Last Movie You Watched (and what you thought of it) III

[Palmares]

Previous thread went well over 500 posts. Continued from here:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/last-movie-you-t177011/index45.html

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Return of Doctor X (1939)

Humphrey Bogart's most atypical role, as an executed mad doctor brought back to life by synthetic blood. He gives a creepy performance (while looking like he could fit in a Tim Burton film). He personally hated the film. In many ways, it's a pretty typical Warner Bros. B-movie of the period, complete with a wisecracking reporter (played by Wayne Morris). Competently shot by actor/stage director Vincent Sherman in his film directing debut. More of a historical curiosity now, but Morris generates a few chuckles.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031851/combined

[Cliff Paul]

Fargo. It was 7/10. Not really sure why it's so highly regarded.

[Tim Cornelis]

Phantom menace. Boring.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

McQ (1974)

One of John Wayne's final roles, playing a Seattle cop à la Dirty Harry (a role he'd turned down). While perhaps past his prime for this type of role, his movie star charisma still carries the film. Veteran director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven) makes the most of the story's noir elements (courtesy of screenwriter Lawrence Roman, responsible for the script of 1956's A Kiss Before Dying), Seattle filming locations (the Seattle of my childhood, now gone), and some exciting car chases. Diana Muldaur also stands out as the wife of McQ's murdered partner.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071824/combined

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Tommy (1975)

[Rewatched/TV] Exhilarating film version of the Who's rock opera, with electrifying performances from Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Paul Nicholas. Keith Moon is suitably unhinged as Uncle Ernie. Jack Nicholson also has a small role. Director Ken Russell throws every technique, including the kitchen sink, at the material, and it works. The narrative's a bit patchwork, but the great songs from start to finish help it come together. One of those films I must watch every time it's on. A compelling musical film, and, for my money, a classic.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073812/combined

[Ro Laren]

High Art

The soundtrack for this movie is awesome.

[Philosopharis]

The matrix: still great

[Ele'ill]

Ex Machina

the blueray main menu screen is pretty awesome I could put it as background noise

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Cocoanuts (1929)

[Rewatched/TV] Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo's first feature film may be the most primitive of their films, but it still packs a nice comedic punch. Adapted from their 1925 Broadway musical, it also has songs by Irving Berlin, but, honestly, the singing just leaves less screen time for Minnie's Boys to do their thing. Margaret Dumont and Kay Francis also stand out. It has the static quality typical of early talkies, but still manages some innovation with the camera. It was filmed at a studio in Queens, New York, so the brothers could still appear on Broadway in the evenings, but within two years, the Marxes made the move to Hollywood. Why a duck, indeed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019777/combined

[Ro Laren]

Tokyo Cowboy

It was really cute. Completely obscure. I'm glad I found it.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Cannibal Ferox. An Italian film from the 80's about a student and her friends who goes to the Amazon to disprove that there is really cannabalism going on there(and you might guess she was wrong). They run into two other Westerners there who pissed off a tribe when one of them brutally mutilated and killed some of its members when he was trying to find gems in their lands. It has some good social commentary I guess, and I came away from it more sympathetic to the cannibals than the people they ate.

[bcbm]

'straight outta compton' strong beginning, the middle slowed the movie to a crawl and didn't really draw much from what was going on in california rap in the early/mid 90's beyond some cameos while glossing over a lot of things to keep nwa looking like heroes. didnt follow up with ren or yella either which was too bad, and ignored women involved in rap at the time altogether. picked up again towards the end and left the theater feeling good but a little underwhelmed.

[Ele'ill]

Interview With The Vampire

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011)

Filmmaker Tom Six wanted this sequel to make the original film seem like My Little Pony. Mission accomplished as it crosses more than one boundary of depravity in a flood of blood, gore, and feces. Laurence R. Harvey feeds us one of the most disturbing performances I've seen, playing a fan of the first film who decides to reenact it on a bigger scale. At least I think it's a performance. He's so in character, he could easily be an actual lunatic. No redeeming social value here, mind you, but if you want extreme body horror, it delivers the goods.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1530509/combined

[Flavius]

I watched Jancsó's Red Psalm from 1972. It was simply great. Astonishing pictures and music, and a thought-provoking storyline. One of my all-time favourites from him, along with The Round-Up (1965).

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Chandler (1971)

John Sacret Young's incoherent screenplay with often ridiculous dialog and Paul Magwood's flat direction doom this neo-noir to a historical curiosity best left buried, despite the acting power of Warren Oates and Leslie Caron. From scene to scene, "wait, what?" is the most common reaction for the viewer. MGM president James T. Aubrey locked Magwood out of the editing room and supervised the final cut himself, but who knows if that made it better or worse considering how badly it's written. Associate producer Gary Kurtz went on to produce Star Wars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068356/combined

[Zoop]

Irreversible (2002)

Well, this is considered one of the most disturbing movies ever made, and justifiably so. It was a harrowing portrayal of sexual abuse and the consequences of it. I thought it was engaging and tragic. I liked the way it was shot. The reversed sequence made it all the more tragic.
But yes, the rape scene clocks in at a total of 11 minutes, and it doesn't hold anything back. So, if one is to watch it, I would be aware of that first.
Very disturbing and difficult to watch.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

[Rewatched/TV] Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of the first two novels in Tolkien's trilogy is an artistic success. The use of rotoscoping lends it a unique, often gritty, look, with some scenes having a surreal, nightmarish quality. The best known actors voicing characters are John Hurt as Aragorn (who's inexplicably drawn as Native American) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) as Legolas. It's best as visual art, and weaker as drama (though generally faithful to the novels). A shame Bakshi never got to make a sequel to complete the story. Watch closely to see elements Peter Jackson lifted for his live action films.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077869/combined

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The House at the End of Time (2013)

A strikingly good and original Venezuelan horror film (though perhaps it would be fairer to describe it in the end as magical realism). Writer/director Alejandro Hidalgo jumps between time periods, showing a woman convicted of killing her husband 30 years earlier dealing with the ghosts of her past. It begins as a disassembled puzzle, but the pieces come together to form a satisfying whole by the end (without explaining the how of it, which fits more with magical realism). Ruddy Rodríguez stands out as the woman, as does Rosmel Bustamante as her oldest son. Cinematographer Cezary Jaworski captures the mood of decay so central to the story. Recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2640474/combined

[Sasha]

Straight out of Compton

while apparently cutting some serious corners of the actual history i thought it was a good movie, if not as a real biopic than at least as a well made fictional document of the atmosphere in the 90's gangstarap music scene.

[Ele'ill]

Rango and Maggie they were both complete shit.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Hold That Ghost (1941)

Classic Abbott & Costello (their second film in starring roles) as the boys inherit what may be a haunted tavern. It hasn't lost any of its comedic value over the years, and features their moving candle gag. Costello and Joan Davis are hysterically funny, while Shemp Howard amuses in a small role, and Ted Lewis and the Andrews Sisters add some musical performances. Recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033723/combined

[Ele'ill]

The Descent - a group of women go exploring a cave and get attacked by things. It was awful.

[Lacrimi de Chiciură]

Blade (1998) - half vampire bad ass fights vampires and cops. It was pretty rad. The Vampire Council is how I imagine most corporate board meetings.

[Os Cangaceiros]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Many stories have been done with the theme of an individual's struggle against institutions, but few are as good as OFOTCN, IMO. It's one of my favorite books and the film adaptation was better than I remember it being. The character of "Nurse Ratched" is especially well done, I think...Louise Fletcher pretty much nailed that role. I like how, even though she's essentially the antagonist or villain of the film, she's not really doing anything out of malice or ill intent (well, perhaps with the exception of the manipulation of Billy at the very end)...she's just a cold bureaucrat who probably genuinely thinks that she's doing good.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

A worthy and satisfying sequel from writer/director Joss Whedon. Somewhat overwhelmed by spectacle at times, but there are also some nice character moments for the main cast, and Whedon finds the balance more often than not. Of the new cast members, James Spader absolutely rocks the screen as Ultron, Paul Bettany is a fine Vision, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Elizabeth Olsen are well-cast as Quicksilver & the Scarlet Witch. Some nice cameos from members of the extended MCU, too. The visual effects are mostly impressive (there's some dodgy CG early on, though). It delivers the goods.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/combined

[Ele'ill]

The 4th Friday the 13th. Worst movie I've seen in a long time, just flat out boring, even while high.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Hands of the Ripper (1971)

Uninspired Hammer potboiler about Jack the Ripper's daughter, seemingly possessed by her father's spirit. The leads are decent enough--Angharad Rees as the Ripper's daughter, and Eric Porter as a psychoanalyst treating her--and Kenneth Talbot's cinematography is pleasant, but it's certainly one of the lesser Hammer films. Slight story, no real suspense.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067176/combined

[Ele'ill]

return of the living dead- lol

halloween- lol

[Comrade Jacob]

I don't remember.

