Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What are you watching?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Finally watched parts 2 and 3 in John Waters' trash trilogy.

    Female Trouble: something of an epic when compared to the other two. It felt like a more focused Pink Flamingos. But I had the same issue with this that I had with Flamingos, I just didn't laugh very much. A few lines got me but not much. By the end the whole came together for me. To use an underappreciated line from Return of the Living Dead:

    "I like it. It's a statement."

    Desperate Living: this one I just couldn't get into.
    "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

    Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

    Comment


    • Originally posted by Alex K. View Post
      Finally watched parts 2 and 3 in John Waters' trash trilogy.

      Female Trouble: something of an epic when compared to the other two. It felt like a more focused Pink Flamingos. But I had the same issue with this that I had with Flamingos, I just didn't laugh very much. A few lines got me but not much. By the end the whole came together for me. To use an underappreciated line from Return of the Living Dead:

      "I like it. It's a statement."

      Desperate Living: this one I just couldn't get into.
      DESPERATE LIVING is my favourite Waters film (and his funniest IMO) but I think FEMALE TROUBLE is his best. Edith Massey (as Queen Carlotta) is incredible in DESPERATE: "Get off me, you're leaving pecker-tracks on my dress!"
      Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

      Comment


      • I know this: the Trash Trilogy are not the best films to watch when you have a headache.
        "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

        Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

        Comment


        • THE EQUALIZER

          Denzel turns hard ass!!!

          Wasnt really interested in actively seeking this movie out...looked lame and I am sick of seeing HIT GIRL in movies...dont think she is very good at acting...

          But.....it was on tv last night and, apart from being pretty formulaic and easy to guess what was going to happen, Denzels performance really made the movie for me...he was pretty easy going ..but when he put his hardass face on I really believed it!!!... It was pretty violent too...so a good entertaining 2 hours spent wayching it..even though it was more JASON BOURNE than WOODWARD EQUALIZER..

          See they are making a sequel...need a better bad guy and more suspenseful story!!

          Comment


          • Some thoughts on 3 films from the Nikos Nikolaidis box set I'm making my way through:

            The Wretches are Still Singing (1979) - Imagine The Big Chill if it was a pitch black comedy and the gang that gets back together to relive their past glory days were members of a 50's band that consisted of murderers, rapists and an alcoholic recently escaped from a mental institution. Probably the most nonchalant attitude towards murder and the discovery of dead bodies since Bava's 5 Dolls for a August Moon. As brutally funny as it is, its also quite depressing as it is after all about people clearly dissatisfied with the way their lives turned out trying to recapture an era that's long over. Incredible soundtrack to boot made up of classic 50's and 60's pop and rock 'n roll.

            See You in Hell, My Darling (1999) - This one had me doing back flips. You know when you watch, read or listen to something and you just can't help but feel that it was made specifically for you? That's this film. Along with having one of the best titles ever, it also contains cinematography so lush it'd make Argento jealous, two of the sexiest actresses I've seen in a long time and a narrative so fractured it'd make Robbe-Grillet say "Now wait just a damn minute..." And vomit. So. Much. Vomit. I lost count over how many times one of the main girls empties her stomach. Anyway, trying to explain this film is futile. Its like Possession or Lost Highway in that its literally impossible to neatly sum it up in a few sentences. This is easily going to have a secure spot in my favorites of all time with subsequent viewings. The cover art is amazing too:



            Loser Takes All (2002) - Nikolaidis' most "normal" film compared to the others, but still full of his eccentricities. Despite being from 2002 it feels very early 90's what with its cast of slacker characters getting themselves involved in some shady business plotline. It sort of switches back and forth from funny to serious and oftentimes both at once with even the most intense scenarios having a "light" quality too them just because the lead character should be completely incompetent in such situations yet somehow he manages to wing his way through some dangerous shit with ease. Interestingly, this film does predict the Greek financial crisis to a point. Nikolaidis would die before the shit really hit the fan with the Greek economy but there are moments in the film where he makes it clear that he's knows where his country is headed. There's even some jabs at the Euro and at point the main character says something along the lines of "No wonder this country is living in the dark ages."
            LA PASIÓN ESPAÑOL: THE EROTIC MELODRAMAS OF VICENTE ARANDA (1991-1999)

            Comment


            • ABSURD aka ROSSO SANGUE (1981)

              I really enjoyed watching this the other night - it's the kind of flick you need to see in the right frame of mind - and it worked just beautifully for me. I think it's the third time I've watched it, and I do remember feeling underwhelmed both previous times. I generally love Joe D'Amato movies and I think some of his work just takes a bit longer to appreciate. It's such a slooow film and, even at only 94 minutes, it felt like I was watching it for at least 3 hours. I didn't mind - I was savouring every single uneventful minute. It was bliss that only D'Amato can deliver - you can't explain it, there's just something wonderful about his films.

