The bit with the rabbit made Mr O cry with laughter, as did the fox in Antichrist.Maniacal wrote:Doomsday - It's like some what out of date cheese but still a decent taste to it.
films we just saw
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I'd like to join in with my two-bits of Antichrist. Right off the bat, I'd like to state that I'm not enamoured with the film - to summarise it: I really like the idea that Lars Von Trier is putting forward but I don't think I buy the execution entirely.
And I have to also say that I completely disagree with the idea that the last reel of physical violence is unnecessary. In fact it is one of the important parts of the film: up until this point the violence has been merely verbal: He berates She contniously and his psychobabble is the equivalent of the non-sensical interrogation scene in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party - it is there to batter, to break down, to hurt.
When She responds - with physical violence - it is a natural response. It is the clash of two opposing forces - with two varities of violence as weapons.
I also rather like Von Trier's idea of a reverse world, a world created not by God but by Satan. He uses images that ape Hieronymus Bosch's work but they are mirror images rather than the ones we are used to seeing. He uses the idea of Original Sin but turns it on its' head - its' the loss of knowledge that leads to Man's fall from Grace , not the acquisition of it.
In the end Trier is not wholly succesfuly - like Gaspar Noe's 'Irreversible' - this is a film with a solid and intriguing premise but the execution of it does not completely do it justice.
Anyway I just don't think the film features sex and violence for the sake it - they're there for a specific reason. But whether that reason clicks with people or not is going to be a completely personal choice.
And I have to also say that I completely disagree with the idea that the last reel of physical violence is unnecessary. In fact it is one of the important parts of the film: up until this point the violence has been merely verbal: He berates She contniously and his psychobabble is the equivalent of the non-sensical interrogation scene in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party - it is there to batter, to break down, to hurt.
When She responds - with physical violence - it is a natural response. It is the clash of two opposing forces - with two varities of violence as weapons.
I also rather like Von Trier's idea of a reverse world, a world created not by God but by Satan. He uses images that ape Hieronymus Bosch's work but they are mirror images rather than the ones we are used to seeing. He uses the idea of Original Sin but turns it on its' head - its' the loss of knowledge that leads to Man's fall from Grace , not the acquisition of it.
In the end Trier is not wholly succesfuly - like Gaspar Noe's 'Irreversible' - this is a film with a solid and intriguing premise but the execution of it does not completely do it justice.
Anyway I just don't think the film features sex and violence for the sake it - they're there for a specific reason. But whether that reason clicks with people or not is going to be a completely personal choice.
I'm enjoying the annual 6 week chunk off work - so am working through a pile o' DVDs:
The Fly (1958) : I thought this was excellent - especially the ominous second act. HELP ME!
Rabid : Effectively unsettling, protruding into the grim.
The Brood : Enjoyed this - some quality scares and nice set pieces, in addition to the usual weirdo body-horror trappings. Probable top 3 Cronenberg Movies: The Fly, History of Violence & The Brood.
The Haunting : Nice shift of underlying social fears and attitudes onto an ominous and creepy stage. Always nice to encounter an unexpected source of an Astro Creep 2000 sample.
Pulse : Develops some interesting and suspenseful moments, but offers a poor final act - entertaining a tangent with a scope it can't really fulfil. Would have been more effective on a smaller scale, without the distraction of web cams and dial-up internet - but then we already have The Grudge, Dark Water et al for that.
Teeth : Amusing at times, but too much grotty cock for me to handle watching again.
One Missed Call : Generic american bargain-bin horror from the late noughties #9,124. Fails to channel the charm of the B-Grade J or K-Horrors that it borrows so much from. Attempts far too many cheap shocks, and fails at all. There are two potentially redeeming instances in the latter part of the film, yet these speedily evaporate due to the incompetent decision making that's responsible for the rest of it.
300 : Very good - enjoyed this after all.
