ConcreteMascara
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« Reply #3060 on: November 02, 2020, 04:52:41 PM » |
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It was nice that Halloween came on a weekend this year as I was able to properly binge on horror movies this time.
Friday Night:
Halloween Resurrection [dir. Rick Rosenthal, 2002] - I've finally seen the last Halloween film in the franchise and I have to say I didn't think it was that bad. My friend and I affectionately refer to it as Bustaween since Busta Rhymes is in it not as a token celebrity but as a full blown character [full blown character being relative]. We were also dying at Jamie Lee Curtis's 'fuck you pay me' appearance for five minutes. I can barely even speak to the plot or dialogue because we were riffing so hard over it, but there were some decent kills, Michael Myers was of an appropriate size, even if his mask look especially ridiculous, and there was some solid titty from the redhead. Also Busta Rhymes kung-fu kicks the shit out of Michael and while some may think that's the worse development in the Halloween series I'd say it was the best thing I'd seen in many a movie. On the whole this is definitely a trash film but it was infinitely less painful than Zombie's Halloween II or H20.
Firday the 13th: A New Beginning [Danny Steinmann, 1985] - so after rewatching the first 20 minutes of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter to confirm I had actually seen it before we watched this thing. I've seen it described as especially sleazy numerous times and while there is '80s sleaze it didn't blow my mind. Having lived a pretty sleazy lifestyle for many years its gotta hit hard for me to get excited. Regardless there's ample nudity in this one, mediocre kill shots, but solid 'dead body art' corpse posing. I like that Corey Feldman's character as an adult is a pill-popping, easy-to-anger autist, who just beats the shit out of anyone he decides to flip out on. And I like the setting of barely functioning halfway house for troubled adults. You could watch anyone of the scenes in this movie and marvel in wonder at the ineptitude, but taken as a whole its a surrealist romp from one kill or set of tits to the next. Also a black guy in full leather having sweaty Mexican food confetti shits gets killed in an outhouse. It was fun.
Saturday:
Hocus Pocus [dir. Kenny Ortega, 1993] - haven't seen this one since I was a kid and boy is it a weird one. Sarah Jessica Parker as a ditsy blonde witch is hawt. Bette Midler as the leader of the trio is very fun. the main character makes me want to kill myself, but he gets roasted the whole fucking movie for being a virgin so it makes up for it. There's a bunch of other weirdly out of place pseudo raunchy detours that just add an air of WTF to this movie that made it relatively easy to watch.
Resident Evil [dir. Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002] - so I wanted to watch this because I just started playing RE games again and thought it would be fun. I only saw it once on a bad torrent right after it came out and all I really remembered was brief Milla Jovovich side boob and the laser defense thing slicing commando dudes up. Well both of things happen with a lot of dumb stuff on either side. There's no way around the fact that this is a stupid movie with minimal interior logic BUT because I wanted to watch it and was willing to accept maximum dumb, I was actually entertained as hell. I totally forgot about the scene where Jovovich runs up a wall and then kicks a mutant doberman pinscher in the face, which they showed in every trailer before this movie's release. It's so dumb but now it's just fun dumb instead of kicking a video game I loved in the face dumb like it felt then. There was a surprising lack of blood and gore but I think that was more a product of 2002 era movies which I remember as being largely bloodless. Also the score which is done by Marilyn Manson and Marco Beltrami is kinda good at some points, even when it is the big chunky "industrial metal" riffs. I'm pretty sure I'll be working my way through this series very shortly because I have no self-respect.
Child's Play [dir. Tom Holland, 1988] - I've spent my whole life thinking I'd hate Child's Play/Chucky movies because I rarely like intentional horror/comedy and for no other discernable reason. then I listened to a podcast on the history of this series and it convinced me to give it a chance. The fact that Brad Dourif plays/voices Charles Lee Ray/Chucky forced me to take the plunge. I gotta say, I thought this first one was great! Chucky is way creepier than camp 90% of the time and when it's not being a horror movie it almost feels like a bitching action film. It also helped I kept thinking how terrifying it would be if your kid honestly believed his 3 foot doll was alive. Lock that fucker up! While watching the Resident Evil series will be an experiment in self-inflicted torture, I'm hopefully going through the Chucky movies will actually be rewarding. It's certainly starts off 100x stronger.
