What was the last movie you've seen?

[dsheinem]

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)– I know that his films are pretty divisive, but I’ve been a long time fan of anything Rob Zombie and his first two films are some of my favorite horror flicks of the past decade. I even like his Halloween reboot (more on that below). This, however, is shit. The plot is sloppy, El Superbeasto and the cast of characters are not in any way likable, there is excessive/gratuitous cartoon boobage to the point of being borderline hentai, and the animation itself is fairly sloppy. Worst, the parts that are supposed to be funny simply aren’t. Many scenes seem like Zombie was trying to throw as many ideas together as possible – and they rarely if ever work. I had high hopes for this one, but left disappointed.
Grade: 0.5/5

Halloween (2007) – This, on the other hand, is a decent Rob Zombie flick and one of the better remakes I’ve seen . Zombie’s strengths have always been on portraying the disturbing and twisted more than the gory and suspenseful, and the first half of this film delivers in spades. Not only is Myers’ back story one that holds up to repeat viewings, but the actor who plays him as a kid is perfectly off-kilter. The second half is also good, with some nice homages to Carpenter’s classic and plenty of well realized scares and brutal deaths. Malcom McDowell is also a show stealer, and though Zombie’s direction is solid throughout, it is the drama between Loomis and Myers that really carries the second half of the film.
Grade: 3.5/5

Halloween II (2009) – Unfortunately, it seems that like in the original series, any sequels to Halloween are necessarily lacking. When you have a killer who can’t be killed, you lose much of the suspense that marks the first entry. Here the strength of the film is in the action scenes, with much of the backstory and plot lacking either coherence, intrigue, or both. It was nice to see so much of the cast from the first film reprise their roles, but the acting is much weaker here – even by McDowell. I’ve certainly seen worse slasher films, but this is far from Zombie’s best effort.
Grade: 2/5

Psycho (1960) – My wife watches one horror movie with me a year on Halloween, and I always try to pick something that that is considered a classic. You can’t get much more classic than Psycho, a film that is certainly deserving of all the praise it gets. This is one of the best films from one of my favorite directors, and Hitchcock’s directing here is a masterful – a study in how to film suspenseful horror. I’m always taken by the technical expertise in the death in the house, the parlor scene, and the great ending -- this viewing proved no different. Expert pacing married to one of the best scores ever created for film, engaging and believable acting, and all around expert film making means that this one will always be one I return to.
Grade: 5/5

[GigaPepsiMan]

Watched Night of the Living Dead (orignal) last night.
That ending...
It was a pretty good movie if I am to be honest.

[vash23n]

Descent 2:


SPOILERS


I really liked the first film. I liked that the characters where stereotype challanging females, I liked the setting, I liked the creatures. This is one film that I could not imagine a sequel to and I was very disappointing. A fair bit of scenes and scares from the first film were reused and the actors/actresses where annoying for the most part. This is especially true for one of the main actresses who you view at the beginning as an easy kill, perhaps the first to die. Nope you are stuck with her annoying ass until the ridiculous ending scene - the end, by the way, left me wondering if I was acctually watching the latest installment of the Scary Movie franchise. It mimicked the end of the last film, but the above-mentioned actress just couldn't pull it off. I loved the horrifying scream at the end of the first, this happens again, but for some reason sounds comical - it was supposed to sound wild and defiant.

Pulse: Having seen and not cared for the American version of this film, it took me a while to get down to watching the original. I am sad I waited so long. This movie was creepy and completely (well mostly) different from the remake. The cast, the cinematography, the effects, everything was well done and contributed to a very freaky experience. I will most likely rewatch it tonight because I started falling asleep towards the end last night - most likely because of the boredom suffered watching the above movie.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I just finished watching, Winnebago Man, which is a documentary about the man of the same title. You may know him as the Angriest Man in the World as well. Don't know who he is, youtube him and watch the hilarious 1980's informational video.

