Rate the Last Film You Watched

Alien Covenant

I am a bit late to this movie by half a decade or so but where to begin. As a movie by itself it's fine, it's leaps and bounds a better movie than Alien 3 and Ressurection and if all you care about from an Alien movie is seeing the titular alien noming on people, then I think you will enjoy it.

Story wise I have mixed feelings about the whole creationism angle this movie went for, it very much carries on from Prometheus (a movie I haven't seen since it released, so my memory is spotty tbh) as it references it a lot. I don't really like the idea of the entire Xenomorph species was created by a robot who thought he could do a better job at making a species. It just ruins the whole mystique of the Xenomorphs as a predetor species as now instead of trying to imagine where they came from and what their world must be like, you are left with "they were made in a lab by a robot who experimented on his old crew.".

The Neomorphs were interesting but where underutilised, and once the OG Xenomorph appears they just exit the movie immediately anyway. I really do mean exit the movie, you never see what happens to them as they never show up or are mentioned again. I guess that last Neomorph is sitting on a rock pondering existance. Though the movie does do a good job at showing the Xenomorph as a much more dangerous foe anyway.

I think overall it's a heavily flawed but fun movie. 5/10 average, might watch again one day if the upcoming movie is any good.
 
Bullet in the Head (1990)

The last major film of his great fertile period that I’d not seen, John Woo’s Vietnam-set action-drama follows three blue-collar friends (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung and Waisie Lee) on the run from a street gang in late 60s Hong Kong, who decide to seek their fortune as smugglers in war-torn Saigon, only to find they’ve traded one hell for another when they end up caught between corrupt ARVN soldiers and brutal Vietcong fighters.

Some people rate this one as Woo’s masterpiece, but I had mixed feelings about it really, It has a real sense of sweeping grandeur to the crowd scenes - the riots and the large battles are very impressive - but even the longest cut you can find of the film is missing nearly an hour from Woo’s original version, and there’s a definite feeling of trying to pack too many things into two hours. A whole lot of stuff happens to the main characters, but I never really felt invested in their story and, for all the (often shocking) hardships the central trio face, I feel the film is arguably stolen by Simon Yam as a charismatic Vietnamese hitman who feels like a virtual retread of Chow Yun Fat’s character from The Killer.

There’s definitely something to the film, if nothing else it’s always refreshing to see a take on the conflict from somewhere other than the US (even if it’s clearly influenced by the Hollywood narrative) and it’s intriguing to wonder what the missing footage might have added to the story, but as it is, I came away disappointed by a sprawling and disjointed experience that seems to have outstayed its welcome by the time the end credits rolled.
 
Angel Enforcers (1989)

Another of Godfrey Ho’s more competent HK crime films, this one sees Sharon Yeung in the lead, as a lady detective trying to deal with the escalating violent reprisals from a smuggling gang, after an undercover officer is revealed to be in their midst. Despite frequently feeling like it was written by an AI, this is mostly quite watchable, with the usual players (Dick Wei, Phillip Ko, Mark Houghton) camping it up on villain duty, Yeung on good acrobatic form and some unintentional amusement from sneering night club owner Charlie Cho, who seems to start each scene looking like he’s just taken a massive bong hit. It runs out of steam a little towards the very end and I think Siu-Fung Wong was not given nearly enough to do as the power-suited lady crime boss, but a fine diversion for a Sunday afternoon, nonetheless.
 
SAW X
After awaiting years for another one to release, and here we are
Not sure if alot of people on here watch them but it take place between saw and saw 2
Easy to spoil these sorts of films as there are so many now
So wont go into detail
But overall i really like it, not as gory as past ones, but there is of course some and also alot of tortue.


Solid 8.5/10

L
 
31 Days of Halloween 2023!

Day I: Ju-On: The Curse (2000, Takashi Shimizu), Ju-On: The Curse 2 (2000, Takashi Shimizu), Ju-On: The Grudge (2002, Takashi Shimizu)
IMG_8633.jpeg
IMG_8634.jpeg
IMG_8635.jpeg
Though I was aware of The Grudge as a film with a sequel and a Western remake, I wasn’t aware of the other films also made by Takeshi Shimizu before it in the form of the two “Curse” entries.

