Last movie watched...

[Tiplodocus]

"I like Moore on film"

I think this may be because he's a genuine STAR with proper presence.

And he, amusingly, knows his limitations.

[brendan1]

The People under the Stairs was on the other night on Syfy so I watched part of it. I only watched the start as something else cropped up which took me away from the telly for a while, but I've seen it 2-3 times before. It's a very enjoyable film.

It's another of my favourites. Some great comedy, some thrills, some horror, a dash of sadism and general wrongness, a superb child hero, and a whole host of quotable lines:

"Your father's one sick mother, you know that? Actually, your mother's one sick mother, too!"

Aces

[brendan1]

What's wrong with Danny Dyer? I think he's quite funny - and he doesn't take himself too seriously.

What's wrong with Danny Dyer?

Jesus Christ.

Everything?

[JamesC]

What's wrong with Danny Dyer? I think he's quite funny - and he doesn't take himself too seriously.

What's wrong with Danny Dyer?

Jesus Christ.

Everything?

Nah, he's alright, I like him.
If you ever see him interviewed he sems like a genuinely nice guy.

I thought he was really good in 'The Business'.An underated film in my opinion.

His 'documentary' about UFOs was hilarious. He seemed to have genuine affection for a lot of the nutters he met despite being pretty bemused by most of them. it had a really cool ending too.

[klute]

I  had the misfortune of watching slaughter high.What a steaming pile of shite the best part of the film was seeing the end credit's i wouldn't recommend it to anyone

[Goaty]

Batman Returns on ITV2, it okay film with some good scenes, like the cruel opening, cool way of Bat-signal into Bruce Wayne's living room (wonder what happens if he got guests there??)

Batman's cape became the wings! Christopher Walken! Catwoman, hot!

[SmallBlueThing]

Hellraiser

Havent seen this in twenty years, and was interested to see if it holds up two decades on. Short version: no, not really. Shockingly paced, with awful dialogue, only ashely lawrence and doug bradley come out unscathed and with reputations intact. Much of it was bad at the time, of course. Bob keen's effects were always ropey- his frank bodysuit doesnt convince, the resurrection sequence was laughable on original release and is even more so now, and his rubber monster on a unicycle, that attacks kirsty cotton twice probably looked good on paper...

The opticals are cartoony, none of it makes much sense, its micro budget is writ large, and by christ clare higgins annoys just as much now as in 1987.

Its all quite dull, with a ridiculous ending. And it was never, ever, in any sense 'frightening', just proud of nudging some taboos, and a bit unpleasant. It's neither of those things now, and watching it i was strongly reminded of lesser hammer films.

A big, fat, meh.

Oh, and also An American Werewolf In London, earlier today- which is still a masterpiece that never puts a paw wrong.

SBT

[Spaceghost]

Yeah, I've never seen what the fuss is about with Hellraiser. I thought it was crap when it came out and it certainly hasn't improved with age. Hellraiser 1, 2 and 3 are all in Poundland at the moment if anyone fancies a laugh.

I watched Labyrinth the other night with the kids and it's still brilliant. The bairns loved it and even got a bit scared in places. The characters are all wonderful, especially Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didimus.

Some of the songs are a bit dated and cheesy now but it added to the nostalgia for me. Even the Thin White Duke does a decent job as Jareth.

After I explained who Jareth was played by, my 4 year old daughter announced that she is changing the name of her teddy bear to David Bowie.

[brendan1]

Nah, he's alright, I like him.
If you ever see him interviewed he sems like a genuinely nice guy.

I thought he was really good in 'The Business'.An underated film in my opinion.

His 'documentary' about UFOs was hilarious. He seemed to have genuine affection for a lot of the nutters he met despite being pretty bemused by most of them. it had a really cool ending too.

Yes, I did think he was quite good in The Business - I'd forgotten that one.

I suppose his recent forays into "Real Villains/ Real Football Factory/ Hardest Men in Britain" stuff has coloured opinion: "pwopah nawty beyaveeyah" etc

And I think most of his recent films have been risible

[radiator]

I remember Dyer's performance as being the highlight of horribly dated noughties rave movie Human Traffic, but it's all been downhill since then.

[Eric Plumrose]

at its absolute best in episodes like The Visitor, Duet, and The Quickening.