I actually think it was 'straight outta Compton' I saw, it was a great film. Can't believe it was the last film I watched tho.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Creepshow (1982)

[Rewatched/TV] An entertaining homage to EC horror comics, made up of five stories and a framing sequence, all written by Stephen King (who also delivers a goofily funny performance in one story) and directed by George A. Romero ("Night of the Living Dead"). It's playfully ghoulish, crafted to resemble a comic book come to life, and has a solid cast that plays along. Fun.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083767/combined

The Fall of the House of Usher (1949)

Terrible low-budget British adaptation of Poe. The cast is jaw-droppingly bad, with the exception of Gwendoline Watford's competent turn as Madeline Usher. Director/cinematographer Ivan Barnett's black-and-white camera work gives the film a proper Gothic ambiance, which may have influenced the later development of Hammer Horror, but just about every other aspect of the production is a decided failure, including some bizarre additions to Poe's story.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177766/combined

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

[Rewatched/Blu-ray] "To a new world of gods and monsters!" The crown jewel of Universal Horror, and director James Whale's masterpiece, is a wonderful film laced with black humor and ghoulish glee. Strip away the horror elements, and it's about an outcast looking for love and to belong. Karloff is magnificent as the Monster. The humanizing pathos of his performance is polished like a fine gem, touching and even funny at times (though he was opposed to the Monster talking). Ernest Thesiger's arch Dr. Pretorius nearly walks away with the film, though. It's easy to read a gay subtext to the film, but it's still debated how much of it was intentional by Whale, who was gay. Elsa Lanchester shines as both an impish Mary Shelley and the marvelous Bride. Una O'Connor amuses as an hysterical housekeeper. John J. Mescall's Expressionist-influenced cinematography looks fantastic. The ending is always heartbreaking to me, a rejected Monster crying as he chooses death. I first saw the film on TV in the early 1980s, and I've since owned it on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray. It's mandatory Halloween viewing for me.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026138/combined

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

[Rewatched/DVD] This sequel to 1931's "Dracula" begins mere moments after its predecessor ended, with Edward Van Sloan reprising his role as Van Helsing (here called Von Helsing, apparently he changed his ethnicity from Dutch to German in those mere moments). Gloria Holden's striking presence as the title character is the film's strength, as she vacillates between surrendering to her vampiric nature and seeking a cure. Her scenes with Nan Grey and, to a lesser degree, Marguerite Churchill have a sexual metaphor to them that even the censors at the Breen Office couldn't eliminate (though they tried). Director Lambert Hillyer, whose association with bats continued when he directed 1943's "Batman" serial, sets the Gothic mood early on. The cast includes Otto Kruger as Von Helsing's psychiatrist friend and former pupil, Irving Pichel as the Countess' servant Sandor (he went on to direct the pioneering 1950 sci fi film "Destination Moon"), and Hedda Hopper as Lady Esme. While it's not on the same level as "Dracula", it's a worthy sequel that finds its own influential path among early vampire films. It's also notable as the final Universal Horror film to be produced under the aegis of studio founder Carl Laemmle Sr. and his son Carl Jr., as they lost control of the studio to financiers during production.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027545/combined

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

[Rewatched/DVD] The second film in Universal's "Invisible" series is more of a potboiler, but it's elevated by a young Vincent Price as the title character in only his second horror role. He plays a mine owner framed for murder who escapes death row thanks to a scientist friend (John Sutton) who just happens to be the brother of the original Invisible Man. Invisible and on the run, can he find the real killer and be cured of invisibility before the invisibility drug drives him mad? It's an efficient production in the hands of director Joe May (a pioneer in German cinema before fleeing to the US after Hitler's rise to power). Price's co-stars include Sir Cedric Hardwicke as his cousin, Nan Grey as his girlfriend, Cecil Kellaway as the police inspector trying to capture him, and Alan Napier (best known as Alfred in the 1960s tv series "Batman") as a drunken mine superintendent. Written by Lester Cole (a communist and future Hollywood Ten blacklistee) and Curt Siodmak (whose next Universal Horror assignment was writing 1941's "The Wolf Man"). Not a classic like its James Whale-directed predecessor, but entertaining.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032635/combined

[LeninistIthink]

The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 a solid 9/10 , a masterpiece in my opinion.

[Ele'ill]

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

A worthy and satisfying sequel from writer/director Joss Whedon. Somewhat overwhelmed by spectacle at times, but there are also some nice character moments for the main cast, and Whedon finds the balance more often than not. Of the new cast members, James Spader absolutely rocks the screen as Ultron, Paul Bettany is a fine Vision, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Elizabeth Olsen are well-cast as Quicksilver & the Scarlet Witch. Some nice cameos from members of the extended MCU, too. The visual effects are mostly impressive (there's some dodgy CG early on, though). It delivers the goods.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/combined

I liked the fireflyesque dialogue peppered throughout it

[Ele'ill]

Jurassic World - it sucked still. 2/10

[Klarasw]

Mad Max: Fury Road.
Normally I'm not into films like that with all the car races and people dying in cool ways and stuff like that. It can be very boring. But I had read some feminist reviews of the film and also I've seen a lot of angry men complaining about the woman's role. So I thought I'd give it a try and it was actually OK good.
She is a hardcore *****! Max is pretty useless in comparison, it's only in the end he is of use.
So I would rate it "not bad" and worth a watch if you are bored :) And I think it could also be an OK film to sleep to if you turn the sound down a bit

[Bala Perdida]

Jurassic World - it sucked still. 2/10

For the highest grossing movie ever, it seemed awfully plain to me.

[Wyboth]

The Martian (2015)

Let me first say that I am a physics major, and I can look past a movie's scientific flaws, because it's a movie. Every year that a movie comes out which claims to be 100% scientifically accurate, people tear it apart looking for inaccuracies, and have gigantic online arguments about which parts of the movie are scientifically inaccurate. I personally don't care if a movie gets the science right, because it's supposed to be a movie, not a discovery channel program. If it happens to be scientifically accurate while having an exciting plot, good for it. If not, I'm not going to lambaste the director for it.

Now, about the movie itself. I thought Matt Damon had a great performance. One small criticism I had was that the wisecracking went on for a bit too long, and they didn't really show the psychological effects of solitary confinement on an empty planet. I liked the clever solutions he came up with for the problems he was facing. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi films and space exploration, if you're not pedantic about how the movie got the science wrong.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Freaks (1932)

[Rewatched/TV] "Gooba-gobble, gooba-gobble. We accept her. One of us, one of us." Dismissed and misunderstood when first released, director Tod Browning's critique of prejudice retains a certain power today, particularly in the revenge sequence at the end that's as visually impressive as the Transylvanian scenes in his 1931 "Dracula". While perhaps exploitative, the film's sympathies never waver from the "freaks", even if they were diluted by studio executives hacking away a third of the film after negative test screenings. The cast is a mixture of pro actors and actual sideshow folk, bringing authenticity to the story of a beautiful trapeze artist who schemes with the strongman to marry and murder a little person for his inheritance. Mess with one "freak" and you mess with them all, as both discover to their horror. The fate of the trapeze artist is shocking even now (and utilizes a costume designed by Lon Chaney Sr. before his death), while the strongman's fate of castration is one of the excised and lost scenes. While not a great film by mainstream conventions, it's every bit a cult classic, and deservedly so. It's a tragedy that Browning's original cut is lost forever.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022913/combined

The Devil-Doll (1936)

[TV] This later film from director Tod Browning ("Dracula", "Freaks") is another revenge story, as Lionel Barrymore plays a Parisian banker framed for murder, who, after escaping Devil's Island, uses the scientific discovery of a fellow escapee as a means to take revenge on those who framed him by using mind-controlled humans shrunk to the size of dolls. Barrymore adds a humane presence as he returns to Paris disguised as an elderly woman in part to also repair his relationship with his daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan, taking a break from the "Tarzan" film series), who believes him guilty and blames him for her mother's suicide. It's co-written by Browning with Garrett Fort ("Dracula"), "The Werewolf of Paris" novelist (and a communist later blacklisted) Guy Endore, and noted director Erich von Stroheim, based on a novel by A. Merritt. The cast includes Henry B. Walthall as the scientist and fellow escapee, Rafaela Ottiano as the scientist's wife (Tim Burton seems to have borrowed her hairstyle for Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd"), and Frank Lawton as the boyfriend of the banker's daughter. As usual, Browning throws in some well-visualized sequences to move the story along. The visual effects show their age, but remain reasonably convincing.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027521/combined

[Ele'ill]

For the highest grossing movie ever, it seemed awfully plain to me.

The best review-criticism I've seen pointed out how flat every character is and how they aren't worth caring about. All the dinosaurs attack at once in pretty much the same place = dumb action movie with an already stupid plot.

[The Intransigent Faction]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Many stories have been done with the theme of an individual's struggle against institutions, but few are as good as OFOTCN, IMO. It's one of my favorite books and the film adaptation was better than I remember it being. The character of "Nurse Ratched" is especially well done, I think...Louise Fletcher pretty much nailed that role. I like how, even though she's essentially the antagonist or villain of the film, she's not really doing anything out of malice or ill intent (well, perhaps with the exception of the manipulation of Billy at the very end)...she's just a cold bureaucrat who probably genuinely thinks that she's doing good.

