films we just saw

Mr Bill · Post by **Mr Bill** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:58 pm

Hatchet- "A new and unexpected benchmark in horror" is a bit strong for what is little more than a fairly solid and entertaining comic slasher flick.

Aeon Flux- not the awfull Charlise Theron adaptation, i sat down to the entire animated series, and 15 odd years on it has aged... strangely. Like (but nothing like) classic manga it's great stuff to revisit- though the final episode was a massive anti-climax and the high point is still the unscripted pilot episode.

Max Manus, Man of War- Excellent Norwegian WW2 resistance, true story. Well paced, well acted, powerfull and uplifting- and all very good looking with great period detail. I'm developing a taste for Norwegian films.

Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel- I really enjoyed this Brit sci-fi comedy. To sci-fi what Shaun of the Dead is to horror, it's well made whimsy with occasional bursts of mild seriousness. I loved it, although its crying out for a couple of bigger set pieces and the predictably upbeat ending was somehow anti-climactic yet over the top. Still- great fun.

Colin- very impressive for £45 quid (if you believe it). Thoughtfull, inventive and really very well made. Powerfull stuff, although not a barel of laughs.

Flame and Citron- another foreign language, WW2 resistance true story, this time from Denmark. This one is far more moody, complicated and ernest. Equally good looking and powerfull, it is a little slow and over long at 130 mins. If you only watch one foreign language resistance film this week/month/year, go for Man of War.

The Cabin Movie- Three couples (allegedly friends) meet to have sex in a log cabin and film the experience to painfully predictable cello music. Of course, being a mean bunch of prudes with more baggage than sex drive, they don't quite manage it and just hang around in their pants drinking and falling out with each other. Dull.

The Killing Room- Government mind control experiments are unsurprisingly bloody and heartless, and take the form of a kind of cross between Cube and Martyrs but far more transparent and not as good as either. Haveing said that, i didn't see where it was going until the reveal and the sustained lumps of moody timewasteing did increase the tense atmosphere and menace. Decent but forgettable.

Roger Dodger- surposedly witty, politically incorrect, intelligent and hilarious. With lots of critical aclaim and awards in 2002, discovering it 7 years later I struggled to find much wit, bite or funny. Disappointing.

Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen- expensive wallpaper, shiny but pointless.

giles edwards · Post by **giles edwards** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:06 pm

Mr Bill wrote:Hatchet- "A new and unexpected benchmark in horror" is a bit strong for what is little more than a fairly solid and entertaining comic slasher flick.

The unexpurgated quote was actually "an new an unexpected bench mark in *zero-pretence, post-modern* horror" which is still true. A tiny bit more on that in an upcoming decade-probing column.

giles edwards · Post by **giles edwards** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:07 pm

Mr Bill wrote: The Cabin Movie- Three couples (allegedly friends) meet to have sex in a log cabin and film the experience to painfully predictable cello music. Of course, being a mean bunch of prudes with more baggage than sex drive, they don't quite manage it and just hang around in their pants drinking and falling out with each other. Dull.

Isn't this the film that Kevin Bacon makes in The Big Picture??!

soberdave72@hotmail.com · Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:20 pm

Watched The Descent PT II, to see if it stood up, after enjoying it so much at frightfest.

Have to say it does, one of the best horror sequels infact. Well done to Johnathan Ross for giving it a good review on film 2009 !

Post by **Rue-morgue Jay** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:00 pm

THE BOX- Yeah, it wasn't exactly a masterpiece. Some people have compared it to an episode of the 'twilight zone' which is pretty redundant considering the original source material this was adapted from is a short story called 'button button' by richard matheson who had some of his work turned into...you guessed it! 'twilight zone' episodes! And wrote some of them too.

Besides that, it's original premise is quite good. It does how ever take alot of detours through mediocre channels and Cameron Diaz and james masterson do the best with what they have. Maybe other actors would have done a better job, but we'll never know. Frank langella is truly creepy as Arlington Steward and at times the whole film does make my skin crawl.

Personnally i never really like 'donnie darko'. It tried to be too weird and tried to mess with your mind too much. 'The box' does try to do the same, but you can see the end picture with this. Even if it is slightly too predictable. the box is a middle fo the road film and anyone who likes 'the twilight zone' will probably get a kick out of it.

sherbetbizarre · Post by **sherbetbizarre** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:01 pm

The Box:

First third: Not Bollox
Second third: Flirting with Bollox
Last Third: Proper Bollox

Melvin Junko · Post by **Melvin Junko** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:13 pm

Last 2 weeks or so:

X-Cross - Japanese horror about two girls that end up in a village full of cripples that want to cut off their legs. Liked it, the different points of view kept you guessing what was going to happen and who the bad guys were.

Sledgehammer Massacre - lowbudget gore, bad acting, psychedelic stuff, good fun.

Kamillions - Interdimensional aliens cause trouble at a party of some rich people. The mutated penis attack and the woman turning into a spider were awesome!

