Films

Bernard Marx wrote:Ringu (1998). An immersive and well-constructed Japanese horror which, unlike so many counterparts within the horror genre, doesn’t resort to patronising its audience with one-sided and banal characterisation and instead generally relies on pathos and suspense. I’m surprised I hadn’t seen this before, but I’m glad I did. I planned on seeing this after viewing Nakata’s Dark Water (2002, not to be confused with the fucking awful NuWho episode) several years back, but only got round to it today. Possibly flawed in places narratively (although I might need to re-watch it to properly assess as such), but very well directed and acted.

Haven't seen Ringu in a while. Definitely on my ''to rewatch'' list this year.

Bernard Marx wrote:is the Ringu remake any good, might I ask? It seems fairly divisive critically.

For me, it's the only one that really does a good job. It's not AS good, but definitely worth a go. Most of the other American re-makes are crap. The Dark Water re-make is not too bad, but only because most of the others are so much worse.

Went to the cinema today to see Jumanji: The Next Level. Amusing enough sequel to Welcome to the Jungle, with the old cast back as well as new additions including Danny DeVito and Danny Glover (the latter in particular looking well old). If you liked the first (or second), you'll like this.

iank wrote:Went to the cinema today to see Jumanji: The Next Level. Amusing enough sequel to Welcome to the Jungle, with the old cast back as well as new additions including Danny DeVito and Danny Glover (the latter in particular looking well old). If you liked the first (or second), you'll like this.

Is Mad Kazza still as hot as ever.

Absolutely.

Ludders wrote:

Bernard Marx wrote:is the Ringu remake any good, might I ask? It seems fairly divisive critically.

For me, it's the only one that really does a good job. It's not AS good, but definitely worth a go. Most of the other American re-makes are crap. The Dark Water re-make is not too bad, but only because most of the others are so much worse.

The only thing I liked about the dreary Dark Water remake was Jennifer Connelly. I thought she gave a very good performance that really belonged in a better film.

I really want to get hold of the Pink Panther movies. I have very fond memories of seeing them as a kid - probably mainly the 70s ones I think - and really want to add them to my collection.
The Blu ray set is hella expensive in one shot, though, and most don't have individual releases, which sucks.

When's my birthday again?

I can post my box set collection over to you if you like Ian. The certainly got far more slapstick-y as they went on but they remain comedy gold.

I'm going to be getting the Blu ray set for my birthday soon, but thank you.

Finger My Arse (2018)

Tom Cruise is incredible as a midget who must live with the fact that his finger is permanently stuck up Will Ferrell's bum in this hilarious comedy.

Had a double viewing of both Halloween Resurrection for the first time in 10 years and the 2018 film for the first time.

Halloween Resurrection (2002)

Oh dear, how fucking awful. After 1998's H20 gave us a neat ending that wrapped the series up with a neat ending. This comes along and retcons that ending in the most moronic, fucked up fashion. Jamie Lee Curtis is quickly disposed of in an rather unceremonious fashion and we get some dire 2000's Reality TV bullshit thrown in. The Shape is written as a complete joke despite Brad Loree proving to be one of the better post 81 Myers. Busta Rhymes is fucking annoying and the whole thing isn't even awful in an so bad it's hilarious fashion. Dire stuff. 1/5

Halloween (2018)

In all honesty, I never understood the hype behind this. After the last film (Rob Zombie's awful 2009 Halloween II) it looks like a masterpiece. However at the same time, the film just feels very vanilla and like a generic sequel which brings nothing that new to the table. Jamie Lee isn't as good as she was in H20 and most the side characters are bland. I also didn't like the fact they retconned even Halloween II, that and H20 make far better followups IMO.  Not a terrible movie, just not a very interesting one. 3/5

Talk about masochism, Indrid.

Scars of Dracula. A young man and his girlfriend go looking for his missing brother, and find he disappeared near a place known as Castle Dracula... Patrick Troughton and a young Dennis Waterman (complete with all la posh accent lol) co-star with Christopher Lee (of course) in this early 70s Hammer Horror that I absolutely loved. This is up there with Satanic Rites as my favourite of the Dracula sequels thus far, kicking off with a bang and just totally going for it as full-blooded Gothic fun. The bats are a bit unintentionally comical, mind (though to be fair the scene where they basically bite the priest to death is actually quite effectively gruesome). I really enjoyed this one!

iank wrote:Talk about masochism, Indrid.  

