What was the last movie you saw?

[Toby Frost]

Spongebob Squarepants 3: Sponge on the Run (2020)

Spongebob, a talking sponge who lives in the sea, has a pet snail. When Poseidon, king of the ocean, steals the snail, Spongebob goes on a surreal mission to get him back. While not as good as the first Spongebob film, this was pretty entertaining, with some really bizarre cameos. The story is almost complete nonsense, and it's overlong, but pretty fun in places. Not bad, especially if accompanied by drink.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The Door With Seven Locks AKA Chamber of Horrors (1940)

Based on the Edgar Wallace novel of the same name. (It's no surprise than it was later adapted into a German krimi.) Dying wealthy guy has the family jewels entombed with him behind -- you guessed it -- the door with seven locks. His solicitor gets the keys. His young son inherits the rest of the wealth. Cut to years later, when some guy dying in a hospital sends a note and one of the keys to our lady in distress, a young woman from Canada who is a distant relative of the rich guy. She goes to see the guy, he's killed right away and his body disappears. Meanwhile, the other keys go missing. It all winds up with our obvious villain showing off his collection of antique torture devices (hence the misleading alternate title, used in the USA.) Forgery, impersonation, etc. It's a creaky old mystery/thriller. Heck, there's even a scene in which somebody spies on somebody through the eyes cut out of a painting.

 

[alexvss]

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020). After being contacted by himself from two minutes in the future, a café owner and his friends create a system to see several more minutes into the future (and beyond).

The owner and his friends talk to their other-time-selves via two monitors with attached webcams, and they extend the effect by making a monitor face each other, to create a Droste framework. The Droste effect is when a picture appears within itself, seemingly forever. This allows them to see further into the future, but it creates a loop; it raises questions about everything being decided previously, or the things happening in the present being decided in the future (bootstrap). And so things escalate; it goes almost to the point of a Ricky and Morty episode, but with a low budget.

It’s an Indie Japanese movie, filmed with an Iphone in one long take (full of hidden transitions of course). It was made because of One Shot of the Dead (2017)’s success.

If you enjoyed works such as Triangle (2009), Primer (2004) and Coherence (2013) you will like this one a lot. It’s not as mind-blowing, but it’s ten times funnier. It doesn’t need millions of dollars and a lot of CGI to impress you; it just needs good writing and a lot of passion for filmmaking.

Strongly Recommended.

 

[Dave]

Page Eight (2011)

A good old fashioned political spy thriller! Bill Nighy is so good in this! No guns, shoot outs, car chases, stunts or fireball explosions!

Johnny Worricker (MI5) works with really awful people, has no real friends, less than five ex-wives, and a daughter he doesn't see. He has a reputation for putting his head down and getting on with work. When his Boss/oldest friend/wife's second husband dies, and leaves him a Top Secret file, he find that he suddenly develops a conscious. Or, has he instead just fallen for his neighbour?

 

[alexvss]

Assassination (2015). During Japanese Rule in Korea, Independence fighters plot the assassination of a Japanese General.

Another great Korean movie. It manages to be thrilling, funny and full of twists and action at the same time. All the while, it’s a history lesson (although the characters are not based on actual people). Also, it is almost a Prohibition era gangster movie: they wear caps and overcoats, and use Tommy guns.

Recommended.

 

[Jeffbert]

Continuing with Vincent Price horror films,

Diary of a Madman (1963) Simon Cordier (Vincent Price) is the French magistrate whose struggles with the invisible Horla (voiced by Joseph Ruskin; he was in more STAR TREK than just The Gamesters of Triskelion! ) are detailed in his diary, read immediately after his funeral. Thus, the bulk of the story is told in flashback. While visiting a condemned man, who committed murders under the Horla's influence, Cordier himself becomes possessed by the Horla; which, then begins to manipulate him, as it did the 1st guy. Cordier finds himself under too much stress, and goes to an Alienist (shrink?) for help. he is advised to resume his hobby of sculpting. While this does give him some relief, the Horla wants him to kill the woman who had been posing for him.

Simplified the thing, but the important parts are there. A synopsis should be brief.

Another guy who would also eventually appear in Star Trek TOS, portrays the butler, Pierre (Ian Wolfe; 2, count 'em, two episodes!).

