Last Seen Contemporary Movie

[FryeDwight]

A WOMAN SCORNED: THE BETTY BRODERICK STORY (1992). Pretty good TV film of the bitter divorce of Dan and Betty Broderick with the brutal yet somewhat expected conclusion. Meredith Baxter Birney is great as Betty. And always nice seeing Michelle Johnson. ***

[TaeKwonZombie]

The Bye Bye Man from 2017, finally watched this, and i actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would, i like the urban legend, and though it has its problems, it had its good moments and clever scenes...especially the train moments, primarily the car crash on the tracks trick the bye bye man did, but other times annoyed at some of the characters...it is what it is, i'd give it a 5 or 6 out of 10. Some of the moments dragged on in a boring fashion, other times I enjoyed the macabre imagery.

[FryeDwight]

THE OUTFIT (1993). Pretty good DTV of a rogue FBI Man going undercover to undermine organized crime circa 1931. The main thrust of the story is what started as a pissing match between Legs Diamond and Dutch Schultz has escalated into extreme violence as both men will not back down. Pretty good all the way and pretty violent at times (especially in one instance) and a strong performance by Lance Henriksen as a growling snapping Schultz. ***

[FryeDwight]

TURN IT UP! CELEBRATION OF THE GUITAR (2014). Pretty good documentary narrated by Kevin Bacon about how guitars were electrified and various companies and the models produced. Lots of interviews with players like Skunk Baxter, Paul Stanley, Jerry Cantrelll, Slash, Nancy Wilson, BB King , Ana Popovic as well as a Southwest Airlines CEO, a young girl who uses guitar as a therapy tool and other regular people. It also answered a question I had as to why Gibson Les Pauls from the 50's could command such high prices.
While I can't play guitar well at all, it is a comforting feeling holding it or strapping it on. Plugging in with the knobs all turned to the right and smacking the E chord is extremely stimulating...just protect Your ears. ***1/2

[Tommy Jarvis]

District B13 2004 ★★★

This French action flick sets a nuke in one of the infamous banlieues (suburbs of Paris known for their high crime and poverty rate). A supercop, fresh off a mission, is sent in to stop it from exploding.

Let's be clear: you don't watch this for the story or for character development. This is Seagal level writing with some French machismo thrown in. With one woman in the main cast, who's mostly an afterthought for most of the film. The camera throws back to her to literally remind us like “oh yeah, she's in this too (in case you forgot)”.

If anything, you watch it for the pacing and the action. The action set pieces are filmed within an inch of their life, with a type of editing reminiscent of The Matrix and a little of Lola Rennt. What with all the running and spectacular jumping. The fight scenes are filmed equally spectacular, putting them above other martial arts films. (Could this be a gateway movie into Van Damme territory?) And, in all honesty, it still holds up rather well, even while approaching its twentieth anniversary. Good lord, how time flies.

For fans of fast paced action.

Oxygen 2021 ★★★½

Alexandre Aja offers us a horror sci-fi with an interesting premise: waking up from hypersleep with nowhere to go.

Melanie Laurent delivers a strong performance as she struggles to find out what's going on and where she can go. At first, you flub it off as screenwriter convenience, but it's not until the twist that you find what's really going on.

Aja develops his trade, among others with revolving shots adding to the character's (and the audience's) sense of disorientation. And of course the majestuous images that the genre allows.

The movie lagged a bit towards the end, though I will give Aja credit for not relying too much on easy flashbacks.

Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars.

Otherkin 2022 ★★

Unremarkable short about a woman returning to her family, only to find a bit more than she bargained for.

The main horror here is the fear of the inevitable. The atmos does not get all too creepy, but the actors try their damndest.

Fun watch for people looking for atmost horror.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Otherkin 2022 ★★

Unremarkable short about a woman returning to her family, only to find a bit more than she bargained for.

The main horror here is the fear of the inevitable. The atmos does not get all too creepy, but the actors try their damndest.

