Quite dreadful movie from the 30s that has two redeeming features – it’s only an hour long, and it apparently features Bela Lugosi’s eyes (lifted from White Zombie). The script makes very little sense, the zombies are kind of hypnotised guys, and the melodrama is quite sickening.
Avoid.
A goofy comedy about two inept, murderous undertakers played by Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, but also with Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Joe E Brown. They’re all hamming it up gloriously, and it’s a lot of fun.
I particularly like Price treating his hot wife like she’s repulsive.
Sam and Mark discuss Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, as well as:
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Rather good action-spy flick, owing more to 24 and Bourne than Bond, but also very, very reminiscent of late 60s and 70s downbeat spy dramas, like The Ipcress File. The music, filming style, and even the clothing evoked this spirit.
This was in essence an arthouse-action movie, with lots of stylistic sizzle, but some really great, painful-looking fight scenes. Gina Carano was pretty good, and while I spent much of the running time confused about what was going on, it resolved nicely by the end, and Mallory Kane made a good, tough lady-spy.
Mark covers the half-silly, half-sympathetic, half-shocking movie, Freaks
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Mark talks about the goofy but fun Machete and the goofier but slightly less fun Machete Kills
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This is a lot of fun, I’ve liked Will Hay comedies since I first saw them as a boy, and this one is solid, with snappy, amusing dialogue from the shady, but good-hearted, boys. Also with the wonderful Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott.
This is a very British comedy, however, and I’m not sure it will travel well. It’s like an early prototype of the St Trinians movies, if that paints a picture.
I’m sure glad I didn’t see this at the cinema, the shakeycam would have been unbearable, I’d have vomited.
Watching at home, you can at least avert your eyes and look at something else, which I ended up doing for a lot of the running time. I found the first 25 minutes or so really hard going, setting up this twentysomething angsty love affair issues, which was quite tiresome (and didn’t need to be there – a fully formed couple would have worked just as well dramatically, and stopped all the annoying angst-drama), but the film did improve dramatically once they got on to the streets.
There were some nice tense parts and it was effective for the last hour, and quite enjoyable (as long as you looked away from the irritating shaking frequently), and it was nice to see a big monster movie played out with dramatic tension and fear.
In this podcast, Mark and Sam discuss Captain America 1 and 2, as well as Agents of Shield, and some other movies:
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First in a chronological monthly series about the books of Stephen King (and associated media).
In this one Mark covers the book, the audiobook as read by Sissy Spacek, The 1976 De Palma movie, the 2003 TV movie, and the 2013 movie.
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Rather lame comedy horror from the 1940s that’s not funny or horrific. It also relies on racist stereotyping for its light relief, but the main comic relief does have some comic timing talent, but unfortunately his material is desperately poor. I did like he was supposed to be zombified, but continued acting normally, whilst accepting his fate as a zombie.
However, I didn’t get bored, and it was mercifully short.
One of those movies that represents a primal nightmare, in this case of a single woman who is not comfortable with men. She hates her sister’s boyfriend leaving his razor etc in the bathroom over her things, she hates any intimacy shown both towards her and towards other women, she even find women talking about men uncomfortable.
Slowly, she imagines attacks, and descends into her own private madness where her imagination and reality become mixed and interchangeable.
A masterful movie, with the usually upright and confident Catherine Deneuve giving a mousey, timid performance, and looking more waifish than lovely.
Her look also is echoed in a later movie by Polanski – Rosemary’s Baby – where Mia Farrow looks like a short haired version of this poor girl.
Polanski would go on to reexplore urban alienation and madness in the masterful “The Tenant” several years after this.
Compelling but fun documentary about a guy who writes great, grand dialogue, and was a peer of Spielberg, Lucas and all. Really fun to see what he added to the 70s and 80s moviescape. The world is a better place because of this guy, for sheer entertainment alone.
Mark and Sam discuss both versions of Little Shop of Horrors (1960 and 1986), as well as:
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Rather childishly written CGI-heavy adventure by Robert Rodriguez. Some of the visuals are cool, some look very dodgy, and it plays like a techno-Oz story. Gets better as it goes.
I saw this before as a teenager, and thought it was deliberately overwrought and contrived just to fill the running time, and I had that general opinion of Corman’s Poe cycle.