Baise-moi : Ultra-low budget hardcore sex film with a Natural Born Killers meets Thelma & Louise narrative. Not very good.
Phantasm : Tiresome dross from the turn of the eighties. Billed as a comedy horror, it's just about recognisable as both, yet effective or enjoyable as neither. Dreamy fantasy American synth-horror sucks metallic balls. Well, perhaps that is a LITTLE harsh.
The Fly (1958) : I thought this was excellent - especially the ominous second act. HELP ME!
Rabid : Effectively unsettling, protruding into the grim.
The Brood : Enjoyed this - some quality scares and nice set pieces, in addition to the usual weirdo body-horror trappings. Probable top 3 Cronenberg Movies: The Fly, History of Violence & The Brood.
The Haunting : Nice shift of underlying social fears and attitudes onto an ominous and creepy stage. Always nice to encounter an unexpected source of an Astro Creep 2000 sample.
Pulse : Develops some interesting and suspenseful moments, but offers a poor final act - entertaining a tangent with a scope it can't really fulfil. Would have been more effective on a smaller scale, without the distraction of web cams and dial-up internet - but then we already have The Grudge, Dark Water et al for that.
Teeth : Amusing at times, but too much grotty cock for me to handle watching again.
One Missed Call : Generic american bargain-bin horror from the late noughties #9,124. Fails to channel the charm of the B-Grade J or K-Horrors that it borrows so much from. Attempts far too many cheap shocks, and fails at all. There are two potentially redeeming instances in the latter part of the film, yet these speedily evaporate due to the incompetent decision making that's responsible for the rest of it.
300 : Very good - enjoyed this after all.
Baise-moi : Ultra-low budget hardcore sex film with a Natural Born Killers meets Thelma & Louise narrative. Not very good.
Phantasm : Tiresome dross from the turn of the eighties. Billed as a comedy horror, it's just about recognisable as both, yet effective or enjoyable as neither. Dreamy fantasy American synth-horror sucks metallic balls. Well, perhaps that is a LITTLE harsh.
- sherbetbizarre
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Shinjuko Incident (2009) Jackie Chan plays it straight as an immigrant in 90's Tokyo, who joins a gang who steal and take menial jobs to survive, and run up against Japanese and Thai gangs and the police.
No martial arts at all in this (or many laughs) but plenty of gang-fighting and the odd hacked limb. First time Chan has played an anti-hero. It's a very decent movie with some recognizable faces in support.
No martial arts at all in this (or many laughs) but plenty of gang-fighting and the odd hacked limb. First time Chan has played an anti-hero. It's a very decent movie with some recognizable faces in support.
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Another disappointment this week, with the shiny new version of The Taking Of Pelham 123, over-directed in his usual fashion by Tony Scott, with the rapid cuts, thudding soundtrack and crash zooms presumably intended to up the excitement and get the adrenalin pumping but in reality achieves nothing but a headache. I really like the original so perhaps my response to this rehash is somewhat coloured but it has no class, no character, no wit. Rather, what they've brought to the table this time is F-words, and a heck of a lot of them. I'm not averse to bad language in movies, and have been known to drop the occasional "crikey" myself from time to time, but the swearing gets wearing after a while. And Travolta is annoying. A great shame, as it's difficult to mess up The Taking Of Pelham 123, but that's what they've done. Not recommended.
http://streetrw.blogspot.com - For all your occasional film rambling needs.
http://twitter.com/streetrw - For when you really need to know what I had for breakfast.
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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Mr Voor, I think you practically wrote my review of Antichrist for me.
The hype of how disgusting and nasty this film is was something of a let down and whilst it had nasty parts to it, that was not what the whole film was about.
The scenery and setting was beautifully shot and gave you an idea to the remoteness of it all. Also the skydiving kid at the start made me chuckle and despite it being drawn out and you know what's coming it was done really well. My only regret was he did not land with a deafening thud.
