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

[Deadpriest]

Watched the first 15 minutes of Tetsuo after having wanted to see it for probably half a decade, very cool aesthetic but wasn't in the mood for it.

[david lloyd jones]

just picked up the uk edition of 'eurocrime' a doc on italian cop films.
already have and enjoyed the original us edition, but this promises 100 minutes of trailer comp rather than original 20 mins.

also got the arrow re issue of the burning as a, hopefully cheap thrill.

anyone seen the arrow reissue box of seijun suzuki late period films, or the ' new battles beyond humanity ' box

[cr]

Has anyone seen some of the films from Bolivian company Pachamama Films and can comment on them?

http://pachamamafilms.com/

[david lloyd jones]

italy provides next planned viewing of bought
'zombie creeping flesh' blu
'erik the conqueror' blu/dvd from arrow of the mario bava peplum.
two films encapsulating the (long gone)italian film industry genre lovers seek.

[bitewerksMTB]

also got the arrow re issue of the burning as a, hopefully cheap thrill.

anyone seen the arrow reissue box of seijun suzuki late period films, or the ' new battles beyond humanity ' box

The Burning is great. I haven't upgraded from the dvd yet but I do watch for reasonably priced copies of the US blu to pop up on eBay. I wish I had bought the soundtrack LP.

I haven't seen New Battles...; I'm curious about the films, as well. I'm hoping Arrow will get more obscure yakuza films in the future (esp. Three Mad Dog Brothers & Violent Streets- my fave!).

Over the weekend, I watched Southern Comfort, which, is one of the best from director Walter Hill and the wacky-as-hell, sci-fi/horror, Demon Seed. D.S. is just nuts as all hell.

[Deadpriest]

XFINITY (our cable/internet provider) just added the YouTube app!  anything on YouTube can now be viewed on the TV instead of sitting in front of the computer!  the app is also designed to work with the X1 voice remote.  instead of searching with the onscreen keyboard, you can just speak into the remote to find content.

just a heads up for people who are using this service.  it will great for watching movies, documentaries, etc. on the TV.

And what better film to view on your television than the new version of Lolita!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSRAVv6JGfY

[Kayandah]

Baywatch

I wish i could unsee it.

[ConcreteMascara]

So last week in honor of Tobe Hooper my movie buddy and I watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre (I love it more with each viewing), later on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and then the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake from 2003.

It's funny, I didn't see TCM until I was 20 or 21 and when I finally watched it I felt left down. I think it had something to do with the heavy disassociative drug use that was also happening. Subsequent viewing since confirmed that I'm an idiot and it's one of the best horror films of all time. So watching it again last Monday was great, etc
.
I was fully unprepared for the shitshow that is TCM 2. I'm not a big fan of silly horror like Brain Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness etc. It rarely works for me. I don't know what the fucking intent was with TCM 2 but to me it came across as overly long, overly dumb and just lacking everything that makes the first a classic. If taken only as a comedy it's passable I guess. And such a damn waste of Dennis Hopper. however I did finally recognized the sample of his voice from the Skinny Puppy track Shadowcast which I thought was a sample of DH from The River's Edge for the longest time, so silver lining.

Then there was the remake which pretty much exemplifies everything I hate about modern horror. tough guy dialogue, isntagram filters/fucked color pallets, Marilyn Manson music video set pieces, weird kids, slim to no suspense.... It wasn't the worst movie ever, but it just felt completely pointless on the whole. and way too early 2000s edge-lord in style. I did love R. Lee Ermey as the Sheriff terrorizing the group tho.

also watched The Prowler which was fucking great! my friend guess the killer pretty quick, but I did not :(

yesterday I watched When a Stranger Calls which oddly paced but I still thoroughly enjoyed. I really like Carol Kane and the first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes with her are pretty fucking great, even if the bodycount is low. the main portion of the film is actually pretty solid for what it is, but it mostly lacks the terrifying home invasion suspense of the beginning and end of the film. I also enjoyed all the scenic shots of LA.

also re-watched the original Dawn of the Dead with my girlfriend who'd only ever seen the remake. hadn't seen it myself in 5+ years. it's a bit long but still thoroughly enjoyable.

