What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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saltysam
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Oculus 2/5 Another in the already tired genre of paranormal activities,this one involves a cursed mirror and the efforts of a brother and sister to prove it.Strange filming technique involving flashbacks,this feels like a sequel to a film we haven't seen.Watchable but instantly forgettable.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Man on a Ledge (2012-USA) **
Slick thriller with serious credibility issues... starting with the hero emerging totally unscathed after his escape car is smashed into by a speeding train.
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Out of Bounds (1986-USA) **
A country boy lands in big city trouble when a bag of heroin falls into his possession.
Pedestrian, soft-R action thriller, unsuccessful in its attempt to toughen up Anthony Michael Hall's geek image (he still hadn't filled out yet). Jenny Wright brings some spunk to her punk wannabe actress role.

The Gauntlet (1977-USA) **½
Average Clint Eastwood actioner with tongue firmly in its cheek.
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Non-Stop (2014-UK-France-USA) **½
Alcoholic Air Marshal Liam Neeson jumps into action when an aircraft is 'taken' by an anonymous hijacker. The kind of unlikely thriller that the term suspension of disbelief was invented for. Entirely watchable but should have been so much more.

The Wraith (1986-USA-Canada) *½
A murdered teenager comes back as a ghost driver to wreck vengeance on the gang what murdered him! Odd, but not quite terrible... though that's hardly a recommendation now, is it? The rock soundtrack supplies a shot of 80s nostalgia.

Paperhouse (1988-UK) **½
Original, imaginative child's view fantasy (with scary overtones) doesn't sustain what is essentially a short story idea padded to feature length.

My Best Friend is a Vampire (1987-USA) **
Silly teen comedy very reminiscent of Jim Carrey vehicle Once Bitten.

Rampage (1987-USA) *½
Clunky psychological thriller dominated by cheap courtroom scenes. What happened to William Friedkin? - This isn't the work of a major filmmaker.
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Markgway
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Soul Man (1986-USA) **
A privileged (but fundless) young white man blacks-up to claim a minority scholarship to study Harvard law. As satire this does have some pertinent points to make and sidesteps minstrel show racism by taking all of its jabs at white prejudice... but as popular comedy it simply isn't anywhere-near funny enough. A film of real potential that lacks real bite. P.S. C. Thomas Howell looks and sounds so much like a young Jim Carrey they could've swapped actors and no one would've noticed.

Rent-a-Cop (1987-USA) *½
A cop quits the force after a hijacked drug bust only to find himself protecting the prostitute who can identify the killer. Burt & Liza - the showbiz team-up you were all waiting for! This is obviously not a good movie... but it's probably not the worst the year had to offer either.

Slam Dance (1987-USA-UK) *
A dim cartoonist is framed for the murder of the glamorous blonde tart he was porking.
Strange, illogical neo-noir; the only real mystery is how this stinker got a theatrical release.
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RetroRobot
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Like Soul Man a lot. And The Wraith is a fine piece of 80's B-movie cheese if you ask me. It has its problems for sure, but there's a lot to recommend. And Sherilyn Fenn is ridiculously bangable here.
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Just watched Body Double again. This film tears me in so many directions it's ridiculous. Some scenes, I clearly see what De Palma is going for, and others I have no fucking clue. Some scenes I love, and some I really hate. The whole Hitchcockian set-up, the voyeurism, the claustrophobia angle all works (though I think the ode to old school rear projection is too ham handed). The big indian killer character is genuinly scary and Craig Wasson is a likable lead. But then things just goes off the rails. The power drill killing is schlocky and straight outta Slumber Party Massacre and the Frankie Goes To Hollywood music video porno sequence is perplexing at best. From then on, it's pretty much down hill. I will never understand De Palma as a director. Either he is just a hack who gets lucky once in a while, or im just missing some higher artistic and esoteric level that he is operating on.... im not sure. Like I said, I like about half of this strange fruit of a movie, and the other half is a bit of a headscratcher. Thumbs up for Pino Donnagio's excellent score. Especially the haunting 'Telescope' theme.
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RetroRobot wrote:And Sherilyn Fenn is ridiculously bangable here.
On that note, my friend, we doth agree.

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Red Sonja (1985-USA-The Netherlands) **
Flame-haired vixen sets out on a vengeance quest with top-billed guest star Arnie in the shadows.
Camp sword and sorcery piffle is no worse than Conan the Destroyer. Villainess Sandhal Bergman (who was pretty decent in Conan the Barbarian) gives a terrible performance here - perhaps she though this was parody? Also, I noticed this was cut, despite the PG-13 rating (the PG rated Destroyer is much bloodier).

