I did not mind it at all. I mean it's not ever going to sweep a festival for awards or anything, but for light comic space opera entertainment it worked quite well. I think it delivers due to the fact that my expectations with comic book films are really low at this point and these films fit that niche perfectly. I am not looking for David Mamet (or Watchmen to stay within the genre) cleverness in dialogue and direction which seems to be the calibre all the other Superhero films tout themselves as, so I can sit back and not nit pick. It is almost as if the plot holes themselves were engineered in to add to the absurdity and tongue in cheek factor.
Either that or Karen Gillan as a fratricidal cyborg really works for me
Thanks for clarifying Just helps me put the review in context. You see, I couldn't stand the first GOTG - it's the film that made me swear off Marvel for good. It got on my last nerve; found it utterly puerile. The tree and the talking beaver or whatever it was rivaled Pixar in the annoyance stakes.
You would most likely hate this one as well then. I find Marvel in general to be puerile (DC not far behind at this point with WW) . This film knows it's peurile and plays to that.
Valid points. I question the remakes conscious decision not to replicate the look of the original. One the one hand I doubt they would have got it right, on the other hand going your own may (much like GITS) makes me think it should be retitled with an opening credit "Based on Dario Argenta's Suspiria" I hope it generates enough interest to get people interested in the original
I'm thinking too that for the really young movie buffs, remakes get them to see a movie they would not normally watch. Never saw the first black and white Lost Horizon but did see the 1973 remake of Lost Horizon. So for me the color remake is the only one I know. Never saw the countless remakes of "She" but did see the mid sixties MGM/ Hammer remake, so it's the only one I know. Much of the time young ones only like modern movies and will maybe find the 2017 remake "their" version, not knowing of the original. This new movie will have the old music, there are stills which do show they have recreated the set to a point.
Still I see this is going to be a little like the Dino De Laurentiis's 1976 King Kong. Big effects and a huge budget but just not the same as the 1933 King Kong.
"The Accountant" [7.8/10]: Look it ain't Shakespeare but I liked it. This movie employed an engaging story arc with numerous flashbacks and a plot surprise or two. The acting was better than adequate. I saw it on Showtime. It was a great movie for home viewing.
I'm thinking too that for the really young movie buffs, remakes get them to see a movie they would not normally watch. Never saw the first black and white Lost Horizon but did see the 1973 remake of Lost Horizon. So for me the color remake is the only one I know. Never saw the countless remakes of "She" but did see the mid sixties MGM/ Hammer remake, so it's the only one I know. Much of the time young ones only like modern movies and will maybe find the 2017 remake "their" version, not knowing of the original. This new movie will have the old music, there are stills which do show they have recreated the set to a point.
Still I see this is going to be a little like the Dino De Laurentiis's 1976 King Kong. Big effects and a huge budget but just not the same as the 1933 King Kong.
Truthfully the final scene could benefit from some enhanced effects. The rest of the film though is pretty much spot on so a glitzy remake may just lose the whole original point.
It's really nice now to have IMDB around so one can look into films to see if they are a remake or retelling of a foreign film before getting into them. I have always been a big fan of going to the original source.
I was just thinking about Squashed Horizion , the musical the other day. Sometimes I just cannot grasp how they can get from a to b and completely alter the film into a different genre.
Haha, your comparing Lost Horizon 1973 the original black and white Lost Horizon!
Well, that's just the thing I was talking about.............and that was my point; even if a film is a remake the audience may not have a reference if they are young. All I can remember was the effects and story of 1973s Lost Horizon were amazing to me at 12 years old. I still need to watch the famous Lost Horizon done before.
Also I was wrong on the producer of this 2017 Suspiria and now see it may not be that big of a budget production, as I thought it was going to be. I have not been able to learn the budget on-line. Looks like the filming is done and it's set up for a release by years end.
Even by B movie standards, this is a hokey one. It's also incredibly slow paced and repetitive. There's a slight amusement factor to proceedings, as the whole spin on voodoo plays out in slow motion, things seemingly dawning on Richard Boone's character about half an hour after the viewer.
