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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Aug 9, 2009 0:03:39 GMT -5
On Miike: It took viewings of both Imprint and Ichi the Killer to kind of turn me off of his work. Imprint was admittedly a well-made film, but some of the subject matter hit too close to home on a personal level. There were parts of it that I did enjoy in spite of all that. The style of violence presented, especially in Ichi the Killer, just isn't my thing. It's not too violent or anything of that nature, it's just not really my thing, if that makes any sense. I'll see about getting my hands on Audition, though. I always worry if I overpraise a film (which is the mistake that I always make when I tell people about the ending of Sleepaway Camp), but I have literally never talked to a person who has seen Audition that didn't like it. Opinions are opinions, sure, but man...if this flick's emotional wallop doesn't knock you the hell out, you have no soul. Period. I can say with confidence that you owe it to yourself as a horror fan to see this movie. As for your comments on WWE current...man, I hear ya there. On the VERY rare occasions when I watch wrestling anymore and feel like posting on it, I generally follow the "post and run" philosophy. Just hit enter, leave, and never look at the thread again, because it seems that no matter what you say there you'll get ripped to shreds by somebody. I just noticed, actually, that Audition is getting released on Blu-ray on October 6th. There's also a DVD re-release on the same date, but with my recent purchase of a PS3, I think I'll pick up the Blu-ray. Hopefully, the film ends up being as good as you say it is.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Aug 9, 2009 0:18:12 GMT -5
I always worry if I overpraise a film (which is the mistake that I always make when I tell people about the ending of Sleepaway Camp), but I have literally never talked to a person who has seen Audition that didn't like it. Opinions are opinions, sure, but man...if this flick's emotional wallop doesn't knock you the hell out, you have no soul. Period. I can say with confidence that you owe it to yourself as a horror fan to see this movie. As for your comments on WWE current...man, I hear ya there. On the VERY rare occasions when I watch wrestling anymore and feel like posting on it, I generally follow the "post and run" philosophy. Just hit enter, leave, and never look at the thread again, because it seems that no matter what you say there you'll get ripped to shreds by somebody. I just noticed, actually, that Audition is getting released on Blu-ray on October 6th. There's also a DVD re-release on the same date, but with my recent purchase of a PS3, I think I'll pick up the Blu-ray. Hopefully, the film ends up being as good as you say it is. You won't be disappointed with it. In my book, it's legitimately one of the ten best horror films of all time, and I don't say that lightly. Everything Rorschach said with the comparisons to Roth is right on. I don't think the violence will get to you, either, really. The tone of Audition is very different from the two other Miike films you've seen. The blood and guts portion of Audition is a little overblown; the viewer just THINKS that what's unfolding on the screen is a lot more shockingly graphic than it is because by the time it happens there's such a genuine emotional investment in the characters. * Obligatory Audition nerdgasm officially out of the way for thread #5 * Now I just have to get my Ju-On and Takako Fuji plugs worked in somehow. ;D Back to the Women in horror films discussion...surely others have noticed besides me the shift that the genre has taken with more and more morally ambiguous female leads. Some examples that come to mind off the top of my head are "Laurie Strode Jr." (Scout Taylor-Compton in Zombie's Halloween) and Clear Rivers in the first two Final Destination flicks. Of course, one can say that this trend STARTED in the original Scream, when such a big plot point is Sidney Prescott losing her virginity in the first place, and from there most of the "teen horror" boom period movies followed suit, with Jennifer Love Hewitt's character giving it up to Freddie Prinze Jr. in I Know What You Did Last Summer and the stereotypical "bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks" character that Katie Holmes plays (and badly, I might add) in Disturbing Behavior.
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Chainsaw
T
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It is what it is
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Post by Chainsaw on Aug 9, 2009 0:35:40 GMT -5
It's been said before, but I really do love the writeups you do, Tom. It's good stuff, and very good at encapsulating these guys.
