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LawrenceA
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Posts
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Days Won
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Posts posted by LawrenceA
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2 minutes ago, CinemaInternational said:
Ian McKellan
Ummm....
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Going Places (1974) - 8/10
French comedy from writer-director Bertrand Blier. Jean-Claude (Gerard Depardieu) and Pierrot (Patrick Dewaere) are two young hooligans who drift from one petty crime to another, all in search of a good time. With Miou-Miou, Brigitte Fossey, Jacques Chailleux, Isabelle Huppert, and Jeanne Moreau. Never has youthful anti-social behavior been so much fun. Guaranteed to offend those with sensitive dispositions, there's a lot of sex and nudity, and the aforementioned disregard of the law, all played for laughs. There's a bit of violence, including some shocking bits that aren't humorous, which help punctuate the undercurrent of nihilistic danger in the two main characters' lives. I was reminded how good Depardieu could be before he became a punchline after Green Card, and Moreau is first-rate as usual. A very young Isabelle Huppert plays a 16-year-old, and is almost unrecognizable. Recommended.
Source: Amazon video
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17 minutes ago, NickAndNora34 said:
Netflix has a good amount of things I'm interested in, but not enough. The home page alone is completely overcrowded with all of their original series/movies. Am I the only one who's sick of seeing sub-par movies/shows?
The problem may be that we don't all agree on what are sub-par movies and shows. People rave about stuff all the time that I'm left underwhelmed with when I finally get around to watching them. Conversely, I'll be impressed with something I see, but then the general consensus seems to be that said film/show was terrible.
That being said, I can't say that I've been that impressed with any Netflix original, outside of a movie or two.
Is there anyone around here who is interested in the Apple streaming service? I haven't seen anyone on any other site say that they are, but that's a limited range.
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From Beyond the Grave (1974) - 6/10
British horror anthology from Amicus. Four stories are connected by a visit to a strange antiques shop run by Peter Cushing. In the first story, David Warner buys a cursed mirror that compels him to murder. In the second, henpecked husband Ian Bannen makes friends with poor street vendor Donald Pleasence, who, along with his creepy daughter (played by Donald's actual daughter Angela Pleasence), offer to help deal with his shrewish wife Diana Dors. In the third tale, Ian Carmichael buys a snuff box that causes him to be targeted by an "elemental", a supernatural being that only spiritualist Margaret Leighton can get rid of. And in the fourth and final tale, Ian Ogilvy buys a strange medieval door imbued with satanic energy. This is typical of the other Amicus horror anthologies of the time, a passable way to waste some time, but nothing too memorable or extraordinary.
Source: Warner Archive DVD
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Evil of Dracula (1974) - 6/10
Japanese horror with Toshio Kurosawa as Professor Shiraki, a teacher newly arrived at a secluded, exclusive girls' academy. The school headmaster (Shin Kishida) is an odd, pale fellow, and when a bunch vampire women attack during Shiraki's first night on the job, he realizes this may not have been the best work assignment to accept. With Mariko Mochizuki, Kunie Tanaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, and Mio Ota. Another odd blend of Eastern European vampire myth with Japanese culture from the makers of The Vampire Doll and Lake of Dracula. I liked the spookshow musical score, and the atmosphere is nice. This one seemed influenced by The Vampire Lovers, with the emphasis on sexuality and hints of lesbianism, as well as Masahiro Shinoda's 1971 film adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel Silence.
Source: Arrow Blu-ray
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9 hours ago, hamradio said:
What the kid did in "Finders Keepers" is absolutely lame after watching "Logan" (2017) the other night. Geeze she blew the guy's head off not to mention clawing half the villains to death! What is Hollywood turning our kids into?
1. You know movies are make believe, right?
2. The movie is rated R, so if any kids are watching it, they have ****** parents.
Maybe you should stick to your Shirley Temple movies.
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Yahoo turns kids into zombies? That's even dumber than your animal crackers joke.
