Club Foot. ;D
Is that hair on that big toe then ?
like drinking a litre-bottle of compelling⌠Killdozer, 1974. Just when you start thinking that this film is good, itâs bad. And when you start thinking itâs bad, itâs great. The gold-nugget here is that the offworld lifeform is never elaborated-on. It just is. -Embodied in the mechanical limitations of a heavy-duty bulldozer. The blade tilts left-n-right⌠itâs thinking, figuring things out. It âobservesâ humans communicating via a shortwave radio⌠it flattens the radio-tent when the humans leave the construction-camp.
Essentially, like with The Thing, an object crashes into Earth in some distant time-frame. The crash-site becomes an island off Africa⌠which a modern-day construction-crew is clearing to make an airport(?). A bulldozer-blade strikes the object. The beast invades the bulldozer. Crew-boss, Clint Walker, suddenly loses control of the dozer and snips its fuel-line. And the alien realizes itâs gotta eliminate the six humans on the island.
Christine - Glad I managed to get one, the transfer is really nice.
Breaking Bad Season 3 - Iâm getting withdrawal effects already, must get the fourth season asap. This show is fucking badass!
Watched a couple of contrasting films yesterday.
The Tree of Life (Malick / 2011)
Stunningly beautiful, as you would expect from Malick, but also a masterful narrative technique that conveys so much with so few traditionally played scenes. The wife and I both enjoyed this a lot and are still discussing it today. A very good sign I think in a film if it keeps you engaged 24 hours after viewing. In fact, the more we think and talk about it, the better I become convinced it was. The dinosaur / volcano stuff may have been a touch overplayed and the film could have been just as good (plus 20 minutes shorter) without it but thatâs a minor criticism of a wonderful and very moving piece of work. I watched all of Malickâs films last year except this one and, having completed the set, I think, for me, it is his best alongside Days of Heaven.
Asylum (Ward Baker / 1972)
I told you they were contrasting. But hey, we all have eclectic taste around here donât we. Very entertaining Amicus portmanteau film which offers 4 stories of different loonies in the same asylum as prospective staff doctor tries to guess which one used to be the head psychiatrist at the institution. Great cast of old Brits which include Peter Cushing, Geoffrey Bayldon, Henry Magee, Sylvia Sims and Richard Todd as well as a young Robert Powell as the young doctor and an even younger looking Charlotte Rampling as one of the loons. Add Barbara Parkins, Brit Eklund and Herbert Lom and you are genuinely spoiled with talent. Some stories are better than others as is usual in this sort of film but all were good enough to keep me watching. My favourite was probably the silliest, in which Richard Todd murders and dismembers his wife but some reason wraps her separate parts up in paper and string before dumping them in the new chest freezer. (the latest household gadget here in 1972) All seems to be going swimmingly until the bits start to reanimate and take their revenge. Utter tosh and lots of fun.
Glad you enjoyed it Phil. I also thought it was superb, but I have to re-watch it.
The Day of The Locust.
Not viewed in years this one, and forgot how good it is. Set in Hollywood before the second world war, we follow the story of a bunch of people who just do not seem to be making it in life one way or the other. Fascinating bunch of characters in this one, all with their own little quirks.
âParanormal Activity 4â (2012)
Plot:
It has been five years since Katie murdered her sister and disappeared with her infant nephew, Hunter, in tow. Now, a new family is about to fall prey to nighttime terrors. A mysterious accident next door leads to teenage Alex and her family becoming the temporary guardians of Robbie, a very creepy neighbor boy. Cameras installed throughout Alexâs home capture the sinister events that unfold after Robbieâs arrival.
Phantomâs Review: When the âhome video/Found Footageâ type of films first started, I rather enjoyed them. Films like âParanormal Activityâ (1), âCloverfieldâ, (rec) and a few others were very entertaining. But now with âPA4â I think that ship has sailed and wonât be coming back for a while. Itâs not so much that this is a bad film, itâs not, the actors do a good job and there are a couple of decent BOO! scenes, itâs just a feeling of âBeen There/Seen Thatâ. The series has completely lost any sense of originality, that it once had (probably due to too many sequels and imitations)Right from the beginning you could tell who was going to get it, where most of the major scares were coming from and what was going to happen next. Not bad as a rental, but I think itâs time to wrap this franchise up.
Stardust memories
-Often dismissed as a worst Allen film by critics and audiences but apparently it has fans too, imdb rating is pretty high with 7,2 points and thereâs lots of high point reviews. I found it pretty ok and funny but it has some problems too, Iâm not sure if itâs the pacing, or the chaotic fellini like scenes that doensât fit Allenâs style of film making but the film feels overlong even though itâs running time is below 90 minutes.
[B]Thirst[/B] - I watched the extended cut, hadnât seen it (regular version) since it first came out and I didnât notice what was extra.
In the Realm of Senses (1976) by Nagisa Oshima.
Surprisingly enough, I quite enjoyed it, maybe I was in a mood to watch something like this, however, I must confess the last half an hour was pretty boring. It is excessively occupied with being subversive, controversial and explicit. Sure, there are moments of immense cinematic beauty, but again⌠they meet again⌠and they do this again⌠and again⌠and again. Blind Beast explores the same subject in a far more interesting way. And I thought the ending was plainly awful⌠hideous⌠6/10
Empire Of Passion (1978) by Nagisa Oshima.
