What was the last movie you watched? Part 2

[Rozen Thorne]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Yumeno Kyusaku's Girl Hell (1977)

Utae and Aiko are pupils at an elite all-girl private boarding school in 1930s Japan. Aiko is a model student from a prominent, wealthy family. She excels in all subjects, is popular with both staff and pupils, and is frequently 'wheeled out' by the school as an example of what an education at their establishment can achieve. Utae is a misfit. Her less affluent family barely manages to cover the cost of her education, she struggles in most subjects, and is regarded by staff and pupils alike as 'odd'. Despite this the two girls form a friendship that eventually develops into a romantic relationship. Utae and Aiko see the need to keep this hidden, but they're not the only people with secrets; the school principle is using his position to rape students, whilst Aiko's father - a school inspector and pillar of the community - brings geishas home at night for sex whilst his wife and daughter are still in the house. However, when Utae is made pregnant by the principal, life for the two girls begins to take a dark, downwards spiral, towards revenge and death.

IMDb categorises this as Drama/Horror/Mystery. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) calls it Horror. In truth it's a hard film to label. The first two thirds feature several softcore scenes between the two girls. However, at the same time there are harder sequences of rape, psychological abuse, forced abortion, and one very hard-hitting (and bloody) scene of self-induced abortion (where a girl repeatedly rams her own stomach into the corner of a piano). The third act takes a sharp turn again into what may be genuinely supernatural, or an elaborate deception - or even simply hallucination. Whichever, it leads to a bizarre finale.

The direction by Masaru Konuma is fine, the performances (especially from Asami Ogawa as Utae, and the late Yûko Asuka as Aiko) are excellent, and the soundtrack (from Japanese prog band Cosmos Factory) is atmospheric and catchy. The big downside is that the plot at times is very confusing, and the uncertainty over what's real and what's not in the third act (for me) makes it hard to feel sympathy or empathy for the characters involved (the original story on which the film is based was claimed to be 'unfilmable', so I guess that could account for the confusion). Looking online, opinions on the film run from 'weird, don't understand what it was all about', to 'struggled to finish it - it was too distressing'. The best I can say is it's interesting. I may watch it again one day to see if I can pick up more from it. But for now, 5.5/10

 

[emielaen]

Some shorts in there too:

A review of Atlantiques (2009)

That interrupted dream really broke my heart.

boxd.it

A review of Nun or Never! (2023)

Individuality beneath all that homogeneity. Anxieties beneath all that homogeneity. Everything beneath all that homogeneity.

boxd.it

A review of Pussy (2016)

Self discovery on any given night by way of the simple pleasures of life. Colorful and wavy liquefied feelings of joy.

boxd.it

A review of Desire Pie (1977)

A universal feeling. No one is left out of this loving.

boxd.it

A review of The Cigarette and the Weed (1981)

Government issued casualties.

boxd.it

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Rozen Thorne]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Rozen Thorne]

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)

Directorial debut of Aldo Lado (Who Saw Her Die?), starring French heartthrob Jean Sorel and future Bond Girl Barbara Bach.

The body of investigative reporter Gregory (Sorel) is found lying in a park in Prague. He's conveyed to hospital where he's pronounced dead. But he isn't dead; he's suffering from a form of total paralysis. His mind is awake and fully aware, but his body is immobile and unable to respond to external stimuli. Gregory tries to recall what led him to this situation (whilst at the same time dealing with the horror of finding out that he is to be autopsied in front of a group of medical students the next day), and from there the film shifts back and forth between his 'current predicament' and the previous few days as he begins to remember them. He recalls the catalyst for the whole affair was the disappearance of his girlfriend, Mira (Bach), and how he discovered several other attractive young women had gone missing in the city in recent months. These missing persons cases led him to a bizarre conspiracy involving some of the highest placed members of local society. But as Gregory struggles to grasp the final pieces of the puzzle, he is suddenly pulled from the morgue. It is the next day, and wheeled to a hospital theatre his body is prepared for autopsy...

This is often cited as an early giallo, although it doesn't really fit with what the genre would become known for. There's no black-gloved assassin, not many onscreen kills, very little blood/gore, and the only nudity is a recently autopsied woman in the hospital morgue. It's more of a psychological thriller, often compared to Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. The premise is also something I could imagine Hitchcock working with. Sorel is very good as a permanently open-eyed 'corpse', managing to convey how despite being completely immobile he's still actually 'in there', and the whole thing is narrated by his increasingly desperate inner-voice. Bach is okay - although she's not given much to do other than a) look pretty, and b) go missing.

