Far From Heaven (2002)

Great homage to Sirk's melodramas, with an affecting modern edge.

What Elvis said.

I personally prefer Martyrs to Frontier(s) as well. Frontier(s) had a similar theme to many other films before it. It was a decent little film and that's about it. But Martyrs was a lot more. Without revealing any spoilers I can safely say this, it is an experience, which rubs on badly into you and will stay for awhile.

Flavia The Heretic (1974)

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...dc/FLAVIA1.jpg

>>: B+

Private Parts (1972)

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...c/Pvtparts.jpg

>>: B+

I have a hard time comparing the two... I agree with Elvis, though I would be harsher on Frontier(s) because it's really not my genre...

I can easily lump Frontier(s) into your backwoods torture flick highly influenced by Texas Chainsaw Massacre (I think when I saw it I actually said it was a cross between TCM and Hostel). I throw it in the same bucket as Touristas and Wolf Creek - Icky little torture films that have shocking moments but ultimately do nothing for me.

Martyrs is a truly disturbing film, however. I consider it to be in a whole other universe of deep hopelessness and darkness, far apart from the little torture flicks mentioned above. Martyrs isn't just setting out to make you squirm. It wants to make you unhappy and drain all of the hope and happiness from your life. Also, it has a higher point and vision outside of just pure torture. When thinking about Martyrs, I'm reminded of Ebert's quote when reviewing Human Centipede: "The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine."

weird double feature I watched last night

Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"---deep, thought provoking, enlightening

Jerry Lewis's "The Nutty Professor"----not so much

The Dead (2011): Looks good, nice style to it, but really fell short of what I hoped for. Ends up as just a slow, steady drudge through a desert jumping from one zombie encounter to the next.

I dunno- there's quite a dark tone to The Nutty Professor. I'm serious.

I agree.....haven't seen this one since I was a kid but I was half expecting Buddy Love to smack Stella Stevens.

So Martyrs is a much better film than Haute Tension, Frontiers, and Inside?

I have been pumping myself up to watch Martyrs for quite some time now-- I am PSYCHED. What kind of a mood should I expect to be in right after watching it, lol, I'm afraid to ask.

Hard to compare it to the films that you listed - It's really in its own class here. Also, I really liked Inside but not the other two.

Exploitation films in general really do a number on me, so I may be the wrong person to ask, but Martyrs truly filled me with a feeling of utter despair and hopelessness. I cried at the end out of the pure and utter bleakness of it all, and it haunted me for a while afterward. It's one of the most nihilistic and bleak films I've ever seen.

Damn! :eek: Now, maybe I'm not so much looking forward to it...is it really that hard-hitting?? I'm actually a little scared now, lol, cause I might be watching it close to Christmas. Do you think it'll ruin my Christmas?

LOL - No, I don't think it will ruin your Christmas.

Now I probably built it up so much that you will be disappointed when you finally see it. ;)

Like I said, I'm probably the wrong person to ask because I'm fairly sensitive to the nihilistic tendencies of horror (yet I keep coming back for more!) and have a really low tolerance for exploitation, so I tend to stay away. I'm surprised I watched Martyrs all the way through.

It may not phase you as much as it did me - There's a thread about it somewhere on here if you want to see others' opinions.

In the end, I do think it's an incredible movie. It just depressed and disturbed the HELL out of me. I wouldn't want to see it ever again.

I do feel as though I'm a little on the sensitive (or over-sensitive) side, so I imagine that it's going to hit me pretty hard.

However, I think that's where my interest in horror films comes from. They are almost like a self-dare to see how much I can take or if I can handle what I'm watching.

That said, I have a feeling Martyrs is something ENTIRELY different than anything I've seen before. Just reading reactions to the film (being careful not to read a spoiler), it looks freakin' intense.

How long did the film's impact stay with you?