Now, what did everyone think of The Collector. Didn't see it, and don't really have a lot of urge to see it, since it seems like Saw-lite. Good conceit, but I get the feeling it's not going to be too good.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Aug 9, 2009 0:36:13 GMT -5
I just noticed, actually, that Audition is getting released on Blu-ray on October 6th. There's also a DVD re-release on the same date, but with my recent purchase of a PS3, I think I'll pick up the Blu-ray. Hopefully, the film ends up being as good as you say it is. You won't be disappointed with it. In my book, it's legitimately one of the ten best horror films of all time, and I don't say that lightly. Everything Rorschach said with the comparisons to Roth is right on. I don't think the violence will get to you, either, really. The tone of Audition is very different from the two other Miike films you've seen. The blood and guts portion of Audition is a little overblown; the viewer just THINKS that what's unfolding on the screen is a lot more shockingly graphic than it is because by the time it happens there's such a genuine emotional investment in the characters. * Obligatory Audition nerdgasm officially out of the way for thread #5 * Now I just have to get my Ju-On and Takako Fuji plugs worked in somehow. ;D Back to the Women in horror films discussion...surely others have noticed besides me the shift that the genre has taken with more and more morally ambiguous female leads. Some examples that come to mind off the top of my head are "Laurie Strode Jr." (Scout Taylor-Compton in Zombie's Halloween) and Clear Rivers in the first two Final Destination flicks. Of course, one can say that this trend STARTED in the original Scream, when such a big plot point is Sidney Prescott losing her virginity in the first place, and from there most of the "teen horror" boom period movies followed suit, with Jennifer Love Hewitt's character giving it up to Freddie Prinze Jr. in I Know What You Did Last Summer and the stereotypical "bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks" character that Katie Holmes plays (and badly, I might add) in Disturbing Behavior. Well, I do anticipate Audition's arrival on my doorstep. The only reason I mentioned being disappointed with the film is because you have raised my expectations considerably, so I'm going to be expecting a great deal when I see it. But, if I have your reassurance...I think I'll enjoy it. In regards to women in horror, we weren't so much talking about having more morally ambiguous leads as much as we were discussing having more "human" leads, as opposed to a walking stereotype. A character that looks and feels real is far easier to identify with than the jock, the slut, or the virgin. As a matter of fact, it would be ideal to do away with the stereotypes entirely, and pave the way for more "real" characters. With multi-dimensional characters, the film's outcome doesn't become so easily predictable.
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Post by tap on Aug 9, 2009 0:36:47 GMT -5
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Post by Rorschach on Aug 9, 2009 0:57:28 GMT -5
Ok...now I have a book shopping list. ;D Have you by any chance read any of these? If you have, I'd love to get your thoughts....also, JEEEMINY CROW, is that first one damn near twenty -five f***ING dollars for a paperback? Oh, wait. I see. It must be a text book. *whew* ;D
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Post by DSR on Aug 9, 2009 12:44:28 GMT -5
Good afternoon, everybody! Sorry I haven't been posting as much, but I've been on vacation this past week. I read up on the discussion when I had free time in my schedule, though. So, as usual, my quick comments on the subjects mentioned:
1. I'm very flattered by the praise for my write-up on Lucio Fulci. Thanks, guys.
2. Like others have said (sort of) I would like to see more Final Dudes in some horror movies, but more importantly I'd like to see more likeable survivors, regardless of gender. I understand the thought-process behind the stereotyping of characters in 80s slasher movies, the idea of painting these characters in such broad strokes that it was almost impossible not to identify them as though they were someone you knew in your own high school. And the post-Scream slasher movies seemed to go out of their way to subvert the stereotypes of the slasher genre, though I would've preferred (and am slowly getting into the process of writing myself) a film in which those cliches were subverted without such a tongue-in-cheek, self-referential, jokey tone.
3. I sort of saw the negativity of the last thread as being simply a yin to an unexpressed yang. Meaning that, for example, the negativity of thought behind the Nightmare on Elm Street remake wasn't done for its own sake, but rather out of such a positive feeling for the original series that there was a very protective mentality to it. Granted, that was an example where the love for the Englund series was outright expressed, but in regards to other negative vibes thrown out, I could see the thought process as more than just ruminating in negativity without reason.
