Tuesday 30 September 2014

Week 176 - Afflicted (2013) / Curfew (1989)

NOTE: In honour of Halloween, We're taking a break from the TimeOut 100 Greatest Best Horror Movies.

This month, reviewers have boon given a free choice of any horror movie they haven't yet seen.

Lisa's Pick

Will's Pick




Review / Lisa's Comments due: 04/10/2014
More Info: Wikipedia, IMDB
DVD: Link

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Review / Will's Comments due: 04/10/2014
More Info: Wikipedia, IMDB
DVD: Link

TRAILER:

Sunday 28 September 2014


Deep Red - Will's Review

For my money, Deep Red is Dario Argento's best, certainly his most accessible, movie. 

It highlights everything good about Argento's work; great cinematography, a killer soundtrack by Goblin, and a good dose of suspense, while eschewing some of his more off-putting trademarks; the story, for one thing, is fairly straight forward (which isn't to say dull or simplistic), and the weird coloured lighting isn't present.  

Deep Red - Lisa's Review

So, as I started the movie for this weeks review, I did so with much sighing and a feeling of resignation.  Deep Red is an Italian Giallo movie, originally Profundo Rosso.  It was released in the year of my birth - 1975, the reason for my lack of excitement?  It's a Dario Argento movie.  I think Argento is one of those directors that you either love or hate and I'm afraid I would be in the latter camp with what I've seen so far.  So let me end this little introductory paragraph with a stunning revelation... I actually ENJOYED this movie!  There is an Argento movie I can honestly say I like!  I am somewhat stunned, but pleased by that.  So to the movie...

Deep Red follows Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) after he witnesses the murder of a psychic.  This music teacher takes it upon himself to start his own investigation.  He feels that deep in the recesses of his brain he may hold an important clue in that a picture he saw on the wall of the psychics apartment had disappeared when the police arrived.  However by becoming involved in the case, Marcus puts his own life in danger.

Saturday 27 September 2014

Week 175 - Deep Red (1975)




AKA: Profondo Rosso, The Hatchet Murders
Reviews / Author Comments due: 27/09/2014
Position on TimeOut list: 45
More Info: Wikipedia, IMDB
DVD: Link

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Sunday 21 September 2014

The Devils - Lisa's Review


*** SPOILERS ***

I started this one with relatively high expectations as the hubby said he had watched it and enjoyed it. I'm sort of torn with how to review it.  I'll come out right away - I hated it.  Does that mean everyone will hate it?  I guess not.

So to the premise.  We are in 17th century France, all the fortifications are being torn down by King Louis XIII under the advice of Cardinal Richelieu, to prevent the Protestants uprising.  That is as much history as you're going to get.   One towns walls however remain intact -  Loudon, which is now governed by a revered priest Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed) following the death of the town Governer.  Loudon seems to be full of corrupt members of the church (no surprise there) and sexually frustrated nuns who are members of an enclosed convent.

Monday 15 September 2014

The Devils - Will's Review

This week's movie would have been well suited to our season of controversial films, Beyond Nasty, being riddled with a near constant barrage of sex, violence, and blasphemy. It's no surprise that this movie had problems with the censors in almost every country it was released in. In fact, it was so badly shredded by various censorship boards, that parts of it are lost forever, still more parts still missing from most home releases; even the version we watched featured a shortened orgy, and is missing a masturbation scene.

Week 174 - The Devils (1971)




Reviews / Author Comments due: 20/09/2014
Position on TimeOut list: 46
More Info: Wikipedia, IMDB
DVD: Link

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Sunday 14 September 2014

Les Diaboliques - Will's Review

Movie legend has it that when director Henri-George Clouzot bought the film rights to the novel Celle qui n’était plus (She Who Was No More) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, he beat Alfred Hitchcock to the punch by mere hours. While Clouzot undoubtedly made a fine movie, I'd love to see a version from an alternates inverse where Hitchcock got there first...

CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS

Les Diaboliques - Lisa's Review


I start this weeks movie with a surprise announcement!  I enjoyed a movie from 1955!!  There are of course a few old movies I love, but in general this is not the rule.  It's a great thing to have another movie to challenge my norm.

So, the movie.  Les Diaboliques as I'm sure you have already gathered is a french movie.  It is directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.  Rather than put this movie in the 'horror' section, I would err more to the side of thriller.  There is a suggestion of the paranormal within the movie, but not so much as to pull it away from the realms of thriller.

The movie follows the story of a love triangle.  Maybe I should say hate triangle.  The setting is a boarding school for boys, run by the horrid misogynistic Michel Delassalle, but owned by his impossibly beautiful, but very ill wife Christina.  Making up the triangle is Michels mistress Nicole Horner who teaches at the school.

Michel is a violent, abusive, angry man who not only mentally and physically abuses his wife, but also his mistress Nicole.  He stays with his frail and sickly wife, who has a heart condition only to wait for her death so he inherits the school she owns,  Together, his wife and mistress, tired of the abuse, decide that they will get rid of him, by any means necessary.

Monday 8 September 2014

Kwaidan - Will's Review

Says Wiki:
Kaidan (怪談) (sometimes transliterated kwaidan) is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (kai) meaning “strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition" and 談 (dan) meaning “talk” or “recited narrative.”

In other words "Ghost Stories", which is what we have here; a collection of 4 short films based on stories by Lafcadio Hearn. 

Kwaidan - Lisa's Review


This is probably the hardest movie I've ever had to review.  I'm still sitting here wondering how I'm going to review it.  I'll be honest, I fell asleep again and again and again.  I don't know if that is particularly fair to the movie, as I'm not sure whether the repetitive sleeping was due to the movie or lack of sleep.

Kwaidan is a 1964 movie directed by Masaki Kobayashi, made up of 4 folks tales by Koizumi Yakumo... yup another oldie, but you know what?  I honestly don't think there was ANYTHING about the movie that would alert you to the fact that it is actually that old.  It looked like many Japanese movies I have watched.  They seem timeless in their style.  This movie looks wonderful.


Sunday 7 September 2014