What was the last movie you watched? Part 2

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Batgirl0202]

7/10

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Hell of the Living Dead (AKA Virus, AKA Night of the Zombies, AKA Zombie Creeping Flesh ~ 1980)

Directed by schlockmeister Bruno Mattei, and starring Margit Evelyn Newton. TV news reporter Lia Rousseau (Newton) and her crew arrive in Papua New Guinea to investigate an accident at a top secret research laboratory. Soon afterwards a team of commandos arrive; they recently neutralised a terror threat at an embassy and believe the disaster at the research lab may be the work of the same terrorist organisation. When they discover that the accident released a chemical which has turned all the lab workers into bloodthirsty zombies, Rousseau and her crew join forces with the commandos and eventually escape the complex. As they make their way through the surrounding New Guinea jungle they realise that the chemical has reached that area, which is now teaming with zombified indigenous hunters. As Rousseau and the others try to fight their way out they start falling victims to the zombies.

Nearly everything here is bad; acting, direction, story, dialogue, makeup... One reviewer at the time said, 'the possibility of a subversive subtext involving Third World victims corrupted by scientific research was truly buried here in an orgy of flesh chewing and vomiting, as well as dialogue that beggars belief' - which still makes it sound better than it is. The score by Goblin is good, but even that's cobbled together from pieces they wrote for other films; and whilst there's plenty of gore, it's so badly done. Newton being very pretty, the (second hand) Goblin music, and some unintentional laugh-out-loud moments scrape this a 3/10

 

[squeekness]

An inconvenient sequel: truth to power

 

[Daywalker89]

Another Cannes Festival sleeper hit. Wasn't really sold on the trailer but thought id see it anyway. Wow, this film is a drama first and foremost but can take it to places you weren't expecting. A insight into the rich and poor dynamic sprinkled with some trauma. Now to flip the script i would say this is one of the funniest films of the year. I kid you not. Sean Baker really is cooking out here from the respect he's getting on his previous films. Might have to look into his filmography.

 

[Sculder]

Uno scugnizzo a New York / Neapolitan Boy in New York (1984)
R.I.F. (2011)
Cuatro balazos / 4 Bullets for Joë (1964)
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Kneecap (2024)
High Noon (1952)
Joe... cercati un posto per morire! / Find a Place to Die (1968)
Vai avanti tu che mi vien da ridere / The Yellow Panther (1982)
Tur & retur / Round-Trip (2003)
Un grand seigneur: Les bons vivants / How to Keep the Red Lamp Burning (1965)
Ringo del Nebraska / Savage Gringo (1966)

 

[Ghostrider87]

(1988) Red Heat
9/10

Red Heat is an entertaining Bromance buddy cop Action movie with 2 distinguishable Cop characters searching for a remorseless nefarious Soviet Drug Smuggler who killed Ivan's partner. That is the believable reason why it's very personal for the Soviet PoliceMan that is Ivan Danko played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The main antagonist Viktor Rosta is a remorseless nefarious antagonist who is a Criminal Organization Leader very similar to Clarence Boddicker of Robocop, and it's not shoehorned in when a protagonist states the crimes that Viktor is responsible for to other protagonists.
The movie succeeds in showing that he is an entirely irredeemable antagonist which works because Captain Danko wants violent vengeance since he knows Viktor is responsible for murdering Captain Danko's partner without hesitation much like Hans Gruber of Die Hard or Steve from the great remake (2003) The Italian Job.



What stands out is that Ivan Danko from Rocky 4 has the same initials as Ivan Drago which is astounding because like Ivan Drago he has the same smooth long Spiky style, is a Russian Soviet, and also has a hefty body.

It's a cat and mouse action buddy cop hardcore Rated R Action movie set mostly in the Midwest Metropolis that is Chicago, and the movie had a big enough budget to film on location in Chicago.
Art Ridzik is a Chicago Police Detective played perfectly by Jim Belushi because Walter Hill and the ScreenWriter utilize his strengths as an actor. After all, Art has a foul mouth and succeeds with comedic lines much like a similar Walter Hill movie that is 48 Hours.
Also, Jim Belushi was raised in a Chicago suburb so he's entirely perfect playing a Chicago Police Detective much like Mark Wahlberg plays a badass hardass from Boston in the Oscar-winning movie The Departed which is set in Boston.

