Seen and not seen's, recommendations and queries on top films in general.

[-NRRRRK-]

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears

Thanks for bringing this up. Hadn't heard about it before, but it sounds intriguing.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears

I wasn't all that hot on the directing duo's followup, Let the Corpses Tan, but still plan on checking out Strange Color... eventually.

Just finished my first viewing of Corpses and I loved it. It's far more coherent than Strange Color. Really fun and intricate take on the suspenseful shootout/modern spaghetti western theme. Full disclosure that I'm not a cinephile and I'm very critically lax on films that put style over substance for a heavily saturated visual/audio experience. I appreciate films like these for the sheer effort put into the overall stylized and intricate nature. However, I did feel like the Corpses had a decent plot as well.

After watching a couple of films by the directorial duo now, I love the sleazy 70s porno vibe throughout. The leather fetishism is also an interesting re-occurring theme. As well as some of the older female sex-centric characters.

Now I need to find a platform that is streaming Amer.

[ConcreteMascara]

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears

Beautiful homage and artistic interpretation of the Giallo film genre. Visually stunning to the extent that just the sheer detail in each scene is an experience in and of itself. The plot is extremely abstract, at least on the surface, and I can honestly say I don't have a grasp on what actually happened or even who the killer(s) were on my first viewing. The film feels like an Argento/Bava script directed by a surrealist.

The soundtrack also takes a unique approach and utilizes multiple artists re-working older giallo soundtracks into something new. Explained in detail here, https://thequietus.com/articles/18636-various-artist-the-strange-colour-of-your-bodys-tears-review. I had no idea C. Spencer Yeh had been chosen to track a portion of the film among various other artists before watching.

I thought it was worthwhile for the sheer experience of it all and hoping that multiple viewings reveals a more coherent plot. It's certainly an exercise in obsession and excess, so those who despise art that disappears up it's own ass beware!

I absolutely love this movie. I've even used some stills from it for artwork in the past. I can understand how a lot of viewers could see it as arthouse wank but it perfectly suites my tastes.

I saw Amer in theaters and while I can definitely recommend it, it's nowhere near the decadence of The Strange Colour.... However if you're a big fan of Deep Red I think Amer hits a little harder, just for its location.

I still haven't seen Let The Corpses Tan. When I went to see it in the theater there was some issue with the projector that night and the screening was cancelled :(

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears

Beautiful homage and artistic interpretation of the Giallo film genre. Visually stunning to the extent that just the sheer detail in each scene is an experience in and of itself. The plot is extremely abstract, at least on the surface, and I can honestly say I don't have a grasp on what actually happened or even who the killer(s) were on my first viewing. The film feels like an Argento/Bava script directed by a surrealist.

The soundtrack also takes a unique approach and utilizes multiple artists re-working older giallo soundtracks into something new. Explained in detail here, https://thequietus.com/articles/18636-various-artist-the-strange-colour-of-your-bodys-tears-review. I had no idea C. Spencer Yeh had been chosen to track a portion of the film among various other artists before watching.

I thought it was worthwhile for the sheer experience of it all and hoping that multiple viewings reveals a more coherent plot. It's certainly an exercise in obsession and excess, so those who despise art that disappears up it's own ass beware!

I absolutely love this movie. I've even used some stills from it for artwork in the past. I can understand how a lot of viewers could see it as arthouse wank but it perfectly suites my tastes.

I saw Amer in theaters and while I can definitely recommend it, it's nowhere near the decadence of The Strange Colour.... However if you're a big fan of Deep Red I think Amer hits a little harder, just for its location.

I still haven't seen Let The Corpses Tan. When I went to see it in the theater there was some issue with the projector that night and the screening was cancelled :(

Shudder has both Strange Color and Let The Corpses Tan available right now. You could sign up for a free trial and after that it's only $6 a month. They always a have a good mix of old school horror, artsy films, and more modern jump scare flicks. The original content can be worthwhile sometimes too.

