What did you watch today?

[Samuel_Scott]

Battle of the Damned (UK Blu) - As Paul said in his review, better than the director's previous, Robotropolis, but not quite there yet. 5/10

ET: The Extra Terrestrial (Scandinavian Blu) - Childhood classic for me. Love it. 9/10

Red Scorpion (UK Blu) - Enjoyable enough, but far from Lundgren's best. 5/10

The Dinosaur Project (UK Blu) - Found footage movie with a Jurassic Park twist. Some good ideas, not always well utilised. Started better than it finished. 5/10

[Samuel_Scott]

Big viewing day today - 7 movies and a short...

Clash of the Titans (UK Blu) - Meh. Nowhere near as good the older version. 5/10

Somewhere (French Blu) - Well acted look at a celebrity struggling with life when his daughter comes for an unannounced visit. Elle Fanning and Stephen Dorff are very good. 7/10

Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins Ball (UK Blu) - Decent popcorn flick with a better storyline and cast than most of these lower-end sequels. 6/10

Goats (UK DVD) - Coming of age dramedy with an understated performance from David Duchovny. 7/10

Fanboys (UK Blu) - I'm not a Star Wars fan, but even I find a lot to like here. Some good laughs, and great cameos. 7/10

Friday the 13th (1980) (USA Blu) - One of the better 80s slashers, but its not aged as well as others in the genre. Still, a personal favourite. 8/10

All the Right Noises (UK Blu) - A good entry into BFI's Flipside range. Olivia Hussey and Tom Bell are excellent. 7/10

The Spy's Wife (UK Blu) - short film included on the All the Right Noises release which has a fun ending, but tries to cram too much into half an hour. Could have easily been double the length. 6/10

[Ain_Uussaar]

Morning Glory
The Big Wedding

[Noor_Razzak]

Drive, He Said - from the criterion America Lost and Found box set, 6/10 interesting film about a college basketball player and paranoia surrounding the draft. Character study of a film, directed by Jack Nicholson.

Also from the same box set, watched A Safe Place 5/10 - this was a strange film, didn't really like it. Felt disconnected and disjointed, still not really sure it was really about.

[Davy_Lee]

Stryker (YouTube): first viewing - 6.5/10

Never got to watch it on video. One of the "better" post apocalyptic B-films of the 80s directed by Cirio H. Santiago, who also directed Wheels of Fire of the same genre. The plot is about the quest, by gangs of nuclear war survivors, for a hidden water source that is believed to exist somewhere in the desert.

This, imo, belongs to the same category as: 2019 After the Fall of New York, Escape from the Bronx, 2020 Texas Gladiators and Endgame.

[Samuel_Scott]

The Exterminator (UK Blu) - Revenge classic that doesn't get the praise of similar films unfortunately. 7/10

Underworld (UK Blu) - PQ wasn't great on this one, but it doesn't stop the film from being enjoyable. 7/10

17 Again (UK Blu) - Enjoyed this more than expected. Some fairly adult themes and jokes throughout and I really liked Lennon's character. 6/10

Prom (USA Blu) - Disney Channel fluff that falls wayside. 4/10

Saw III (UK Blu) - Not my favourite of the series, but still some great death scenes included. 6/10

[Davy_Lee]

Squirm (YouTube): first viewing - 2/10

I came to know this when it played at a drive-in theater but never got to see it.This is one of the worst nature-gone-berserk films I've ever watched. Absolutely terrible I was planning to buy the Arrow blu-ray. Now, it's out of my list. Try watching this as a double feature with It Lives By Night, and you'll waste three hours of your life


Deranged (YouTube): first viewing - 7/10

Hmm... not as good as I was expecting it to be. There's a documentary-like narrative that makes this rather unique. I'd prefer the scenes of the narrator not to be a part of the film, which would make it better. Still on the fence about buying the Arrow blu-ray.

[Samuel_Scott]

Wadjda (UK Blu) - Saudi Arabia's first ever Oscar entry is an excellent feature with a fine cast. 9/10

Women Without Shadows (UK Blu) - short included on the Wadjda release that looks at the role of women in Saudi Arabia. Interesting, but need more structure. 6/10

The Crazies (UK Blu) - One of the better horror remakes out there with great tension and a much better cast than expected. 8/10

The Dictator (UK Blu) - The only Baron-Cohen film not a hit for me so far is Bruno. Some very funny moments, but poorly paced in a couple of segments. 7/10

[Vincent_Bouche]

The Place Beyond the Pines (French Blu)
Good movie, but I was expecting more... 7/10

[Davy_Lee]

Exterminators of the Year 3000 (YouTube): first viewing - 5.5/10

Never watched it before and never knew it existed until several years ago when Code Red released the dvd, which is now OOP. Glad I didn't add it to my post-apocalyptic film collection. With characters named Alien, Trash, Crazy Bull and a plot similar to Mad Max 2, you would be expecting something fun to watch. But, no. It's bland.

