films we just saw
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Grindhouse
- Frightfest Hardcore
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JasonMyers
- Walking Dead
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Ghouldrool's review pretty much says what I thought of RAMBO. It's a terrific, all out bloodfest which in a strange way manages to feel of some substance. I felt it was too short though. The 90minutes just fly by.
I loved Sly's performance and the way he's just angry and gruff with everyone he talks to.
SPOILER
The final scene was actually kind of moving, seeing Rambo back in the States and walking down the road to be reunited with his father. Before, I would have been dead against a fifth Rambo, but now I think the ending leaves it open for a final film that returns to the character driven roots of First Blood. The only question now is who Sly will cast to play his dad?! The most obvious choice would be Clint Eastwood. Whether he would do it is another matter.
I loved Sly's performance and the way he's just angry and gruff with everyone he talks to.
SPOILER
The final scene was actually kind of moving, seeing Rambo back in the States and walking down the road to be reunited with his father. Before, I would have been dead against a fifth Rambo, but now I think the ending leaves it open for a final film that returns to the character driven roots of First Blood. The only question now is who Sly will cast to play his dad?! The most obvious choice would be Clint Eastwood. Whether he would do it is another matter.
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Bearded Avenger
- Undead Horde
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Last night I took in a double header of one of my favourite films genres: South African Viking Films.
Beauty and the Beast - a reinterpritation of the fairty story set in 'Viking times' (duh) concerning a warrior cursed by Odin. Starred Justin Whalin (the OG Jimmy Olsen) and Jane March (who is far too old to be playing a young princess, but was obviously the best name they could get (and she then didn't get another films role for 3 years). Quite a good idea, but not much happens in it.
Berserker: Hell's Warrior - I may have mentioned this film before, but I didn't see the beginnning last time it was on. This time the two young sons of a Viking King (Patrick Bergin) - a good one (Paul Johansson whoever that it) and a bad one (Craig Sheffer) - are cursed by Odion (although the good one may have been cursed by a witch (Kari Wuhrer), but I wasn't sure what was going on at that point as I went to the loo and missed a bit). The first half hour set in unspecified 'Viking times' is actually quite enjoyable, but when the two brothers are reincarnated, along with Sheffer's berserker followers, it gets a bit silly, in a sub-Highlander sort of way. The gore's actually OK, but Wuhrer doesn't make a believable shrink (reincarnated as well), especially with the tribal tattoos on her boobs.
Despite the films apparently being filmed two years apart there was some obvious prop recycling going on - ie the beast and Sheffer have the same costume.
Also watched Highlander 4, but the less said about that the better.
Beauty and the Beast - a reinterpritation of the fairty story set in 'Viking times' (duh) concerning a warrior cursed by Odin. Starred Justin Whalin (the OG Jimmy Olsen) and Jane March (who is far too old to be playing a young princess, but was obviously the best name they could get (and she then didn't get another films role for 3 years). Quite a good idea, but not much happens in it.
Berserker: Hell's Warrior - I may have mentioned this film before, but I didn't see the beginnning last time it was on. This time the two young sons of a Viking King (Patrick Bergin) - a good one (Paul Johansson whoever that it) and a bad one (Craig Sheffer) - are cursed by Odion (although the good one may have been cursed by a witch (Kari Wuhrer), but I wasn't sure what was going on at that point as I went to the loo and missed a bit). The first half hour set in unspecified 'Viking times' is actually quite enjoyable, but when the two brothers are reincarnated, along with Sheffer's berserker followers, it gets a bit silly, in a sub-Highlander sort of way. The gore's actually OK, but Wuhrer doesn't make a believable shrink (reincarnated as well), especially with the tribal tattoos on her boobs.
Despite the films apparently being filmed two years apart there was some obvious prop recycling going on - ie the beast and Sheffer have the same costume.
Also watched Highlander 4, but the less said about that the better.
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Grindhouse
- Frightfest Hardcore
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Malefique,this was quite inventive for a film and with only a few actors and small set,some grotesque stuff,but overall good.
Fragile all i knew about this was that its from the makers of Rec the latest spanish horror hit,i thought this was going to be subtitled and not set in the UK,but apart from that this was great,there just arent enough ghost stories set in the UK,and i even shed a few tears at the end,well worth checking out.
