Films

[jump]

I wouldn't call Cabin In The Woods a horror film in the true sense it's more of a love letter to the genre due to the makers getting fed up with the latest craze of found footage like Paranormal Activity and torture porn like Saw.

[t8yman]

CABIN IN THE WOODS STUFF

I've been a fan of Cthulhu-in-a-science-lab since the days of playing the rpg modules The Stars Are Right and At Your Door, and of course the video game Half Life. So for me there should be many more Cthulhu-in-a-lab films, not fewer.

We've already have quite a few violent viewer-as-voyeur films with Running Man, Truman Show, Hunger Games etc.

Also liked their take on the banality of evil with the lab technicians, week in week out they murder young people - for a larger plan - and it just ends up as the office sweepstake.

Oh well....

[Spindles]

CABIN IN THE WOODS STUFF

[rexclark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIh-LlbtFks&feature=share

I saw this trailer today. Looks great!

[sifi]

Raiders. IMAX. Slobber.

[The Nal]

Watched Chinese Coffee last night, directed by and starring Pacino. Film version of a play. Quite good. Excellent performances.

[Spindles]

Dredd just days away. Pantwettingly excited.

[sifi]

Loved the new Total Recall. Brian Cranston was particularly good in it.

[nightcrawler13]

watched The Imposter....

I read an article about it in Shortlist, if you read it, don't bother watching it, as it pretty much tells you everything that happens apart from the last 20 minutes

amazing story though, that man is disturbing in ways I've never felt about a human before

[LondonTom]

Finally got round to seeing TDKR Went for imax (Seriously after that and the cost of my near cinema anyway, I may as well just got to that when its available!) and thought it was brilliant!!!! Even if there was some major plot holes and a bit of a shit ending*

Amazed I avoided the spoilers of so much of it, even if as your watching the twists can be worked out before hand....Not as good as TDK but preferred it to begins and it was enjoyable.

*

Apart from Blake/Robin, I thought that was an obvious but nice touch

[jump]

Micheal Duncan Clarke, the big black dude from Green Mile, Daredevil, Sin City and Armaggedon has died.

[windy_miller]

Films seen recently on planes...

Avengers Assemble - completely over the top but great fun

The Raid - not quite as good as I was expecting but great nonetheless

The Dictator - Not his best work, but has some funny moments

John Carter - I actually quite enjoyed this. I had heard it was utter tripe but was intrigued by it so gave it a go. Its a load of nonsense of course, but still watchable.

The Three Stooges - Avoid (I picked the shortest film I could find as we were near landing).

[metallimuse]

Micheal Duncan Clarke, the big black dude from Green Mile, Daredevil, Sin City and Armaggedon has died.

[The Nal]

Just booked a preview for Lawless tomorrow night followed by a live streaming Q&A with John Hillcoat and Nick Cave!

Looks great.

Edited September 4, 2012 by The Nal

[BlackHole2006]

I know it's an old film but on Sunday I finally gathered up some balls to watch the 1973 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Fucking hell it's terrifying, but it's also brilliant.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I know it's an old film but on Sunday I finally gathered up some balls to watch the 1973 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Fucking hell it's terrifying, but it's also brilliant.

[BlackHole2006]

Its funny to think all of the furore around it at the time. It was banned in the cinema but you could get it on video until the early 80's. It was never a video nasty as such, but it does seem a little ludricrous that only a couple of decades later they remade it, along with actual video nasties like "Last House on the Left" and "I spit on your Grave".

[jump]

IMO take away that roaring chainsaw sound from it and the horror/scary bits disappears completely from that film.

[windy_miller]

I think the scene that most scared me was the dinner scene, especially the bit where they were taunting her, and the guy does that speech about how he doesn't like doing it but it has to be done, I thought it was such a simple idea but it was brilliantly executed.

To be honest with you I could see why it was so controversial at the time, there was nothing like it, nobody had a clue what to think. If I watched it in the cinema I would be terrified, it was bad enough watching it in broad daylight on YouTube!

[t8yman]

The dinner scene is scary because it's a complete portrayal of the true definition of a psychopath, no empathy whatsoever for another human being that is suffering.

And the sound - quiet/loud (repeat till end) is also instrumental in the effectiveness of the movie.

Both of these characteristics are over done "to death" in modern horror, to the point that they lose their effectiveness.

However, being around when the film hit VHS, and was subsequently banned as a nasty, I seem to remember there was nothing quite like as "nasty" as it around. I remember my auntie saying that "I will never eat sausages again" (and she actually never has!)

The implied horror was far more effective than the actual on screen gore.

[AcademicPistol]

I am completely desensitised and near enough immune to getting scared by films (which is probably not healthy).

It's probably due being exposed to these sort of films too early and I kind of missed getting scared by films so I went down the route of watching every previously banned/"most disturbing" films but it's not the same.

I realise I may sound a bit serial killy.

Edited September 5, 2012 by AcademicPistol

[5co77ie]

As a Squax Dex Thargo I watched Dredd which looks visually sumptuous - The story is just The Raid done in the future, and it's a decent effort. There's a few nods to the comic here and there, but it's the cinematography glorious trippy slowed 3D - I want to watch it again stoned (drugs are bad - mmmkay! as i wish Dredd would've said), but it's bound to be even more amazing losing yourself in those visuals. The only thing that's slightly annoying is the costumes don't work and you're constantly thinking why are they in fancy dress. If you enjoy film as a visual medium you'll love this. And he doesn't take off the helmet.

[5co77ie]

Just booked a preview for Lawless tomorrow night followed by a live streaming Q&A with John Hillcoat and Nick Cave!

Looks great.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I am completely desensitised and near enough immune to getting scared by films (which is probably not healthy).

It's probably due being exposed to these sort of films too early and I kind of missed getting scared by films so I went down the route of watching every previously banned/"most disturbing" films but it's not the same.

I realise I may sound a bit serial killy.

[Spindles]

I think mr Pistol's comments just go to demonstrate that the argument was false simply because we all react differently. I am of the age (as I notice many of us here are) that I was a teenager during the VHS age when Mary Whitehouse was banging on about video nasties, I also watched a few but I am still squeemish, I reacted differently, because my brain is wired differently, which means that it's not the film, it is the initial brain wiring that is important.

mr Pistol is desensitised, he is not alone, I am not, I am not alone, everyone else is somewhere in between pretty much (apart from those who are full on serial killery or full on too scared of fictional stories to watch eastenders without thinking they live in the queen vic).

I consider that the "violent films make violent people" argument is hokum, that if you believe such a simplistic answer you stop looking for the real reasons as you have your blame figure and then you can sit back, all smug, no longer having to be confused by your lack of understanding of a complex issue.