Member DragonClaws Posted February 19, 2021 Member Share Posted February 19, 2021 20 hours ago, masterofoneinchpunch said: Excalibur (1981: John Boorman): I watched this years ago and all I really remember was that I was not that interested in it. So I put it off for a long time. Reading the book Ready Player One made me interested in revisiting all the films mentioned in it that I had not seen or did not remember like this one. Surprisingly this movie is on TSPDT 1000 (which is a compendium of top lists which also would make you think this is a great film which it is not) and some other major lists. It was very groundbreaking in its day, and its been so heavily copied over the years its lost a lot of its originality. Filmed on a small budget in John Boormans Irish childhood hometown. I think this was an Irish movie?, released by Orion pictures?. Random fact, David Carradine was the frist choice for the role of Lancelot. Also look out for a young Liam Neeson as one of the knights of the roundtable. 20 hours ago, masterofoneinchpunch said: The fantastical elements reminds one of a small budget (let's bring in the fog machine for the dragon's breath. I don't mind a small budget if you can get caught up in the story. I just could not do that here. You can see how they used the smoke machine to hide the lack of extras in the final battle sequence. That said, it's one of my all time favourite movies and I'm big fan of the Arthurian legend. It's still the definitve fairytale version of the story in my opinion. No other King Arthur movie holds up this one. Featuring one of my all time favourite movie scores, with both original and existing classical music. Sure it looks dated now, but its still a visually stunning production. There's little/new detials you can spot upon multiple viewings. The film was originally three hours long, and I'd love to see an Extended Cut released one day. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted February 23, 2021 Member Share Posted February 23, 2021 eXistenZ (1999: David Cronenberg): Took care of another Cronenberg film I had not seen (previous one was The Dead Zone). I liked both though this one feels so much more Cronenberg-like (good and bad aspects of this). I just read a mention of it in Ready Player Two so I had to bump this up. Plus it really fits well with what I have been watching/reading lately. Ready Player Two take a big part of this plot (and wisely mentions it in the book), but that aspect creates a problem. I will call this the Inception issue where you create a paradox where there is always this issue that you cannot tell reality (Inception has an out technically, this movie does not but it does tackle that issue which makes it interesting). Like in Ready Player Two: you are entering a world where you feel everything. There is not a disconnect. So it is easy to get lost and like Inception you can have leveling (a dream within a dream or a reality within a reality; even putting eXistenZ on pause gives you questions). This also feels very Cronenberg like with its use of viscera, especially the sexual aspects of the controller. So many aspects will make you think of Naked Lunch (I can think of two things wrong with that title) like why is he using butt-hole imagery? The film kept me interested. The lack of special effects (other than the overuse of gross viscera) is a plus because it keeps you not knowing any specifics about it being fake or not (an answer that is not knowable). Dafoe is awesome as usual. There are some subtle cues. At one point you think a main character is actually an NPC (the term is not used in the movie, but the idea is). That meal would have grossed out Alfred Hitchcock and yes this was one of things cooked up (CGI of course). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted February 23, 2021 Member Share Posted February 23, 2021 Watched a few more South African gems: Boetie Goes to the Border (1984) Wild Maneuvers (Boetie's Maneuvers) (1985) These are some military comedies from the 1980s directed by actor/filmmaker Regardt van der Bergh that the former would mark the film debut of Arnold Vosloo as Boetie, a rich boy who due to the goverment law, must enter the Army. The 1st is set during the Angola Border War and ends on a very serious matter while the sequel is more of a comical farce that gets serious when Boetie as his team, set to exhibit a military strategy, finds themselves ambushed by a former soldier turned Wez-wannabe and his team of loony mercenaries. Somer Son (2015) A couple attempting to put the spark back in their marriage go on a wacky misadventure when their car breaks down and they find a shelter in a supposedly abandoned guest house...until the owners show up the next day. Has some fun moments and a major name in today's SA films, Reine Swart, makes the most of her limited screen time as the owners' niece, who comes on vacation and finds herself in an awkward situation involving a love triangle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted February 26, 2021 Member Share Posted February 26, 2021 Just got finished watching "Face/Off(1997)": It