Fragile all i knew about this was that its from the makers of Rec the latest spanish horror hit,i thought this was going to be subtitled and not set in the UK,but apart from that this was great,there just arent enough ghost stories set in the UK,and i even shed a few tears at the end,well worth checking out.
"Time To Nut Up Or Shut Up"
Bearded Avenger - Glad to see I'm not the only Zone Horror viewer !
Caught:
Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain on ZH the other night. A bog standard hillbilly horror (but set in Ireland!). Otherwise notable for 2 things:
1. A scene in which some bloke has his intestines pulled out of his bumhole. Now that's what I call a Celtic Ring.
2. In a piece of stunt casting, almost all the women in the film are high profile 'adult' movie stars, although there's virtually no jiggery-pokery in it.
Also noticed that "Simon Says" with Crispin Glover was on ZH the other night within 2 weeks of it being released on DVD. How'd that happen?
Caught:
Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain on ZH the other night. A bog standard hillbilly horror (but set in Ireland!). Otherwise notable for 2 things:
1. A scene in which some bloke has his intestines pulled out of his bumhole. Now that's what I call a Celtic Ring.
2. In a piece of stunt casting, almost all the women in the film are high profile 'adult' movie stars, although there's virtually no jiggery-pokery in it.
Also noticed that "Simon Says" with Crispin Glover was on ZH the other night within 2 weeks of it being released on DVD. How'd that happen?
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Grindhouse
- Frightfest Hardcore
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my evening of freebie tickets for the Statham fest that is The Bank Job were all gone,so i chose Rambo,my eyes lit up when his face appeared,and the theme from first blood played, it was just like seeing an old freind on the big screen,such is the love for the screen character,and its not a 5 star movie but its easily a 3 and a half at least.
i expected less but was rewarded with more,Stallones age makes rambo more menacing now than ever before,he doesn't say much,but his actions speak louder, he moves slower but those movements are deadly i expected a film that was dull and then picks up in the last few minutes,but from the shocking opening to the return home ending it works,its a shame that its audience may only see the action side of things and not question anything further of its back story,its not going to have the back up of campaining groups or human rights,for its violent content,nor does it deliver a more human story than Edward Zwickes Blood Diamond which had de beers counter claiming against the film,and the backing of amnesty international to raise awareness of the blood diamond trade and the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 90s.
But Rambo delivers an experience the likes i havent had in an action movie in a long long time,you root for him,you smile at the cheeky mercenaries,Matthew Marsden from Corrie in the 90s and Blackhawk Down and you so want to see revenge/justice served upon those soldiers,who wantonly kill maim torture and inflict murder the likes we in the Uk will never see,and its gleeful stuff when rambo takes hold of that 50 cal and tears apart the enemy troops.
i wanted to clap shout hoot cheer,and be pleased that bad things be served to bad people,and have them all die horribly and they do.
Mark Kermode says this film is "morally bankrupt",well there is that subtext of christians having the justification to kill,but the karen people are christian and in the minority,and in reality all religions kill,in one way or another.
but Rambo's lasting victory is if only a few people from each screening go home type up burma and read about another country and whats going on there that has to be worth the price of the ticket alone.
if this is the end for Rambo as we see over the closing credits then one of the silver screens finest sons has finally come home.
i expected less but was rewarded with more,Stallones age makes rambo more menacing now than ever before,he doesn't say much,but his actions speak louder, he moves slower but those movements are deadly i expected a film that was dull and then picks up in the last few minutes,but from the shocking opening to the return home ending it works,its a shame that its audience may only see the action side of things and not question anything further of its back story,its not going to have the back up of campaining groups or human rights,for its violent content,nor does it deliver a more human story than Edward Zwickes Blood Diamond which had de beers counter claiming against the film,and the backing of amnesty international to raise awareness of the blood diamond trade and the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 90s.
But Rambo delivers an experience the likes i havent had in an action movie in a long long time,you root for him,you smile at the cheeky mercenaries,Matthew Marsden from Corrie in the 90s and Blackhawk Down and you so want to see revenge/justice served upon those soldiers,who wantonly kill maim torture and inflict murder the likes we in the Uk will never see,and its gleeful stuff when rambo takes hold of that 50 cal and tears apart the enemy troops.
i wanted to clap shout hoot cheer,and be pleased that bad things be served to bad people,and have them all die horribly and they do.
