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WHITE ZOMBIE (USA 1932): 6/10
Bela Lugosi was never so wondrously bizarre as in this. It's got so much going for it it's a pity I can't enjoy it more. There's Lugosi, the atmospheric photography, the zombies..., but every time I see it I'm exasperated by its lack of plot. I know it must be about necrophilia, because if it's just about zombies then it's awfully thin. And all the DVD versions I've seen are in terrible shape. I really want to see a pristine copy of this, but even if I do I'm pretty sure I'll never really learn to love it. Which I feel bad about. I'm going to give it the thumbs-up sign anyway because I've just made myself feel guilty at not liking this more.
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WHITE ZOMBIE (USA 1932): 7/10
Didn't I just watch this and give it a 6? Yes. But I felt it was a film that so much deserved another chance that I watched it again, and it's now a 7. It's getting there. Not an easy film to get swept away by - I really had to concentrate and not allow my mind to wander - but I was rewarded in the end, more than after the casual viewing the other day. The more I watch it the more I'm convinced it's all a sexual-shenanigans power-play. Necrophilia, submission, rape, homosexuality... I think it's all there. I wonder if the cast and crew knew what it was about...
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Posted: |
Jul 29, 2010 - 8:24 PM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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Only 10 minutes into Without a Paddle, and already it's quite promising. So much so I'm already writing about it like a nerd. I am a nerd! Anyways, it looks to be a promising movie for the following reasons:
----It revolves around the relationship between three boyhood friends all grown up. Not enough movies today can capture the touching bonds of friendship.
----The opening credits list Burt Reynolds. Christophe Beck is the composer.
----The friends revisit their childhood paraphrenalia, which includes an Indiana Jones compass, a C3P0 action figure, a Friday the 13th 3D poster, and a Brian Bosworth trading card. Ahhh, 80's nostalgia, I love it.
----Seth Green is already cracking me up.
----The following lines:
(after a funeral) "Did you see all the hot women there?"
"I know, it was like a discotheque with a coffin in the middle."
I shall return with my rating.
***
Yeah!!! --10/10--. Laughs, great lines, adventure, beautiful scenery, silliness, and just good old fashioned fun. I was grinning like an idiot the entire movie. Sometimes you just want to have fun, and this movie delivered. Don't you want to see Burt Reynolds in a ZZ Top beard doing a JJ Walker (Good Times) impression? Dogs getting stoned? Hippie chicks living in a giant redwood tree? Machine guns, grenades, waterfalls, cops with missing teeth, and the pursuit of D.B. Cooper...DY-NO-MITE!
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Posted: |
Jul 30, 2010 - 7:58 AM
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By: |
Hurdy Gurdy
(Member)
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ROADGAMES (Richard Franklin - Australia 1981)
It's been nearly 30 years since I last watched this at the cinema.
I picked up the DVD recently and settled down to relive my youth.
I think the film has held up pretty well. Australia still seems limitless and remote (and a little bit crazy).
Stacy Keach is good fun as the truck driver Quid, and Jamie Lee Curtis hadn't lost that youthful cuteness she first had...she plays Hitch, who Quid picks up as they chase a serial killer on the way to Perth.
It's playful and fun, like the best of Hitchcock, with an underlying creepiness.
A couple of gripes appeared that my 16 year old movie geek obviously overlooked (the serial killer ain't the smartest, almost asking to be caught...and the appearance of the entire cast, all at the same location, near the end is silly) but it's still a smart thriller, with good performances, neat direction from Franklin, and a 'bonza' score from Brian May, from the bolero-like main theme (catchy as hell), a soft, wistful love theme, spine chilling guitar motif for the killer, and an appearance of Holst's The Planets near the end.
A first rate thriller from Australia's Brian DePalma.
7/10
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Posted: |
Jul 30, 2010 - 8:11 AM
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By: |
Hurdy Gurdy
(Member)
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SPLICE 5/10
I read your comments mrscott, and had a few chuckles, but felt you were a tad harsh against this film.
Don't get me wrong, it ain't great, and the longer it goes on, the more ridiculous it becomes.
BUT...I thought the first half was really well realised, like an early Cronenberg film.
A decent set-up, amazing special FX, quite believable characters (up to a point) and a thoughtful debate on the whole science/religion/creation thing.
That all gets tossed out the window for it's Jeepers Creepers finale (and the bizarre sex scene had the audience laughing like crazy), but I half admired it for trying to at least be different.
It's miles better than many recent horror films I've endured (especially those horrible remakes from the Michael Bay factory) and at times, a crazy riff on the old Frankenstein chestnut.
It just can't hold it all together and all comes apart at the seams as it continues.
An extra point is awarded for the score, which is an old fashioned orchestral jobby by some bloke I've never heard of (Cyrille Aufort?). Grand and quite gothic, it added to the Cronenberg effect, reminding me of earlier Howard Shore efforts.
Not a great time, but no disaster either.
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Posted: |
Jul 30, 2010 - 7:35 PM
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By: |
mrscott
(Member)
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SPLICE 5/10
I read your comments mrscott, and had a few chuckles, but felt you were a tad harsh against this film.
Don't get me wrong, it ain't great, and the longer it goes on, the more ridiculous it becomes.
BUT...I thought the first half was really well realised, like an early Cronenberg film.
A decent set-up, amazing special FX, quite believable characters (up to a point) and a thoughtful debate on the whole science/religion/creation thing.
That all gets tossed out the window for it's Jeepers Creepers finale (and the bizarre sex scene had the audience laughing like crazy), but I half admired it for trying to at least be different.
It's miles better than many recent horror films I've endured (especially those horrible remakes from the Michael Bay factory) and at times, a crazy riff on the old Frankenstein chestnut.
It just can't hold it all together and all comes apart at the seams as it continues.
An extra point is awarded for the score, which is an old fashioned orchestral jobby by some bloke I've never heard of (Cyrille Aufort?). Grand and quite gothic, it added to the Cronenberg effect, reminding me of earlier Howard Shore efforts.
Not a great time, but no disaster either.
You rated it dead average. I rated it just below. Pretty close. I won't be going to any sequels, although due to the financial doldrums this one is in a sequel ain't likely. Whenever I seem harsh it's usually because the filmmakers deserve a kick in the butt. Most are spending lots and lots of money on these films and the return is just not a satisfying entertainment experience. This one was reputed to cost $26 million. Imagine what you could do with bucks like that. At least it wasn't a remake. Wait 10 years and somebody will probably remake it. Would Splicier be a good title?
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