was awesome! John Travolta and Nic Cage both did a fantastic job. And being Directed by John Woo, you know that the action was over the top and amazing. So yeah, I really enjoyed it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted February 27, 2021 Member Share Posted February 27, 2021 Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018: Stefano Sollima): I have been pondering a while what I think of it and still come up with: it is not as good as the original. I liked the atmosphere of the first film more. There are aspects to the sequel I like, it just feels a step down. I think Stefano Sollima is a good director. Just not quite as good as Denis Villeneuve. Perhaps it is the storyline which comes across as trying to accomplish too much starting with the war on terrorism and the border. The first film had a End of Watch smaller story feel that worked for me (with several similarities). Benicio Del Toro is awesome in both. Certainly loved this scene early on. Josh Brolin works well within the boundaries here. Though we know what he is going to do because for the most part it is the right thing to do (if he went against this, it would feel very wrong). I get annoyed with certain aspects of luck in cinema. A later scene involving Del Toro king of irked me. It just felt too lucky (even if it was insanely painful). Though what he did later with the grenade was pretty cool (that was also lucky). This pretty much feels like it will lead to a third film. No idea if that will happen, but still the look on the one character's face was pretty cool (even if this also was way too coincidental). Del Toro's injury certainly had me thinking of the end of Fight Club (though that was self-inflicted). Yes, this image works well for Monday’s: I feel this film will be more forgettable than the first (which I still think of). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted February 27, 2021 Member Share Posted February 27, 2021 (edited) I sadly sat through the much loved Freaky the other day. Honestly? This film is trash. It’s neither funny enough to be a good comedy nor violent enough to be a good horror movie. Instead, it walks this boring line between the two and next feels like it gets off the ground. The only enjoyable thing is the sense that Vince Vaughn is having the time of his life. I started watching Ozark on Netflix. After a stellar first episode, the show stays pretty consistent (though I’m only three episodes in). Breaking Bad comparisons are obvious but it’s grabbed me a little more than that show did. I hope it can hold my attention and keep the tension up. Tonight I watched the first episode of Promised Neverland. I’m terribly picky when it comes to anime so for 90% of the show, I was like “This is cute.” Then the last five minutes hit and I was like “WHAT THE FUCk!?” Talk about a sucker punch! I’m eager to watch the rest of this one now. Edited February 27, 2021 by Drunken Monk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted March 1, 2021 Member Share Posted March 1, 2021 Frankenstein meets the Space Monster (1965) - 60's sci-fi schlock that proved to be somewhat of a task to sit through despite its less than 80 minutes runtime. This little cult film found its place on the line-up of one of Tarantino film festival editions, making me curious to check it out. Turns out it's a crappy B&W sci-fi flick made on a shoestring budget by a director who obviously thinks mise en scene means lunch break on set. The plot involves Martians looking like bald elves lead by a pretty princess Marcuzan, invading Earth in desperate need of women as their females didn't survive the atomic war back home. Android astronaut Frank being Frankenstein's monster is a real stretch, and after being shot with a ray gun he resembles Two-Face with one half of his face burned and electrical components sticking out. Needles to say that the so called Frankenstein and the Space Monster Mull meet (and fight) at the very end of the movie. I'd hardly recommend this, but if you like bad make-up, 60's surf rock and women in bikinis, you just might have some fun watching it. Satan's Sadists (1969) - Biker movie masterpiece by the one and only Al Adamson. This was a very pleasant surprise as instead of a cheap, badly paced exploitation flick I expected, I got a cheap, smart exploitation flick that's well directed and packs more than your fair share of cheap thrills. SS is as much about a clash between conservative America and the dark side of free-minded hippie ideology as it is about outlaw bikers and riding the trend with the genre associated slang, philosophy and iconography, such as swastikas and iron crosses. Characters are mostly stereotypical, such as a waitress desiring to leave for the big city and marry rich, old copper that's all about traditional values and a marine returning from the service as the type of youth America needs. Though Adamson's bikers are all about riding and having fun, meaning raping, killing and getting high, Russ Tamblyn's sadistic leader Anchor is iconic and stands for those being ill-treated just for being different. Yes, it's the star of West Side Story in a role that's all but merilly singing and dancing. Adamson's spouse and muse Regina Carrol stars as his "mama" who he eventually gets bored with, and she treats us with a nice table dance to a jukebox tune. This is a bleak and nihilistic biker gem and easily one of Adamson's best films, top ten material for the fans of the genre, easy pick. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted March 2, 2021 Member Share Posted March 2, 2021 Watched "Snake Eyes(1998)" today: It was a pretty good film. Nicolaus Cage was great as the sleazy Detective Rick Santoro. The story itself was pretty interesting, with Rick Santoro trying to uncover why the Defense Secretary was shot, and who did it. It had some twist and turns that I saw coming from a mile away, but the last bit of the film was still pretty suspenseful. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I think "Face/Off(1997)" was defiantly the better film. But if you are a fan of Cage like me, go watch it. I think you'll enjoy it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted March 2, 2021 Member Share Posted March 2, 2021 50 minutes ago, DarthKato said: Watched "Snake Eyes(1998)" today: It was a pretty good film. Nicolaus Cage was great as the sleazy Detective Rick Santoro. The story itself was pretty interesting, with Rick Santoro trying to uncover why the Defense Secretary was shot, and who did it. Always loved De Palma’s camera work here. Great opening, unbroken shot that lasts a good 12 minutes (you can see the cheats though). Also liked how the camera hovered over the hotel rooms and followed certain characters. Fun film. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted March 3, 2021 Member Share Posted March 3, 2021 22 hours ago, massa_yoda said: Always loved De Palma’s camera work here. Great opening, unbroken shot that lasts a good 12 minutes (you can see the cheats though). Also liked how the camera hovered over the hotel rooms and followed certain characters. Fun film. Yup! The camera work in this movie was awesome. I thought the scenes where the camera seamlessly went from First-Person, back to Third-Person was a nice touch. I didn't realize the opening was an unbroken shot though. That is really cool, I will have to go back and watch that scene again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Koravec Posted March 3, 2021 Member Share Posted March 3, 2021 Speaking of nicholas cage Willys Wonderland- New movie I just saw in theaters. Like a cross between Drive and Banana Splits (though I havent seen splits). Great beer flick, meaning you may beed a few to get the most enjoyment out of this one. As I did, and cages character constantly drinks these energy drinks which makes it feel like hes drinking along with you. Liked it enough to even want to watch it again sometime. Wouldnt even mind a sequel. Made me realize how that I actually miss nicholas cage onscreen. Want to go check out Mandy now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted March 3, 2021 Member Share Posted March 3, 2021 Killer Force/Diamond Mercenaries Tacky 70's action flick with a whole lot of Shaw brother/Hammer style blood squibs. Decent bunch of B actors- Peter Fonda, Telly Savalas, Christopher Lee and Maude Adams with OJ Simpson in a south African diamond heist flick. Hard to figure out to root for now and even when the flick came out. Hugh O'Brien is his usual macho self, and Fonda and O'Brien start brawling as the security team comes bearing down on them, as if to check box- "No fist fight? Hold it! OK, check that off!". Christopher Lee murders some poor young woman like a serial killer earlier in the film, yet we are supposed to feel bad (spoiler!) when he finally gets killed. Basically it's thieves who kill a whole lot of security vs security for a diamond mind in apartheid South Africa. Kind of hard to root for anyone, considering the DeBeers family are basically thieves who have artificially inflated the price of diamonds for decades, forcing young men to spend two months salary buying a ring they can't get back after the divorce. Ouch! Then the HERO AND THE TERROR was coming on and that had to be turned off. Yuck Chuck. He's been wearing a rug for a long, long time.... https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-de-beers-2011-12 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted March 3, 2021 Member Share Posted March 3, 2021 20 hours ago, Koravec said: Speaking of nicholas cage Willys Wonderland- New movie I just saw in theaters. Like a cross between Drive and Banana Splits (though I havent seen splits). Great beer flick, meaning you may beed a few to get the most enjoyment out of this one. As I did, and cages character constantly drinks these energy drinks which makes it feel like hes drinking along with you. Liked it enough to even want to watch it again sometime. Wouldnt even mind a sequel. Made me realize how that I actually miss nicholas cage onscreen. Want to go check out Mandy now. Just got through watching "Mandy(2018)"(it was awesome!) and "Willy's Wonderland" is next on my list. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted March 4, 2021 Member Share Posted March 4, 2021 "Mandy(2018)": This movie was simply amazing! It did start rather slow and it could be quite trippy at times. But man, the second half of the film is gold. With Cage going full-crazy and butchering his way through a deranged cult that had attacked him and his wife. The way Cage was acting reminded me a little of Ash from the Evil Dead series . With him spending the last half of the movie laughing and smiling maniacally while covered in gore. It was fantastic! The fights were also really cool, usually resulting in over the top blood spraying everywhere(Especially all over Cage). And I quite liked the designs of the guys he was fighting too. Don't think I have ever seen a guy with a sword(?) for a penis. lol But yeah, very good movie. Defiantly recommend checking it out(Well, as long as you aren't squeamish. lol) 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted March 7, 2021 Member Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Sunday triple bill of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid(1973) - Special Edition, Mr Majestyk (1974)and Roadhouse(1989). Three movies I never tire of, I think Mr Majestky might be director Richard Fliescher's best movie?. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, is still my favourite Sam Peckinpah movie, theres a great balance of both character, story and action. Roadhouse remains one of the best Hollywood produced action movies. You can see Benny Urquidez's infleunce on Dalton's(Patrick Swayze) fighting style, and in the fight choreography. Would love to see this get an UNCUT release, with all the MPAA cuts restored. Edited March 8, 2021 by DragonClaws 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Been revisiting Neill Blomkamp. Elysium is much better than I remember it being. I was really annoyed by the editing and camera work the first time I saw that movie but really enjoyed revisiting it. I especially enjoy the subtly of themes that are not the very overt, on the nose themes (rich up in space, poor down on earth, for instance). There's a lot of layers hiding in that movie beneath the really obvious surface stuff. Rewatched Chappie as well. I have some friends who rag on me for loving that movie but I like it just as much, if not more, every time I watch it. Seen it maybe five or six times now. Bums me out we will never get Blomkamp's Robocop or Alien movies, but I'm very curious about Demonic. He's such an incredible world builder, and I think he has a really unique aesthetic in the way he treats pretty hard sci fi as run of the mill day-to-day life. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMK Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 3 hours ago, Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society said: Rewatched Chappie as well. I have some friends who rag on me for loving that movie but I like it just as much, if not more, every time I watch it. Seen it maybe five or six times now. I've always wanted to check this out, but kept forgetting about it. It's that good huh? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 30 minutes ago, SMK said: I've always wanted to check this out, but kept forgetting about it. It's that good huh? I actually recorded a video on it for one of my Youtube channels, about why I think it's so underrated. I won't post here because it has a fair number of spoilers in it, but I think people tend to watch that movie, find the plot somehow inherently silly or unbelievable, and dismiss it. But I find that Neill Blomkamp has a very brash, loud, violent aesthetic that is influenced by trashy movies and classic 80s genre stuff, but if you push past the surface level, his very subtle, and deals with complex themes. To me, Chappie is really about systemic prejudice, how it limits the choices people have, and how it affects the thought process of children growing up in a world that's againt them for things they can't control (be it their native language, race, ethnicity, class, etc). 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted March 17, 2021 Member Share Posted March 17, 2021 (edited) Seun (Son) (2015) - A South African man has just returned home from college but has to leave within 2 months to do his mandatory military service during the Angola Border War. When he saves another soldier's life, he is paralyzed from the neck down and his parents find themselves struggling and coming to terms with their now disabled son. The film was directed by Darrell Roodt, who is known from martial arts film fans as the director of 1993's To the Death, but he is one of South Africa's most renowned directors. This is very emotional and gripping with an excellent performance by Deanre Reiners as the titular "son". Know Fear (2021) - A couple moves into a new home and find a book that is actually a demonic bible of sorts. The wife slowly gets possessed by the evil force and their niece, an aspiring paranormal expert, may be the only one to find a way to stop the entity, but it comes with a catch. The film is a slow-born thriller that delves into major