Another very entertaining Vincent Price horror film!

 

[Jeffbert]

Twice Told Tales (1963) Here, Price has three, count 'em, 3 roles, as there are three stories. I think the 1st one, Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, should have been the last one, because to me, you just cannot top that ending!

Three of Nat Hawthorne's short stories are put to film here, the 1st one, already mentioned, costars Sebastian Cabot in the title role. The least said, the better; yet, these two really old guys are celebrating one's birthday, reminiscing about years gone by. The one, Alex Medbourne (Vincent Price), remained single by his nature, the other, Dr. Heidegger (Sebastian Cabot; loved him in TTZ's A Nice Place to Visit) never married because his fiancée tragically died the night before they were to wed.

Rappaccini's Daughter is about a man who was so devastated by his wife's infidelity that he turned his daughter into a toxic death by one touch - maiden to prevent her from ever loving a man. Any living thing she touches, burns up and dies. Price has the title role.

The House of the Seven Gables, Gerald Pyncheon (Price) returns to his family home, in hopes of discovering the fortune said to be hidden somewhere in the house. His sister also hopes to gain the riches, etc.


Definitely another great one for Price!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Chaplin (1992)

Classy biopic with fine acting and excellent production values, but the attempt to cover the subject's entire life (almost) from Dickensian poverty to special Academy Award makes it something like the Cliff Notes version of his triumphs and scandals. It also becomes a game of spotting actors portraying famous folks. (Dan Ackroyd is Mack Sennett! Kevin Kline is Douglas Fairbanks!) Nothing really wrong with it, but it seems a little thin.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Red Haired Alibi (1932)

Pre-Code melodrama. Woman accepts a job pretending to be a guy's wife, acting as a RED HAIRED ALIBI when he disappears for a while from a private dining room. Obviously something shady is going on, but since she's getting one hundred bucks per week, along with an apartment and money for clothes, she goes along with it, her main function being to "keep her mouth shut." When the guy kills a rival gangster, she takes off, eventually marrying a nice guy she met earlier in the film. (He has a little girl from a previous marriage, who is played by an unmistakable Shirley Temple in her first credited role.) When the gangster has to get out of the country fast, he threatens to reveal her shady past unless she gives him a ton of money. She goes to meet him, but with a gun . . .

Not much longer than an hour, and obviously made on a low budget, so the story is somewhat jumpy, but it's not a bad little crime drama. A line about how pretty girls in need of a job often wind up on the streets or in the morgue offer proof that it's Pre-Code. There's a plot twist, literally at the last minute of the film, that ruins what would have been a much more powerful ending.

 

[Judderman]

Talk to Me (2023). Teenagers find an embalmed hand that gives the power to talk to the dead by possessing whoever is holding it, but one of the teens tries to kill himself while at it so the door to the otherworld is left open.

This is an indie movie made by Australian Youtubers. It gained a lot of attention in festivals, making the all-mighty A24 buy it and distribute it. It’s fun to see how Comedians are great at acting in Drama or in Horror movies. See Jordan Peele or Takeshi Kitano. The line between the classic genres is very thin.

Also, I don’t remember watching an Australian movie since 2018’s The Nightingale. Even the dead animal by the road trope is a dying Kangaroo.

The whole embalmed hand thing seems to be an allegory for drugs. Depression and adolescent angst are also big here.

The ending is great: unexpected and inevitable at the same time.

Recommended.

I watched this on the weekend too. Enjoyed it. A little twist on possession horror. I wouldn't say a classic, but well worth a watch.
It wasn't really explained why one of the main characters was unpopular but there was enough talking.
Wolf Creek is probably my favourite Australian horror.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

It’s an Indie Japanese movie, filmed with an Iphone in one long take (full of hidden transitions of course). It was made because of One Shot of the Dead (2017)’s success.

Do you mean One Cut of the Dead? If so - fantastic movie - never really seen anything like it other than maybe Happiness of the Katakuris.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) - Better than Crystal Skull, for sure. But otherwise, competently directed movie somewhat hamstrung by Indy having a supporting role in 2/3 of his own movie. Quite how anyone thought Phoebe Waller-Bridge was charismatic enough to pull off a lead in an action-adventure franchise is beyond me.

 

[Randy M.]