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Post by tap on Aug 9, 2009 13:33:24 GMT -5
Ok...now I have a book shopping list. ;D Have you by any chance read any of these? If you have, I'd love to get your thoughts....also, JEEEMINY CROW, is that first one damn near twenty -five f***ING dollars for a paperback? Oh, wait. I see. It must be a text book. *whew* ;D I know (well, knew) Barry Grant personally. He was doing research the entire time I was doing my undergrad in film. Really cool guy. He didn't resume teaching until after I was done my BA. He now teaches some first year and fourth year film courses. I have read all of these, but not in... five years? Four? The one article by Williams I really enjoyed, as it compares the forms and conventions of the horror film, the pornographic film, and the melodrama (soap opera). There's also a great article by Carol Clover on Alien and the idea of the abject, how the xenomorph represents the fears of male AND female sexuality (the eggs, the facehugger, the chestburster, how men become sites of pregnancy, etc.). The Chainsaws book is probably the one I would recommend the most. I used it for an essay I did on the political economy of horror films between the first TCM and the remake.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Aug 9, 2009 13:43:41 GMT -5
2. Like others have said (sort of) I would like to see more Final Dudes in some horror movies, but more importantly I'd like to see more likeable survivors, regardless of gender. I understand the thought-process behind the stereotyping of characters in 80s slasher movies, the idea of painting these characters in such broad strokes that it was almost impossible not to identify them as though they were someone you knew in your own high school. And the post-Scream slasher movies seemed to go out of their way to subvert the stereotypes of the slasher genre, though I would've preferred (and am slowly getting into the process of writing myself) a film in which those cliches were subverted without such a tongue-in-cheek, self-referential, jokey tone. Haha, then you likely hated my Commencement, if you ever got around to reading it, which is about as subtle as a brick to the face. It's been said before, but I really do love the writeups you do, Tom. It's good stuff, and very good at encapsulating these guys. Now, what did everyone think of The Collector. Didn't see it, and don't really have a lot of urge to see it, since it seems like Saw-lite. Good conceit, but I get the feeling it's not going to be too good. Well, thank you very much! Haven't seen The Collector, but I'm hoping to later this week. Should have a few thoughts posted at that time. But for right now, it's time for another review. My reviews in these threads have become more and more sporadic as I've drifted deeper and deeper into the third shift abyss, and feel like doing little else besides working and sleeping. Somebody also once PM'd me complaining that I seemed to like "everything," and I can see where that would seem to be the case in reading these things. While there have been some exceptions, generally, I don't post long reviews of movies that I hate. In general, bitching isn't my forte; if I hate a movie, I don't feel like writing about WHY I hate it for an extended period. The semi-review of Zombie's Halloween in one of the threads was pretty emotionally draining. So, here's some more positivity for ya. I haven't been able to get this movie out of my head since I first watched it a few weeks back, and with good reason. Nobody will agree, but there is no horror movie I've seen this decade that had as much of a disquieting effect on me as this particular movie. People enjoy horror films for different reasons; some go just for the fun, social experience of attending a good scary flick in the company of a few other thrill-seekers and taking in the latest fun "haunted house" movie at the multiplex. Some are gore hounds who dissect the more explicit scenes frame-by-frame, appreciating the skill and artistry that goes into convincing audiences that ungodly violent atrocities are being committed before their very eyes. Some enjoy them as nothing more than camp, seeking out the worst of the worst to enjoy as bad movie fodder, and to riff on the movies in MST3K style fashion with their friends. Then there are those who enjoy the very feeling of being scared; I'd like to think that this group of horror fan is the most dedicated, and have likely been horror fans for a long time. I myself have elements of all four of the types listed above, but I'll say this for Takashi Shimizu's Marebito - if you watch this movie late at night, in a darkened room, take the time to become invested in its two principal lead characters, and know a little something about the writings of Richard Sharpe Shaver, this movie will scare the hell out of you. Some of the images in this movie are STILL burned into my brain a month after seeing it, cropping up at all the