The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[gordon]

Hi gordon. Please update your email address. I'm getting bounced messages when the site tries to send you notifications.

Hi Charles, sorry about that. Is it okay now? According to VirginMedia someone got into my email last Friday and set up a forwarding address. VM shut down my account over the weekend until I changed the password, but all has been working fine for me since Monday. Given you posted this today though, I’ll change the address anyway...

tl;dr - will do.

[Neon Ignition]

The Suicide Squad
Second viewing and I enjoyed it more this time around. I think knowing what's coming so having the WTF factor removed made it easier to go along with the ride of it all.

[Atticus]

I watched The Servant last night. This was a blind buy based on the smallest amount of info but the pattern I seem to follow with British classics and Studio Canal hasn't let me down yet (The Ladykillers and Don't Look Now being two standouts I'd also never seen and took a chance on ... Don't Look Now especially, absolutely phenomenal film, and once seen it's never far from your thoughts). The Servant is relatively simple at a glance but goes into some deep and complex places, gradually and subtly until you can't believe where you actually are

->Open Spoiler<-

very similar to the experience Tony (James Fox) goes through

. Initially it made me think of Parasite, then it had me thinking it was heading down a whole different route, and finally it went somewhere else entirely. I was glued to this and amazed by it's dark heart for a 1963 film. At the very centre is Dirk Bogarde's amazing performance. It's unforgettable. Looking forward to ploughing through the special features disc.

[wakka]

Interesting. Def need to watch that.

[teddymeow]

Watched Mayhem last night starring Stephen Yeun from TWD and the absolutely Samara Weaving.

Lawyer's Office, inhibition lowering viral outbreak, mandatory quarantine, loads of assholes standing between a wronged employee and the big boss.

Gruesome, violent, stylish, funny. Really enjoyed it!

[Atticus]

Tried to watch the final cut of The Doors. This is after vague memories of being disappointed at the cinema many moons ago. But I love the band/music enough to give it another go. I didn't get a third in and had to turn it off. Can't quite put my finger on what the biggest problem is but something about it whiffs of amateur hour. There's nothing remotely satisfying about it. At least I didn't have to watch Billy Idol again.

[QualityChimp]

Away for a few days and I saw:
Odd Thomas (Prime)
Shazam! (Netflix)
Office Space (D+)
Lego Scooby-Doo: Haunted Hollywood (NowTV)
Doctor Strange (3D Blu-Ray)

Odd Thomas was a good mystery romp a bit like a lighter John Constantine. Pretty poignant even aside from the sad death of Anton Yelchin.

Shazam! was a blast, just a feelgood superhero action comedy.

Office Space was funny but a bit of an anti-climax after waiting years to see it. It's no Idiocracy.

Lego Scooby-Doo was passable. Nice Elvira cameo and some funny jokes about horror films, but I liked it because I watched it snuggled with my daughter.

Doctor Strange was part of the rewatch with my son (who hasn't seen them).
The 3D in this is possibly the best in all the Marvel films. Loads of translucent spectral forms and magic shields, glass universes, folding cities and crazy depth shifts.
The CGI and 3D guys must've had a blast.

[Atticus]

Watched Inglourious Basterds yesterday (a rainy morning + a men-on-a-mish film works for me). I'd forgotten how how good it is. Each chapter is super enjoyable and a satisfying part of the whole. Christoph Waltz is an obvious standout with every scene he's in full of tension, wondering what he knows and doesn't know. The only weak link is Eli Roth, who's a bit of a cheeseball and an obvious part-for-a-mate. Great looking film too ... the movie-world WWII Paris street with the cinema and cafe is beautiful ... plus a typically great soundtrack feat (to name but a few) Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin and David Bowie. Lots of fun, deffo one of QT's better efforts.

[Baseley09]

The Entity
Straying into the horrors of 1981 given the time of year. This is kind of alright but it grates somewhat the reliance on the haunting being dependent on the sexual assault of the woman, there's no real context ever given as to why she's attacked in this way or at this time so it leaves you with the probable feeling that it's just for 80's T&A reasons. That being said around 90% of the nudity in the film is animatronics work.

TBF the tit massage is one of the best special effects sequences I have ever seen

[Neon Ignition]

It's very well done especially considering the film doesn't carry an air of having too much of a budget so they did well with it.



This weekend line up:

An American Werewolf in London
Honestly, quite a fair bit of this film is fairly weak. There's not a whole lot going to the plot, it's a bit like the first half an hour of a werewolf film spread out over the course of an entire film and the main guy and his friend are pretty bad actors however to be fair to them they are very game for what's required. The UK cast are much better but it really is a film that's notable largely on the effects work and on that front it remains excellent. They really went to a huge effort and it pays off in droves, it's aged really well on that front.

The Evil Dead
Still fun but I definitely prefer the second film, it's almost too focused on the gore alone whereas the dial up on humour and Ash's reactions balanced it out more in later additions.

[QualityChimp]

Jennifer's Body (D+) - like an updated Lost Boys, this twists the teen horror genre around by having the popular girl turn evil. Megan Fox is really good in this as the horribly bitchy head cheerleader that becomes demonic. Some great lines and a bangin' soundtrack, featuring my faves, The Sword.

#Alive (Netflix) - South Korean action horror about a guy who gets trapped in his flat after a zombie infection. Absolutely nothing new to add to the genre, but a solid slice of zombie survival with a small, but likeable cast. It flew by.

