What movie you saw last?

[Brackstone17]

I had a great time watching Machete today. Sure it's got some bad acting, dialogue and special effects, but sure was fun.

[IMPYEMU]

I don't know what it is, but the Horror movies that scare me are largely the Fake Documentary Type movies.

The Blair Witch Project, Quarantine and Paranormal Activity are are what I consider genuinely scary Horror movies. TBP is the scariest in terms of Psychological Breakdown and Fear (+add me fear of the woods), although I have to say the Climaxes of the latter two movies are both much scarier in their own right. But all three are that type of movie. I think the reason might be because with that film effect, the view of the action is RIGHT UP IN YOUR FACE, so you get a much clearer view of what's going on, and in some scenes of these movies, you wish you didn't have the view because your worried the character holding the camera will make a turn and there'll be a horribly disfigured something or other there to scare the crap out of you.

The only movies not like that that scare me that I can think of are The Ring (which I saw once) and The Grudge (which I've seen in parts). The Ring I remember being a genuinely scary movie with a great sense of foreboding and dread and mystery. The Grudge, on the other hand, is a stupid and contrived movie that basically sucks, but I swear that images of creepy pale children making cat noises and that . . . sound is the stuff of nightmares.

Some people confuse disturbance with fear. The Human Centipede is not a Scary movie, it's a Disturbing movie (not to me really as I've seen worse) which is really worse sounding on paper than on screen. Not Horror really.

I LOVE The Exorcist, Dawn of the Dead, and The Shining, but they don't really scare me. The scenes in The Exorcist that scare me are the few shots of demonic imagery scattered about the House, the scene where "Help me" is written on Reagan's Stomach (it's the orchestral sting that accompanies the scene that gets me) and the added "Spiderwalk" scene. However, the scene that's almost always considered the scariest (the scene where Reagan's Head twists all the way around) is a scene I have no problem with at all, strangely. Dawn of the Dead has probably one scene that makes me uncomfortable, and it's a scene where a Biker gets eaten alive and his intestines are being carried out of his stomach, probably more disturbing than scary, but that's the only scene like that for me. Then The Shining, which is very close to being as scary as the previously mentioned movies, but ultimately just isn't. The scene with the Granny is probably the scariest for me, followed by the twins bloodied in the Hallway. Another thing about THESE scenes is that they're amped up by Music, whereas the other movies deliver scares music free.


Child's Play. I don't get how anyone can find ANY of those movies scary. There is, literally, ONE scene in all of Chucky that is scary, and that is the scene where Andy's mom in the first movie picks Chucky up, turns him around, realizes he doesn't have batteries, then Chucky's *** head spins around and says "HEY I'M CHUCKY WANNA PLAY?" in a tone MUCH HIGHER than the Doll usually says. I'll give people that, that is a *** scary moment, but that is the ONLY moment. Other than that, Chucky's a comedian, literally the funniest Horror movie Villain out there.


I heard Insidious was Scary, Don't be Afraid of the Dark which comes out next month looks scary, and The Others The Huanting The Innocents are all movies already out that look scary. Basically, the scariest movies out there are the ones about Ghosts and Spirits. The exceptions are (Demon Zombies? from Quarantine) and (Demons from Paranormal Activity).

[JackGordon]

Originally Posted by IMPYEMU

I don't know what it is, but the Horror movies that scare me are largely the Fake Documentary Type movies.

We have something in common

Originally Posted by IMPYEMU

Basically, the scariest movies out there are the ones about Ghosts and Spirits.

I dare you. NO! I double dare you! Watch Lake Mungo alone, in the dark with headphones (if possible). You will not regret it, I promise.

[IMPYEMU]

Originally Posted by JackGordon

I dare you. NO! I double dare you! Watch Lake Mungo alone, in the dark with headphones (if possible). You will not regret it, I promise.

I'll check it out.

[Brackstone17]

I saw There Will Be Blood. It is certainly very good, an excellent film. Not one I am really motivated to ever see again, though.

Also, maybe it's just me, but for as good of an actor as Daniel Day Lewis is, he cannot maintain an accent to save his life.

[IMPYEMU]

I certainly thought that the acting, production value, and direction were great in There Will Be Blood, but I thought it was way too long for it's own good.
There was too much padding in some scenes, as if PTA wanted the movie to be long just for the sake of being long.