[NerveGas]

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears

Beautiful homage and artistic interpretation of the Giallo film genre. Visually stunning to the extent that just the sheer detail in each scene is an experience in and of itself. The plot is extremely abstract, at least on the surface, and I can honestly say I don't have a grasp on what actually happened or even who the killer(s) were on my first viewing. The film feels like an Argento/Bava script directed by a surrealist.

The soundtrack also takes a unique approach and utilizes multiple artists re-working older giallo soundtracks into something new. Explained in detail here, https://thequietus.com/articles/18636-various-artist-the-strange-colour-of-your-bodys-tears-review. I had no idea C. Spencer Yeh had been chosen to track a portion of the film among various other artists before watching.

I thought it was worthwhile for the sheer experience of it all and hoping that multiple viewings reveals a more coherent plot. It's certainly an exercise in obsession and excess, so those who despise art that disappears up it's own ass beware!

I absolutely love this movie. I've even used some stills from it for artwork in the past. I can understand how a lot of viewers could see it as arthouse wank but it perfectly suites my tastes.

I saw Amer in theaters and while I can definitely recommend it, it's nowhere near the decadence of The Strange Colour.... However if you're a big fan of Deep Red I think Amer hits a little harder, just for its location.

I still haven't seen Let The Corpses Tan. When I went to see it in the theater there was some issue with the projector that night and the screening was cancelled :(

Shudder has both Strange Color and Let The Corpses Tan available right now. You could sign up for a free trial and after that it's only $6 a month. They always a have a good mix of old school horror, artsy films, and more modern jump scare flicks. The original content can be worthwhile sometimes too.

Shutter is hit or miss, but the selection of old flicks is great. The occasionally new movie will catch my eye., but not many. Maybe I've just burned through the all old stuff I like, but it is worth the cheap monthly price.

[NerveGas]

Schramm

Anyone who has talked to me knows that based on Nekromantik and its sequel alone, I am a big Buttgereit fan. While certainly less over-the-top than the aforementioned films, Schramm follows in the style of having a gritty/artsy/surreal feel married to more brutal splatter/gore elements. Overall... a bleak, "feel-bad" serial killer movie not unlike the classic, Angst.

[NerveGas]

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion

I'll be the first to admit that Japanese cinema and "women in prison" films aren't necessarily my speciality. I've seen a decent amount of Yakuza films and some other horror/sci fi stuff, but not much beyond that. Great camera work. Bizarre, theatrical set design. The lighting is beautiful and stylish. Even some strangely psychedelic moments (the broken glass fight in the shower). And plenty of campy gore that honestly compliments the more artistic moments. Broken glass through an eyeball and a slow-mo geyser of blood shooting out of a prison guards head. Nothing to complain about there. Short runtime helps as well. Everything is straight to the point.

[ConcreteMascara]

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion

I'll be the first to admit that Japanese cinema and "women in prison" films aren't necessarily my speciality. I've seen a decent amount of Yakuza films and some other horror/sci fi stuff, but not much beyond that. Great camera work. Bizarre, theatrical set design. The lighting is beautiful and stylish. Even some strangely psychedelic moments (the broken glass fight in the shower). And plenty of campy gore that honestly compliments the more artistic moments. Broken glass through an eyeball and a slow-mo geyser of blood shooting out of a prison guards head. Nothing to complain about there. Short runtime helps as well. Everything is straight to the point.

I really liked this one as well, despite having no previous experience with Japanese women in prison films. But the poster art for the series in general is too good not to be intrigued. I liked the first one I wound up grabbing the Arrow box set which is really nice (as expected)

[magnus]

Schramm
Overall... a bleak, "feel-bad" serial killer movie not unlike the classic, Angst.

Probably my favorite by Buttgereit, even if it was many years since i last watched it.
Have you seen the more recent film THE GOLDEN GLOVE ("Der goldene Handschuh")? The description above fits it like a.. hmm.. glove! My favorite movie from last year by a mile.

