What Have You Been Watching? (no sports or politics!)

[claire]

Lair Of The White Worm- Finally managed to get hold of the pioneer disc! Tremendous fun whatever way you look at it, wish mad uncle Ken was still bashing them out ! The commentary is fantasticaly funny.

Look out for a horror anthology called Trapped Ashes. He is indeed still "bashing them out" - the episode he directs sounds particularly insane!

[Vesuvius]

Just watched Lars and the Real Girl (again). This time on the R1 dvd.

Still love it.

[Angela]

I Am Legend and you'd have to be to sit through this borefest. Like watching a Sci-Fi Channel movie - but made with lots of money.

[Grant]

100 Rifles (Tom Gries 1969)

'They're all the ammo they need!'

A US sheriff named Lyedecker (Jim Brown) comes to Mexico to arrest Yaqui Joe (Burt Reynolds) for robbery but along with Joe's friend Sarita (Raquel Welch) they get mixed up with an Indian revolution against the Mexicans...

Running in at 110 minutes it may have benefited from some editing but nevertheless there are more than enough good points to keep things ticking over. It was filmed in Almeria so has a spaghetti feel and it has a wonderful scene of Welch in a wet shirt under a water tower.
The action sequences are filmed well and the train attack and subsequent scenes are in particular well done. Set sometime near the end of the 19th century the appearance of cars and machine guns, as well as the political murders suggest similar trappings to 'The Wild Bunch' and 'A fistful of dynamite' but are only used as decorum really.
Soledad Miranda appears briefly and very beautiful she was too. At the end of the day though Welch steals the film for both acting and for looking damn good.

TRIVIA: apparently Welch couldn't stand Reynolds as he'd made a derogatory comment to her previously so many of their scenes feature stand-ins.

[mrb]

The Viking Queen.

This film confused me. So, vikings where druids? The vikings came over and where druids? I thought the druids where like Britons, or Celts or something? The Romans have a lot to answer for, that's straight.

The bestest bit was where The Viking Queen fell off her chariot into the water and the Roman Governor had to scoop her out and f*ck her.

3 out of 5

[bladesew]

The Viking Queen.

The Romans have a lot to answer for, that's straight.

Glad something is. We're where we were.

[CJ34]

1408 - Not a bad little movie and John Cusack does admirably in pulling off what is basically a one-man-show. It gets a bit silly at times, but it's definitely worth a watch. King wrote this, so it certainly has shades of The Shining in there.

Fracture - Passable thriller with Anthony Hopkins playing a man who has shot his wife and thinks he's clever enough to get away with it. Some original ideas, but the ending has been done before, so the twist wasn't all that unexpected. Not bad, could've been better.

Sherlock Holmes in The Woman in Green - Holmes is once again on the trail of a brutal killer, which quickly is revealed that it's Professor Moriarty (not a spoiler really, as it's revealed very early on - what I'm not revealing is the methodology of the crimes, that really would be a spoiler!). This time it's an elaborate blackmail plot with plenty of gruesome proceedings. Excellent.

[Grant]

Born Innocent (Donald Wrye 1974)

'A Young Girl Behind Bars... The Pain. The Abuse. The Revenge.'

A 14 year old runaway (Linda Blair) is sent to a home when her parents relinquish the responsibility for her to the state...

Deemed controversial at the time, nowadays the most controversial thing would probably be all the teenagers smoking fags. Still, its an engaging enough story of how a good kid having problems is sent to a home where she is taught a few hard knocks and eventually emerges as streetwise and tough as the rest of them. This is the uncut version and it must certainly have been a bit of a shocker back in 1974. The sentimental score spoils it a bit, but its downbeat and as unflinching as a tv movie of the time could be with scenes of self harm and the shower room rape. Blair is pretty good in an early role.

[roddmatsui]

Mystery Men (1999) -- Finally sat down and watched the whole thing, then watched it again. I like this movie!

[Vaughan]

One of my favorites. I've watched it many many times, and it's often on the verge of another spin.

The more youw atch it, the more rewarding it is. Good call!

