Rate the last movie you've seen

[JDP]

Hey, it's tough to act on something you don't know! Don't be so hard on them. They don't know something that was even reported by the MEDIA while it was still on the air??? Yes, that EARLY into the zombie crisis! Gee, they must be dumber than some would like to make us believe In fact, such flagrant contradictions are not limited to Day vs Land. The survivors of Dawn must also be among the dumbest people on the planet. They could simply have headed to any of these city-outposts, since they were already around during the time-frame of Dawn, instead of aimlessly wander around trying to find some safe place. Let's be honest, folks: if Romero's intention was really to make Land happen after Day and even Dawn, he majorly screwed up. Too many contradictions between Land and the two earlier movies to swallow that one.

[EvilNed]

They don't know something that was even reported by the MEDIA while it was still on the air??? Yes, that EARLY into the zombie crisis! Gee, they must be dumber than some would like to make us believe In fact, such flagrant contradictions are not limited to Day vs Land. The survivors of Dawn must also be among the dumbest people on the planet. They could simply have headed to any of these city-outposts, since they were already around during the time-frame of Dawn, instead of aimlessly wander around trying to find some safe place. Let's be honest, folks: if Romero's intention was really to make Land happen after Day and even Dawn, he majorly screwed up. Too many contradictions between Land and the two earlier movies to swallow that one. Grasping straws here, buddy... Anyway, if you want to think Day takes place after Land, go ahead.

[JDP]

Grasping straws here, buddy... Anyway, if you want to think Day takes place after Land, go ahead. That's what you actually do. But by all means keep on thinking that the obvious contradictions and logical fallacies between these movies will go away simply by trying to desperately ignore them.

[MinionZombie]

Alright, that's enough hijacking of the thread with the topic that dare not speak its name.

[EvilNed]

Okay, so it's been a mixed bag... Rats - Notti di Terrore Bruno Mattei of Hell of the Living Dead fame delivers one of the most bonkers, low budget sci-fi apocalypse films ever. The bonkers part mostly comes from the absolute crazy cast of characters who inhabit this piece of radioactive dirt. So many hilarious quotes... So many rats... So many what the fuck moments... The film is about a futuristic gang of bikers who drive around the wasteland. In the films opening a lengthy sprawling text gives us the backstory... It's fairly long and more or less completely irrelevant to the plot. Why even bother putting it there? To give the illusion of depth? Who knows... Anyway, once the lengthy backstory is over the real film begins: Post-apocalyptic bikers fight mutated, bloodthirsty rats. Their eyes glow red and when they attack someone they've mutated the ability to mimic getting poured out of buckets by off-screen stagehands. Which is all the time. Whenever the rats are NOT getting poured out of buckets, however, they mostly just sit around doing nothing. Sinister indeed. Must see for anyone who enjoys "bad films". This is one of "the worst". A solid 4 out of 5. Jason goes to hell Boring. Despite trying to reinvigorate and bring something new to the franchise, it's still just dull. Fairly gory, I guess. High kill count. Bordering on James Bond-high. Jason looks fairly cool but he's barely on screen anyway so what's the point. The climax is pretty dull too, since it evolves into a stupid brawl. Also, all non-gore effects are shit and unfortunately there's quite a few of them. Le discreet charm de la bourgeoisie Luis Buñuel surreal oscar winner. I seem to have recalled seeing this before but upon "rewatching" it I realized I hadn't. It's a fairly cozy film about a trio of couples in high society exploring absurd situations and a series of neverending dreams. Buñuel knows his limits and doesn't indulge in the surrealism any more than necessary. The film is fairly low key. I've seen some of his other films, including Le Fantôme de la liberté (which was the film I actually saw that one time when I thought I saw this one) and many of them go way further down the deep end than this one does. Now what does Buñuel want to say with this film? Hell if I know... Kolberg In the autumn years of the Third Reich, Joseph Goebbels ordered the production of this film about the historical siege of Kolberg. Nazi propaganda cinema was much more evolved than other totalitarian cinemas throughout the 1900's. Joseph Goebbels realized, quite accurately, that people could smell bullshit from a mile away. That is why they never produced Stalin-era "cult films" where the Führer saves the day (like the soviet "Fall of Berlin" where Stalin is portrayed as a wise, cozy fatherly figure who only wants peace for all). Instead they looked to history and tried to persuade the masses with popular entertainment. Kolberg is, for lack of a better word, a Hollywood film. It's epic size gives us sweeping shots of marching armies, cities under fire from besieging frenchmen and a strong germanic leader who rallies the army and the people under a common cause to staunchly defend their native soil against the encroaching french. The theme of uniting army and citizenry was an important one as the film was launched at the time when the Volksturm became a reality; Which is just a nicer way of saying "Every male between 15-60 needs to serve in this makeshift, really shitty militia we just created in order to put up a futile fight against the onslaught of the never-ending soviet armies". It worked out better in the movie... Kolberg fell to the soviets 6 weeks after the films premiere.

