I like Nero’s voice. Very distinct.
Few interesting new euro flicks I have seen recently:
La isla minima/Marshland 2014
Spanish whodunnit thriller that aims at atmospheres of Memories of a Murder and True Detective. Backdrop of post-Franco Spain is interesting, but in the end it’s just the variation of the seen-it-many-times-before theme (but for the fans of the genre like myself it’s still good).
La French/The Connection 2014
Old-school french crime saga set in 70s Marseille. The title (French or English, or especially when you connect them) pays obvious tribute to Friedkin’s classic. It suffers from the main problem as above mentioned movie. But Jean Dujardin IS a star.
Ich seh, Ich seh/Goodnight Mommy 2014
Austrian horror. It is horror. Really tense in in the first part, really traumatic in the second. There will be an English language remake, it’s inevitable.
And the one that deserves a special mention:
I didn’t blink for the entire movie.
Because it did happen, in Europe, just yesterday.
Words cannot do it justice, one of those movies everybody should see and later think about it on their own.
[size=10pt]Go tell the spartans - Ted Post - 1978[/size]
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Been on holidays and had the time to watched a few things, and actually was a film that I’ve already seen was the most pleaseant one.
Burt Lancaster maybe a bit old for the part, but he’s great in this film, and he’s never been aa favorite of mine, and it’s strange to see an actor like Marc Singer in such a dramatic role.
The film is pretty basic and straighforward, but works very well as a character study one full of clichés that somehow don’t look simplistic.
It’s also an interesting movie in the category of the Vietnam war and a very unique one in that categorization, more low profile than films like Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter, Go tell the Spartans is nevertheless a well made film, that tells a good story with, some nice dialogues taking the best of the cast.
A good film to watch, one of Ted Post best
A film that just gets better and better for me, mainly due to the character of Lancaster
I like it better than some of the so-called ‘great’ movies about the Vietnam war like Apocalypse Now or Platoon
Yes, I think Lancaster was a bit old for the role, but then again, that’s the movies. In horror movies teens are often closer to thirty than twenty.
[size=12pt]THE KILLING FIELD (2014)[/size]
No, not the movie from 1984 about the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge, but a mystery-thriller-drama from Australia, originally made for TV but released theatrically in some countries (because it was thought to be too eerie for the small screen). It also led to a spin-off TV-series Winter (1 season, 6 episodes so far)
The story is set in a fictional small country town (called Minagra) and the script is fictional as well, but according to some there were rather painful similarities to a real-life incident, in casu the murder of Michelle Bright in 1999. The story is as follows: in Minagra the dissappearance of a young girl leads to a large scale search party. The body of the girl is not found, but the search dogs come up with four other bodies, of girls that had gone missing over the years. There must be a serial killer on the loose and because the case proves too big for the local authorities, two experienced detectives are flown in.
The Killing Field divided audiences, not only because of these similarities to a real-life murder case, but also because of the way things are handled: the movie is quite slow, especially when compared to those ultra-hip and nervously written CSI series set in Las Vega, New York, Miami or in Space. But the four detectives (the two aces and two locals) make a great team and the depiction of this small community under terror is great.
The movie is available on You Tube (- YouTube). Image quality isn’t great (lots of macro blocking during the night scenes) but it’s watchable
[size=12pt] PROM NIGHT (1980)[/size]
A slasher movie, influenced by CARRIE (1976, Brian De Palma) and HALLOWEEN (1978, John Carpenter), but infused by the idea of a group teenagers whose involvement in a tragic event as children comes back to haunt them, an idea that would become very popular in the years to come.
A 10-year old girl, Robin Hammond, is bullied by her classmates (all one year older) and is accidently killed in a hide-and-seek game called ‘the killer’s gonna get ya’. Six years later, on prom night, a masked avenger starts stalking the bullies, eliminating them one by one (I know what you did Six Years ago). Is it the young man who was blamed for the crime and recently escaped from the clinic he was sent to? Or is somebody else taking revenge in Robin’s name?