You see I still don't really get what was supposed to be going on and whilst on the first viewing of Martyrs I didn't initally understand what it was about after a second viewing the pieces fell together much more. Maybe that is what Antichrist needs?
Talking foxes? Fantastic idea
What was the idea of her putting the kids shoes on wrong, can anyone explain that to me?
Maybe if I understood what it was about then I could have enjoyed it more. Therefore I would put Antichrist at 6/10, interesting but not quite ready for the exorcism that the Daily Mail would have liked.
The hype of how disgusting and nasty this film is was something of a let down and whilst it had nasty parts to it, that was not what the whole film was about.
The scenery and setting was beautifully shot and gave you an idea to the remoteness of it all. Also the skydiving kid at the start made me chuckle and despite it being drawn out and you know what's coming it was done really well. My only regret was he did not land with a deafening thud.
You see I still don't really get what was supposed to be going on and whilst on the first viewing of Martyrs I didn't initally understand what it was about after a second viewing the pieces fell together much more. Maybe that is what Antichrist needs?
Talking foxes? Fantastic idea
What was the idea of her putting the kids shoes on wrong, can anyone explain that to me?
Maybe if I understood what it was about then I could have enjoyed it more. Therefore I would put Antichrist at 6/10, interesting but not quite ready for the exorcism that the Daily Mail would have liked.
"With all your superstitions
And empty lines
I could be just like you
Withdrawn but alive"
And empty lines
I could be just like you
Withdrawn but alive"
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I assumed, but could be wrong that the kid’s shoes thing was all down to her stopping him from leaving her too. By physically disabling the child he would be unable to leave her or cope without her. This would tie in with her telling him that he couldn't leave her and the subsequent grind wheel in leg.
Part of some depressions is the fear that those you love/rely on will leave you. Paranoid thoughts run through your head, of what they are doing/plotting and thoughts of what you can do to stop them leaving dictate your moods and actions.
Part of some depressions is the fear that those you love/rely on will leave you. Paranoid thoughts run through your head, of what they are doing/plotting and thoughts of what you can do to stop them leaving dictate your moods and actions.
If only we were amongst friends... or sane persons!
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Most recently I saw:
Moon - Can't sing it's praises highly enough. Go see it.
The Hurt Locker - I'm very happy to see a return to form for Bigelow. The acting, directing and cinematography are spot on, but it does go on a bit (150 minutes or so).
Sunshine Cleaning - Utterly mediocre. Tries ever so hard to be "quirky". Fails miserably.
Wendy & Lucy - I thought this was a great film, although something you'd have to be in the right mood to watch as it's very slow and understated.
Moon - Can't sing it's praises highly enough. Go see it.
The Hurt Locker - I'm very happy to see a return to form for Bigelow. The acting, directing and cinematography are spot on, but it does go on a bit (150 minutes or so).
Sunshine Cleaning - Utterly mediocre. Tries ever so hard to be "quirky". Fails miserably.
Wendy & Lucy - I thought this was a great film, although something you'd have to be in the right mood to watch as it's very slow and understated.
Tobe Hooper's sadly neglected and underrated 'Funhouse' dropped through my letter box care of LoveFilm. Not a bad little film and certainly worthy of more attention than it seems to have garnered over the last few years.
Moon-if you haven't yet seen this (you are probably sick and tired of people telling you how great it is) it is a truly excellent film. I took along a friend who hates sci fi and really hated the idea of a movie set on the moon. They absolutely loved it.
Zombie Town- in a word NOOOOOOOO!!!!
Moon-if you haven't yet seen this (you are probably sick and tired of people telling you how great it is) it is a truly excellent film. I took along a friend who hates sci fi and really hated the idea of a movie set on the moon. They absolutely loved it.
Zombie Town- in a word NOOOOOOOO!!!!
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A classic piece of 80's creature horror comedy- CRITTERS!
If 'new-line cinema' was known as the 'house that freddy built', then the critters series helped it get an extension.