Antichrist [dir. Lars von Trier, 2009] - to end the night my partner and I watched Antichrist. Does it get much better? I think only now after years of showing her weirder and weirder stuff could she get into it. It felt complimentary in style to Twin Peaks: The Return, which we've been watching too. She'd never seen it before so it was fun to watch her rapid descent into disgust in those last 30 minutes. SPOILER Still makes my skin crawl to see that penis get bashed with a log and jerked off to a load of bloody completion. Fucking hell.
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Balor/SS1535
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« Reply #3061 on: November 02, 2020, 06:37:18 PM » |
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Child's Play [dir. Tom Holland, 1988] - I've spent my whole life thinking I'd hate Child's Play/Chucky movies because I rarely like intentional horror/comedy and for no other discernable reason. then I listened to a podcast on the history of this series and it convinced me to give it a chance. The fact that Brad Dourif plays/voices Charles Lee Ray/Chucky forced me to take the plunge. I gotta say, I thought this first one was great! Chucky is way creepier than camp 90% of the time and when it's not being a horror movie it almost feels like a bitching action film. It also helped I kept thinking how terrifying it would be if your kid honestly believed his 3 foot doll was alive. Lock that fucker up! While watching the Resident Evil series will be an experiment in self-inflicted torture, I'm hopefully going through the Chucky movies will actually be rewarding. It's certainly starts off 100x stronger.
I had the same feelings about the first Child's Play before I saw it. I was sure that it would be trash, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The story was really well put-together and compelling. I still need to see the most recent remake of it, though, as I have heard that it is good as well (the doll is a broken AI this time around). |
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WhiteWarlock
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« Reply #3062 on: November 03, 2020, 12:37:17 AM » |
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GF has life sized "Chucky" doll she got from somewhere...
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Balor/SS1535
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« Reply #3063 on: November 03, 2020, 12:54:33 AM » |
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GF has life sized "Chucky" doll she got from somewhere...
I may like the movie, but that would still be too much for me! |
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ConcreteMascara
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« Reply #3064 on: November 05, 2020, 04:27:58 PM » |
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Possessor [dir. Brandon Cronenberg, 2020] - so at least in the US this is available on Amazon for streaming right now. My buddy and I watched the trailer once and decided we should watch it immediately. I know there's been some positive chatter here too. I really liked this on every level. There's definitely similarities with his father's work, but this didn't feel like there was a deep level of detachment between the characters and the events like so many Cronenberg films feel like (at least to me). I thought the performances were much more naturalistic and the writing was solid. The general premise and the visuals were fucking great. And goddamn was there a lot of violence and blood. Did not expect that! I was happy to see Jennifer Jason Leigh in another good movie too. She's really had some great roles in the last five years. This movie reminded me of eXistenz in which she co-starred too, which is just sort of a weird time repeating itself between the two Cronenbergs. Anyway... I feel like this is a bad review for a good movie, so please just watch it!
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absurdexposition
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« Reply #3066 on: November 06, 2020, 03:57:08 PM » |
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Possessor [dir. Brandon Cronenberg, 2020] - so at least in the US this is available on Amazon for streaming right now. My buddy and I watched the trailer once and decided we should watch it immediately. I know there's been some positive chatter here too. I really liked this on every level. There's definitely similarities with his father's work, but this didn't feel like there was a deep level of detachment between the characters and the events like so many Cronenberg films feel like (at least to me). I thought the performances were much more naturalistic and the writing was solid. The general premise and the visuals were fucking great. And goddamn was there a lot of violence and blood. Did not expect that! I was happy to see Jennifer Jason Leigh in another good movie too. She's really had some great roles in the last five years. This movie reminded me of eXistenz in which she co-starred too, which is just sort of a weird time repeating itself between the two Cronenbergs. Anyway... I feel like this is a bad review for a good movie, so please just watch it!