The premise is that local businessman Bob Kraft (Boone) takes over the running of a cemetery called The Immortal Hills (the reason for this is as nonsensical as most other plot points in the film) and is introduced by caretaker Andy McKee to a large map of the cemetery, marked with white pins for people who have reserved plots and black pins for those who have already died and are buried there. Kraft accidentally puts a couple of black pins in the map for a young couple who came in to reserve plots earlier in the day (another implausible plot point) and mysteriously, they turn up dead the next day. This leads Kraft to suspect either the map or himself have paranormal abilities and control over life and death...
What irritated me most is that Kraft keeps repeating the experiment of putting black pins in the map as if to assuage his own skepticism, and yet people keep dying. His approach is empirical but surely if the downside of the experiment is that someone might die, it could be time to knock it on the head! It also takes him the whole movie to try replacing the black pins with white pins - something that occurred to me inside the first 10 minutes. Also, no matter how starkly lit it is and how much dramatic score you use, a map just isn't scary!
The film could have been saved by being a forerunner in the zombie genre, but it bottles it, shunning the supernatural for the rational in a truly Scooby Doo style ending. Maybe as an episode of The Twilight Zone it might have just about cut it, but as a full length feature, it really doesn't.
I was blown away by this movie. Yes, that's the only way to describe it and I have only had this kind of experience about a few dozen times while watching a movie.
It's the kind where you can't believe how good it is and you just hope they don't screw it up by the end.
This whole film seems so foreign to me and almost as if it's filmed on another planet. I really can't imagine living in a desert or especially with no home or money. If I were in there shoes I don't know how I would survive. I'd probably be scared to death every second.
Love the cinematography in this. It's what you would call a "Docudrama". I really need to check into some other films by this director (Michael Winterbottom). You'll be interested to know there is no political non-sense in this movie that I could tell.
Not going there...
Ps it's about two people being smuggled into London from Pakistan after leaving Afghanistan.
Ripley's Game - 5/10
One of the few movies that left me with a sick feeling while watching it and even afterwards. With all the rotten things people did to each other in this movie I couldn't really care about what happened to them.
One of those where you feel like you need to take a bath after watching it. So much bad stuff in the movie. I had that feeling after watching "Goodfellas" when I was a kid. The ending was also awful.
If you didn't know, this is a sequel to "The Talented Mr. Ripley".
Is there a movie where they had crammed as much bad stuff in a movie as they possibly could? This isn't it, but it felt the same. I don't mean one single bad subject matter, but EVERY bad theme you could come up with.
Two of them that are like this are Takeshi Kitano's "Blood and Bones" and "Jan Dara". Jan Dara is some sort of strange masterpiece though and incorrectly thought of as some sort of adult (rated X!) film, but it's NOT.
"Blood and Bones" is one of the most difficult movies to sit through and it's not a horror movie or very disturbing. You can't make a more unlikable person than the one Kitano played in this.
Is there a movie where they had crammed as much bad stuff in a movie as they possibly could? This isn't it, but it felt the same. I don't mean one single bad subject matter, but EVERY bad theme you could come up with.
How long have you got? Melancholie der Engel springs instantly to mind. And anything else directed by Marian Dorian probably; I've yet to come across a sicker puppy! Lukas Moodysson's A Hole In My Heart is the kind of film that leaves you wanting to take a shower too...
Solid story, gripping, lots of plot twists, some characters are a little one dimensional and the middle kind of drags but both ends of the movie are good. Added to my list of favourite movies
Late 60s crime thriller starring Lee Marvin as Walker; a man on a mission. His mission is to recoup $93k from those he perceives as his debtors, following his being left for dead by a co-conspirator during in a heist. Despite being a Hollywood movie, it's very European in feel, taking its cues from the measured cool of the French New Wave - Director John Boorman has spoken of the influence of Alain Resnais in particular. The mood is very restrained, reflecting an increasing interest at the time in the alienation concomitant of modernity - the impersonal architecture through which the protagonists move echoed in their personal relations. "What's my last name?", asks Chris after an intimate scene with Walker. "What's my first?" he replies.
