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

[cantle]

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie - [dir. Jorge Grau, 1974] - Second viewing of the best and only English countryside zombie film I've ever seen. A slow burn, but such a delightful one. I kept thinking about the Red Riding trilogy whenever Arthur Kennedy was being a tremendous asshole, which is the entire time he's on screen. Did Northern English cops really get to run their towns/cities like little fiefdoms in the '60s and '70s? It certainly appears that way between this film, which plot wise is admittedly far from reality, and Red Riding. But I know dick about the history to real make a comment about accuracy.

When Red Riding was first shown on British TV a retired police detective went on the record as saying " Come on, we weren't that bad..." Make of that what you will. Cf. Daniel Morgan case.

[ConcreteMascara]

The New Barbarians - Mad Max 2 from wish.com and Fred Williamson.

Hahaha! That's a great description!

[ConcreteMascara]

Friday
Warriors of the Year 2072 aka The New Gladiators – [dir. Lucio Fulci, 1984] – watched this on Amazon and it was the shitty Troma transfer but in spite of that, the visuals of this movie still impressed with their inventiveness and wackiness. I didn't get to finish the film but I watched the first hour and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Fulci certainly put a unique touch on this '80s Italian action schlock. Very excited to revisit this once I get my copy of the new Severin blu-ray.

Saturday
The Black Cat – [dir. Lucio Fulci, 1981] – started this one a few years ago but never finished. Upon a fresh watch I was able to appreciate the atmospheric storytelling even if I missed the heavy gore of other Fulci horror films. Patrick Magee absolutely crushes it as the spooky old professor. The story is okay and there are lots of detours that go nowhere, but I still enjoyed it. Something that would be definitely benefit from a viewing in October when the mood outside matches.

Sunday
Twins of Evil – [dir. John Hough, 1971] – after all these years this is amazingly my first Hammer film. I was regularly chuckling to myself recognizing all of the dialogue that had been sampled for various metal releases. While not quite as lascivious as I hoped, it was still a damn enjoyable dose of gothic horror. Having a heavyweight like Peter Cushing on board helps sell the whole thing as does having Playboy centerfold twins, albeit for different reasons. Worth a watch just to spot those metal dialogue samples alone!

[ConcreteMascara]

Last night

The Resurrected - [dir. Dan O'Bannon, 1991] - Another film I started ages ago and never finished. Over 10 years ago to be specific, when I was at the height of my HP Lovecraft mania. At the time I was put off by the modernization of my favorite Lovecraft story and the flat acting of the lead. Watching last night, I was impressed with how effectively they did the modernization, combing the original narrative with the private detective investigation thread. The thing that stuck out most was just how much of a slow burn this was compared to any "horror" movie you'd see for the last 10 years, or at least anything mainstream. Also shockingly different in tone and style compared to O'Bannon's previous The Return of the Living Dead. Much like the book it's all about building dread, however, unlike the book, the acting and sometimes the score hamper the effect here. Also some of the lighting. Things don't look cheap per se, but it feels like its shot like a TV show at times, and other times it looks great. All said, as a Lovecraft geek, I enjoyed this modernization of an old story and was impressed or at least amused by some of the creature effects towards the end. Also it reminded me of Carpenter's later In The Mouth of Madness at times, which is a compliment to the film. However, if I had to pick a favorite Lovecraft film adaptation, excluding The Re-Animator, I'd go with Dagon by Stuart Gordon because it's got fish pussy and humans being skinned, but I guess it's a matter of taste.

[ConcreteMascara]

Sunday
Band of Brothers - [2001] - in celebration of American superiority my fiance and I marathon watched the first half of band of brothers. Pretty easy to feel patriotic when you're watching paratroopers fight Nazis in western Europe. but seriously, this is such a well done show that's less about flag waiving and more about the people that fought the war. always nice to watch this one every 5 or so years. will have to check out The Pacific one of these days too.

Last night
All the Colors of the Dark - [dir. Sergio Martino, 1972] - second viewing since my original watch 10+ years ago. I couldn't remember a lot other than feeling let down the first time. this second time, well... it's not my favorite Sergio Martino film by a long shot, but I was able to enjoy it a lot more. Edwige looks really great in this one and some of the trippier visuals are cool, but it's not as satisfying as a gore-hound and I often can't enjoy "women having breakdowns" movies. Would be interested to eventually pick up the Severin Blu-ray one day to see it in it's full glory though.