This documentary's purpose is to find this man now, long after that video's viral explosion onto the internet, to find out how he felt about it and what he is doing now. The film is very interesting and entertaining. It touches on the concept of Internet Bullying and references other video's and their effects like with the Star Wars Kid. It is strange to see what has happened to this angry, entertaining man. I very much suggest it, not only for documentary fans, but for anyone who is interested in the pop culture world or anyone interested in the social reactions based off of internet memes and the like. It was informative, and entertaining, a great combination for a documentary, especially since the genre has been plagued with dull or agenda filled content.

[Mr.White555]

The Mechanic:One of the best begging/ends to a movie I have seen in a while. Both were absolutely ridiculous. Charles Bronson basically plays himself except he is a hitman.

The Red and the White: A film about the Russian Civil war following the Russian Revolution from the Hungarian perspective. Its a great movie that shows war for what it is. The first half of the film is paced very well but the latter half falls off which at times felt tedious to watch. Overall I would recommend it.

[emwearz]

Halloween (2007) – This, on the other hand, is a decent Rob Zombie flick and one of the better remakes I’ve seen . Zombie’s strengths have always been on portraying the disturbing and twisted more than the gory and suspenseful, and the first half of this film delivers in spades. Not only is Myers’ back story one that holds up to repeat viewings, but the actor who plays him as a kid is perfectly off-kilter. The second half is also good, with some nice homages to Carpenter’s classic and plenty of well realized scares and brutal deaths. Malcom McDowell is also a show stealer, and though Zombie’s direction is solid throughout, it is the drama between Loomis and Myers that really carries the second half of the film.
Grade: 3.5/5

I utterly loved the kid in Rob Zombies Halloween. I much preferred the first half of the film to the second.

[vash23n]

Shutter: Having had such a great experience with the original Pulse, I decided to watch the original version of Shutter. I was disappointed by the American version, but found the Asian version to be fantastic. The cast was great and the story was really well done. Not as creepy as Pulse, but there were still some parts that made me jump. The ending was great and you really feel for the characters involved.

The Ghost: I think this is a Korean film and it was really well done. The cast was great, especially the lead actress. The story caught me by surprise at the end, which is funny because I have read a lot of reviews where people said they guessed the ending in the first five minutes. A couple parts made me jump, but it was less of a "something jumps out at you" horror film and more of a mystery.

[sevin0seven]

Shutter: Having had such a great experience with the original Pulse, I decided to watch the original version of Shutter. I was disappointed by the American version, but found the Asian version to be fantastic. The cast was great and the story was really well done. Not as creepy as Pulse, but there were still some parts that made me jump. The ending was great and you really feel for the characters involved.

yep. i also saw both version and the Asian version of Shutter is hands down more creepier (better). the US version was a joke.

[noiseredux]

the only J-Horror that has been successfully remade in my mind is the first The Ring becuz the colors are amazing, and Pulse becuz... Kristin Bell.

[Bootaaay]

Orbis Pictus (1997)



From Slovakian director Martin Sulík, Orbis Pictus is a strange film that follows a teenage girl, Tereza, on a fanciful journey as she's sent home from boarding school with a letter for her mother. As she travels in a childish and innocent manner through the Slovakian countryside, she has numerous strange encounters with a variety of people, such as a well-to-do mobster, a man marrying his brother's much older widow, a famous singer (whose fame Tereza is entirely ignorant of), an old woman buried up to her waist in the ground and a man employed seemingly to burn brand new clothes. All these people have stories to empart upon Tereza, and as the encounters become more and more surreal it becomes apparant that, as we see the film from a child's perspective, here a child's fantasy and imagination are melded with reality.

On the surface Orbis Pictus presents itself as a quirky and serene film about a young girl journeying in ignorance of the world around her. Yet there's an underlying sense of menace here, as through the various encounters Tereza's innocence is tested against a darker side of reality that, while only hinted at, is a disturbing presence all the same and sets up perfectly for the film's last revelations as we learn the contents of the letter and as Tereza finally comes face to face with her mother. Much like the bulk of the film, it's an entirely ambigious ending, but one that carries perfectly the film's theme of reality versus imagination and innocence.