Absentia (2011)


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Huge thank you to Roshiq, who mentioned this movie in his list of Top Horror Movies of 2010/2011. This is a great little horror gem with ridiculously tight acting and a refreshingly original script. It's rare nowadays that you have a horror movie that really spends time on character development (Innkeepers comes to mind as one of the recent exceptions), and it's refreshing when it happens - In Absentia, you truly get to know your two main characters, Callie and Tricia - These are truly real women with baggage that you can truly sympathize with. Their relationship is also incredibly well-done to the point where, at the end of the movie, I really didn't want to let them go. That doesn't happen very often.

This is definitely a slow-burner, and for those of you who can't tolerate low-budget, this is definitely not for you... However, this movie does a LOT on its limited budget to build characters, suspense, pathos, and a really interesting storyline.

Recommended.

3.75/5.


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Rio (2011)


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Unfunny, poorly written, painfully formulaic, and oddly racist at times. What a waste of some gorgeous animation.

2/5.

Awesome movie. One of my favorite Pete Walker films.

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Decided to give this a watch even after reading some not-so-great stuff about this low-brow indie effort. And I must admit that I am impressed.

The casual viewer will knit his confused brows and think "the folks have stumbled into a Bermuda Triangle of sorts inside the forest", try to look for coherent explanations throughout this slow-burner, and dismiss the ending as being incoherent and melodramatic.

But for someone who appreciates surreal films tinged with atmosphere and moody horror, this film is really, really good. Just remember, you are left with questions rather than answers when the end credits start to roll, and THAT is the hallmark of a good film - it makes you think and stays with you for awhile after it is over. A lot of stuff is implied and is left to the imagination, and if watched carefully, the ending provides the answers to the questions posed throughout the film. You will find solutions to everything - the eerie music, the path's destination, the human psyche, philosophy of life. And the most important one of them all - why the popcorn girl of the town's theater insisted on being a part of the group. The deaths are evenly spread out, and some are particularly jaw-dropping.

Another strong point of the film is the performance of it's actors. The lead pair do their bit but the supporting characters are strong and perform to their fullest potential. Some nice shots compliment the cinematography and the direction is to be commended as well. Bear in mind that this is an indie effort and so it does really well for what it is.

All in all, recommended for those who love surreal, moody films which make you intrigued. If you are thinking of some slashing kills, gore, nudity and explanations/reasons behind everything, best to stay away.


* * * ½

Dagon

Compitent extrapolation on Lovecraft's themes marred by a lack of atmosphere and the most uninteresting, bland leading man I've ever seen.

Totally agree with you, CG! Yeah, I knew this is a perfect film for you :D...it's got the elements that's been handled nicely to fulfill your taste of quality horror. So glad you liked it.:)

Really looking forward to see more of this director(Mike Flanagan)'s works in future. Already read some great things about his short horror feature Oculus the man with the plan and trying to find it now. As a horror filmmaker I think he's got a great potential to do some more awesome stuffs in Indie arena. I think he'd gave more or less the same treatment for the story even if he got the higher budget. He's those kind of story teller who completely like to move on with in-depth characterization & mood of the events ...not seems like to exploited or dominated by CGI stuffs to creep you out.

>> Take Shelter (2011) : A-

>> The Theatre Bizarre (2011) : B+

>> The Three Musketeers (2011) : C-

>> The Artist (2011) : A

>> Underground (2011) : C

I love Pete Walker - have you seen any of his non-horror?

Just saw Psycho. Classic :)

Attack the Block. I was mightily impressed.

Seeking Justice

Not overly original but really entertaining. A modern take on Strangers On A Train with elements of Fight Club. This was a lot better than I was expecting after reading some poor reviews.

The Other F Word

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Quite dull really but a few segments kept it from being a total waste of time. Lars Frederiksen taking his kid to the park was a highlight for me :D But it's basically rich rockstars moaning about how tough they've got it. It would've been more interesting seeing punk parents from the underground scene. You're better off reading Jessica Mills column in MRR than bothering watching this.

"The Woman In Black" (2012)
-Daniel Radcliffe

Plot: IMDB
A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

Phantom's Review: This is a terrific, old fashioned ghost story. Instead of the sledge hammer shocks and gore that most modern day horror films go for, this film opts for a slow build up of suspense. This film has excellent atmosphere and a couple of good scares. Daniel Radcliffe does a great job as the young lawyer If you like classic style ghost stories, I think you'll like this film, I know I did.