Scars of Dracula. A young man and his girlfriend go looking for his missing brother, and find he disappeared near a place known as Castle Dracula... Patrick Troughton and a young Dennis Waterman (complete with all la posh accent lol) co-star with Christopher Lee (of course) in this early 70s Hammer Horror that I absolutely loved. This is up there with Satanic Rites as my favourite of the Dracula sequels thus far, kicking off with a bang and just totally going for it as full-blooded Gothic fun. The bats are a bit unintentionally comical, mind (though to be fair the scene where they basically bite the priest to death is actually quite effectively gruesome). I really enjoyed this one!

Ooh, Dennis Waterman. Did he get to write and sing the feem tune?

lol I think not.

The Brides of Dracula. Van Helsing swashes his buckle to save a young woman from the attentions of a vampire she's inadvertently released back into the community. Despite the title, the second film in the franchise doesn't feature Dracula, but Peter Cushing is back as his nemesis. This is okay, and the final showdown is pretty cool, but the new vampire is no Christopher Lee and this is one of the lesser entries in the series to me.

The Vampire Lovers. A gentleman invites a damsel in distress to stay at his castle, unaware she is a vampire with designs on his innocent young daughter. Ingrid Pitt stars with George Cole, Kate O'Mara and (of course!) Peter Cushing in this early 70s Hammer Horror that adds a female and erotic lesbian twist to the usual vampiric shenanigans, to highly entertaining results. I really enjoyed this one!  

Hey, it's Arfur Daley vs vampires. There ain't no universe in which that isn't awesome.

Great film.

Ludders wrote:Great film.  

Isn't that the French babe Moore banged in Live and Let Die?

Yes. Madeline Smith.

Dumb And Dumber 2 (2014): Not as awful as the 2003 prequel but still shite for the most part. 2/5

Tales from the Crypt. Early 70s British horror anthology based on the old EC Comics. A mixed bag, as with most anthologies; the stories with Joan Collins and Peter Cushing were very good (indeed, I thought the Collins one could have gone on longer and even been a movie by itself!) but some of the others are a bit meh.

The Secret of my Success (1987)

An ambitious mailroom worker decides to create and assume the identity of a company executive. Hilarity ensues as he must do both jobs without being caught be either the head of the company (who is also his uncle) or the manager of the mailroom. He also goes on dates with fellow executive Helen Slater when he isn't being seduced by his sexually charged aunt. Classic Michael J. Fox comedy with a solid cast, a great soundtrack and a wonderfully inspiring story.

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is recruited by a family of young martial arts experts to help them return to their ancestral Chinese village and rid it of the plague of the undead, ruled by seven legendary and seemingly indestructible vampires. This is it, folks, the last in the Hammer Dracula franchise, though confusingly it's not actually the last chronologically because it's back to the past and the original Van Helsing rather than his great grandson in the two 70s-set films we had before this...confused? You won't be!

By all accounts, this is also the worst of the worst. So how come I loved it to bits? To be fair, I do have one major criticism of the film, and that's bringing back Dracula, albeit not played by Christopher Lee. Which sounds insane, and certainly comes off that way. Even more insane is that there's zero need for Dracula to be in this movie at all, so bringing him in for 2 minutes played by a different actor seems even more WTH. The earlier Brides of Dracula was a Lee-less entry that pitted Cushing against a different head vampire, and that makes even more sense here given the China setting, so why do it?!?!?!?

But it's really the only misstep in what is otherwise an enormously fun film. I suspect Hammer fans are as conservative as Who fans and just don't like anything that deviates from the norm, whereas I most definitely do. And this batshit crazy mix of vampire Hammer Horror, quest/adventure movie (with more than a trace of The Magnificent Seven) and Kung Fu action flick was right up my alley. Great fun from start to finish. I'm going to have to do a series ranking when I'm done, and I think this is going to be in the higher echelons!

I have just Dracula 1972 AD left to see. But it's coming. Oh yes, it's coming...

Oh, and Van Helsing's son is the evil Dr Ross Newman from Sons and Daughters! 

The Skull. Mediocre mid70s Cushing/Lee horror about a historical skull that drives people to murder. The cast do their best, but this feels like a 20 minute anthology segment thinly stretched to (barely) feature length. Disappointingly dull.