Page 1 of What I watched this week (w/e Sunday 3rd July)

On DVD:

Twin Peaks - Season 1 - Who killed Laura Palmer? You still don't know at the end of season 1 but have been richly entertained by some wonderful acting and brilliantly surreal writing and directing by David Lynch et al. :D

The Aviator commentary - A quite interesting commentary which accompanies the supplementary material well. :)

King of Comedy - Stephen Chow's comedy about a struggling film extra who falls in love with a club girl who has come to one of his acting lessons. As with Chow's other films, the script isn't particularly strong but there are enough funny moments to keep your mind off the dodgy script and poor direction. :¦

Shaolin Soccer - Very funny and with some excellent FX, this is a massive improvement on King of Comedy. :)

Assault on Precinct 13 - The original John Carpenter action film about a police station which is under siege by criminals has aged well and has been fleshed out in the slightly inferior remake. :)

The Hitcher - When Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) picks up a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer) alarm bells immediately start ringing and they barely stop in this 1986 thriller. There is an announced remake planned for 2007 with Michael Bay as a producer so catch this before it is forever tarnished. :)
Commentary - Director Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red try their best to cure insomnia in this dreadful commentary; I only lasted 20 mins. before the disc came out and went back to ScreenSelect! >:(

The Triumph of the Will - This quite official documentary account of the 1934 Nazi party Nuremberg rally is beautifully filmed with some breathtaking cinematography by Leni Riefenstahl. :D

The League of Gentlemen: Series 3 - Probably the most complete series, the 'League' have created a universe in which six seemingly unrelated events all become intertwined with brilliant writing and very good acting. :D

Casino: Extra Features - The commentary is well organised and interesting with contributions from almost everyone involved; the 'featurettes' supplement the commentary well, with an interesting programme from the History channel and enough information on the evolution of Las Vegas and the film Casino to interest almost anyone. :D

Rainy Dog - Not quite what I expected from Takashi Miike, this wonderfully directed and acted gangster film is quite slow and dark with none of the insane violence that I had seen in his other films and his reputation suggests. :)

La Grande Illusion - A brilliant drama set in a POW camp for officers in the first World War; Jean Renoir handles the film superbly, showing how such situations can throw together unusual friendships as French officers have more in common with German officers than their comrades. :D

Motor Psycho - This very early Russ Meyer is about a gang of three motor cyclists who travel the country beating people up and raping women until they mess with a vet who's wife they raped who then teams up with a woman who's husband they murdered and sets out for revenge. Darker and less comedic than his other films and with (shock!) no nudity, this film is interesting but not as much fun as much of his others. :)

Good Morning and Goodbye - A witch in the wilderness, a wife who cheats on her husband for 'satisfaction' and introductory narration against the background of a well endowed woman running naked through long grass - it must be a Russ Meyer film; good fun and directed with humour, this is not as good as Faster, Pussycat or the 'Vixen' movies but really enjoyable. :)

The Lost Boys - As with other Joel Schumacher films, The Lost Boys has high camp value, smoke, big hair and loud shirts. Kiefer Sutherland is on good form as a vampire 'rebel' in the seaside town of Santa Carla. Pretty well acted with some good lines but ultimately silly. :¦

The Passion of the Christ - Like a bizarre 2 hour snuff movie, The Passion assaults the senses with some scenes of extraordinarily brutal violence which I am amazed got past the censors. I am an atheist and it did nothing for my lack of faith; my favourite film is The Exorcist and I found The Passion to be less of a moving experience and did less to challenge my scepticism than The Exorcist ever does. :(

Braindead - Before Peter Jackson was making big budget Oscar winners, he made this low budget horror/comedy which borrows heavily from The Evil Dead and Dawn of the Dead. Braindead begins with a dangerous monkey which bites Vera who then dies and then returns to 'life' to begin biting (and infecting) the rest of the neighbourhood leaving her son Lionel to sort out the mess. :)

On cable:

Sex Lives of the Potato Men - Puerile rubbish; I turned over halfway through. >:(


At the cinema:

Kung Fu Hustle - Not consistent by any stretch of the imagination but I wasn't expecting it to be; I've had it on DVD for about 6 months and wanted to see it on the big screen. I wasn't disappointed; great fun and highly enjoyable. :)

War of the Worlds - (:¦ See here. :(


Downloads:

Family Guy Episode 407 - Brian is picked for a reality dating show and Chris gets a pimple that can control his mind; more great stuff from Seth MacFarlane. :D

The 4400 Episode 204 - This season's progressing nicely. :D


My Top 20 Horror Movies ---- My DVD Collection

16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) - the story of Frankie and his early childhood growing up in Edinburgh and then his drink and violence fueled 1970s years. Directed by Richard Jobson (yes ex -Skids frontman) this is a very simple story but clearly a very personal one as it was based upon some of Jobsons own experiences and those of his brother who died in 2000 under mysterious circumstances. Very well acted and great use of the Edinburgh landscape. Nice to see a film that was made under its own terns without recourse to Hollywood style populism. For anyone who grew up in the 70s this is a film well worth watching.

Twilight Samurai (2004) - Japanese film which is not really a typical samurai movie at all - more a character based drama. A lowly samurai retainer just wants to get on with his life looking after his 2 daughters and his senile mother. Gradually it emerges that he is a master swordsman and against his will he is asked to use his skills by his masters. Acting is really good in this and there are also nice touches of humour. Not much action but then again the film is not really about that. Recommended.

