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Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Surveillance- This film is such a mind fuck. Definitely deserved Oscar noms for Best Director, Best Picture, and cinematography. I've seen it before but it still blows me away. Would have loved to watch it in theaters to get the crowd reaction as the twist is almost a slap in the face after you've spent all that time watching it unfold and learning what really happened out there. When watching it a second time the twist makes more sense and doesn't feel like such a sucker punch. Having said that, had they removed that twist and hit us over the head with a more logical sledgehammer while somehow retaining the impact of the car crash and its aftermath, would warrant a spot in a greatest films ever made discussion.
8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409345/
I just watched "The Strangers"
Terrible film. Terrible. No real scares, no atmosphere, no plot, no reason, doesn't follow human psychopathy, doesn't follow the guideline of evil... just a fucking fuck up of a film.
That film is one of the biggest letdowns in history. SO much potential flushed down the toilet.
The marketing of it was great though.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
John Carpenter's THE WARD
John Carpenter returns with his first film in a decade, his most recent being 2001's critically-acclaimed but lukewarm box office sci-fi/horror film "Ghosts of Mars". Carpenter did direct two episodes of the cable anthology series, "Masters of Horror" (episodes "Cigarette Burns" & "Pro-Life") in the mid-2000's, but since, that's been it.
Although "Ghosts of Mars" was an attempt for Carpenter to try to crack back into the mainstream with a suspenseful, but 'hip' release, including a cast with Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier and a young pre-action hero Jason Statham. The film saw Carpenter take a turn from his simplistic, yet effective suspense roots, and opt for a more straight-forward Hollywood blockbuster-style.
2011's "The Ward" brings Carpenter a bit back to his origins. The first noticeable parts of the film is that unlike his previous films, Carpenter did not write, produce or score this film at all. He simply - directed. Maybe he's getting too old for all that work, but it used to be a staple of Carpenter's style. He was involved in every level of setting tone, atmosphere, direction, motivation and dialogue as well as every single scene. "The Ward" marks a change from that.
The film opens and immediately feels like a Carpenter film. Gone are the vintage days of DP Dean Cundey, Panavision, and Carpenter's preferred style throughout the 70's & 80's, his "glory" days to most. Despite the more modern film print and "look", the direction and frames still immediately resonate that you are watching a John Carpenter film, which seems rather odd yet "safely rewarding" in 2011 to have him back. Carpenter still goes for atmosphere, and long-establishing wide-pan shots, big use of 2:35 ratio, and slows pace down in favor of suspense. It's just what he does, and he's GOD at doing it. Always will be.
Like John's early films The Ward isn't over-produced, have extended run times, or go for Hollywood-blockbuster. It runs an hour and a half, and gets right to the point in the open. Instantly the film seems like your standard "girl gets committed to a psych ward for a crime, scary things ensue, shrinks don't listen to her, she's sane, she's gotta get out of her"-type story. We've all seen it before. It's a running cliche. But immediately things are not what they seem, and slowly the film reveals itself to be more than what it seems to be in the beginning.
I can't speak much of the storyline without directly giving it away. But the film is GOOD. It's a nice return for Carpenter. It's a nice way to pick up where he left off with "Ghosts of Mars". Is it a return to form? No. It's just not 1982 anymore (when he peaked imho, both as a director and producer/composer). But despite the naysayers who bailed on Carpenter years ago, and a few missteps in the early-to-mid 90's, the last four directorial efforts by Carpenter, although scattered over 15 YEARS, have been "Good", every single one of them. Greatness has frankly elluded Carpenter since "The Thing", but it still doesn't mean he didn't churn out good films. Escape From L.A., Vampires, Ghosts of Mars, and now The Ward have been four straight efforts, all worthy of viewing and all good. It's worth a watch. Will it be something you come back to over and over? Depends on how much you like the non-Carpenter scripted story, and how much it appeals to you. Unfortunately for repeat fans of Carpenter, The Ward, like They Live and In The Mouth of Madness before it, kind of kills some of it's rewatchability after you've seen it once. Once you know the twist, and re-viewing is simply for diehards. But the first time you see it... it's a nice little Carpenter-style throwback. If the horror directors of today had a fingernail's worth of Carpenter's ability in their whole body, the horror industry today would be 10x better.