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Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974) - 6/10
Spanish thriller starring Paul Naschy as Gilles, an ex-con who takes a job as a caretaker and handyman at a large, secluded mansion occupied by three troubled sisters (Diana Lorys, Eva Leon, and Maria Perschy). Gilles starts having nightmares about killing women, while coincidentally a series of grisly murders begin occurring in the nearby town, with the killer's signature being the removal of the victims' eyes. Also featuring Eduardo Calvo, Ines Morales, Antonio Pica, Luis Ciges, and Pilar (mother of Javier) Bardem. As the title may clue you in on, this is a Spanish version of the then-popular Italian giallo mysteries. There's some choice 70's music that makes one think you're watching a porn flick, but it never gets too gratuitous. A snowy shoot-out scene is memorable. I think I prefer the America release title, House of Psychotic Women.
Source: Scream Factory Blu-ray
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On 1/12/2019 at 7:21 PM, LiamCasey said:
Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (aka Los ojos azules de la muñeca rota) (1974)
I'm very much enjoying these Paul Naschy box sets, and the picture quality is truly extraordinary. It makes a huge difference in these kinds of movies that have only been available in the US in the worst condition for so many years. I've also liked the information in the booklets, although the author must not be a native English speaker, as his grammar is terrible. I'm surprised they didn't address that in the editing process.
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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) - 7/10
German drama from writer-director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 65-year-old Emmi (Brigitte Mira) is a lonely cleaning woman. One night she meets Ali (El Hedi ben Salem), a Moroccan immigrant laborer half her age. The two begin an unlikely romance and quickly get married, but everyone else around them disapproves, either due to racism, xenophobia or ageism. With Rainer Werner Fassbinder as Emmi's lazy son-in-law, Irm Hermann, Elma Karlowa, Margit Symo, Marquard Bohm, and Peter Gauhe.
I thought both of the leads were awful at first, but Mira grew on me by film's end. Salem never did though, and I thought his amateurish, wooden performance undercut the film quite a bit. Fassbinder's direction is also artificial at times, clunky and unrealistic in a film where realism would be a huge asset. Still, I liked the film, as I'm totally on board with the message that most of humanity are just completely awful people given to all sorts of despicable behavior, only to act nicely when it serves their self-interest.
Salem was Fassbinder's lover at the time, having left his own wife and multiple children to be with the director. His alcoholism led Fassbinder to leave him, and Salem was later implicated in a series of stabbings. He fled Germany, ending up in France where he was arrested, and then subsequently hung himself in jail. Have a nice day!
Source: The Criterion Channel
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Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973) - 7/10
25th and final entry in the classic Japanese film series. Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu), the blind masseur and master swordsman, decides to visit his hometown, only to find it subjugated under the rule of a crooked administrator, a cruel yakuza gang, and a scheming businessman (Eiji Okada), who had been a childhood friend of Ichi. With Yukiyo Toake, Kei Sato, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Rie Yokoyama, Tatsuo Endo, and Takashi Shimura. The series goes out (sort of) on a high note with this well-structured installment. It's helped immensely by two noteworthy guest stars - Eiji Okada (Hiroshima Mon Amour, Woman in the Dunes) as the chief villain, and Takashi Shimura (Ikiru, Seven Samurai) as a benevolent old potter. Katsu continued to play Zatoichi in a TV series that ran from 1974 to 1979 and 98 episodes, before returning to the big screen in 1989 for one final film. He would die in 1997 at age 65. Since then, there have been several new film versions of Zatoichi, to varying success.
Source: Criterion Blu-ray
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A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973) - 2/10
European* supernatural horror from writer-director Jess Franco. Christina (Christina von Blanc) travels to her family estate when she receives news of the death of her father (Paul Muller). Her relatives behave strangely, and she begins having dreams about her resurrected father. With Howard Vernon, Carmen Yazalde, Rosa Palomar, Anne Libert, and Jess Franco as Basilio. This incoherent travesty features a lot of nudity and a nonsensical plot. It has many of Franco's usual stylistic touches, like extreme close-ups, awkward pauses, out of focus cinematography, and an obtrusive score. This is apparently available in many versions under a half dozen or more titles, including Zombie 4, but not to be confused with Zombie 4: After Death (1989). Some versions run almost 30 minutes longer, with footage from Jean Rollin's 1981 film Zombie Lake added. I would suggest skipping them all.