[NerveGas]

Sunday
Band of Brothers - [2001] - in celebration of American superiority my fiance and I marathon watched the first half of band of brothers. Pretty easy to feel patriotic when you're watching paratroopers fight Nazis in western Europe. but seriously, this is such a well done show that's less about flag waiving and more about the people that fought the war. always nice to watch this one every 5 or so years. will have to check out The Pacific one of these days too.

Last night
All the Colors of the Dark - [dir. Sergio Martino, 1972] - second viewing since my original watch 10+ years ago. I couldn't remember a lot other than feeling let down the first time. this second time, well... it's not my favorite Sergio Martino film by a long shot, but I was able to enjoy it a lot more. Edwige looks really great in this one and some of the trippier visuals are cool, but it's not as satisfying as a gore-hound and I often can't enjoy "women having breakdowns" movies. Would be interested to eventually pick up the Severin Blu-ray one day to see it in it's full glory though.

The Pacific is like Band Of Brothers minus any glory or moments of comfort (aside from some romantic subplots I could have done without). Just sheer degradation, hate, and callous violence pushing people to the brink of insanity. Of course it's still told in a typical Hollywood manner. Don't get me wrong. However, it's must more pessimistic and brutal. One scene of an American soldier casually tossing rock into the remnants  of a Japanese soldiers skull that has started to pool with blood and rancid rain water. Plenty of rotting corpses and human waste. Like I said, by no means out of the Hollywood mold totally, but I thought the more brutal take on the subject matter was refreshing considering Band Of Brothers is heavy on the good vibes in a lot of ways. Not a bad show either though.

Also All The Colors Of The Dark... what more needs to be said. One of the greatest of all time. Edwige... one of the greatest. I even have two lobby cards of this movie framed in my hallway. Total classic.

[Theodore]

Appassionata (1974) : Mother crazy. Teen daughter's friend fucks Dad. Daughter hates mother and wanna fuck with Dad. Ornella Muti [Ah, Ornella, love you] . Eleonora Giorgi.

[ConcreteMascara]

Appassionata (1974) : Mother crazy. Teen daughter's friend fucks Dad. Daughter hates mother and wanna fuck with Dad. Ornella Muti [Ah, Ornella, love you] . Eleonora Giorgi.

Sounds sexy! i'll have to check that out.

The New York Ripper - [dir. Lucio Fulci, 1982] - watching this again last night for the 15th+ time I can't help but think, "is this Fulci's best"? it's easily the sleaziest, it's got some of the best gore, the soundtrack is awesome, there's quality nudity and the level of NYC grunginess rivals a William Lustig film. Plus the performances, as much as you can rate dubbed performances, aren't terrible. And the occasional bizarre English dialogue choices are a bonus, not a detriment. The New York Ripper has now reached the "comfort film" status of The Predator, Robocop or Starship Troopers. i think i could watch it any day of the week.

[ConcreteMascara]

Sunday
Le Cercle Rouge - [dir. Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970] - My first trip to an indoor movie theater since Covid, the Philadelphia Film Society played the new 4K scan/restoration/whatever over the weekend. I watched Army of Shadows and Le Samouraï 10+ years ago and really liked them but never got around to watching this one. It was just as cool and deliberate as I expected. I'd almost say methodical. There's a ton of visual panache and excellent performances, but it all remains coolly understated. This quality is one of the things I remember loving about Army of Shadows and Le Samouraï when I watched them. Alain Delon is the coolest of them and I only wish I could have partied with him back in his hey-day. From the decades of stories and rumors, it seems like it must have been pretty wild. Also, I found the actual heist segment to be pretty nail-biting since this felt like the kind of movie where anything could happen to the characters at any time. My only issue with the film is that it was impossible to sit through two and half hours of people chain smoking without having to step out for one myself, and miss a little of the movie.

[absurdexposition]

Melville is the fucking king. I've been marathoning him all week. I'd actually started Le Cercle Rouge the night previous but had to sleep, then once I saw you had logged it on Letterboxd I immediately rushed to finish it. Extremely jealous that you were able to see it at the cinema.