Red Heat greatly succeeds at being a fast-paced action movie that doesn't waste any time showing it's set in a dangerous world similar to 48 Hours, Marked For Death, etc.

I'm thrilled that this fast-paced action bromance movie succeeds with being set in a realistic action movie universe including characters don't just instantly die when they get shot in not fatal areas, realistic consequences for violence other than gunshot wounds, guns have limited ammo since characters are shown reloading guns, the Chicago Police Department being sued by an Informant because of physical coercion which no protagonist attempted to halt physically, etc.

How exactly did Captain Danko get an impressive handgun that looks very Robocop-inspired past customs is asked by Detective RidZik, and because of great writing Captain Danko provides a believable solid explanation which I enjoyed because it would be a glaring plot hole if Captain Danko gave an inane unbelievable explanation that's insulting to the audience.

It's very outside the box of dime-a-dozen movie cliche since the airplane doesn't land in New York City instead Chicago which is the third most populated city in the USA.
Much like 48 Hours was set in San Franciso and filmed on location in it, this Action Bromance movie also directed by Walter Hill succeeds at showing off Chicago including Chicago trains moving in Downtown Chicago areas, other recognizable locations which makes it unmistakable that this is an action movie set in Chicago, and was filmed on location in Chicago.

The original soundtrack has songs that fit the suspenseful scenes, characters consistently act realistic including Captain Danko saying that Soviets drink vodka as a way of dealing with stress and tension when asked by Commander Lou Donnelly how Soviets deal with tension and stress, characters asking other sensible questions, and characters reacting realistically including when Detective RidZik is able to see a flaw for Captain Danko's explanation for how exactly was Viktor's wife was able to escape since Ridzik has seen visible information that Captain Danko has good running speed.
The movie has a realistic progression of tension ending between Captain Danko and Detective Ridzik. Also, the movie gives us an unmistakable scene in a Chicago Airport that shows their relationship is in the amicable area which made me very happy.

1 character in a scene is shown wearing a Cubs T-shirt, also Captain Danko and Detective RidZik are shown watching a White Sox Baseball scene.
This seems intentional because the screenwriter wants both White Sox fans and Cubs fans to both be very happy that Cubs got some focus mainly an unstated character wearing a Cubs t-shirt for 1 scene , and the 2 protagonists from different cultures both shown relaxing by watching a White Sox game so the White Sox team wasn't excluded in this action bromance movie set in Chicago.

It's very ridiculous except very entertaining that during a hand to hand combat action scene the punching sounds are thundering like a Shotgun, or like it's Superman fighting Doomsday or General Zod.

This movie does stand out as being very retro since it's an 80's movie including the Telephone booth, 80s Style Clothes, a common 80's rectangular Radio that has a tape player, a common 80's era tv, etc.

Mostly anything that should be explained does get explained so suspension of disbelief doesn't get broken.
This includes a believable explanation for why does Catherine Manzetti remain married to Viktor since she knows he is a remorseless nefarious Criminal Boss that is responsible for predatory nefarious actions.

As a result, this action movie does give us moral ambiguity with a morally gray character or complicated character that I viewed as likable, and the screenwriter of Red Heat respects the audience by not stating directly to view Catherine as an unlikable condemnable character or is she the likable complicated character since it's left up entirely to the audience.

Captain Danko is very similar to a T-800 aka a Terminator because he's shown to be fearless, doesn't fear pain or gunfire, and is an impressive shooter similar to the badass cybernetic organism known as a T-800 aka a Terminator.
Captain Danko and Detective Ridzik both are wearing suits, however, both are different styles so they remain very visually distinguishable.

It's not shoehorned in that Ivan is able to acquire a 44 Magnum same as Dirty Harry, along with the believable explanation for why Detective Ridzik has that exact spare gun in a storage area in his car.

A huge nitpick in the third act is Viktor using an inane action that has a glaring flaw because it has a huge flaw mainly for him. Also, the movie doesn't have Viktor provide a sensible explanation for why he won't have to worry about the immense drawback.

The Climax is thrilling with high stakes, a variety of action scenes, the build-up before the anticipated showdown, etc.