I think it's a big problem for some directors, its as if they think that if they're movie doesn't reach a certain length in runtime it won't be looked at as strongly.

Few examples are better than Jackson's King Kong remake, with it's overlong near hour long third act. That, and the epilogue in TROTK.

[JackGordon]

Hellraiser (IV): Bloodline (1996)

To me, this is the best Hellraiser sequel out there. Yes, the acting is horrible at times but I find the origins of the puzzle box and the demonic Angelique both extremely fascinating to watch.
Fun fact: one might remember Valentina Vargas (Angelique) as the nameless seductress in 'The Name of the Rose' (1986) for leading father Adso - portrayed by a young Christian Slater - into temptation.

[JackGordon]

For true fans of 'The Shining':
Spatial Awareness & Set Design part I & part II.

Enjoy!

And check his website for more interesting stuff.

[BeardedHoplite]

I just watched all four ( I don't count Dead Pool because Dead Pool sucked) of the Dirty Harry movies in two days. Me an' my brother have been spouting off Clint Eastwood's lines all day.

[JackGordon]

Finally saw the 142min version of 'The Shining'. I don't understand why we still haven't gotten this version in Europe?! Loads of important and necessary extra character development for Danny, Jack & Wendy! Brilliant!

[Brackstone17]

I watched Crimsons Rivers today and I really enjoyed it, but the film has some serious issues. It has the feel of a movie that had a good script (it is based on a book), but was then far too heavily edited. This would have been a far better miniseries, I think. I'm not saying everything must be told directly to the viewer, but the film could have used more exposition than it had. It`s not that it is hard to understand what is going on, but that some things of rather enormous importance to the plot don`t get the attention they perhaps deserve.

My other issue is the explanation behind the whole mystery.

It's twins. Evil twins. Twins being the source of the mystery is fairly clichéd, but it works here because it actually fit the rest of the plot. However, there was no reason for the evil twin to be alive. The plot would have been no worse off if the one twin had actually been killed rather than have her death faked.It avoided a trope only to come full circle and hit it anyway.

So overall, it has the feeling of a movie in which the book is significantly better. I haven`t even read the book, but I`m certain it is the preferred way to experience the story.

EDIT: I saw The Last Exorcism the other day and the worst thing about it is the title, which is as generic as they come. It's not exactly the scariest movie, and it does carry the dreaded PG13 rating, but it was a very good film all the same. it's not as violently shaky as most found footage films, so those with weak stomachs should be ok. I love the premise and the main character, even if the idea of an exorcism school is a bit silly (then again, Avatar camps and Star Wars Lightsaber schools exist). The one point of disagreement with most people seems to be the ending. It could have ended at about 2 other points, and it would have been about the same in terms of quality, I think. But the ending they chose does fit and packs in a good Lovecraft reference while it's at it. I tend to not like ghost/demon/exorcism films, but this along with 1408 and The Devil Rides Out are clear excetpions. Oh and Ghostbusters, but that goes without saying. All in all I highly recommend this film.

[BeardedHoplite]

I picked up Eastern Promises (for free!) before my long car-trip across the Midwest.

I ended up liking this movie not for the story it told, which still had it's charms, but from the really in-depth look at Russian organized crime. It was interesting to see that all of Viggo Mortenson's tattoo's meant something. The fact that his accent was flawless only immersed me further. I almost wished it was longer so I could see more of the Russian underworld.

Plus the fight in the sauna was the most realistic bout of fisticuffs I've even seen in a film.

And then when he gouged the Chechen's eye out. DAAAAAMN

[Brackstone17]

I saw Cronos and enjoyed it, but it wasn't great. It was just missing something to make it truly special. I`d call it a good horror film, but not a great one.

[JackGordon]

I decided to watch The Crow: City of Angels again. Now I know why I (deliberately) forgot about this one. Just about everything in this movie is terrible: the acting, all characters, the soundtrack, the badly recycled story,... Terrible. Absolutely terrible.

But I must admit, Mia Kirshner does look really elegant in it. Still, that's not excuse to like this insult of a sequel.

[JackGordon]

Has anyone seen 'Horrible Bosses' yet? (trailer)

Your thoughts, please?

