Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

SouthtownKid

There are four lights
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2003
Posts
26,900
The Brides of Dracula- Classic Hammer British horror. Great stuff if you like old school gothic.

I was skimming through other Hammer trailers and I gotta say the Hammer girls might be some of the hottest chicks in cinema history. The redheads in particular. Every one of them is a knockout and from the time when classic beauty was still a thing, before late 60s and early 70s when there was a cultural shift towards a more modern and less classy emphasis on style. That's not to say the Hammer films are particularly classy but you get what I'm trying to say. Kind of comparing Audrey Hepburn's style to Farrah Fawcett's. Like in a sheer nightgown being sexier than a bikini kind of way. I dunno there's just something about them, I'm sure the casting director loved his job lol.
Plus, you watch those Hammer vampire movies, and there's a slight chance you'll suddenly get some brief nudity. You never expect it, because the Technicolor or whatever makes it look like an American Vincent Price movie from the 1950s.

If you're watching the Hammer Draculas, don't miss out on the Karnstein Trilogy, starting with The Vampire Lovers. The movie was based on the novella Carmilla, which actually predates and was an inspiration for Stoker's Dracula novel.
 

terry.330

Time? Astonishing!
20 Year Member
Joined
May 4, 2004
Posts
11,793
If you're watching the Hammer Draculas, don't miss out on the Karnstein Trilogy, starting with The Vampire Lovers. The movie was based on the novella Carmilla, which actually predates and was an inspiration for Stoker's Dracula novel.
The Camilla Hammer trilogy finally got a proper release in the US but it seems like some discs are defective, so I'm waiting to for the corrected version. I recently got The Blood Spattered Bride which is a Spanish movie from 72 that is also based on Camilla. I recommend it, it's pretty wild.
 
Last edited:

StevenK

ng.com SFII tournament winner 2002-2023
10 Year Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Posts
10,085
I Come in Peace (aka Dark Angel)- Possibly one of the best pieces of action schlock to come out of the genre at it's height. Dolph Lindgren is a cop who has to take down a group of giant aliens that are murdering random people with flying CDs for their brain juice which is apparently sold as a drug back on their home planet, or something. Doesn't matter, it's just an excuse for the aliens to have these crazy predator looking gloves/gauntlets that suck out brains and have goofy weapons built into them.

It has practically every action and cop movie cliche ever, literally:

Asshole Police chief, check.
Partner gets killed and main character must go on a revenge mission, check.
New partner who strictly goes by the book, while the main character plays by their own rules, check.
Troubled relationship with an old flame, check.
Everything blows up when shot, check.
Unlimited ammo, check.
Car chase, check.
Titties/strip club, check.
It's also a Christmas movie lol

It also has some of the funniest and clever scene transition editing I've ever seen. Like an alien is going to stab someone in the face with a big spike and it cuts mid thrust to Dolph playing pool with the spike dissolving into a pool cue. It's not just once or twice, it's every scene transition.

Oh yeah he also has to fight a gang called the "White Boys" that is comprised entirely of Lambo driving Wall Street yuppies that have machine guns and can kickbox.

It's pretty awesome. I remembered seeing bits of it on cable as a kid but watching it as an adult looking back at the genre and time period elevates it's to something special. It has enough budget, it's creative and Dolph is strong enough to pull off the lead, so it's not a so bad it's good. It's just legitimately entertaining all the way though. It's also got Jan Hammer doing the soundtrack.
I only recognised this halfway through your review, wow, I loved this film way back. Going to be looking out for this one, cheers for the reminder.
 

terry.330

Time? Astonishing!
20 Year Member
Joined
May 4, 2004
Posts
11,793
LA Confidential- Somehow I'd never seen this before. I'd heard of it, knew who was in it and knew the basic premise but never actually watched it. It was alright for a modern noir. Better than Wild Things but not as good as Body Heat, still all things considered pretty enjoyable. A bit long though, could have benefitted with some editing to tighten the pace. Also is it just me or is Kim Basinger not that hot? All the pieces are there for her to be super hot but she always seems a bit off. I can't quite put my finger on it.
 

SouthtownKid

There are four lights
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2003
Posts
26,900
LA Confidential- Somehow I'd never seen this before. I'd heard of it, knew who was in it and knew the basic premise but never actually watched it. It was alright for a modern noir. Better than Wild Things but not as good as Body Heat, still all things considered pretty enjoyable. A bit long though, could have benefitted with some editing to tighten the pace. Also is it just me or is Kim Basinger not that hot? All the pieces are there for her to be super hot but she always seems a bit off. I can't quite put my finger on it.
In the movie, she's supposed to be formerly hot. Aging out of hot. It's a pretty solid movie with kind of a wobbly finish. It was good enough to interest me in reading the source novels. Half just to see what the real ending was. Holy shit, that was a mistake. Dude writes like a beat poet on meth yelling random sentence fragments in an empty all-night laundromat. The later books are nigh-unintelligible. It's like the author is less interested in conveying a narrative than he is in creating a mood, simulating an actual physical feeling in the reader of hungover nausea through only the power of his words. The books also read like the author presenting a passionate case for why the entire human race ought to be exterminated.