--

The Woman
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At first i felt like this was lacking something but as it went on and it starting building to the conclusion i got into it. It's pretty sick and twisted but in a good way and i thought the ending was excellent.

127 Hours (2012)


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Hands down, one of the most captivating and gut-wrenching movies that I have seen in quite some time. Brilliant direction from Danny Boyle and an incredible acting job from James Franco. The story itself is incredible, but Boyle and Franco breathe life into this tale. It's at times horrifying, lonely, and ultimately hopeful.

Highly recommended if you haven't seen it yet.

4.5/5.

Haha I thought 127 Hours was dull :D

Half an hour in I was thinking "Just cut off your arm already so I can go watch something else".

Just finished this one. Excellent rec, EC(i rented it from amazon). As an aging parent/punker it really hit home. I will now blindly follow any of EC's recs as they have been pure gold for me.

FOO FIGHTERS - Back and Fourth

http://www.newrockstarphilosophy.com...011/12/foo.jpg

Never been a big fan of these guys but really enjoyed this documentary. Very well put together without a dull moment. Gave me a bit more of an appreciation for their tunes. Worth a look.

Tower Heist


This didnt have many laughs but i found it very entertaining. For some reason I thought the whole tower was going to be in on the robbery, not just the few guys that did it but it worked better the way it was. Eddie Murphy was good in his reduced role which was good because lately his roles have been pretty bad. I liked Ben Stiller in this too. I enjoy him more as the straight man then the insane characters he's played before. It was also nice seeing Matthew Broderick again.

Nice to see Murphy not being a child friendly character for that one.

My Soul To Take

Vanishing on 7th Street

Eh......

Body Parts.

Attack the Block

I liked it... I know it has a lot of haters out there but I've got to admit, I thought it was a lot of fun.

Yeah. Too bad his next movie is that really stupid looking "A Thousand Words"

Drive


recommended

Stunt driver...mechanic...getaway driver...man of few words....but don't cross him....this one gets bloody

Fuck yeah. Best film of 2011 hands down.

Shark Night.

i borrowed Shark Night from the library cause it seemed like it would be an ok cheesey movie. i was way wrong.
words cannot describe how aweful this movie was. i hated it. i want the 90 minutes of my life back. i could clearly tell what was CGI and i know the SyFy movies are better than this crap. i like some of the SyFy movies, but don't waste your time with Shark Night. if i had to rate this on a star scale it would have a half a star cause i dont think i could rate it zero. i dont even know why i finished it normally if a movie is that bad i shut it off.

>> The Confession (2011) : B+

>> Blessed (2004) : C

>> 2-Headed Shark Attack (2012) : C

Hope someday they'd make 2-Headed Mega Sand Sharktopus Attack! I'm 'loving' this shits :D

>> Underworld: Awakening (2012) : B

The Secret World of Arrietty
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First off, the animation in this is beautiful. It's movies like this that remind me why i miss hand drawn animation so much. As for the movie itself, it's sweet, entertaining and funny. It's a simple kind of movie that reminded me of movies i watched as a child.

Tyrannosaur: Gritty drama directed by Paddy Considine. Solid peformances from Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman, telling a story of two people trying to come to terms with their lives. I thought it drifted towards cliche at times and maybe wanted to be more thought provoking than it actual was. That said, it holds itself together and has plenty of impact. It's not a movie that is gonna appeal to everyone due to the violent and miserable nature, but its a solid movie that survives on some fine acting and plenty of well delivered scenes. 7/10 type of movie that genre fans are gonna enjoy.

Woman In Black (2012)

I thought this was incredibly slow and boring. Almost fell asleep a few times.

Satanic (2006, featuring Angus Scrimm and Jeffrey Combs). Very short budget, but pretty interesting and catchy.

Halloween H20 (1998)
 

such an amazing film

What did you think? I actually really liked the first one (what did you think of the first one too?)... I heard this one got PANNED, but I still want to see it. I'm such a sucker for found footage...

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The Dead (2010)


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I'm going to be honest - I definitely think it was the mood that I was in, but I was bored to tears with this movie.

HOWEVER, my boyfriend loved it, so let me tell it from his perspective... This is an old-school Romero-esque zombie movie that feels as though it should have been made sometime after Dawn of the Dead. It's a bare-boned zombie survival flick placed in Africa. Definitely heavy-handed at times (too much for my pallet, personally), it has some good, bloody flesh-eating slow-moving zombies.