[IMPYEMU]

I think 2011 will go down as the year that started the end of Cinema. Seriously.

Going to the movies is not about picking the best movie to see anymore. No. It's about picking the least crappiest movie to see actually. It's also whether or not you want to spend an extra $4.00 on stupid 3D.

But wait, that's not where it ends either. As well as the above, it's whether or not you want to see a REMAKE. A PREQUEL. Or, a SEQUEL (Not just A Sequel though, it's the THIRD, FOURTH, or FIFTH SEQUEL in a TIRED and BEATEN Franchise).

SO, IN MY CASE THE OTHER NIGHT, I SAW CONAN THE BARBARIAN, REMAKE, IN 3D.

HOWEVER, I FOUND SPY KIDS 4D: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, FINAL DESTINATION 5 AND THE REMAKE OF FRIGHT NIGHT TO BE QUITE TEMPTING.

[JackGordon]

Don't go, then? I've said it before but the last time I went to an actual theatre was to see 'The Dark Knight' back in 2008. And prior to that everytime I went to the theatre, the experience was deeply unpleasant. So I decided not to go anymore. Mostly for the reasons you mentioned but also because I refuse to spend money on sitting in a place next to hundreds of annoying and loud human beings.

Movies that I really want to see will be released on DVD or blu ray eventually anyways and I'm a patient man...

[BeardedHoplite]

I think the last time I went to the cinema was to see Bad Teacher.

Yep, not going back for a while

[GoggleboxUK]

I watched a French horror called Martyrs. The poster had a quote on it that said "Makes Saw look like Sesame Street" and that really annoyed me. I thought it was a glib comment with no sense of reality at all.

Then I watched the movie......

It really DID make Saw look like Sesame Street! Not for the faint hearted but an absolutely amazing movie, couldn't stop thinking about it for a week afterwards.

[IMPYEMU]

Jack I'm not so mad a "Movie Theatres" as I am at the "Movies" being made today.

I can sympathise with you, Theatres with their largely unfair pricing and the annoying things people do in the theatre bother me, but honestly is worth doing to see movies on the Big Screen. Some people don't care but I always get more satisfaction out of a movie on the Big Screen and Big Speakers. Patience I have. But waiting for a movie to come out on DVD (one that I REALLY want to see...) for like 5-6 months is beyond patient.

Anyway, I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes today. Which I thought was a pretty good movie. It's a little too long, and the human characters are mostly boring (especially the very miscast J. Franco) but the special effects for the Apes and the action is marvelous.


But even more important than that, what I saw, for the first time, was the trailer for David Fincher's Interpretation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, featuring an orgasmic cover for Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" by Trent Reznor and Karen O.

This trailer, is literally better than every movie I've seen so far this year.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) Trailer

Mindblowing.

While you're at here's some other good looking movies coming out soon, with trailers viewable on YouTube.

Contagion (Ensemble cast, much?)

In Time (interesting concept, I thought)

The Woman In Black (looks terrifying)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (a Popcorn movie for people who hate dumb popcorn movies)

And while it's probably going to suck, any fans of John Carpenter's The Thing owe it to themselves to check out The The Thing Prequel.

GoggleboxUK, Martyrs is a pretty sickening movie, Jesus...

[JackGordon]

Originally Posted by IMPYEMU

The Woman In Black (looks terrifying)

I saw the 80's version two year ago. Pretty good, indeed

Originally Posted by IMPYEMU

GoggleboxUK, Martyrs is a pretty sickening movie, Jesus...

It's disturbing, yes but take a look at 'À l'intérieur' (2007, aka'Inside')

[Brackstone17]

The Woman in Black looks interesting. Of all the movies coming out this year, I think I'm most excited for Drive at this point.

Anyway, I saw Fright Night about an hour ago. I didn't really know what to expect, but I really truly enjoyed it. Apart from that kid from Superbad, it was really well acted, Colin Farrel in particular, who honestly plays one of the only menacing vampires I've seen in a long time. All in all, good movie and highly recommended.

[JackGordon]

Portal: No Escape

This screams for a feature length version!

[Bevacur]

Monsters. Saw it in CEX and instantly thought it was a horror, brought it and then watched it. It was a love film. That makes me a sad panda...

[JackGordon]

^ You'll love the prequel 'Monster' (2003)