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Fear City (1984). By most standards this is not a good movie. My guess is that it was slashed in editing to tame it down to an R rating, and in doing so left us with a hodgepodge of wooden acting and sleaze. Many complain about the story, but Ferrara flicks are more about gritty style than tight stories. It also did not help to follow the cult classic Ms. 45 with the lesser Fear City. Still, the raunchy backdrop of New York in the 80s was captured perfectly, serving as a celluloid annal of a bygone era. The acting was not worth shaking a stick at. The dialog was at times laughable, even entertainingly so. Poor Billy Dee. He must have been horrified at some of his lines. The villain was such a divergence from any sense of reality that he was actually quite entertaining. Of course most of us guys will be captivated with the ample sleaze of Fear City, with almost half of the story taking place in strip joints. A young and oft naked Melanie Griffith was an optical dessert that only added to the fun. For me, the most fun was in the predictability. Abel seemed to delight in making cinematic cliches into low art. Though this is not a flick I can recommend, Ferrara fans should still it a whirl. Merci.
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"Along Came Jones" (1945)
-Gary Cooper Plot: IMDB Riding into Payneville, easy-going cowboy Melody Jones is mistaken by the townsfolk for notorious gunman Monte Jarrad. The real Jarrad is hiding out wounded on the ranch of childhood sweetheart Cherry. She has the idea of sending Jones off to decoy the pursuing posse, but once he's met Cherry, Jones has other plans. Phantom's Review: Great light- hearted western adventure. Plenty of action and humor. A very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. __________________ |
Driven To Kill
Steven Seagal actioner with bad acting, poor plot, bad hairpiece and stupid characters. Strangely watchable though with its over the top viloence as SS plays a father out to avenge an attack on his daughter by Russian mobsters. After a long days work it was an easy, thought free watch. |
The Cursed (2010)
http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/.../thecursed.jpg A low budget horror feature with a funny & silly ending. >>: D+ Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971) http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...BlindDead1.jpg >>: B- Evil Angel (2009) http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/.../EvilAngel.jpg Not bad. Quite entertaining flick, but the beginning was a mess which made the story bit confusing at times. >>: C+ |
Bullet Ballet (1998). What I thought was going to be a Johnny To knockoff turned out to be a Japanese Jimmy Hendrix Experience in which the abject point of life is set into violent flashes of the silver screen and punctuated with industrial tunes. The emptiness of life seems an odd place for a character study, but that is just what this film accomplishes. By facing up to our blank and bleak innards, Bullet Ballet not only takes a philosophic look at the thinking man's eternal question, it shoves character and audience alike onto the roundabout of life and takes us for a dizzying spin in order for us to clear our heads, almost as if our perception of reality needs a savage jolt so that we might look at life with an empty canvas as fodder to concoct our assumptions.
Shinya Tsukamoto has a ubiquitous role here as writer and director and star of this frenetic flick, and he performs each role with aplomb. Across the board the acting was solid, with the other two leads revealing characters built upon foundations of internal confliction. Filmed in acute black and white, color seems to have no place in the difficult world created here. The camerawork was frenzied and even a tad experimental, so much so that Dramamine might be in order before shoving off (sorry, but temperance is not my strong point). Coupled with some spasmodic montages, all stitched together through the genius only born on that small island, Bullet Ballet turns out to be a violently brilliant ride with an end that is more bountiful than could be expected. Merci. d |
Long Weekend (aka Natures Grave)
An obnoxious couple, always bickering, have a weekend by the beach and are less than respectful to their surroundings. As a result they descend into a spiral of anger and slight insanity brought on about nature fighting back. Note, the slight insanity part, ol' mother nature doesnt really do anything apart from make animal noises and rustle some leaves but apparently this is enough to drive our two protagonists over the edge. Not very tense and a little slow but the acting is solid enough. Wont bother watching it again. |
"Piranha" .....tits & gore....need I say more
"Frozen".....hmmm..a movie about 3 people stuck on a ski lift....very well done Mr. Green. "Play It Again Sam"....a little Woody Allen blast from the past |
"Wing of Desire" a beautiful film, definitely worth a look.