On the good side, there's an interesting shared continuity throughout the novels, even though no two books star the same characters. Former main characters like Guy Pierce's show up as background characters and you see what's happened to them down the line (and how they've been further compromised) years or even decades later. Oh yeah, and that character Meakes (sp?) who was found dead under the house? He was a main character in an earlier novel, if I remember right.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Posts
44,746
In the movie, she's supposed to be formerly hot. Aging out of hot. It's a pretty solid movie with kind of a wobbly finish. It was good enough to interest me in reading the source novels. Half just to see what the real ending was. Holy shit, that was a mistake. Dude writes like a beat poet on meth yelling random sentence fragments in an empty all-night laundromat. The later books are nigh-unintelligible. It's like the author is less interested in conveying a narrative than he is in creating a mood, simulating an actual physical feeling in the reader of hungover nausea through only the power of his words. The books also read like the author presenting a passionate case for why the entire human race ought to be exterminated.

On the good side, there's an interesting shared continuity throughout the novels, even though no two books star the same characters. Former main characters like Guy Pierce's show up as background characters and you see what's happened to them down the line (and how they've been further compromised) years or even decades later. Oh yeah, and that character Meakes (sp?) who was found dead under the house? He was a main character in an earlier novel, if I remember right.
Pearce.
 

100proof

Insert Something Clever Here
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Posts
3,579
Okay, so I went out to see Everything Everywhere All at Once this evening. Directed by the weirdos who did Swiss Army Man and you can tell. Still trying to digest it but there's a lot to like and a couple of things that left me cold. Michelle Yeoh is so goddamn good and I think it's going to speak to a lot of people (mother/daughters, people born to immigrant parents, people with ADD) but the sci-fi elements were mostly a cheap hodge-podge of 90s/early 2000s movies that they kind of forget about halfway through the movie. It borrows/steals in equal parts from the Matrix, The One and Spike Jonze movies with a pinch of Jackass and I'm already kind of done with multiverse bullshit before Marvel even gets a chance to truly beat it to death...

It's got some martial arts goodness but I wouldn't call it a martial arts movie. It's got some sci-fi but like I said, it kind of forgets/ignores its own internal rules halfway through... it's just a simple family drama but told by a 12-year-old off his ritalin. Honestly, I think the point of the movie is an allegory for ADHD or a panic attack. The movie starts relatively normal, then it spazs and vomits everything it possibly can at the screen for 2 hours to distract the main character and the climax is the movie and the character slowing down, prioritizing what's important and completing a simple story arc that, in any other movie, would be almost rote Oscar bait material. Which for me was interesting... it gave the directors the opportunity to put some truly bizarre shit on screen (goddamn hot dog fingers and butt-plug superpowers) and tell a simple, relatable story in one go.

I didn't really care for Swiss Army Man mostly because the ending was the wettest fart in a movie filled with wet farts which made the whole exercise seem facile and almost narcissistic in hindsight. This movie has the same surreal, meandering quality to it but wraps the whole thing up in a nice, neat bow.

Re-reading this, I definitely haven't completely figured out how I feel. I would definitely recommend it to people who like weird shit... try not to get spoiled beyond maybe a teaser trailer though. Oh, it's also the first movie Short Round/Data's been in in like 20 years and he's great too.
 
Last edited:

Lastblade

Friend me on Facebook!,
20 Year Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Posts
5,840
Michelle Yeoh is amazing so I am glad to see her lead a movie now. I want to see it but there isn't a good theater around here so I will stream it when it is available.
 

fake

King of Spammers
15 Year Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Posts
10,977
I’m hesitant because the trailer makes the movie seem very lulzy.
 

100proof

Insert Something Clever Here
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Posts
3,579
It definitely has some millenial "lol so random" humor but it's restrained compared to their previous movie and Michelle Yeoh is really the warm center that keeps the whole thing grounded. But yeah, definitely don't go in expecting a martial arts movie or a sci-fi movie. It is unquestionably a weird indie movie with those things stuffed in to the cracks.
 

fake

King of Spammers
15 Year Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Posts
10,977
Compliance
Someone calls a fast food restaurant posing as a cop and convinces the manager to detain and strip search one of the female cashiers. It would be a really fucked up / exploitative movie, but it's a pretty accurate recreation of a real life crime. People were doing this across the country for years until this particular one where the guy got caught. Unfortunately, since the case was based 100% on phone card serial numbers and Walmart receipts, the jury couldn't be convinced to convict the guy. Uncomfortable watch – this is not the way I wanted to see Dreama Walker's bips – but recommended.
 

lithy

Most Prominent Member of Chat
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2002
Posts
22,031
Sonic 2 is very, very stupid. In case anyone actually needs that warning.
 

famicommander

Tak enabled this rank change
15 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Posts
13,383
Sonic 2 is very, very stupid. In case anyone actually needs that warning.
The movie based on the video game about the interdimensional talking blue hedgehog that can run at light speed and use magic gems to become invincible?

Stupid?

I don't believe you.
 

lithy

Most Prominent Member of Chat
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2002
Posts
22,031
The movie based on the video game about the interdimensional talking blue hedgehog that can run at light speed and use magic gems to become invincible?

