Rate the last movie you've seen

[EvilNed]

2) Yep, one of Fulci's best, and a prime example of Italian giallo. Arguably it's the giallo to use as an example of the North/South, Rich/Poor divide of Italian society at the time, not to mention the past/present conflict as the old small town ways are cut through with the modern concrete structure of that motorway scything its way through the beautiful countryside (the holidaymakers blithely driving onwards to their happy holidays as a tortured woman dies by the side of the road is starkly moving). There's lots of layers and context to this one. Agreed. One of the few giallo worth analyzing more than the mere basics of it. It's got a lot of subtext in it.

[blind2d]

Stephanie - This was a film I found on Netflix last night and watched. It's... A cool concept? But the film feels more like a short film stretched to feature length. The effects were alright (It's from Blumhouse, so, FYI), and the child acting (SOOO much child acting!) wasn't terrible, but not the best I've ever seen either. Pretty enjoyable I guess (minus around two cheap jump-scares), and doesn't wear out its welcome that bad for the most part. I did find it a little strange that the girl seemed more attached to her father than her mother for no real reason, but maybe I missed an important line of dialogue. Not the worst thing Blumhouse has ever produced, (even though I could see the "twist" coming from pretty much the beginning) and there was some good foreshadowing in it. Hm, overall, I think a solid 6/10. Maybe 6.5. Still could've been a short film and maybe been better that way, but I liked it alright. Apologies if this one's already been reviewed by someone else in this thread.

[bassman]

My Halloween horror movie marathon madness continues.... 28 Weeks Later I last saw this sequel around it’s home video release, so my memory of it was pretty foggy. So much so that I’d totally forgotten that along with Rose Byrne, it also features Idris Elba and Jeremy Renner just as their super fame was about to hit with Marvel. The film holds up well and my original opinion of it standing up well with Danny Boyle’s original hasn’t changed. In fact, there bits and certain things in “Weeks” that I prefer over “Days”. While they’re not direct sequels, the two of them are high achievements and play exceptionally well off each other. I’d probably give “Weeks” a solid 8/10. And yes, I intentionally avoided that certain topic that always comes up with these films. I’m calling them horror and leaving it at that! Friday The 13th, Parts 1 - 6 It’s just one of those essential Halloween Marathon series’, there’s not too much that can be said. The first four films are my favorite, then the series varies as it continues on.... Night of the Living Dead(1968) I’m mentioning our beloved original for one simple reason: to promote the Criterion release. If we have anyone on these forums that hasn’t picked up Criterion’s phenomenal release, don’t hesitate any further. Months and months after it’s release, and my jaw is still hitting the floor when I view this thing. It gives the film new life in the best ways possible. 10/10 The Dark Half This would be near the top of my list of Romero’s “smaller” releases from this general time period. I’ve always dug Hutton in the lead role(s). Later in his career he was headlining his own tv series’, I need to see how those turned out. Can’t forget the always great Michael Rooker, as well! We all know the flick, so there’s not much to say. 7/10 Because I’m constantly screening movies throughout this month, I’m starting to lose track of what I’ve talked about and what I haven’t.

[MinionZombie]

28 Weeks Later I last saw this sequel around it’s home video release, so my memory of it was pretty foggy. So much so that I’d totally forgotten that along with Rose Byrne, it also features Idris Elba and Jeremy Renner just as their super fame was about to hit with Marvel. The film holds up well and my original opinion of it standing up well with Danny Boyle’s original hasn’t changed. In fact, there bits and certain things in “Weeks” that I prefer over “Days”. While they’re not direct sequels, the two of them are high achievements and play exceptionally well off each other. I’d probably give “Weeks” a solid 8/10. And yes, I intentionally avoided that certain topic that always comes up with these films. I’m calling them horror and leaving it at that! Night of the Living Dead(1968) I’m mentioning our beloved original for one simple reason: to promote the Criterion release. If we have anyone on these forums that hasn’t picked up Criterion’s phenomenal release, don’t hesitate any further. Months and months after it’s release, and my jaw is still hitting the floor when I view this thing. It gives the film new life in the best ways possible. 10/10 1) Aye, I really enjoyed Weeks as well. Very effective. I'd forgotten how good the cast was (e.g. Idris Elba), and there's also the likes of Robert Carlyle (the lead), Harold Perrineau (the chopper pilot) and Imogen Poots (the teen girl) in there. I was channel-hopping the other day and it was on the Horror Channel; it was the bit at the beginning with the escape from the farm house and hopping onto the motorboat on the river - the visual style plus the score make it utterly breathless. Both of those movies really capture that sheer panic and 'clinging to life' desperation perfectly. If anything the sequel ramped it up to eleven. 2) Seconded. The Criterion release of NOTLD is stellar. The restoration is superb and clears up the audio in a way that maintains the original sound, but unmuddies certain bits so you can hear certain lines of dialogue like never before (the odd one I'd never really heard before as previous audio tracks had not been restored). Great compliment of extras, too.

