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Old 06-07-2011, 11:20 AM
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Despite its low budget, Pickman's Muse is an excellent example of good Lovecraftian cinema. Its slow and moody leaving much of the horror up to our imaginations. The acting is adequate with the exception of the lead, Barret Walz, who does a great interpretation of a man slowing losing his sanity. The film makes great use of locations especially the ruined church and its set and model design don't show any sign of its limited funds. One of the strongest elements of the film is its cinematography and lighting. Shots are well framed and the use of almost surreal lighting makes it look a lot better than films with 4 times its budget. This combined with a chilling score makes for a chilling atmosphere.
The Writer/director is obviously a fan of Lovecraft and shows great respect to the material. I really look forward to what he does next. Fingers crossed it will be another dark journey into my favourite mythos.

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  #34562  
Old 06-07-2011, 11:28 AM
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I'm divorcing you all!
Quick! Call my lawyers! We are going to court and claiming custody too!

About time he paid us the cheques for the million dollars each! :D




So this is how it all ended, eh?

Thankfully.

Can't say it was a fitting end to the franchise (IMO it ended a long time ago, Part III or something), but yeah...fans of the Saw traps will love this one, because it contains plenty of them!

But the storyline of Detective Hoffman was utterly exhausted, as was he I bet! And the twist at the end by bringing back one of the original characters as some sort of a retribution (because the bad guy deserves to be punished for everyone to be happy in the end...damn studios!) felt convoluted and really lame. I guess by the end, even the makers didn't know where to go and what to do.

Watch it if you have nothing else to do. If you stopped after part III, skip this.

* * ½
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  #34563  
Old 06-07-2011, 03:02 PM
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Elvis_Christ Elvis_Christ is offline
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Kill The Irishman

I hadn't watched a gangster flick in quite sometime and just grabbed this on a whim but I'm glad I did because it was a great watch. Ray Stevenson plays the part with glee and really tore it up. I have no idea how true to the actual events the whole thing is but it's sure as hell entertaining.


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Calvaire - 7.5/10
Brilliant film for sure. The scene you mentioned is exceptional and it really made the film for me. Glad more people are checking this one out.
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  #34564  
Old 06-07-2011, 03:50 PM
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French cinema is really underrated. Pound for pound, it produces some of the most consistent cinema (horror in particular). I discovered Calvaire on our 'top 200 since 2000' list. So thanks for putting that one together ___v___.
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10. creep

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  #34565  
Old 06-08-2011, 02:06 AM
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Kill The Irishman

I hadn't watched a gangster flick in quite sometime and just grabbed this on a whim but I'm glad I did because it was a great watch. Ray Stevenson plays the part with glee and really tore it up. I have no idea how true to the actual events the whole thing is but it's sure as hell entertaining.
Yeah I loved that too. Stevenson had great hair.

Its did play Danny Greene up as a sort of Robin Hood and kinda failed to mention he was a fed snitch too but alot of the incidents happened. The guy was hard to fucking kill. I have documentry on the raise of the Mob with clips of Greene and an interview with the guy who killed him (in prison of course).

Its hard to believe he was such a pivotal part on the start of the downfall of the mob.
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  #34566  
Old 06-08-2011, 06:40 AM
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Limitless - 8/10

A thoroughly captivating and somewhat original movie. What it does very successfully is take you in several different directions without really revealing what it's true intentions are. It really was highly unpredictable and therefore, a piece of sublime story telling.

As for the individual performances, Cooper's star is on a meteoric rise and this absolutely justified based on this outing. There's no real need to comment on de Niro's performance as he's almost always flawless and this no exception.

I guess you might say this movie is the love child of Trainspotting and Wall Street and is proof that big budget Hollywood doesn't just produce dumbed-down, contrived, crowd pleasing shite.
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top 10 movies
1. event horizon
2. ju on
3. suspiria
4. the exorcist
5. ringu
6. tcm
7. exorcist III
8. the omen
9. haute tension
10. creep

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  #34567  
Old 06-08-2011, 08:34 AM
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Good Neighbors (2010)



>>: C+

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)



>>: A-
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  #34568  
Old 06-08-2011, 10:58 AM
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A nice little Amber Heard double-bill. Do you blame me? :p

Drive Angry starts off fantastically well. By the first 15 minutes you might be rubbing your hand in glee anticipating the film ahead. The next 30-odd minutes are good, developing the plot well.

Then somehow, things go downhill till the climax. Some things which are shown after the one-hour mark defy sense, and you are left wondering what the director was thinking of.

Nic Cage does good initially, then starts getting into his Ghost Rider stride, a vibe which I couldn't shake off as much as I tried to. Amber Heard is simply fantastic and delicious...need I say more? (!) Great to see Tom Atkins in a longish cameo, and David Morse was a surprise. A nice little climax tries to be the saving grace of the film, but at 104 minutes and most of it centering on pulling forward a drab-developed plot, dampens the spirit of the film.

It could have been better. My highlight was Amber Heard, and I have no idea what others will like in this one.


* * ½



Ahh...Sir John Carpenter, welcome back!

It's great to see the great master return to his elements with a story which could easily have been a 80s gem. The periodic setting is absolutely delightful, the atmosphere really creepy and claustrophobic, and the plot is reminiscent of so many good atmospheric films of the golden era. The surprise ending felt like a good finish to a great story, and, while The Ward is not a standout project like Grindhouse was, overall this film manages to stand out from most of the other drab entries of the genre in recent times.

And of course, Amber Heard and Danielle Panabaker in mostly non-glamorous performances. No complaints whatsoever from this fanboy of both gorgeous dolls.

Sir Carpenter might be well past his prime, and to expect a Halloween or Escape From New York or The Thing today from him might be asking a bit too much, yet if he keeps bringing out films such as The Ward then he is still a force in the genre. At least he will give you your money's worth, a thing which MOST makers and studios have given up on long ago.

Did I mention Amber Heard was fantastic? Can you tell I am absolutely smitten yet?


* * * ½
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Last edited by _____V_____; 06-08-2011 at 11:00 AM.
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  #34569  
Old 06-08-2011, 11:28 AM
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I was sure that you'd gonna love The Ward, man.

A new film from John Carpenter with Amber Heard on the lead...one of V's favorite dreams came true!:D
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  #34570  
Old 06-08-2011, 03:36 PM
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Elvis_Christ Elvis_Christ is offline
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Drive Angry just about could've been a Carpenter flick if it had a dash more seriousness/darkness injected into it. It reminded me a lot of Big Trouble In Little China and a few other films from the 80s like The Golden Child. It had the elements of being a modern cult classic but it just didn't quite get there. Entertaining though especially if your in the mood for something mindless.

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Yeah I loved that too. Stevenson had great hair.
:D yeh he did. Cracked me up how he'd just slap people. It was briefly mentioned he was a snitch I think but that aspect was downplayed.
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