What have you watched recently? 3D!

dubstepper wrote: »

I rewatched Alien 3 recently and was amazed how much I liked it. I think it's crime, at the time, was that it was not Aliens. It just suffered in comparison and people's expectations were not met.

When you view it knowing that it is different to aliens, you can actually enjoy what a good movie it is.

The Raging Bile Duct wrote: »

I thought Black Panther was terrible.

s8n wrote: »

couldnt agree more, weakest of the MCU

mikhail wrote: »

I'd agree that it's not a bad movie. I quite like it. I think I can accept though that Fincher may feel that good or bad, he feels it's not really his.

'Black Summer'

Zombies are a bit of a one trick pony, love them as I do. But the trouble with them is that they absolutely require an end of the world scenario in order for them to function which can lend a certain predicability to them. Their appearance is nearly always accompanied by the complete, or nearly complete, collapse of society and in 'Black Summer' it's no different. In the first episode we're about a few weeks into the collapse and evacuations are still going on. Tensions are high and the military are unsure of how to respond, so they're heavy handed. Citizens are terrified and distrustful. And the living dead are maniacs.

We've all been here before and multiple times in the case of people who've been watching zombie fare since before 'The Walking Dead' appeared, so there's nothing really new going on here. But 'Black Summer' - Netflix's attempt at a zombie show - does something to, er, breath new life into the a type of show that just won't quit. It's human element is far superior to most zombie material and that's where its strength lies. The living characters feel much more real than their counterparts in the Robert Kirkman comic adaptation and their actions and responses have a realistic aspect to them as well. There are no nonsense characters like the katana wielding Michone, or ridiculous psychopathic "leaders" like Negan knocking around the world in 'Black Summer'. Well, not yet anyway. Into the bargain, and not giving anything away, absolutely nobody is truly safe. Life in Black Summer's zombie apocalypse is an extremely dangerous affair and it doesn't matter how gangsta you think you are, your number can come up at any time. Also, while we are introduced to a lot of characters quite quickly, they all make sense. Even when the multiple points of view and varying time shifts are taken into account. 'Black Summer' will often show you how a series of events plays out and then show them again, in part, from someone else's perspective. This can sound awkward, but it tends to work out well.

The undead of the show are, practically, an afterthought and are actually the worst element of it, truth be told. They are, almost predictably these days, the run around screaming types that are popular with film makers that don't want to have to think of scenarios where slower zombies can get the better of their human prey. But for the purposes of this particular show they work ok, and at 8 episodes over 2 series with uneven running times there's no real space to take the necessary steps to slowly build things up. The show needs to be slam bang....oops...everything's gone to hell. So, in that respect they get a pass.

What eases them into that pass is how dangerous they are to the human protagonists/antagonists. These particular zombies (as per usual nobody calls them that) are hard to kill and whilst it's usually the case in zombie movies/shows that they'll die with enough brain trauma, delivering that trauma is difficult and will take multiple blows. Unlike 'The Walking Dead' where zombies skulls are ridiculously fragile and a harsh word can send them on their way, the zombies of 'Black Summer' require actual beatings to put down which means that a single zombie can ruin your day, but three of them means you really are done for. Plus shooting them is no easy feat either. These things are moving targets and getting something tiny like a bullet to hit home on a small target like a head proves to be impossible at times, even for trained soldiers. Coupled with the sheer panic that grips everyone when the dead start coming for them, most bullets end up flying all over the place in an arbitrary manner., which ends up only making things worse. This is one of the best aspects of the show and makes a mockery of something like 'The Walking Dead' universe where characters can perform headshots on moving targets (even while they are moving themselves) with an accuracy that would make the Sundance Kid extremely jealous.