Some Girls Do (1969) Dir. Ralph Thomas; starring Richard Johnson, Daliah Lavi, Beba Loncar, James Villiers

Johnson plays Sean Connery (there is a resemblance between the two), Robert Morley plays a gay version of Bernard Lee, and Sydne Rome is sort of Lois Maxwell in this photocopy of a James Bond ripoff released toward the end of the Bond craze. Not as dynamic as Bond, goofy as Matt Helm, or smug as Derek Flint, Hugh Drummond – no longer “Bulldog” as in the novels by “Sapper” – tackles the mystery of why some scientists have been killed. Johnson is a good, charismatic actor but doesn’t have the athleticism of Connery; further, rear-view projection undermines much of the action/adventure set pieces.

Three things to note: 1) Sydne Rome as a kind of groupie steals most of the scenes she’s in; 2) they set up scenes so Johnson doesn’t have to show fighting prowess, and the fight scenes near the end are unconvincing; 3) this movie pits Drummond against a woman with nearly equal skills (at least in the telling) while the Bond movies took another 26 years to even come close.

(Just remembered that Victoria reviewed this one earlier this year.)


And for something better:

Candyman (2021) dir. Nia DaCosta; starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Rather than restart the franchise from the beginning, the writers (Jordan Peele, who also produces, DaCosta and Win Rosenfield) take the original movie as history and build on it. Anthony, a painter, and Brianna, who partly owns an art gallery, live in a luxurious condo on the site of the former Cabrini-Green housing project where the Candyman legend was formed. Anthony becomes obsessed with the legend and what he learns begins to shape his art. Anthony’s obsession leads to disintegration as well as to the reappearance of and disturbing origin story for Candyman. Some scenes hark back to the Tony Todd and Virgina Madsen vehicle, a white centered story, as foundation for this, a later Black centered story.

Featuring a nice turn from Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead, among other things; what a great voice this guy has), the story slowly moves Candyman from boogeyman to something more like avenger, while tackling gentrification’s origins. The movie has some violent and gory scenes, but mostly implies rather than shows. Don’t switch off early; the puppet show that runs during the credits ends on the most disturbing image in the movie.

I was dubious going in, but this would be a good choice for viewing in the run up to Halloween.

 

[alexvss]

Do you mean One Cut of the Dead? If so - fantastic movie - never really seen anything like it other than maybe Happiness of the Katakuris.

Yeah, that's what I had in mind

Also, I'll give this movie a go, since it was directed by Miike. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[smellincoffee]

Stand by Me, 1985. This is one I've been meaning to watch forever, since I'm a fan of Wil Wheaton. I think most people are familiar with it, but it's something of a coming of age story in which four boys go on a weekend hike to find the dead body of a boy their age. Good music and interesting relationship dynamics -- Chris looking out for Gordie reminded me strongly of Ben Affleck's character trying to push Matt Damon's in Good Will Hunting, the 'dumb tough' recognizing his friend had talent/gifts and pushing him to make the most of it.

 

[Ubergeek]

Some Girls Do (1969) Dir. Ralph Thomas; starring Richard Johnson, Daliah Lavi, Beba Loncar, James Villiers

Johnson plays Sean Connery (there is a resemblance between the two), Robert Morley plays a gay version of Bernard Lee, and Sydne Rome is sort of Lois Maxwell in this photocopy of a James Bond ripoff released toward the end of the Bond craze. Not as dynamic as Bond, goofy as Matt Helm, or smug as Derek Flint, Hugh Drummond – no longer “Bulldog” as in the novels by “Sapper” – tackles the mystery of why some scientists have been killed. Johnson is a good, charismatic actor but doesn’t have the athleticism of Connery; further, rear-view projection undermines much of the action/adventure set pieces.

Three things to note: 1) Sydne Rome as a kind of groupie steals most of the scenes she’s in; 2) they set up scenes so Johnson doesn’t have to show fighting prowess, and the fight scenes near the end are unconvincing; 3) this movie pits Drummond against a woman with nearly equal skills (at least in the telling) while the Bond movies took another 26 years to even come close.

(Just remembered that Victoria reviewed this one earlier this year.)