[NerveGas]

Schramm
Overall... a bleak, "feel-bad" serial killer movie not unlike the classic, Angst.

Probably my favorite by Buttgereit, even if it was many years since i last watched it.
Have you seen the more recent film THE GOLDEN GLOVE ("Der goldene Handschuh")? The description above fits it like a.. hmm.. glove! My favorite movie from last year by a mile.

Haven't seen it, but I believe it's on Shudder. I'm a little skeptical of new horror (or horror "marketed") movies nowadays, but also admit that this is sometimes to my own detriment. I'll check it out. An Angst comparison is a pretty high bar to set!

Watched the second and third installments of Female Prisoner Scorpion. I think so far, the second one is my favorite. Much more heavy on the bizarre, dream-like scenes. The third dragged a little, but as I mentioned above, the short run times help and the ending was great. Will most likely finish up the series tonight, and I do think I'll have to pick up the Arrow boxset when funds permit.

[ConcreteMascara]

Been getting back to regular movie watching in the last month or two. Not everything is worth discussing here in detail.

My fiance and I have been watching all of the X-Men related movies in release order since February. Some of them hold up for what they are, some of them are the worst movies I've ever seen [X-Men Apocalypse makes my blood boil]. Maybe I'm a simpleton but I actually enjoyed the first two Wolverine movies a fair amount as action movies.

My friend and I are still slowly working our way through all theatrically released video game movies. Last month was Street Fighter which was infinitely more non-sensical and dumb than I remembered from my theater viewing 27 years ago. Admittedly I remembered next to nothing. For a movie about street fighting there sure isn't much of that. Jean-Claude Van Damme didn't kick nearly enough people. The chick that plays Chun-Li is only moderately attractive but Kylie Minogue as Cammy was nice, even if she didn't do shit. Just entertaining enough not to be a slough, but most certainly a terrible terrible movie.

Two nights ago was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation , a movie I'd never been able to sit through in one sitting. Extremely inept in every way but it's breakneck pace, terrible decisions, awful CGI and constant action made it incredibly entertaining. I was laughing out loud through almost the entire thing. And there is a fair amount of Kombat, mortal and otherwise. But oh my god what a cheap looking movie. The horrifyingly bad CGI is the worst, but the costumes are straight out of the mall Halloween store. This is some gloriously bad shit.

Last Friday I re-watched Argento's Opera which remains a solid film. The floaty POV camera work here is some of my favorite ever. The sound track is a mixed bag but the opera tracks and the ambient pieces are really good. It's so visually rich too. Nothing compares to seeing it in theaters on actual film, but definitely still good on BluRay

Then Sunday I re-watched Argento's Phenomena which might be my favorite Argento film or maybe just below Bird With The Crystal Plumage. Even though so many of the elements are silly or absurd it's played straight and somehow manages to convince me. It's the zenith of the dream logic plot style too. I love bugs, Jennifer Connelly is great, the gore is fairly disgusting and the setting is used effectively. I really can't get enough of it and it's almost 2 hours long.

I also watched Day of the Dead [1985] for the first time Monday night. I was expecting something darker than Dawn of the Dead but god damn! There's still a dash of weirdness and silliness from time to time but on the whole it felt like something much closer to Fulci film in tone and gore. And damn if the gore isn't wonderful, even if it is absent for large stretches. I think I need another re-watch to really form an opinion about it, but my initial impression is very positive.

And then last night was a re-watch of Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. While it's certainly easy to take issue with the quote heavy dialogue, I just love Oshii's vision of the GitS universe so much I can ignore things like that. It's a slow and methodical movie with a heavy focus on atmosphere that reminds me of both Blade Runner films in many ways. And the love between Batou and his dog is so perfectly done. I think this is a film that would probably bore and annoy a lot of people but for me it always holds up on re-watch.