These are both relatively short and straight-to-VHS films and whilst the first was decently atmospheric, the second was disappointing, and reuses around 30 minutes of content from the first film. Ju-On: The Grudge, meanwhile, is a suitably chilling supernatural horror film that improves upon its preceding projects nicely. 3/5, 2/5, 3.5/5
 
Totally copying HWR's plan here but when a good idea is a good idea.

I watched the 2013 reboot of Evil Dead
Evildead.jpg

Modern reboots have a usually well deserved reputation for being generally poor, lazy, nostalgia cash ins but this movie was actually brilliant. It's a more serious movie in a similar vain to the original 1981 Evil Dead movie and is as grounded as it gets for this series.

Basic summary is a group of friends go on a holiday as an intervention to help their friend crush her cripping drug addiction. A guy finds a copy of the Necronomicon and all hell breaks loose. It has a lot of tension and some very suspensful moments.

Now I say the whole movie is serious but I swear the character of Eric was intentionally written for dark comedy purposes. He is a total @$$ to everybody in the movie and unintentionally get's stabbed or shot by literally each member of the cast as the movie progresses, I wanted him to be the first to go but by the end I wanted him to be the sole survivor just for the joke but alas.

I actually think this was legit better than the original, though nowhere near as good as Evil Dead 2. 8/10 for me
 
31 Days of Halloween 2023!

Day II: Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003, Takashi Shimizu), Ju-On: Black Ghost (2009, Mari Asato), Ju-On: White Ghost (2009, Mari Asato)
IMG_8636.jpeg
IMG_8637.jpeg
IMG_8638.jpeg
Ju-On’s sequel is a solid one that in some ways I found stronger than its predecessor. The two Ghost features, meanwhile, only clock in at an hour each and were made to celebrate the franchise’ tenth anniversary. Sadly, neither of them were as good as what came before and they made for underwhelming watches. 3.5/5, 2/5, 2/5
 
71RweN0K-WL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

I am 100% cheating with this one, I originally lined up Quiet Place part 2 but for reasons outside of my control I wasn't able to finish it up last night, so I will finish it up later. Instead I rewatched Batman: The Long Halloween with my brother.

What can I say, it's a good movie that was adapted from one of the best all time Batman stories. While the movie trims a lot down from the original comic and has to take a few other liberties to tell the story it still has an eye watering 2hr 50 minute runtime which is honestly crazy for an animated movie.

If you ever get the chance the original comic is well worth checking out, the movie is still good but at it's heart this was a mystery story and the movie changes a lot of the clues and even changes the ending making it hard to recomend over the comic. But if you don't care about any of that or have read the story already, then the movie becomes an instant recomendation. 8/10 not perfect for the reasons I have mentioned.
 
Vincentdante said:
View attachment 30804

I am 100% cheating with this one, I originally lined up Quiet Place part 2 but for reasons outside of my control I wasn't able to finish it up last night, so I will finish it up later. Instead I rewatched Batman: The Long Halloween with my brother.

What can I say, it's a good movie that was adapted from one of the best all time Batman stories. While the movie trims a lot down from the original comic and has to take a few other liberties to tell the story it still has an eye watering 2hr 50 minute runtime which is honestly crazy for an animated movie.

If you ever get the chance the original comic is well worth checking out, the movie is still good but at it's heart this was a mystery story and the movie changes a lot of the clues and even changes the ending making it hard to recomend over the comic. But if you don't care about any of that or have read the story already, then the movie becomes an instant recomendation. 8/10 not perfect for the reasons I have mentioned.
Click to expand...

I will seek this out thankyou for the recommendation :)
 
31 Days of Halloween 2023!

Day III: Daughters of Darkness (1971, Harry Kümal)
IMG_8683.jpeg
An erotic horror offering that comes across as a rather classy vampire film. The Blue Underground release for this is solid too, and even includes the soundtrack on a CD and a lenticular slipcover. 3.5/5
 
71+tfvCswlL._AC_SL1280_.jpg

Silence is not enough, you need super silence.

A Quiet Place part 2. Alternative title anxiety the movie part 2.