Cheap but well-made shocker, remarkably restrained for a movie in this subgenre, with only some slasher action in the last thirty minutes (but including a rather gross beheading). Everybody’s favorite scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role from Halloween. The film was barely released theatrically but became a surprise hit in the drive-in circuit and a popular item in the early days of VHS. The recent movie with the same name (2008, Nelson McCormick) is said to be a remake in name only.
I’m a fan of movies about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for reasons that don’t bear scrutiny So, when the chance to see one of the examples of this sub-genre of western appears I generally grab the opportunity and that is how I recently caught the Alan Ladd film SASKATCHEWAN (1954). I’d love to report that it’s a great little adventure film with lots to offer the casual fan but unfortunately its only an OK film with some interest for cinefiles and fans of films featuring the RCMP. The movie is better known under the title ‘O’Rourke of the Royal Mounted’ according to the IMDb and that would be a better, more descriptive name for this tale.
This may be sacrilegious among film nuts to admit but I’ve never been very much a fan of Alan Ladd. I’ve liked him in a few roles (THIS GUN FOR HIRE, SHANE) but most of the time he seems out of his element or bored with the entire affair. Here he seems to at least be a willing participant but I still found myself wishing he would try to emote just a little bit more. Too often the connection we are supposed to feel to the character he’s playing is muted because he isn’t giving the dialog enough depth or power. The rest of the cast is pretty good with J. Carroll Naish as a trapper giving us a nice French-Canadian accent and Shelly Winters doing a very good job as the eventually romantic interest. The story is nothing new or fresh but the action is well staged and the film’s pace is swift enough to please western fans looking for something a little different. One of the best things about the movie is the fantastic location shooting in Alberta’s Banff National Park. The near constant shots of the gorgeous landscape with its trees, creeks and mountains make me long for a Hi-Def version of the picture. I watched this from a broadcast on Encore’s Western channel and I’m glad they showed it but their print it only in standard definition. This is a movie that would benefit from a high end digital restoration that could turn it into more of the spectacle that I’m sure the producers originally intended. The colors are certainly there even in this presentation and I get chills thinking about how amazing the sights in this movie would look in 1080p.
I’m not a great fan of Alan Ladd either. He’s okay in Shane, but imo that movie belongs to Jack Palance and his gloves and smile.
About Saskatchewan: Haven’t seen it in a while, and I have forgotten what it’s about, but I remember that I didn’t think very highly of it. A beautifully looking, but otherwise not too interesting movie. And to know that I’m a fan of the director, Raoul Walsh
Know what you mean. These two movies are good but still overated for me.
[quote=“scherpschutter, post:12371, topic:1923”]I’m not a great fan of Alan Ladd either. He’s okay in Shane, but imo that movie belongs to Jack Palance and his gloves and smile.
About Saskatchewan: Haven’t seen it in a while, and I have forgotten what it’s about, but I remember that I didn’t think very highly of it. A beautifully looking, but otherwise not too interesting movie. And to know that I’m a fan of the director, Raoul Walsh[/quote]
I rate it 6 out of 10 but that is probably only because of my love for tales of the RCMP. I wonder what films fans of Ladd would point to as good examples of him acting onscreen. He had zero chemistry with Winters and the idea that their two characters would fall in love was ludicrous.
Ladd was great in The Glass Key.
Drum Beat is another good western. Saskatchewan on the other hand is one of his worst. But that’s not Ladd’s fault.
Jess Franco: Female Vampire / Erotikill / Barebreasted Countess / etc
-This was the first Franco film I saw, years ago I bought finnish vhs with a running time of 70 minutes and I think I’ve watched it twice since. Despite it’s very slow film without basically any plot I liked the film’s sad atmosphere and there’s plenty of young and nude Lina Romay to enjoy. But this time I watched 110 min version with ugly looking hardcore inserts and extra sex scenes and the film was just unbearable. There’s also other versions available with various running times but I’m happy with the 70 minutes.
Recent discussion about Castellari’s Big Racket inspired me to watch it again. It’s a film that seems a bit incoherent and episodic at first but it all builds up to a great finale. The shoot out in the factory is just great. The exploding cars in the end are implausible but at least they provide cool looking shot.