I personally preferred the book, which I read before I watched the movie, but the movie was good in its own way.

Yeah, Louise Fletcher was great. Jack Nicholson was also terrific as McMurphy. That scene where they're "watching the ball game" still makes me smile.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

[Rewatched/TV] Christopher Lee's sixth turn as Dracula in a Hammer film is a reboot that ignores the earlier films to create a contemporary take on the character. After a prologue set in 1872, where Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) kills Dracula, the action moves to London of 1972, where a revived Dracula crosses paths with Van Helsing's grandson (also Cushing) and great-great-granddaughter (Stephanie Beacham). Written by "Doctor Who" veteran Don Houghton, it's one of the weaker Hammer films, cursed by a slight story and stereotypical dialog stuffed in the young characters' mouths, but it's still entertaining and even amusing at times. When it works best, it's because of the presence of Cushing and Lee, and their younger castmate Christopher Neame as Dracula's acolyte Johnny Alucard (Neame was a gorgeous young man, and he plays Alucard with a seductive charisma). Canadian director Alan Gibson's contributions are workmanlike, but he and cinematographer Dick Bush pull off a striking conjuring sequence. The brash score by former Manfred Mann member Michael Vickers sometimes clashes with the horror elements, though the music by White Noise (a group that included "Doctor Who" vets Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson) during the conjuring scene is quite effective. American rock band Stoneground also performs two songs in an early scene.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068505/combined

Halloween (1978)

[Rewatched/TV] Once upon a time, director John Carpenter's masterful exercise in horror began the Golden Age of Slasher Films, and 37 years later, the film still holds up brilliantly, befitting its status as a classic. Carpenter's mise-en-scène still impresses. He slowly builds the tension à la Hitchcock, constructed through long shots suggestive of being watched, a prowling Panaglide, and careful widescreen framing. Unlike other films of this vintage, which can feel dated, it has a timeless feel to it. The screenplay by Carpenter and producer Debra Hill crafts reasonably believable teen characters, while Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut holds the screen quite well. The cast also includes a creepy Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, Nick Castle (who went on to co-write "Escape from New York" with Carpenter and to direct "The Last Starfighter") as a menacing Michael Myers decked out in a William Shatner mask, and Nancy Loomis and P.J. Soles as the other principal teenage girls. Carpenter's minimalist score, with its iconic theme, is another plus. The scene where characters are watching "The Thing" on tv plays like a prescient in-joke now, knowing that Carpenter made a remake a few years later.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/combined

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Nightbreed (1990)

[Rewatched/Blu-ray] My favorite cult classic horror film is mandatory Halloween viewing every year. A metaphorically queer film from a gay filmmaker, its thematic richness resonated with me the first time I saw it in a cinema in 1990. While mainstream conventions wouldn't define it as a great film, true for many cult films, it succeeds on its own terms. Sometimes gory, sometimes campy, it rejects the usual horror narrative to present its characters in a different light, monsters as sympathetic and humans the real monsters (making it a spiritual descendant of both "Freaks" and "Bride of Frankenstein"). It's rough around the edges at times (writer/director Clive Barker has always been a better novelist than filmmaker on a technical level), but it also suffered massive studio interference. For the second viewing in a row, I'm watching the director's cut released in 2014, which eliminates most of the studio-caused flaws, and results in a richer, more involving film than the 1990 theatrical cut. One of the strengths of either cut is Danny Elfman's complex orchestral score, one of his best.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100260/combined

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Saw 'Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution' yesterday. Was very well put together and a treasure trove of evidence in the way of eye-witness accounts from ex-Panthers, ex-cops and journos from the time, as well as picture and video evidence.

One thing I found strange though was the documentary's interpretation of the BPP's leadership - it was very pro-Eldridge Cleaver (even ignoring his rape tendencies) and particularly anti-Huey Newton, which is not an interpretation i've seen before. I don't have exhaustive knowledge on the topic but it seems a strange interpretation at best. However, I enjoyed the film purely for the 2 hours of basically non-stop eye-witness accounts, pictures, and videos, with the narration being enough to give context but minimal enough to allow the evidence to speak for itself (though editorial decisions were clearly subjective as noted above).

Fascinating group though.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Saw 'Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution' yesterday. Was very well put together and a treasure trove of evidence in the way of eye-witness accounts from ex-Panthers, ex-cops and journos from the time, as well as picture and video evidence.
Seconded. I saw it at a film festival in June, and was impressed by it. It did seem to have a Cleaver bias at times, though.

[Zoop]

Clueless - second time viewing and thought it was great.

Because I'm high-brow like that.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

[Rewatched/TV] Writer/director Ken Russell's deliriously campy and trippy 1988 horror comedy, very loosely adapted from a Bram Stoker novel, is in many ways a throwback to the British horror films of the 1960s and early 1970s, and features early starring roles for Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, as well as a delicious performance by Amanda Donohoe as a noblewoman with serpentine tendencies. Dick Bush's inventive lighting and Stanislas Syrewicz's pulsing synth score drive it forward visually and musically. It's fun, funny, and twisted, as well as underrated. Very much a Russell film in every way. Trivia: executive producer Dan Ireland co-founded the Seattle International Film Festival in 1976.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095488/combined

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Thing (1982)

[Rewatched/TV] It's very rare for a remake of a classic film to also be a classic in its own right, but director John Carpenter's remake of 1951's "The Thing from Another World" is one of those rare examples. Like its predecessor, it's based on John W. Campbell's 1938 novella "Who Goes There?", but screenwriter Bill Lancaster (son of actor Burt) stays more faithful to it than the 1951 film did. Carpenter's first major studio film is a masterpiece of suspense and horror that's aged like fine wine. Even when you know what's coming, it retains the power to shock. The old school creature effects by Rob Bottin and Stan Winston have a substance that CG can't replicate. Ennio Morricone's score (augmented by some of Carpenter's electronic music) is another highlight. Kurt Russell consistently holds the screen (and proved in multiple films that he's a perfect Carpenter hero). It seems inconceivable now that this film received mixed (and some very negative) reviews and failed at the box office in 1982.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/combined

[bcbm]

'concerning violence' based on franz fanon's 'wretched of the earth,' narrated by lauryn hill and featuring rare footage and interviews from africa in the 1960s-1980's struggles against colonialism. some very striking and upsetting images and interesting interviews. all in all a good package, though the optimism of fanon and some of the interviewed left a discouraged feeling. still worth checking out if you have any interest in the topic


The Thing (1982)

[Rewatched/TV] It's very rare for a remake of a classic film to also be a classic in its own right, but director John Carpenter's remake of 1951's "The Thing from Another World" is one of those rare examples. Like its predecessor, it's based on John W. Campbell's 1938 novella "Who Goes There?", but screenwriter Bill Lancaster (son of actor Burt) stays more faithful to it than the 1951 film did. Carpenter's first major studio film is a masterpiece of suspense and horror that's aged like fine wine. Even when you know what's coming, it retains the power to shock. The old school creature effects by Rob Bottin and Stan Winston have a substance that CG can't replicate. Ennio Morricone's score (augmented by some of Carpenter's electronic music) is another highlight. Kurt Russell consistently holds the screen (and proved in multiple films that he's a perfect Carpenter hero). It seems inconceivable now that this film received mixed (and some very negative) reviews and failed at the box office in 1982.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/combined

one of my favorite movies ever, waiting for the first good snow to cuddle up with the gf and give it a watch (shes never seen it)

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

one of my favorite movies ever, waiting for the first good snow to cuddle up with the gf and give it a watch (shes never seen it)
I never get tired of it, no matter how many times I see it. It always seems fresh.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Love Crazy (1941)

William Powell and Myrna Loy are best known for their pairing in the "Thin Man" film series, but their popularity led to other films as a team, such as this screwball comedy co-written by Charles Lederer ("The Front Page", "The Thing from Another World"). Powell and Loy are married couple Steve and Susan, facing divorce after a series of misunderstandings triggered by Susan's mother. To delay the proceedings, Steve decides to fake a nervous breakdown, which backfires when he's committed to a sanitarium. Powell and Loy's chemistry serves the story well, and it's often laugh out loud funny. Powell gets to showcase his comedic skills (and get in drag). The cast includes Gail Patrick (later one of the first women to be a tv producer in the 1950s with "Perry Mason") as Steve's ex-girlfriend, Jack Carson as a neighbor trying to woo Susan, Florence Bates as Susan's mother, Sig Ruman as the sanitarium head, and Elisha Cook Jr. as an elevator operator. Hilarious.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033852/combined

[Os Cangaceiros]

I've seen a bunch of films that I haven't talked about in this thread lately

"Divergent" - 5/10
"Divergent 2: Insurgent" - 6/10
"Her" - 7/10 (kind of plodded along but there were still some very funny moments IMO, so that kind of made up for it)
"Black Mass" - 4/10, this could've been sooo good because the story is really interesting, but they fucked it up and it was completely lackluster I thought
"Me, Earl and the Dying Girl" - 7/10
"Spun" - 7/10, or maybe 6.5/10. I like the way they portrayed the interactions between the main character and Brittany Murphy's character. It was actually convincing and kind of moving. Brittany Murphy was actually a pretty good actress.
"Anchorman 2" - 4/10