Ah, yes. 'Duet'. I seem to remember the ending being something of a cop-out but FUCK ME. Yarris Hulin as Marritza. Quite possibly THE best performance in the entire series.

[I, Cosh]

North Sea Hijack, a late-70s British action movie starring Roger Moore trying to play against type but failing because he is Roger Moore and even having a cat named after Enoch Powell is endearing. 

I vaguely remember seeing this at the pictures. Rog has a great line about never taking ten minutes to finish the Times crossword.

No wonder he was the best Bond.

[Professor Bear]

Ah, yes. 'Duet'. I seem to remember the ending being something of a cop-out but FUCK ME. Yarris Hulin as Marritza. Quite possibly THE best performance in the entire series.

I have a soft spot for Andrew Robinson in The Wire, where his drug-addled rambling is a tissue of lies that - if you watch the show to the very end - is gradually revealed as mostly truth, the rest his interpretation of an abusive and lonely childhood.  Apart from that, though, the show seems to be a storytelling desert until the Klingons show up - and this is coming from someone who not only never liked Klingons and thought they had a disproportionate amount of affection directed their way by Trek fandom over the years, but who found Mr Worf to be a tedious and embarrassing character second only to Mr Fucking Data.  That Worf later became one of DS9's best characters is nothing short of a miracle.

First Knight - I know Jerry Zucker directed Ghost, but he's arguably better known for stuff like Naked Gun, Airplane! and Hot Shots, and I think he knows it because there's no way he directed this sucker as anything other than a comedy - it is fucking atrocious, and in that it is also really entertaining, with Sean Connery's Arthur screaming "WHYYYYYY?" at the heavens and Richard Gere's Lancelot having his own personal soundtrack that makes it sound like the Superman theme is playing everytime he swings his sword about and a villain called Malignant.  Like all the best jokes, it's played deadly straight - a pity, then, that none of the straight stuff works as it should, particularly the Lancelot/Guenevere romance, which for the most part just makes Lancelot look like an egotistical prick and Guenevere a flighty tart.  There's no reason to empathise with Lancelot as he's driven by nothing more than a hard-on to pursue a toff who doesn't want him, while Guenevere has every opportunity to back out of a marriage to Arthur yet chooses to stay - then changes her mind precisely when it will do the most harm and all for a bit of rough with no redeeming virtues beyond that he's the only skilled murderer she's met so far that hasn't tried to rape her.  Connery's Arthur is in the rough ballpark, even with a tendency to go - politely - off the handle when faced with a slight marital hiccup that could be resolved if he actually spoke to the parties involved, but otherwise he's too old for the role.

A terrible straight-up Arthurian movie, but as an action comedy it's pretty entertaining stuff.

[SmallBlueThing]

Night of the Living Dead (the original, not Savini's remake, or the 3D remake, or the animated version, or the Welsh one)

Not a review as such- other than to say, the boys and I watched this last night as their introduction to the world of zombies. It's very talky, obviously, but they sat attentive throughout and squirmed in all the right places. I'd wanted to watch this over halloween, but sometimes find it's a film that beats me if I start it too late and I'm too tired. Watching it at 6pm, when I was fully awake, and with the added bonus of two small boys whose reactions I wanted to enjoy, it was an absolute pleasure. Extra bonus points for starting a conversation about civil rights- which Bram has either been learning about at school, or has read about somewhere, and the treatment of Ben at the end. Bram seemed aware that "black people had once been slaves, and fought back in the 1960s". That they had this conversation while pretending to be zombies on their way to brushing their teeth, made me very happy.

Anyway, I enjoyed Night like I haven't in years. And for those with small children and similar concerns: the "inappropriate content" rating for NotLD stands at:

No sex, no swearing (barring a "bastard"), all gore implied. Scariest bits: the dead woman's face at the top of the stairs, the zombies finally breaking into the house, and Ben getting shot.

SBT

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

The Village Directed by M Night Shaymalan.

One long shaggy dog story but well made and effective in IMHO. Very post 9-11 though. Back to a more Innocent age was the hope but ultimately you could say that the message of the Film is rather a bleak one.

You have to rule by deceit and then break your own Laws in order to bring a sense of Justice to the World. Not very positive comment on America despite the idyllic setting though Ivy's determination to face down the odds despite being blind shows that the human spirit will endure no matter what .