And for something better:

Candyman (2021) dir. Nia DaCosta; starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Rather than restart the franchise from the beginning, the writers (Jordan Peele, who also produces, DaCosta and Win Rosenfield) take the original movie as history and build on it. Anthony, a painter, and Brianna, who partly owns an art gallery, live in a luxurious condo on the site of the former Cabrini-Green housing project where the Candyman legend was formed. Anthony becomes obsessed with the legend and what he learns begins to shape his art. Anthony’s obsession leads to disintegration as well as to the reappearance of and disturbing origin story for Candyman. Some scenes hark back to the Tony Todd and Virgina Madsen vehicle, a white centered story, as foundation for this, a later Black centered story.

Featuring a nice turn from Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead, among other things; what a great voice this guy has), the story slowly moves Candyman from boogeyman to something more like avenger, while tackling gentrification’s origins. The movie has some violent and gory scenes, but mostly implies rather than shows. Don’t switch off early; the puppet show that runs during the credits ends on the most disturbing image in the movie.

I was dubious going in, but this would be a good choice for viewing in the run up to Halloween.

@Randy M. Really enjoyed Candyman. Definitely on a par with the original and arguably even better .

What did annoy me slightly was it seemed to be promoted as a Jordan Peele movie . Not enough credit was given to the young female director Nia Dacosta .

Some Girls Do (1969) Dir. Ralph Thomas; starring Richard Johnson, Daliah Lavi, Beba Loncar, James Villiers

Johnson plays Sean Connery (there is a resemblance between the two), Robert Morley plays a gay version of Bernard Lee, and Sydne Rome is sort of Lois Maxwell in this photocopy of a James Bond ripoff released toward the end of the Bond craze. Not as dynamic as Bond, goofy as Matt Helm, or smug as Derek Flint, Hugh Drummond – no longer “Bulldog” as in the novels by “Sapper” – tackles the mystery of why some scientists have been killed. Johnson is a good, charismatic actor but doesn’t have the athleticism of Connery; further, rear-view projection undermines much of the action/adventure set pieces.

Three things to note: 1) Sydne Rome as a kind of groupie steals most of the scenes she’s in; 2) they set up scenes so Johnson doesn’t have to show fighting prowess, and the fight scenes near the end are unconvincing; 3) this movie pits Drummond against a woman with nearly equal skills (at least in the telling) while the Bond movies took another 26 years to even come close.

(Just remembered that Victoria reviewed this one earlier this year.)


And for something better:

Candyman (2021) dir. Nia DaCosta; starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Rather than restart the franchise from the beginning, the writers (Jordan Peele, who also produces, DaCosta and Win Rosenfield) take the original movie as history and build on it. Anthony, a painter, and Brianna, who partly owns an art gallery, live in a luxurious condo on the site of the former Cabrini-Green housing project where the Candyman legend was formed. Anthony becomes obsessed with the legend and what he learns begins to shape his art. Anthony’s obsession leads to disintegration as well as to the reappearance of and disturbing origin story for Candyman. Some scenes hark back to the Tony Todd and Virgina Madsen vehicle, a white centered story, as foundation for this, a later Black centered story.

Featuring a nice turn from Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead, among other things; what a great voice this guy has), the story slowly moves Candyman from boogeyman to something more like avenger, while tackling gentrification’s origins. The movie has some violent and gory scenes, but mostly implies rather than shows. Don’t switch off early; the puppet show that runs during the credits ends on the most disturbing image in the movie.

I was dubious going in, but this would be a good choice for viewing in the run up to Halloween.

 

[Randy M.]

@Randy M. Really enjoyed Candyman. Definitely on a par with the original and arguably even better .

What did annoy me slightly was it seemed to be promoted as a Jordan Peele movie . Not enough credit was given to the young female director Nia Dacosta .

I can see that, but right now he's in a position similar to M. Night Shyamalan 20 years ago as the go-to guy for creepy/scary/weird, so his name has cache which pulls in audiences. And while I think Peele's thumbprint is all over the progression of events and the dialog, you're right that DaCosta does a really nice job of directing. The movie has atmosphere and the scenes do the work of carrying the story forward. There's some violence, which shows that there's consequences to calling Candyman, but much of it is shown obliquely or implied.

And the actors should be credited, too. A movie like this doesn't have much impact without strong performances. Checking IMDB, while most of the actors are unfamiliar to me, they all have a pile of credits and that experience shows in the movie.

