What was the last movie you saw?

I haven't seen anything new lately, so I watched some old favorites.

Stick (1985) - Burt Reynolds plays a no-nonsense guy who just got out of prison to start a new life, but runs into trouble fast. Dar Robinson (stuntman) plays one of my favorite humorless villains of all time. This crime drama is based off the novel, written by Elmore Leonard.

They Call Me Trinity (1971) - For me, this is the greatest comedy western ever made. A true masterpiece. Actors Terence Hill and Bud Spencer (who've also made a string of movies as a comedic duo), portray two half-brothers that get evolved protecting Mormons against a wicked Cattle Baron and a gang of bandits.

Green Slime (1969) - One of my all-time favorite sci-fi monster movie. The story, dialogue and action feel like they're right out of an EC pulp comic book from the 1950's. Jam-packed with rockets, rayguns and far-out outer space monsters.

Foxbat said:

Watched a couple of Del Tenney movies. The first - The Horror Of Party Beach has dancing teenagers and sea monsters. The second - The Curse Of The Living Corpse is most notable as the film debut of Roy Scheider. Neither is much notable for anything else but - strangely enough - both look a lot better after a couple of stiff drinks.

Ones for the wee small hours of the morning and best watched through a veil of drunkeness.

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The Horror of Party Beach is good only for mocking, as the folks at MST3K noted. (It's also fun to compare it to the very similar Beach Girls and the Monster AKA Monster From the Surf.) The Curse of the Living Corpse is, surprisingly, not as bad, and rather resembles an early American giallo or slasher.

The Wages of Fear (1953)

For me, this is my favourite of all Henri-George Clouzot's directed films.

Set in a un-named South American town, presumably in the 1950s; a town with high unemployment and searing temperatures, four volunteers are chosen to drive two rickety old trucks with a cargo of nitroglycerin on each across 200 miles of poor roads & mud tracks to an oil refinery in order to douse a rig that has accidentally exploded.

Not only is it a dangerous journey for a relatively small financial reward, but the 4 volunteers themselves, are not exactly the friendliest people in the world; and their mannerisms soon begin to become just as dangerous as the cargo they're carrying!

Great character-driven film, with a reasonable storyline, plenty of suspenseful moments, along with a off-the-curve controversial ending - so typical of Clouzot!

HanaBi said:

The Wages of Fear (1953)

For me, this is my favourite of all Henri-George Clouzot's directed films.

Great character-driven film, with a reasonable storyline, plenty of suspenseful moments, along with a off-the-curve controversial ending - so typical of Clouzot!

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Nice to meet you HanaBi. This is one of my favorite films too. I even like the 1977 remake, Sorcerer. Including the haunting soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.

Starbeast said:

Nice to meet you HanaBi. This is one of my favorite films too. I even like the 1977 remake, Sorcerer. Including the haunting soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.

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Hi Starbeast

I had mixed feelings about the remake. It was a pretty decent film all round, although I was constantly making comparisons with the original -as you would expect. The cinematography was exceptional, as was the general downbeat mood of the film throughout (so un-Hollywood). And Roy Scheider, was especially good, as he didn't strike me as a lead actor, but more of a supporting one (Jaws, French Connection etc)

BUT.....

I just didn't like the TD score! And that's a pity because I'm a big fan of theirs (James Caan's "Thief" being especially excellent, scorewise). But for me, their music just didn't fit with the South American shanty-town atmosphere; and I became distracted/irritated by it as the film progressed.

Admittedly, I have only watched Sorcerer once; so perhaps I can be a bit more forgiving next time round (in fact I will make it a point to watch it again this weekend). I'll let you know if my opinion has changed

The original book is pretty terrific too!

Just to lower the tone a bit - the last film I watched was Brian Singer's X-Men and I really quite enjoyed it. Watching it projected up on the big screen with a room full of boys shovelling popcorn and juice helped (all the women in my family having buggered off to some Harry Potter related thing for the weekend). It was pretty darn good - for a comic book movie.

@JunkMonkey - The novel is on my wish list.

@HanaBi - For me, what I enjoyed mostly about SORCERER, was that director William Friedkin, made his own defined version, and named the movie after the Largo truck. The truck repair sequence is one of my favorite parts of the film. Plus I liked how Friedkin showed where each main character came from. And as for the Tangerine Dream soundtrack, it's my ultimate favorite movie score CD of all time (next to Heavy Metal). But the soundtrack for THIEF is awesome for me too.