*Like many of Franco's films, the nation of origin is hard to pin down. This was a France/Belgium/Lichtenstein/Italy co-production, originally released in French, but shot in Portugal.
Source: YouTube - they have the 78-minute "director's cut", which is light on violence but heavy on nudity.
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Turkish Delight (1973) - 7/10
Dutch drama based on the book by Jan Wolkers. Volatile artist Erik (Rutger Hauer) enters into an intense relationship with the young, spoiled Olga (Monique van de Ven), displeasing her mother (Tonny Huurdeman). Also with Wim van den Brink, Dolf de Vries, and Hans Boskamp. This very sexually graphic romantic drama also has a lot of outrageous comedy, mainly due to Erik's unpredictable behavior, which alternates from loving to churlish to puckish. Hauer, in his first substantial film role, is outstanding, and van de Ven, making her debut, holds her own. Both stars are frequently in various states of undress, with no quarter left covered. The film is considered a major cultural touchstone in its homeland, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. I enjoyed it for the performances, and was impressed by director Paul Verhoeven's aesthetic. The story, which comes across as a raunchier version of Love Story, was less impressive.
Source: internet
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Tales That Witness Madness (1973) - 5/10
British horror anthology from director Freddie Francis. At an asylum for the criminally insane, a doctor (Donald Pleasence) presents a colleague (Jack Hawkins) with details on four cases. In the first, a young boy (Russell Lewis) has a tiger as an imaginary friend, only it may be more real than his parents (Georgia Brown, Donald Houston) believe. In the second case, a young man (Peter McEnery) inherits an antique bicycle that sends him back in time. In the third case, a man (Michael Jayston) brings a dead tree home to use as home decor, upsetting his wife (Joan Collins. And in the fourth case, a literary agent (Kim Novak) pays special attention to a new writer (Michael Petrovich). Also featuring Suzy Kendall, Frank Forsyth, Mary Tamm, and Leon Lissek. The short stories range from silly (the tiger one), to pointless (the bicycle one), to just plain stupid (the dead tree one). Novak replaced Rita Hayworth, who walked off the set on the second day of filming. This was Jack Hawkins' final theatrical film role. He'd lost his voicebox to cancer 7 years earlier, but continued to act, either in silent cameo roles, or dubbed by other actors. In this he was dubbed by Charles Grey.
Source: Olive/Paramount DVD
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A Man Called Tiger (1973) - 5/10
Hong Kong martial arts action starring Jimmy Wang Yu as Chin Fu, a Chinese tough guy who travels to Japan to investigate the suspicious death of his father. Chin gets caught up in rival gang wars, joining one gang to battle the other which he feels is responsible for his father's demise. With Kawai Okada, Maria Yi, James Tien, Feng Tien, Yoko Minakaze, Kun Li, and Ying-Chieh Han. Originally conceived as a project for Bruce Lee, this was written and directed by Wei Lo, who had helmed Lee's smash hits The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. Lee decided to make Way of the Dragon/Return of the Dragon instead, a film which shares many story similarities with this one. It was strange seeing Jimmy Wang Yu in a contemporary setting, as I'm used to his historical kung-fu flicks. The pacing is off in this one, but I'm not sure if it's just the script or maybe a case of overzealous editing, possibly for the Western film market.
Source: Shout Factory DVD
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Just now, laffite said:
Lawrence, you seem to be having a HORROR-ible day. Is this what you meant yesterday or the day before when you said that you were having a horrible day? I thought you meant you were having a, you know, lousy day.
That was Friday, and it was an actual bad day. I don't want to get into it too much, but I had a sudden death in the family.
These movies today have been very enjoyable, despite the subject matter and the films' qualities. Or perhaps because of them.
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My real name is Lawrence A. The A stands for "Joel Williams". Not really. It stands for "Australopithecus".