 

[alexvss]

Deliver Us from Evil (2020). A killer for hire searches for his missing daughter in Thailand, all the while another killer for hire is looking for him.

Another great Korean movie starring Lee Jung-Jae. He’s a very versatile actor, with roles ranging from crazed killers (like this one here) or mundane salarymen (like in Squid Game). The father, played by the shaman from The Wailing (2016), is also a good character.

The fist-fighting scenes are not the best (granted, after seeing The Raid nothing comes off nearly as good), but the shootouts are awesome. Plot armor is thick, but the suspension of disbelief also is.

Recommended.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Sunset (1988)

Very, very loosely based on the fact that Wyatt Earp went to Hollywood to act as a technical advisor on early Western films and became friends with cowboy actor Tom Mix. That would be a fine premise for a wistful, nostalgic comedy/drama about the passing of the Old West and Hollywood mythmaking. Instead, they decided to make it a violent action film.

Earp (James Garner) and Mix (Bruce Willis) get involved with the murder of a prostitute, gangsters, corrupt politicians and cops, and a producer/director with a Dark Secret. (The latter is played by Malcolm McDowell, so you know he's one of the bad guys right away. The character is supposed to have been a comic actor in the early days, and does a routine at the first Academy Awards [which took place after Earp was dead, by the way] which makes him look and act a lot like Charlie Chaplin.)

Garner is enjoyable, Willis is forgettable. Nice production values, and I'm a sucker for the glamorous side of the 1920's anyway. (In my dream version of the film, it would be set in about 1915 or so, when Earp first arrived in Hollywood. Garner is no spring chicken here, but he's two decades too young to play the elderly Earp.)

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

A Disk Jockey Tries To Become A Horror Movie Icon In Cornwall Double Feature:

Crucible of Terror (1971)

Not to be confused with Crucible of Horror, released the same year, which has a completely different plot. This one features Mike Raven (former DJ who had supporting roles in Lust For a Vampire and I, Monster) as an artist who starts the film by covering a naked, unconscious woman with some kind of goo and then pouring molten metal into it through a hole over her eye (I think) thus rendering her a statue. Cut to the statue on display in a gallery.

It seems the artist's estranged son stole it, and some paintings, and gave it to his buddy's art gallery to get some cash and to punish his father for turning his mother into a woman with the mind of a child, carrying a doll or stuffed animal throughout the film. Rich guy becomes obsessed with the statue, even breaking into the gallery at night, which only gets him killed by our movie's giallo-like unseen murderer.

Anyway, the son, his wife, his buddy, and his wife head out to the artist's remote home in Cornwall, near an abandoned tin mine. (Nice scenery to look at, anyway.) Also in residence in the artist's current model/mistress. Son's wife gets killed first, then son, then model. While buddy is away trying to raise money to buy the artist's works, his wife nearly falls into the artist's clutches. Then we get our Shocking Twist Ending, which ties together the woman in the statue, the wife's feeling that she's been here before, and, believe it or not, a kimono.

Less coherent than I've made it sound.

Disciple of Death (1972)

Set in Cornwall in about 1800 or so, I guess, although the scenery isn't as nice in this one. A pair of young sweethearts pledge their love by cutting themselves and mixing their blood. A drop of blood falls on the grave of a suicide and disappears. Next thing you know, Mike Raven shows up and folks get killed. It seems he kidnaps young women and offers them the choice of 1. Being killed and joining him in eternity or 2. Being killed and becoming his undead slave. For some reason they go with 2, although 1 would end things. He cuts out their hearts and squeezes the blood into a chalice and drinks it, so sort of a vampire, I guess. (A gory but fake-looking scene.) The undead slaves are covered with dead white makeup, red makeup around their eyes, wear long white flowing gowns, and have long hair, usually black. It's like a convention of Theda Bara wannabes.

The local parson (Hey! It's the Nazi who got his face melted in Raiders of the Lost Ark, who also played the son in Crucible of Terror) joins forces with the boyfriend of one of the kidnapped women (they were the couple we saw at the start) and a Jewish cabalist (who really chews the scenery, speaking in Yiddish slang and offering them "kosher magic") to fight the bad guy, who has conjured up a fanged dwarf who fights them with black magic.

Goofier and more amateurish than the first film, although neither one is a good movie.