As we approach the end of the list, it's no surprise that we're encountering more and more bonafide classics, but Jaws is one of those rare genre movies which is also a modern classic of mainstream cinema; in fact, this is the movie which more or less invented the summer blockbuster.
Showing posts with label Recommended. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommended. Show all posts
Friday, 31 July 2015
Monday, 22 June 2015
Martyrs - Will's Review
One of the great things about watching movies from a list you didn't write, is that occasionally you get to go into a film completely cold. For my money the best way to see any film is with absolutely no knowledge of it at all, but when choosing films for yourself it's all but impossible.
I'm pleased to say that I went into Martyrs knowing exactly nothing. If you like your horror movies brutal, and don't mind subtitles (it's a French film) I STRONGLY recommend that you stop reading. Come back when you've seen it.
I'm pleased to say that I went into Martyrs knowing exactly nothing. If you like your horror movies brutal, and don't mind subtitles (it's a French film) I STRONGLY recommend that you stop reading. Come back when you've seen it.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Week 207 - Jaws (1975)
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
An American Werewolf in London - Will's Review
2 young American backpackers are attacked in the Yorkshire dales, one of them (Jack) is killed; the other (David) is badly injured and sent to hospital in London. The Dales' Locals cover up the truth behind the savage attack, claiming it was a madman; but when David comes too, the spirit of Jack is on hand to tell him the truth; they were attacked by a werewolf, and only the distraction of the wolf's "bloodline" can rescue his victims from purgatory.
David, naturally, questions his own sanity, rather than simply accepting the visions as fact... But the full moon is in its way.
David, naturally, questions his own sanity, rather than simply accepting the visions as fact... But the full moon is in its way.
Monday, 25 May 2015
Carrie - Will's Review
Stephen King spins a great story but film adaptations of his work, while usually entertaining, are veritable in quality to say the least.
In Carry, I think one of his books was captured properly; of course some things were changed, books and movies are different mediums, but none of those changes take anything away from one of Kings most identifiable novels.
In Carry, I think one of his books was captured properly; of course some things were changed, books and movies are different mediums, but none of those changes take anything away from one of Kings most identifiable novels.
Friday, 22 May 2015
Jaws - Lisa's Review
Jaws was released in the year of my birth. I was a kid when I watched it thanks to my old dad and his horror fixation. It is taken from a book by Peter Benchley and as good as I'm sure the book is, I doubt it managed to convey the absolute terror that the movie instilled in everyone over a certain age. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't either love or be terrified of this movie,, or both!! The mere mention of the word Jaws, or even shark, will prompt a rendition of the most simplistic yet most effective musical score in any movie EVER.
Saturday, 18 April 2015
Week 202 - An American Werewolf in London
Week 203 - Carrie (1976)
Carrie (1976) - Lisa's Review
So, another favourite of mine this week! We're on a roll! Carrie is a movie I saw many years ago when I was about 10 or 11, thanks again to my dads Stephen King collection. It was released a year after I was born, so by the time I saw it, the 70's vibe was a bit dated, but I was too young to worry about such things. Had I watched it from my late teens onwards, I'd have loved the whole look and feel of it anyway :). I suppose what I'm trying to say is, for me, this movie can't date as I have a soft spot for the whole era.
Carrie is a movie which I would imagine absolutely everyone has seen. They even did a remake in 2013 which I watched and reviewed here. I wouldn't envy anyone who tried to get near to the original. In this case, it is most definately, the best.
Carrie follows the story of Carrie white, a 17 year old schoolgirl and daughter of a superstitious and deeply religious mother. Carrie doesn't fit in at school. She has no friends and has no idea how to relate to her peers as everything that is of importance to a teenager is forbidden to Carrie. In one upsetting scene (the opening scene in fact) Carrie is shown having her period for the first time. Unfortunately due to her upbringing, she has no idea what is happening to her and thinks she is dying. She runs towards the other girls, arms outstretched and hands covered in blood, screaming. Of course the other girls know what is happening and are repulsed. They all end up laughing, chanting at her and throwing tampons and sanitary pads at her as she lies sobbing in the showers. The scene is harsh and upsetting, but is a perfect introduction to Carrie and the feel of the movie. Even though this scene is shot in a girls shower room and all the women are naked, there is nothing gratuitous or sexual about it, which seems impossible, but is absolutely the case.