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Abar, the First Black Superman (1977)

One of the strangest blaxploitation films. A black scientist (J. Walter Smith) hires a Black Panther-type militant (Tobar Mayo) to be his bodyguard, and his experiments turn the militant into a godlike figure. It's a howlingly bad film, especially the acting, and often unintentionally hilarious, but it's entertaining and isn't afraid to have political ideas, and the final act resolves as a series of almost dreamlike interventions by Abar, using his new mental powers to better the world around him. For almost everyone involved, it was the only film they ever made, but cinematographer Ron Garcia went on to work with Francis Coppola and David Lynch. Overly sensitive white folks might not like the way white people are portrayed, but in its own ham-handed way it captures the pervasiveness of white supremacy. The ending is definitely a strange one. A cult film in every sense of the term.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122116/combined

[Ele'ill]

Easy A

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Frankenstein (1931)

[Rewatched/Blu-ray] "It's alive!" Released in US cinemas 84 years ago today, this Universal Horror film has stood the test of time as a true classic of the genre. Based on Mary Shelley's novel, as filtered through the stage adaptation by Peggy Webling, it's not hugely faithful to its source, but it remains a dramatic interpretation of the core elements. It was originally assigned to director Robert Florey with Bela Lugosi attached to play the Monster, but James Whale was offered the chance to direct any Universal property and he chose this one.

Without Lugosi, Whale made the wise choice to cast the little-known Boris Karloff as the Monster, which not only made Karloff a star, it resulted in an iconic performance (with magnificent makeup by Jack Pierce). It also made Whale's career as a director, leading to three more Universal Horror classics. The cast includes Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein, Mae Clarke as Henry's bride-to-be Elizabeth, John Boles as Henry's friend Victor, Edward Van Sloan (Van Helsing in 1931's "Dracula") as Dr. Waldman (also delivering a warning to viewers before the film's opening credits), Frederick Kerr as Henry's father Baron Frankenstein, and Dwight Frye (Renfield in "Dracula") as Henry's assistant Fritz. Cinematographer Arthur Edeson's black-and-white work is striking, and he went on to do the 1941 version of "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca".

A 100% no doubt about it classic.

My maternal grandmother saw it when it was released in 1931. She was nine-years-old at the time, and many decades later she still remembered it well. She recalled being terrified when the Monster made his first appearance, and watching the rest of the film through her fingers.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/combined

[The Intransigent Faction]

Goodbye Lenin:

3gdVJ-BVAKI

What I thought of this:

:crying:

[Lobotomy]

Hotel Rwanda. It was pretty good and inspired me to learn more about the genocide.

[Ricemilk]

Tried Chicago 10, a part documentary footage, part cutely reconstructed court minutes in advanced computer graphics examination of the leftist activists framed for planning a riot at the 1968 DNC in Chicago. Compelling aesthetically, except one too many uncritical (even incorporated into the story as comic relief) depictions of race or gender insensitive humor for my taste after maybe 10-15 minutes. These, mostly, partially assimilated Jews like myself (Bobby Seale was the only Black activist of those targets, and didn't have much of a role depicted yet) had a generally comedic attitude to serious issues that could prove incriminating if not handled delicately, and it was just annoying to watch them throw away so much political capital from all the people who trusted them to organize a meaningful signal to the government about the Vietnam War. I felt like I was hearing about the finer points of correct praxis from a toddler. Maybe it was most oboxious because I recognized a younger me in their childish atittudes. They wanted to radicalize the hippies, and to some extent they did, but they also hippiefied radical politics and I just can't tell if that's a good thing anymore.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Damn. It's really, really good.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

A Night at the Opera (1935)

[Rewatched/TV] "You can't fool me! There ain't no Sanity Clause!" The Marx Brothers' first film at MGM, and their first as a trio, remains one of their absolute best, with more than one sidesplitting scene as they wreak havoc on an opera company. Buster Keaton helped develop the famous stateroom scene. Margaret Dumont gets some laughs, too, while Sig Ruman and Robert Emmett O'Connor make great foils for the Marxes. Highly recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026778/combined

[Mr. Piccolo]

Falling Down (1993)

Starring Michael Douglas as an unemployed, divorced defense industry worker who loses his mind and goes on a rampage across Los Angeles. It is a strange movie and some people might see it as a conservative's wet dream but I think if you dig deeper there is a strong message about the way that people, and perhaps particularly white men, are driven mad by the frustration and demands of the capitalist system.

Even though it is an older film I think it is very relevant to today's circumstances, especially as it seems many white men are becoming frustrated by today's bad economy and continue to find their answers in reactionary ideology.

[Counterculturalist]

A Night at the Opera (1935)


I've seen this movie so many times, I can probably quote the entire thing from memory. Groucho and co. were just as big an influence on me as Karl.

[Guardia Rossa]

Series, Tyrant. American liberal propaganda.
Annoying but the plot is good.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

I've seen this movie so many times, I can probably quote the entire thing from memory. Groucho and co. were just as big an influence on me as Karl.
I think I've seen it that many times, too. I've been watching and rewatching their films for 35 years or so.

[blake 3:17]

Born To Dance (1936) with James Stewart and Eleanor Powell. An absolute delight!

[blake 3:17]

I think I've seen it that many times, too. I've been watching and rewatching their films for 35 years or so.

We should have a whole Marx Brothers discussion. Maybe. I watched Duck Soup a bit ago, and have a few of their lesser hits on reserve.

Harpo is the best!

[RedSonRising]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Damn. It's really, really good.

I enjoyed it. I'd give it an 8.5. A lot of it is a bit recycled but it's very enjoyable and opens up so many questions that leave you wanting more. The atmosphere and acting is reminiscent of the original trilogy and it feels good.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Harpo is the best!
Yes, indeed. His antics always make me laugh until my sides hurt.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

No Holds Barred


Hulk Hogan makes faces for an hour and a half. at one point he punches through the roof of a car. Joan Severance obviously needed a paycheck.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Since I've suddenly been made unemployed in my spare time I've watched a bunch of films.

Snowpiercer - I enjoy dystopian sci fi and this is a great example. Classic left to right progression as well.
Cool Hand Luke - About a man who goes to prison for breaking parking metres and then keeps escaping. Good stuff.
The Hateful Eight - I love westerns and I feel Tarantino captured some great atmosphere. Parts of it were ridiculous though.
Revenant - Enjoyed the film.
Trumbo - Some great performances in it but it seemed wrapped up in a liberal bow.
Suffragette - I kind of disliked it for the same reasons as Trumbo.
Brick - Absolutely love this film.

[Armchair Partisan]

Ooh, I did recently watch Suffragette too (potential spoilers oncoming). It was an interesting experience. It was overall pretty good, and yet I left the cinema with a slight feeling of disappointment, but couldn't exactly name why I felt that way. Maybe it was the end message of it: that apparently it's not all the fighting and resistance that's been going on that really changed things, but the ruling class pitying the poor martyr that threw herself in front of the horse. Maybe it's the fact that they appended Saudi Arabia to the list of countries where women can vote. Which is technically correct, but still stupid for obvious reasons.

I watched Cool Hand Luke a long time ago and I remembered it as an absolutely fantastic film. Would recommend to everyone.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Ooh, I did recently watch Suffragette too (potential spoilers oncoming). It was an interesting experience. It was overall pretty good, and yet I left the cinema with a slight feeling of disappointment, but couldn't exactly name why I felt that way. Maybe it was the end message of it: that apparently it's not all the fighting and resistance that's been going on that really changed things, but the ruling class pitying the poor martyr that threw herself in front of the horse. Maybe it's the fact that they appended Saudi Arabia to the list of countries where women can vote. Which is technically correct, but still stupid for obvious reasons.
I think I get more annoyed by films that supposedly have a radical agenda or subject matter but which are utterly devoid of any radical politics and ultimately fit within a liberal bow as opposed to those blatant bullshit action films. Women made bombs and martyred themselves because they wanted the vote and everything is made instantly better when they achieve that. A better film regarding women's struggles I feel that follows a lot of the same plot points in many ways, including the husband being unable to handle housework and looking after children while the wife gets involved in politics, is Made in Dagenham which, although it still basically conclude with their problems being solved by government legislation, is at least funny at points.

[The Intransigent Faction]

Dune, the David Lynch version.

It pains me to say it because I think David Lynch, Kyle MacLachlan and Patrick Stewart are awesome, and Dune is a wonderful novel, but that movie was an atrocity.

I'm so glad I read the book first, or I would have had absolutely no idea what was going on. As much as I've been critical of some people needing the entire plot spoon-fed to them, I do think it's important to let characters develop and have some depth in the plot, which some scenes would have had they not been unfortunately deleted.

Campy special effects are one thing. I don't mind that at all, to be honest. Vaguely mystical lines without context and reliance on a narrator to explain some details in order to jump the plot forward, however, are a problem.

Honestly, I think a big part of the problem was the director trying too hard to cram a 500-page novel into a two-and-a-half hour film. I really appreciate movies that do their darndest to stay true to the books, but they are different formats, and if you can't show a character's development with a long monologue of his or her thoughts, another way has to be found rather than glossing over characters' motives and relationships.

