Rate the Last Film You Watched

Watched plenty seasonal movies this month but nothing really worth promoting. Instead i'm going to recommend little Danish film called "The Guilty"

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The Guilty (2018) ⭐ 7.5 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

1h 25m | 15
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First i heard of this was when someone mentioned Hideo Kojima praising it and i marked it down and finally watched it yesterday and it was great. It's not the kind of movie you should know much about beforehand. The closest thing i would compare is "Phone Booth" but this is more down to earth.
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XIV: In the Aftermath (1988, Carl Colpaert)
In the Aftermath

A film in which sequences from Mamoru Oshii’s enigmatic Angel’s Egg are spliced with live action in an apocalyptic tale. The live action sequences weren’t especially interesting and the scenes from AE are dubbed over with some less than great voice acting so at best, this film serves as a look at what Arrow Video could do with an Angel’s Egg release but otherwise there isn’t a much recommend here. 2/5
 
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31 Days of Halloween!

Day XV: The Fly (1958, Kurt Neumann)
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Though the Cronenberg remake is a masterpiece the original story that it’s based upon is a lot of fun too, especially due to having Vincent Price as the lead. Some scenes were a bit dull but the actual reveal of the experiment gone wrong still looks pretty effective today. 3.5/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XVI: Universal Dracula Sequels: Daughter of Dracula (1936, Lambert Hillyer) & Son of Dracula (1943, Robert Siodmak)
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Just two sequels this time around, though there are two further films which are big crossovers and the Abbott and Costello films which I’ll get to one day. Despite their namesake both of these films work fairly well as standalone storylines, largely due to the performances from their respective leads Gloria Holden and Lon Chaney, Jr. 3.5/5, 3.5/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XVII: Universal Monster Crossovers: The House of Frankenstein (1944, Erle C. Kenton), House of Dracula (1945, Erle C. Kenton)
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Having watched the sequels for Universal’s Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolf Man franchises’ it was only fitting to watch these two films in which they all appear.

However, in HoF Dracula never actually meets Frankenstein‘s monster and The Wolf Man as he dies in the first act which was a shame but the film is still quite good at balancing out all the characters whilst telling a story that doesn’t waste much time. 3.5/5

HoD, meanwhile, feels uninspired as a Doctor finds himself tending to the trio of monsters due to a series of events. The ending is also a rushed letdown, taking footage from another film in a lazy fashion. Outside of a happier ending for Larry Talbot this was a weak entry into the Universal monster franchise. 1.5/5
 
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Oh Come on, there’s a random hunchback but the wolf man leaves early? I get that hunchbacks were proper “freaks” in the eyes of society back then but they must have felt cheated with the wolfman, much better than a random disability

then again wolfman stories are often better than wolfman films. You putting American werewolf on the list at some point, @HWR? One of the best wolfman films, with a grotesque transformation to top it off
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XVIII: The Count Yorga Collection: Count Yorga, Vampire (1970, Bob Kelljan), The Return of Count Yorga (1971, Bob Kelljan)
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Two vampire films that share the same director and lead actor (Robert Quarry). Both see the titular Yorga stealing away victims whilst those around him grow more suspicious about what he really is. I enjoyed Return a bit more due to it having some nicer production values but both are worth a watch via the Arrow Video release. 3/5, 3.5/5
 
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Silent Running (1972)

Having read a synopsis of it years ago, Douglas Turnbull's sci-fi fable about a troubled astronaut trying to protect the last of earth's forests from an indifferent society, held few surprises for me, but it's still a powerful and sadly relevant film. The one thing I didn't expect was how unashamedly direct it all is; there are no obscure metaphors here, and at a mere 90 minutes, it comes straight to the point, right down to the slightly mawkish use of Joan Baez's music as (the thoroughly excellent) Bruce Dern lovingly tends his trees.
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XIX: The Chill Factor (1993, Christopher Webster)
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This was an underwhelming experience to say the least. If you like snowmobile races/chases then maybe this will give you something but otherwise it’s a supernatural horror that takes way too long to get to the actual supernatural elements. The film feels padded out and the characters aren’t likeable enough to carry it. 1.5/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XX: As the Gods Will (2014, Takashi Miike)1603220580528.jpeg
One of several manga adaptations that Miike has directed over the years, this film is based on the first arc of the series (I haven’t read the series so am judging this solely on the film on its own merits) and is often ridiculously gory and visceral in execution. The CGI worked reasonably well too.

It felt reminiscent of other student-driven battle Royale narratives with various mind games and twisted character developments and was a decent watch overall, especially thanks to having Miike as director - they tend to do well with often absurdist levels of violence. 3.5/5
 
HWR said:
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XX: As the Gods Will (2014, Takashi Miike)View attachment 15341
One of several manga adaptations that Miike has directed over the years, this film is based on the first arc of the series (I haven’t read the series so am judging this solely on the film on its own merits) and is often ridiculously gory and visceral in execution. The CGI worked reasonably well too.

It felt reminiscent of other student-driven battle Royale narratives with various mind games and twisted character developments and was a decent watch overall, especially thanks to having Miike as director - they tend to do well with often absurdist levels of violence. 3.5/5
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I really want to watch this film as I love this sort of genre in the anime/manga side. I did read the first volume of the series' "Second Season" which is the one Kodansha Comics have digitally (and was on Crunchyroll), but one day I hope the first series is licensed.