              One thing that surprised me about ABSURD - and something I'd obviously forgotten - is that it's not a sequel to ANTHROPOPHAGUS. The films share a few similarities (the weirdest being that George Eastman is disemboweled in both) and one of the alternate titles is GRIM REAPER 2, so I think that's why I considered it a sequel (and it's certainly been reviewed as such in the past). The murder set-pieces are really effective, including the insane, brutal and - yes - absurd 5 minute sequence of Annie Belle being tortured in a kitchen oven - it's masterful. The score is amazing and varied (typical for a D'Amato film) and there are, of course, many unintentional laughs: one of my favourites is the middle-aged friends getting dressed up in suits and gowns - to watch a football game on TV! Willie is my favourite character: he's the bratty little kid who eventually faces the beast along with his babysitter(s). Whether he's watching D'Amato's ORGASMO NERO on TV (he's 6 years old) or throwing a mini-tantrum when he can't watch the football game, he's a real gem. I love Edmond Purdom's completely unnecessary priest character, too; he disappears for huge chunks of the movie, only to pop up at the very end.
              Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

              Comment


              • Well put, Matt! I have yet to completely warm up to Absurd, but maybe my next viewing will be the one.

                Comment


                • Another report from the Nikos Nikolaidis box:

                  Euridice BA 2037 (1975) - Nikolaidis' first feature film that establishes several obsessions that would feature prominently in future films, chief among them characters stuck in metaphorical psychosocial and physical purgatories and yes, puke. A surrealist, Polanski-esque dystopian take on the classic Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, comparisons to Repulsion are inevitable and fans of Eraserhead should find plenty to love as well. Masterful use of limited setting, very rarely does the film venture outside the titular Euridice's apartment yet the black and white Hell on Earth created by Nikolaidis is so striking and lead actress Vera Tschechowa so gorgeous the film is constantly engaging, particular due to its enigmatic narrative. Dialogue is sparse and vague, and in truth it might be a good idea to brush up a bit on the classic tale beforehand just as a primer. This was the first in a trilogy Nikolaidis would dub "The Shape of the Coming Nightmare" that would be fully realized years later, first with the dystopian sci-fi masterpiece Morning Patrol (1987) and finally with Nikolaidis' final film The Zero Years (2005).
                  LA PASIÓN ESPAÑOL: THE EROTIC MELODRAMAS OF VICENTE ARANDA (1991-1999)

                  Comment


                  • Ghostbusters 2016. Man I wanted this to be good. The fan response to the cast was so absurd that I was rooting for it to be great. But my god what a fucking awful attempt that was. It's not that the gags aren't funny but more just there aren't any gags to speak of. The Hemsworth boys scenes are a relief because I was just waiting so long for someone to at least try to be funny that even when he's largely unsuccessful I still appreciate the effort. Then it finishes with the now obligatory "dive into the mystical vortex to save the day scene" which, with this being the 100th rendition I've endured recently, I am now officially bored with.
                    "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Dom D View Post
                      Ghostbusters 2016. Man I wanted this to be good. The fan response to the cast was so absurd that I was rooting for it to be great. But my god what a fucking awful attempt that was. It's not that the gags aren't funny but more just there aren't any gags to speak of. The Hemsworth boys scenes are a relief because I was just waiting so long for someone to at least try to be funny that even when he's largely unsuccessful I still appreciate the effort. Then it finishes with the now obligatory "dive into the mystical vortex to save the day scene" which, with this being the 100th rendition I've endured recently, I am now officially bored with.
                      On the plus side it did lead to this:

                      https://youtu.be/UWROBiX1eSc
                      "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

                      Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

                      Comment


                      • Farrah Fawcett in Extremities

                        Comment


                        • KILLER LEGENDS (Joshua Zeman, 2014). Ridiculously portentous documentary about the true stories behind various urban legends used as the bases for the plots of horror films, by the people that made CROPSEY (2009, which I thought was very good). It's burdened with ominous music throughout, which makes it seem almost as if it's pushing towards self-parody at times, but if you can get past the use of music it's very interesting.
                          'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                          http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                          'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                          Comment