Ironically, I was thinking about watching The Wages of Fear some time some. Maybe tonight.

Starbeast said:

@HanaBi - For me, what I enjoyed mostly about SORCERER, was that director William Friedkin, made his own defined version, and named the movie after the Largo truck. The truck repair sequence is one of my favorite parts of the film. Plus I liked how Friedkin showed where each main character came from. And as for the Tangerine Dream soundtrack, it's my ultimate favorite movie score CD of all time (next to Heavy Metal). But the soundtrack for THIEF is awesome for me too.

Ironically, I was thinking about watching The Wages of Fear some time some. Maybe tonight.

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Well as promised, I re-watched Sorcerer, again last night; and my feelings towards the score have shifted slightly more in favour.. but only slightly mind

Perhaps it was because I was focusing more on the TD soundtrack rather than the film itself, that I could instantly pick up certain "soundbites" that reminded me of their later efforts in "Thief" (especially 65 minutes in, and the trucks are finally on the road); but I was also reminded of Ennio Morricone's score from "The Thing", at the scene where our "heroes" are repairing the trucks prior to the journey; and there were other TD signatures that reminded me of other John Carpenter films - "Assault on Precinct 13" and "Halloween"

All of those musical footprints suited those particular films to a tee; with the exception of Sorcerer. And I know I'm in the minority here, but I still can't find much love for it here.

We watched 'Dark Skies' (or something close to that) last night. It was kind of a horror flick but substitute aliens for a malevolent spirit. Good cast, decent plot and writing, and a healthy looking budget made for a decent movie. Not mind blowing but for any alien fans, worth checking out. It was entertaining. It was on Netflix here in Canada, so may be in yours too.

The Terrornauts (1967) An interesting if somewhat dated SF movie. Scientists at a radio-telescope are kidnapped and taken to a satellite run only by robots. There, they must pass a series of intelligence tests before learning the reason behind their abduction.

If you want find out why, you can pick this one up on DVD fairly cheaply.

Running time is only 58 minutes so it fits right into the B movie pigeonhole. Overall, not too bad.

City of God (Cidade de Deus 2002)

Poverty, violence, depression, corruption, slum towns, crime, little or no future.

Such is the lives of two boys growing up from one of Brazil's many slum neighbourhoods, take different career paths: one becomes a photographer, the other turns to drug dealing, yet somehow their lives and fortunes remain interlinked.

Great film, but not an easy one to enjoy. It's certainly not a happy-clappy film; but it is still terribly effective & moving. Wonderful cast, tight, merciless direction, and excellent plot (based on a true story)

The Whip and the Body (1963)

Lushly beautiful gothic horror film from Mario Bava. Every scene looks like a painting. In addition to Bava's famous colored lights with no obvious source, great use is also made of shadows and darkness. There's a very nice piano theme heard often as well.

Israeli actress Daliah Lavi (looking very Barbara Steele-ish here) has top billing, above co-star Christopher Lee. That seems backwards at first, but it soon becomes evident that the entire story revolves around Lavi, who plays a very complex character.

Lee plays the black sheep of the family who comes back to his ancestral castle some time after seducing a servant girl, driving her to cut her own throat when he abandons her. In the first of many macabre and lovely touches, we see that the girl's mother, another servant, keeps the bloodstained dagger and roses in a bell jar, vowing that Lee will meet the same fate as her daughter.

Lee arrives to find his father, who disowned him; his brother, newly married to Lavi, with whom Lee had a prior relationship (more on that later); a female cousin, also apparently a former plaything, who happens to be in love with the younger brother; and a limping male servant who seems to mostly be a red herring.

Lavi goes out for a ride along the sea. Lee comes up to her, takes her whip (a small coil of rope, really) and beats her with it. It becomes clear that Lavi is both terrified and sexually excited by this treatment, and the two must have had a pretty heavy S&M relationship in the past (the kind that draws blood.) This daring theme gives the film much of its emotional power, and Lavi has to play a woman who often seems to be gasping with fear and moaning with pleasure at the same time.

Pretty soon somebody cuts Lee's throat with the dagger. Not long after his funeral, there are signs that he's come back from the grave for revenge . . .

Highly recommended.

Victoria Silverwolf said:

Not long after his funeral, there are signs that he's come back from the grave for revenge . . .

Highly recommended.