They are also not the infected people of '28 Days Later' (not a zombie movie), so shooting them in the torso or anywhere else isn't going to do them much bother, unless something vital is hit of course and it can cripple them in some way. They are also not going to die of starvation, so a few months waiting around isn't going to yield a result either. These things are going to be around long term. This kind of thing greatly adds to the immense tension that remains constant throughout the show and it's a show that can be quite exhausting to watch. But it's exhausting in a good way. One episode basically deals with a single guy just trying to stay out of a zombie's clutches and it's one of the best zombie related things I've seen in ages. He's a bit of a dope, for sure, but you still want him to get away because you can put yourself in his place, and as mentioned earlier nobody has any real plot armour.

'Black Summer' is brought to you by The Asylum, the people who made 'Z Nation', which has astonishingly managed to lumber on for 5 series at this point. But I wouldn't let that put you off. Whereas 'Z Nation' is just flat out stupid, 'Black Summer' remains relatively serious and doesn't have the dumbed down, tongue-in-cheek, approach of the SYFY channel show. It's scenarios make a certain sense (even if there are a few areas that stretch credibility) and attempts to stick unwanted laughs here and there are largely absent. This makes 'Black Summer' a completely different kettle of fish entirely to it's sister production.

However, if there are things to be critical about, it would be the almost complete lack of gore in the show. Sure, there's blood, death, and horror, but you never see the effects of a zombie attack and this is where something like 'The Walking Dead' has it beaten easily. In 'Black Summer' bites are obscured and nobody gets flesh ripped apart 'Day of the Dead' style. So, from that aspect it can seem a bit tame if you're waiting around for the red stuff, and it really could do with some of Greg Nicatero's KNB magic. It's a curious omission, it has to be said, especially when one takes into account that the zombies in 'Black Summer' are driven to attack people for food. But, nevertheless, it's a small impact on its over all enjoyment and while the show can be light on plot, but it's nonetheless an exciting and interesting ride so far.

9/10

Isolation (2005)

On an isolated Irish farm, some bovine research yields unexpected results.

This was a film I had heard about back when it was originally released, but the critical panning it received put me off ever watching it. I put it on, nearly by accident, last night and the atmosphere of the opening credits drew me in. Irish horror films are usually pretty lacklustre. This film... is no exception. Ah no, it does have its moments but the plot is just too wonky to take it entirely seriously and that's a shame, because I thought with a few tweaks it could have been a much better film. As it is, the central premise of the film is left unclear, but left unclear in a way that comes off less as having to use your imagination to fill in the blanks and more as if the writers didn't really think the plot through. I don't know how to do spoiler tags on this new version of the site so read not beyond this point if you don't want things spoiled...

So, it was an experiment to increase cow fertility (ostensibly), with strange, sinister creatures developing inside the foetal calves the cows were pregnant with, but it's not made clear if these were perhaps some type of alien creature or something or if they were just a byproduct of genetic research gone bad. But if they were the latter, I don't understand why they'd necessarily be so aggressive and snappish. You get the feeling the researcher had ulterior motives he wasn't disclosing, but again it's never really spoken about. It just seemed very confused and didn't know what it was trying to be.

I decided to watch the three Thor (MCU) movies, and finished the third last night. Quick impressions:

* Thor: A lot of fun and well-made, I thought. There are only two locations: Asgard and New Mexico, so not too hard to follow.

* Thor: The Dark World. It all got a bit Star Wars in places, with the starship chase scenes and a rather generic villain.

* Thor: Ragnarok. Some Mad Max vibes, and the most MCU of the bunch. More characters, callbacks to e.g. Hulk vs Loki in Avengers Assemble, and much chewing of scenery by the likes of Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett. Oh, and Korg: WTF?

There's a new movie Thor: Love and Thunder on the way, and just looking at the cast list gives me a headache.

Well, maybe.

But to me a 4 is a just below average score. 5 being a really middle the roads picture. So, it's certainly not shite. But it's not that good either. The finale is ok, but it's the journey there that kills it. Although, mind you, I did watch it back to back with the original will still holds up very well. So 'Predator 2' after the original comes across as weak.