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...ayMarlene1.jpg

Psychological Horror/drama/thriller is one of my very favorite genres and I do very much appreciate slow burn, art house or bleak films with a good & interesting story & at least some reasonable characterization. Now, here this is a film that centers around a woman named Martha who escapes from a Manson-family like screwed up cult group & then starts living with her sister in a beautiful lakeside cottage. But as she tries to adjust back to a normal life, she is continually haunted by the memories of her life in the cult. The premise was fine & the acting was convincing but the problem lies in the story progression as it was soo boring & dull that in the midway of the film I was kind of asking myself "what & why the hell I'm watching this shit anyway?" But as I have a great tolerance for shitty movies so I finished the movie where nothing actually happens in its 100 minutes running time. The story goes back and forth with some negligible scenes on Martha's life in the cult and a new 'beginning' with her sister but there was actually no development of anything. Though it tried to focus too much on Martha's "increasing" paranoia about her guilt ridden life back in the cult but there was no single interesting incident happens or they shared with the audience or they couldn't even able to show something properly. This is not something like a "thinking person's psychological drama"; this is straight away a very much dull movie that only has the capacity to waste your time.

>>: C-

Deadheads (2011)

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/.../Deadheads.jpg

Not bad; just an okay Zombedy.

>>: C

"are_you_annoyed" would be the proper nick for you.

i was going to watch deadheads but did not know if it would be funny or boring, one of those movies i left on the back burner, was it a funny movie.

Gee, thanks.

Hugo (2011)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...o-poster01.jpg


I actually just wrote up a more detailed review about this, but keyboard quick keys just fucked me and wiped it all away. :mad::mad:

In short:
Great movie. Loved it. Defied my expectations - Movie took a turn from the story I was expecting it to be (the story of a lonely little kid) to be much, much more. It's magical and a true love story of the cinema - For those of you who love cinema, definitely see this in the theater.

Pros:
The adult casting was superb, right down from the antics of Sacha Baron Cohen (whom I wish would take more of these roles; loved him in Sweeney Todd as well), to Christopher Lee, Ben Kingsly, and Helen McCrory. The direction was incredibly well-done and the sets were truly magical.

Cons:
The kid casting was terrible - Asa Butterfield as Hugo was pale, uninteresting, and clearly forcing lines, while Chloë Grace Moretz really just sucks. I hated her in Kick-ass (with the exception of action scenes) and I hated her here too. She is not a great actress at all. Luckily this movie wasn't about the kids, though. Like I said, much, much more.

Also, not really sure why it needed to be in 3-D. Didn't necessarily take advantage of the technology.


4/5.


...


Attack the Block (2011)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...k-Poster-1.jpg


Maybe I had high hopes for this movie because folks on here liked it, but I have to be honest, I was really disappointed.

What truly bothered me was this: Don't slap some sort of sociopolitical statement about slumdog thugs being constantly pigeon-holed and wrongfully fingered by police WHEN THE MOVIE STARTS OUT WITH THE FUCKERS PULLING A KNIFE ON A WOMAN.

I mean - COME ON - You want me to like these kids? You want me to sympathize with them? You want me to cheer them on when they turn from thugs to heroes?! DON'T START THE MOVIE WITH THEM PULLING A HEINOUS CRIME. Honestly, if, say, the alien had attacked her and she fingered the kids instead - THAT would have been a better statement about racial and socioeconomic profiling - But don't try to sell me on it when our anti-heroes start off by mugging a woman AT KNIFEPOINT.

So, really, in short:
I hated our characters. I really did. From the onset I wanted them to get their comeuppance. Not to mention, they're fairly 2-dimensional... Want to make a statement about THUGS NOT BEING THUGS? Well, maybe add some character development in there outside of MUGGING A WOMAN. Seriously. Want to show me that these kids aren't ACTUALLY bad? How about DON'T SHOW ME THEM MUGGING A WOMAN IN THE FIRST SCENE. Fuck your socio-political commentary. Do I understand that people of certain races and socioeconomic standing get pigeonholed and wrongfully fingered by the police? Absolutely! However, if I see a person committing a crime, I WANT THEM PUNISHED FOR IT! There is no punishment here - In fact they're hailed as HEROES even though, ultimately, it's their own hubris that caused the entire fiasco to occur at all (AAAAAAAAAARGH).

The last movie that I was annoyed about hating the main characters was The Horde, but the difference between the two is that The Horde is a significantly better movie, with significantly more tension and action and some truly nail-biting scenes. Attack the Block simply did not have that. Just horrible people who I wanted to see get gobbled by space aliens.

Disappointed.

2.75/5.

Your review makes me want to write a story where a "bad person" is redeemed by his good actions.

I'm not saying it's impossible - I just think that it didn't work in Attack the Block.

