Movies you've just watched

[drauch]

1990: The Bronx Warriors - Wicked B-movie Warriors-type movie. Pretty low budget Italian film shot in English, fairly terrible acting, seems to mix normal dialogue and dubbed, but has its own coolness, some sections are nicely shot, and the 17-year old unknown guy that plays the lead has a brilliant creepiness about him. It also stars the guy that died in the Twilight Zone helicopter accident.

Vic Morrow! RIP! Not Enzo G. Castellari's best film, but still fun. The follow up, Escape From The Bronx, is about a thousand times better. Most Italian films of the time combined Italians, Americans, Mexicans, French, etc, so the result was almost always dubbed to some extent. If you enjoyed that, check out Escape From the Brox and Castellari's Warriors of the Wasteland for more post-nuke fun. The main dude is Marc Gregory, who also starred in the Thunder Warrior series, then promptly disappeared! ^_~

[rapoon]

rewatched all 6 lone wolf and cub movies. much awesome.
bout to start the Wicked Priest series.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Checked out the action thriller flick known as Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Is one of those typical summer action movies that the Hollywood movie studio decided to release during the lone winter season stateside (and without any major competition from the other major film studios). Chris Pine is cast as the new Jack Ryan character this time around.

It's been said that this 2014 RoboCop film isn't a rehash of the classic 1987 flick of the same name.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[DataDream]

Notorious.

Still my favorite Hitchcock film, granted I haven't seen them all.

[lilmanjs]

Man of Tai Chi
This is the first movie that Keanu Reaves has directed, and by all accounts it is a Chinese kung-fu movie. I quite enjoyed it, but really didn't get the twist towards the end. Still some great fighting in this movie, same guy who did the Matrix movies and one of the stunt team members from those movies is the main guy in this movie. Keanu though does quite nicely as a badass.

[system11]

Bounty Killer - exploitative trash, excellent fun Several nods to Mad Max, a hot chick in a revealing outfit, blood just everywhere, ridiculous plot, can't go wrong here.

[spadgy]

Vic Morrow! RIP! Not Enzo G. Castellari's best film, but still fun. The follow up, Escape From The Bronx, is about a thousand times better. Most Italian films of the time combined Italians, Americans, Mexicans, French, etc, so the result was almost always dubbed to some extent. If you enjoyed that, check out Escape From the Brox and Castellari's Warriors of the Wasteland for more post-nuke fun. The main dude is Marc Gregory, who also starred in the Thunder Warrior series, then promptly disappeared! ^_~

Nice one! Thanks for the recommendations.

[jonny5]

Bounty Killer - exploitative trash, excellent fun Several nods to Mad Max, a hot chick in a revealing outfit, blood just everywhere, ridiculous plot, can't go wrong here.

Ha, I watched this not too long ago as well; much better than I expected.

[charlie chong]

1990: The Bronx Warriors - Wicked B-movie Warriors-type movie. Pretty low budget Italian film shot in English, fairly terrible acting, seems to mix normal dialogue and dubbed, but has its own coolness, some sections are nicely shot, and the 17-year old unknown guy that plays the lead has a brilliant creepiness about him. It also stars the guy that died in the Twilight Zone helicopter accident.

Vic Morrow! RIP! Not Enzo G. Castellari's best film, but still fun. The follow up, Escape From The Bronx, is about a thousand times better. Most Italian films of the time combined Italians, Americans, Mexicans, French, etc, so the result was almost always dubbed to some extent. If you enjoyed that, check out Escape From the Brox and Castellari's Warriors of the Wasteland for more post-nuke fun. The main dude is Marc Gregory, who also starred in the Thunder Warrior series, then promptly disappeared! ^_~

i would also recommend 2019 after the fall of new york in a similar vein.warriors of the wasteland(often called the new barbarians in uk)
is probably the funniest overall due to a certain scene that should make all men wince

[drauch]

^Hell yeah. Initiation! Big George!

[CMoon]

Celebrated the start of the weekend with a rewatch of Harakiri. Don't know what more can really be said about this amazing film, although I am not sure the suffocating sense of hypocrisy came through so strongly when I saw it before. The action only gradually emerging at the end like a manifestation of our anger and frustration with a hopelessly broken system. Magnificent!

Then the internet produces this gem this morning: If Footmen Tire You, What will Horses do? One hour long bible horror propaganda like a Chick track directed by Ed Wood. Same director as Mesa of Lost Women (I haven't seen this yet, but it's on my list.) Blood, torture, mutilation and death abound as communists take over American in 15 minutes, mostly because we aren't praying hard enough. Every part of America is condemned except reading the bible non-stop; TV, dancing, even divorce will keep God from protecting us from communists.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Checked out the Ron Howard directed racing themed flick by the name of Rush...awesome F1 based movie based on two rival drivers during the 1976 F1 racing season. The billboard ads depicted on the various tracks are spot on for that particular era, indeed (if you have a sharp eye for detail). And seeing the experimental 6-wheeled Elf F1 car in action was priceless. Sure, there's a mixture of live-action racing scenes combined with a bit of CG magic to move the story along, but it gels quite well in this instance. Shall get the Blu-Ray version of Rush to add to my BR collection.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Vexorg]