"Inland Empire" another bizarre film by David Lynch. |
The Fighter (2010)
http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...dc/fighter.jpg Bale is good for this sorta role and he did great here. >>: B+ |
And Soon the Darkness (2010)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j3kwJnPsAH...kness-2010.jpg Adequate but pointless remake of the under appreciated 70's Thriller. The scenario here is changed to Argentina (where life is cheap) and 2 American tourists. Lacks the tension of the original as well as the isolation caused by the language barrier. Plus Franks Spencer's missus isn't in it.. |
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"Ascension" (2002) 5/10 Story: An unknown creature has murdered the creator of universe and unleashed the ability to produce miracles. This ability is now in the hands of human beings who have driven themselves into destructive envy and the horrible chaos of suddenly becoming gods themselves. The only way to stop this vicious circle is to destroy the creature who started it all. Some have already tried it, but never returned from the creature's hiding place. Now, three women of different ages and backgrounds have decided that things have to be stopped and climb up to face the murderer of God. What we get is: 3 women slowly getting up the stairs of an empty industry building while having slow, dark and philosophical conversations.... the horror.. I managed to see the whole damn thing somehow. Maybe due to its weirdness and unique "story". Didn't get the ending, of course, but I have a vague idea. For some reason i now wanna see Karim Hussains "Subconscious Cruelty" and "La belle bête", coz he sure is different. |
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Thank You For Smoking
Excellent satire about a lobbyist for big cigarette companies, trying to be a good role model for his son whilst promoting smoking. Aaron Eckhart is very watchable in the lead, highly recommend this one. |
The Possession Of David O'Reilly (2010)
http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...id-oreilly.jpg Strange! Whether I didn't get it or whatever...I think it isn't actually any usual shockumentary or POV features like PA, BWP or REC. Cause here there's no character in the film was handling the camrea or there weren't set ups for several cameras inside & outside the house; the directors here intentionally used POV shots in most of the parts. And as usually it sometimes worked & sometimes didn't. I mostly liked the part when David was stuck in a room with that pregnant woman. Anyway, it isn't a perfect film but there's some potential. The little cast did a good job. The make-up effects for the demonic creatures were good; accompanied with some eerie sound effects that worked pretty well in some scenes. Overall, besides some plot holes it wasn't a bad effort at all; I liked it. Next time the directors should try a solid haunted house story with a good script but without the POV format, IMO. >>: B True Grit (2010) http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/.../true_grit.jpg >>: B+ |
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That movie sounds lame. Lame but entertaining. :D Sounds a little like "Rampage" actually. |
Blackout (2008). This movie starts out really bad, I mean the acting was lamentable. But through sheer perseverance this movie makes a grand turnaround to enter the annals of a pretty darn decent psychological thriller. I have to wonder if the beginning's bad acting was intentional. It might even make sense. With the exception of movie greats such as 12 Angry men, claustrophobic flicks need to give the viewer a breath of fresh air, and this one does so with clever use of flashbacks; otherwise it would have been an insufferable affair. The story slowly builds and the mounting tension was was adroitly snappy. The acting could have been better, but for a low budget affair it would be unfair to expect anything better. One cheap fix would have been to sharpen up the dialog, but it got the job done. There were some enjoyably gruesome moments in the third chapter, and the villainy that was exposed lent credence to the nasty things we hoped would come his way. The effects were decent and the camera work was fun. In lesser hands this flick would not have worked, but Castaneda worked wonders with a barely decent script, sparse budget, and rough acting. Merci.
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"Castle freak" 3/10
That's a lot of scrotum showing for one movie. Sure it was fake and you could see his blue underpants behind his "flesh", but he was gross nevertheless. A god damn FREAK!!! |
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subconscious cruelty is certainly an odd one. |
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Yes, i read a user review on IMDB. The dude liked the movie without having much of a clue what it was trying to say and how the stories were connected, if they were. So i guess it's more visuals than dialogue. |
Yesterday i watched Red Hook and it was awesome. And today i watched Are you scared yet, times reminded me of saw a bit, but none the less pretty good. Now im watching Are you scared 2.
