FrightFest

What Have You Done To Solange? or just Solange as it says on the box. A previous poster said they found it boring and I have to admit that I ended up fast forwarding through part of it. OK giallo.

What Have They Done To Your Daughters? is a great follow-up (with a better mystery, if I recall) and a beyond wicked theme tune by Stelvio Cipriani that will knock your Euro-funk lovin' pantaloons off.

giles edwards wrote:What Have They Done To Your Daughters? is a great follow-up (with a better mystery, if I recall) and a beyond wicked theme tune by Stelvio Cipriani that will knock your Euro-funk lovin' pantaloons off.

Is it available at all? Not been able to find it, at least under that title.

Incidentallythe currently unavailable Argento giallo Four Flies on Black velvet or whatever it's called will apparently be out on DVD in Italy this year.

Terrific ! If they can finally sort out the rights issues for Blade Runner for a proper DVD release, surely they can do so for Argento's least seen masterwork (the Velvet in question, by the by, is of the slightly less sinister "Grey' variety.) Let's hope it's the holy grail we've been waiting for. I've only seen the picture once (Eurofest 9-something) but it's a wonderful thing.

WHTDTYD was available on Redemption Video back in the 90s (where my copy comes from). It must appear on DVD from someone like Blue Undergroud soon, I'd hope (who appear to have that catalogue sown up -- Pyjama Girl Case[b/] etc etc). Or maybe the new Shameless label will have it?

I've seen three below-par (IMO) films this week...

Mr Brooks - Missed this when it was shown at the FF Xtra day. There was a time when the pairing of Kevin Costner & Demi Moore would guarantee a No1 spot at the box office... now it barely warrants one screening a day at my local muliplex on its opening week. Never been a big Costner fan but he's good here as Mr Brooks, addicted to killing but wanting to stop. The scenes with him and his conscience (William Hurt) are excellent, and the relationship with his family - and especially his troubled daughter - is nicely plotted. Less successful is Demi Moore as the cop on his tail, and you could lose the sub-plot of the witness and the other serial killer; the action scenes with Moore and the killer feel like they've been edited in from another movie!

The Invasion - if the aliens want to take over our bodies while we're asleep all they need to do is show us this film. I haven't dozed so much in a film since watching Sphere. Wasn't keen on this version at all, felt there was zero suspense (a real disappointment considering the source material) and agree with streetrw about the awful editing. The action scenes felt tacked on (as indeed they probably were) and I'm sorry but the 'sudden' car smash as witnessed from the passenger seat is this year's big movie cliche. Dreadful film.

Resident Evil: Extinction - wasn't much better. I actually like both previous RE films, but felt this was by far the worst of the three. Wish it would have continued directly on from the last film, but no, that was explained away in a couple of lines halfway through... liked the idea of the desert wasteland setting but frankly it was riddled with plotholes and the action wasn't that exciting (and the CGI zombie crows were laughable). Also kept thinking the music sounded like an outtake from the Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire theme tune. Disappointing.

Been watching trailers for this and it looks promising, and dare I say, a bit scary.... Its called [Rec]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OeaUokzE9fI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IGF9_7hSRy4& ... ed&search=

Eastern Promises - fantastic, it's not as good as History of Violence, but it'll satisfy your violence cravings. Closer in tone to Dirty Pretty Things, and by the same writer. Cast are all great, and if you fancy Viggo in the slightest, you'll be pleased to know he gets completely naked.

Stardust - really, really lovely, good fun, a proper fairy tale but with a witty edge. More Princess Bride than anything else, don't be fooled by the "boring, walking quest" trailers.

jimbo wrote:Eastern Promises - fantastic, it's not as good as History of Violence, but it'll satisfy your violence cravings. Closer in tone to Dirty Pretty Things, and by the same writer. Cast are all great, and if you fancy Viggo in the slightest, you'll be pleased to know he gets completely naked.

Stardust - really, really lovely, good fun, a proper fairy tale but with a witty edge. More Princess Bride than anything else, don't be fooled by the "boring, walking quest" trailers.

Good to read. That is two films I do want to see. I really enjoyed History of Violence. So hoping good things with Eastern Promises. Even added bonus with Viggo in the buff! So hoping it is not a Spider. The only one of Cronenberg films I found completely and utterly disappointing.