I did enjoy the soundtrack and some of the moments, though. I got chills when Paul called his first sandworm. I'm not sure how I felt about the ending (which differed a little from the book). I guess it was a nice touch, but the book's ending was fine.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

It pains me to say it because I think David Lynch, Kyle MacLachlan and Patrick Stewart are awesome, and Dune is a wonderful novel, but that movie was an atrocity.
For all of its flaws, I still find it a brilliant film. The visuals. The filmmaking techniques. It was asking too much to translate a dense novel into a two-and-a-half hour film, though even the longer tv miniseries failed, so it may just be material best suited to a novel.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Chandu the Magician (1932)

Fox's 1932 adaptation of the popular radio series has aged remarkably well. The energetic production is directed by William Cameron Menzies ("Things to Come", "Invaders from Mars", but outside of directing he was the production designer of "Gone with the Wind" and other films) and Marcel Varnel, whose collaboration with legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe ("The Rose Tattoo", "Hud") results in exciting camera setups and dramatic lighting. The special effects are innovative, too. It's filled with the Orientalist fantasy tropes typical of that era, but it's still a great example of an early Hollywood adventure/fantasy film. The cast includes Edmund Lowe as military officer turned yogi Frank "Chandu" Chandler, Bela Lugosi chewing scenery as the villainous Roxor (Lugosi would later play Chandu in 1935's "The Return of Chandu"), the eye-catching Irene Ware (Miss United States of 1929) as Princess Nadji, Herbert Mundin as the comic relief drunk Miggles, and "Birth of a Nation" veteran Henry B. Walthall as inventor Robert Regent. It has an efficient running time of 71 minutes, and they're an entertaining 71 minutes. Recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022753/combined

[Le Libérer]

Quentin Tarantino's Hateful 8. While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on a mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.

3 Stars- Not Tarantino's best imo. Though Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance was exceptional and stood above the rest, which is surprising with hard hitters like Samuel Jackson and Kurt Russell. He does bring back familiar faces from his earlier films for small parts which is fun. But, I was hoping for more.

[Le Libérer]

Quentin Tarantino's Hateful 8. While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on a mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.

3 Stars- Not Tarantino's best imo. Though Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance was exceptional and stood above the rest, which is surprising with hard hitters like Samuel Jackson and Kurt Russell. He does bring back familiar faces from his earlier films for small parts which is fun. But, I was hoping for more. I kept asking okay, when does the plot kick in?

[Invader Zim]

The Descent - a group of women go exploring a cave and get attacked by things. It was awful.

The Descent was one of the best films released that year as virtually everybody who knows about horror agrees. He'll even Ebert, who was sometimes pretty sniffy when it came to horror gave it the 4/4 treatment. The British critic Mark Kermode, probably among the most respected horror fans, thought it was awesome.

They were right, that film brought a whole new meaning to claustrophobic cinema.

[Invader Zim]

The Thing (1982)

[Rewatched/TV] It's very rare for a remake of a classic film to also be a classic in its own right, but director John Carpenter's remake of 1951's "The Thing from Another World" is one of those rare examples. Like its predecessor, it's based on John W. Campbell's 1938 novella "Who Goes There?", but screenwriter Bill Lancaster (son of actor Burt) stays more faithful to it than the 1951 film did. Carpenter's first major studio film is a masterpiece of suspense and horror that's aged like fine wine. Even when you know what's coming, it retains the power to shock. The old school creature effects by Rob Bottin and Stan Winston have a substance that CG can't replicate. Ennio Morricone's score (augmented by some of Carpenter's electronic music) is another highlight. Kurt Russell consistently holds the screen (and proved in multiple films that he's a perfect Carpenter hero). It seems inconceivable now that this film received mixed (and some very negative) reviews and failed at the box office in 1982.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/combined

It's a great film. But Halloween is more important, They Live is more fun, Assault on Precinct 13 is better paced, and Kurt Russell is better in Escape from New York. Plus, Lee van Cleef.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I think I get more annoyed by films that supposedly have a radical agenda or subject matter but which are utterly devoid of any radical politics and ultimately fit within a liberal bow as opposed to those blatant bullshit action films. Women made bombs and martyred themselves because they wanted the vote and everything is made instantly better when they achieve that.

I've never seen the film being discussed, but it is generally true that most suffragists/suffragettes didn't exactly have a revolutionary agenda which extended past their primary issue. Just read Emma Goldman's writings on the topic. Victoria Woodhull was the most radical leading figure in the 1st wave feminist/early American suffrage movement (who wasn't an out-and-out communist/radical socialist), and she was a pretty controversial figure within the movement.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

I've never seen the film being discussed, but it is generally true that most suffragists/suffragettes didn't exactly have a revolutionary agenda which extended past their primary issue. Just read Emma Goldman's writings on the topic. Victoria Woodhull was the most radical leading figure in the 1st wave feminist/early American suffrage movement (who wasn't an out-and-out communist/radical socialist), and she was a pretty controversial figure within the movement.
It's based on the suffragette movement in the UK prior to Emily Davison martyring herself at the Epsom Derby and it ends around that time before the first world war. Both Davison and Emily Pankhurst have semi-important roles. I wasn't expecting the film to be about a bunch of radical socialist women firebombing parliament or anything but I still felt dissatisfied.

It brings up three main areas of women's oppression (although it touches upon other things like the prison system as well): 1. women in the workplace being treated like shit and being paid less; 2. women in the home being expected to do all the housework and not having any control over custody of children or the money they earn; 3. women not have any political representation. Overall I don't think it really 'solves' any of these problems except the third but even that would be questionable. And I don't mean 'solve' as in literally end women's oppression in the workplace but rather I felt that the plot points, such as her conflict with her husband and her conflict with her boss, were left unresolved and the main character never really engaged with anyone regarding her politics but was just an actor within a stage of historical events following along. And then the film just kind of ends with some stock footage and it fades to black and gives a couple dates of when women achieved the vote around the world as if to say 'look, we've done it, everything is sorted now' and that kind of frustrated me and it always does in these sorts of films. Which is why I engage in hyperbole and say I dislike these sorts of films more than others.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Murder, My Sweet (1944)

[Rewatched/TV] "We don't like you, but it ain't personal." For my money, the best screen adaptation of Raymond Chandler and the best screen version of Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell). Powell was a light comedic and musical star, and his hardboiled turn as Marlowe redefined his career. Powell is pretty much Marlowe if he stepped directly out of a novel. Humphrey Bogart and Elliott Gould were also great Marlowes, but for me, Powell was the truest of them.

Chandler's Los Angeles--from its mansions to its dive bars--is well-rendered in this production. Screenwriter John Paxton (Oscar nominated for 1947's "Crossfire") skillfully adapts the novel "Farewell, My Lovely" for the needs of a Hollywood production. It's more faithful to the source in tone, broad outline, and dialog than in exact plot details (then again, Chandler favored style over plot consistency). Director Edward Dmytryk (best known for 1954's "The Caine Mutiny") captures the ambiance of Chandler's writing in visual form, about as pure of an injection of Chandler as there's ever been, resulting in a classic slice of cinema pie. Whenever I read Chandler, this is what I imagine behind my eyes. Cinematographer Harry J. Wild's use of shadows and contrast is outstanding, and this was the first of thirteen noir films Wild would work on, so well-regarded was the look he created here.

The cast includes Claire Trevor as femme fatale Helen Grayle, Anne Shirley in her final role as Helen's step-daughter Ann (a shame Shirley retired after this film, as she gives a good performance and teams well with Powell), Otto Kruger as con man Jules Amthor, professional wrestler Mike Mazurki as brutish ex-con Moose Malloy, Miles Mander as Helen's older husband Mr. Grayle, Don Douglas as LAPD Lt. Randall, Douglas Walton (Percy Shelley in "Bride of Frankenstein") as gigolo Lindsay Marriott, Esther Howard in a memorable but small role as the widow of a former bar owner, and Shimen Ruskin as a wisecracking elevator operator.

