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Despite its low budget, Pickman's Muse is an excellent example of good Lovecraftian cinema. Its slow and moody leaving much of the horror up to our imaginations. The acting is adequate with the exception of the lead, Barret Walz, who does a great interpretation of a man slowing losing his sanity. The film makes great use of locations especially the ruined church and its set and model design don't show any sign of its limited funds. One of the strongest elements of the film is its cinematography and lighting. Shots are well framed and the use of almost surreal lighting makes it look a lot better than films with 4 times its budget. This combined with a chilling score makes for a chilling atmosphere.
The Writer/director is obviously a fan of Lovecraft and shows great respect to the material. I really look forward to what he does next. Fingers crossed it will be another dark journey into my favourite mythos.

Quick! Call my lawyers! We are going to court and claiming custody too!

About time he paid us the cheques for the million dollars each! :D


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So this is how it all ended, eh?

Thankfully.

Can't say it was a fitting end to the franchise (IMO it ended a long time ago, Part III or something), but yeah...fans of the Saw traps will love this one, because it contains plenty of them!

But the storyline of Detective Hoffman was utterly exhausted, as was he I bet! And the twist at the end by bringing back one of the original characters as some sort of a retribution (because the bad guy deserves to be punished for everyone to be happy in the end...damn studios!) felt convoluted and really lame. I guess by the end, even the makers didn't know where to go and what to do.

Watch it if you have nothing else to do. If you stopped after part III, skip this.

* * ½

Kill The Irishman

I hadn't watched a gangster flick in quite sometime and just grabbed this on a whim but I'm glad I did because it was a great watch. Ray Stevenson plays the part with glee and really tore it up. I have no idea how true to the actual events the whole thing is but it's sure as hell entertaining.


Brilliant film for sure. The scene you mentioned is exceptional and it really made the film for me. Glad more people are checking this one out.

French cinema is really underrated. Pound for pound, it produces some of the most consistent cinema (horror in particular). I discovered Calvaire on our 'top 200 since 2000' list. So thanks for putting that one together ___v___.

Yeah I loved that too. Stevenson had great hair.

Its did play Danny Greene up as a sort of Robin Hood and kinda failed to mention he was a fed snitch too but alot of the incidents happened. The guy was hard to fucking kill. I have documentry on the raise of the Mob with clips of Greene and an interview with the guy who killed him (in prison of course).

Its hard to believe he was such a pivotal part on the start of the downfall of the mob.

Limitless - 8/10

A thoroughly captivating and somewhat original movie. What it does very successfully is take you in several different directions without really revealing what it's true intentions are. It really was highly unpredictable and therefore, a piece of sublime story telling.

As for the individual performances, Cooper's star is on a meteoric rise and this absolutely justified based on this outing. There's no real need to comment on de Niro's performance as he's almost always flawless and this no exception.

I guess you might say this movie is the love child of Trainspotting and Wall Street and is proof that big budget Hollywood doesn't just produce dumbed-down, contrived, crowd pleasing shite.

Good Neighbors (2010)

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>>: C+

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

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>>: A-

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A nice little Amber Heard double-bill. Do you blame me? :p

Drive Angry starts off fantastically well. By the first 15 minutes you might be rubbing your hand in glee anticipating the film ahead. The next 30-odd minutes are good, developing the plot well.

Then somehow, things go downhill till the climax. Some things which are shown after the one-hour mark defy sense, and you are left wondering what the director was thinking of.

Nic Cage does good initially, then starts getting into his Ghost Rider stride, a vibe which I couldn't shake off as much as I tried to. Amber Heard is simply fantastic and delicious...need I say more? (!) Great to see Tom Atkins in a longish cameo, and David Morse was a surprise. A nice little climax tries to be the saving grace of the film, but at 104 minutes and most of it centering on pulling forward a drab-developed plot, dampens the spirit of the film.

It could have been better. My highlight was Amber Heard, and I have no idea what others will like in this one.


* * ½



Ahh...Sir John Carpenter, welcome back!

It's great to see the great master return to his elements with a story which could easily have been a 80s gem. The periodic setting is absolutely delightful, the atmosphere really creepy and claustrophobic, and the plot is reminiscent of so many good atmospheric films of the golden era. The surprise ending felt like a good finish to a great story, and, while The Ward is not a standout project like Grindhouse was, overall this film manages to stand out from most of the other drab entries of the genre in recent times.

And of course, Amber Heard and Danielle Panabaker in mostly non-glamorous performances. No complaints whatsoever from this fanboy of both gorgeous dolls.

Sir Carpenter might be well past his prime, and to expect a Halloween or Escape From New York or The Thing today from him might be asking a bit too much, yet if he keeps bringing out films such as The Ward then he is still a force in the genre. At least he will give you your money's worth, a thing which MOST makers and studios have given up on long ago.