Mark Kermode says this film is "morally bankrupt",well there is that subtext of christians having the justification to kill,but the karen people are christian and in the minority,and in reality all religions kill,in one way or another.
but Rambo's lasting victory is if only a few people from each screening go home type up burma and read about another country and whats going on there that has to be worth the price of the ticket alone.
if this is the end for Rambo as we see over the closing credits then one of the silver screens finest sons has finally come home.
"Time To Nut Up Or Shut Up"
Right, so I watched I Know Who Killed Me last night. For ages I've suspected that all the negativity that's been directed towards it is simply down to the fact that it's considered cool to have a go at Lindsay Lohan.
Now that I've seen it, I'll say that I can see why plenty of people genuinely didn't like it (but I bet there are loads out there who bash it due to the presence of Miss Lohan), but I myself found it to be ok. Not brilliant but certainly no disaster. I found the plot to be quite interesting and the I didn't think the revelation of what was really going on was that absurd. I actually thought it was quite nifty.
There were a few negatives, like plot points I didn't understand -
SPOILER (highlight below to read)
how did Dakota know who the killer was? END OF SPOILER
- and I didn't think the exotic dance scenes were very 5exy (except for some nice shots of Lindsay Lohan's body double's bottom)
As for Rambo, I just absolutely loved every second of it. Nice to see an action film done how they used to do them (in fact, it was probably done even better) where people actually, believe it or not, bleed when they get shot.
Now that I've seen it, I'll say that I can see why plenty of people genuinely didn't like it (but I bet there are loads out there who bash it due to the presence of Miss Lohan), but I myself found it to be ok. Not brilliant but certainly no disaster. I found the plot to be quite interesting and the I didn't think the revelation of what was really going on was that absurd. I actually thought it was quite nifty.
There were a few negatives, like plot points I didn't understand -
SPOILER (highlight below to read)
how did Dakota know who the killer was? END OF SPOILER
- and I didn't think the exotic dance scenes were very 5exy (except for some nice shots of Lindsay Lohan's body double's bottom)
As for Rambo, I just absolutely loved every second of it. Nice to see an action film done how they used to do them (in fact, it was probably done even better) where people actually, believe it or not, bleed when they get shot.
Bring her to me, you bum. I'll take care of business.
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Bearded Avenger
- Undead Horde
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I think that Simon Says was first shown prior to the DVD release. Which is a good thing as it saved anyone who watched it from wasting their money on the DVD.mamawaldi wrote:Also noticed that "Simon Says" with Crispin Glover was on ZH the other night within 2 weeks of it being released on DVD. How'd that happen?
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streetrw
- Frightfest Hardcore
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Saw Rambo last night. Didn't care for it at all. I put all the grisly details in the blog abd don't really want to repeat myself, but basically its one-note, over-reliant on CG, there's nothing in the way of characterisation beyond the crudest, the music was dull and the sound mix sucked.
Much more impressed with a rental over the weekend of Ocean's Twelve which I'd missed on its cinema release. I'd liked the first remake (but not the Sinatra original) and this one is good as well: a fun, all-star caper in which everyone's having a great time and no-one's taking it seriously. This time they're in Rome and Amsterdam, and there are probably a few too many plot twists, there's an unbilled Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts...hell, it's fun.
Much more impressed with a rental over the weekend of Ocean's Twelve which I'd missed on its cinema release. I'd liked the first remake (but not the Sinatra original) and this one is good as well: a fun, all-star caper in which everyone's having a great time and no-one's taking it seriously. This time they're in Rome and Amsterdam, and there are probably a few too many plot twists, there's an unbilled Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts...hell, it's fun.
http://streetrw.blogspot.com - For all your occasional film rambling needs.
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AND NOW: SKYPE!
http://twitter.com/streetrw - For when you really need to know what I had for breakfast.
AND NOW: SKYPE!
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Team Banzai
- Braaaains!
- Posts: 599
- Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2004 3:13 pm
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Team Banzai
- Braaaains!
- Posts: 599
- Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2004 3:13 pm
i attended a fabulous retro screening of withnail and i - with i himself paul mcgann introducing the film.
i hadn't seen this in a long time and it was comic genius from start to finish. the script is just brilliant with an endless stream of memorable and quotable lines.
an at the time neglected english masterwork!
i hadn't seen this in a long time and it was comic genius from start to finish. the script is just brilliant with an endless stream of memorable and quotable lines.
an at the time neglected english masterwork!