Interesting historical fact: Dmytryk and producer Adrian Scott were blacklisted as members of the Hollywood Ten in 1947, and Dmytryk later named names to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (Scott's was one of those names).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037101/combined

[Red Red Chile]

I watched Irrational Man. Very good.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

British Intelligence (1940)

A decent but routine spy thriller/propaganda film, most notable now for Boris Karloff starring as German master spy Strendler. Adapted from a play, it has some plot twists to keep you watching, but it's really using its World War I setting to talk about the new menace from Germany in 1939 (when the film was produced). Directed by Terry Morse (best known for directing the new scenes in the Americanized Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in 1956), it also stars Margaret Lindsay as German agent Helene, Holmes Herbert as British cabinet minister Arthur Bennett, and Bruce Lester as British military pilot Frank Bennett (Arthur's son) who's in love with Helene. Cinematographer Sid Hickox (The Big Sleep, Them!) gives the film a good look on a B-movie budget. Set in Europe but filmed entirely on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032283/combined

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

My review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

http://geekgirlsrule.net/2016/01/04/review-star-wars-ep-the-force-awakes/

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Buck Privates (1941)

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's second film (their first as leads) turned them into stars, and it still holds up well. The boys have several funny routines as two friends who accidentally enlist in the US Army, ending up at boot camp with a wealthy man (Lee Bowman) and his former valet (Alan Curtis), while learning to their horror that their sergeant is a cop (Nat Pendleton) they previously had a run-in with. While the boys have their fun, the wealthy man and his ex-valet fight over a pretty camp hostess (Jane Frazee). The Andrews Sisters show up for several musical numbers, including a rousing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". Director Arthur Lubin went on to direct the boys' next four films. Made a year before the US entered World War II, the film's cheerful patriotism seems prophetic for what would soon become a popular Hollywood theme.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033436/combined

[Ele'ill]

The Martian- it was basically one long science meme


Ex Machina- I first watched The Martian before watching Ex Machina and it was too much science meme then i fell asleep and spilled cereal all over myself

[Full Metal Bolshevik]

Office Space.

Awesome beginning, but as usual in comedy movies it gets worse as it goes. There's always romance (not as bad as usual in this one, still, I could've lived without it) and a stupid happy ending.
I still enjoyed it, but they are afraid to go deeper and to question everything.

[Le Libérer]

The Wolfpack. (2015)

It's not the last movie I watched but I have watched it a couple of times. \
Trapped by their father in an NYC apartment, these kids reenacted movies.
Synopsis-


Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed the Wolfpack, the brothers spend their childhood re-enacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. With no friends and living on welfare, they feed their curiosity, creativity, and imagination with film, which allows them to escape from their feelings of isolation and loneliness. Everything changes when one of the brothers escapes, and the power dynamics in the house are transformed. The Wolfpack must learn how to integrate into society without disbanding the brotherhood.

In the new documentary The Wolfpack, filmmaker Crystal Moselle unravels the Angulo brothers' shocking story, from their time as apartment inmates to an act of inevitable, triumphant defiance (involving a Michael Meyers mask and a New York City bodega). The film pegs creativity as the ultimate house arrest fuel; to express themselves, deal with a situation even they're self-aware to see as strange, the boys emulated popular blockbusters with whatever resources they found lying around. "The Wolfpack" transcribe Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and build a Batman costume out of cereal boxes and yoga mats to produce their own frame-by-frame remake. If Be Kind Rewind had a captive narrative, it'd look something like The Wolfpack.


It is now available on Netflix. 5 stars.

Trailer-
6oNvzXG_byQ

[bcbm]

My review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

http://geekgirlsrule.net/2016/01/04/review-star-wars-ep-the-force-awakes/

hmm was i the only one who was incredibly let down by this movie?

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

hmm was i the only one who was incredibly let down by this movie?
No, I've heard others say the same thing, but I think you're part of a small minority on that score.

[bcbm]

No, I've heard others say the same thing, but I think you're part of a small minority on that score.

seems so. just didn't do it for me, and i thought it hit too many of the same point as the original. i get it was an homage or whatever, but it was just a bit much for my taste. also a lot of it didn't really hold up to closer scrutiny to me. felt like prometheus a bit, where i was originally feeling p good then thought about it more and was really let down

like they spent a trillion spacebucks to transform a planet into a weapon that can shoot... twice?
and the whole last battle happening across two different systems with working comms between the groups and observational details... nerd problem, i know.
and chewie just skipping right by leia when he gets back to base, while she hugs rey who she has never seen before? sloppy

[Ele'ill]

adventures in dinotopia/discovering dinotopia (2002), not sure which name it is since it shows up on imdb different from the cover. My friend got it for me as a joke, it's like one of those multi movie dvd's. It was pretty bad. It wasn't even bad enough to be funny it was boring and flat.

[The Intransigent Faction]

The Big Short.

Meh.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

She Done Him Wrong (1933)

"Listen, when women go wrong, men go right after them." The incomparable Mae West in her second film, her first in a leading role, and based on a stage play she wrote. She brilliantly carries the film as bawdy singer Lady Lou, and being a pre-Code film, she gets away with quite a lot of bawdiness.

Part comedy, part melodrama, and with some musical performances, too, it's a successful production that was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, co-starring a young Cary Grant as a Salvation Army captain, Rafaela Ottiano as the criminal Russian Rita, Gilbert Roland as Rita's lover Sergei, Owen Moore as Lady Lou's imprisoned boyfriend Chick, Noah Beery Sr. as Lady Lou's boss/benefactor Gus Jordan, Dewey Robinson as Lady Lou's bodyguard Spider, and Louise Beavers as Lady Lou's maid Pearl.

Well-directed by Lowell Sherman, but it's all about Mae West. The film made her a screen star, and she shines as brightly as her character's diamonds.

The Wicker Man (1973)

[Rewatched/TV] "Don't you see that killing me is not going to bring back your apples?" In the late 1960s and early 1970s, horror films were being made in a sub-genre best described as "folk horror", and this is the most famous of them, and a true cult film. Unlike most other films in the genre, it's set in contemporary times.

The plot concerns a uptight, moralizing Scottish police officer (Edward Woodward) who visits a remote island owned by the mysterious Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) to investigate the disappearance of a girl, and quickly finds the heathen mores of the residents to be an affront to his Christian beliefs, which only makes him more determined to find the girl. It concludes quite memorably.

It's the first of only three films that have been directed to date by Robin Hardy, whose background before it was in television dramas, commercials, and informational films. What he brings to this film is a sense of low-key naturalism that complements Anthony Shaffer's screenplay (loosely adapted from David Pinner's novel "Ritual"). It's not a slick film by any means, which gives it believability, and Harry Waxman's cinematography lends the production a certain soft, naturalistic beauty. It also boasts a memorable score and songs by Paul Giovanni, which complete the tone of the film.

Part of it is the early 1970s setting, when an isolated island community was still very much possible. If the same story was set in 2016, in a world of cellular phones and social media, would it still be as believable?

The theme of a rural community where paganism is still practiced also informed American writer Thomas Tryon's novel "Harvest Home", published the same year this film was released.

Edward Woodward is well-cast as the police officer, as is Christopher Lee in one of his most memorable roles as Lord Summerisle. Britt Ekland (dubbed by Annie Ross) is a sensual presence as the innkeeper's daughter. Diane Cilento, then married to Sean Connery and later to this film's screenwriter, also stands out as the island's schoolteacher. Hammer veteran Ingrid Pitt has a small role as the island's librarian and registrar.

This remains my favorite folk horror film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/combined

[The Intransigent Faction]

My review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

http://geekgirlsrule.net/2016/01/04/review-star-wars-ep-the-force-awakes/

Despite my reputation as a manic fan, I was a little predisposed toward disappointment when I went to see the film, because of the massive retcon of material I honestly prefer and of pre-existing characters I would have loved to have seen in a movie. They say they disregarded the story that was already there in order to allow for creative freedom, yet so much of what they introduced was the familiar with some tweaks. I also honestly don't hate the prequels at all. That may be in part because Episode 1 happened to be my introduction to the saga, when I was just about 9 years old. For me, the order was 1,4,5,6,2,3,7.

The characters and score were fantastic (though I admit, just as an aside, I kept wondering where Lando was!). I don't even really have qualms about mirroring plot elements or developments from Episode IV. Star Wars has a tendency to "rhyme" in that way.

So, when I saw it I actually felt drawn back into the hype. I see potential for the next films.

There was one thing that felt missing: While I don't expect anything "revolutionary" from the politics of the story in Star Wars, it seemed like Abrams was trying to please crowds by outright excluding any but the most superficial aspects of political intrigue. I love Star Wars, Star Trek and a fair bit of other sci-fi in part for that, even if the politics, again, aren't necessarily revolutionary.

Aaanywho, those are just my thoughts spilling out late at night. Your review was interesting, in any case.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

They say they disregarded the story that was already there in order to allow for creative freedom, yet so much of what they introduced was the familiar with some tweaks.
Yeah, George Lucas had Episodes VII-IX all planned out, and initially the plan was to use his plots. I suspect it was Abrams who convinced the executives to put Lucas' plots aside.


I also honestly don't hate the prequels at all.I'm disappointed by them more than I hate them. There was potential there, but Lucas would have been best served by having others write and direct them. To his credit, he did try to get Ron Howard or Steven Spielberg involved, but they turned him down.


That may be in part because Episode 1 happened to be my introduction to the saga, when I was just about 9 years old.
Episode IV was my first one way back in 1977, and this film really recaptured that magic for me.

[Bala Perdida]

I remember seeing The Revenant (2015) last. About the beginning of January.

It was actually a movie I could enjoy. Which I don't think about a lot movies I get talked into seeing, but I already went in knowing I liked the director for this one. As far as the characters and story, I like how they developed and how they were portrayed. Like the protagonist belonged to a group of settlers/hunters but it didn't force you to sympathize with them. They were attacked by indigenous people a lot, but they didn't make them a dedicated antagonist. Then the relationship between the French and the indigenous peoples, man. Seems a lot more realistic than the history books would have you believe, making it sound like they were homies or something. Even college level history classes didn't address the brutal reality of the relationship, even though it seems pretty obvious. Although yeah, there's probably some of that 'dirty frenchmen' bias in there. Although most of the settlers are the same way.