Fun watch for people looking for atmost horror.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe 2016 ★★★★

We start at a crime scene where the body of a young woman is taken away. She ends up in a morgue where a young coroner (Emile Hirsch from Into the the wild and The girl next door) and his father (Brian Cox) have to find the COD. However, as the night progresses, they will find out that this is anything but an open and shut case.

It starts with more and more oddities popping up. Hang on, this is actually more interesting than I thought it would be. We then build up more and more atmopshere as the two coroners start gathering evidence, trying to find out what had happened to this Jane Doe. This is where the actors do a good job. Cox as the father, jocular with the girlfriend and concerned over the wellbeing of his son. Hirsch as the son, torn between his relationship, his personal ambitions and being the dutiful son doing his job. Of course, there has been a tragedy in the family and the two protagonists suffer a great loss. Not going to spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that it's not very sunny and cheerfull.

This one was pretty damn good. I liked how they set up the atmosphere or used the radio to their advantage. How all these small, daily life appliances can be turned against you and drive you crazy. The actors do a good job and one horror cliché I like seeing confirmed is how the fans look at human death – oh yeah! – and animal death – oh no :'-(

Four stars. Underrated gem and well worth checking out.

Luckiest Girl Alive 2022 ★★★½

From what I can tell and from what I have seen of Mila Kunis, this is probably (one of) the most emotionally complex role(s) in her career and she pulls it off very well. In a way, Ani challenges the tendency of (a part of) the audience to overfocus on wether or not and how much a protagonist is likable.

Ani is ambitious and wants to do what it takes to get to the top (even change her name), yet she is not blind not to the backstage nonsense. That makes for an interesting duality between desperately wanting to fit in and at the same time loathing the less nice things that come with it. You can hear her the whole time saying to herself: ugh, I hate this shit, I feel like a fraud. Now now, you got this chance, your mama is expecting stuff from you, don't let her (and yourself) down. Leaves you as a viewer wondering how much of this is nature and how much is nurture, which is a lot more interesting than finding a character you can just blindly like and agree with.

It's a bit, for lack a better word, rich to hear somebody clearly on her way to better things complain about things other people would give an arm and a leg for. And at the same time, it's a nice change of pace from The devil wears Prada-ish characters, the small town girl making it big and who's just so gosh darn happy to be there. As if reality is that simple.

And of course, there are the demons from the past lurking underneath the surface, causing her to lash out at not necessarily the best possible moments. All adding up to an interesting character arc, told in an entertaining way and at a good pace.

Also makes a nice duality between what we know of someone and the full picture. Like the character of Dean. Somebody who was a jerk at first and then, for lack of a better term, stumbled upon something that somehow gave him the chance to morph into a hero/nation sweetheart, yet not wiping out what is/was underneath that surface. Sure, the reveal with the tape recorder was predictable and the montage of the reactions came with some cheesy music. But why base judgment on one part when the bigger picture has a lot more to it?

All this together makes for an interesting drama/thriller that you can enjoy on more than one level. Well worth checking out.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Black Mirror: The National Anthem 2011 ★★★★

A very nice first introduction to Black mirror.

An interesting premise that leads to an edge of your seat thriller with a very tense build up to a turn your head away climax.

A princess is kidnapped and then the Prime Minister is coerced into having sex with a pig. How the kidnapping happened with the Fort Knox security that royals enjoy and the motives for the request are beyond me. That said, it does not deter from tension and your compassion with the PM. You're really shaking for the guy in the final minutes before the inevitable. Great performance by Rory Kinnear.

Looking forward to see the rest. Based on this first episode, this could become a modern version of Brian Clemens' Thriller. Just to say that it looks promising.

Ps: The fact that this came three of four years before David Cameron and Pig-gate adds a unique touch. The cliché about truth being stranger than fiction.

Amber Alert 2012 ★★★

I don't really understand the hatred that this film gets. Not saying this is briljant, but as far as found footage, this is actually kind of okay.