                          • Further musings on films from the Nikos Nikolaidis box set I was going on about a few weeks back sans The Zero Years because I was feeling lazy when I wrote these the other night:

                            Sweet Bunch (1983) - For a Greek film this feels wicked French. Very Godard, with a wicked nihilistic streak and instances of extremely bizarre humor. Its an interesting film in terms of characterization. Not once does Nikolaidis present any of the main group of characters as "likable" in any way. By conventional societal standards (read that as "boring") they're all basically shitheads and scam artists who get by on ripping off others. Yet the way the film moves along you very quickly grow to love these sociopaths especially as they grow more and more paranoid and by the films climax when it turns into an action film, you're entirely in their corner. This is where Nikolaidis really began to show off his visual flair and his superb taste in tunes is ever present with a soundtrack loaded with solid gold oldies and not one but TWO Black Sabbath deep cuts from Technical Ecstasy.

                            Morning Patrol (1987) - Dystopian sci-fi at its finest and the second film in the "Shape of the Coming Nightmare" trilogy that began with Nikolaidis' first feature Euridice BA 2037 and would end with his final, The Zero Years. Its approach to the genre is unique in that there's no fancy set dressings or any attempt to make it seem futuristic. Instead, Nikolaidis presents modern day (modern by 1987 standards) Athens as a barren wasteland populated by drifting derelicts who are hunted down by the titular "Morning Patrol". The metaphor couldn't be any more clear. Par for the course with Nikolaidis, its an extremely vague film. There is no explanation given as to how or why the world the film inhabits ended up this way, or what is the mysterious illness (that resembles opiate withdrawal) that the Morning Patrol officers all seem to have to take medication for. Everything is the way it is just because. Sort of like real life. Nikolaidis also must be applauded for not taking the route a typical Hollywood production would with such a film, wisely avoiding the cliché of the two main characters falling in love amidst a hopeless world. The film also marks the appearance of actress Michele Valley in a Nikolaidis film. A stunning presence who would really get to let loose in the next film.

                            Singapore Sling (1990) - What to say about this one that hasn't already been said a million times over by people with far better descriptive skills than me. This film is to Nikolaidis what Possession is to Andrzej Zulawski. That is, its the one film that everyone into this sort of stuff knows and loves but for some reason don't seem to dig deeper into the rest of their filmographies which in Nikos' case is kind of understandable given how under the radar his other films seem to be outside of Greece. Anyway, you're likely to see this film constantly wind up on those "MOST TOTALLY EXXXTREME HORROR MOVIES BRO!!!" type of lists that pop up every now and then. To be fair, its transgressive reputation is earned with ease as the film is a gleeful barrage of perversities, complete with incest, S&M, face pissing, vomit, regurgitated food and mummy fucking. That being said, I can't help but feel some people have lost sight of just how damn funny it is. For anyone that shares Nikolaidis berserk sense of humor, there are several moments in the film that'll have you in stiches. de Sade would have loved it. Of course, being a Nikolaidis film its not without its instances of melancholy, and watching it in the context of his other films, parts of it make a bit more sense but at the same time this really is a standout film. And Michele Valley. Yowza.
                            LA PASIÓN ESPAÑOL: THE EROTIC MELODRAMAS OF VICENTE ARANDA (1991-1999)

                            Comment


                            • Hardcore Henry. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. One of the great recent fuck political correctness action movies to come out in the last decade or so. Lines up neatly alongside Deadpool, Rambo 4, Dredd, and Mad Max Fury Road. The only issue I had with it is that it made me motion sick which made it difficult to watch fully.
                              "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

                              Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

                              Comment


                              • KILLING THEM SOFTLY - One of the best crime films of the decade. I'm positive it'll be a cult classic in the coming years.

                                CLOUD ATLAS - Another under-appreciated gem released in 2012 that has deservedly gained a following over the past few years. I wish Hollywood would release more daring films like this.

                                TROMA'S WAR - Possibly my favourite in-house Troma film, I've probably seen it close to 15 times. The Blu-ray transfer is a disgrace, with endless macro-blocking and compression issues; I wish Troma would license it to Vinegar Syndrome, so they could do a proper transfer.

                                THE ELEPHANT MAN - Finally got around to seeing this based on the recommendations here and it blew me away. A marvellous film that gets more gripping as it goes along; the second half, in particular, is Lynch at his best.
                                Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X