worst times, and even creeping into my dreams on a semi-regular basis. A lot of people lump Marebito in with the now-stereotypical Japan-style horror movie that has almost become a punch line; a pasty, freaky ghost stumbling around after a few unfortunate victims. And that's a shame, because this movie is so original that I truly have never seen anything like it. Also detrimental to the film's reputation is the director himself, Takashi Shimizu. Marebito was released at a time when Shimizu had just completed FIVE movies with good ol' croaking Kayako back-to-back, shooting this film entirely on digital video in the time frame between the first American Grudge remake and 2005's Reincarnation. The shoot itself only lasted four weeks. The film has a low budget, but for all intents and purposes, it isn't even a knock on the film, but an enhancement. The slightly blurred look of the film ends up giving the movie an eerie, dreamlike quality, and considering the subject matter, all the better. At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Masuoka, as wonderfully played by Shinya Tsukamoto. Masuoka is a struggilng photographer, but one so obsessed with his work that the camera that sits around his neck throughout the entire film is virtually his only eye that he sees the world through. The character is not quite a sadist, but he longs to see the more ugly sides of life. As fate would have it, his camera captures quite the disturbing image in the subways beneath the city of Tokyo - a terrified man committing suicide by shoving a knife into his eyeball. The scene fascinates Masuoka to no end, and he makes it his mission to understand the fear that the man felt in the moments before his death. While investigating the subways underneath the city, he finds an entrance to a veritable city within a city, beginning the "urban legend come to life" motif that is one of the central themes of the film. These early scenes within the "Tokyo underneath Tokyo" are already very disquieting moments; while we haven't yet seen one violent scene (with the exception of the suicide, which isn't shown in graphic detail), the music and strange voyeuristic camera eye of Shimizu does more than enough to convince us that danger lurks around every corner that Masuoka navigates. While traversing the tunnels, the conversation that defines the entire film takes place. Masuoka finds the same man who supposedly committed suicide, and while he believes the man to be a ghost, he is strangely not afraid. The ghost (or man) tells him about the place where they are now walking; there is a very distinct possibility that if enough people believe in a story or urban legend, it becomes truth. Before meeting this ghost, there had also been a strange scene where Masuoka encountered a homeless man who told him to "beware the Dero," which introduces the influence of Richard Sharpe Shaver's works into the film. Shaver is the author a document called "The Warning to Future Man," which has since gone on to infamy as "The Great Shaver Mystery" or "The Great Shaver Hoax," depending on who you ask. Shaver theorized that pre-historic races had built intricate cities underneath the surface of the Earth before deserting the planet, and that those same beings abandoned some of their own offspring on Earth. These offspring, in turn, became mentally unstable sadists known as "Deros" (short for detrimental robots - not mechanical in nature, but robot-like due to their savage behavior). According to Shaver, these Deros still lived in the cave cities, and could be blamed for nearly all modern-day misfortune, including airplane crashes and natural disasters. In particular, women were singled out by the Deros, kidnapped from their homes and kept alive in the underground cities for torture, rape, and a fate worse than death. The ghost character himself says that there are many people who believed Shaver's writings, and that they may have come true before departing Masuoka and leaving him to his own devices. And after hours of wandering beneath the city and looking for the ultimate in fear, he finds it - Lemuria, a vast, picturesque but agonizingly eerie city. It is here that he finds her - a naked girl tucked away in a cave, presumably one of the many female victims kept alive by Deros for sexual and sadistic services. Masuoka takes the girl, whom he dubs "F," to his apartment, and from here Marebito really begins to fire on all cylinders. Tomomi Miyas***a is fantastic in the role of F; the actress reportedly studied the movements of various wild cats as a reference point for her performance as the wild, feral F. Folks, Miyas***a is channeling Takako Fuji in this role; not a whole lot of speaking lines, but nonetheless, she devastates, making us totally buy what on paper is almost an unplayable character, at least on an emotional basis. From here, Masuoka's world falls apart. F will not eat or drink anything he feeds her, until one day when he happens to accidentally