[MinionZombie]

Jason goes to hell Boring. Despite trying to reinvigorate and bring something new to the franchise, it's still just dull. Fairly gory, I guess. High kill count. Bordering on James Bond-high. Jason looks fairly cool but he's barely on screen anyway so what's the point. The climax is pretty dull too, since it evolves into a stupid brawl. Also, all non-gore effects are shit and unfortunately there's quite a few of them. Ah, the second time it was the 'Final' Friday 13th movie. The effects (by KNB in their early years - they'd been a company for about four or five years at that point IIRC) were one of the few saving graces. Like you say there was nowhere near enough Jason. I understand what the Director etc were trying to do, but a Jason movie with hardly any Jason in it is just a bad idea - I want Jason in my Friday 13th movies! There's some good ideas in there that are worth exploring, but it hasn't aged particularly well. You can see that pre-Scream creep-creep-creep of the knowing self awareness slithering its way in (they went overboard with that vibe in Jason X), but in such a way that's nowhere near the cleverness of Scream (or Wes Craven's New Nightmare, for that matter). It has some moments and certain characters of interest, and I dug the set up of Freddy vs Jason at the very end, but overall it's meh.

[EvilNed]

Ah, the second time it was the 'Final' Friday 13th movie. The effects (by KNB in their early years - they'd been a company for about four or five years at that point IIRC) were one of the few saving graces. Like you say there was nowhere near enough Jason. I understand what the Director etc were trying to do, but a Jason movie with hardly any Jason in it is just a bad idea - I want Jason in my Friday 13th movies! There's some good ideas in there that are worth exploring, but it hasn't aged particularly well. You can see that pre-Scream creep-creep-creep of the knowing self awareness slithering its way in (they went overboard with that vibe in Jason X), but in such a way that's nowhere near the cleverness of Scream (or Wes Craven's New Nightmare, for that matter). It has some moments and certain characters of interest, and I dug the set up of Freddy vs Jason at the very end, but overall it's meh. It's really boring. I remembered it as more exciting. The reason the slasher genre died out is that it, more so than an any other genre, is formulaic to the bone. Anyway... Suspiria Argento's first (worthwile) non-giallo outing. No, I'm not counting Five Days in Milan because Argento, as has already been pointed out, is not funny and shouldn't do comedy. Nobody remembers that film anyway. Just bought a new big tv and watched this on BluRay. Still looks beautiful. The sets are magnificant. The colours beautiful and vibrant. The music harrowing. This is as close to perfection as Argento ever comes. While Deep Red is probably a much more interesting film thematically, this one is superior to that film stylistically. Plotwise, however, it's pretty weak and still very giallo-like. Actually, if it weren't for the supernatural ending, this film could easily pass as a giallo. The Giallo Files blog lists four criteria for a giallo: European, stylistic, murder, mystery. This film shares all those traits. The only difference is the surrealistic imagery (somewhat present already in Deep Red) and that the antagonist reveal is a coven of witches rather than a flesh and blood antagonist. Alien 3 Saw the Assembly Cut on BluRay. They'd restored all of the sound, which was horrible in the DVD version. This film looks amazing. The sets are top notch. Without a doubt the finest looking of the Alien films. It all looks so authentic. Worn, greasy, dirty, rusty. And there are many sets too. The problem is the Assembly Cut itself. I remember thinking it was amazing watching this new cut of the film when it got released on DVD back in 2003. Now I'm not so impressed anymore. It drags. There's several small subplots in there. You can tell the script was pulled in all different directions because there's no real focus. The first 50 minutes of the film, Ripley gets infatuated with the doctor but then he gets killed off. That's about halfway through in the theatrical version, but in the Assembly Cut that's actually what kicks off Act 2. There's an entire added on act to the film where they manage to capture the Alien only to have a crazy Paul McGann let it loose again. The film's 145 minute running time is just.. too long. Still, is the theatrical cut better? There must be a way to find a middle road here. And it breaks my heart to say it, but the ideal way to cut this film is probably to remove the Doctor romantic subplot and excise several scenes throughout. After Ripley finds out she's carrying an Alien there's three scenes in a row of mental anguish. Give me a break... Heartbreak Ridge Clint Eastwood lectures young lax soldiers in the marine corps. Part culture shock comedy, part propaganda. The final act is pointless american flag waving... Everything up to that point is mildly entertaining however. - - - Updated - - - Five Dolls for an August Moon I read in the accompanying booklet that Mario Bava did not like the script and as a result did not like the movie either. He was denied his request to get 10 days to rewrite it. To be honest, even films that Bava do write to his satisfaction are not that great. So I'm not really sure what he was trying to achieve with a rewrite... Very similar to Bay of Blood, released the year after (which Bava WAS satisfied with). Personally I think I prefer this one. At least it has the semblence of a plot. But what is weird, for a giallo, is that all murders - or almost all of them - happen off screen. Pretty dull. Nice music!