âIt never feels really convincingâ
A young man called Toyoji (Tatsuya Fuji) has an affair with a married woman, Seki (Kazuko Yoshiyuki), who is twenty years older than him. Nonetheless he isnât preoccupied with it. Toyoji gets increasingly jealous of her husband, thus one day, when her husband is out, Toyoji shaves her pubic hair, upon having sex with Seki. Thereafter, she is agreeable to assist him in killing her husband, not wanting her consort to see her being shaved. They succeed, notwithstanding, after some time, bizarre phenomena begin to transpireâŚ
Empire of Passion (1978) aka Ai no borei has a potential that is sadly wasted. The film of Nagisa Oshima, the director of controversial In the Realm of the Senses (1976) and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), is a mishmash of stronger and weaker ideas. Despite having an interesting concept, which merges erotica as well as kaidan-eiga genre, and a good production design, the flick never manages to be particularly memorable and on the whole it appears very uneven. To start with, the beginning seems very rushed and mauled, scenes rapidly skip from one to another, giving it a rather undisciplined appearance and a textural balance is upended. The character of Sekiâs husband lacks depth, thus a viewer fails to get acquainted with him and feel pity for him, when he is actually killed. After Sekiâs consort demise, the pace swiftly slows down and the action drags. At this point, the problematic editing is even more visible, since the content consists of some good scenes as well as totally unnecessary ones and Oshima doesnât fully succeed in focusing on more significant moments, polishing them to perfection. The oneiric parts are neatly handled, nevertheless they donât make a viewerâs blood curdle since the tension never becomes overwhelming and there is no real climax of terror. Unfortunately, the movie doesnât send chills down oneâs spine. The psychological aspect of the two key characters and their carnal obsession remains undeveloped and ineffectively explored. The emotional background which forces Toyoji and Seki to slaughter her husband is rather lame just like the ending which is also executed in an uninspired way which renders the flick even more distant and the story which is intended to be spicy isnât sufficiently sensual. Mise en scène is flawed throughout the whole movie and the paltry writing punctuates it. Notwithstanding, it isnât without its merits. Cinematography by Yoshio Miyajima is tremendous and gives this film a bleak zest and the lighting is pure visual poetry. Sets and costumes look realistic. Peasantsâ shacks and long grasses swaying in the wind all shrouded in the mist are ravishingly portentous.
Two actors playing Toyoji and Seki i.e. Tatsuya Fuji and Kazuko Yoshiyuki give satisfying performances. There is a fine chemistry between them and their emotions are well exposed. It isnât anything exquisite though and there isnât too much to gloat over since the acting still isnât anything remarkable.
The soundtrack by Toru Takemitsu is absolutely staggering and it is a true work of art that is probably the best aspect of the entire movie. It adds traditional Japanese atmosphere to the movie and folk flutes, which are frequently exploited, stun in their own, ghoulish way. This decidedly belongs to one of the composerâs best creations.
It may be stated that it is a bewildering and delightful flick. Notwithstanding, the amazing framing and aesthetic beauty cannot replace the true cinematic value and outshine its multiple flaws. The erratic pace, the ineffective storytelling and writing result in creating an uneven ensemble. It isnât a bad film though â it has a great deal of neatly crafted sequences, some interesting visuals and above all it implicates the phenomenal soundtrack. This simply isnât flabbergasting in terms of high quality. If one is capable of overlooking its numerous shortcomings, it is going to be a decent pastime, however, nothing more than that. 5/10
A great film, although I think I might enjoy Malickâs The Thin Red Line even more. Iâve just got the Blu-ray, so Iâll be rewatching it in the nest few days.
Rewatched Punisher War Zone on Blu Ray.
I donât care what anyone says, this film is absolutely brilliant and Iâll stick by my opinion. Thereâs so much subtle stuff going on and brilliant cinematography. Anybody who thinks its just another mindless actioner just doesnât get it.
HBOâs âPhil Spectorâ last night with Pacino and Helen Mirran - pretty good, enjoyed itâŚPacino great as alwaysâŚ
The Damned United (Hooper / 2009)
Recently finished the novel so thought a watch of the film would be in order. Itâs a good film with some fine performances, particularly Michael Sheen as Cloughie but it lacks the harshness of the book. Old Big 'Eadâs troubled personality is laid far more bare in the novel and his paranoia played up more. Of the two I would recommend the book more but the film is a good piece of work too and well worth a viewing if for no other reason to see a glimpse of what top flight football used to be like in all its muddy, ill tempered brutality. Worth mentioning also that although Sheen won deserved plaudits for getting his man just right, Colm Meaney is equally accurate as Don Revie.
I really enjoyed it, havenât read the book though.
The Devils.
Still packs a punch this film from Ken Russell, which stars Oliver Reed as the priest who stands in the way of the state. He pays the price. Some outstanding scenes in this one.
Iâve watched Guillermo Del Toroâs first movie Cronos (1993) for the first time. It was great to see that all his trademarks and fixations were already there: occultism, steampunk, fantasy world that only children and old people can inhabit, even jars of formalin had their debut as well as Del Toroâs favorite actors Federico Luppi and Tom WaitâŚI mean Ron Perlman. Visual style is wonderful and impressive. In my opinion solid 8/10 and very underrated movie.
âHotel Transylvaniaâ(2012)
Plot: IMDB
Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the countâs teen-aged daughter.
Phantomâs Review: First, let me say, I canât stand Adam Sandler. Donât know why, he just irritates the shit out of me. Now, having said that, I must say that I liked âHotel Transylvaniaâ.
Itâs cute, silly and has some fun spoofs of the classic movie monsters. Itâs not great by any means, but itâs a fun family movie, and itâs a good way to introduce the classic monsters to a younger audience.