cut himself - and F immediately falls to the ground, greedily lapping up the liquid collecting in a pool on the ground. The Deros themselves occasionally pop up in the movie, as well; they seem to want their plaything back, and make sevearl unsuccessful attempts to retake F and bring her back to their home world. If I'm making Marebito seem like it has a linear plot, I'm not doing the film justice; it is insanely layered and open-ended, with many different possibilities for all of the strangeness occurring on the screen. Early in the film, before he begins his journey, Masuoka quits taking Prozac as he wants to see ultimate fear in a pure form, and it is entirely possible that all of the episodes in the film - Lumeria, the ghost, F, the Deros - are just a hallucination. Masuoka's ex-wife also makes periodic appearances begging for her daughter back, and the possibility is raised that Masuoka is insane; the fact that F moves and behaves like an animal may be a symbol for the fact that Masuoka has kidnapped his own daughter and is treating HER like the animal that F behaves as. In essence, as Marebito moves along to its startling climax, it becomes apparent that the movie is not going to have a cut-and-dried "why" as to the reasons that all of this is happening. It may be an urban legend, it may be hallucination, it may be rationalization for one man destroying his family, but my interpretation of Marebito is this - Masuoka is a character who is utterly, completely devoid of the enjoyment of anything in life. The "fear" that he so longs for is, in essence, the fear of living, which is what the character of F represents. And when this movie's nightmarish final images happen, what is ACTUALLY happening is not scary at all; Masuoka has finally faced the light of day, and is ready to live the life of a normal human being. Marebito is essentially everything that is great about movies in general; it contains fantastic performances by its two leads and is stunningly directed by Shimizu, who is rapidly becoming my favorite film-maker. But the best attribute of the movie is that it makes you think; while other movies make swerve after swerve in an attempt to constantly keep the audience discombobulated, the various plot threads, changes in direction, and possibilities for the onscreen depravities in this movie feel as natural as the rising sun. And while this may be a "thinking" horror film, I don't think anybody will complain that it doesn't shock or disturb enough. Advance warning - there are images and characters in this movie that will haunt you long after watching it. ****, and my highest recommendation.
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Post by Rorschach on Aug 9, 2009 14:17:41 GMT -5
Great review, TR....though that final line does make me think twice about seeing this, since MARTYRS was much the same way in its "scenes that will haunt you forever" quality. And I am in no hurry to revisit THAT viewing experience again.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Aug 9, 2009 14:26:25 GMT -5
Great review, TR....though that final line does make me think twice about seeing this, since MARTYRS was much the same way in its "scenes that will haunt you forever" quality. And I am in no hurry to revisit THAT viewing experience again. Yeah, but the way that it's presented in Marebito is MILES away from the way that Martyrs was unforgettable. While there are some serious blood-and-guts in Marebito, I liken it more to a movie like Suspiria, in that it's a movie that's all about mood. It creates this oppressively suspenseful atmosphere that becomes almost gut-wrenching to watch, as opposed to the lengths of human suffering that Martyrs was all about. Just my $.02.
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MCMGM
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Post by MCMGM on Aug 9, 2009 14:45:31 GMT -5
That is an interesting thought, and I think it'd be a welcome change. The young, virginal female shouldn't always have to be the sole survivor. Why not the guy, or hell, ANY of the common stereotypes? And I was SOOOO rooting for the new FRIDAY THE 13TH film to do this, and leave Padalecki as the sole survivor. Ehh...they KINDA did, I guess, now that I think about it, if that wasn't a dream sequence. But like you said, it'd sure be nice if the virginal, pure as the driven snow girl wasn't automatically safe from the outset, and the slutty, horny cheerleader wasn't dead meat. That gets extremely predictable. And I'm not saying merely reverse it, where the cheerleader is safe because she has so much sex, and the virgin is killed because she's chaste. Instead, have the character that DOES have (and enjoys) sex, but isn't a slut survive. You know, the REAL, human-like character that ISN'T a total stereotype one way or another. All I know is that in my showing, everyone was rooting for the black and asian dudes to make it. You know how that ended. Also, Zombieland is going to be epic.