This movie picks up exactly where the first one ended. Brief synopsis if anyone doesn't know is that invincible monsters hunt the surviving humans who are forced to live in small settlements to survive, but these monsters are completely blind so they hunt with ultrasonic hearing. Their hearing is so good they can hear footsteps miles away according to the movie.

Anyway Part 2 is not only a sequel in story but in tone too. As the surviving family of the settlement from the last movie have to leave and go cross country. Along the way they meet a guy they knew from before the invasion and the movie mostly revolves around how they interact with each other while trying to be as quiet as possible. One thing that is of note is that the movie actually really has very little sound, so when something happens that causes a sudden sound it's pretty much a free jumpscare followed by anxiety as everyone scrambles to hide.

Now a problem I have with this franchise is that I never really bought into the whole story that these monsters were able to end civilization as we know it. In the first movie it was discovered that they can be killed with regular guns when their armored skin is peeled back (which it is most of the time), and we learn in part 2 they can't swim either and will drown pretty quickly. So in all likelyhood in this movie universe we are probably doing really well here in the UK, these monsters are powercrept by the existance of airplanes but we are still supposed to believe these things have overpowered earths military might and wiped out most of the population around the globe.

Well despite my gripes, this is certainly a turn your brain off movie and I had fun. I think a 6.5/10 is reasonable. Just above average but far from a cinematic masterpiece.
 
31 Days of Halloween 2023!

Day IV: Flesh for Frankenstein (1973, Paul Morrissey)
IMG_8689.jpeg
Also known as Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, and Frankenstein 3D, this raunchy reimagining of the Frankenstein story is morbid and grim, though the Andy Warhol part of the title is a curio, as he reportedly only visited the set once during filming and briefly visited during the editing period. It’s a rather artsy film that delivers on the gore, though it’s a bit sluggish early on. 3.5/5
 
Last edited:
31 Days of Halloween 2023!

Day V: Fright Night (1985, Tom Holland)
IMG_8692.jpeg
After penning several horror flicks including Class of 1984 and Psycho II, Tom Holland made his directorial debut with this confident cult classic 80s vampire feature. is film It’s a film I’ve been meaning to see for a while, and made for an enjoyable watch, with some great performances from Roddy McDowall and Chris Sarandon and impressive practical effects. 4/5
 
31 Days of Halloween 2023!

Day VI: Child’s Play (1988, Tom Holland), Child’s Play 2 (1990, John Lafia), Child’s Play 3 (1991, Jack Bender)
IMG_8685.jpeg
IMG_8686.jpeg
IMG_8698.jpeg
The original Child’s Play trilogy is another case of capitalising on success and cranking out sequels in quick succession - a tried and tested formula for horror franchises and especially during the 80s.

Child’s Play is a solidly made feature, serving as one of the earlier horror films I recall watching growing up. Its sequels, meanwhile, don’t fare as well, with 2 being more tedious than I remembered, whilst 3 was slightly better and changes things up with its army base locale and an older Andy to work with. I’ll get around to the other sequels next Halloween, as by then the Arrow boxset will have released. 3.5/5, 2.5/5, 3/5
 
Last edited:
Night of the Living Dead

NOTLD_Cover_web_1800x1800.jpg

This movie was a trip, and most certainly a product of it's time. Being the movie famous for revolutionising the Zombie trope there are some quirks you wouldn't really associate with the modern idea of a Zombie. Normally the slow lumbering ghoul that only knows to eat, it's surprising that these zombies actually have some intelligence, such as being smart enough to try the door handles and picking up rocks to break windows.

Speaking of rocks, the main characters are all as dumb as them. Our cast include main character who has to disagree with all opinions and doesn't explain why. Annoying girl who sits on sofa and occasionally say's "we need to get out of here." Young perky couple who accidentally blow themselves up and let the zombies have a cooked meal. Cowardly guy who does everything he can to undermine everyone else as he thinks it will keep him alive, and his wife who wants a divorce but is eventually overpowered by a 10 year old girl in the most unintentionally funniest death scene ever.

And you also have the police who behave very uncharacteristically for these kind of movies, as they are competent.

I bought the Criterion collection blu-ray which I suspect is going OOP from an ebay seller. All in all I rate this Glad I watched it/10
 
Last edited:
Back
Top