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

[martialgodmask]

3 episodes into the new Hannibal show - liking it very much so far, very stylised but plenty of nods to "canon". It's a little slow burn but that's fine for me, visual and sound design are a little disorienting at times which again is a plus. I was keen but sceptical prior to watching but fortunately it's walking a good walk so far.

[bitewerksMTB]

3 episodes into the new Hannibal show - liking it very much so far, very stylised but plenty of nods to "canon". It's a little slow burn but that's fine for me, visual and sound design are a little disorienting at times which again is a plus. I was keen but sceptical prior to watching but fortunately it's walking a good walk so far.

I have the last 5-6 episodes recorded; I figured the season finale is soon so just waiting for it & will watch them all one after another. I think I've only watched the first 2 or 3 episodes. I wonder if the episode they cancelled the week of the Boston bombing is online or if they'll run it later?

I watched "Murder by Death" a few nights back. Classic comedy.

[martialgodmask]

3 episodes into the new Hannibal show - liking it very much so far, very stylised but plenty of nods to "canon". It's a little slow burn but that's fine for me, visual and sound design are a little disorienting at times which again is a plus. I was keen but sceptical prior to watching but fortunately it's walking a good walk so far.

I have the last 5-6 episodes recorded; I figured the season finale is soon so just waiting for it & will watch them all one after another. I think I've only watched the first 2 or 3 episodes. I wonder if the episode they cancelled the week of the Boston bombing is online or if they'll run it later?

I've read a couple of mixed reports but general consensus suggests it'll be disc-only if at all.

I think UK is only upto epi 3 (or maybe it's 3 this week?) but I'm streaming as I'd rather plough through. Part impatience, part not having satellite or cable TV which is the only place it is airing over here.

[online prowler]

True crime horror drama.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1977)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOTOxk1naC4

I watched "Murder by Death" a few nights back. Classic comedy.

- You said it BW. Highly recommended.

[HongKongGoolagong]

Did I ever mention I like Sam Peckinpah films?

THE DEADLY COMPANIONS (61) - little seen low-budget debut endebted to the TV westerns he'd worked on but a solid piece nonetheless with the themes of fucked-up masculinity and illogical codes of honour introduced.

RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (62) - magnificent ode to the ageing process and with a shockingly high feminist content too. The wedding scene is a nightmarish standout.

MAJOR DUNDEE (66) - a hugely compromised disastrous attempt at a blockbuster with major studio interference and Charlton Heston being typically useless throughout. Shame Peckinpah never managed to get his name removed from this.

THE WILD BUNCH (69) - it takes numerous viewings for the subtleties of this amazing film to become apparent. Superb ensemble acting, cinematography and script. Chills down the spine just at the memory of some scenes.

THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (70) - with typical perversity Peckinpah always claimed this sweetly uncharacteristic oddity was his best film. The twee humour and musical interludes can be grating but it certainly remains in your mind a long time after watching.

STRAW DOGS (71) - Hoffman's worm-that-turns role is very memorable, the infamous rape scene is entirely artistically justifiable and the villagers are truly terrifying.

THE GETAWAY (72) - the McQueen and McGraw chemistry is deservedly famed and some particularly amazing cinematography in this one too.

JUNIOR BONNER (72) - another anomaly in the oeuvre with a tale of family life where the eruptions of violence are simply fists, and all the more shocking for that.

PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (73) - of the three versions I recommend the TCM '88 cut. One of his very best, with a psychological intensity that just keeps on growing as the actors throw more booze down their necks in successive scenes.

BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA (74) - his pinnacle for me, with Benny the burnt-out piano player clearly autobiographical and Warren Oates delivering the best acting job I think I've ever seen. A film that makes you feel like you've had your head beaten with a spade!

THE KILLER ELITE (75) - cocaine is infamous for destroying creativity in all artistic fields and this sloppily-edited mess proves it. First fifteen minutes are amazing, but after that a huge disappointment.

CROSS OF IRON (77) - his last gasp of genius and what a finale. A war film to make all others look tame, with James Coburn doing the best role of his life and an ending which is entirely shocking, unexpected and daring.

CONVOY (78) - I can enjoy this for what it is - a kiddy version of a Peckinpah movie. Ali McGraw looks in worse shape than even Peckinpah was during its making. Ernest Borgnine is splendid in the Sylvester/Wile E Coyote role.

THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND (83) - I know it has its apologists and the crazed psychedelic sequence at the start of the director's cut is certainly interesting but for me this was a sad end and best forgotten.

[bitewerksMTB]

Watched Chuck Connors blow people up in THE POLICE CONNECTION aka THE MAD BOMBER released on Code Red DVD.

Caught TREMORS on a cable movie channel last night.

[ConcreteMascara]

Caught TREMORS on a cable movie channel last night.

classic. I watched that movie many, many times when I was a kid.

[HongKongGoolagong]

Picked up a copy of Terence Davies 'Distant Voices, Still Lives' for a bargain price. Of great British film directors, for sure there's Mike Leigh and I would say from his work so far Ben Wheatley is shaping up to be someone whose films will be remembered in centuries to come. The divine Mr Davies however is an auteur apart from any kind of mass popularity - a real artist and this feels like a painting as much as a film.

This movie is about memory and the tricks it plays, about British inarticulate drunken violence, about the divide between the sexes, about loneliness and desolation. I remember seeing this at the cinema on its release at the end of the 80s and being astonished by its power, and by the daring of the cinematography and non-linear editing. His earlier Trilogy traumatised a generation of early UK Channel 4 viewers with its uncompromising misery and this debut feature offered not much more solace. I watched this after being at a family funeral today - a big working-class Northern family funeral - and so much of the film although it's set in the 1950s rings emotionally true.

I haven't really kept up with what he's done over the last twenty years but on the evidence of his Trilogy and the first two features Terence Davies is the closest the UK has had to someone like Ingmar Bergman or the early Herzog.

[martialgodmask]

Inbred (2011)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723124/?ref_=sr_1

A dim representation of Yorkshire but certainly not to be taken seriously, this is like a combination of Severance, The League Of Gentleman and Emmerdale, with a touch of Braindead thrown in where the gore and daftness is concerned. I can't say I really liked it per se, but for late Sunday night viewing it was alright for an hour and a half.

[Levas]

For the last half a year or so I've been jumping in between j-sploitation and new wave of japanese gore (Yoshihiro Nishimura, Noboru Iguchi, Tak Sakaguchi etc.) and various crime series, especially Scandinavian. So while Japanese presents visually stunning and truly excellent movies without boundaries of imagination, Scandinavian crime is somewhat darker and, well, more acceptable. And I think I haven't watched any of the series that I've been disappointed or something like that.
Currently watching Beck. Last few series that I went through were: Broen (awesome Kim Bodnia (from Pusher) and somewhat beautiful Sofia Helin), The Killing (Forbrydelsen) (first season a little two long. others - perfect), Wallander (both are good, Swedish and British, just there are a couple of series based on the same novel so they are identical), Those who kill, and few not Scandinavian, but also great series: Wire in the Blood (dark!!), Cracker, Inspector Morse (more traditional detective. Calm) = Inspector George Gently

Could't go through a single episode of Whitechapel and Foyle's war though.. Boring. Also tried watching Castle, but damn it's shit.

[bitewerksMTB]

I'm a huge fan of  hard-boiled crime!  Are you d/l'ing BROEN, WIRE IN THE BLOOD, etc. or is there sites that stream episodes? THE KILLING is the only title I recognize because there is a U.S. version. I know I've come across the orig. but didn't save the link, I think it was streams & that was a couple of years ago when the U.S. version started airing (3rd season just started).

[Levas]

Yeah i've downloaded all of these. They're all on pirateb but if you don't find them or so, i can upload them to some ftp and give you access to download. Pm me. Maybe they are streaming too but quality etc.. i haven't seen the us version of the killing but the Danish version is worth a try for sure. After seeing excerpts,the original seemed far better.

[ironfistofthesun]

you guys should check out "the fall". Just ending on uk tv.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294189/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b02v0pms/The_Fall_Episode_4/

[ConcreteMascara]

True crime horror drama.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1977)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOTOxk1naC4

looks interesting. the cover art however is great!

[bitewerksMTB]

The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a confused film, mixing crime/horror with some comedy which ruins it. TCM has run it a couple of times. May want to check it out before buying it. I know it's definitely nothing I'd re-watch very often.

The Memory of a Killer is what I watched most recently. Story of a hitman with memory issues going on a killing spree. A bit too glossy with quick edits & odd colored flashbacks.