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Post by Rorschach on Aug 9, 2009 16:06:24 GMT -5
ZOMBIELAND does indeed look good....if a little reminiscent of SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
As for the complaints issue, and negative reviews...I have a theory on that. See, most people LOVE to hear a GOOD complaint. In fact, they'd rather read a lengthy, constipated, angry complaint than they would a smooth, plentiful praise dump. Why? Because when you're complaining and ripping something to shreds, you're usually in a more passionate mood, and it shows in your writing, while when you're heaping praise on something, you're usually much more mellow and relaxed. You just want to let people know that YOU thought something was good and worthy and decent...while if you're bitching about it, it has an urgent energy to it, like you don't just WANT to let people know...YOU NEED to let them know that it sucked!
Personally, I love it when a good critic like Ebert or Owen Gleibermann rips into a crappy film. Heck, I love it even more when online critics like The Foywonder and Uncle Creepy from DreadCentral lash out at shoddy horror films....while their praising reviews just don't seem to carry the same passion.
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Post by DSR on Aug 9, 2009 16:58:07 GMT -5
ZOMBIELAND does indeed look good....if a little reminiscent of SHAUN OF THE DEAD. As for the complaints issue, and negative reviews...I have a theory on that. See, most people LOVE to hear a GOOD complaint. In fact, they'd rather read a lengthy, constipated, angry complaint than they would a smooth, plentiful praise dump. Why? Because when you're complaining and ripping something to shreds, you're usually in a more passionate mood, and it shows in your writing, while when you're heaping praise on something, you're usually much more mellow and relaxed. You just want to let people know that YOU thought something was good and worthy and decent...while if you're bitching about it, it has an urgent energy to it, like you don't just WANT to let people know...YOU NEED to let them know that it sucked! Personally, I love it when a good critic like Ebert or Owen Gleibermann rips into a crappy film. Heck, I love it even more when online critics like The Foywonder and Uncle Creepy from DreadCentral lash out at shoddy horror films....while their praising reviews just don't seem to carry the same passion. See, I rarely get passionate about hating things. When I don't like something, I tend not to dwell on it any longer than I have to. When something strikes me as particularly breath-taking or moving or exciting or fun, that's when my sense of urgency kicks in. I NEED to let others know how awesome this thing is, or I NEED to see how other people have felt about it.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Aug 9, 2009 17:26:23 GMT -5
See, I rarely get passionate about hating things. When I don't like something, I tend not to dwell on it any longer than I have to. When something strikes me as particularly breath-taking or moving or exciting or fun, that's when my sense of urgency kicks in. I NEED to let others know how awesome this thing is, or I NEED to see how other people have felt about it. I can't claim that I follow that by the letter (lord knows I've done my fair share of complaining about Zombie's Halloween and the 2009 Star Trek movie that seemingly everyone besides me loves), but overall that's the way I feel as well. Well put. You'll also dig that I watched House by the Cemetery this afternoon, and while it's not a movie that I could watch over and over, it's pretty damn good. Who as a kid wasn't terrified of the thing in the basement? I think the movie does a really good job playing on your basic childhood fears, and I found it to be a great scary flick.
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Post by Rorschach on Aug 9, 2009 17:58:54 GMT -5
I watched CEMETARY MAN the other day, and I have to say...how is this film not a bigger deal than it is? It's amazing...but I'll save my gushing for a full on review later. Suffice to say that I walked away having fallen head over heels in love with Rupert Everett's performance in this film.
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Welfare Willis
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Post by Welfare Willis on Aug 9, 2009 19:31:33 GMT -5
DSR did a great job building a bio of one the lesser known, but still one of the incredibly important fathers of horror. I use the phrase "lesser known" in the sense of the general audience. Certainly most of us here are familiar with him either passively or as admirers of his work. It's a shame Fulci died just as cult status was beginning to grow and the golden age of dvds introduce new people to his body of work.No matter though, to those of us who have enjoyed his work. To quote the infamous bumper sticker (which I'm still trying a place that sells them) "Fulci Lives!"