Plus in the movie, they're not so much "redeeming" themselves, but "cleaning up the shit that they caused in the first place for being stupid fucks."

Ugh.

I guess what really annoys me is that the statement about pigeon-holing "bad people" ("thugs," "low-lifes," etc.) is actually a pretty important one to me. Growing up in a relatively poor city and then going to a rich WASP college where kids there would pretty easily throw out a racial epithet when it came to crimes being caused in the news, it infuriated me. I want to see kids who are type-cast as villains turn out to be heroes... But in the movie they were just 2-dimensional and unlikable.

Balada triste de trompeta (The Last Circus) (2010)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ast_circus.jpg

Ho-lee cow.
This is one of the craziest film experiences I've had in some time. A fairly tongue-in-cheek allegory of extremes in Franco's Spain, it's told through the story of a twisted love triangle between a sad clown, a happy clown, and a beautiful trapeze artist that is at once completely absorbing, engrossing. The film just flies by.
It reminds me a bit of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, too, in that it represents these extremes with its production. In the real sense of the word, this film completely absurd. Every frame is loaded with color and movement, the darkest humor, and (sometimes goofy) extravagant violence. It is that rare, spot-on blend of eye-rolling pulp and art-house spectacle. And it's held all together with a clear sincerity. The ideas and inspirations behind the film are strong. Performances are great, the cinematography is a marvel. Even without its commentary, The Last Circus is an unbelievable work.
However, it does suffer at times from some conspicuous CGI, but for me at least, it was easy to forgive.
Certainly recommended for Chrono, Elvis, Ferox, V, Roshiq (although you've probably already seen it), and anyone with an adventuresome cinematic spirit.

^^ Awesome! We saw the trailer On Demand and were instantly fascinated by it - Can't way to check it out!

Sounds like a bit of Comedia del Arte...

Well, sad to hear that you didn't like it. The beginning was supposed to be a normal, every day occurrence in the lives of British thugs. One can't expect central characters to always be heroes, or do-gooders. Belonging to this country where I live in, I can accept these bad character leads and see why/how they do what they do. Maybe you looked too much into it, and that spoiled the rest of the film for you.


Anyways...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

Ah, the found footage films. Low-key, down to earth, common and modest stuff make them more believable. But when you take them to the big-budget arena, you need to be on your toes to make it click.

I liked the premise of Apollo 18. It could have been more believable if there was something on the lines of Paranormal Activity in this (which I was sorta looking for, from the beginning). But as the story progressed and I started to see the reasons of this film being a sci-fi horror, I had the distinct feeling that this should have been the fodder for a commercial venture, instead of a found footage film. The latter half was novel (at least the makers were thinking of something different), and it made you feel that there were too many things happening at once. Still, the director manages to keep things taut, and you will find yourself biting your nails at least once, if not more.

The atmosphere created by the lighting and the bleak, silent surface of the moon was quite excellent, and the 3 principal actors contributed a lot to it as well. The script was good, although the pace was a bit slow in the first 20-25 minutes. The effects were okay, and coupled together with the multiple camera angles, added a lot of show to the proceedings. All in all, a pretty decent entertainer if you want to enjoy the film for what it is. If you are one of those geeky brainiacs who will look for reasons behind the reveal, you better stay away from this.

* * * ½

Let me know when you see it; I'm very interested to hear your thoughts.

I think you might dig it too, NE.

Darn! I totally overlooked Last Circus! Didn't even notice it properly. But thanks a lot for the rec, Fortu. Definitely going to check it out asap.:)

About ATB: I didn't hate it or like it that much. Just thought an okay time waster. The thing that I dislike most about it was the creature outlook or its CGI design, quite unimpressive.

Agree with V on Apollo 18, a pretty decent found footage-horror entertainer. Liked it too.

It's on Netflix instant

bride of the monster..awsome
puppet master..average

Haha, crap. I forgot to mention that. Thanks, newb.

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...wful_Entry.jpg

not a bad movie this, i forgot about it and found it at the bottom of my dvd collection.

You know, just hearing this and other comments gets me even more "excited" to see Martyrs. I'm going to really digest it when I first watch it and absorb the film.

From many people, this Martyrs seems to be a movie that people only want to see once and then never again. How do you guys feel about that? Is it really that brutal that you would never want to watch it again?