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giles edwards
- Undead Horde
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Big fan of this too. Really found it to be thoroughly -- if ludicrously, self-indulgently -- entertaining. A bit too clever-clever for its own good, but an astonishingly made "little" experiment of a heirst picture that happens to star some of the biggest names in the world. Soderbergh was plainly having an absolute ball with his filmmaking ticks, and while many audiences chastised him for it (and I can see why) I went along for the ride and derived a lot of pleasure from it.streetrw wrote: Much more impressed with a rental over the weekend of Ocean's Twelve which I'd missed on its cinema release. I'd liked the first remake (but not the Sinatra original) and this one is good as well: a fun, all-star caper in which everyone's having a great time and no-one's taking it seriously. This time they're in Rome and Amsterdam, and there are probably a few too many plot twists, there's an unbilled Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts...hell, it's fun.
[i]"Would you like to take a closer look ?"[/i]
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Bearded Avenger
- Undead Horde
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Eastern Promises
The Kingdom
Both rather good films I didn't get around to catching in the cimema.
Enjoyed spotting the small appearances by British actors in EP, "Hmmm, isn't that Tamar Hassan?"
Also found the little Tattoo doc on EP's extras interesting, because although I'm tattooless (would never be happy with what I got) I find all the secret symbolism behing them to be, er, interesting.
TK - particularly enjoyed the spot on performances by the two Palestinian actors playing the Saudi cops. Not sure about Jason Bateman though - can he act or does he just play himself?
The Kingdom
Both rather good films I didn't get around to catching in the cimema.
Enjoyed spotting the small appearances by British actors in EP, "Hmmm, isn't that Tamar Hassan?"
Also found the little Tattoo doc on EP's extras interesting, because although I'm tattooless (would never be happy with what I got) I find all the secret symbolism behing them to be, er, interesting.
TK - particularly enjoyed the spot on performances by the two Palestinian actors playing the Saudi cops. Not sure about Jason Bateman though - can he act or does he just play himself?
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Grindhouse
- Frightfest Hardcore
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Gone to pieces the rise & fall of the slasher film
i really enjoyed this documentary and must get it for my collection,was great to tread the path of the slasher movie again some guilty pleasures amongst the scenes shown.
i thought some of the scenes shown were in their uncut form,and it just makes me want to check out so many of those films again and seek out the ones i havent seen.
I must get rosemarys killer,which i havent seen since the early 80s,and it just left an imprint on my memory fab stuff!
Darkman this is great fun i havent seen this since the early 90s when i owned it in my collection,all the tricks that Sam Raimi uses in this are fab,and sneaky cameos by Sam himself,Jenny Agutter and Bruce Campbell,its a shame the sequels didnt have the same success, i even had an amiga computer game of this which wasnt bad by Ocean standards
has anybody seen the Darkman sequels.
if i was to meet Mr Neeson i would take either Darkman or The Big Man for him to sign
i really enjoyed this documentary and must get it for my collection,was great to tread the path of the slasher movie again some guilty pleasures amongst the scenes shown.
i thought some of the scenes shown were in their uncut form,and it just makes me want to check out so many of those films again and seek out the ones i havent seen.
I must get rosemarys killer,which i havent seen since the early 80s,and it just left an imprint on my memory fab stuff!
Darkman this is great fun i havent seen this since the early 90s when i owned it in my collection,all the tricks that Sam Raimi uses in this are fab,and sneaky cameos by Sam himself,Jenny Agutter and Bruce Campbell,its a shame the sequels didnt have the same success, i even had an amiga computer game of this which wasnt bad by Ocean standards
has anybody seen the Darkman sequels.
if i was to meet Mr Neeson i would take either Darkman or The Big Man for him to sign
Last edited by Grindhouse on Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Time To Nut Up Or Shut Up"
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JasonMyers
- Walking Dead
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- Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:04 am
- Location: London, UK
I've seen both and I have to say they're both surprisingly good for made-for-video sequels, which are usually appalling. They're well shot and directed and feature lots of gory, blood soaked action. Even though Arnold Vosloo is no Liam Neeson, he does pretty well.Grindhouse wrote:has anybody seen the Darkman sequels.