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I agree. Coming back from the grave for revenge has long been on my 'must do' list.

HanaBi said:

Well as promised, I re-watched Sorcerer, again last night; and my feelings towards the score have shifted slightly more in favour.. but only slightly mind

And I know I'm in the minority here, but I still can't find much love for it here.

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No worries my friend, we all don't like the same things. I'm comfortably cool with that. And I do really like to hear constructive critiques on films of all kinds. Nice chatting with you, HanaBi.



The Giant Gila Monster (1959) - I love this classic black and white creature flick about a teenage garage mechanic, who likes to tune up cars into hot rods, and is rock and roll singer hopefull. This cool cat helps the local sheiff solve the mystery of missing people, and discovers that it's a gigantic man-eating lizard. Plus, this movie is a featured treat on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which make it hilarious to watch and listen too.

"The Theory of Everything" a few days ago. I already own a book by Stephen Hawking, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays that I now think I might put on my reading list again...

Seven Samurai

This is the first time I've seen the complete film - all 204 minutes of it!

It is definitely one of those films to add to one's bucket list, but in truth have never really had the time or inclination to watch in one sitting. Until now.

And I have to say the critical adulation for this film over the last 50 odd years, is truly deserved.

I really must make a point of tracking down more of Kurosawa's work.

Circus of Fear AKA Psycho-Circus (1966)

My second experience with the krimi genre is this UK/West Germany co-production. It's a lot more sane that The College Girl Murders, maybe because of the British influence.

In a pretty nifty opening sequence without dialogue, we see a bunch of crooks pull off an intricate robbery of an armored car. This wildly complex heist involves phony detour signs, knock-out gas, and a speedboat waiting below London Bridge to carry away the loot. All goes well until one of the guards foolishly tries to stop one of the crooks. In the first of many examples of disguises and false identities, another guard who turns out to be in on the plot shoots him. This killing wasn't part of the plan, so when they all get back to their hiding place the second-in-command gets on the phone with the unseen boss, who tells him to have the phony guard meet him at an isolated farmhouse. It won't surprise you that the boss (still unknown to the viewer) throws a big knife at him and kills him. Oh, by the way, there's also a tiger in a cage nearby.

Thus we enter our circus setting. It seems this farmhouse is right next to the winter quarters of a traveling circus. Just about everybody associated with this circus has some kind of dark secret, and the red herrings abound as more murders take place. Could it be the professional knife thrower? Could it be the lion tamer (played by top billed Christopher Lee) who always wears a black hood to disguise the results of a horrible accident in the cage? Could it be the sardonic midget "Mister Big," who is blackmailing Lee (who has a secret supply of money) for some reason or other? Could it be Klaus Kinski, playing the role of one of the crooks, who is trying to locate the loot?

This is a rather sedate and talky little suspense film. The identity of the killer is pretty much arbitrary, and is revealed during one of those "let's trick the murderer into revealing himself" scenes which strain credibility. It's an OK way to pass the time.

A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) A superb Korean horror/psychological thriller. However, it's one of those films that really needs multiple viewings to appreciate it. Highly recommended.

Yojimbo (1961) - Another superb Akira Kurosawa film, that constantly rates highly in most critics' "best top 100 films", and rightly so.

This was remade for American/Italian markets by Sergio Leone, in 1964/5, as "Fistful of Dollars" with Clint Eastwood.

Starship Troopers (1997)

Last year I read the book by Robert A. Heinlein. I found myself reacting very strongly to the "might makes right" philosophy presented, and tried to distance myself from it. I finally saw the film version and have mixed feelings about it, but for different reasons.

The film definitely turns Starship Troopers into a satire, which makes the strong pro-military position more palatable. Yet, the story was changed and toned down so dramatically it lost a good bit of its meaning. A thought-provoking book which also elicited strong emotions from me was turned into a mindless action flick. Aside from a lack of general direction, the action scenes felt too repetitive as the military's primary strategy appeared to be "run and shoot". They kept losing battle - not because of a great enemy - but because they were stupid and had poor weapons. Speaking of which, what happened to the power suits? Strategy would have played out much differently had they stuck with the original - and very creative - use of power suits.

Strangely though, I feel a stronger connection now with a book I thought I didn't like. It presented ideas about war in a way I had never thought of before, and really caused me to think through my attitudes and reasoning behind why I believe what I do in that way. The movie had no such effect and is quite forgettable.