Anyone see deadpool yet? If so, how sexually explicit is it? How would you rate the vulgarity? Is it like a guy-teen movie? Or is it actually pretty watchable?

[The Intransigent Faction]

Yeah, George Lucas had Episodes VII-IX all planned out, and initially the plan was to use his plots. I suspect it was Abrams who convinced the executives to put Lucas' plots aside.


Well, his plots and those of several other authors, tweaked (Han and Leia's son "Ben" turning to the dark side, Han dying, Luke living in exile at least for a while).

I kind of want to check out 10 Cloverfield Lane, just to see what Abrams can do with material that's not more or less a "reboot".

[CalifornianMutualist]

Inglorious Basterds (Tarantino's Basterds).

What I think about it: I honestly am in love with this movie. I feel like the script is very-well planned out,and I feel like it's more fulfilling seeing the movie more than once. There are various little cameos and details that you most likely didn't even notice the last time you watched it.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

I kind of want to check out 10 Cloverfield Lane, just to see what Abrams can do with material that's not more or less a "reboot".
How much actual involvement did he have with it beyond his production company making it? He was busy with Star Wars when it was in pre-production and production.

[Antiochus]

I watched Philadelphia for the first time yesterday. I didn't even know about it until my dad told me about it in a car ride. Liked a lot about. The performance by Tom Hanks was excellent and the physical (also emotional) toll of AIDS encapsulated pretty well.

[The Intransigent Faction]

How much actual involvement did he have with it beyond his production company making it? He was busy with Star Wars when it was in pre-production and production.

True. I guess I just kept seeing it touted as an "Abrams film".

[Abdullah Tshabal]

Recently saw "Straight Outta Compton" with some friends. I thought it was good, had some memories of GTA:SA and more or less how the disenfranchised perceive law enforcement, which has relevancy even today.

I also um, wrote some "gangsta rap" based on one of the NWA songs (Fuck The Police):


"Fuck the IDF, straight from outta Hillbrow.
Gunnin' us down, cuz we brown.
Calling ya' selves the defence force,
You nothin' but fascists.
Stay outta Gauteng,
'Fo I pop you with my Vektor"

[bcbm]

saw the witch which i really enjoyed. very moody, slow pace, really draws you in

[KaneLives]

The last film I watched was Mad Max: Fury Road. I enjoyed it overall. So much action. That guitar guy was epic and I couldn't help but notice the red and black flags ha ha. The film did seem to have some political undertones under all that action.

[You]

I recently went to watch the Revenant in the cinema (wasn't particularly impressed), and having seen Birdman (surprisingly charming for its quirkyness - a lighthearted imagination pleaser), and Babel a long time ago (can't really remember, but thought it was alright), I decided that I ought to perhaps give this understated Mexican filmmaker my proper attention and watch another of his films that people tend to tell you to watch.

Iñárritu's 21 Grams is pretty good, as it goes. (Disclaimer I watched whilst sick with flu). It takes a good half an hour until you realise the chronology is all cut up and rearranged. This is a technique I am VERY fond of, and I would say it is the best aspect of the film, if not the only thing that gives it a high quality.

Besides this, the acting was good. No fan of Sean Penn, but he was OK. Noami Watts and Benicio del Toro put on great performances.

The narrative clearly implies an important moral message, which I also like. The suggestion seems to be that the worst things can happen to us and we can survive, even perhaps forgive those who have wronged us – vengeance, it makes clear, is not a happy place, nor the healing ticket; rather, by confronting those who you have wronged/those you have wronged you, you may be able to find some peace.

I wan't sure about the heavy Christian element to the film, although now I think back I'm pretty sure there's no positive conclusion about god or religion. As I say, I watched with flu and could hardly think. I'd be interested to hear someone elses take. :ohmy:

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Man in the Road (1956)

This British B-movie is a surprisingly engrossing Cold War thriller about a man who wakes up in a nursing home with amnesia. It may have a low budget and the story (based on Anthony Armstrong's novel) can be implausible at times, but prolific B-movie director Lance Comfort raises it up a notch with his confident and efficient direction, and the cast is quite good, including Derek Farr as the amnesiac, Donald Wolfit as the professor in charge of the nursing home, Ella Raines as an American who helps the amnesiac, Lisa Daniely as a seductive nurse, Cyril Cusack as an alcoholic doctor, and Russell Napier as a Scotland Yard superintendent. Filmed at Beaconsfield Film Studios.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050679/combined

[TheIrrationalist]

I watched yesterday the film "The East Is Red: A Song and Dance Epic". Perhaps the greatest piece of propaganda; best songs and nice choreography. Makes you want to smash capitalism.

Five Stalins out of five. Would recommend

It's also on youtube : youtube.com/watch?v=LQaK3tL6qIE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQaK3tL6qIE)

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

Amusing trifle with Bud and Lou as bungling American cops who tangle with the nefarious Dr. Jekyll (Boris Karloff) and his monstrous alter ego Mr. Hyde (Eddie Parker) in London. One of their last films, slow to get started, and while it's not one of their classics, it still delivers laughs. The cast includes Helen Westcott as Jekyll's ward Vicky, Craig Stevens as journalist Bruce Adams, Reginald Denny as a Scotland Yard inspector, and John Dierkes as Jekyll's assistant Batley. Capably directed by Charles Lamont, responsible for most of their 1950s output at Universal.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045469/

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Ant-Man (2015)

Like its titular superhero, this film punches above its weight, and it's one of the better Marvel Cinematic Universe films to date. It goes further in the direction of comedy than nearly all previous MCU films, but it still feels like it belongs in the MCU. Paul Rudd capably handles the title role, and his humor is a big part of why it works. Despite the superhero trappings and action scenes, it's a caper film with both humor and heart, and succeeds in entertaini8ng from start to finish. It had a troubled production history, with Peyton Reed replacing co-writer Edgar Wright in the director's chair, but the end result is smooth. The cast includes Michael Douglas as the long-retired original Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as his daughter Hope, Corey Stoll as his protégé turned bad guy Yellowjacket, and there are several cool cameos. Fun film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478970/

[Princess Luna]

Last night I got really high and watched Alien and Aliens. They aren't as scary stoned as sober.

[The Intransigent Faction]

Network (1976)

WINDtlPXmmE

I actually thought about changing my screen name to Howard Beale, or using that as a pen name from now on. I'm pretty sure someone (I don't remember who) had a picture of him as their avatar, though!

[jaheen100]

The Game plan with "the rock" and Madison Pettis. It was really funny watched it last night.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Die Präsenz (2015)

What this German found footage horror film lacks in originality (the subgenre is rife with stories of people and a camera investigating the paranormal), it makes up for with an effective 82 minutes of tension as it slowly ratchets up the scare factor. It's also surprisingly subtle at times, and it refuses to surrender all of its secrets.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2624866/

[161TRD]

Die Welle (2008), the German remake of the American movie The Wave. It's interesting as I've seen The Wave several times in school and other arenas, but to see the story unfold in Germany gives it sort of an extra dimension. I do however think that the plot evolves better in the original, but that might only be because it's been some years since I wathced it last time.

(Due to being new, I'm unable to add a link to IMDB.)

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Ghostbusters (2016)

I loved it. It starts off a bit slow, but quickly hits its stride. Funny script + funny cast + a good comedic director = awesomeness. I want to have Kate McKinnon's babies. Chris Hemsworth is so clearly enjoying himself. There are some cool cameos, too. Awesome fun all around. This is how you do a reboot. Go see it and laugh a lot. (Whoever created the first trailer did a very poor job, because it was a bad misrepresentation of the film.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/

[Full Metal Bolshevik]

It wasn't the last film I've watched, but I've watched recently, Look who's back (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4176826/) that starts as a comedy with Hitler appearing on present day Germany, and I was pleasantly surprised on how the film went on, it could be seen as a criticism of our ironic self aware society, but it doesn't really offer a deeper insight.

[Cicero]

Batman vs Superman: Ultimate Edition

I didn't really pay much attention to BvS when it first came out, but people kept talking about the Ultimate Edition (something like 30 minutes longer, bringing the run time to something over 3 hours) so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was exactly as mediocre as I anticipated the film would be. There were promises of great moments, but nothing ever quite materialised. Still, fun enough if you just want to watch another superhero film. Ben Affleck did a great job as Batman (... minus killing loads of people), and Gal Gadot has me looking forward to the Wonderman standalone film (about damn time). Cavill has it in him to be a great Superman - he just needs a chance to prove his worth. And an actually complex story where we can see Superman genuinely vulnerable or weak.

