Seen and not seen's, recommendations and queries on top films in general.

[absurdexposition]

I also watched Day of the Dead [1985] for the first time Monday night. I was expecting something darker than Dawn of the Dead but god damn! There's still a dash of weirdness and silliness from time to time but on the whole it felt like something much closer to Fulci film in tone and gore. And damn if the gore isn't wonderful, even if it is absent for large stretches. I think I need another re-watch to really form an opinion about it, but my initial impression is very positive.

Dawn is the easy pick for favourite of Romero's Dead, but Day is the sleeper hit and that Fulci comparison is highly apt.

[NerveGas]

I also watched Day of the Dead [1985] for the first time Monday night. I was expecting something darker than Dawn of the Dead but god damn! There's still a dash of weirdness and silliness from time to time but on the whole it felt like something much closer to Fulci film in tone and gore. And damn if the gore isn't wonderful, even if it is absent for large stretches. I think I need another re-watch to really form an opinion about it, but my initial impression is very positive.

Dawn is the easy pick for favourite of Romero's Dead, but Day is the sleeper hit and that Fulci comparison is highly apt.

Yeah there’s no disputing that Dawn is the best. In fact, it may be my most watched movie ever. With that said, Day Of The Dead is an undisputed classic and gets better with every viewing. And what an opening scene!

[tiny_tove]

Favolacce. Italian movie with strong influences of Haneke, Greek Cinema and some indie stuff...
Everybody is mean and ugly, everything is morbid and it is filmed very every well

[ConcreteMascara]

Most recent watches:

Annihilation [dir. Alex Garland, 2018] - I watched this around the time it came out and really really liked it, but was worried it wouldn't hold up on a repeat viewing. Happily this is not the case, I think I may have liked it even more. The first go round I had some issues with the dialogue and the characterizations of the expedition team but this time I didn't really have a complaint. probably because I knew what i was getting, instead of mentally looking for all the seams. My biggest complaint remains the flashback framing device for the movie which is completely unnecessary even the first go round, and even more unnecessary the second time. Happily it's used to sparingly you normally forget it's there. The visuals are very psilocybin without turning into Alex Gray, post-hippie shit, but the vibe is straight up DXM. And the score rules.

Logan [dir. James Mangold, 2018] - I saw all three Wolverine movies in the last two months and what a ride! From ultra-schlock to flawed modern action movie to serious drama with hard-R violence, I liked them all. I think it's safe to call this an drama that takes place in a comic book universe. I thought it was mostly successful at creating a believable world for the characters and actual tension and earned emotionally dramatic moments. Hugh Jackman's performance really sells it all. It hit extra hard having loved the X-Men for so long and also having watched all of the movies so recently. While I always appreciate seeing Richard E Grant in a movie, his role was probably the weakest part of this. But if the comic book elements were much more removed it wouldn't be a movie about Wolverine. Can't imagine the MCU or DC suits will be able to top this kind of thing anytime soon either.

Species [dir. Roger Donaldson, 1995] - I remember 8 year-old me wanting to see this so badly, with it's promise of Alien style horror and titties too. Then 10 year old me finally seeing it and being bored to hell, aside from the titties. Did HR Giger design the creature and some other stuff? Yes. Is the design routinely ruined by 1995 CGI? Yes. Is the whole package entertaining? Ehhhhhh.  There's technically an "ensemble" cast of characters out to find Natasha Henstridge, yet half of them were unnecessary or could have been combined. There's a hard to believe "romance" plot with Michael Madsen and Marg Helgenberger that does provide quick tit but no excitement. Sir Ben Kingsley is as useless a black ops project manager as Forest Whitaker is as a telepath/empath tracker.  I could go on but basically the barebones plot is okay, it's the silly and pointless way things unfold around it that leave you just dumbfounded. Had this movie had the same amount of tit, half the characters, and been 35 minutes shorter it could've been fast-paced sleaze with a weird edge. But instead its trudge with occasional detours into sex and "weirdness" that does not beg for a re-watch.

[NerveGas]

Most recent watches:

Annihilation [dir. Alex Garland, 2018] - I watched this around the time it came out and really really liked it, but was worried it wouldn't hold up on a repeat viewing. Happily this is not the case, I think I may have liked it even more. The first go round I had some issues with the dialogue and the characterizations of the expedition team but this time I didn't really have a complaint. probably because I knew what i was getting, instead of mentally looking for all the seams. My biggest complaint remains the flashback framing device for the movie which is completely unnecessary even the first go round, and even more unnecessary the second time. Happily it's used to sparingly you normally forget it's there. The visuals are very psilocybin without turning into Alex Gray, post-hippie shit, but the vibe is straight up DXM. And the score rules.