Stupid?

I don't believe you.

I swear to God I searched waaaaaay too long trying to find the 'review' I made of the first movie that we must have watched 30 times on Amazon Prime last year only to find it doesn't exist.

They reference Sonic getting air from a bubble and not being able to swim. That was my highlight.
 

Hot Chocolate

No Longer Yung, No Longer Raoul,
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2002
Posts
10,622
Everything Everywhere All At Once
-I saw this last Tuesday and I’m still thinking about it as I really enjoyed it. A lot isn’t said about Data from Goonies who plays Michell’s husband as he steals every scene he’s in and that guy needs to be in more things
 

terry.330

Time? Astonishing!
20 Year Member
Joined
May 4, 2004
Posts
11,793
I am Divine- Doc about John Water muse and the filthiest person in the world Divine. I had no idea she had such a big music career, pretty much only knew about the work with Waters. Some good interviews and insight into what made the persona and how it evolved. Really a shame that he died so young just when his career was starting to take off. I had no idea he had been cast as a main character in Married with Children. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack in his sleep the night before he was scheduled to start shooting the show. Recommended of you're a fan of the character and John Waters early movies.
 

Hot Chocolate

No Longer Yung, No Longer Raoul,
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2002
Posts
10,622
I am Divine- Doc about John Water muse and the filthiest person in the world Divine. I had no idea she had such a big music career, pretty much only knew about the work with Waters. Some good interviews and insight into what made the persona and how it evolved. Really a shame that he died so young just when his career was starting to take off. I had no idea he had been cast as a main character in Married with Children. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack in his sleep the night before he was scheduled to start shooting the show. Recommended of you're a fan of the character and John Waters early movies.

Had no clue this was a thing so thanks for mentioning this, added it to my Netflix queue
 

terry.330

Time? Astonishing!
20 Year Member
Joined
May 4, 2004
Posts
11,793
Fade to Black- Early 80's psychological thriller about a young man obsessed with classic Hollywood culture and old movies who meets his own Marilyn Monroe. After she accidentally stands him up on a date and under constant abuse from his horrible wheelchair bound aunt he suffers a psychotic break. Assuming the personas of famous classic movie characters he proceeds to go on a revenge fueled killing spree. He kidnaps and drugs his dream girl and ends up in a police standoff atop Grauman's Chinese Theater. Low budget and seemingly shot mostly without permits it's a surprisingly good despite a pretty bad B plot and some Vincent Price level overacting.

Also of note is a young Mickey Rourke as one of the main characters co-workers and bully.
 
Last edited:

100proof

Insert Something Clever Here
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Posts
3,579
Fade to Black is one of those movies that would be completely buried on like AppleTV or Shudder these days and no one would see it. It's not great by any stretch but it's interesting in a weird way. The number of distribution outlets has become so vast that there's almost no way for a tiny little movie to catch the mainstream or even the viral/cult hit wave without a significant amount of momentum.
 

terry.330

Time? Astonishing!
20 Year Member
Joined
May 4, 2004
Posts
11,793
Fade to Black is one of those movies that would be completely buried on like AppleTV or Shudder these days and no one would see it. It's not great by any stretch but it's interesting in a weird way. The number of distribution outlets has become so vast that there's almost no way for a tiny little movie to catch the mainstream or even the viral/cult hit wave without a significant amount of momentum.
Yeah it's a weird one. The psychological stuff is interesting since it's played perfectly straight but the personas and costumes are so ridiculous and elaborate. It also has an almost guerrilla quality to it with all the street scenes and random weirdos that naturally populate Hollywood. The main character is pretty well cast, he really has that creepy loner vibe/look and is believably crazy for the most part.

I ended up having to buy it since I couldn't find it on any of the streaming services I use. Vinegar Syndrome as always did a great job with the BD.
 

100proof

Insert Something Clever Here
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Posts
3,579
Just FYI, it's been on Shudder for the better part of a year and Shudder's $3/month for 6 months right now with code HALFOFF6.

They're not paying me... I just dig the service and probably cheaper than that BD you bought. ;)
 

jro

Gonna take a lot
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Posts
14,410
The Batman - quite good, I can't remember the last time I watched a movie that was 3 hours long that didn't make me bored AF, this managed to not do that. Pattinson already in the running for best Batman alongside Bale, though better screenwriting certainly helps.

Not sure I'm in on the whole multi-villain trope though. Riddler/Penguin here, and then it's gotta be Penguin/Joker in the next one, PLEASE let Joker stand on his own in the obvious finale of the trilogy.

DCEU still about 1K x better than MCU's tired shit regardless.

edit: actually, I'd really, really like to see Reeves prove me wrong and go hey surprise Penguin and Joker both down in Ep. 2, and then have a good Bane in 3. Like. non-dumbass voicebox Bane, bring Hardy back or get Joe Anoa'i or whoever, but make him the proper threat to Batman that he's supposed to be. Have Batman fuck up Joker like nobody's business and then have Bane snap him in half and go from there and don't be retarded like in DKR.
 
Last edited:
Top