If you're a fan of Night of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and old school Romero, I think you will really like this. Mark considers it a nice addition to the Romero school of zombie films...

For me, unfortunately, it felt too heavy-handed and boooooooooooooooring.


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Chronicle (2012)


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I really, really liked this movie. I did. I liked the concept of taking the super hero origin and putting it in the hands of teenagers who just want to use it to mess around. You have some well fleshed-out characters, and some really solid acting, especially from Dane DeHaan who plays the troubled, unhinged, and eventually genuinely creepy Andrew. The movie creates a realistic bond between these three boys who are exploring the powers mysteriously stowed upon them from an unearthly discovery... There's the conflict of Good vs. Evil, especially when it comes to the freedom to do almost everything... I loved the acting and the direction (though, again, as I've said before I'm a HUGE sucker for found footage films)... I also think it's highly original; it's NOT a super hero movie... It's NOT a super villain movie... It's NOT a teen drama... It's NOT an action film... yet it takes bits and pieces of each to create a truly unique character piece that I think that many people on here will enjoy.

Highly recommended.

4/5.

Been wanting to check out Chronicle glad to hear it's a good watch.

I loved The Dead but I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea.

It's not found footage* and not all that good. If you watch it as a straight to dvd zombie flick its a decent time filler, but if you expect anything more you'll be disappointed. It kinda just falls from one scene to another and seems to do its best to ruin any intensity it manages to generate.


*I don't just mean in a literal sense, its filmed traditionally, no shaky-cam action.

I thought it was a tad less impressive than the first one. Actually, both are pretty decent entertainers but nowhere near the class of [*REC].

I liked the way they shaped the 2nd one in the beginning, but it got a bit too gimmicky for my taste from the middle onwards till the end. The first one is actually decent, but yes, if you give me a choice, I d rather stick to the originals. Watch this sequel if you are interested in the footage stuff, otherwise skip it.

[*REC] & [*REC]² any day, over these two.

P.S. - On a side note, I am really glad you liked Chronicle. One film which deserves more recognition than it actually got. Have to keep an eye out for The Dead.

Saw the ?2011? Conan.
It's nothing really like the other ones, but I don't really think it suffered all that much from it. It was "ok".
Some nice scenery. The fight scenes were ok, the dialogue...much the same...
It was an alright entertainer.
Probably a great drunk watch, I'd say.

Did you guys know that "Kull the Conqueror" was actually originally meant to be the third Conan film?
Not sure why it wasn't, I think there were some legal/ownership issues that resulted in it falling through as an actual sequel.
Interestingly Kull is a character created by the same guy from what I know, and I remember reading that he's meant to be somehow distantly related?
Anyways, wasn't a great film but like the "new" Conan, it was ok.

Re: The Dead

Elvis - I totally get why you enjoyed it and, honestly, I recommend it to a lot of folks on here who are into old school Romero zombies (like I think that V, Disease, Despare, and Fortunato would really dig this film, for example). It almost feels like it should have been made in the earlier 90s instead of the abysmal Land of the Dead - It's definitely a good addition to the slow-moving Romero zombie collection. Having that in mind, it seems out of time since it actually came out in 2010. I don't think that I was in the mood for it, to be honest... Or maybe I just don't like that zombie genre? It's possible... For zombie fans on here, though, I do think you should check this out.

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Re: Quarantine and Quarantine 2

I think that I'm definitely in the minority, here, but I actually liked Quarantine slightly more than [REC], mostly because of the ending (I preferred Quarantine's ending to [REC]'s)... Don't get me wrong; [REC] was great; Quarantine just edged it out slightly.

Straker and V, thanks for the reviews on Quarantine 2 - It's currently on Netflix Instant so I'll probably check it out sooner rather than later; Just wondering what you guys thought.

I really liked [REC]2; I really did (though the boyfriend thought it was a waste of film... I liked how it built off of the first movie. Definitely well-done and it evolved in a way that I thought was creepy.

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Re: Chronicle

V! YES! This movie is SO GOOD! Glad that you saw it and loved it - It's subtle, well-done, and has a fantastic build up and a great climactic scene. Tight acting and directing and I really thought it was refreshingly original... It's actually getting some pretty good reviews (Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, etc.), so I was surprised that more people on here haven't seen it yet.