so i have watched a fair few films of late, to be sure. for some reason i thought that someone out there somewhere my appreciate or have an interest in comments i have on them, so here we go. if you are not interested then i suppose it is best you know that now, so you can just skip this.
whilst i appreciate, look you see, that my evening habits are of little interest usually on a night i would watch a couple of hours of shows. normally this would be a CSI or NCIS variation, or one of them shows where angry Americans bid for storage lockers or to ship stuff. there has been a lack of ones that i am interested in, or otherwise i have seen the repeats far too often of late. so, with that, i have hit my disc collection.
here we go, then, and please note that for the most part i tend to just watch what many would consider "trashy" films. although one or two decent ones feature. like, for instance, the first one.
provenance - That's Entertainment, 49p
i have some fancy, la-de-dah DVD box set of this film stored away, but a copy was sat there in That's Entertainment "discs in sleeves" section so i grabbed it. this seemed easier than going through the boxes to find my copy as and when i might wish to view it, again.
what is it? well, the "middle bit" of the so-called "Dollars" trilogy. perhaps the lesser known one, as A Fistful Of Dollars and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly tend to be the two parts that are more frequently recalled.
any good? yes. maybe. i mean it is a really good film, but still it comes in as the weakest of the trilogy. despite not having the longest running length of the three films it feels like it is the longest, as the action and plot pacing are somewhat disjointed. Clint Eastwood is very much Clint Eastwood in this film, but the thing that struck me most on watching this again was how good Lee Van Cleef was. and when i say watched again, it's probably the first time since the mid or late 80s since i saw it.
provenance - That's Entertainment, 49p
no, i did not have this previously and had not seen it before, so this was a most splendid find in that same section as above.
despite having a passion for horrors back in the 80s i never got around to seeing this one. this was partially as i think it got banned or heavily edited during the BBFC "video nasty" revolution. mostly, though, when i was 10 my mate Racey (nickname) saw it and described a lot of it and it sounded like it would give me even more sleepless nights than what An American Werewolf In London did, which i watched after being told not to for that precise reason.
i picked this disc up a couple of years ago. the prompt to watch it came when the Horror Channel here on the tele started running trailers for it, saying they were giving it a "network premiere". it made more sense to me to get the disc out, then, than watch a variation of it resplendent with advertising.
any good? not bad. i want to say "standard late 70s or early 80s horror fare", but then i have to remind myself that this was one of the first of its kind and thus inspire imitators. it was nowhere near as terrifying or disturbing as my mate Racey suggested it was, but then again i suppose i am no longer 10 and so different interpretations of that are applicable.
provenance - Poundland, £1
easily, and by some distance, the very worst film to feature in this post and a sure indicator that the cost of an item in no way reflects the quality. i cannot but help feel betrayed by Poundland with this one.
i think this got released with different names in different countries so as to try and distract the people from the poor reviews. and those poor reviews do not go far enough in being critical. poorly made, poorly acted and a total disappointment.
plot, etc? ostensibly it is a trio of young film or if you like documentary makers heading into the woods after being alerted to some sightings of the mythical, or if you like legendary, Bigfoot. with this being a "found footage" drill, you know the rest. except here it is all really, really poor, with no sense of suspense or interest in the characters. also, at the risk of spoilers, no true payoff for the time invested, unless you were a big fan of certain aspects of the film Deliverance. yes, that scene.
this is a shame as last year i had a pretty decent run on "found footage" films for £1 off of Poundland, as you can read about here if you so wish. actually i might have bought this one around the same time, but for some reason only decided to watch it now. i wish that i had not.
provenance - Music Magpie website, 2 for £2
let it not be spoken that The Bigfoot Tapes was an entire waste, for there was a trailer for Sanitarium on the front. yes, Google, i see the red line on the spelling but that is what it says it is called on the box.
with a cast featuring Malcolm McDowell, Robert Englund and Lou Diamond Phillips out of Young Guns i figured it was worth looking for, so i was delighted to find it at a quite reasonable price online.