Army of Shadows is probably my favourite of his, but all of his crime films are incredibly good. Le deuxième souffle might be my favourite of those. His use of silence as natural suspense is amazing. The heist in Le Cercle... is nearly 20 minutes long without a murmur in the soundtrack! Makes the alarm siren at the end all the more piercing.

It would have been interesting to see how Melville would have developed if he'd not died: He hints at a homoerotic romance between Corey (Alain Delon's character) and Vogel in Le Cercle Rouge (the first scene between them, in the field, is almost comical how the camera lingers on their faces), as well as Coleman's (Alain Delon's character) relationship with a transgender character in Un Flic, his final film (another great, silent heist kicks off the whole thing).

Started Bob le flambeur last night, will finish it after work.

[ConcreteMascara]

Melville is the fucking king. I've been marathoning him all week. I'd actually started Le Cercle Rouge the night previous but had to sleep, then once I saw you had logged it on Letterboxd I immediately rushed to finish it. Extremely jealous that you were able to see it at the cinema.

Army of Shadows is probably my favourite of his, but all of his crime films are incredibly good. Le deuxième souffle might be my favourite of those. His use of silence as natural suspense is amazing. The heist in Le Cercle... is nearly 20 minutes long without a murmur in the soundtrack! Makes the alarm siren at the end all the more piercing.

It would have been interesting to see how Melville would have developed if he'd not died: He hints at a homoerotic romance between Corey (Alain Delon's character) and Vogel in Le Cercle Rouge (the first scene between them, in the field, is almost comical how the camera lingers on their faces), as well as Coleman's (Alain Delon's character) relationship with a transgender character in Un Flic, his final film (another great, silent heist kicks off the whole thing).

Started Bob le flambeur last night, will finish it after work.

I will say that seeing Le Cercle Rouge at the cinema was an awesome experience but for the fact that theater was colder than the damn movie! the AC was on so high I was shivering in my t-shirt. Should've worn a damn parka.

I remember being blown away by Army of Shadows when I watched it. I'll have to pull my Criterion DVD of it off the shelf and give it a re-watch. If I can manage to rewatch the same 10 Italian flicks over and over I should be able to manage a French re-watch once a decade or so. Will have to check out his other films as well. Like you said, the use of silence is so effective and if that's something he continues in his other films I haven't seen I'm sure I'll like them too. I can typically appreciate any movie that can shut the fuck up and rely on its imagery.

Interesting thoughts too about the sex politics, for lack of a better term. Not the kind of thing I even notice a lot of the time.

Speaking of re-watching Italian films, last night was The Beyond by Fulci, another film that's reached comfort movie status. I'd call it my favorite but didn't I just say that about The New York Ripper? And I might say that about Don't Torture a Duckling... it's hard to pick, and unnecessary . I re-watched The Beyond several times in rapid succession a couple of years ago and had given it a break since. That break allowed me to forget about some of the amazing death sequences which made them this much better this go round. Having watched maybe 10 Fulci films in the last month or so it's really interesting to see how different they can feel. I'd say a lot of that can come from the different DPs, and of course budgets, ingenuity, scripts... but I am impressed by the range.

[FallOfNature]

Kill, Baby, Kill! - nice gothic visuals courtesy of Mario Bava. Movie itself left me pretty bored however.

1990: The Bronx Warriors & Escape from the Bronx - I always preferred the sequel but enjoyed the first one a little more this time around. Still can't stand that main actor and his effeminate manner though. Guy is supposed to be a badass post apocalyptic gang leader and struts around like a catwalk model (I think he actually was a model or something perhaps?). Fred Williamson kicking ass is a sure way to win me over though. Good trash.

Visiting Hours - mean spirited Canadian slasher, with Michael Ironside playing a sadistic psycho. Pretty cool.

Deathdream - one that's sat on my shelf for years unwatched. This actually left me quite impressed, some quite disturbing moments

[Theodore]

Riphagen (2016) : Watched it on Netflix. Dutch movie based on true story. Riphagen wasnt english or american, but his name is totally fit, cause he will rip you off ! Movie is not something really good, more like a dramatized doc, focusing on telling the story than to perform any artistic achievements. Everyone plays their role well enough though, and direction is OK for what it is. - I am not aware of the real events. I suppose movie is accurate cause nonetheless presents only the basic points. Even dialogues which would be impossible to source seem reasonable, something like this must happened. My comments are based on that movie only.