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"Undisputed III" 8/10
Probably the best american martial arts movie i've seen in 20 years. Loved the choreography and the camera works during the fights (brought back beautiful memories to Ong-bak and Tom Yum Goong). And the story wasn't bad either for this kind of flick. I've got a new wet dream now. Jaa vs. Adkins. :cool: thanks a lot for the rec, Elvis and McCoy. |
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"Curse of the Wolf": This little treat comes from KillerWolf Films and anyone suspecting anything special might be disappointed. However, if you love horrid crap, then this might be for you.
Its fun when a movie has the trifecta; bad script, bad acting, and bad lighting. This movie is filled to the brim with the horrid acting and dialogue that we've all come to love about "Friendependant" movies. The story has very little coherency and the funny thing is, this isn't so much a horror movie as it is an action flick with werewolves (about as well choreographed as a middle school play). What little you'll actually see or hear in this film will go into making it the entertaining kind of schlock that very few movies have the honor of being. "Fist of the Vampire": Another KillerWolf production and while it isn't much better production wise, the film itself is far more entertaining. The basic premise is that a group of vampires host an underground fighting circuit and this underground cop is sent in to bust the operation. It already sounds like oscar material doesn't it? More or less same problems as the last movie. Bad lighting, bad script, and bad acting. The fighting is fun to watch, but it is still the kind of fighting you'd see on power rangers. Still very little horror element, but still plenty of schlock to throw around. |
The Princess and the Warrior (2000). I know this is not my typical fare. Maybe I just have a thing for Franka Potente. That said, this flick did not disappoint, not in the least. Yeah, it was slow, and perfectly so. It simply took its time, reveling in the imagery, and the magic, of the events as they unfolded. These events, taking a rather unbelievable and circuitous route, ring true in their essence, as if they could not have happened any other way, clinging to the notion of fate. A modern fairy tale come true, the mystery is not so much in the denouement but in the type of magic being created here: dark or light. It could have gone either way, creating a background tension that keeps this slow burner from ever feeling slow. The story itself seems a mish-mash of events that splendidly come together, random threads of existence whose meaning manifests in an obvious yet unforeseen fashion. Leads Franka Potente and Benno Furmann say so much with so little, generating characters that we strive to support even when they let us down. These were characters that could not have been more different, and destiny seemed to take a perverse interest in them. The direction was impressive, taking this slow story, punctuated by moments of heightened tension, and weaving it into a riveting experience. The score was spot on, always present to help the story, or emotional context, but silent when the action is best left to its own accord. The camera work was magnificent. From the opening shot we know that something special is about to occur, only to be outdone by that amazing shot at the end, a seemingly endless specter of cyclopean splendor. For a timely break from the grim theater usually frequented, the cinematic wizardry fashioned here will leave you breathless, and refreshingly determined to take on some more rugged affairs. Merci.
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DEFENDOR: Great little movie. Woody Harrelson kicks ass, and gets it kicked quite a few times. PERFECT ENDING.
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Catfish (2010)
http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...dc/catfish.jpg "Don't let anyone tell you what it is." "A shattering conclusion." " "The best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never directed." These are the couple of the tag line quotes that appeared in the trailer & promotional campaign of this film. All are bullshit! I don't get the idea what the hell wrong with those people! It wasn't a thriller at all...a simply decent documentary drama where there's no twist at the end rather which comes with a pretty sad & emotional content. I'm not saying this docu drama was bad, just their strategy to promote it was bad...people should get hanged for this kinda fake marketing.:mad: So, I don't care about to give away the basic idea which anyone can guess at the very beginning of this documentary...this is a simple old story about how people with a 'complex' background tries or comes to appear in an online community with a 'fake' identity and then starts to manipulate other 'original' people. >>: C Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...idhdc/SNDN.jpg >>: C+ 127 Hours (2010) http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...hdc/127hrs.jpg Definitely belongs to 2010's 'one of the best' club. A wonderful 'Danny Boyle' take on an amazingly true survival story where you'll certainly get an emotionally rich performance from James Franco. >>: A |
Magic (1978). Yep, I am a sucker for creepy ventriloquist flicks, but I think this one stands on its own spindly little legs and feet. Instead of an epic, what Attenborough has created here is a classy psycho-thriller, almost a conundrum unto itself. The beginning utilizes flashbacks to there fullest, underhandedly setting up the what is to come. As things get underway, the story does a nice job keeping building up the mystery until nigh the very end, and even then it holds its head up high.