The movie doesn't have any cliffhangers and no scene that sets up a sequel which is why I'm satisfied with the ending, along with Red Heat is similar to the great The Italian Job movie remake, (1991) Born To Ride, Marked For Death, (1991) Point Break, Cellular, and other very well written movies that are designed to stand on its own.

The whole line being parked in a red zone said by Detective Ridzik isn't shoe horned in before saying no offense to Captain Danko since this is an example of negative red.

 

[emielaen]

A ★★★½ review of Caught by the Tides (2024)

As a master of cultural specificity and textured images, Jia Zhangke weaves together decades old and newly shot footage to create a docufiction mishmash detailing the alterations of communication and connectedness, the alterations of the self and the alterations of power dynamics. Using what...

boxd.it

 

[KaijuDude1992]

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Batgirl0202]

8/10

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Awful Dr. Orloff (AKA Screams in the Night, AKA The Demon Doctor ~1962)

Spanish-French horror film written and directed by Jess Franco, starring Howard Vernon, Conrado San Martín, and
Diana Lorys. In the early 1900s a string of beautiful women are abducted from Paris nightclubs. As police investigate they become suspicious of one Dr Orloff, a former police surgeon. It transpires that Orloff has a daughter who was hideously disfigured in a fire, and he is abducting women in order to use their skin from various bodyparts to repair his daughter's appearance.

Regular Franco collaborator Vernon plays Dr Orloff, San Martín plays Police Inspector Tanner, and Lorys plays Tanner's fiancee, Wanda - a beautiful ballet dancer, who decides to do some amateur sleuthing to help her husband-to-be, whilst offering herself as bait. The three stars are very good - but the biggest impression is made by Ricardo Valle as Morpho, Orloff's lumbering, bug-eyed, blind, mute assistant (where the heck do these mad doctors find them?)

Filmed in black and white it has a real gothic feel; the story goes that Franco showed potential backers a copy of Hammer's The Brides of Dracula, saying he could make a similar film "in the same vein, but with a different style". Some influence shows; although this isn't a vampire pic, Morpho strides around in a full-length cape, biting women on the neck and carrying them off, whilst Diana Lorys has a real look of BoD's Yvonne Monlaur. The plot is also very like that of Eyes Without a Face, made just two years earlier (the same year as The Brides of Dracula). Franco produced two versions of this; one with some shots of female (topless) nudity (the common version today), and one without, for places with stricter censorship.

As Jess Franco's first horror film (also often cited as the earliest Spanish horror film), and proof that he could actually be a good storyteller when he wanted to, this is well-worth a look. 7/10

 

[squeekness]

Dune (2021)

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Terror (1938)

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Eyeball (AKA Red Cats in a Glass Maze ~ 1975)

Italian/Spanish co-produced giallo/slasher, written and directed by Umberto Lenzi, and starring John Richardson, Martine Brochard, and Andrés Mejuto. A group of American tourists are on a bus/coach tour of Barcelona. However, before long female members of the coach party are being picked off by a mysterious figure dressed all in red when the party stops for sightseeing attractions or overnight stayovers. But the women aren't just being killed; the left eyeball of each victim is gouged out - sometimes prior to death. The lead detective retires in one week, and is keen to solve the killings before he leaves, whilst the rest of the party just try to survive.

The plot of this is actually bonkers, the number of red herrings is ridiculous, and the murderer's motive is one of the most utterly stupid ever - none of which stops it from being a load of fun! The cast are good (plenty of faces from other Italian genre films), there's a lot of blood plus severed eyeballs, all the nudity you'd expect from a 1975 Italian exploitation film, and a good helping of so-bad-it's-good dialogue. Having said all that, unlike with a lot of these films, the plot - whilst insane - is at least followable (often with these you end up abandoning any hope of coherence, and just watch for the crazy spectacle). Real OTT fun. Oh, Bruno Nicolai's funky score - bizarrely at odds with some of the carnage - deserves special mention! 7/10

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Frodo]

THE PACKAGE (1989)

 

[Broseph44]

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Creep 2 (2017)

 

[squeekness]

Fall (2022)

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Turning (2020)

 

[KaijuDude1992]

 

[Chesterfield]

Fellowship Of The Ring

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

Candyman aka the best slasher of the 90s.

 

[Batgirl0202]

6/10