I'm looking forward to Audition on Blu-Ray. TR has seen much more of the work from asian cinema then I have so I'm interested in gauging Miike's work.
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andrew8798
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on 24/7 this month
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Post by andrew8798 on Aug 9, 2009 21:46:55 GMT -5
Watch the Blob remake tonight has always been one of my favorite remakes along with the Dawn of the Dead one I remember when I first saw the movie it surprise me that they killed a kid off
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Aug 9, 2009 23:12:45 GMT -5
DSR did a great job building a bio of one the lesser known, but still one of the incredibly important fathers of horror. I use the phrase "lesser known" in the sense of the general audience. Certainly most of us here are familiar with him either passively or as admirers of his work. It's a shame Fulci died just as cult status was beginning to grow and the golden age of dvds introduce new people to his body of work.No matter though, to those of us who have enjoyed his work. To quote the infamous bumper sticker (which I'm still trying a place that sells them) "Fulci Lives!" I'm looking forward to Audition on Blu-Ray. TR has seen much more of the work from asian cinema then I have so I'm interested in gauging Miike's work. One thing that's really stuck out to me after watching City of the Living Dead and House by the Cemetery is that Fulci had no qualms about putting kids in mortal danger. Not only that, but doing things to them in his movies that would be freakin' TRAUMATIZING to go through for an adult, let alone a preteen child. COTLD had a kid's older sister coming back and attempting to kill him, while HBTC has poor Bob witnessing several extremely gory murders personally and getting locked in a cellar with the movie's beastly villain. Yikes. As for Asian cinema, Erisi's the real expert on that; I've searched out 30-35 of the more well-known J- and K-horror films, and that's the extent of my Asian horror viewing. Also, since I've focused on acquiring the absolute best that the genre has to offer, that may seem why I'm so enamored of the style. The only outright clunker I've seen is Ju-Rei, although I'll be getting the Tomie box set soon, which it seems people either love or hate with no middle ground.
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Post by DSR on Aug 10, 2009 1:00:38 GMT -5
See, I rarely get passionate about hating things. When I don't like something, I tend not to dwell on it any longer than I have to. When something strikes me as particularly breath-taking or moving or exciting or fun, that's when my sense of urgency kicks in. I NEED to let others know how awesome this thing is, or I NEED to see how other people have felt about it. I can't claim that I follow that by the letter (lord knows I've done my fair share of complaining about Zombie's Halloween and the 2009 Star Trek movie that seemingly everyone besides me loves), but overall that's the way I feel as well. Well put. You'll also dig that I watched House by the Cemetery this afternoon, and while it's not a movie that I could watch over and over, it's pretty damn good. Who as a kid wasn't terrified of the thing in the basement? I think the movie does a really good job playing on your basic childhood fears, and I found it to be a great scary flick. Yeah, I remember as a kid always being terrified of the basement. I good portion of that fear was that our basement was just storage for all this stuff that wasn't being used whatsoever, in various states of disrepair. Like when you've got a rusted out bicycle that you don't ride anymore, it means nothing to you...it's dead. Though House by the Cemetery certainly added to that fear. I was always afraid the door back up to the kitchen would close on its own and leave me trapped down there. That sort of subconciously stuck with me, even though I couldn't remember just where that mental image came from. Switching gears now, just two days ago I finally got my hands on His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th. Its certainly a fun little documentary, but it doesn't feel quite complete. Its like a good introduction to what makes these films so important to certain people, but I already know why its important to me. I just don't feel like it works as well unless its viewed as a companion to the book Crystal Lake Memories and/or the bonus disc from Paramounts boxed set. Though I must say, seeing Jensen Daggett nowadays re-kindled a crush I had on her from watching Jason Takes Manhattan as a kid. She (and Judie Aronson, for that matter) look even more beautiful than they did in the 80s. ;D At any rate, I still have a good portion of the second disc to watch.
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