[Samuel_Scott]

It's a Lot (UK Blu) - Some good ideas, but my god, horribly cast, and just not funny. There are too many characters that don't really have anything to do with the loose plot, and apart from the main character's younger brother, I disliked all the characters. The production values of low budget UK cinema is getting better (£200,000 for this one), but this film missed the mark. 3/10

Columbus Circle (UK Blu) - Rather basic thriller, and a bit disappointed in some of the cast performances, but co-writer Kevin Pollak managed to give himself the best character available. It's engaging enough, but just never moves up a gear, and the ending feels a little daft due to the supposed agoraphobia. 6/10

[Ain_Uussaar]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Enemies Closer

[Samuel_Scott]

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) (UK Blu) - Not why I expected at all, but a lot of fun. Great music, a great case, and an enjoyable take on Phantom of the Opera. Recommended. 8/10

The Howling: Reborn (2011) (UK Blu) - Nowhere near as bad as I had expected. A little 'Twilighty' for the forst hour, but I thought the werewolves looked decent, and the cast was above average for a low rent horror sequel. 5/10

The Maiden Heist (2009) (UK Blu) - Engaging enough light-hearted comedy, but I expected so much more considering the cast. William H. Macy steals the show though. 6/10

[Vincent_Bouche]

Möbius (TV)
Good french spying movie - 7/10

Bon Voyage (UK Blu)
Short by Hitchvock, available on "Lifeboat" - 7/10

[Jim_Mcdonaugh]

The Maiden Heist (2009) (UK Blu) - Engaging enough light-hearted comedy, but I expected so much more considering the cast. William H. Macy steals the show though. 6/10

A decent flick, agree. And William H. Macy always does that. Panic, Fargo, In Enemy Hands, Cellular, Jurassic Park 3 and many more.
He's usually genually funny but natural. You always believe in his characters. They never gross or over the top.
Shame in Lincoln Lawyer he got so small role.

[Samuel_Scott]

In the early hours, I burned through the short series This Is Jinsy: Series 2 (UK DVD). Very surreal, but sometimes comes across as daft rather than genius insanity. - 7/10 - http://dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3110

Rewatches (in the background whilst I caught up with paperwork and added some releases):

Mission: Impossible (UK Blu) - The score is a favourite of mine, and although I really enjoy this movie, it hasn't aged too well over the last 18 years for me. Still, plenty of fun. 7/10

Mission: Impossible II (UK Blu) - A slightly underrated sequel, with some great action sequences in an almost typical Woo style. Thought Thandie Newton made a better M:I girl, than she did Bond girl. 7/10

Mission: Impossible III (UK Blu) - Abrams puts a new spin on the franchise with this one by giving Ethan Hunt more depth. There's some solid action sequences, and I'm always happy to see Maggie Q. I completely forgot this had Philip Seymour Hoffman in it, scene stealing at every given opportunity. 7/10

[Vincent_Bouche]

I completely forgot this had Philip Seymour Hoffman in it, scene stealing at every given opportunity.

Late PSH, as of yesterday...

Kotoko (UK Blu)
As with most Tsukamoto movies, this is not for everyone. "Unsettling" would be an euphemism, this is one movie you can dislike but that will not leave you indifferent. One of the greatest representations of insanity (one can also think about Zulawski's Possession), a travel to the windings of madness. This is Tsukamoto at his greatest - 9/10

[Ain_Uussaar]

Burke and Hare
Blackfish

[Samuel_Scott]

Prepping myself for a 10 movie marathon (inlcuding extras for some films!) between now and midnight tomorrow.

*limbers up*

[Samuel_Scott]

Today, the start of my 10 movie marathon (about once a week I don't sleep at all, tonight is that night)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (UK Blu) - This is actually my favourite in the series (so far anyway), mainly because I felt the addition of slight humour worked so well, and that Ethan Hunt was more 'human'. Brad Bird was a surprising choice for director, but he nailed it. 8/10

Bangkok Assassins (UK DVD) - Okay, so the fight scenes are not great, and the acting was mediocre at best, but there was something rather likeable about this film. The first ten minutes took me aback a little with what the gang do to the kids, but it was vital to make sure that those scenes were quite hard-hitting. 6/10 - http://dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3113

The Hangover (UK Blu) - As funny now as the first time I saw it. Mike Tyson owns his scenes, especially the punch, but without Zach Galifianikis this would not have been anywhere near as good. The tragic thing, is the amount of awful low budget rip-offs it has spawned. 9/10