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

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

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Young Doctors in Love (1982-USA) **
Patchy spoof of daytime hospital dramas; lots of familiar faces in the cast.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Glass Key (1942-USA) **½
Enjoyable, if a bit convoluted Noir drama; I didn't feel the chemistry between Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Cape Fear (1991, USA): 4/5

Suspenseful and taut thriller is very well acted, and at times fucking terrifying. De Niro is superb in it. Only problem was I had The Simpsons parody episode in my head some of the time while watching it.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Black or White (2014-USA) ***
Good, though-provoking drama about the guardianship of a bi-racial girl.
Kevin Costner is on excellent form as the grandfather, coping with grief through drink.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote:
grim_tales wrote:Zodiac (2007): 4/5

A slow burner but a very good mystery/serial killer movie.
I saw this for the first time last year and totally agree. I wonder if it would be even better on a second viewing.
My viewing was my first time seeing it as well :) I watched the Director's Cut version BTW :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Next of Kin (1982-Australia) **½
A young woman inherits a nursing home after her mother's death.
Spooky shit happens.
Not bad chiller makes up for its sluggish moments with some style and a tense conclusion.
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My Favourite Year (1982-USA) **½
Fallen matinee idol Peter O'Toole (essaying a character based on Errol Flynn) is due to appear on a live TV comedy show, if he can stay sober.
Some good gags, witty lines, but it's O'Toole that's the whole show here, and without him this Mel Brooks production would really struggle.
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Night Warning aka Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981-USA) *½
From the director of sitcom 'Bewitched'...
comes this unintentionally(?) hilarious slasher in which nutjob Susan Tyrrell (in a magnificent/awful carpet chewing performance)
will do anything to keep her teenage nephew (whom she's a little too fond of) at home.
Grisly third act hardly justified this one's place on the DPP's 'Video Nasty' list.
Bo Svenson's dim, homophobic cop adds to the chuckles.
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Bound to Vengeance (2015-USA) **
A kidnapped girl breaks free from basement captivity, discovers she's fallen prey to a sex trafficking ring, and instead of alerting the authorities, opts to rescue the other captives herself.
Gritty exploitation picture keeps the audience involved, but, as you may have guessed from the synopsis, at the expense of credibility.
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Love Is All You Need (2012-Denmark-Sweden-Italy-France-Germany) **½
Two Denmark-based families are brought together for a wedding in sunny Italy.
Sensitive romantic drama intended for mature viewers; the leads are good, but there's a spark and wit missing from the proceedings.
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Nightcrawler (2014-USA) ***
Dark, cynical story of an oddball who reinvents himself as a crime scene cameraman,
an occupation he's determined to make a success of at any cost.
Occasionally gripping, with pointed criticism of tabloid style TV news.
Jake Gyllenhaal is compelling in his portrayal of an ugly, immoral character.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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One Down Two to Go (1982-USA) **
Pedestrian blaxploitation that's not as cool as it thinks it is.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Big Bird Cage (USA, 1972) [DVD] - 2.5/5
Philippines set WiP film with a slightly tongue in the cheek tone. Entirely watchable and rather entertaining, but once the film is over you're not left with much. As exploitation it's quite tame, and obviously lacks the kind of energy and state of art visuals you'd find in the best Japanese exploitation films of the same era. That being said, it's well enough made and features nice outdoor locations and a colourful cast. Pam Grier is great, though unfortunately just about the only female in the film who keeps her clothes on (somewhat). The script features one clever twist: the guards are all gay so the women can't seduce them!
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Unforgiven: 4/5

I'd never seen this one before - Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are superb as aging outlaws getting together for one last job, to collect some money and avenge a prostitute who was injured.
Richard Harris was quite funny as well.
Eastwood's character reveal is quite chilling
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote:Unforgiven: 4/5