Michael and Samantha are believable as friends. You can understand why they go for it and even their arguing... the shouting match may be annoying, but you can see them having this argument as friends. Maybe it would help to have a bit of background (a throwaway line or two should be enough) to help understand Sam's emotional reaction (help us see where she is coming from), but that's nitpicking.

With a runtime of 70 minutes, this movie does not overstay its welcome. It is a bit of a slow burn and most of the tension is in the last ten, fifteen minutes. But that's par for the course for the subgenre.

"fuck the haters" is an annoying cliché and I can understand why some people don't like this one. But if you go in with an open mind, this might turn out to be a pleasant surprise and a nice addition to your FF collection.

The Sixth Sense 1999 ★★★★

Undoubtedly one of the better Shyamalans.

Upon this rewatch, some of the original thrill is of course gone. We all know what's coming and the proverbial cat is out of the bag.

The funny thing is, that the build up still stands. Of course you still see the hints now towards the inevitable. But one of his strengths is that Shyamalan, on a good day, can create an atmosphere of unheimlichkeit. And of course Bruce Willis in a, at the time, uncharacteristic role.

And the main scares – the ones the movie revolves around – still work.

[Tommy Jarvis]

The Dinner After 2021 ★★★★

Talk about an awkward dinner.

From the very start, you can feel the somewhat relatable awkwardness. You know what's handy about knowing people all your life? You get to know all of their buttons of how to push them. Or in this case, drive in the knife.

Even more so when this movie takes a hard left turn. Did not see that one coming. Turns out that mum and dad were not the only ones holding a grudge against Angela.

Recommended for fans of short films and people enjoying the feeling of unheimlichkeit.

Goodnight Darling 2021 ★★★

Mum went a bit overboard there.

Typical short. All build up to a jump scare and it pays off enough to warrant a third star.

Mercy Falls 2023 ★★½

In this Scottish 2023 release, a group of friends go into the woods to find a lost cabin. Though the term friends is used rather loosely here, judging from how quickly the group falls apart.

The cast is generic slasher fodder and the final girl is not all that captivating. In fact, from the very first moment, she is overshadowed by the villain, who has more charisma.

At least, we get some good kills from it and some of the tension moments do a good job.

Who would I recommend this to? Tubi fans? Fans of the Scottish accent?

[Tommy Jarvis]

Jackie Brown 1997 ★★★★

Back to the DVD collection for a rewatch.

For some reason, this one never stood out to me as much as, say, Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction, but it is sort of growing on me with this rewatch.

The dynamic between Forster and Pam Grier, who makes for an amazing lead. Samuel L is always reliable. And holy shit, Chris Tucker is in this? Though I wonder what gave Quentin the idea to cast De Niro as the slow jailbird.

Tarantino himself of course remains a master of visual storytelling, showboating all the techniques that he masters and all the knowledge he absorbed throughout the years in video stores, turning himself the walking cinema encyclopedia that he currently is.

Damn good stuff.

Hatchet II 2010 ★★★★

I loved this one.

For one, it has all the genre lovies together for a big get together: Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Danielle Harris, Tom Holland, Jon Carl Buechler... and, given the circumstances, they do a good job with the material.

Is that great writing or a baffling story? No. Danielle Harris' Marybeth escapes by the skin of her teeth, only to come back with a group of local bountyhunters who are in essence just there to be Hodder-fodder. And a sex scene that's appropriately stupid.

This is a love letter to gorehounds. If you're icky about blood and gore and can only stand the type of slasher where it's all stab wounds looking like paper cuts, then you better give this one a skip.

However, if you are looking for a heaping helping of splatter, then this is right up your alley. Each kill more ludicrous and awesome than the last. The special effects reaching Mortal Kombat levels in both these categories. Special mention for Doctor Zombie getting it the worst. Toasty!

[TaeKwonZombie]

The Night Flier, stephen king flick, 1997.

Finally saw this movie. It started off a little slow, but it picked up, and what a great ending! Kinda reminded me of an italian giallo in a way where it kills off people left and right and gives you that ending where the killer is revealed and something has to go down.