Great Gabbo (1928) - an early talkie with Erich von Stroheim as the egotistical ventriloquist who treats all those around him like a doormat. There is the usual premise of the artist only being able to communicate via his dummy but it is not taken to the horrific extremes we see in Dead of Night or Magic. Stroheim is brilliant in this film - he does not seem to be acting at all which I suppose is the sign of a great actor. The dialogue is very realistic and modern for its time. Only drawback is that the film is padded out a bit with vaudeville musical acts.

Frankenstein 1970 (1958) - for a change Boris Karloff gets to play the Baron himself. He is the last surviving member of the Frankenstein clan who survived WW2 but is badly scarred physically and emotionally by the Nazis for refusing to co-operate with them in scientific experiments. Not that this stops him now as he uses a visiting US TV crew as fodder for his basement antics. Karloff is great and the film is well worth a look although dated in its approach when you consider that Hammer brought out Dracula the same year and revolutionised the horror film. Title of the film has no meaning from what I can see.

Hercules In The Haunted World (1961) -a peplum with Britains own Mr Universe , Reg Park and Christopher Lee as the villain. Like most films of this type the story is fairly routine but what makes this film superb is the direction and style of Mario Bava. The use of colour is simply mesmerising in places and even more impressive when you think of the low budget involved. If you are a Bava fan then you must see this - the story is pretty good too.

Midnight Faces (1926) - silent movie about a man who inherits a creepy old house complete with phantom figure, mysterious woman and strange chinaman. A lot of roaming around cobwebbed rooms and thats about it to be honest. Some very un-PC black face humour with the manservant as well. Disappointing.

Communion (1976) - aka Alice Sweet Alice. This is a very well made horror thriller set around a seemingly normal household where one of the 2 daughters seems to have severe psychological problems. When her sister winds up dead in church on her communion day people begin to suspect the dysfunctional sister. A great cast of odd characters and all mixed in with catholic guilt and repression make this one of the most disturbing and effective films of its type. Definitely one to seek out.

Andy

The latest Family Guy episode is great, the JFK junior joke at the start was so tasteless but couldn`t help but laugh at Stewie saying it.

Also his talk with Brian about his book was brilliant.

Quote:
Communion (1976) - aka Alice Sweet Alice

Is this available on disk, Andy? I saw it on theatrical release and would love to see it again. One of the few films that`s had me jump out of my seat. I had a quick scout round a while back and nothing came up. Ta.

Yes it is available in the UK on a cheapo DVD label. It comes in a wafer thin DVD case and the print is fullscreen but decent quality. I picked mine up new for £3. They do not seem to appear in shops such as HMV etc but turn up on market stalls and places like Poundland. I got mine from a film fair in Camden

Andy

Below - okay horror movie, nothing special.

K-19: Widowmaker - Interesting true story with some very dodgy Russian accents.

A Nightmare on Elm Street - Cool horror movie, still the best.

A Nightmare on Elm Street part 2: Freddy`s Revenge - Okay movie, but ruined because it broke all the rules which was set out in the first film, for example Freddy is a dream killer, yet he exists in the real world, in the dream world.
It is often referred to as a homo erotic movie, but if you consider a man being tied up in the showers and then slashed to death, a homo erotic scene, then there's something definatly wrong with you.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors - Back to the original concept, and the start of the one liners before a teenage death, still enjoyable, and also Heather is quite sexy, even more so in the first film.

Airplane - Classic, classic, classic.

South Park -
Passion of the Jew - Shockingly funny, I wonder what Mel Gibson thought of it.
All About Mormons - An educational episode which quite rightly mocks the Mormon faith.
Butt Out - An okay episode about non smoking
Raisins - Really funny, best bit when Stan asks Jimmy to tell Wendy that she`s his constant inspiration.
Cartmanland - Another funny episode.

floyd


DVD collection

This item was edited on Monday, 4th July 2005, 19:19

Cheers Andy. I`ve just found a R1 Anchor Bay release as it happens, anamorphic and apparently uncut in a decent print, with commentary. Thanks for the reminder. :)

CINEMA:

War of the Worlds - Watched this twice as it was brilliant. A full on movie experience what ever way you look at it.

DVD:

Scrubs Season 1 - I`m just over halfway through this and I`m finding it brilliant. I`d seen a few episodes before, but they must be from later seasons. It`s fast becoming my favourite TV show (although I look forward to 24 Season 4 in August, and Scrubs Season 2 in September 8) ).

That kept me busy.

DVD

Total Recall - Still one of my Fave Arnie films

Blade/Blade 2 - Ive not sen either in a while so watched em back to back, Of the recent comic book films they are still among the best imo

Baise-moi recommended by a (female) friend ..found it in the HMV sale and decided to give it a go...kind of a Themla and Louise/Natural born Killers/ feel to it, quite good

Cinema

War of the Worlds - Hmmmm a big let down to be honest, I left the cinema with a feeling like I did when I saw `The Day after Tommorow` in as much as it promised so much and delivered so little, all special effects and little else ...all the best bits are in the trailer ...

Sin City - Very very beautiful to look at, but not much of a story; it just went poor victimised woman, revenge, hero dies (apart from one), repeat.

Millions - nice story, about 30 mins too long, too Catholicy and the boys` acting was a bit iffy. I enjoyed it though, it was a bit like "Purely Belter" will nice children and the money at the beginning.

Saw - Watched for the second time because I just re-found it!:) I like the twist, but not enough is made of the murders really.

Creep - Like "Jeepers Creepers" it`s exciting until the villain is revealed then it descends into stupid. I liked how they used sicky yellow and green colours and I thought the "Please don`t hurt me... Jimmy... Jimmy..." bit was fab.

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