Last Movie You Watched.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Late Night With The Devil - have seen this Seventies-set horror described as 'Rosemary's Baby meets Network' ... seems about right. Late-night US talk show 'Night Owls' is flagging in the ratings, so its host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) decides to do an occultism-themed special on Hallowe'en night. Amongst his guests is a parapsychologist and her subject, a teenage girl who was rescued from a Satanic church's mass suicide but who is apparently possessed by a demon she's named 'Mr Wriggles'. Without giving too much away, let's just say things go ... somewhat awry.

This manages to land a fair few shocks and also some satire about TV's sensationalist nature, 'selling your soul' to be a success on it etc. Dastmalchian is pitch-perfect as the show host.

 

Sounds intriguing. A relatively recent release?

Yes ... a 22nd March release in the States, and last week in the UK. It'll be available to stream on Shudder from April 19 and that site offers a 7-day free trial, so I guess you could check it out for nada at home Khanners.

Drop Dead Gorgeous - blackly funny Nineties mockumentary centred on a small-town teen beauty pageant in Minnesota. Starring Kirstie Alley, Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Amy Adams, Ellen Barkin and Allison Janney.

Life Of Brian - annual Easter rewatch of the Pythons' peerless religious satire. He's not the Messiah ...

DEAD MEN DON´T WEAR PLAID


Not as funny as on first watch, but still clever and amusing. Two or three scenes still make me laugh.

Gotta be one of the funniest titles in history.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Gotta be one of the funniest titles in history.

I still wonder what it means.

DE DØDES TJERN (Lake of the Dead)

Classic Norwegian horror, based on a book by Andre Bjerke aka Bernhard Borge. Another adaptation came a few years back, and that was no classic.

FLICKERING LIGHTS

Had to see this again, it is just so damn funny, and the performances are awesome. Not just by Mikkelsen, but by everyone.

Barton Fink (1991)

What a strange and wonderful film. Now No Country for Old Men is pretty clearly the Coens' best film, but which is second best? You'll doubtless get a wide range of answers from fans of the Coens, but Barton Fink has to be a major part of that conversation.

The Inglorious Bastards - not the Tarantino flick, rather an Italian-made 70s WW2 actioner in which a bunch of US soldiers in France who have been sentenced to death for various misdemeanours escape on the way to the prison camp where the sentence is to be carried out and head for neutral Switzerland, only to wind up becoming part of a plan to destroy a train carrying a prototype of the V2 rocket.

Fun Saturday night watch, with a streak of Dirty Dozen/M*A*S*H cynicism to it. Starring Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson and Ian Bannen.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

The Inglorious Bastards - not the Tarantino flick, rather an Italian-made 70s WW2 actioner in which a bunch of US soldiers in France who have been sentenced to death for various misdemeanours escape on the way to the prison camp where the sentence is to be carried out and head for neutral Switzerland, only to wind up becoming part of a plan to destroy a train carrying a prototype of the V2 rocket.

 

I have not seen it, but know that Tarantino loves that film and nicked the title from it.

THE OLD OAK

British social drama. Not exactly great cinematic art, more a drab, social commentary. It does have some very touching scenes, but cannot stay clear of blatant propaganda.

DE GRØNNE SLAGTERE (The Green Butchers)

Another peculiar and dark comedy by Anders Thomas Jensen. Not just Mikkelsen, but the entire Danish cast is brilliant once again. I laughed out loud several times. I saw Riders of Justice in the cinema a few years ago, but I need to check out some more of Jensen´s films.

MUGGE OG VEJFESTEN (Mugge and the Street Party)

Animation by Wulff and Morgenthaler. They should probably stick to their cartoons, which are brilliant. This had a few great gags, but was probably not aimed at me. Sure the kids love it.

The Night House - supernatural psychological horror with Rebecca Hall as Beth who loses her husband to suicide, leaving her alone in the lakeside house that he built for them. When some incidents lead her to suspect that he's haunting the house, she starts investigating and discovers that he had dark 'urges' that may be connected to an incident in her past ...