Style-wise it's spot on, the colours pop, and it really transports you to a particular time and place; where it falls down slightly is in terms of plotting - it's a bit too opaque for its own good. By the end of the film, you're not really any the wiser who Walker really is (What was the party he was at in the flashback at the beginning? What exactly is his relationship to Yost? Does he get the money in the end? Does it matter?), but there's no denying his screen presence: the strong, silent type who slips in unnoticed and effects his purpose with brutal efficiency. Angie Dickinson, as the independent Chris, is a more sympathetic character, having a real fighting spirit, which contrasts with the meekness of her sister, played by Sharon Acker.
The distancing effect of the film though, while exuding cool 60s chic, means its difficult to fully engage or empathisize with any of the characters. It's a film I ended up admiring more than enjoying; a bit like Antonioni's Red Desert, in that respect: a study of isolation and alienation that ends up alienating the viewer to a degree.
Something of a rarity - a West German horror film from the early 80s. It was mostly Italy and the US making the running in the genre at this time - Jörg Buttgereit was doing his thing, but that was a different kettle of fish, with shock and exploitation being the order of the day in films like Nekromantik. Der Fan (AKA Trance) is less graphic and in your face; a psychological horror in the bunny boiler tradition, that concerns itself with the cult of celebrity and dangerous obsession.
A young fan, Simone, worships a singer called "R", fantasizing that they are somehow destined to be together. As her obsession grows out of control, she's eventually driven to track "R" down in person. The consequences for both of them prove life-changing, in a particularly uncomfortable climax to the film.
It feels a bit uneven though. There isn't really a logical progression to the last act; although she seems a bit 'off', there's no real hint about how deep Simone's psychological maladjustment really is. Most of the time, the camera follows her around her home town of Ulm in a trance, listening constantly to the robotic strains of the Kraftwerk-lite "R" on her walkman. As with Point Blank, the main thing that kept my interest was the look and feel of it - it's a real time capsule back to early 80s Germany; the prominent synth pop soundtrack, the look of the streets and vehicles, and the fashions of the time - especially the Walkman with foam ear-pads!
Ditto here Perfect Blue is a standout anime and should be on everyones list.
So Restoration (2016) 7.5/10. This is a little two parter Australian effort that appears as if it could have been a pilot. Revolves around the concept of having ones mind backed up at regular intervals and what could happen if someone were to exploit that for their own purposes. While the film never actually gets deep into the actual motive it does do a magnificent job of exploring the actual character (s) involved which becomes very engrossing and brings up mountains of ethical and legal questions. For a 10bucks and a bag of vegimite budget this one goes well above and beyond the call without having the moronic plot factor that mires cheapo North American scifi efforts of late. This could be what would happen if LEAN practices were applied to film. Intriguing and entertaining with no glitz or explosions.
Sorry, this is a little off-topic. I promise that this will be a very quick detour from the purpose of this thread.
I want to see Logan, but have not seen X-Men: Apocalypse yet. I haven't watched it yet because reviews I have seen have said that it was a lackluster installment in the franchise. However, if the plot ties into the plot of Logan, then I'll finally watch it. So could anybody tell me if the two plots are tied together? @oqvist@mutabor ? Thank you.
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Just helps me put the review in context. You see, I couldn't stand the first GOTG - it's the film that made me swear off Marvel for good. It got on my last nerve; found it utterly puerile. The tree and the talking beaver or whatever it was rivaled Pixar in the annoyance stakes.
Melancholie der Engel springs instantly to mind. And anything else directed by Marian Dorian probably; I've yet to come across a sicker puppy! Lukas Moodysson's A Hole In My Heart is the kind of film that leaves you wanting to take a shower too...