Hmmm… there’s a bit I seem to remember where Fabio takes apart and fiddles with his bullets (in a Ghidra way, as in that Django-y film with Eastman) - I presumed he was making dum-dums as like Guidra, but was thinking why would he want them? Thinking back, maybe these were custom-built explody-ones to give some credence to a bullet blowing up a car with a bullet in the petrol tank. :-\
Anyway I’m probably overthinking it… I watched The Heroin Busters last night and logic went kicking and screaming out of the window. A similar vehicle for Testi and many of the same crew, but it was nowhere near as good as The Big Racket being far more “incoherent and episodic”… and the finale was definately not great. The budget seemed a lot bigger though on this, but any thought behind the budget was lacking by comparison. There were lots of chases around building sites and extended motorbike chases that culminated in an unnecessary plane chase - much more “implausable” (as a bloke leaves his plane engine running whilst he pops off for a cup of coffee, or petrol, or somesuch) than the finale in TBR.
It seems that in TBR the action followed the story to good effect, whereas with THB the story was built up around disconnected set pieces, and made for a much less coherently satisfactory film. I won’t say it was a waste of time - I enjoyed it, but it’s not in the same league as TBR.
TBR gets a fabuloso-Fabio 4 outer 5
THB gets a kick in the Testios 2 outer 5
I went with the thought that they are armor piercing bullets, because of that earlier scene when Joshua Sinclair’s car is shot at and the windows were bullet proof. I thought he noticed and decided to upgrade his ammo incase he was going to face the car again. And did.
[size=12pt]A most wanted man - 2014 - Anton Corbjin[/size]
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I was very disappointed with Corbjin last film before this, so I was expecting the worst in this Le Carré novel adaptation to the screen.
John Lé Carre books haven’t lost any of their greatness with the end of the of the cold war, by the contrary, maybe I notice a bit more of cynicism, normal if coming from used to deal with better leaders from the ones we have today.
Anyway about the film, if not a flawless one it’s not as bad as The American was, actually I liked the slow but solid development of the story, and heading to the somehow predictable conclusion (the book was obviously more complex).
Some of the lines are quite good, like the one in the meeting where Philip Seymour Hoffman (great actor he was), character tells that their organization has to be discreet, because they are the Secret Service of a country (Germany) that isn’t allowed to have one, pure Le Carré.
Also the photography is quite impressive, with a city like Hamburg clearly looking a more beautiful place than probably really is.
The acting is quite solid from everyone involved, but Philip Seymour Hoffman clearly stands out, he was indeed a great actor, it’s strange but apart from some secondary roles played by German actors, all parts are played by US actors, but it was a great final opus for Hoffman.
Not the best adaptation to the screen of a Le Carré novel, but surely one with best main actor to one of his characters, and a nice film to follow.
City Lights by Chaplin
-My favorite from Chaplin’s films and one of the best films ever made.
[size=12pt]THE MASTER TOUCH [/size] (Un Uomo da Rispettare - 1972, Michele Lupo)
An often overlooked movie. Kirk is an American safe cracker living in Germany (the film is set in Hamburg) who managed to stay out of jail until recently, when a relatively small job went wrong and he had to spend two years behind bars. After his release, he promises his wife to stay clean, but then changes his mind when a crime boss asks him to break into a high tech corporate building and steal a fortune. It’s a difficult and dangerous heist, but his share could settle him for life. And, what’s more: he’ll get assistance from no other than Giuliano Gemma!
There’s a truly spectacular car chase and Gemma has two excellent fight scenes with Romano Puppo, so no wonder some fans of Italian genre movies call this a personal favorite, but the film suffers from mediocre scripting and superficially drawn characters. The premise of the aging professional thief preparing for one last haul (against the wishes of his loving wife) is over-familiar and the combination of the granite faced Kirk and ever-smiling Giuliano doesn’t really pay-off until the grim, violent finale set in the port of Hamburg. Conclusion: great action, mediocre drama. Oddly enough, the scenes within the high tech building reminded me of Kubrick’s 2001. Apparently the movie, which was on everybody’s lips, influenced this one. The use of classical music (Mozart instead of Strauss) points in that direction as well.
The film can be watched here: - YouTube
Knew those scenes reminded me of another film, but could not think what.