I remember liking 'Predator 2' more when I saw it years ago, while still thinking it wasn't a terribly good movie. But now, it didn't really do an awful lot for me. It's not awful and it's the best of the sequels/reboots that have been made, for sure, but that's not really saying that much.

Truffle Hunters

I watched this slight but hugely enjoyable doc at the weekend.

Definitely one for the dog lovers. It was incredibly sweet and showed the amazing bond between the men and their truffle hunting companions.

The Last letter from your lover

Dont ask me why I ended up at this but saw it this evening and I didnt hate it. Thought at the very least I'd get 2 hours of kip in, but I was surprised to see that I was engaged throughout its entire run time. What was more interesting was the response of the group of teenage girls I shared the theatre with......at first they were loud and boisterous, cracking wise and in general being teenagers and I was thinking my chances of that kip had gone out the window. But then something really interesting happened, after the first few minutes where they were joking around loudly, they quietened down and not a peep was heard from them for the rest of the film. And it was the same for the other women in the theatre(I was in fact the only bloke there). They were all completely and utterly captivated by this movie. Its not a bad film, but definitely nothing amazing, so I was wondering what had hooked them in so much? And then it dawned on me: It was the romantic storyline. They had invested in it hook line and sinker. Its like crack cocaine to them, this was their equivalent of how I would look at the champions league final or the olympic 100m final(or my new favorite sport: the 109+kg mens olympic powerlifting). The movie is alright, but watch it in the theatre and I promise you'll be amazed(if youre a man)at how the female of the species lap this up like it was strawberries & Ice-cream.

'The Warriors'

...or 'West Side Story' without the music.

Walter Hill's 1979 drama about New York gangs focuses on one in particular, the Warriors, who attend a large gathering where Cyrus, gang leader of the Riffs, is trying to bring other New York groups together to collectively control its streets. Unfortunately Cyrus is shot and the Warriors are blamed prompting them to make their way home to Coney Island and avoid entanglements with other gangs who are out to get revenge on them.

Lambasted at the time for its violence, and it's apparent affect of real life violence, the actual acts committed in the movie come off as incredibly tame to modern eyes and coupled with some truly awful (yet at times quotable) dialogue, it's impossible to see this movie in the terms that were expressed at its time of release. But 'The Warriors' had a significant impact on the discussion around such things and how movies in general were an "influencing" factor. A line that has always been highly disputable, but which raises its head on an all too regular basis.

In reality 'The Warriors', while in some ways mirroring real NYC gangs of the time, is a woefully unrealistic view and at times borders on the camp. But it's still a very entertaining and, relatively, harmless picture. Packed with absurdity and familiar non-star faces, everyone grabs what they have and runs with it making for an amusing 90 odd minutes.

7/10

'Censor'

Enid works as a BBFC censor during the notorious video nasties era that swept Britain into moral panic during the mid 80's. Haunted by he sisters disappearance years before, she begins to lose track of reality, when a movie she reviews prompts her to investigate further into a possible connection.

'Censor' works at times and at others doesn't, resulting in a very mixed bag. It's setting, while being interesting to me personally, is never one that's really built on and the story could possibly come off as a little confusing, especially toward the end. But it's held together well by a great central performance by Niamh Algar and has an undeniable amount of mood, tension and atmosphere.

6/10

'Frightmare'

Pete Walker's ludicrous shocker from 1974 is a decent example of British horror from the period. Offbeat and curious, but played completely without any tongues in cheeks, Walker's movie about OAP cannibalism has for some reason managed to pass me by with great stealth over the years. A film that I always meant to sit down to but for some reason never did, it's rewarding in a minor way but it never reaches any full potential as it's just too reticent for its own good and really could have done with going down its gruesome route with more gusto.

Another problem lies with its cast, most of which are completely outshined by the odd couple of Rupert Davies and Sheila Keith, who when they are not on screen causes the film to dip quite considerably. The story also waddles along in too many places and at just 88 minutes long it still manages to feel a bit draggy. But it entertaining just enough to warrant a watch for genre fans.

6/10