As for the film I know Funimation has the US/CA rights but I was hoping for Arrow would acquire the UK/IE rights as it fits their brand plus they have Terra Formars so why not. Glad you like the film at least.
 
Yeah I have the Funi Blu Ray which only has trailers so would love Arrow to do a spruced up release one day if they can produce some nice extras for it (heck I want them to put out as many Takashi Miike films out as they can licence really).
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XXI: Dario Argento’s Opera (1987, Dario Argento)
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This Italian Giallo film from acclaimed director Dario Argento sees a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, infamous for causing bad luck with its actors, become the stalking grounds for a killer with unhinged desires. There’s some really gruesome imagery here, especially the use of sellotape and needles - as featured on the poster art.

Cult Films did a solid job with the Blu Ray and this is another recommended entry from Argento’s filmography. 4/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XXII: Scream (1996, Wes Craven)
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Scream is acclaimed for how it took a genre that was arguably waning and injected new life into it with a satirical and knowing take which referenced plenty of iconic films, including the ones Craven directed himself. It’s a very good film and a continuation of some of the themes Craven explored in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare two years prior. 4/5
 
So, my mum's staying with me and her birthday is during her visit so I thought it would be nice to watch some films about parents and their children bonding, hence...

The Perfect Man (2005, Mark Rosman). - Cute rom-com about a girl played by Hilary Duff who's mum (Heather Locklear) keeps on making questionable romantic decisions and then moving them across the country when it doesn't work out - this time to Brooklyn. The daughter hits upon an idea - make up a secret admirer to make the mother feel happier... but obviously a lie like that can only be taken so far. However, the secret admirer is somewhat based on a real person - the uncle of her new best friend. OK so I actually really like this film and have watched it several times - yes it's silly and one can probably poke some holes in this or that aspect of it, yes it's a shameless piece of fluff, but like, the good kind - and it also feels like they took the format of Sex and the City and made a much, much more child friendly version as Duff's character is a blogger and Chris Noth (Carrie's main squeeze) plays the main romantic interest. I mean like sure objectively it's not a masterpiece but it's one of the better chick flicks out there and does what it's aiming to do very well. It also wins some extra points from me for not demonizing the other guy that the mum goes out with who isn't a very good match - regardless of the genders of the people involved, it annoys me a bit when they try and make the romantic rival look like a vapid shallow arse or a puppy drowner just so it feels more righterer for the lead to end up with whoever they do end up with, in cases where it wasn't really necessary to do that kind of character assassination. It's also got Ben Feldman from Drop Dead Diva in it (I had such a crush on him in that show 🥰😂 ) 3/5

The Guilt Trip (2012, Anne Fletcher). - I really liked this too, this was the second time I've watched it. Inventor Seth Rogen and his mother Barbra Streisand go on a road trip trying to sell his safe, eco-friendly cleaning product and gradually become closer in the process. Apparently this one didn't do too well with critics either and I'm honestly kinda surprised by that, I though it was well balanced between the cynical and the optimistic, with some very touching moments. Also Seth Rogen rly looks like one of my closest friends so I get sentimental watching some movies with him in them. 4/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XXIII: The Omen (1976, Richard Donner)
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A horror film that received a lot of acclaim at the time but suffers a bit from some slower pacing at times. That being said this film has some strong points like the build-up early on to a gruesome event during a celebration is great and unexpected.

The cast also do well with Gregory Peck portraying an unconvinced father and Patrick Troughton as a holy man and the only person who realises the evil that lies within Damien. This is a classic that I don’t like quite as much as some but it’s legacy holds firm. 3.5/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XXIV: It Chapter Two (2019, Andy Muschietti)
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It took me a little while to get around to this, having seen the first chapter in theatres back when it was screening. My thoughts on this are similar to that of the first film - the acting was solid from both child and adult casts and Skarsgård also gives it his all again as Pennywise, though I personally still prefer Tim Curry’s depiction in the TV miniseries.

What I didn’t like was the CGI again not being very effective in conveying some of the horror elements - a problem I also had with the first film but thankfully it didn’t detract too much from the proceedings and this was overall a decent sequel. 3.5/5
 

In cinemas this week is Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning Cinema Paradiso. A love letter to not only the art of movie making but of the cinema as a community experience, it's a celebration of what we are at risk of losing and a reminder of why we must not. An essential and timely re-release of a film that also stands as testament to the greatness of the late Ennio Morricone, featuring maybe his most beautiful, romantic score. 5/5
 
31 Days of Halloween!

Day XXV: Tower of London (1962, Roger Corman)
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Director Roger Corman and actor Vincent Price work together once again for a historical horror that works as a sort of remake for the 1939 film of the same name. It also takes story beats from Shakespeare’s Richard III, with Price portraying the monarch as a cunning and manipulative man hell bent on claiming the throne left behind by Edward IV at any means.

Price carries the role well and considering a limited budget and filming schedule (allegedly Corman shot it in only around 15 days) the sets are nice and the runtime is brisk without wasting any time - a decent film overall. 3/5
 
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