologies for the long post. I was getting carried away.

[thehamish]

no need to apologise from this end chief, it's always good to hear people's well though out opinions on their favourite subjects. Been quite busy over the weekend, so fasten yer seatbelts!!
Predators...fucking loathed the beginning of this, Brody being the chief object of hate, but then i realised tis just a comic strip writ large, so enjoyed it more, far better "looking" Preds than in previous incarnations (barring the original...) but not something i'l watch again in a hurry. 7/10.

Arena...was great to see a pre Babylon 5 Claudia Christian in this, but apart fae that, pass! Was never really a fan of Band's work and this has born out over these last few years of rewatching though i did dig....

Doctor Mordrid as i'l watch anything with J Coombs in it (yes, im a Castle Freak fan) 7/10, even if it was all a bit "cardboardy" hem hem.

Abominable Dr Phibes/Dr Phibes Rises Again...loved both of these, due to the casts (John Thaw ripped apart by an eagle!) and Brian Eatwell's beautiful set designs!! had never seen the sequel, as unfairly i had let reviews colour my judgement, sod that. Will easily watch these again 10/10 overall.

The Haunted Palace now having seen The Dunwich Horror, i wasn't expecting a wholesale Lovecraft story from Corman, but SHEEEESH, a Poe tale in all but name, helped by some great lighting and use of the widescreen format AND great to see Lon Chaney Jr in colour though. 6/10.

Dr Goldfoot & The Bikini Machine...Lawdy! So camp it made the '66 Batman film look like an Abel Ferrara film, am dying to see the other one now, loved the relationship between Goldfoot and his Igor, though Price did look quite ill at ease during some of it, i felt. 6/10.

I Saw The Devil....this time saw the Korean print, still a powerful piece of cinema, positing as it does that revenge is at best a poisoned chalice, still RECOMMENDED. 9/10.

Angst...loved this nice little film from 83, great sound design, and would make a great double bill with Silence Of The Lame i feel haha.

Funky Forest - First Contact....truly indescriblable in a way only the japanese can get away with, this revolves around a set of vignettes in a spa resort, high school, and a dj's flat culminating in a really odd musical "number" in a...you guessed it, forest! contains one truly wacky sequence in the high school segment, some one is a burroughs/cronenberg fan methinks!! 8/10.

Phew. thats enough for today, more to come!!

[drterror666]

Abominable Dr Phibes/Dr Phibes Rises Again...loved both of these, due to the casts (John Thaw ripped apart by an eagle!) and Brian Eatwell's beautiful set designs!! had never seen the sequel, as unfairly i had let reviews colour my judgement, sod that. Will easily watch these again 10/10 overall.

These two films are absolute classics! The finale to the second film is just what I wanted to see happen. Anyone who slags these films to ANY degree should be put inside a giant accordion and crushed!!!