I'd never seen this one before - Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are superb as aging outlaws getting together for one last job, to collect some money and avenge a prostitute who was injured.
Richard Harris was quite funny as well.
Eastwood's character reveal is quite chilling
you'vw waited over 20 years to view this iconic,oscar winning classic :o hope you got the new remastered version which apparently blows away the old blu ray
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Sorcerer (USA, 1977) [BD] - 4/5
A terrific old school action film about four desperate men hired to drive two trucks loaded with extremely volatile explosives through a jungle. While I have not seen the original film, Wages of Fear, this atmospheric remake is a terrific movie. There's a number of things it does differently from most other action films, including nearly one hour of characterization before the plot kicks off, and the use of the forces of nature as the source of thrills. All of the four protagonists, of which only one is an American, are all criminals hiding the law in South America.

Runaway Train (USA, 1985) [DVD] - 4/5
Another terrific old school action film, which greatly reminded me of Sorcerer. What the films have in common is 1) lots of characterization before the plot starts, 2) forces of nature as the source of thrills, and 3) criminals as heroes. Jon Voight (great) and Eric Roberts (not so great) are two escaped prisoners who board a runaway train with no driver and no brakes in Alaska. Directed by Russian director Andrey Konchalovskiy (from a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa), this has a raw and somewhat eastern European feel to it.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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No One Lives (2012-USA-UK) *
Repellent, graphically gory, extremely nasty splatter picture shows that WWE Studios don't just do action movies badly.
The script consists almost entirely of the f-word and fails to include a single even-half likeable character.
This makes the Saw series look like the work of sensitive, thoughtful individuals. Avoid.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway wrote:No One Lives (2012-USA-UK) *
Repellent, graphically gory, extremely nasty splatter picture shows that WWE Studios don't just do action movies badly.
The script consists almost entirely of the f-word and fails to include a single even-half likeable character.
This makes the Saw series look like the work of sensitive, thoughtful individuals. Avoid.
Wed Oct 02, 2013 8:50 pm
HungFist wrote:No One Lives (USA, 2012) [BD] – 3.5/5
Ryuhei Kitamura’s second American movie may be his best film since Versus. The action-horror flick is woodenly acted and lacking any credibility, but directed with an insane b-film drive. It’s a one-idea film, but it’s a good idea that carries the 86 minute film without much difficulties. Watch it without knowing anything about the storyline!
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Suffice to say we disagree somewhat. ;)

I honestly thought this vile film had no merit whatsoever, hence I gave it my lowest possible rating.

Some critics liked it, some hated it.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Big Hand for a Little Lady (1966-USA) **½
Pleasant western comedy about an annual high stakes poker game; nicely cast.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Cabaret (1972-USA) ***
Decadence in 1931 Berlin is vividly realised in Bob Fosse's musical drama, though I kept hoping for a bit more bite, and a stronger conclusion.
The Nazi subplot is more interesting that the personal relationships that take centre stage. The final shot is quietly disturbing.

Pandemonium (1982-Canada) *
I only made it 36 mins into this dire, puerile horror spoof; anyone who lasts longer is a stronger person than I.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Assassin 0.5/5
Shockingly awful Brit movie starring Danny Dyer and the brothers Kemp,a long way from their Kray heyday. Dyer is the title character who falls for a stripper and in doing so betrays his paymasters who go after him. Terrible on all levels.

Staying Alive 2.5/5
John Travolta returns as Tony Manero in the Sequel to the iconic SNF ,unfortunately the magic doesn't click the second time. Boring story of Travolta, now living in Manhattan trying for stardom on stage. Directed by Stallone (watch for his cameo) the music is forgettable and the characters charmless. Only briefly do we get a SNF vibe, when Tony goes to see his Mom (the only other returnee from the first movie) and the movie's end scene.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The words 'Danny' and 'Dyer' should've been a clue. ;)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway wrote:The words 'Danny' and 'Dyer' should've been a clue. ;)
i'll give anything a chance ;)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Seduction (1981-USA) *½
Pretty boy psycho Andrew Stevens stalks mannequin-like TV news anchor Morgan Fairchild in poor man's DePalma wannabe.
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