just what is it? one of them "anthology" films, with the apparently head doctor of the facility of the title introducing three stories of three patients, or if you like inmates. of the three stories the first is a little bit predictable, a bit Twilight Zone but good, the second is quite dark and heavy but good and the third one is exceptionally Twilight Zone and very, very good indeed, so it is, to be sure.
either this has had a bigger than usual budget thrown at it for a "cheap thrills" horror or the filmmakers did exceptionally well for the money they had. decent sets, well made and great performances from all, whether they are the well known cast members or lesser known actors. overall, my sense was that it would be boss to see more stories of the nature given here. who knows, perhaps this was intended as a "mega pilot" for a TV series along those lines that never came to be.
provenance - Music Magpie website, 2 for £2
yeah, bought as i browsed for films in the "2 for £2" deal. i was certain that i didn't have this disc, and it turned out that this was correct.
what is it? a rather "infamous" performance. i think it is the last one recorded with John Entwistle, a couple of years before he died the ultimate rock and roll death.
the "infamous" part comes in with the fact that this is one of a number of gigs from 1999 funded by a company called Pixelon. it is worth reading up on them, for they are widely credited with being behind, or if you will at fault for, the "dot com" financial investment disaster of 1999 / 2000 that in some way or another managed to make lots of people lose money and the financial system to crash. if anything they were all guilty of "too soon", for the technology and people with access were not quite what they needed to be for people to make money off of an internet.
is the gig any good? well, sadly, not what it could have been. all three admit being "a little rusty" before doing it, having not played together for some three years. the usually reliable Zak Starkey makes a bit of a mess with some of the drumming, dropping his sticks and what have you. as a result Pete misses some cues and Roger terribly fluffs a few songs. but still, you know, it's The Who. off key, in poor form The Who still remains better than most of the bands in the world.
provenance - ex-rental, Blockbusters South Africa, somewhere between R30 and R50
yeah, i bought this quite some time ago. dug it out to watch now as my Dad had asked for it as he wished to see it again. as i bought it after his rave review i thought i had better finally get around to watching it before sending it along.
the purchase was also prompted in part by Spiros, who said it might be a good investment. with it being ex-rental, there was every chance that a luminary of the South African entertainment industry, such as Darren Scott, John Vlismas or Oscar Pistorius (pre-incarceration) might have rented it, so the value of the disc would grow over the years. no, i have absolutely no idea if any of them happened to rent this particular disc what i bought prior to my purchase, but what a lovely thought. Spiros also gave me this investment advice for free, which is valuable in itself.
any good? superb acting from Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. debutant director George Clooney is also in it, doing that "hi i am George Clooney" thing where he stands around looking smug and is basically being George Clooney rather than a character at all times.
mostly, though, it is one of them preachy, wanky, left wing "liberal" things. one of the ones where the hypocrisy oozes through. the idea is that certain politicians should have their dirty, career ending secrets buried, and it is OK for those politicians to be corrupted in doing this, so long as it is for the "perceived" greater good. you know, the same thinking where those who defend a film director found guilty of a disgusting sexual assault are rushing to condemn a film producer accused of similar. or how certain rock starts are investigated for alleged historical sexual crimes whereas others, who flaunted such crimes, are not considered to have done anything wrong.
overall, the film left me with a sense of it being "but yes, Bill Clinton was the right man for the job though so let us stop being so harsh on him", or perhaps it was some other President that was getting referenced.
provenance - That's Entertainment, 49p
one i picked up without having any idea what it was, except that it was cheap and a horror with an 18 certificate, so there was every chance some thoroughly enjoyable presentations of sex and violence (but not at the same time, thank you) would be contained on this most digital of versatile discs.
the plot is all about four students who are inexplicable left to clear out an old building during a school holiday, with all this prior to the building being demolished or something. sure enough, as was the standard sort of thing for 80s horror films featuring students, one by one they start getting killed off in somewhat brutal if not exactly shocking or particularly explicit ways. all whilst fully dressed, for the record. absolutely nothing onscreen, nor anything "implied", suggests that this should have had an 18 certificate, but there you go.