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Week 200 - Audition (1999)
Monday, 13 April 2015
An American Werewolf in London - Lisa's Review
I think I should say right from the off, this is probably going to be a very biased review as 'An American Werewolf in London' is right up there amongst my favourite movies. It's easily the best werewolf movie ever made. The effects, so groundbreaking in 1981 are still just as jaw dropping today, which is something given the lack of CGI effects then which are common place today.
The movie follows best buddies David and Jack as they leave their native America for the Yorkshire Moors in a backpacking trip. Sadly, although they are supposedly in the moors, filming was carried out in Wales and Surrey. Having lived in Yorkshire for quite a few years, I see no reason why they couldn't film there, but hey ho! Anyways, whilst hiking, they decide to go into a local pub (The Slaughtered Lamb) as it's getting a bit dark. If you're paying attention you'll see no other than Rik Mayall in there as one of the yokels. It's one of those bars where you walk in and a 'stranger' spotlight must appear above your head as the entire bar stops to stare. I still think of this scene when I enter a bar where I wish I'd never set foot. So, upon asking about a Pentagram sign on the wall of the pub, the locals aka yokels, make it clear American tourists, David and Jack are not welcome. A concerned barmaid is concerned that they are going out into the moors in the dark, but they are sent on their way and told to keep to the path. Unfortunately when they leave they are so busy talking about where to go and what to do, they veer from the path and onto the moors.
Friday, 10 April 2015
Audition - Will's Review
This isn't the first time I've seen Audition, but I'm Damned if I remembered more than 10 minutes of it, so for all intents and purposes I went in cold on this one.
After his young adult son suggest it's time he remarries, widower Shigeharu enlists the help of a film producer friend to hold a fake Audition for a non existent roll, so that he may find a woman he wishes to date. He becomes immediately infatuated with one woman in particular (Asami) and pursues her.
Asami is receptive to Shingeharu's advances, but this being a horror movie, it's no spoiler to tell you that not everything goes smoothly, and that someone isn't what they appear.
After his young adult son suggest it's time he remarries, widower Shigeharu enlists the help of a film producer friend to hold a fake Audition for a non existent roll, so that he may find a woman he wishes to date. He becomes immediately infatuated with one woman in particular (Asami) and pursues her.
Asami is receptive to Shingeharu's advances, but this being a horror movie, it's no spoiler to tell you that not everything goes smoothly, and that someone isn't what they appear.
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Audition - Lisa's Review
I became a Japanese horror fan 12 or 13 years ago and Audition was one of the first movies Japanese movies I watched. I had watched a couple before this so was prepared for the odd style, which is just as well, as Audition is probably as odd as it comes. From the off I'll say it. I love this movie. It's all kinds of strange, the words of an old rock song by a band called Crimson Glory sum it up quite succinctly... "Strange and beautiful... wicked and wonderful". I'm deliberately not going to go into much detail on the story as it's a movie a lot of people won't have seen and they really should change that as it is well worth a watch. It is also a movie where a lot is left to the viewers own interpretation. There are quite a few interpretations of the movie to be found online, one of which I am most definitely on board with. Again, it's not something anyone who hasn't seen the movie should read beforehand. It's better to go into this movie with as little knowledge as possible. I'll happily talk about my interpretation if any reader (are there any out there??) wants to know after having viewed the movie.
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Eyes Without A Face - Will's Review
Eyes without a face is a French-Italian co-production. Were it not for the subtitles there would very little clue to this, feeling instead like one of the many American produced sci-fi horrors put out by Universal or MGM at about the same time, indeed, this would sit well on a shelf next to Village of the Damned, being one of the more thoughtful, sympathetic, examples of the genre.