supernatural territory by the third act, which makes the film worth the wait IMO. Phobias (2021) - We're used to horror anthologies that involve monsters, killers, blood and gore. This one is actually a psychological horror anthology all connected with five patients in an underground government facility with a mad doctor planning to use fear as a weapon. The five each have their fears and stories told. It's actually pretty good to see something fresh in this genre of film. Actress Camilla Belle (Push, When a Stranger Calls remake) makes her directorial debut with one of the stories. The Parish (2021) - A mother, still reeling from the death of her military husband, and her teen daughter move to a small town where they are terrorized by a bloodthirsty nun who holds a secret to the town. When the mother learns her daughter could become the nun's victim, she turns to the local priest for help. The film is a psychological supernatural horror film that is not bad at all. Bill Oberst Jr. is great as Father Felix, who in his own words is a "spiritual kung fu mentor" minus the kung fu LOL Edited March 17, 2021 by AlbertV 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Koravec Posted March 18, 2021 Member Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) A Scanner Darkly- Linklaters other movie using this animation style over live action. The other being Waking Life, a series of philosophical anecdotes and encounters, which I much more prefer than this endeavor. Stacked cast with Reeves, Harrelson, and Downey Jr, so seems a bit counterintuitive to just turn all these well known actors into cartoons lol. I did like it but it drags at times. What I imagine the feeling of reading a good sci-fi/crime comic series would be like. Waterworld- like scanner darkly, another flick Ive been dying to see for a while. Think this is like the first thing ive seen with kevin costner in it, Im not even sure why hes such a well known name when he wasnt in anything really that iconic in my eyes. Says this was the most expensive movie made up to that point but it doesnt even look like it would have cost a ton. Overall a pretty decent to good movie. Its neat which is a big redeeming factor. Edited March 19, 2021 by Koravec 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted March 19, 2021 Member Share Posted March 19, 2021 20 hours ago, Koravec said: Waterworld- like scanner darkly, another flick Ive been dying to see for a while. Think this is like the first thing ive seen with kevin costner in it, Im not even sure why hes such a well known name when he wasnt in anything really that iconic in my eyes. Says this was the most expensive movie made up to that point but it doesnt even look like it would have cost a ton. Overall a pretty decent to good movie. Its neat which is a big redeeming factor. I'll never forget how disappointed I was after watching Waterworld. I was expecting Mad Max on water, and instead got rubbish with absolutely no redeeming quality whatsoever. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted March 25, 2021 Member Share Posted March 25, 2021 Finished the Whole "Escape Plan" Trilogy(2013-2019): The first one was defiantly the best. Its always cool to see Arnold and Stallone in a movie together. The rest of the series were pretty good. Third movie defiantly had the best villain death though. Its always fun to see Stallone go berserk on a guy and beat the crap out of him. So yeah, pretty good series. Defiantly a recommend, especially the first movie. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted March 25, 2021 Member Share Posted March 25, 2021 I've been in a funk lately, can't concentrate on gaming, kung fu movies are packed up...the cure...ANIME. Rising of the Shield Hero...aot of fun, some darker themes than usual. Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?... A bit heavy on the fanservice but enjoyable fights and characters. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime... Quite possibly one of my favourite modern anime. A bit fanservicey, but aqesome, varied characters, largely compelling story, humor thats actually FUNNY. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted March 25, 2021 Member Share Posted March 25, 2021 11 hours ago, DarthKato said: Finished the Whole "Escape Plan" Trilogy(2013-2019): The first one was defiantly the best. Its always cool to see Arnold and Stallone in a movie together. The rest of the series were pretty good. Third movie defiantly had the best villain death though. Its always fun to see Stallone go berserk on a guy and beat the crap out of him. So yeah, pretty good series. Defiantly a recommend, especially the first movie. Agreed, first one was everything a B movie oughtta be and a nice 80's throwback. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted March 27, 2021 Member Share Posted March 27, 2021 Log Horizon: another isekai anime. Almost thru season 1...weaker compared to the last few series I mentioned just up a few posts, but still a lot of fun so far. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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