This is a class film set right smack bang in the 80's around the time of 'gremlins, night of the creeps, fright night, NOTLD... and all the other great horror comedies.
The critters maybe considered a poor man's gremlins, but i think they are awesome!
And the song 'power of the night' just rocks! pure 80's cheese just like w.a.s.p, anvil, motorhead and all the other cool bands who ended up on horror soundtracks in the mid to late 80's.
The 2nd one is just as cool which was mick garris's first major studio film.
If 'new-line cinema' was known as the 'house that freddy built', then the critters series helped it get an extension.
This is a class film set right smack bang in the 80's around the time of 'gremlins, night of the creeps, fright night, NOTLD... and all the other great horror comedies.
The critters maybe considered a poor man's gremlins, but i think they are awesome!
And the song 'power of the night' just rocks! pure 80's cheese just like w.a.s.p, anvil, motorhead and all the other cool bands who ended up on horror soundtracks in the mid to late 80's.
The 2nd one is just as cool which was mick garris's first major studio film.
Altered States : Had been on my 'to watch' list for over 9000 years. Jumps about a bit in tone. I thought this was going to go ABSOLUTELY BATSHIT CRAZY after the events that take place about an hour in. It regained some semblance of stability. Definitely worth a watch.
Freaks : Interesting, with a few creepy scenes, notably nearer the end of the movie. However they overshot the finale - something more subtle would have been truly horrifying!
Black Christmas : Solid sorority house massacre movie that remains atmospheric throughout. Excellent gutteral phoneplay from the maniac as he torments the chicks with maniacal mimicry, screeches and screams. Nice.
Dark City : I thought this was pretty tedious to be fair and found it quite difficult to make it through the whole film, similar to my first attempt quite some time ago.The lead quote on the DVD calls the film "Blade Runner meets The Crow". I'd go for "Blade Runner meets the Crow II: City of Angels".
Transporter 3 : Hit and miss threequel, that's palatable for fans of the series, but inferior to the earlier films. This one is further Crankified, with the unimaginative inclusion of blow-me-up bracelets. A little silly at times, but there's nothing that far outside the usual unrealistic mainstream action-movie tenets, so it's not too difficult to forgive these and focus on the fun.
House of Wax : Starts well, with plenty of wax-gore meltiness and a bit of an atmosphere to the whole thing. Sadly, the rest of the film is just too slow, and devoid of any real mystery or suspense whatsoever. Disappointing.
Premonition : A stupid film, on the whole, just barely meeting the minimum standards to avoid it being a complete pile of tosh. Final act isn't bad.
Freaks : Interesting, with a few creepy scenes, notably nearer the end of the movie. However they overshot the finale - something more subtle would have been truly horrifying!
Black Christmas : Solid sorority house massacre movie that remains atmospheric throughout. Excellent gutteral phoneplay from the maniac as he torments the chicks with maniacal mimicry, screeches and screams. Nice.
Dark City : I thought this was pretty tedious to be fair and found it quite difficult to make it through the whole film, similar to my first attempt quite some time ago.The lead quote on the DVD calls the film "Blade Runner meets The Crow". I'd go for "Blade Runner meets the Crow II: City of Angels".
Transporter 3 : Hit and miss threequel, that's palatable for fans of the series, but inferior to the earlier films. This one is further Crankified, with the unimaginative inclusion of blow-me-up bracelets. A little silly at times, but there's nothing that far outside the usual unrealistic mainstream action-movie tenets, so it's not too difficult to forgive these and focus on the fun.
House of Wax : Starts well, with plenty of wax-gore meltiness and a bit of an atmosphere to the whole thing. Sadly, the rest of the film is just too slow, and devoid of any real mystery or suspense whatsoever. Disappointing.
Premonition : A stupid film, on the whole, just barely meeting the minimum standards to avoid it being a complete pile of tosh. Final act isn't bad.