The cast... probably one of the weaker points, if there's any weaker point. But that's ONLY in comparison to Carpenter's previous AMAZING ensemble casts over the years. The Ward, because of its plotline, has to go for a mostly all-young female cast, because the story takes place in a female-floor of a psych ward in the 1960s. Some faces are very familiar to movie/TV viewers of "young adult" programming in the last couple years. Amber Heard ("Drive Angry 3D", TV's "The Playboy Club") stars as the main heroine Kristen. Heard plays the role straight-forward, no more, no less. She plays it as if its an action film, and she's the ass kicker, and there's only one way to play that, and frankly it's all kind of one-note. Nothing wrong with that, and frankly her role calls for it, but if you're looking for depth and drama, you're not getting it. Kristen is always on high-alert, trusts no one, obviously will kick the ass of any girl who looks at her cross-eyed, and is the only patient to stand up to the staff. Her performance imo was reminiscent of Neve Campell in the "Scream" sequels, and Jennifer Love Hewitt in the "I Know" films. Danielle Panabaker ("Friday The 13th 2009") has a supporting role, as is TV character-actress Lyndsy Fonseca, both of which along with the other girls play their roles well and quite-convincing. The cast seems to have good chemistry together too, nothing forced, common with Carpenter films.
Overall - a good film. Straight-forward, to the point, old fashioned, goes for scares with moments of horror, and does it in a classy style. Is it Carpenter's best? No. Is it a return to vintage Carpenter? No. Is it a good film that picks up where he left off from his late 90's/early 2000's efforts? Yes, and it's a good one. Check it out!
*** 3 out of 4 stars - Good.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Lost In Translation
I think it was a really good film, well written and acted. I also think Bill Murray is one of the most underated actors ever.
House By The Cementary
Enjoyable retro horror, but I think if you take the good use of music for tension out of it, it's not really that scary or interesting.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Watched a whole bunch of stuff lately:
Flame and Citron (2008) WWII Danish Resistance Flick. Very good and engrossing. There are enough moments of violence mixed in with some good character development that kept me interested throughout the film. Mads Mikkelsen from Casino Royale (the bad guy) stars in this.
Fear and Trembling (2003) Slightly similar film to Lost in Translation except this one deals with primarily the Japanese and how they view women and foreigners in general. Some parts of this film are uncomfortable to watch only because I could not understand why the Japanese characters would act so mean to the main character. There were some funny parts near the end though.
Body Double (1984) Just an average DePalma film. Nowhere near as bad as the Black Dahlia or Snake Eyes. This one is just kinda average. There is some nice camera stuff but the acting and plot were below average.
Visitor Q (2001) Ah yes, the controversial Miike film. I enjoyed this one more than I should have. He really does a great job of framing the main storyline in the film. Miike throws the kitchen sink here as no taboo is left untouched. He made this film and Ichi the Killer in the same year. I prefer this one to Ichi because this one is shorter and just kinda gets to the point. I think he mixes in the comedy bits well in this film too. If you ever want to see how a family can disintergrate in the 21st century because of reality tv and technology in general, then you should watch this film. I really loved the end song of the film.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) This was ok. I would have loved it if they tossed out the damn ending because it doesn't really make that much sense and it sort of ruined the film for me.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Eh, that might be overselling it for "other 80s slasher", but Dream Warriors is without a doubt the best Elm Street film, or at least undisputed champion of Elm Street sequels. The rest just don't compare. And the rest have aged horribly. I also never understood the fan fare around New Nightmare. I do have a thing for and quite enjoyed Freddy vs. Jason (much to Von's chagrin back in the day), but I don't consider it a full Elm Street film, nor a full F13 film either.
However as good as Elm Street 3 is, I MUST give a huge shoutout to Halloween II & Halloween 4, as well as Psycho II, Psycho IV, & Friday The 13th Part IV.
I preferred all of those slasher sequels over Elm Street 3.