I'll tell you this: I've never been more curious and more psyched to see a film in my whole life.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

For me it was one of the most anticipated films of 2011. And it amazingly exceeds my expectations. But I think it won't satisfy everyone here. Anyway, this may looks like an interesting new take on an "Evil Child" story from its trailer, but this is not our typical killer kid film. Based on American author Lionel Shriver's 2003 novel of the same name, this is actually more of a very gripping & unsettling psychological drama about a mother, Eva, who was ambivalence toward maternity...about her first born child Kevin; as she wasn't sure if she really wanted a child at that time. On the other hand, Kevin, a strange, largely silent, cynical, often malevolent child who as grows older, eerily become hostile toward her mother; only Eva's husband aka Kevin's father Franklin, hoping for the best, manages to overlook his son's faults...eventually results a series of domestic disturbance from a dread mother-son relationship and we see the birth of a cold-blooded sociopath.

Masterfully directed by Lynne Ramsay, the film goes back & forth by slowly revealing Eva's tortured & emotionally devastating past & present through her everyday guilt-ridden struggle to understand & cope with her son, Kevin.
Besides the excellent figurative direction, the lead cast & their performance also amplifies the film's strength to a great deal. Particularly the child & young actors played Kevin at his two different age and Tilda Swinton, who was incredible as Eva, a terrified suburban mother bearing the ramification of her sociopath son, who later becomes alienated by guilt & anger after losing everything!

Overall, this is an arty psychological horror film (which I expected from Martha Marcy May Marlene but failed terribly) focusing an unflinching battle of wills & dominance between a petrified mother and her sociopath son.

>>: A

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Most of the death scenes weren't cool & creative, the cast & characters were very average BUT this 5th entry at least comes with a decent & better story than the earlier sequels and a pretty interesting little surprise at the end. I appreciate their effort to doing something little different this time. Though I have a doubt but this can be a good "end" to the series.

>>: B+

Balada triste de trompeta aka The Last Circus (2010)

Couldn't agree more and can't describe better than above...only I can say it's a totally unpredictable, magnificent mayhem of a love triangle that's a must see for everyone.

Thanks a lot for the rec, Fortu :)

>>: A-

Awesome! Glad you liked it. And I think "magnificent mayhem" is a great way to describe the movie.

Had The Last Circus sitting my computer for about a year now better bump it up the list of shit to watch.

Definitely, man. Hope you dig it.

----

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)

It's taken me forever to get around to this one. Honestly, I'm not sure how I felt about it. I mean, it's certainly fascinating, but that's really all it is. And I feel like when you're making a documentary, especially one so invasive, it really should be more than that.

Sold. My curiosity had been definitely peaked by J's rec, now Rosh has driven it up even more. Let me see if I can hunt this one down ASAP. Thanks, guys.

Good to hear. The trailer promised a lot and the film does not disappoint. Another one to add to my must-watches soon. Thanks, Rosh.


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http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

Edgy little suspense thriller which is a pretty decent entertainer. The premise has been done before but the leads (particularly Amber Heard's performance) add a bit of freshness to the proceedings. There are a few instances in the film where you will roll your eyes (expected since the lead actor is a gorgeous blonde), but that can be easily overlooked as minor flaws to the narrative.

* * *


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Was looking forward to this ever since I caught the trailer. And the film does not disappoint at all. Slightly novel premise of mercenaries on the run after committing a daring robbery who find themselves pitted against a lone, battle-tough and half-crazed Vietnam war vet. Even if both sides are bad enough, you will find yourself rooting for the vet more than once. Reminded me of Rambo meets Wolf Creek but it's nowhere near the standards of those films. But still, where Battleground scores is a bit of novelty in the storyline, some solid cinematography and some nice kills. All in all, a film which does not disappoint.

* * *

Battleground looks great. Going to check it out tonight!

No problem! Very keen to hear your thoughts, too.

Excellent to hear a good review for this one. Can't wait to check it out.

----

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ieutenant.jpeg

I like this film more every time I see it. Completely hypnotizing and often hilarious. Some fantastic performances, too. Highly recommended.

I went into Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans with an open mind but just couldn't get into it. Maybe a re-watch is in order.

You should definitely give it a shot. I've found it's definitely a film that benefits from revisiting it. I've seen it a few times now and I like it more each time.

Not that they're very similar, but did you like Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant?