Last Seen 70s/80s Movie

[Jokuc]

I watched IT yesterday :3

[iSeymore]

Became infatuated with movies with Anthony Hopkins playing the role of Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter, last 3-4 films I watched were

1) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
2) Manhunter (1986)
3) Red Dragon (2003)
4) Hannibal (2001)

My favorite is a tie in between The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Red Dragon (2003).

[deadbettie]

ok, so we watched Human Cenitpede last night.........anyone else see it? What did you think????

[psycho d]

The Road (2009). The Road is one of those rare movies that could steal the fun out from underneath a perfectly innocent game of hopscotch. The real question is, why in the heck would anyone want to see a movie as bleak as this one? Yeah, like sign me up for a companion journey through a desolate, desperate Hell where from moment to moment we cannot understand why people don't just pop right off the nearest cliff. The answer, I think, is that this movie hits the essence of a post-apocalyptic world like no other. This is no action adventure, there are no heroes, this is a grim drama about a fear that the Bible has been using to mop up gatherers for a couple of thousand years now.

The story is dark dark dark. What we are to privy to are choices that no man should face, conditions that challenge our sense of humanity, almost as if civilization were just some contrived notion for the benefit of bureaucratic inefficiency. Just what will man endure, and worse, what depraved abominations will his feral nature allow in order to survive another day? This movie does have its thankfully tender moments, and they work because they only seem logical for the moment, making this an emotional roller coaster ride that the viewer might not have been ready for. For the squeamish, this movie is simply not for you. There is no gratuitous violence and gore, but gore and violence and depravity more than make up the movie's constitutional import.

The acting was phenomenal. The two central protagonists, played by Viggo Mortensen and child actor Kodi Smit-McPhee, create a chemistry that is not only palpable, but believable. Each worships the other, mostly for all the right reasons, but in doing so their characters are put to the test of human endurance. This endurance is not without its cracks, and it is through these flaws that the characters seem all too real, and their plight all too painful. The rest of the cast enjoy rather limited, but not insignificant, roles. Robert Duvall's brief appearance is a powerful one, and Charlize Theron's role not only provides a much needed optical respite, but also lends to the film's dreary journey as her character sees the veritable nature of existence in all of its abject weight.

The direction here was magnificent. Taken from a novel, the technicalities are reported to have kept to the main theme of the story without having distorted it too much in order to transfer it from page to film. The photography was amazing. It captured the cheerless landscape with a loathsome eye, adding heft to our protagonist's journey that would break the back of the heartiest of lumberjacks. By the time our eyes have adjusted the barren and colorless landscape, a timely flashback abruptly reveals the nightmare that we are living, almost mean in character but a necessity all the same. Some of the scenes were as breathtaking as they were heartbreaking. And the score was perfect, dancing between desolation and a cruel glimmer of hope, moving the viewer deeper and deeper into the trappings cinematic empathy.

By this movie's end, though you will be emotionally exhausted, you'll have just enough energy to make sure that the pantry is fully stocked, and sadly, you might even be moved to set aside a number of bullets equal to that of your family.
d

[phantomstranger]

"The Ruins" (2008)

Plot: IMDB
A group of friends whose leisurely Mexican holiday takes a turn for the worse when they, along with a fellow tourist embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil lives among the ruins.

Phantom's Review: I have not read the book this movie was based on, but I sure hope it was better than this loser of a film. Annoying, unlikeable characters, cliche' ending and no real "scares". The concept was interesting but the film didn't deliver.
--

[roshiq]

To Catch a Killer (1992)



>>: B+

Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)



>>: B

[iSeymore]

"Red Dragon" (2002)
Anthony Hopkins is bomb at playing Hannibal Lecter, loved him in 1991's Silence of the Lambs, and in 2001's Hannibal. He's much greater than Brian Cox at playing Hannibal the Cannibal. I'm also reading the book, I find it funny in a sense that in the novel, his "Son" is actually Molly's son from a previous marriage, named Willy. His name is not Josh. :P

[roshiq]

I Drink Your Blood (1970)

>>: B+

Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998)

Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996)

Pinhead: "Do I look like someone who cares about what God thinks?"

Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988)

>>: C-, C, C

Tonight going to watch Phantasm Quadrilogy in a row! Except the 1st part, haven't seen any of the Phantasm sequels yet.:)

[psycho d]

Lebanon (2009). Lebanon begins with an expansive image that leaves the viewer wondering what its message could possibly be. The remainder of the movie is then spent in the grimy housing of war. This is a movie that is unfairly criticized by some, all because the standards of filmmaking are not strictly honored. On the contrary, the wise filmmaker knows when to stick to the rules and more importantly, when to break them. In Lebanon, writer/director Samuel Maoz wisely chooses to leave the character's backstories without flesh, and it is with this deficiency that the matrix of the movie finds its puissance. No matter though, for there will always be the loudly unimaginative set that revel in inane blather.

The story is not very fresh, but again it is in the telling that lends its original feel. Hot, wet, dirty and suffocating, the setting is perfect for a genuine feel of war. Our players are far from heroes and all the more believable because of it. Even the bad guys are fairly portrayed.

The acting was solid on all accounts. Though there are no memorable performances, these guys conveyed their parts in the tightest of environments without a glitch.

As his first full production film, Maoz does a spectacular job orchestrating a war movie that has something new to add to the genre. The photography was limited but wonderfully captured, its polarity almost lending weight to the psychological stress of war. Our narrowed view of the plagues of war are fully developed, with scenes that alternate between repugnance and humiliation. The sound was a constant reminder of the dreadfully destructive forces of mechanized combat, along with the difficulties of performing in horrific circumstances. The sparse score was splendidly askew and apropos for the story.

The end of the movie is a thankful breathe of fresh air, but just enough to let us once again contemplate the irony of human intelligence in the face of our primal behavioral patterns.
d

[L0KI]

I watched When A Stranger Calls (1979) the other day. I was surprised at how much of the 2006 remake was derived from the original. I honestly can't say which I prefer more.