[MinionZombie]

Police Academy 6 - full-blown Loony Tunes, in many ways. The raunchy edge of the original is a long way away, but on its own terms it's decent. Naturally, I enjoyed it much more as a kid, but it's kinda fun to revisit some of these flicks after all these years. Police Academy 3 - oh, boy ... what an arse up. Flat jokes and a clumsy re-tread of the original movie's plot, but done so in a really ill-disciplined and sloppy manner as if someone threw a jigsaw at a wall of glue and said "yeah, that'll do". There's various supporting characters who have sod all to do (e.g. the 'rich kid recruit' - why is he joining at all? Then he practically vanishes from the entire movie. Likewise the 'pretty blonde love interest' for Mahoney - she barely does a single thing during her scant screen time). Police Academy 4 - a big step up after the shite that was #3. As before, it was better when I was a kid, but this one works pretty well. A far better script with relatively more rounded characters, plus a host of "oh, it's them!" appearances from actors earlier in their career (David Spade, for one, and Sharon Stone for two). There's a whole sequence early one dedicated to skateboarding when that was a huge deal in the 1980s - they even namecheck every one of them in the credits, the last of whom is: Tony Hawk! Shame that the best part of the movie (when Callahan jumps in the pool to demonstrate rescuing a drowning person) was censored on ITV4 (too 'saucy' for a pre-watershed slot, sheesh). Good theme tune, too (Citizens On Patrol!).

[shootemindehead]

/\ Why are you doing this to yourself?

[EvilNed]

The Police Academy film goes from being rather adult sex-focused comedies to being slapstick driven. The difference between 1 and 6 is incredibly.

[MinionZombie]

/\ Why are you doing this to yourself? Intrigue... The Police Academy film goes from being rather adult sex-focused comedies to being slapstick driven. The difference between 1 and 6 is incredibly. Hell, the difference between 1 and 3 is huge. I've not re-watched the second movie yet as it's not been on the telly, but yeah, a massive shift in tone screeched in there rapidamente.

[blind2d]

Police Academy 4 is the only good one. It's got Tony Hawk in it.

[MinionZombie]

Black Panther I enjoyed it. The flick bounces along at a pretty good pace, and it was good to see another perspective/culture type through a popular mass market genre. I've always thought that through genre film looking glass is a great way to examine issues or other perspectives as it allows an accessibility to all because of the genre's common language, and that genre (especially the likes of horror or sci-fi) have other things to offer in addition, as well as being very useful tools for metaphors and reflections of our own world. I think Killmonger needed a bit more screen time, and we could have maybe used a little bit more of seeing T'Challa getting to grips with being the new King. Generally I think the film handled its social commentary quite well, it didn't feel too blunt and was justified in-context, and the message that working together rather than seeking revenge is applicable to anyone any where right now. The 'build bridges not barriers' speech was probably the most on-the-nose moment, but even that was justified in-context. It was a bit too heavy on the CGI sometimes (the Rhinos, the iffy physics of the car slamming back down onto all four wheels), but this 'sense of green screen' vibe has also hung around a lot of Marvel movies in recent years (e.g. Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Infinity War). I rather enjoyed the South Korea segment, which kind of plays out like a Bond movie with Shuri in a Q-like role, and the bit early on where Black Panther extracts Nakia from that vehicle convoy was pretty sweet. I would like to see some more nitty gritty character stuff, especially for T'Challa, Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri, in the sequel so they can expand their roles and flesh out their characters with some more depth and personal challenges. However, to be fair this movie had a lot of ground to cover and a lot of set-up to crank through, while also building upon the little bit of set up we got in Civil War. So aye, a solid entry in the MCU and quite enjoyable. Like many of the Marvel movies it's not without a fault here or there, but this was a pretty strong entry in the wider franchise.