A fairly creepy and unsettling flick, with an excellent performance by Hall.

THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

This is pretty bad compared to the brilliant new tv series.The series has a lot more intelligent script, the suspense builds better, performances are more convincing and the cinematography by Robert Elswit is fantastic. Every frame is a photographic work of art.
I have not read the book, so no idea which version is more in line with that. If you have seen neither, go for the Netflix show, and skip this.

The Lost City - comedy adventure starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt with shades of Romancing The Stone. When romantic adventure novelist Bullock is kidnapped by billionaire Radcliffe because he's convinced (having included it in one of her books) that she can help him locate the 'Crown Of Fire' artifact, her regular cover model Tatum mounts a rescue mission with the the help of ex-Navy SEAL 'extractor' Pitt (a hilarious, scene-stealing turn).

Some distractions (Sandy's Botox is very noticeable at times and a subplot with her literary agent also attempting to find her probably could've been excised to no great loss) aside, a nicely fun escapist watch.

REBEL MOON-PART TWO: THE SCARGIVER

It seems like the Rebel Moon series is Zack Snyder´s own attempt at something like Star Wars. He does a pretty good job with it. It seems less aimed at children. Looking forward to what comes next.

TAXI DRIVER

Another of those I have seen countless times and never tire of. One of my favourite Scorseses, and the score really does much for the mood.

RAGING BULL

Not my favourite Scorsese (although top five), but my favourite boxing movie.

Schlock/cult/trashy 'double feature' for me last night. It may come as no surprise that these were watched with alcohol.

Horror Hospital - '73 British horror in which stressed-out rock musician (a pre-'Confessions Of ... ' Robin Askwith) heads to a country retreat ran by scientist Michael Gough which claims to heal your ills. Of course, Gough is mad as a box of frogs and is carrying out sinister experiments on all the young people he has lured to the place. Naturally, there's also a wisecracking dwarf assistant and a car with blades that shoot out of the sides in order to catch up with and decapitate anyone who tries to get away. A loopily hilarious watch.

Silent Rage - a bullet-riddled psychopath is revived via an experimental serum whose healing properties make him virtually indestructible ... so naturally the only man who can stop him is Sheriff Chuck Norris. A curious blend of sci-fi, horror and martial-arts actioner with early parts for Ron Silver and Stephen Furst.

Ride the High Country (1962)

Sam Peckinpah's films have a strange alchemy that is difficult to describe. It's hard to isolate anything truly marvelous about them, but the sum total of the parts adds up to something greater than the individual pieces. That's certainly the case with RtHC, which offers up a complex congeries of conflicting loyalties and duties, combined with a damsel in distress and a young whippersnapper who gains wisdom from his elders and matures into a solid man by film's end. It's surely one of the greatest Westerns ever made.

GOODFELLAS

Probably the most entertaining Scorsese, although unpleasant at times. I can easily see how this may have spawned The Sopranos. One thing I did not realize until now is that Samuel L. Jackson is in it.

ADAMS ÆBLER (Adam´s Apples)

Another dark Danish satire by Anders T. Jensen, who has become one of my fav scriptwriters/directors. Once again a stellar cast with several familiar faces including the ever returning Mads Mikkelsen, who here plays a tried priest who takes released convicts under his wings. One of them is the title character, a neo nazi. Fun in a dark way and also strangely moving.
This came out the year before CR, and Mikkelsen´s character bleeds from his ear when under stress. Surely an inspiration for Le Chiffre´s bleeding eye.

RETFÆRDIGHETENS RYTTERE (Riders of Justice)

The first Jensen film I saw, and I was not familiar with his resume at the time. Dark as always and full of humour . I love all the Jensen films (although Mænd&Høns to a lesser degree). Again great performances from both newcomers and returning actors, including mainstayers Mads Mikkelsen and Nicolaj Lie Kaas. The variety of characters they display is amazing.

DREDD

Karl Urban is an excellent Dredd, and this movie sweeps the floor with the dumb 90s movie, where the whole character was laughable.