Did I mention Amber Heard was fantastic? Can you tell I am absolutely smitten yet?


* * * ½

I was sure that you'd gonna love The Ward, man.

A new film from John Carpenter with Amber Heard on the lead...one of V's favorite dreams came true!:D

Drive Angry just about could've been a Carpenter flick if it had a dash more seriousness/darkness injected into it. It reminded me a lot of Big Trouble In Little China and a few other films from the 80s like The Golden Child. It had the elements of being a modern cult classic but it just didn't quite get there. Entertaining though especially if your in the mood for something mindless.

:D yeh he did. Cracked me up how he'd just slap people. It was briefly mentioned he was a snitch I think but that aspect was downplayed.

You said it!

Just look at her...

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Doesn't that make your knees go weak?! :o


Ahhh...The Golden Child.

Memories...

Van Helsing

Ahem...Ahem...I don't blame you, my friend.:o
........................................

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

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>>: A-

Watched Timecrimes on The Penguin's above recommendation...

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... And I thought... meh...

To be honest, I really didn't like the main character, didn't particularly sympathize with him, and thought that most of his actions were odd, rude, or just plain stupid.

Also, I guess it's hard watching it after it has been compared to Triangle because I had a pretty clear vision of the movie and where it was going... So the outcome was honestly predictable in the end...

With Triangle, though I knew it was going in a certain direction, I thought that it was a bit more imaginative than Timecrimes and ultimately more clever. Plus at least I sympathized with the main character in Triangle; I couldn't stand anyone in Timecrimes for the most part.

I can see why people would like it, but it just didn't do it for me - I've seen the same concept done better (Triangle, 12 Monkeys).

2/5.

The Experiment - 4/10

How did this happen? You remake a much respected European movie, which is based on an utterly intriguing true story, you add two of the finest character actors in the business, sprinkle a big budget with big production values and yet you still end up with a utter dross.

They really did snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on this one. But that's Hollywood remakes for you. Whittaker's performance was a little OTT and far from his best work. I guess they cast him because they wanted him to bring some of that unstable menace he produced in the Last King of Scotland but the two performances are lightyears apart.

Adrien Brody's thoughtful performance was better. Competent is probably the best word to use, but for an actor of his talent you expect more than that.

What this movie needed was a steady building of tension and threat towards the helpless/vulnerable, humanised victims. That could've been achieved by revealing more of the inmates backgrounds and endearing characteristic and off set against a backdrop of increasingly disturbing/grittysadistic torture/violence.

In short, this movie should've been more like Scum and less like Lock Up.

The Damned United - 8/10

This movie, based on Brian Clough's 44 day reign as Leeds Utd manager, may seem like a niche sports movie but it is way more than that. It has everything a drama needs to draw you in; strong characters brilliantly portrayed and a roller coaster tale with vendetta based hatred simmering just beneath the surface.

What really makes this compelling is that it's the accurate retelling of one of the most dramatic episodes in English football. Also, it was a who's who of Britiah actors with Michael Sheen leading the charge. His performance as Clough, struggling to contain his ambition, ego and pride through the turbulence, often of his own making, was utterly sublime and was complemented wonderfully by Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney.

It's just a shame that so many won't be exposed to this little gem due to it's lack of 'Hollywood' gloss.

The Mist - 5/10

This is not a great movie, but like so many uncultured, contrived works, it was actually enjoyable. Yes, it was cliched, yes, it was ludicrous but still, it gripped me throughout.

The big flaw for me was the accelerated rate at which the besieged and desperate humans completely fall apart. The timeline extends to several days and, frankly, nobody would lose it that quickly but then, the makers were trying to achieve an effect not make a study of the human condition under extreme stress (watch The Road for that; actually, watch it immediately if you haven't already!).

That said, there was something deeply Lovecraftian about this with a real heavy lacing of classic Twilight Zone. I won't spoil anything but what this movie did, which salvaged a lot of integrity for me was, it did non-fluffy and utterly bleak well. For a 5/10 it is very watchable.

Watched a couple of stinkers

Behemoth...really bad syfye original

and Shark Attack 3 Megadon

this one is worth it if not for the dialog


then the great cheesy effects



there....I just save you all 89 minutes of your life

Thanks. Appreciate it.

I couldn't believe how much i liked this one..

The Hole (2001)

It was fine but that sick bitch should get caught at the end.

>>: B

Love Object (2003)

Though the ending was rush & average but overall it was pretty decent.

>>: B+

Boy Eats Girl (2005)

>>: C

Yeah, it just reels you in. Intriguing!

Kill The Irishman

Fantastic movie. I loved how it felt like an older made movie which really worked given the time period the movie took place in. A lot of excellent performances, Ray Stevenson especially. I highly recommend.