However, I watched The Haunted Palace for the first time not too long ago, and thought it was wonderful, and thought maybe it was time to give the whole Corman/Price cycle another chance.
Watching it again, I realised I was totally wrong. It is weird, vivid, a mashup of pulp and existential horror that’s works superbly, and apart from Witchfinder General, I think this might be Price’s best performance as the black-hearted Prospero.
I loved the garish colours and the very fine set design and rather good costuming, and I particularly liked the Red Death and his brethren.
A fine film, and a classic of horror.
In this cast, Mark and Sam talk about assorted movies and games, including Shadow of the Colossus, Justice League, Filth, Stitch The Movie, We Need to talk about Kevin and Bioshock.
And about 5 Disney movies:
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Well, as I watched the first half, I couldn’t help thinking ‘this really isn’t as good as I remember it’. Then we saw Sonny Crockett lived on a yacht. With an alligator called Elvis. Then we saw a judge with a pump action shotgun, a clerk with a magnum, Sonny getting it on with a work colleague, and a bad guy in a dress.
So 80s, it hurts, in a good way.
I rate it Awesome++
An everyday story of a dysfunctional family who happen to be ritualistic cannibals…
The film has all the elements to work and be great, with nice camerawork, acting and tension, but it’s lack of proper setup or explanation, even through indirect dialogue gets frustrating in the end, and ultimately you really don’t care about these people. It felt like it could have been so much better if the script had had a little more work.
What would it be like to have to raise a kid who is a psychopath? To live among people who vilified you for the actions of your child? To blame yourself, and be in fear that people will confront you with your fears every minute of the day?
It’s a very difficult subject, and front and centre to this movie. Very well acted, directed and written, it has a central coldness in tone that is probably unavoidable, but isn’t helped by the nonlinear nature of the presentation. I felt more at ease with this difficult subject when the narrative stayed linear, but even then it was disconcerting.
A fine movie, one that would make a good double bill with Stoker, but by no means an easy watch.
Mark talks about Star Trek The Original Series, Season 2, Episodes 21-26
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Wow, a real tour-de-force with McAvoy as a complete asshole, who we get to see as a tortured, lonely man in this Scottish comedy version of Bad Lieutenant. This film is funny, repulsive, tragic in turns, and it did feel like a Trainspotting-lite in the first 20 minutes, but then quickly shed that feel and became its own thing.
I’m not entirely sure it’s a great movie, though it had many, many memorable scenes, and I’m sure I’ll remember it for years to come, but it’s a very, very good movie.
Oh and a spectacular and glorious cameo from David Soul too.
In this cast, Mark and Sam talk about assorted movies and the latest Godzilla trailer, and about 5 Disney movies:
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Reasonably funny and diverting comedy from the cringe-tastic Alan Partridge, that works well if you watch it in 2 or 3 servings, rather than one sitting – Partridge is definitely a characters that works better in several small doses than one big pigout.
Does this work overseas though? I think it’s a very British offering.
Terrific movie based on the play by George Bernard Shaw (and later adapted into the musical My Fair Lady), with funny, sad, angry scenes all mixed up together, and a great performance by Wendy Hiller as the brave, put-upon Eliza. I can’t decide if she’s uncannily beautiful or odd-looking…
Leslie Howard also puts in a 100% exhilarating performance as the brash, bullying Henry Higgins, and the bit players are also pretty good, especially the guy playing Eliza’s father. He’s hilariously low-class in all respects.
Completely bananas movie with an impressive cast (John Huston! Shelley Winters! Glen Ford! Franco Nero as Jesus Christ!) and with a young Lance Henrikson, this is a nutty cross between The Omen and the theatrical cut of Highlander 2, with elements of The Boys From Brazil and The Exorcist 2 thrown in.
Enjoyable, but don’t expect any sense.
Lovely, atmospheric, tense, watchable. Not scary, but mesmeric.
It adheres very closely in both story and tone to the Shirley Jackson book it’s based on, even using parts of the beautifully written opening and closing paragraphs of that book in voiceover at the beginning and end.
Beautiful horror.
Sam and Mark talk over Kick Ass and Kick Ass 2, as well as what they’ve watched/played/read since last time.
Explicit language.
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If you want to hear about a movie where you’d see some messed up psychological and physical torture by an old lady, this is the movie for you!
Even if you don’t watch to see a movie like that, listen anyway!
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