Jack Ryan - Shadow Recruit: **1/2

This movie is about as average as you can possibly get for a spy thriller. It gives you a generic dashing CIA spy and a team of generic agents supporting him from a generic unmarked van, a generic Soviet leftover villain with ancient grudges, a generic throwaway plot to destroy Western Civilization, and an hour and 45 minutes of generic spy action, hitting basically every spy thriller trope unironically along the way, followed bvy a sequel hook that'll probably result in 2 or 3 more equally generic sequels.. There was nothing particularly bad about any of it, but there was also nothing excellent about it either. You could probably wrap the DVD up in generic store-brand packaging as "Action Movie (Spy flavor)" and put it on the DVD shelf at the grocery store, and nobody would bat an eye.

[Acid King]

Laura (1944) - I just knocked the book down a few days ago so I figured it was time to watch the movie. Long considered a classic film noir, I had high hopes after reading the book, but the changes from the book irritated me and it makes me reconsider reading the novels first before watching some of these old movies. The old pulp writers were able to get away with a lot more than the filmmakers at the time, resulting in changes that sometimes feel strange. SPOILERS The story opens with the discovery of the titular character's corpse, killed by a shotgun blast to the face. But they never make the fact that the corpse basically had no face obvious in the movie so when the character reappears later it's almost out of the blue, like how did the cops fuck that one up? There were some other changes from the book that kind of bothered me too. A few of the character relationships are altered, the mysteries clues and revelations are changed up, and I think the climax of the book was a lot better than what ended up in the movie.

I still enjoyed the movie, it's definitely worth a watch and Vincent Price is excellent as the title character's dbag fiance. But it's got me thinking about whether I should read the books first or not. I'll probably keep doing it, and just try to mute my expectations for the movies depending on the content of the books.

[system11]

Laura sounds like something I'd like - wishlisted!

[drauch]

Yeah, I can vouch for Laura as well. One of my favorite Noir films. If I recall correctly, Where the Sidewalk Ends has the same cast and is also quite good.

[RegalSin]

God Bless America- Two people who are sick and tired, of society. A man who thinks he has cancer, and a girl who is attracted to those types, go on a killing spree. However the movie reverses the stuff you would normally be upset about, to be watch-a-ble.

The Village - A group of people, get together and build a community to escape the horrors of the world. Kinda like if we all got together and made a community that favor us.

Escape from the Bronx - Basically a Spaghetti Westerner, simular "Death Wish" but alot better, but without the sex scenes. Imagine if a bunch of people Idaho, Texas, and California invaded NYC, and tried to trick everybody out of their homes, but in this case they do it by force. All the stereotypes of the post 70's rolled up into two movies. Magnificent. Only thing better then this is, "Big Trouble in Little China", or the "Last Dragon", not for the Super Violence but for insanity that goes on, watching people doing super-duper martial arts which is unrealistic. Favorite line....."Kidnap the President", "Of United States" , and the entire movie is ruined when they use the pro post-Vietnam veteran as the main.

Day of the dead - You must see this. I mean seriously, this is probably the best movie on the planet right now if not for. 99% of the film is just everybody getting mad at each other, and we get to see a familiar faces you might recognize.

Turkey Shoot - Nothing else, can touch this movie. This is the movie from mars, that just keeps giving. You can never stop watching this film, once you see it, like most 1970's and early 1980's film it is virtually unwatchable for anybody from the Indiana Jones or Arnold Terminator Era.

[drauch]

Big fan of all of those movies, sans The Village, but I gotta say, the comparison of Escape From the Bronx to Death Wish and Spaghetti Westerns is about as far as a comparison you could make. I could at least excuse the nod to Spaghetti Westerns since it's Italian and from the same "copy everything" era of the country's apex of genre film, but it still doesn't make sense. It's a post-apocalyptic action film, not a revenge drama with social commentary...

[spadgy]

Vic Morrow! RIP! Not Enzo G. Castellari's best film, but still fun. The follow up, Escape From The Bronx, is about a thousand times better. Most Italian films of the time combined Italians, Americans, Mexicans, French, etc, so the result was almost always dubbed to some extent. If you enjoyed that, check out Escape From the Brox and Castellari's Warriors of the Wasteland for more post-nuke fun. The main dude is Marc Gregory, who also starred in the Thunder Warrior series, then promptly disappeared! ^_~

i would also recommend 2019 after the fall of new york in a similar vein.warriors of the wasteland(often called the new barbarians in uk)
is probably the funniest overall due to a certain scene that should make all men wince

Cheers again guys. I'll definitely check some of these out.

Meanwhile, I've finally seen The Artist, and I though roughly enjoyed it. I'm no expert on silent movies, but love older black and white films, and constantly forgot while watching The Artist that it's a modern film. I also am easily swayed by tap-dance and dogs trained to the point they look like the victims of a mind parasite.

And I re-watched The Skin I Live In last night. Such a brilliant bit of filmmaking.

[Skykid]

And I re-watched The Skin I Live In last night. Such a brilliant bit of filmmaking.