Ancient ink: blood and tattoos - good documentary about the history of tattoos. Some guy travels around the world to look and experience different types of tattooing. The needle and thread technique looked proper horrible.

Ninja - cheesy 80's storyline mixed with modern camera techniques made this one a bit odd but very entertaining.

Young @ heart - Documentary about a choir of old folks singing unuasual songs, 2nd time I've seen this now, still great! Funny, sad, inspiring.

Order of the Black Eagle - AMAZING 80's action cheese. Some Nazi's have a secret hide out in a South American temple where they're working on a giant laser and plan to declare war on the USA, Soviet Union, China, Japan, Africa and Israel. How ambitious. Too bad for them a secret agent, his BABOON, and some mercenaries are out to stop them. So much fun. The baboon drives a tank and blows the shit out of everything! Sequal to Unmasking the idol, which I'll be watching next week.

Super Hell - downloaded this and it's sequal after I read Lloyd Kaufmann acts in the 2nd one. All I can say is that this is by far the worst movie I've ever seen. And I watch a lot of crap. I fell asleep halfway through as it was sucking the life out of me. Not looking forward too much to watch the sequal. Worse then The Zombie Chronicles and Vampires vs Zombies.

capthowdy66 · Post by **capthowdy66** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:14 am

sherbetbizarre wrote:The Box:

First third: Not Bollox
Second third: Flirting with Bollox
Last Third: Proper Bollox

Awesome review!

I watched "Orphan" over the weekend and really enjoyed it, one of the best films ive seen this year!

Grindhouse · Post by **Grindhouse** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:51 am

[quote="Melvin Junko"]Last 2 weeks or so:

X-Cross - Japanese horror about two girls that end up in a village full of cripples that want to cut off their legs. Liked it, the different points of view kept you guessing what was going to happen and who the bad guys were.

Sledgehammer Massacre - lowbudget gore, bad acting, psychedelic stuff, good fun.

Kamillions - Interdimensional aliens cause trouble at a party of some rich people. The mutated penis attack and the woman turning into a spider were awesome!

Ancient ink: blood and tattoos - good documentary about the history of tattoos. Some guy travels around the world to look and experience different types of tattooing. The needle and thread technique looked proper horrible.

Ninja - cheesy 80's storyline mixed with modern camera techniques made this one a bit odd but very entertaining.

Young @ heart - Documentary about a choir of old folks singing unuasual songs, 2nd time I've seen this now, still great! Funny, sad, inspiring.

Order of the Black Eagle - AMAZING 80's action cheese. Some Nazi's have a secret hide out in a South American temple where they're working on a giant laser and plan to declare war on the USA, Soviet Union, China, Japan, Africa and Israel. How ambitious. Too bad for them a secret agent, his BABOON, and some mercenaries are out to stop them. So much fun. The baboon drives a tank and blows the shit out of everything! Sequal to Unmasking the idol, which I'll be watching next week.

This sounds incredible where did you find it?

Satans Puppy · Post by **Satans Puppy** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:55 am

capthowdy66 wrote: I watched "Orphan" over the weekend and really enjoyed it, one of the best films ive seen this year!

That arrived last week on bluray for me...

I've not had a chance to watch any films recently, you're all making me feel dirty...

Gonna make an effort to sit down and watch something over the next couple of days.

Grindhouse · Post by **Grindhouse** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:01 pm

I havent watched much lately apart from working my way through 4 seasons of Lost back to back withy only 5 episodes left till season 4 is up,i took some time to watch some other movies.

Law Abiding Citizen,ok nonsense with Gerard Butler not as dark as it wants to be but an ok movie to pass the time.

Terminator Salvation one of my fave movies of this year looks awesome on BR.

Leatherface TCM 3 on laserdisc,watched this for the commentary with Jeff Burr who talks all the way through the film on both sides and over the supplementary materials,jeff has alot to say about this movie and his involvement in it.

Spawn directors cut on LD has a great commentary which explains a lot of why the film was screwed,not quite the digital vomit i once said it was, Transformers 2 takes that place.

Satans Puppy · Post by **Satans Puppy** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:11 pm

Grindhouse wrote:Terminator Salvation one of my fave movies of this year looks awesome on BR.

I tell a lie, I saw this uninteresting drivel on bluray last week lol

kimblebee · Post by **kimblebee** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:15 pm

sherbetbizarre wrote:The Box:

First third: Not Bollox
Second third: Flirting with Bollox
Last Third: Proper Bollox

I whole-heartedly second this notion

)

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:40 pm

kimblebee wrote:
sherbetbizarre wrote:The Box:

First third: Not Bollox
Second third: Flirting with Bollox
Last Third: Proper Bollox

I whole-heartedly second this notion )

Like twitter.

Post by **Rue-morgue Jay** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 5:28 pm

sherbetbizarre wrote:The Box:

First third: Not Bollox
Second third: Flirting with Bollox
Last Third: Proper Bollox

Just because i gave it a 'professional' review and in a round about way said it was crap, you have to go and ruin the moment by giving it a uncouth and boorish review!

you blagard! :P