Finally was able to see this, too, after some anticipation. To me it felt like eXistenZ meets Inception and, while it was certainly good, I can't say I loved it. It's a bit uneven and I had a hard time really connecting with it. I thought Antiviral was much better in that regard. And, like that film, there is this big tech/bio company looming overhead - a concept that links these to his father's work. Otherwise this seems pretty much like Cronenberg Jr's coming into his own and, yes, so much blood! Will await his next feature. |
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« Last Edit: November 06, 2020, 03:59:14 PM by absurdexposition »
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ConcreteMascara
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« Reply #3067 on: November 09, 2020, 09:21:37 PM » |
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^^ Definitely excited to check out Antiviral after watching Possessor. I will say Possessor reminded me a bit of Scanners too in the sense it showed corporate struggle going to new heights while ultimately not saying much. The ending was a bit of let down but I really liked the ride anyway.
But lets talk "bad" movies! Because I don't respect myself or my time, my friend and I decided to watch not only all of the Resident Evil franchise, but once that's done every video game movie ever made in chronological order. I expect will be watching Super Mario Bros by next week. May god have mercy on our souls.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse [dir. Alexander Witt, 2004] - this is a bad movie that looks cheap, with some truly terrible action sequence cinematography. The kind of spastic with a camera shakey bullshit we can thank Jason Bourne and Batman for. A step down from the first movie in every way except for the fact that it featured Nemesis and had this ridiculous sequence where MJ sends her motorcycle flying towards lickers and then shoots the gas tank in bullet time and it blows up, all inside a church. But every other aspect was bad bad bad. BUT it moved fast as hell so it wasn't boring. And it was such a spectacle of cheesy/bad film making it was sort of a pleasure to behold. The girl who played Jill Valentine was kind a hot but also had padding under her skirt to make her waist/hip ratio look bigger and it was so obvious we just laughed. I will say if you've played a lot of RE games you'll appreciate some of the fan service attempts and seeing classic RE monsters, but otherwise I can't recommend this to anyone.
Resident Evil: Extinction [dir. Russell Mulcahy, 2007] - I straight up enjoyed this one! I was immediately surprised by how much better this movie was than RE: Apocalypse. This movie feels like a real action movie with a real budget and some actual care was spent making it. The CGI is much better, there are way more practical effects and they look really good for the most part. The plot is properly absurd but the whole Mad Max meets The Omega Man thing + sinister cabal of sinister scientists worked for me. Qtpi Ali Larter shows up as Claire Redfield and the Israeli dude who played Carlos in the last movie is back again. The dialogue doesn't make me want to cut off my ears by movie standards and the pacing is still fairly rapid. Of the first 3 RE films this was easily my favorite and I would watch it again without hesitation.
Judging from the previews of the next 3, Afterlife looks pretty shit with it's 3D gimmick crap but the last two look like a ton of fun. I'm legitimately excited to get into them.
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rocksoff
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« Reply #3068 on: November 09, 2020, 11:29:29 PM » |
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Haha, I've been capping off my last few Sundays watching those Resident Evil movies. Probably the last thing I ever thought I'd feel any nostalgia for, but in an era where it seems like Hollywood productions are more and more dominated by lumbering $500 million behemoths, there's something nice about some silly mid-budget action/horror flicks mostly helmed by the same guy (who also wants to remind you that he has a hot wife.) Maybe our opinions will be at odds since I didn't care too much for Extinction, but I thought Afterlife and Retribution were the most stylish of the bunch, Retribution especially having noticeably more fluid fight choreography compared to the others, and both ratcheting up the absurdity to a new degree (motorcycle zombies decked out in former Soviet military gear pursuing the protagonists through a simulation of Moscow might be the peak). I've still got The Final Chapter to get into this weekend.
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WhiteWarlock
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« Reply #3069 on: November 10, 2020, 04:29:08 AM » |
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Leeloo rocks in Resident Evil series... BigBaddaBoom! used to be guilty pleasure watching her movies...