Yeah, seen that a couple of times too. Fascinatingly macabre.

[Moniker]

Have the flu, which tends to bring on documentary binges, for some reason.

All on Netflix

The Act of Killing
This one has been discussed some already on the forum. Mandatory viewing for all human beings. Along with Titicut Follies (also mandatory), one of the few documentaries that are also art. You simply don't see a more true depiction of the human condition in non-fiction elsewhere. I'd go on about the distinction between accuracy and truth, but I doubt anyone who hasn't already thought on it would care to read. This film blurs that distinction in a way I'd previously thought impossible. (It's about the mass murder of "communists" in Indonesia in the sixties, content-wise.)

The Square
Incredibly interesting since it's (to my knowledge) the first video-documented revolution in history. I came away feeling like I was missing more than a few jigsaw pieces, but, man. Really bridges that gulf between reading about 'x protesters killed in Egypt, in what is the most violent clash during the ongoing... etc." and what those events actually looked like to someone experiencing them. I try to retain a measure of respect for religious attitudes, but this really challenged my capacity for tolerance.

Blackfish
A very interesting and damning look into SeaWorld's practices, and the issue of captive animals in general, but far too much guesswork, insinuation, and (most importantly) anthropomorphism going on. The director was more interested in emotional activism than rational, scientific inquiry, so it loses some points there. Not saying that she was wrong, mind you. I just don't care for the methods. Worth a viewing, at any rate.

[Acid King]

Yeah, I can vouch for Laura as well. One of my favorite Noir films. If I recall correctly, Where the Sidewalk Ends has the same cast and is also quite good.

I liked Where the Sidewalk Ends a lot more than Laura, but my preference for noir is the grimier the better. I've got Born to Kill queued up to watch later this week and I have a feeling that'll be more my style.

[Skykid]

Rush

Heard a lot of good things and I'm happy to say it's a good little film and I enjoyed it. Some of the dialogue is a bit iffy, especially very early on, and the actors seem to struggle with it, coming across as forced. But the film has momentum, no pun intended, and the dramatic relationship really starts to headline between the two lead characters. It's gripping stuff and the races are really well put together.

I don't have much interest in F1 but I do like a good true story. I'd recommend it.

[spadgy]

And I re-watched The Skin I Live In last night. Such a brilliant bit of filmmaking.

Yeah, seen that a couple of times too. Fascinatingly macabre.

I've actually got similar plans for you.

Moving on, I'm glad to hear your positive comments on Rush too. I love old Ron Howard car chase comedies like Eat my Dust and Grand Theft Auto, and car/road movies in general, so I'm keen to see Rush. I won't expect too much, but it sounds entertaining enough.

[Mischief Maker]

Celebrated the start of the weekend with a rewatch of Harakiri. Don't know what more can really be said about this amazing film, although I am not sure the suffocating sense of hypocrisy came through so strongly when I saw it before.

Watching that movie at the tail end of a recession will do that. "I'm a trained samurai with a long and impressive resume. But alas, we live in times of peace."

On one level it's a refutation of samurai culture. On another level it's an exploration of the psychology of class conflict.

[Acid King]

Raw Deal (1948) - As someone who was subjected to hellacious amounts of Perry Mason reruns as a child, I only ever identified Raymond Burr as that character. Well, it turns out he almost didn't get the role of Perry Mason because he was so well known for playing villainous scumbags. Raw Deal has him playing a top notch sadistic asshole and he kills it. The photography is awesome, with some seriously dark settings and excellent use of light and shadows to wrap everything in noir doom ambiance, and has a nice brisk pace and fairly short runtime. Overall, excellent stuff.

[spadgy]

I watched Marnie recently; one of Hitchcock's later, less talked about films. Not his best, without doubt, but surprisingly enjoyable and dark.

[CMoon]

Celebrated the start of the weekend with a rewatch of Harakiri. Don't know what more can really be said about this amazing film, although I am not sure the suffocating sense of hypocrisy came through so strongly when I saw it before.

Watching that movie at the tail end of a recession will do that. "I'm a trained samurai with a long and impressive resume. But alas, we live in times of peace."

On one level it's a refutation of samurai culture. On another level it's an exploration of the psychology of class conflict.

Yes. It is actually a surprisingly modern film. I haven't seen the remake, but like a good Kubrick film, I'm not sure what a remake could add, or how it could feel more relevant. Maybe I'm being closed minded, but Harakiri feels like it could have come out in theatres yesterday.

[Skykid]

Platoon

After just getting back from Vietnam and crawling through VC tunnels and firing AK-47's, I had an urge to go for Olly Stone's one of the big three Nam movies.

I like Platoon, it's a good film, if slightly Hollywood compared to some of its contemporaries. Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe steal it, but the supporting cast (Dillon, Whittaker, Depp etc) are strong too.

Of course, poor little Charlie Sheen is the weakest link. I can't help think a fan edit that simply removes all his terrible narration to Grandmaw would make the whole thing fifteen percent better.

[system11]

I actually liked Sheen in that, it's my favourite Vietnam film by a long way, possibly my favourite war film.