So, Riphagen was a Dutch criminal during WWII, a fascinating scumbag, a master manipulator ! Nowdays the term 'manipulator' -usually followed by the term 'narcissist' - is most often used to describe a little asshole who finds and exploits dumber / weaker people than him. No ! Riphagen was the real deal ! Ofcource he was ripping the Jews off but on the same time he was ripping off the Germans -he was collaborating with- too. For him everyone is just a tool. - But it's when the war is over the man shows his full talent. When the stakes are high, your life, your head is on the table. And you face people now much stronger than you, that they hate you, and there is no way out. You dig that hole, that exit, through that people. You convince them to help you, even if they hate themselves for doing that !

I dont think Riphagen had long-term plans. Whatever plan was becoming shorter and shorter. Buy a month, a day, a second ! Think, improvise, replace yourself. Spontaneously ! On-the-fly ! Satan !

Not a PC movie. No moral 'messages' . No preaching. No happy end. Are really the 'good' guys 'better' than Riphagen ? For sure they are not that capable.

[ConcreteMascara]

Work obligations have really slowed down my movie consumption as of late, but here's few quick reviews from the last few weeks...

Blood and Black Lace - [dir. Mario Bava, 1964] - finally watched the Arrow bluray I've been sitting on for years and goddamn does this look like a different movie compared to my old DVD. As far as slashers or giallos go it has arguably the most decadent use of color ever seen. Argento's Suspiria being the only other contender for the title that comes to mind. Beyond enjoying the huge visual improvement, I also forgot so many of the twists and turns it almost felt like a first viewing. Hard to beat coked up fashion models being picked off one by one as a premise. Part of me thinks it's a perfect movie, part of me says 4 out of 5. Either way, it's a classic.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - [dir. Tobe Hooper, 1974] - the air conditioning in my house was broken for almost two weeks and I decided to embrace the heat by watching TCM. While Blood and Black Lace might be a perfect slasher, TCM is undoubtedly is. I still can't believe I didn't like this movie at first but now it's top 5, maybe top 3 horror films.

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III - [dir. Jeff Burr, 1990] - my review from Letterboxd says enough: "I routinely watch bad movies but holy shit this is one of the worst things I've ever seen. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels are the fucking worst in any horror franchise."

House of Wax - [dir. Jaume Collet-Serra, 2005] - Inspired by Mondo-Digital recent review I decided to check this one out. Personally I like Paris Hilton, but feelings towards her are nearly irrelevant as she's barely in the movie, although she might have the best death scene. I was pleasantly surprised by the slow pace in the first half and the lack of jump scares. Some of the teen characters really earn their comeuppance by being total dick heads, which is fun. Elisha Cuthbert is stupid attractive and mostly in a wife-beater for the film. The gore is shockingly good for the era and there are some good horror visuals in general. But, to my memory, there's no nudity which is lame, although there is a visual reference to "One Night In Paris" early in the film that had me laughing. On the whole the movie is a bit on the long side but is otherwise a solid slasher flick that delivers atmosphere and gore in surprising amounts once it gets going.

[moozz]

Robowar (1988)
Bruno Mattei's ripoff borrowing HEAVILY from Predator (characters, plot, scenery) with kind of a futuristic helmet guy Robocop as the bad guy. Not cinematic art (felt kind of clumsy most of the time, some really bad acting) but if you love Predator and can appreciate bad movies I see no reason why you would not enjoy this. Lots of bullets flying around, nice gory effects.

The Warrior (aka Jaka Sembung) (1981)
The Indonesian action star(?) Barry Prima is Jaka Sembung who fights against the Dutch colonialist oppressors. It took a long time before Barry Prima did any proper fighting, I found most of the movie pretty boring. But there were some really crazy Asian parts as well with flying heads, reattaching limbs and magical surgery. If slow parts do not bother you too much you'll probably find this mind-bogglingly bizarre and entertaining, I thought those epic insane moments were too few and far between.