Rate the last movie you've seen

[MinionZombie]

Keanu - 6.5/10 Took me a bit to get into the vibe of it, but once I was in there I enjoyed it. Would I watch it again? I'm not sure, maybe some day, but it was fun for the duration. Some scenes drag on far too long - such as the drug deal at the celebrity's house - but there's some quite funny bits throughout, and the kitten is, of course, adorable. Re: Nightmare City, No MZ I haven't watched any of the extras yet. I've got quite a few of those old films lined up so I guess I'll have to put the extras off for a later date. Cannibal Holocast, Shameless BluRay release. It offers the option of viewing a new, alternate cut by Deodato. It tones down the animal violence quite a bit which I personally don't really mind but in the end I kinda feel like this new cut is more the result of Deodato second guessing himself years after all the controversy. The original cut (also included on the BluRay) is superior. Partly because the new digital "scratch marks" and stuff they've used to cover up the gory animal deaths just don't look very good at all. Anyway great film. But boy is it gruesome... 1) Never mind, HMV are having a sale on Arrow titles, so I've grabbed up 10 of their releases - Nightmare City included. Watched the extras. Interview with one of the actresses, a lengthy interview with Lenzi, and a piece to camera from Eli Roth getting his fan groove going. The comparison between the different restorations points out exactly what the differences are in print qualities and why they're there, so that was quite informative. Haven't done the commentary yet, though. 2) Oh, they added scratch marks to cover it up? I thought they'd just lopped the scenes/shots out of the movie. IIRC the 'original cut' is still somewhat censored by the BBFC - but by the least amount ever ... "Company was required to remove a scene of unsimulated animal cruelty (in this case, a small mammal being killed with a knife), in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy." (15 seconds replaced by substituted shots from elsewhere). Seems that the 'new version' passed uncut (so that must be down to the 'added scratches'). It's come a long way in the UK since it was outright banned, and even in 2001 it was cut by 5 minutes and 44 seconds! http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=170202 Shameless Screen Entertainment has submitted a fully uncut version of Cannibal Holocaust to an advisory board at the BBFC who have advised them that the film would (only) have to be cut by 14 seconds! "At 18 minutes - Remove sight of man killing small mammal with a knife. Cut required from 0:18:21 - 0:18:35." The BBFC feels that all previous cuts to the scenes of sexual violence can now be waived as the scenes in question are horrifying and repugnant, and clearly not designed to eroticise or promote sexual violence. As for the other animal cruelty scenes (the turtle, monkey and pig), the BBFC's view is that these killings were quick, clean and humane and therefore do not contravene BBFC policy. In conversation, Deodato has advised Shameless that, in his mind, the muskrat scene was the only animal-killing in the film where the animal was sacrificed, all of the other animals were eaten as was normal practice in that part of the world. This minimal cut makes for the longest ever UK version of the film, although it should be noted that this is at the advisory stage and therefore the film has not yet been submitted for or received formal classification. This is such exciting news that Shameless has decided to release not one, but two versions of the film! This means that the Shameless release will feature this longest ever UK version and Deodato's 21st Century Edit, which will see the animal cruelty toned down. This means that Deodato's new edit will not simply cut out the animal cruelty scenes, but rather will edit out the actual, obvious pain and cruelty inflicted on the animals, but keep the "fact" that it happened. As a result, Deodato's version will contain less animal cruelty than the BBFC classified version! This advice from the BBFC has got everyone at Shameless, Cine Excess and Cult Labs very excited as it will help us to develop an amazing edition of Cannibal Holocaust for the UK. The ultimate cannibal movie. The animal deaths on screen that occurred in some of these movies weren't necessary - more often than not it was just grotesque for the sake of being grotesque. Anyway, that issue aside, CH is a landmark in cinema.

[EvilNed]

Do what? Why do that? Ruggero Deodato says in an interview preceeding the film that he regrets much of the animal killings. He goes into detail about what he's done to tone it down and why. The digital scratch marks and other effects are added to make the film negative "appear damaged" so as to cover up the killings. Do what? Why do that? 1) Never mind, HMV are having a sale on Arrow titles, so I've grabbed up 10 of their releases - Nightmare City included. Watched the extras. Interview with one of the actresses, a lengthy interview with Lenzi, and a piece to camera from Eli Roth getting his fan groove going. The comparison between the different restorations points out exactly what the differences are in print qualities and why they're there, so that was quite informative. Haven't done the commentary yet, though. What other Arrow titles did you grab?

[MinionZombie]

What other Arrow titles did you grab? The Black Cat Bride of Re-Animator The 'Burbs Dead End Drive-In Eaten Alive (the Tobe Hooper flick) Hellraiser Night of the Comet Nightmare City Shivers Slugs The sale is only for UK residents though - no international shipping. Fopp, another UK store, are having a very similar sale (in-store only) with the same selection of discs at the same price, just in case anyone's interested.