in terms of what it is, not bad. Pranks, or whatever it was called when released in the country you are to be found in, is a pretty standard, cheap, cheerful and at times creative early 80s "slasher" film, made and marketed to cash in on the popularity of stuff like Halloween and Friday 13th. i have endured far worse films.
one of the most interesting aspects of the disc was the trailers. perhaps this is why it has an 18 certificate. on the disc there are graphic, revealing and disturbing trailers for Cannibal Holocaust and Mountain Of The Cannibal God, with both featuring scenes what got the two films banned. also, there is a trailer for Psychic Killer, which looks like an amazing film that i will hunt for a copy of.
provenance - Music Magpie website, 2 for £2
yes, another one that i found as browsing the web for that Sanitarium film. there were a few i could have ordered but i tried to limit my purchases some.
when i ordered it i did not, as it happens, know that it would be in Norwegian with English subtitles. no matter, for i am happy to say that - by some distance - it is in the top ten of Norwegian language films wat i have seen.
is there a plot? yes. a bunch of students, or young adults, head off to some cabin in the woods in some snowy mountains. there they hear the legend of how Zombie Nazis roam the land, looking for the gold, treasures and jewels they looted from the locals towards the end of World War II. yes, indeed, sure enough it is not all that long before they are confronted by these undead, presumably wanted war criminals. they must battle with them to survive and escape the remote location.
very funny, very entertaining, exceptionally violent and graphically gory. there, that's my review. you have then been warned, but it is absolutely worth it for those of you who like such things. a nice bonus on the disc was a documentary thing, following the cast and crew going to America for that Sundance Film Festival thing. for a change this is a thoroughly entertaining extra to watch.
provenance - That's Entertainment, 49p
much like Phatasm, i disc i picked up but never watched until prompted to by adverts for the Horror Channel announcing they were doing the "network premiere".
yes, i am and always have been quite the fan of Sam Raimi, so it is my disgrace that i had not seen it before. somehow my (considerably) better half had indeed seen it when it came out. anyway, seen it now.
quite good, really. a not too graphic but all the same full of bits that make you jump in front scenes horror film. i believe much of the reason for this getting made was that Raimi wanted to get "back to basics" in making films after the CGI and special effects heavy series of Spider-Man films what he made. well, whatever. all i know is that it is a rather enjoyable horror film despite the lack of gratuitous nudies and violence.
one disappointment with it was the absence of a key Sam Raimi film feature. let me try and do this without spoilers. in every Sam Raimi film there are supposed to be two things certain to appear - his Oldsmobile car and legendary actor Bruce Campbell. only 50% appear here.
provenance - Music Magpie website, 2 for £2
phew, last one then. and yes, bought as part of the deal or otherwise special offer i looked at when procuring that Sanitarium film to watch.
this rang some familiar bells when i saw it. i could recall starting to watch it on TV one night but not the whole thing. for some reason i was sure that i had only seen between 25% - 33% of it. after watching it in full on disc it was clear that i had in fact seen between 54% - 68% of it. oh well.
it's one of them films that is not entirely sure what it wants to be, for it blends science fiction, dire warnings on environmental concerns, horror, thriller and drama all as one. mostly this works, with a plot concerning a frozen planet with pockets of colonies holding out in buildings. when something seems to go wrong at one such colony off a team goes to investigate and finds a whole load of ragtag, cannibalistic, quasi zombie like "outsiders" looking to finish off the job what nature started.
not bad. i mean, i really like Laurence Fishburne, man, and can pretty much watch him in anything. also, Bill Paxton is in it, and he was always awesome. when the extreme, graphic violence does crop up in this film, however, it feels very much like it was forced in after the fact, as if to jazz up the certificate it got. but still, not a bad film at all.
and that's that, then. it may well be that another huge batch of discs what i have watched feature like this, assuming that the repeats of shows that i like continues to be absent. no, there is not even quite so much Bullseye on as usual to keep me entertained.
happy days, then, if any of the above has been of use or interest to anyone out there!
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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