Last movie watched...

[shaolin_monkey]

The Void

It can be a bit wearing hearing things described as 'Lovecraftian', but I'm going to apply it here, as it fits well.  There's definitely that vibe in this film - weird goings-on, cultists, occult symbols, sanity-testing events and creatures, and weird twisted alternate dimensions.  Kind of reminiscent of The Thing, but in a hospital setting. I really enjoyed it.  I was never bored, that's for sure.

Seven tentacles out of ten Elder Gods.

[Keef Monkey]

The Void

It can be a bit wearing hearing things described as 'Lovecraftian', but I'm going to apply it here, as it fits well.  There's definitely that vibe in this film - weird goings-on, cultists, occult symbols, sanity-testing events and creatures, and weird twisted alternate dimensions.  Kind of reminiscent of The Thing, but in a hospital setting. I really enjoyed it.  I was never bored, that's for sure.

Seven tentacles out of ten Elder Gods.

Yeah I really enjoyed this one, it has a great atmosphere and good looking old-school splattery effects and also some really cool dreamy imagery in places.

[Apestrife]

Close encounters of the third kind A movie I never thought I'd come around to watch. A friend's dad's UFO "studies" (article cut outs, videos, constant ramblings) frightened me quite a bit as a kid, and CEot3k always looked really creepy. And while the film had some creepy moments (im not that scared by ufo stuff any longer) it had a lot of heart. And everything from the story, the direction, effects, actors to the music are fantastic. Alot of the scenes in the film is a masterclass in making one go through the emotions. The abduction scene in particular. The kid's innocence and sense of wonder shines through even with the sinnister situation.

In short. Watch it if you havent

[JamesC]

Close encounters of the third kind A movie I never thought I'd come around to watch. A friend's dad's UFO "studies" (article cut outs, videos, constant ramblings) frightened me quite a bit as a kid, and CEot3k always looked really creepy. And while the film had some creepy moments (im not that scared by ufo stuff any longer) it had a lot of heart. And everything from the story, the direction, effects, actors to the music are fantastic. Alot of the scenes in the film is a masterclass in making one go through the emotions. The abduction scene in particular. The kid's innocence and sense of wonder shines through even with the sinnister situation.

In short. Watch it if you havent

The thing that always puts me off CEOTTK is that the main character is such an unlikeable piece of shit.

[Gary James]

Close encounters of the third kind A movie I never thought I'd come around to watch.

This film is the reason I am no longer allowed to order anything with mashed potatoes when I'm eating in a fancy restaurant...

The thing that always puts me off CEOTTK is that the main character is such an unlikeable piece of shit.

He's the protagonist, not the hero. There's no reason that an MC has to even be understandable, never mind likeable (see Under the Skin), so that isn't a film problem so much as it is audience preference. I doubt that there will ever be a film universally loved by all.
The tune which is used to communicate with the aliens really is an astounding piece of composition, right up there with the most iconic themes ever written. For that, and that alone, the film should earn a place on any list of all-time greats.

[Keef Monkey]

Dunkirk - Not a war film guy (most of 1917 feel weirdly flat for me) but I do like the occasional one and love Nolan films so finally gave it a go. It's brilliant, fabulously tense and the weird nested way the three perspectives are told is really smart (and very Nolan).

Terrified - A creepy Argentinian haunting movie I found on Shudder, very atmospheric and with some good scares (one scare got a rare yelp out of me so well played).

Cheap Thrills - Again on Shudder, not a horror though (although people do some horrifying things in it!). Probably the most memorable of the three films I watched over the weekend, it has a very dark streak of humour and keeps going to quite unexpected places.

It's basically about a couple of guys with money problems out drinking who get entangled with a rich couple who start throwing money at them for silly games (first person to drink a shot gets fifty bucks etc.), but the games get more extreme and the money gets bigger and things soon escalate to the point where there's a lot of tension in not knowing where things are going to go next. And it goes to some places for sure. Has the always good Ethan Embry in it (everything I've seen with him in the last few years has been really good). It's one of those interesting thought experiments of a movie - if you were desperate then at what point would you walk out and once you were in deep enough and the sums of money were large enough where would the line be?

Mostly it's just really good gross out tense fun though, liked it a lot.

[repoman]

31 - Color out of Space.  Nick Cage film where a family living on a farm get an unexpected visit and EVERYTHING GOES MAD.

A good mix of Close Encounters and The Thing.  And then every film where Cage goes mental.

It was really good.



32 - Clown.  Very average clown horror.  Not great but had some moments.  The actual clown character was good.

[wedgeski]

Ad Astra. Pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie.

Some nice visuals though.

[repoman]

Ad Astra. Pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie.

Some nice visuals though.

yeah that one was a struggle.

[Dandontdare]

31 - Color out of Space.  Nick Cage film where a family living on a farm get an unexpected visit and EVERYTHING GOES MAD.

SOLD!

Is that available on Netflix/Amazon?

[shaolin_monkey]

31 - Color out of Space.  Nick Cage film where a family living on a farm get an unexpected visit and EVERYTHING GOES MAD.

SOLD!

Is that available on Netflix/Amazon?

It's out in selected cinemas at the mo. None in Cardiff whatsoever, which sucks, 'cos I REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS FILM!

In the meantime, can we get this director back for another 2000AD film please?

[Gary James]

It'll be nice to see Cage back on form, as a few of his films have been... less than decent is probably the politest thing to say.

I am really not having much luck with the DVDs I've picked up. Because there is enough venom spewed forth from certain corners of the internet I made the decision that I would try to find positive things to say rather than rip apart what doesn't work¹, so there may not be any lengthy reviews of films appearing anywhere... It may be that I've simply been unlucky in grabbing things that should have been interesting, but it is disappointing to see so many bad films in one week.

And disappointing films. Some weren't terrible, but they weren't brilliant either.

1. Don't. Say. A. Word. It's harder than it looks, and at least I'm trying... Not entirely successfully, though that was probably to be expected.

[Proudhuff]

Maggie expecting an Arnie zombie juggernaut and got a surprisingly deep dark thoughtful movie... (if only he could change the accent), and the wonderful Joely Richardson too

[Sinx]

Birds of Prey

An astoundingly lazy, badly scripted, poorly put together pile of nonsense. I was willing to give this a try since I think Harley Quinn as a character has potential (even though I'm not really a big DC fan) and Margot Robbie has screen presence but this was just bad on so many levels. Harley Quinn has absolutely no character arc and remains pretty much exactly the same from the first minute to the last.

A waste of time.

[shaolin_monkey]

Maggie expecting an Arnie zombie juggernaut and got a surprisingly deep dark thoughtful movie... (if only he could change the accent), and the wonderful Joely Richardson too

Yes, it is a good film. Very tragic and sad. I really felt for all the folk in it. Schwarzenegger was surprisingly good in such a sensitive role.