A young Anthony Hopkins is exploited to his fullest, way before his Hannibal role. His meager character is stunningly balanced by his dummy's rude and egocentric shenanigans, all of which are great entertainment for the flick's other characters, at least until the real fun begins. Ann-Margret is just hot; the screen could have used her for more retina delight, but we'll take what we can get. Burgess Meredith was perfect as the appropriately slimy agent that truly cares for his talent. The camerawork accomplishes its focus with an almost tame satisfaction. Shot compositions are done in a fashion that keeps our attention nerved on what creepy little nastiness might be taking place beyond the obvious action. The story was simple and effective, giving the direction a free hand in developing a movie whose greatest attributes are difficult to pin down. Sans gore and other tricks to engage the viewer, Magic simply unravels in a fashion that envelops us until the end is nigh, which then threatens to turn sour with a cheezy ending but instead employs daring originality to drop us off at just the right stop. Merci. d |
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Very interesting and original Irish/Scottish horror film that falls down a little in its execution but is still worth checking out.. A women with mystic powers flees Ireland to escape danger and to hide their terrible secret. Definally a breath of fresh air.. |
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"Subconscious cruelty" 4-5/10
GROSS!! I wonder if Triers "Antichrist" was inspired by this movie? |
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)
http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/.../Guardians.jpg Although the story & the characters were pretty common like many other epic fantasy adventures but to me it's one of the most spectacular animated visual masterpieces seen in years! I really loved it! Actually I even liked it more than Toy Story 3, How To Train Your Dragon & Despicable Me! The 2nd best just after Batman: Under the Red Hood, as 2010's Best Animated features; IMO. >>: A Raw Meat aka Death Line (1972) http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...dc/rawmeat.jpg >>: B+ |
cursed
the happening solomon kane |
The Book of Eli
Not too bad, Denzel Washington plays a drifter protecting a sacred book in a violent post apocalyptic US. Action keeps rolling along nicely and the film certainly looks good but the whole 'this book will save humanity' is seriously weak bullshit. It made me want to watch The Road. |
Freddy vs. Jason
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The Funeral (1996). How this one swung so low on the radar is a mystery. I guess it's just a testament of the sheep mentality that is so becoming of the general public. If it's got mobsters then it must be teeming with nonstop action and violence between occasional bouts of character development. Yep, The Funeral has a couple of rugged scenes, but the focus is on the main characters and the disruption of life that they and their close ones are forced to live with. These guys have become such slaves to their lifestyles that even their brotherly bonds might not be enough to keep them from at least attempting to pull away from the gravity of the underworld; and it is the spouses that pay their dues. As per most of Ferrara's flicks, God also pokes his nose into the fray, giving purchase to the question as to whether or not man's actions are the consequence of God or human volition. This Walken line says it all: "[I am] ashamed of nothing. I didn't make the world."
The cast was remarkable. With Christopher Walken as the lead, it is easy to imagine that he would steal the show. Strong as his performance was, Chris Penn's performance was just as memorable. Vincent Gallo also grabs our attention, though it was really his presence that draws us in. Incredibly, it is the background characters that really make this film- the mobster's wives. Though screen time is secondary, their precious moments capture and transmit the essence of the dismal reality that choice, and fate, has bequeathed upon them as well as their husbands. My favorite of the film, though, was the underused Benicio Del Toro. His character reeked of a slimy iniquity that I just could not get enough of. That the plot was weak was of no significance. The Funeral's import was founded upon the character's lifestyle choices and the insufferable relationships that ensue. In the end, maybe it was God's hand that steered the course of fate. Of course, Darwin might just pop out of his grave to argue in favor of genetics. Either way, this dichotomy might demonstrate this film's ultimate puissance. d |
The House of Sand and Fog
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Tron:Legacy in 3D last night. Better late than never.
I'm not a connoisseur of 3D but i think they put it in at all the best places and when it was there, it was well done. The story wasn't too much of a stretch from the original and I rather liked it. The fight scenes were really really great, and it was soo funny. It was like they meshed The Big Lebowski and Tron and made some super hybrid Dude/Flynn that was hilarious. |
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