It's well-directed, well-shot, has a great score by Ennio Morricone, and the ending was a surprise (I'd not seen the film before and had somehow avoided spoilers). However, I found some flashbacks dragged, a lot of the secondary characters uninteresting, some things (unsurprisingly for an Italian film of this time) not fully explained, and the solution to the disappearances disappointing (but then I'm not greatly into movies that hinge around satanic cults). Although the film generally gets a lot of love, I can only give it it 5.5/10

 

[Hunter Rider]

One of all time favourite films!

 

[Hunter Rider]

A contender for best movie in the series, perfectly paced, dynamic, exciting and has a sense of fun.

9.5/10

 

[Sculder]

GoldenEra (2022)
Kick Me (2023)
Dr. Crippen (1963)
Thérèse Raquin (1953)
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
Your Witness (1950)
Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)
Woody Woodpecker (2017)
Niagara Fools (1956)
Rozwodnicy / Divorce (2024)
Matrimoni e altri disastri / Weddings and Other Disasters (2010)

 

[Hunter Rider]

McQ's first Mission is an instant classic, from the exciting opening, to the introduction of the enigmatic and sexy Ilsa and sinister villain Solomon Lane, to the stunning Vienna Opera house sequence and the visceral Morocco chase. The final act isn't quite as strong, but still slick and dynamicly executed.

9.5/10

 

[Rozen Thorne]

 

[KaijuDude1992]

As a BIG fan of this franchise I really enjoyed this and easily a top 2 or 3 FD film IMO. I'm glad this franchise is back even stronger than ever and hopefully we get more movies although judging by the early BO projections I'm almost sure that we will.

7.5/10

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Rozen Thorne]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Hunter Rider]

7.8/10

 

[Lobo]

A fun action packed thriller, but it doesn't really stand out. The lead actress is stunning, and Hartnett plays his part well.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Red Shoes (2005)

South Korean supernatural horror (supposedly very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of the same name).

Sun-jae is in an unhappy marriage. After catching her husband having sex with another woman she moves out with her young daughter, Tae-su, into a rundown apartment block. One day she spots a pair of high-heeled shoes apparently abandoned in a subway car and takes them home. Immediately she becomes obsessed with them. Back at her apartment, daughter Tae-su tries to take them from her, becoming just as obsessed. When Sun-jae's best friend, Kim Mi-hee, visits she also becomes obsessed with them, going so far as to steal them for herself. However, as she's walking home she's killed by an unseen force, When her body is found the stolen shoes are missing, somehow soon returned to Sun-jae. It seems that every female who comes into contact with the shoes becomes overcome with a compulsion to own them and a willingness to do anything to achieve that. Sun-jae eventually finds a link between the shoes and a Japanese dancer in 1940s Japan-occupied Korea, named Keiko; the shoes were central to a tragic series of events - which seem to have left behind a malign influence and a desire for retribution.

Actress Kim Hye-soo is very good as Sun-jae, and Park Yeon-ah is terrific as Tae-su, spending the whole movie running scared, sad, or very angry (I can't find a date of birth for her, but she looks to be about eight years old). The basic idea is promising. But the storyline is shown in such a confusing way, the film feels about 15 minutes too long, and it's unbelievably 'J-horror generic' (I realise it's South Korean). I'm happy to watch a ton of Asian horror movies about cursed objects, past wrongs, and revenge-obsessed, long-haired ghost girls - so long as they're good. This feels as though director Yong-gyun Kim watched all the Ring and Grudge movies, and - especially - Dark Water, and then just mixed and matched parts he liked. There's a very strong, atmospheric opening inside a deserted subway station that really raises the expectations; it's a shame the rest of the film doesn't live up to it. 5.5/10

 

[squeekness]

The Accountant

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I enjoyed this a bit more on a second watch especially now that I've finished Andor but I still wouldn't call this a great film. The third act is pretty great though and the ending definitely hits harder now than it did before.

I still can't get over how much they wasted Mads Mikkelsen in a SW movie though which should honestly be considered criminal IMO but atleast he got a good paycheck out of it or atleast hopefully he did.

7.5/10

 

[Ash J. Williams]

The Pool

The Ghost of Yotsuya