[EvilNed]

The Black Cat Bride of Re-Animator The 'Burbs Dead End Drive-In Eaten Alive (the Tobe Hooper flick) Hellraiser Night of the Comet Nightmare City Shivers Slugs I have The Black Cat, Night of the Comet and Nightmare City of course. Personally I just got an order today, from Amazon. From 88 Films: Absurd, Buio Omega, The Cynic, The Rat and the Fist, Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye and from Arrow: The Red Queen kills Seven Times The Night Evelyn came back from the Grave Demons 1 & 2 Contamination and finally... Doctor Zhivago! The odd one out.

[bassman]

You mentioned picking up The Burbs. Does the version in your region have special features, because the US version is bare bones. Sometimes you guys get the good stuff(Creepshow)

[EvilNed]

You mentioned picking up The Burbs. Does the version in your region have special features, because the US version is bare bones. Sometimes you guys get the good stuff(Creepshow) I would assume it's this one: http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/the-burbs/ In which case the special features are quite extensive...

[bassman]

Actually....I'm just now starting to recall that MZ and I had a conversation about that release not too long ago. Maybe? I must be getting old...

[MinionZombie]

That's the one I ordered (with the special features). Hopefully they send the correct one! (We also have a bare bones release, also via Arrow, which was also on the same offer - just to make things complicated. ) Absurd, Buio Omega, The Cynic, The Rat and the Fist, Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye and from Arrow: The Red Queen kills Seven Times The Night Evelyn came back from the Grave Demons 1 & 2 Contamination Let me know what Absurd and Beyond The Darkness (Buio Omega) are like. I'm sniffing around those two. I want to see both The Red Queen kills Seven Times and The Night Evelyn came back from the Grave. I've got the Arrow release of Contamination. It's a fun flick, but there is a portion of the second act where it sags unnecessarily, other than that I quite enjoyed it. Loads of exploding chests littered throughout. Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye - I've got this one on a DVD from Blue Underground. I did a review of it HERE - but you might prefer to go into the movie totally fresh (probably best). It's not without issues, but I did enjoy it. Demons 1 & 2. I recently re-watched Demons (I've also seen Demons 2 a few years ago), but I just can't really get into either of them. Not entirely sure why. There's bits that I like, but various other bits that irritate me or land like a dull thud for me. It's the sort of movie that I would normally dig, but both times I watched Demons I didn't really gel with it. - - - Updated - - - You mentioned picking up The Burbs. Does the version in your region have special features, because the US version is bare bones. Sometimes you guys get the good stuff(Creepshow) Yeah, that was a rare one with Creepshow. I must re-watch the retrospective documentary they did about it. That was our 2-disc DVD from a few years back. I see that the documentary has been released as a stand alone release in the USA. Have you had a chance to check it out?

[EvilNed]

Agree with Contamination! But being one of the very few italian sci fi films, I had to get it. But yes, the second act does sag. As I recall, the part where Tom McCullochs character goes to South America to investigate is a slow burner. However I also remember there being a hilariously ugly alien at the end.

[shootemindehead]

Always thought that alien was great. What really makes that film is Goblin's crazy music. Mad stuff altogether.

[MinionZombie]

Agree with Contamination! But being one of the very few italian sci fi films, I had to get it. But yes, the second act does sag. As I recall, the part where Tom McCullochs character goes to South America to investigate is a slow burner. However I also remember there being a hilariously ugly alien at the end. Yeah, the South America portion is where the saggy bit occurs, but that's not to say it's all saggy in that portion of the film (indeed it's two thirds of the movie). At least it picks right back up again with more exploding guts and aye, that freaky alien creature that's surprisingly effective for an iffy practical puppet that didn't work as it was intended on the day. That staring eye, man ... creepy.

[EvilNed]

Buio Omega Weird movie. With a score by Goblin.

[EvilNed]

Tenebre Damn I'd forgotten most about this film, but this is really good! Stylistically fine tuned and maybe, just maybe, the best Argento ever gets. After seeing Suspiria I figured that's where he peaked. But maybe not. This was... really good. Just got the big box of Phenomena, so thats up next. Seven Deaths in a Cats Eye A gothic giallo set in an old scottish castle. A family curse spooks the protagonist as her family is killed off one by one by an unknown killer. Who is the killer? The police detective, played by Serge Gainsbourg? The resident cat? The moody young Lord living secluded in his tower? His pet gorilla? Well... there's a lot going on, to be sure. The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist The 88 films release. Great quality and violent film. Apparently its the second in a series of two! I'd like to see Part 1. Pretty much non-stop action until about halfway through, at which point it slows down a bit.

[LivingDeadGuy]

Ju-On and Ju-On 2. 9/10 very good Japanese horror movies and way better than the Americanized "The Grudge" movies.

[EvilNed]

L'Assassino Elio Petri's debutfilm. He would later make the excellent Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion which goes even further than this film in depicting the kafkaesque machinations of a police investigation driven by prejudice rather than a sense of justice. The latter is a great film. This one is ok. But would benefit from being more of a thriller and less of a Fellini - even though I appreciate the combination.