[bassman]

The Spy Who Dumped Me After a gloriously horror-filled October, this comedy felt like a good break away. Starring Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux, and Gillian Anderson. In a nutshell, Kunis’ character discovers that her ex boyfriend is a spy, hijinks ensue. This flick was on my radar because it has quite a few people involved that I regularly enjoy, and it turned out pretty good. It’s nothing earth-shattering obviously, but it has a solid cast, good laughs, and surprisingly good action sequences. Lots of pretty faces to look at too! Gillian Anderson is still a total fox. It’s worth an afternoon viewing with cool action and some good laughs. 6/10

[MinionZombie]

The People Under The Stairs This had been sat on my DVR for a while, and I wasn't sure if it'd be any good or not ... one of those situations where something sits on the DVR for a while and it just ends up taunting you like "you still haven't watched me yet!" ... anyway, got it rolling and once I got into it after the first 10 minutes or so I was hooked. The lead couple in the house are played by the actors who were Ed and Nadine in Twin Peaks (the movie was shot around that very time, as well), and they have an absolute blast with the material (the guy spends a large chunk of the movie charging about the house in a gimp suit with a shotgun blasting!). It's fairly relentless for the most part, and Wes Craven's shock tactics work quite well - you're settling in for a 'calm scene' after some craziness and the WHAM, more craziness barrels down on top of you. There's an interesting undercurrent of social commentary as well to do with urban poverty and slum landlords, but for the most part it's a wild ride. There's a couple of wobbly bits here or there (the backstory exposition that we get heading into the third act is clunkily executed and feels like it was hacked down in the edit), but if you've not seen it, it's definitely worth seeing - a crazy fun time. Coco Pixar does it again. Astonishing visuals, narrative clarity, cultural fascination, and some pretty strong feels throughout (especially in the last minutes of the movie).

[bassman]

^ I too just recently saw Coco. LOVED it. As usual, Pixar is killing it. Great messages for the younger audience members, as well.

[MinionZombie]

^ I too just recently saw Coco. LOVED it. As usual, Pixar is killing it. Great messages for the younger audience members, as well. Admittedly I'm a layman on the subject, but Coco helped give me a better understanding of the Day of the Dead, and that whole approach to the dead in their culture is not only fascinating but really quite touching and positive - remembrance and tribute to your passed loved ones. Speaking of such things, the climactic moments of the film...   Where Coco's father is finally able to cross the bridge - with Coco herself, having passed away at some point in the intervening year - was just heartbreaking, but also simultaneously quite uplifting. Indeed, the whole bit prior to that with Coco remembering her father through music (despite the effects of her Alzheimers/dementia) really packed a wallop for me. I only have vague memories of my grandfather from when I was a little kid and those are only during the years when he was declining more and more because of Alzheimers - so that scene in Coco packed a real punch. Sadly I never got to meet my other grandfather as he died many years before I was born.

[bassman]

Batman: The Animated Series I’ve not finished everything, but the last week or two I’ve been going through the new, remastered blu ray collection, which is phenomenal! This show has been on my top-tv list ever since I first saw it in the early nineties. It’s the definitive on-screen depiction of Batman and his supporting characters, but taking it a step further than that, it’s top notch filmmaking. Not just for comics, superheroes, cartoons, etc, but all together it’s fantastic storytelling. If there is someone that hasn’t seen some of this series, you’d be pleased if you were to look up a couple of the classics. The set also comes with the two theatrical films from the same creative teams, Mask of the Phantasm and Sub-Zero, commentaries, featurettes, and in-depth making-of’s. This is fantastic entertainment right here, I can’t recomend it enough.