I don’t know if you read any of the books, but I would say that this movie becomes incredibly difficult to fully enjoy if you’ve read the books. I love the trilogy and knew that the movie took a different approach, but still couldn’t figure out why certain aspects of the book weren’t brought into the film. I’m referring to stuff that would have been very easily filmable and basic plot stuff that works really well. With that said, the books are really vague and trippy, so certain creatures/phenomenon wouldn’t convert to the visual medium successfully, but for the life of me I can’t wrap my head around some of the unnecessary changes that were made. While I do think that film interpretations or books should indeed be viewed as interpretations, reading the books first made watching this much more challenging than it should have been. Don’t get me wrong there were some aspects of the movie I appreciated. The mutated bear, the ending sequence, and a few others. I watched this movie with someone and it was probably horribly annoying for them hearing my commentary. I hate to be overly critical in my comparison because at the end of the day they are two different works of art all together, but it did nag at me.

Edit: I also forgot to specify that most of my critique revolves around the charitarization of the expedition team. The group dynamic in the books is totally different and so much more strange, tense, and unsettling. Seems like the dynamic of the characters in the movie really does a disservice to the story. If I’m being vague I apologize I just don’t want to spoil the plot for anyone planning of giving The Southern Reach Trilogy a shot.

[NerveGas]

The Beast

Erotic art film (???) directed by Walerian Borowczyk. This is my first film of his that I’ve seen, and I’ve been very intrigued by him since I first read about him a while back. I thought I knew what to expect going into to this. A highly pornographic bestiality fairy tale with some kind of strange woodland rat/bear beast. To be honest, this movie was fucking boring. Sure there’s the totally bonkers relentless rat creature bestiality at the end, but this movie drags and drags and drags. I’ll give some of his other films a chance, but aside from the sheer absurdity of the final scenes, not much to offer.

[tiny_tove]

After over 2 decades I watched Idi Smotri (Come and see), Eastern War DRama, with an impressive sound design, bleak sa fuck and with some totally brutal scenes. I remember when I watched it the first time some sounds really made me think where I wanted to go musically for the industrial part of Foresta di Ferro and John Murphy (RIP) provided several atmospheric pieces that went in that direction, but the level of intensity of the post-bombing scenes with the kid suffering tinnitus (a condition I relate to) really left me speecheless. The movie is about the not-so-friendly interactin between Einsatzcommandos vs Belarius partisans seen from the eyes of a young kid who looks like a teen Max Von Sydow. The cool thing is that it has the classic dramatic atmospheric moments of Russian and Ukrainian cinema, but it goes fast as a shark with thousand  things happaning, more like contemporary Slavic cinema, with great camera movement and a few over the top scenes. Fits in The power electronics movies we were discussing years ago although from a different perspective than the move we keep quoting.

[NerveGas]

After over 2 decades I watched Idi Smotri (Come and see), Eastern War DRama, with an impressive sound design, bleak sa fuck and with some totally brutal scenes. I remember when I watched it the first time some sounds really made me think where I wanted to go musically for the industrial part of Foresta di Ferro and John Murphy (RIP) provided several atmospheric pieces that went in that direction, but the level of intensity of the post-bombing scenes with the kid suffering tinnitus (a condition I relate to) really left me speecheless. The movie is about the not-so-friendly interactin between Einsatzcommandos vs Belarius partisans seen from the eyes of a young kid who looks like a teen Max Von Sydow. The cool thing is that it has the classic dramatic atmospheric moments of Russian and Ukrainian cinema, but it goes fast as a shark with thousand  things happaning, more like contemporary Slavic cinema, with great camera movement and a few over the top scenes. Fits in The power electronics movies we were discussing years ago although from a different perspective than the move we keep quoting.

I’ve written about this movie in this thread before, so I’ll keep it brief. But this really is a phenomenal film. I hesitate to employ the overused adjective “hallucinatory” or even worse, “fever dream” (the use of this term must stop), but it truly is a bizarre nightmare. Have not watched it in quite some time, but would be very interested to see how the Blu-Ray looks.

[tiny_tove]

will check your review, but I agree with your idea about it.

[MateriaPrima]

Hard to be a God by Aleksei German. The film is said to have consumed him throughout the last 15 years of his life until he died leaving it close to completion. His wife and son added the finishing touches after his death in 2013. The film is brutal and chaotic, beautiful, surreal, almost Andrei Tarkovsky but with a cruel violence and harsh bleak brutality and decay not seen in his work. For me it is like taking Bosch, Bruegel the Elder or Grünewald and translating them into film. The story, although interesting, almost isn't necessary, the images are what grasp you. You can smell and taste the sweat and sickness. I have only watched it once while I was sick with the flu, I remember spending the entire 177 minutes seeing it sideways while lying down. I do not wish anyone sickness but I think it's probably one of the best ways to experience it.