[absurdexposition]

I also watched Day of the Dead [1985] for the first time Monday night. I was expecting something darker than Dawn of the Dead but god damn! There's still a dash of weirdness and silliness from time to time but on the whole it felt like something much closer to Fulci film in tone and gore. And damn if the gore isn't wonderful, even if it is absent for large stretches. I think I need another re-watch to really form an opinion about it, but my initial impression is very positive.

Dawn is the easy pick for favourite of Romero's Dead, but Day is the sleeper hit and that Fulci comparison is highly apt.

[NerveGas]

I also watched Day of the Dead [1985] for the first time Monday night. I was expecting something darker than Dawn of the Dead but god damn! There's still a dash of weirdness and silliness from time to time but on the whole it felt like something much closer to Fulci film in tone and gore. And damn if the gore isn't wonderful, even if it is absent for large stretches. I think I need another re-watch to really form an opinion about it, but my initial impression is very positive.

Dawn is the easy pick for favourite of Romero's Dead, but Day is the sleeper hit and that Fulci comparison is highly apt.

Yeah there's no disputing that Dawn is the best. In fact, it may be my most watched movie ever. With that said, Day Of The Dead is an undisputed classic and gets better with every viewing. And what an opening scene!

[tiny_tove]

Favolacce. Italian movie with strong influences of Haneke, Greek Cinema and some indie stuff...
Everybody is mean and ugly, everything is morbid and it is filmed very every well

[ConcreteMascara]

Most recent watches:

Annihilation [dir. Alex Garland, 2018] - I watched this around the time it came out and really really liked it, but was worried it wouldn't hold up on a repeat viewing. Happily this is not the case, I think I may have liked it even more. The first go round I had some issues with the dialogue and the characterizations of the expedition team but this time I didn't really have a complaint. probably because I knew what i was getting, instead of mentally looking for all the seams. My biggest complaint remains the flashback framing device for the movie which is completely unnecessary even the first go round, and even more unnecessary the second time. Happily it's used to sparingly you normally forget it's there. The visuals are very psilocybin without turning into Alex Gray, post-hippie shit, but the vibe is straight up DXM. And the score rules.

Logan [dir. James Mangold, 2018] - I saw all three Wolverine movies in the last two months and what a ride! From ultra-schlock to flawed modern action movie to serious drama with hard-R violence, I liked them all. I think it's safe to call this an drama that takes place in a comic book universe. I thought it was mostly successful at creating a believable world for the characters and actual tension and earned emotionally dramatic moments. Hugh Jackman's performance really sells it all. It hit extra hard having loved the X-Men for so long and also having watched all of the movies so recently. While I always appreciate seeing Richard E Grant in a movie, his role was probably the weakest part of this. But if the comic book elements were much more removed it wouldn't be a movie about Wolverine. Can't imagine the MCU or DC suits will be able to top this kind of thing anytime soon either.

Species [dir. Roger Donaldson, 1995] - I remember 8 year-old me wanting to see this so badly, with it's promise of Alien style horror and titties too. Then 10 year old me finally seeing it and being bored to hell, aside from the titties. Did HR Giger design the creature and some other stuff? Yes. Is the design routinely ruined by 1995 CGI? Yes. Is the whole package entertaining? Ehhhhhh.  There's technically an "ensemble" cast of characters out to find Natasha Henstridge, yet half of them were unnecessary or could have been combined. There's a hard to believe "romance" plot with Michael Madsen and Marg Helgenberger that does provide quick tit but no excitement. Sir Ben Kingsley is as useless a black ops project manager as Forest Whitaker is as a telepath/empath tracker.  I could go on but basically the barebones plot is okay, it's the silly and pointless way things unfold around it that leave you just dumbfounded. Had this movie had the same amount of tit, half the characters, and been 35 minutes shorter it could've been fast-paced sleaze with a weird edge. But instead its trudge with occasional detours into sex and "weirdness" that does not beg for a re-watch.