Rather like the Stardust trailer. A rather good cast as well but will Ricky Gervais be annoying though ? Even so will be planning to see this one. Jane Goldman co writing should make this a interesting film to see.

Just come back from seeing Resident Evil 3. Rather enjoyed it. It did remind of Mad Max/Day of the Dead/ and one instance what look like Freddy Krueger clones running amok. Some rather good cheer worthy slice and dice deaths. Agree about the CGI zombie crows but I did spot a CGI zombie head on a actor that looked so out of place. That aside, thought it was fast paced and plot, well, what plot really. Just dumb fun!

Fragile Competant ghost story. A nice performance from Ally McBeal - I forgot it was her. And enjoyed the Isle of Wight setting.

42nd Street Forever 'Grindhouse' trailer comp. Must sees: The Raiders of Atlantis, Ironmaster, Star Crash, They Call her One Eye, The Bullet Machine aka Clegg and some exploitation films I forget the name of.

Raiders of Atlantis aka The Atlantis Interceptors one of my fave movies of the 80s,directed by Ruggero Deodato and with Christopher Connelly,jennifer conelly's dad no less,kicking ass all over downtown miami,ah those were the days dont believe this is on dvd,just VHS rips out there.

The 2004 TV-movie version of Frankenstein posits the notion that Mary Shelley's book was a true account of a mad scientist who is still alive and well in New Orleans and still messing about with bodies. Several of his creations are also in town and one of them is a mad killer. This is a cops-vs-maniac movie by the director of the TCM remake; it looks good but the inconclusive ending suggests it's just a pilot for a TV cop show partnering Parker Posey with one of Frank's old monsters. Martin Scorsese was Exec.Prod for some reason.

The Red Monks is a minor bit of Italian genre twaddle from 1988 which doesn't make a whole lot of sense and, given that it was produced by Lucio Fulci, doesn't have the loopy excesses of blood and gore to cover it up; just some mild (albeit entirely gratuitous) nudity and a couple of discreet severed heads. The newlywed lord of the manor agrees to give up his virgin bride to be sacrificed by a bunch of devil-worshipping monks in his basement. A spider shows up from time to time and transforms into a backing singer from a Kid Creole and the Coconuts tribute band. No explanation is forthcoming for this, or whether the bride might actually be a ghost, or who the mysterious old woman with the violin at the start.

haven't had time to watch a film lately cause of work so i've just been watching episodes of blackadder.

I have seen the following so far at the London Film Festival:

Funny Games - a shot for shot remake - the only question is why did Haneke remake his own masterpiece!

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - more style than substance - the film is overly long at two and a half hours - one to watch but doesn't live in the memory.

Redacted - well worth seeing this 'recreation' of an alleged incident of rape and murder in Iraq.

The Interview - very dull - one for Sienna Miller fans only!

Lust, Caution - I preferred this to Jesse James - slow and long (also at about two and a half hours) but an absorbing story

The Last Mistress - a French period drama - reminded me a bit of Dangerous Liaisons in style - pretty good and worth a watch.

Ploy - very very dull - avoid at all costs!

Zoo - apparently this documentary caused a lot of controversy at Cannes due to the subject matter - it doesn't offer much however and is only worth watching to say you have seen it!

In one of the Trailer Trash reels that showed up at FrightFest a few years back was a trailer for, um, Au Pair Girls. Which looked pretty hilarious with its now-questionable se.xist attitudes and appalling early 70s fashions. Sadly the whole thing isn't much more than a Confessions Of... movie, with European dolly birds getting their kit off all over the shop, and familiar sitcom stars like Trevor (Mr Lucas) Bannister and the great John Le Mesurier. It has the best cheesy listening soundtrack I've ever heard, though, and the theme song will be running around my brain for weeks. But it is awful. Really awful.

Hahaha...I know Trevor Bannister's son! I forgot his dad was in this. Ah, the me(a?)mories of my 14th summer when I went through the video store's entire run of Friday the 13th films...

...and then the entire Confessions of... series only to bare witness to a bunch of aging sit-com stars in flagrante delicto. Could never watch the Oxo family ads again after Confessions Of A Driving Instructor again, that's for sure.