Volcano...

Orca
I thought this was just going to be a Jaws rip off but despite their similarities, Orca was it's own film. I still think Jaws is the superior flick but i enjoyed this one as well.

Orca is a cool flick. It's a lot darker compared to Jaws and has more interesting themes.

Hmmm, sounds interesting. I think I'll put that one on the list. I'd like to see your score for the movie.

Fistful Of Dollars
For A Few Dollars More
The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Millennium aka Dragon Tattoo Trilogy (2009)
 

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>>: A-

Did you read the books? If you did, how do the movies compare? I've not read the books or watched the movies, but I do have The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in the queue.

Nope, I haven't read the books but I just guess they did a pretty detailed & fine adaptation as each of the film more than 2 hour long without a dull moment. Very nicely made a good conspiracy thriller with a great cast. Looking forward to see how the American versions turns out.

In Her Skin aka I Am You (2009)

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A well made moving drama from Australia that comes with a shocking true story about a 15-year-old girl Rachel Barber who went missing and was later found murdered. Loved those soundtracks by John Butler Trio.

>>: B+

Little Deaths (2011)

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>>: C+

One thing i really liked about it was the emotional turmoil that Nolan (Richard Harris' character) was going through. It added a lot of depth to the movie.

Hall Pass - 7/10

I found this packed full of laugh out loud moments that were completely incriminating. Let me explain, this return to form by the Farrelly bros is riddled with married/husband & wife observations that led to a lot 'methinks the gentleman doth laugh too loud' evils from the Mrs. If you're a married man and you've seen it, you can take a guess at what gags I'm referring too.

The humour is classic Farrelly, mean and cringey with not a small amount of gross out. It's pretty evenly balanced in terms of broad appeal, as it has humour and titillation for the boys and the girls. I know it was chewed up by the reviewers but I felt it was up there with Kingpin, Dumb and Dumber and Mary.

Thoroughly enjoyable!:)

Bridesmaids

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Hilarious. Don't remember the last time I laughed that hard at the movie theater. Kristin Wiig is absolutely incredible - Her sense of comic timing is genius. Plus you have some fantastic supporting roles, Wendi McLendon-Covey of Reno 911, Ellie Kemper from The Office, and Rose Byrne (who was also hilarious in Get Him to the Greek) - This is definitely worth seeing if you're looking for something fun and entertaining.

4/5.

I dont understand why people think Kristin Wiig is so funny. Every movie i've ever seen her in i've found her incredibly annoying. The only roles i've enjoyed her in was Paul (Where she was very subdued) and The Joe Schmo Show (which was before she was famous.)

I thought she was hilarious in Knocked Up and Ghost Town - Small roles, subtle, great comic timing. She was really great in Bridesmaids.

I hadn't seen her on Saturday Night Live up until may 40 minutes ago when I started looking her up... Incredibly UNfunny, but I think it's partially the awful writing; I haven't made a habit of watching SNL since the 90s.

I thought she was terrible in both of those movies. All she did in Knocked Up was say a bunch of stupid annoying quips which were not funny in my opinion and in Ghost Town, i wanted to punch her character. I really hate it when people dont let you talk and so i found it really annoying when she kept interrupting Ricky Gervais so that he wouldnt be able to ask about what happened during his procedure. Plus any doctor who does what she did should have their medical license taken away. I know it was just a movie and im going a little overboard but i just found her to be really unbearable. When did annoying become funny?

Dead Heat today classic 1988. Love it .. like forever. two bad-ass cops one goes on the dead side and it's like zombie cop vs zombie crooks. well made. some laughs in the movie. Excellent fun. for horror fans. and some action in the film as well as horror comedy or some so sci-fi in the mix. It's a pleaser .. hehe :p

Cropsey


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Fascinating documentary that explores the "truth" around the urban legend Cropsey, the alleged boogeyman who kidnapped and terrorized children in Staten Island New York, which transitions into the actual conviction and trial of Andre Rand, who was accused of kidnapping multiple children in the 1980s.

Chilling and horrifying, the movie follows the families and friends who banded together to search for the missing youths as well as Willowbrook, the abandoned hospital that created the myth around the disappearances. There is some truly horrible, and sad found footage.

Highly recommended.


4.5/5.


...


Colin


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Finally got around to seeing Colin, the "$70 zombie movie that wowed Cannes," and I honestly think that it would have been better served as a series of webisodes... While there was a lot about the movie that I liked, I ultimately found it a bit meandering, slightly schizophrenic, and ultimately I found myself getting bored by the end...

I don't want to totally pan it as I completely endorse and applaud the indie filmmakers behind it (and indie filmmaking in general), but it just didn't do it for me.