EDIT: Just checked and there's an uncut version on Daily Motion with a Studio Canal logo. The print I saw began with MGM's lion's roar.

Summer Rental (1985-USA) **
Burnt-out air traffic controller takes his family on an extended beach vacation.
John Candy vehicle is innocuous, but very slim on laughs.
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Killer Meteor
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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RetroRobot wrote:Just watched Body Double again. This film tears me in so many directions it's ridiculous. Some scenes, I clearly see what De Palma is going for, and others I have no fucking clue. Some scenes I love, and some I really hate. The whole Hitchcockian set-up, the voyeurism, the claustrophobia angle all works (though I think the ode to old school rear projection is too ham handed). The big indian killer character is genuinly scary and Craig Wasson is a likable lead. But then things just goes off the rails. The power drill killing is schlocky and straight outta Slumber Party Massacre and the Frankie Goes To Hollywood music video porno sequence is perplexing at best. From then on, it's pretty much down hill. I will never understand De Palma as a director. Either he is just a hack who gets lucky once in a while, or im just missing some higher artistic and esoteric level that he is operating on.... im not sure. Like I said, I like about half of this strange fruit of a movie, and the other half is a bit of a headscratcher. Thumbs up for Pino Donnagio's excellent score. Especially the haunting 'Telescope' theme.
That's the best bit!
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RetroRobot
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Sure, if you like moustache dudes in leather..... or are you refering to the Melanie Griffith part? :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Just the song, lol.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Love the song, not the scene.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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The Family (2013-USA) *½
Brooklyn Mob family relocate to Normandy(!) via witness protection.
Dumb, tiresome black comedy wastes good actors (Tommy Lee Jones looks even more depressed than usual); director Luc Besson - didn't he once promise to stop making movies? - thinks mindless violence is funny and has forgotten how to stage a decent action sequence.
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Fatal Attraction (1987-USA) **½
A married man (Michael Douglas) gets more than he bargained for when his weekend affair (crazy Glenn Close) stalks his perfect family. Iconic Hollywood thriller with big hair and kitchen sink porking; involving, but overlong. Wisely re-shot violent climax improves on pretentious original and ensured big box office.

The China Syndrome (1978-USA) ***
Lightweight journalist (Jane Fonda) tries to uncover the explosive story of an near nuclear meltdown.
Smart, effective thriller builds tension through dialogue and great acting (Jack Lemmon excels as the conscience-stricken engineer).
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RetroRobot
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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China Syndrome made my top list for '79 (which is its year of release). Love that film. Fatal Attraction was never really my bag. It had some effective moments, but never made me care enough about any of the characters. Also, I find Glenn Close thoroughly unattractive and her character unappealing from beginning to end. Why would you mess around with that, when you can go home and fuck 80's Anne Archer?!

Have you seen The Star Chamber, Mark? An underrated Douglas movie of the 80's IMO.
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Markgway
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RetroRobot wrote:Why would you mess around with that, when you can go home and fuck 80's Anne Archer?!
That crossed my mind whilst I watching it, too. :P
Have you seen The Star Chamber, Mark? An underrated Douglas movie of the 80's IMO.
Yeah, many years back.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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The Running Man (1987-USA) **½

Arnie flexes his biceps in entertaining action satire based on a Richard Bachman (Stephen King) novel.

I can recommend the Olive BD (Region-A).
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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The Howling (1980-USA) **
Saw this many full moons ago and wasn't terribly impressed... nothing much has changed.
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RetroRobot
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Is that the one with Dee Wallace?
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Markgway
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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RetroRobot wrote:Is that the one with Dee Wallace?
Yep.
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Killer Meteor
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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I prefer Howling II - funniest end credits ever.
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Mother's Day (2010-USA) *½
Sadistic, coldly-calculated splatter remake in which a family of deviant crooks hold a house of "innocents" hostage... with rapidly diminishing credibility. Any claimed insights into the limits of human behaviour and survival instinct play second fiddle to graphic bloodshed and torture, as is par for the course in contemporary horror. Rebecca DeMornay is good in a comeback role.

Turk 182! (1985-USA) *½
A mouthy Noo Yawk youth embarrasses a mayoral candidate with elaborate graffiti stunts.
Simple-minded satire; unappealing characters.
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Killer Meteor
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out

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Is Turk 182 a Cannon film by any chance?
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No, 20th Century Fox/Interscope.
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