Jesse Eisenberg as Luthor was barmy though, talk about a mis-cast. He has the look by the end, and honest I think he could've done the role justice, but someone must have told him to just be himself, because he was woefully directed. Pity, in the end.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

John Dies at the End (2012)

Director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, The Beastmaster) adapts David Wong's novel into a full speed horror/black comedy express. It's genuinely funny as the characters make their way through increasingly surreal experiences to save our dimension with the help of a dog. It's visually inventive, and boasts a really perfect cast (Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman, Doug Jones, Angus Scrimm, and Fabianne Therese). Filmed on a remarkably small budget, it still manages some rather good visual effects. The world needs more funny and twisted films like this.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1783732/

[willowtooth]

Just watched Carlito's Way again its one of my favorite movies starring Al Pacino its about a drug lord who gets out of prison and tries to stay clean, it has one of the best endings of all of time

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Enter the Void (2009)

Writer/director Gaspar Noé was inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead in creating this brilliant, spellbinding, psychedelic rush about a small-time dealer in Tokyo who's shot dead by police and then begins to relive his life while also observing the present and the future. Is it a dying hallucination? Is he experiencing the time between death and reincarnation? The director has a particular interpretation, but the film itself is open to multiple interpretations. It's also raw in its depiction of drugs, abortion, and sex (some of it unsimulated). The neon-infused cinematography of Benoît Debie gives the film a trippy beauty. The sound design is also magnificent, a mix of droning ambient sounds and a collage of experimental electronic music. One of those films you really have to be on the right wavelength to enjoy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1191111/

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Venus in Fur (2013)

Director Roman Polanski's provocative, white-hot gem about dominance, submission, and power exchange concerns a French playwright/director auditioning an actress for an adaptation of Sacher-Masoch's famous novel. Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner plays the actress, while Mathieu Amalric is the playwright/director in a thinly veiled Polanski impersonation, and both are absolutely brilliant from beginning to end. Based on David Ives' play, with a screenplay by Ives and Polanski, it's such an emotionally charged production that I simply couldn't look away from the screen for even a second. Polanski and cinematographer Pawel Edelman perfectly visualize the material, mirroring what the characters are experiencing. Highly recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2406252/

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Tunnel (2016)

Top shelf South Korean survival film about a man (Jung-woo Ha) driving home from work through a long tunnel when the tunnel suddenly collapses. The film parallels his fight for survival with the determination of the chief of the rescue operation (Dal-su Oh) to save him no matter the cost. It's tightly written and directed by Seong-hun Kim (A Hard Day), with outstanding performances from Ha, Oh, and Doona Bae as the trapped man's wife. There's more than one genuinely terrifying sequence as the film keeps you on the edge of your seat for two hours, with some well-timed bits of comic relief to keep the audience from exploding in suspense. Highly recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5910280/

[Wessex Way Monster]

Howl

Thought the movie would have been better without the stupid romance, and if the werewolves were creepier. overall 5/10 cause I stayed through the whole thing.

[Fellow_Human]

It must have been The East (2013), about a secret socialist eco-terrorist commune.

It had a very similar plot line to another Zal Batmangij film, namely Sound of my Voice.

Here's the more insightful of two trailers for The East:
youtube . com/watch?v=2oPoTrnHQ3I

[Crazz]

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

Okay, I mainly watched it because it was the debut of Madonna's musical career, but the story is so witty and fun it's too great to not enjoy.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Secrets of Emily Blair (2016)

Routine demonic possession film that at times feels like a 1990s tv show due to Adrian Paul, Colm Meaney, and Sherilyn Fenn being among the cast. Director Joseph P. Genier has worked on the tv show "Teen Wolf", but here he's saddled with a weak screenplay and at times some dubious acting, and, despite some nice visuals, the film limps to a predictable ending.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4276206/

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Near Dark (1987)

This cult classic vampire film with a western sensibility still crackles with a compelling energy, borne by the subversively beautiful direction of Kathryn Bigelow (who became the first woman to win a Best Director Oscar in 2009 for "The Hurt Locker"), a driving synths & guitar score by Tangerine Dream, and a perfect cast that really sinks their teeth into their roles. It's a B-movie that makes no apologies for being one, but it also takes its subject matter seriously. They don't make them like this anymore. Well-deserving the label of a classic.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093605/

Dracula (1931)

I first saw this film on tv in 1979 when I was 9. It's where my love of Universal Horror began. It remains the archetypal vampire film. It's strongest early on in the atmospheric Transylvanian scenes before becoming more stagey (not a surprise considering it's based on a stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel) when the action moves to England. Reportedly, director Tod Browning left quite a bit of the directing to cinematographer Karl Freund ("Metropolis", "I Love Lucy"). Bela Lugosi's performance is iconic. His accent, the cruel way he twists his face, and his stilted delivery combine to make his Dracula the most undead of them all. Dwight Frye's Renfield, Edward Van Sloan's Van Helsing, and Helen Chandler's Mina are also memorable. A true classic of the genre.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/

[Comrade Bugaboo]

I think Moonrise Kingdom (2012). It was really good, 9/10.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Frankenstein (1931)

[Rewatched/Blu-ray] "It's alive!" This Universal Horror classic is the first foray of director James Whale into the horror genre. His style wasn't developed yet, but it begins to emerge here in a ghoulish Gothic inspired by German Expressionism. It's a strong film, but what really elevates it is Boris Karloff's career-defining performance as the Monster. Karloff brings a humanizing pathos to the part, and one can't help but empathize with the Monster's plight throughout the film. Whale, cinematographer Arthur Edeson (whose future work included Casablanca), and art director Charles D. Hall create iconic imagery that remains indelible today. Imagine the Monster in your mind's eye and you see Jack Pierce's makeup design. This film is inescapable. The excellent cast includes Colin Clive as the tortured Dr. Frankenstein, Mae Clarke as his bride-to-be Elizabeth, Dwight Frye as his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (not Igor, as most people think), Frederick Kerr as his father Baron Frankenstein, John Boles as his friend Victor (and implied former romantic rival), and Edward Van Sloan as his former mentor. A 100% no doubt about it classic.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

[Rewatched/Blu-ray] "To a new world of gods and monsters!" The crown jewel of Universal Horror, and director James Whale's masterpiece, is a wonderful film laced with black humor and ghoulish glee. Strip away the horror elements, and it's about an outcast looking for love and to belong. Karloff is magnificent as the Monster. The humanizing pathos of his performance is polished like a fine gem, touching and even funny at times (though he was opposed to the Monster talking). Ernest Thesiger's arch Dr. Pretorius nearly walks away with the film, though. It's easy to read a gay subtext to the film, and to Pretorius in particular, but it's still debated if it was intended or not by Whale, who was gay. Elsa Lanchester shines as both an impish Mary Shelley and the marvelous Bride. Her screen time is limited, but she makes herself unforgettable. The good cast includes Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstsin, Valerie Hobson replacing Mae Clarke as his bride-to-be Elizabeth, Dwight Frye as graverobber/murderer Karl, O.P. Heggie as a hermit who befriends the Monster, and the delightful Una O'Connor as a comic relief housekeeper. John J. Mescall's Expressionist-influenced cinematography looks fantastic. The ending is always heartbreaking to me, a rejected Monster crying as he chooses death. It's mandatory Halloween viewing for me. The absolute best by far of all the Universal Horror films.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026138/

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026138/)Son of Frankenstein (1939)

[Rewatched/DVD] "Nothing in nature is terrifying when one understands it." Boris Karloff's final performance as the Monster in a Universal Horror film is also his first without director James Whale, replaced here by the more workmanlike Rowland V. Lee. While it lacks the sheer imagination of Whale's two entries in the series, it's a solid film with some good acting. A generational aspect is added that keeps the story fresh and allows new characters to be brought in. Karloff reminds once again why the Monster was his greatest role (the Monster's reaction to his friend Ygor's death is powerful), and he's joined here by Basil Rathbone as the titular son of the original Dr. Frankenstein (Peter Lorre was the first choice but declined), Bela Lugosi as the Monster's broken-necked friend Ygor, and Lionel Atwill as a police inspector who lost an arm to the Monster as a child. Rathbone shines as he's driven nearly to the point of a breakdown by his father's creation. Lugosi underlines what a good actor he could be in the right role, and was given a lot of leeway to create his character. Not on the same level as the previous two films, but still superior to those that followed. Karloff leaves the role on a good note.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031951/

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

[Rewatched/DVD] "Better death...than a life like this." With its fourth entry, the Frankenstein series shifted into definite B-movie territory for the first time. It's competently made, but the lower budget is apparent and it's a routine potboiler lacking the imagination of earlier films. Also apparent is the lack of Boris Karloff, replaced by an unmemorable Lon Chaney Jr. as the Monster. Chaney has the physique for the role, but simply doesn't have the expressiveness Karloff consistently brought to it. Bela Lugosi returns as Ygor, and is joined by Cedric Hardwicke as Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein--second son of the original Dr. Henry Frankenstein--and also as Henry's ghost in one scene (thus the title), Evelyn Ankers as Ludwig's daughter Elsa, Ralph Bellamy as the local prosecutor, Lionel Atwill as Ludwig's bitter mentor-turned-assistant, and Janet Ann Gallow as a child the Monster befriends. Not bad, but a noticeable decline from the earlier films.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034786/

[willowtooth]

War Dogs

Great movie about the entrepreneurial spirit of America


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nozIkRy0v-M