[SicCoyote]

Guy X

I wondered why I hadn't heard of this going by the quotes on the box from all the magazines and newspapers
"Comic Genius" Esquire
"Terrific ****" Empire
"Smart Comedy" The Sun
Thoroughly Entertaining" Daily Star

I'm wondering how much cocaine they gave to the press at the screening of this.

It's a film which looked like it was trying to be quirky and weird, notice, trying, it isn't. Many of the characters don't make much sense, you don't feel the dialogue that they are saying is actually coming from their heads. But that's only one aspect that's poor about this film, it's very boring and not much really happens, I guess that could be a theme they were going for with it being a base out in Greenland in the middle of no-where, but it doesn't make for an interesting viewing experience. Everything about this film is drab slow and uninteresting, the only thing that makes it at all bareable is meat of the film the actual Guy X, played by Michael Ironside, but he doesn't really do much or say much either. You can see parts where they are trying to be funny but they just aren't

I gave this one a 4 because toward the end it does get a bit better but really there's no point to this movie and you aren't missing out on anything by not seeing it. Hell I'll give it,
3/10

[Gattaca]

Waking Up in Reno

A fun watch with Billy Bob Thornton,Patrick Swayze,Natasha Richardson and the gorgeous Charlize Theron.

[barrens]

I really like the film Walk Hard right now. I saw it the other night and really thought it was hilarious. Loved when the Beatles made an appearance... Lennon was spot on! Has anybody else seen it yet?? Either way, here is the trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlOAHoW-RBI

[Rissos]

Mystery Men (1999) -- Finally sat down and watched the whole thing, then watched it again. I like this movie!

It's great, but I haven't watched it in years. William H. Macy as usual is the best thing in it.

[H P Saucecraft]

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms - Harryhausen, 50s monster film, what more do you need? I don't know what took me so long. The film looks great, as does the giant rhedosaurus. Haven't watched the docs yet, but seen the trailers, I think I need The Black Scorpion & Valley of Gwangi. Oh and Clash Of The Titans

[Grant]

Gotta watch Black Scorpion Dave I love that one! 'Mystery Men' is great fun picked it up a while back for my kids and ended up loving it myself.

As for the Reno and Guy X films mentioned. Meh!

[CJ34]

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms - Harryhausen, 50s monster film, what more do you need? I don't know what took me so long. The film looks great, as does the giant rhedosaurus. Haven't watched the docs yet, but seen the trailers, I think I need The Black Scorpion & Valley of Gwangi. Oh and Clash Of The Titans

Great - I've got this out to watch it over the next day-or-two. Not seen it in years, looking forward to revisiting it.

Last night I watched Vacancy which I found to be a rather troubling and disturbing movie. I really wasn't expecting as dark a tone as this - not from a Hollywood movie. Not as extreme as some of the stuff we watch, but this came closer to capturing the tone of 'evil-for-pleasure' far better than the likes of Roth's Hostel. It's a bit weak towards the end, but the first half is superb. I'd definitely recommend checking this out. Far better than I expected.

[jacksmith1983]

Clash Of The Titans is one of the films that really opened my eyes to the cinema as a youngster. Having revisited it a short while back I have to say it has not aged well although it is still fun in the nostalgic sense and Harryhausen's monsters are still glorious.

[christats]

30 days of Night.A derivative bore-fest.
The Ratman,I'm not sure what to think.
Sole Survivor,great disc of a slow burner.Good to see Code Red again.


Edit....in reference to Clash of the Titans,it is a body double is it.?
(I still love that film.One of my first at the cinema.)

[Gattaca]

Last night I watched Vacancy which I found to be a rather troubling and disturbing movie. I really wasn't expecting as dark a tone as this - not from a Hollywood movie. Not as extreme as some of the stuff we watch, but this came closer to capturing the tone of 'evil-for-pleasure' far better than the likes of Roth's Hostel It's a bit weak towards the end, but the first half is superb. I'd definitely recommend checking this out. Far better than I expected.

Yeah another fan of this film

I watched this some time ago in a very dark room and the scene with the banging on the door and then that telephone ringing well the telephone ringing part happened just after that scene for real and frightened the s**t out of me

It was my partner ringing me to ask if I was enjoying the film LOL

(she is not a fan of Kate Beckinsale and knows that I am hehehehehe )

I think she rang me on purpose.