[Neil]

Wild Tales - Now I missed the first two of the six Argentinian black comedy tales in this film, but I really enjoyed them simply for being a "bit different". I'll have to try and catch the first two - 7.5/10

[shootemindehead]

Alien 3 Saw the Assembly Cut on BluRay. They'd restored all of the sound, which was horrible in the DVD version. This film looks amazing. The sets are top notch. Without a doubt the finest looking of the Alien films. It all looks so authentic. Worn, greasy, dirty, rusty. And there are many sets too. The problem is the Assembly Cut itself. I remember thinking it was amazing watching this new cut of the film when it got released on DVD back in 2003. Now I'm not so impressed anymore. It drags. There's several small subplots in there. You can tell the script was pulled in all different directions because there's no real focus. The first 50 minutes of the film, Ripley gets infatuated with the doctor but then he gets killed off. That's about halfway through in the theatrical version, but in the Assembly Cut that's actually what kicks off Act 2. There's an entire added on act to the film where they manage to capture the Alien only to have a crazy Paul McGann let it loose again. The film's 145 minute running time is just.. too long. Still, is the theatrical cut better? There must be a way to find a middle road here. And it breaks my heart to say it, but the ideal way to cut this film is probably to remove the Doctor romantic subplot and excise several scenes throughout. After Ripley finds out she's carrying an Alien there's three scenes in a row of mental anguish. Give me a break... I've always preferred the theatrical cut myself. There seems to be a lot of guff about 'Alien 3' that's just unwarranted and Fincher's trouble with Fox didn't help. But, a lot of 'Aliens' fans wanted a retread of that film and were whinging when Newt and Hicks were killed off. Personally, I always thought that was great. People die, get over it. Plus it added a real level of tragedy on top Ripley losing her daughter in the previous film. Ripley checking out at the end was the last straw for many people too. I, too, think that this Assembly cut is too long and wastes time on unnecessary rabbit holes like the Paul McGann character's alien worship. But, I reckon a lot of people think it's "better" because it's just not the theatrical cut. I've never really understood the ire that the film gets. It certainly has its flaws, largely to do with the dated CGI (made even worse in the Assembly Cut), but so do 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. But, they're forgivable for the most part and the film rounds off the trilogy perfectly. That's really where the Alien series should have ended. It's where it ends for me anyway. I might give the new one a look, but it's a busted franchise as far as I'm concerned. 'Alien: Resurrection' and 'Prometheus' were too of the dumbest big budget films I've seen. Still cannot believe how much they fucked up those films. Terrible, terrible, writing.