[QualityChimp]

Did 31 horrors last year, but I'm trying #Woovember this year as that's more my tempo.

Started it last night with Police Assassins, which ticks two boxes in one!
The story is pretty flimsy and the Lucky Stars guys make it more comical than it should be.
However, the fight scenes are ace, especially in the finale with Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh Vs. Dick Wei and Chung Fat.
That's a proper classic sequence.

Woovember 5 (2021) rules:
The rules are simple: Watch 30 action movies during the month of November and complete the following 30 tasks. One film can fulfill several tasks. If you can complete all tasks in less than 30 films, that's fine as well. Use the tags woovember or woovember 5 for your lists and reviews.


The Tasks:
Watch an action film directed by John Woo


Current Events:
Watch a film starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Wah or Andy Le to celebrate the fact that Marvel didn't half-ass the fight scenes in Shang-Chi (Police Assasins)
Watch a film starring Thomas Ian Griffith to celebrate the return of Terry Silver in Cobra Kai Season 4
Watch a film starring Daniel Bernhardt, the top henchman actor of the last couple of years


Memorial Special:
Watch a film starring Sean Connery (Died October 30, 2020)
Watch a film starring Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. (Died December 10, 2020)
Watch a film starring Joe Lara (Died May 29, 2021)
Watch a film starring William Smith (Died July 5, 2021)
Watch a film directed by Richard Donner (Died July 5, 2021)
Watch a film featuring the work of Brad Allan* (Died August 7, 2021)
Watch a film starring Shin'ichi "Sonny" Chiba (Died August 19, 2021)
Watch a film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo (Died Semptember 6, 2021)


Anniversary Special:
Watch a chanbara film to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yojimbo
Watch a men on a mission film to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Guns of Navarone
Watch a film with a car chase to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The French Connection and Vanishing Point
Watch a film directed by Steven Spielberg to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Duel and the 40th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark
Watch a film starring Kurt Russel to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Escape from New York
Watch a film starring somebody primarily known as an athlete to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Stone Cold
Watch a film starring Jean-Claude van Damme to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Double Impact
Watch a film starring Steven Seagal to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Out for Justice
Watch a film starring Cynthia Rothrock or Jeff Wincott to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Martial Law II: Undercover (Police Assassins)
Watch a sports film to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Shaolin Soccer
Watch a film starring Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim or Yayan Ruhian to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Raid


Dolph Bronson Day (November 3):
Watch a film starring Dolph Lundgren
Watch a film starring Charles Bronson


Diversity of badass cinema:
Watch an action film directed by a woman
Watch action films from 4 different countries (Hong Kong)


Extra credit:
After an entire month of kicking ass, it's time to unwind with a game of croquet at Santa's Summer House.

[fuse]

Jennifer's Body (D+)

Took a second to realise that you weren't being judgemental there.

[Atticus]

Suitably spooky offerings of late ...


The Howling - This is quite edgy for a Joe Dante film, with some nice early 80s exploitation tropes blending nicely with an old school wolfman tale. It works best when the special effects aren't trying too hard. Hinted at moments are brill but the full on transformation is pretty dire, especially after being spoiled with the utter brilliance of American Werewolf in London. But that's not enough to take the edge off a genuinely fun ride.

Friday the 13th - Can't believe it's taken me so long to see this. And I'm happy to say is not just what I was expecting and hoping for but even better. A better crafted film than I was expecting, with some good lines in it. It has all the early 80s, grimy VHS vibes of the above and then some. It's great to watch a proper, unapologetic, non-ironic slasher film I've never seen before. Looking forward to Part II.

The Guest - I really love this film. It's not the best film ever made but if it was a Top Trumps card I'd have to score it maximum points across the board. It's daring in the places it goes, and always to deliver maximum thrills. So happy a boutique label lavished such love on a relatively under-the-radar film ... the UHD set not only delivers a beautiful looking and sounding presentation of the film but the brilliant soundtrack too. A real gem this.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch - Not seen this in a while but still an absolute treat. It's actually meaner and nastier than I remember And such a great idea (who wouldn't want one of those amazing masks). It also features one of the catchiest jingles I've ever heard The film looks incredible on the Scream Factory UHD disc ... sounds like Netflix has the same new print too (based on QC's post). Top stuff.

Don't Look Now - Yet another viewing of this. It just swims around in my head and I've got to dive back in and soak it up and see if there's anything I missed when I watched it before. This only happened with one film before (Vertigo). Some films just stay in the back of your thoughts like a dream or something. The thing about Don't Look Now is I love it more with every watch. It's an incredible piece of work.

[QualityChimp]

Shame I can't like that post twice.

Not seen The Howling, but the rest of that list is SOLID!

F13th: You're right about it being strange to watch a slasher film before it had to be ironic or layers of comedy.
I think (having chatted in the horror thread) that part 4 is my fave, although 5 is quite a brave twist and the kill count was massive for the series at the time (22?).

Glad someone else loves Season of the Witch. Proper brutal, innit? Loads of 'orrible bits like the "misfire", but the one that seems so unnecessary is the drill. Oof!

The Guest needs a rewatch ASAP! I love it too.

Was thinking about Don't Look Now this week as I was talking to a co-worker about Midsommar and she watched it that evening and jokingly told me off for my recommendation, but I did clarify that it's not a film to "enjoy", but it'll be one that you'll never forget.

It made me think of some other films like that which have really stuck with me like Don't Look Now, The Mist, The Wicker Man and Under The Skin.