Nosferatu - Will's Review
Right off the bat I think it's only fair to point out that silent movies aren't really my thing; I don't have the experience necessarily to compare one to another, or to know which of my complaints or comments apply to any particular movie, rather than being typical of the time.
What I will say, is that in the print I watched the tinting had been preserved (it was not uncommon for silent film to be tinted on a scene by scene basis to show mood or time of day), and the image was sharp and crisp; a vast improvement over last time I attempted to watch this in a poor quality grayscale transfer.
What I will say, is that in the print I watched the tinting had been preserved (it was not uncommon for silent film to be tinted on a scene by scene basis to show mood or time of day), and the image was sharp and crisp; a vast improvement over last time I attempted to watch this in a poor quality grayscale transfer.
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Nosferatu (1922) - Lisa's Review
This is an oooooooooold movie, a SILENT movie for gawds sake! I'd managed to successfully avoid watching this one up until tonight. You see, this is probably one of my husbands favourite movies. It's most definately his favourite vampire/vampyr? movie. A bit of information first. This was the first movie based on the 1897 Bram Stokers Dracula. Given our modern ideas on vampires, this is quite surprising as the vampire depicted in Nosferatu is very, very different. Bram Stokers widow denied permission for the movie to be made, but undeterred, F.W. Murnau continued with his version of the famous book. He did change the names and made subtle differences to the storyline, but anyone who had read Stokers book or who had any knowledge of it, would be quick to make the connection. Upon finding this out Stokers widow demanded all the copies were destroyed. Fortunately for film history, a copy had made it's way to America, so the movie was saved and so is able to be enjoyed today.
So, why Nosferatu when the main vampires name is Orlok? Well a little bit of reading tells me that Nosferatu is a Romanian word synomymous with Vampire and with the location being Transylvania... there you go!
Our movie starts depicting the happy relationship between our star Thomas Hutter and his beautiful wife Ellen. They have a very simple relationship, one that shows an almost dependence upon one another, so when Hutters boss Knock sends him to Transylvania to secure a sale with a new customer, Count Orlok, Ellen is unsure and reluctant for Hutter to go. Of course he doesn't have an option but to go, even with the reputation the place has of being full of phantoms and evil spirits.
Monday, 2 March 2015
Week 128 - Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
Sunday, 22 February 2015
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Will's Review
A Nightmare on Elm Street was the first movie box set I owned on DVD, even going so far as to import the North American version (back when that meant shopping with relatively small companies based in Canada, because the likes of Amazon weren't importing / exporting then) to make sure I got all 7 movies and the bonus disc (the UK version at the time only had the first 6 movies, and we're still waiting for an official release of the 8th disc). A few years ago Never Sleep again was released, and I knocked out the whole thing (a 4 hour documentary, 8 hours of extras, and the documentary again with commentary) in a couple of days.
It's fair to say I am a huge Freddy fan... But that hasn't always been the case.
It's fair to say I am a huge Freddy fan... But that hasn't always been the case.
Saturday, 31 January 2015
Let The Right One In - Lisa's Review
Lets start this review off by saying, if you have yet to watch this movie, remedy that! Watch it. It's awesome. I watched this movie with absolutely NO idea what it was about, purely after hearing wow after wow from horror fans. It really is the best way to see it, so if you haven't, I urge you not to read any more of this review.
So, you're still here? Ok then, you want to know a little more. 'Let The Right One In' is a Swedish language movie by Tomas Alfredson. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist. There are of course subtitles available. I know this puts a lot of people off, but it really shouldn't. There are some fantastic foreign language movies out there that bring something completely unique to the table. 'Let The Right One In' is most definately in that bracket.
I'll start by saying this movie is a story of friendship, triumph over adversity and love. Adding that it is a vampire movie may make this difficult to imagine. So to a premise.
The movie follows 2 individuals - shy, reclusive 12 year old Oskar and a very odd, pale young girl called Eli, also 12, who has just moved in beside him and his mum. Oskar is different. Because of this he is very badly bullied at school. I concluded his general peculiarity and anger are what cause his fascination with murders, blood and knives.
Tuesday, 27 January 2015
Week 193 - Let The Right One In (2008)
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