[ProfessorChaos]

kong skull island was a pretty good time. lots of screen time for the title character, unlike the less-than-stellar 2014 godzilla flick. not a perfect movie, but an original story for king kong, rather than the usual "get shot off the top of a skyscraper/beauty killed the beast" trope in most kong films. the after credits scene (which i rarely stick around for) scene wasn't anything special or exciting though. king kong looked great though, along with all the other giant creatures. kind of wish i'd seen this one in 3d, as there were some visually impressive parts that would probably translate well to 3d. so overall, a visually stunning film with lots of redshirts to get smooshed/crushed/eaten by giant monsters. the script and dialogue was rather so-so, saved by the great cast and incredible monsters. 8/10

[EvilNed]

'Alien: Resurrection' and 'Prometheus' were too of the dumbest big budget films I've seen. Still cannot believe how much they fucked up those films. Terrible, terrible, writing. I enjoy Alien: Resurrection for much the same reason I enjoy Alien3, it's totally different from the rest. No other franchise is as changing as that one. Prometheus is just stupid, however. It's one of those late 00's films that totally dropped the ball on plot. It stands in shame in a corner together with WWZ and Man of Steel. Anyway... Inferno The Argento-film. Not the Dan Brown adaption... I enjoy this film a lot but the more I see it, the more I realize it's really incredibly flawed. While the plot is not Argento's focus here, it strays a bit too far into mediocrity for it to hold much suspense. There's a very loose plot about two siblings exploring the origins of an old cursed house. That's about it. People get killed off for no real reason, including the next door antique dealer who hates cats (and is eaten by rats - what a night of terror). In the end it's more of a audiovisual experiment. It's beautiful. The sets are gorgeous. It's lit like Bava's best works. The SFX (courtesy of Bava) are amazing. The music is... crazy. In a good way. So it's certainly special. It has some great stuff and some mediocre stuff in it. Spasmo Umberto Lenzi directed giallo. A handsome man is pursued by an unknown assassin and people around him start dying off, despite there not being any real connection between any of them. All the while, the landscape is littered with life size dolls killed in brutal ways. But why? A strange one. We get a pretty tragic reveal in the end. The title doesn't make any sense. Man on a Ledge Rather dull and unimaginative heist film.

[MinionZombie]

I enjoy Alien: Resurrection for much the same reason I enjoy Alien3, it's totally different from the rest. No other franchise is as changing as that one. Prometheus is just stupid, however. It's one of those late 00's films that totally dropped the ball on plot. It stands in shame in a corner together with WWZ and Man of Steel. Anyway... Inferno The Argento-film. Not the Dan Brown adaption... I enjoy this film a lot but the more I see it, the more I realize it's really incredibly flawed. While the plot is not Argento's focus here, it strays a bit too far into mediocrity for it to hold much suspense. There's a very loose plot about two siblings exploring the origins of an old cursed house. That's about it. People get killed off for no real reason, including the next door antique dealer who hates cats (and is eaten by rats - what a night of terror). In the end it's more of a audiovisual experiment. It's beautiful. The sets are gorgeous. It's lit like Bava's best works. The SFX (courtesy of Bava) are amazing. The music is... crazy. In a good way. So it's certainly special. It has some great stuff and some mediocre stuff in it. I don't get the hate some people have for Prometheus (which came out in 2012, btw). I've seen it a few times and have thoroughly enjoyed it every time. Could it be improved? Sure. Is it as bad as the rabid haters claim? Don't be daft. Inferno - I've been meaning to re-watch this one. As you say, a visual and aural treat, but the plot (what little there is) is all over the shop. Admittedly the first time I watched this I was full of cold, so not the right headspace for it, but I found the way it constantly introduced the 'main character' and then killed them off. I could never get a foothold in the film as a result of it - I needed someone to follow throughout the whole film - just as I was getting attached to someone, they're bumped off, and then a new person rocks up. Very disorienting in an irritating way. However, the film is like a strange sort of nightmare - more of a dream than a film, with as much plotting sense as a dream.

[EvilNed]

The main problem with Prometheus is the plot. For a film that seems to pride itself on being somewhat of a 'think-piece' it's incredibly stupid. So much so that you'd think that a child wrote it. But it's only Damon Lindelof...

[shootemindehead]

I don't get the hate some people have for Prometheus (which came out in 2012, btw). I've seen it a few times and have thoroughly enjoyed it every time. Could it be improved? Sure. Is it as bad as the rabid haters claim? Don't be daft. It's the awful writing, coupled with the fact that it doesn't even look like it takes place in teh same universe as Alien(s)(3). In fact, it looks like it takes place AFTER them, because the tech is so different (yeh, I've heard all the excuses ). It probably should have been a sequel, so the tech anachronisms wouldn't be so jarring. But that still wouldn't have cured the unbelivable amount of stupid that's in every step of the film.

[MinionZombie]

But that still wouldn't have cured the unbelivable amount of stupid that's in every step of the film. Such as?