[aububs]

yesterday I watched When a Stranger Calls which oddly paced but I still thoroughly enjoyed. I really like Carol Kane and the first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes with her are pretty fucking great, even if the bodycount is low. the main portion of the film is actually pretty solid for what it is, but it mostly lacks the terrifying home invasion suspense of the beginning and end of the film. I also enjoyed all the scenic shots of LA.

the sequel, When a Stranger Calls Back, is one of those rare sequels that's even better than the original. it's great.

the ultimate Carol Kane movie is The Mafu Cage in which she goes batshit insane with a caged ape and wants to fuck her sister.

also agree with you about "silly horror" and to be honest i'm not a huge fan of george romero's zombie movies either. dunno why. i just kinda think zombies are shit.

love The Prowler tho.

[bitewerksMTB]

Is "When a Stranger Calls" the one with 'The phone call is coming from in the house'? Seems like there was a made-for-tv movie with that scene. Okay, just checked Wikipedia & the sequel is the tv movie but I was thinking it was older but reading about the sequel, it says it was for Showtime & I'm thinking of a ABC/CBS movie so it must be something completely different.

I haven't seen The Mafu Cage but I remember it in all of the video rental stores. I think there's a dvd release on Scorpion Releasing?

RE: DotD- I like the Euro. version more for the Goblin soundtrack but it's missing the helicopter scene. Day of the Dead is great, too. And NotLD (Don May Jr. from Synapse said in a recent podcast interview that, according to, Romero, he didn't set out to make any social commentary with his films).

[holy ghost]

Watched the first few episodes of Strike on BBC - pretty enjoyable but I kind of wish they'd given them a little time to develop. 3 episodes to do the whole first book is a bit rushed. I am no fan of Harry Potter but I really enjoyed all three Strike novels. I very much enjoyed the casting of Strike, etc.

Top of the Lake Season 1 - this is a great crime drama. Beautiful cinematography, very weird plot that keeps unraveling like an onion with every episode. I've got two more and I'm really digging it.

Broadchurch Seasons 1 & 2 - also really enjoyed this. Well paced, I like the dude who is also Dr. Who a lot in it.

Get Out - I dunno. I saw this get so much praise, and I didn't really love it. I liked the comedic bits between the dude and his buddy at the airport, but overall the plot was just kind of stupid. Like Hostel but sillier. I had really high expectations from the amount of praise but it was not very good.

[absurdexposition]

Top of the Lake

This has been recommended to me a few times over the years and I've never pulled the trigger.

Get Out - I dunno. I saw this get so much praise, and I didn't really love it. I liked the comedic bits between the dude and his buddy at the airport, but overall the plot was just kind of stupid. Like Hostel but sillier. I had really high expectations from the amount of praise but it was not very good.

Same feels. "Not as smart as you might think."

[holy ghost]

Top of the Lake

This has been recommended to me a few times over the years and I've never pulled the trigger.

Man that ending was fucked. It was really good. Very enjoyable but everyone was super sketchy/grimy/greasy.

[aububs]

I haven't seen The Mafu Cage but I remember it in all of the video rental stores. I think there's a dvd release on Scorpion Releasing?

yep that's the one i have. there's a lot of good extras on it, interviews with carol kane and the director and stuff. the title of the movie in the opening credits is DEVIATION but on the box it's referred to as the mafu cage.

[ConcreteMascara]

last Thursday did a double feature of Don't Answer the Phone! and The Serpent and the Rainbow. I bought DAtP thinking it was When a Stranger Calls, but it wound up being a happy accident because it's the sleazier and more violent of the two. Don't Answer the Phone! is pure pseudo-slasher exploitation trash. The female lead is rough to look at, but all of the other victims are relatively cute and the violence is pretty fucking great. Nicholas Worth's Kirk Smith reminds me of Joe Spinell's Frank Zito in Maniac, in that he's brutal to look at, constantly sweaty and believably crazy. There's some great drug related stuff too. I get the feeling that the writers on this one had a lot of first hand experience with dope and coke. and special mention to Vinegar Syndrome for great packaging and an amazing job restoring the film. really looks great!

The Serpent and the Rainbow is Wes Craven's '80s voodoo tail set in Haiti with Bill Pullman. This one is torn between horror vibes and pseudo-political thriller vibes. It's really silly in some ways but enjoyable still. it reminds me of the previously mentioned Get Out, except the reverse. Bill Pullman's white man is lost in a world of voodoo and political violence completely alien to him and gets increasingly torn between powers he can't understand, etc. Again, silly, but enjoyable. I'd watch it again.