yet saw some net flicks movie recently "Old Guard" with her that was sort of blah in my opinion
probably should watch it again somewhat soon
currently immersed manipulating 1962 The Miracle Worker with Patty Duke
making up some raw source for my NekroFileTapeX
remaking destroyed(flood water damage) 1/4 8 track reel from 1990
guess it's more using the original concept from that time/era/project/recording
anyways half assed watched "Shivers" this weekend with GF
super early Chronenberg
seen it long ago
may need watching Rabid somewhat soon
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« Last Edit: November 10, 2020, 05:05:05 AM by WhiteWarlock »
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ConcreteMascara
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« Reply #3070 on: November 23, 2020, 04:51:09 PM » |
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A couple of weeks back I watched Resident Evil: Afterlife and RE: Retribution which were easily my favorite two of the series to my own surprise. Aside from gimmicky 3-D movie type shots of flying this or that I really had no complaints when consuming them as fun action movies. Remains very hot in Afterlife and the whole fight scene with the big dude with the axe-hammer and the water going everywhere and the sawn off shotguns was just the right kind of ridiculous bullshit. I generally liked Afterlife a bit better, which was surprising because I thought I'd like it the least of all. Retribution was really a blast too, especially how they tried to shoehorn in every major sci-fi plot device into one movie, but it grabbed me just a bit less. Was hoping to have finished the RE series by now but my buddy is in quarantine after a COVID outbreak at his work so it'll have to wait.
This past weekend was heist/crime movies with my partner. First up was:
Heat [dir. Michael Mann, 1995] - this is one of those movies I've been wanting/meaning to watch since I was 12 and madly in love with action movies. As a kid I never watched it because my dad didn't like it so he wouldn't rent or buy it on VHS, as an adult, the presence of Al Pacino is a big deterrent. Plus finding time for a 3hr movie is tough. But not it's finally done and I can say... it's pretty good. On the plus side the movie looks great, the shootouts are loud as FUCK, there's some really tense moments and tricky camera work that frames things in a way that prohibit the viewer from seeing everything at once. Basically all of the action parts of the film rule. But on the flipside 90% of parts with Al Pacino have me laughing or cringing at the ridiculousness on display, especially the boring family drama stuff. It's fucking stupid. Even if he's supposed to be the most arrogant prick cop ever, it still feels like he's overdoing it.
I can really appreciate the "ambition" of this one to give a sprawling, even if relatively simple story, all the room it needs to breathe and do its thing. It's full of crime movie pathos and predictable endings, but Michael Mann lets it all play out till the end, including every trope along the way.
Final verdict, it was a great movie to watch on my big-ass TV with sound going full volume on a Saturday night, but I don't think I'll watch it again for a long long time.
PS - I finally understood what Rockstar Games was trying to do with GTA up through GTA V when the finally nailed the heist mission thing. this movie is feels like a huge influence on so many modern action video games that aren't Call of Duty.
Second was:
The Usual Suspects [dir. Bryan Singer, 1995] - my partner had never seen this so it felt like a natural follow up to Heat. Even though I've seen this one many times I still think it holds up well. The premise is solid and the dialogue is pretty good aside from silly parts. The whole inner myth building of the movie and escalating intensity works pretty well. The ending feels just a bit overdone re-watching now, but I think the movie earns it well enough. Also young Benicio del Toro really cracks me up. It's also a '90s nostalgia trip.
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« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 04:24:26 PM by ConcreteMascara »
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TS
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« Reply #3071 on: November 24, 2020, 10:43:31 AM » |
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Deep End
From the beginning I felt that there was something familiar about this, especially the girl with the red hair and the yellow raincoat. Then I remembered, I'm fairly certain this was the background video to a Cremation Lily concert at United Forces of Industrial some years ago. Good times! All in all I enjoyed it. Steamy bathhouse action! Really good looking movie. Not as good as The Shout by the same director, though.
Air Force one
Fun patriotic airplane movie, managed to sort of tickle that 90's Con Air craving. Not spectacular.
Also revisited some classics:
Cannibal Holocaust
Still almost a perfect movie in my eyes. The Riz Ortolani soundtrack, the lush jungle, the gore effects which I gotta say are some of the best. The way people are beaten long after dying really nails in that feeling of no respect for human life. Added bonus is the meta-narrative in which the movie seems to critique itself in a clever way.
The Shining
Still good. Love the way the hotel looks, makes me want a red bathroom. Could've done without the magic though, it really doesn't do anything for me.
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Kropper uten Mellomrom
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absurdexposition
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« Reply #3072 on: November 24, 2020, 03:55:05 PM » |
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Deep End
One of my all-time favourites. Jane Asher is amazing. I like it more than The Shout, although that one is still very good. |
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TS
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« Reply #3073 on: November 24, 2020, 04:20:12 PM » |
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Deep End
Jane Asher is amazing. Yep! Mesmerizing. |
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Kropper uten Mellomrom
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