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The Loreley's Grasp (1973) - 6/10
Spanish horror from director Amando de Ossorio (Tombs of the Blind Dead). When a bloodthirsty reptilian creature attacks a German town, Elke (Silvia Tortosa), a teacher at an exclusive all-girls school, hires big-game hunter Sigurd (Tony Kendall) to protect the premises. As all of the students (and some of the faculty) pine over the handsome hero, a mysterious woman named Lorelei (Helga Line) arrives in town. Could she be connected to the horrible monster terrorizing the countryside? With Josefina Jartin, Loreta Tovar, Jose Thelman, Luis Induni, Angel Menendez, and Luis Barboo. The creature effects are laughable, and the gory attacks are undercut by the amateurish craftsmanship, but I liked the unusual story, and the bevy of beauties in the cast certainly didn't hurt. Helga Line was over 40 in this but still looked phenomenal, while Silvia Tortosa is one of the most beautiful women that I've seen in a film in some time. Also released as When the Screaming Stops.
Source: Scream Factory Blu-ray
Helga Line as Lorelei
Silvia Tortosa as the best looking school teacher in Germany.
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Hunchback of the Morgue (1973) - 7/10
Spanish horror with Paul Naschy as Wolfgang Gotho, a slow-witted hunchback who works at an Austrian morgue. He's in love with a terminally ill girl (Maria Elena Arpon), the only person who treats him nicely, and when she dies, he snaps and starts killing people. He meets a scientist, Dr. Orla (Alberto Dalbes), who promises to restore the dead girl's life if Gotho will supply the necessary biological materials. With Rosanna Yanni, Victor Barrera/Vic Winner, Kino Pueyo, Angel Menendez, and Maria Perschy. I was expecting a sappy cornball romance, but this movie gets pretty crazy, with outrageous gore and bizarre plot developments. I was especially impressed by Dr. Orla's giant vat of pulsating internal-organ meat. Recommended to those with a taste for Euro-sleaze insanity.
Source: Scream Factory Blu-ray
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Horror Rises from the Tomb (1973) - 6/10
Spanish horror with Paul Naschy in multiple roles. In modern times, Hugo (Naschy) and three friends travel to his ancestral estate where they are stalked by the vengeful spirits of a decapitated 16th century warlock (also Naschy) and his partner (Helga Line). With Emma Cohen, Victor Barrera/Vic Winner, Betsabe Ruiz, Julio Pena, Maria Jose Cantudo, and Luis Ciges. There's a lot of blood and skin in this Naschy effort, said to be one of his personal favorites. This was a re-watch for me, and I was most impressed by the restoration, as I'd only seen awful looking cheap video releases in the past.
Source: Scream Factory Blu-ray
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4 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
Yes, Eddie Murphy crossed my mind. I would say that BOWFINGER is probably his (and Steve Martin's) most critically lauded film. Ebert gave it 3.5 stars.
I couldn't recall off hand if Dreamgirls was up for Best Picture, since it was up for many other categories, but no, it wasn't.
Schwarzenegger was close to being in a couple. When James Cameron conceived of Avatar (an eventual BP nominee), the antagonist role eventually played by Stephen Lang was written with Arnold in mind. Also, he was the original choice for a role in Inglourious Basterds (Hugo Stiglitz, the ex-Nazi-turned-Nazi-killer), which was up for BP. Oddly enough, both films were released in 2009.
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If you're including more recent major stars, then you can add Eddie Murphy and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Just now, TopBilled said:
I think he is, yes. Joel-- if you're reading this. Say something.
I've seen those stats posted by Mr6666 sometimes. I didn't know if you were saying that Mr6666 is Joel Williams, or if he was another poster on here.
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34 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
For the record, I wasn't being negative on this thread. I just didn't know Joel was also posting that info on Twitter. Usually he posts it on this site in one of the threads he created.
Joel Williams is one of the regulars here?
Should Netflix be worried about Apple's new $6B streaming service?
in General Discussions
Posted
From what I've gathered, HBO Now and DC Universe will be rolled into HBO Max when that gets going.
Hulu is now owned by Disney, and will be connected to/rolled into Disney+. Hulu will continue to operate, as that will be the dumping place for any R-rated Fox material. Disney+ will have nothing above a PG-13 rating. ESPN will also be rolled into Disney+.
Amazon Prime already offers the option to sign up for "channels" through their system, including many of the pay-TV streaming channels listed above (Showtime, BritBox, Cinemax, etc.).
So it's slowly going to consolidate.