[tiny_tove]

Getting crazy for the 3rd series of Paradise PD, demented animated series of the gentlemen behind Brickleberry. Touches anything improper and unpc and have good rhythm. First series did not convince me too much, but then it improved.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

The Devils (1971)

Based on real life events, but this adaption is taken from the book "The Devils of Loudun" by Aldous Huxley. The lead, Father Grandier, is played beautifully by Oliver Reed, it's an incredible performance. The actor is most commonly known in our time as the slave owner/former gladiator who won his freedom in Gladiator. He also stars in Cronenberg's "The Brood" as Dr. Raglan.

A deeply disturbing film based in the witch hunts and religious persecution that swept the world, this time in the back drop of France in the 17th Century. I wouldn't call it a horror film but there are certainly elements and a good amount of sleaze. There are some great exploitation style scenes involving the nunnery once the convent plays into the "possession" afflicting them. The religious fervor and political themes around this movement are portrayed very well. The imagery and cinematography are excellent and brings the film to life. The cast of characters well represent how all citizens of a town were affected by the mass hysteria of the time. The accused playboy priest, a smitten and jealous hunchbacked nun, appointed "professional" witch hunter and others are wild and entertaining characters.

Not a flashy film by today's standards, but for those who enjoy cinema of a different era carried by excellent acting and story telling would enjoy The Devils.

[absurdexposition]

Not a flashy film by today's standards, but for those who enjoy cinema of a different era

The '70s were the best decade for cinema, period. Incredible amount of exploration and bold ideas, even in Hollywood.

[ConcreteMascara]

The Devils (1971)

Oliver Reed's mustache in this movie deserves an award! But I largely agree with FM's review, although I'm too desensitized to be find it disturbing. It's such an insanely gorgeous and detailed movie. All of the exterior and interiors are distinct and interesting in a way which compels re-watching, along with everything else.

A quick round-up of my last week of movies:

Shaun of the Dead [dir. Edgar Wright, 2004] - I saw pieces of this many times over the years but never had a chance to sit down and watch it. Now that I finally have I can see why people were so gaga for it when it came out. I kept thinking it felt like an expanded version of something from Spaced, and then I read afterwards that it basically was so there you go. Like Zombieland it's fun and fast-paced and straddles the line between action and comedy really well. It was a nice bit of fun after a miserable Tuesday.

I Care A Lot. [dir. J Blakeson, 2020] - I went into this one blind because I liked Rosamund Pike and it had some good buzz... I guess I should have been more circumspect. I found this movie frustrating to aggravating, especially after the 30-40 minute mark. I struggle anytime characters in a movie/series that's supposed to be "serious" make consistent or increasingly illogical decisions and that's what happens here. I was ready to start yelling bullshit at the TV for the last 30 minutes. Not recommended.

The Lobster [dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015] - Somehow only now I've finally watched my first Lanthimos film after missing a screening of Dogtooth 10 years ago. I tried to go into this as blind as possible and as a result this first viewing had me on the edge of my seat (in a good way) because I never knew where the movie was going. I really enjoyed both halves of the film and found myself laughing inwardly throughout. Parts of it really stuck in my brain after watching and I'm excited to watch it again. And now I've got a good reason to check out Lanthimos' other films.

Ex Machina [dir. Alex Garland, 2014] - Been meaning to watch this for ages but I figured it would be "just okay", so I wasn't racing to see it. Well that was dumb because this is a really nice discrete sci-fi story. Oscar Isaac does a great job as a "villainous" character, Domhnall Gleeson is great as the young coder who would fuck an android no questions asked, basically a stand-in for every weeb coder the world over, and Alicia Vikander is hot with and without skin. She looks a lot like my ex who had alopecia, and was similarly bald much of the time I saw her, but also a very similar face, so that was kind of exciting :D    I would say I called almost all of the story beats in my head before they happened but the way the story is told made it work really well for me.

And tonight I think my friend and I will continue our video game movie journey by watching Wing Commander. Shoot me.

[TS]

The Lobster [dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015] - Somehow only now I've finally watched my first Lanthimos film after missing a screening of Dogtooth 10 years ago. I tried to go into this as blind as possible and as a result this first viewing had me on the edge of my seat (in a good way) because I never knew where the movie was going. I really enjoyed both halves of the film and found myself laughing inwardly throughout. Parts of it really stuck in my brain after watching and I'm excited to watch it again. And now I've got a good reason to check out Lanthimos' other films.

The Lobster is probably his most light-hearted movie. Dogtooth and The Favourite are both better, I think. All very different, but still recognizably Lanthimos. Good director!