What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

[Nanker Phelge]

Finished first season of How to get Away with Murder.

It's not at all believable, but it's high class unbelievable, trash that shines.

Viola Davis gives a powerful performance and some of her scenes have been top notch telly (especially the scene where she removes her hair and make up to reveal herself as she naturally looks, and a scene she shares with her mother later in the season).

The rest of the cast range from annoying to sometimes funny, but mostly dislikable brats, selfish ego-centrics and just plain rotters.

The only 'good' character is a straight cop who's story has seen him be nothing but punished for being a decent human being.

If the show is saying anything about the US justice system at all it's that the meek and the poor and the salt of the earth types get fuck all in a world full of rich, greedy, corrupt and vicious wolves. Which is hardly news.

Anyway....I liked the twisted, turning storylines, even if a lot of it was a bit daft and hard to swallow.

 

[Indeliblelink]

Rewatched L'Inferno, one of the oldest suviving feature length films from way back in 1911 and what a cracker it is too, an adaptation of Dante's The Divine Comedy. As a vision of a man being shown the sights of hell, the film is packed with stunning images and great effects, as much as I'm a fan of Tangerine Dream i'm not sure the soundtrack added by them adds too much.

 

[Threshers_Flail]

Black Panther : Vanguard of the Revolution - highly recommend

Watched this last week, cheers for the heads up! Was good but I would have liked that the Communist influence on the Panthers to have been explored in more depth. A good introduction nonetheless.

 

[DotCommunist]

Watched this last week, cheers for the heads up! Was good but I would have liked that the Communist influence on the Panthers to have been explored in more depth. A good introduction nonetheless.

have you seen Black Power Mixtape? Its not all panthers but its a good watch.

 

[8115]

The House I Live In, documentary about the American war on drugs.

Really excellent film, I was interested to see it but I thought yeah, yeah, I pretty much know what it's going to be about and say but it really packs a punch.

 

[Threshers_Flail]

have you seen Black Power Mixtape? Its not all panthers but its a good watch.

No, but it's on the list. It's one area of history that I have proper slept on. Got a tidy reading list sorted now as well.

Cheers.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

The Quiet Ones - one of the new Hammer films and, frankly, shit. I had high hopes for a while after spotting the English chap from Mad Men.

 

[Reno]

The Quiet Ones - one of the new Hammer films and, frankly, shit. I had high hopes for a while after spotting the English chap from Mad Men.

Unfortunately all the new Hammer films so far have been shit. It's just not Hammer without the likes of Peter Cushing and Cristopher Lee. I wished they would dig into the Hammer tradition and do something like some new Quatermass films.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Unfortunately all the new Hammer films so far have been shit. It's just not Hammer without the likes of Peter Cushing and Cristopher Lee. I wished they would dig into the Hammer tradition and do something like some new Quatermass films.

The Woman in Black, Let Me In and Wake Wood are all at least decent imo.

 

[Reno]

The Woman in Black, Let Me In and Wake Wood are all at least decent imo.

I thought they all were shit.

 

[The Boy]

I thought the Woman in Black was alright.

 

[Reno]

I thought the Woman in Black was alright.

It was another rubbish remake which didn't get what made the original great. The 80s TV movie written by Nigel Kneale was a far better adaptation of the novel. The film was just silly and unlike the TV movie, not scary at all.

 

[The Boy]

It was another rubbish remake which didn't get what made the original great. The 80s TV movie written by Nigel Kneale was a far better adaptation of the novel. The film was just silly and unlike the TV movie, not scary at all.

Meh. We'll just have to agree to disagree. I thought it was a decent enough low-budget haunted house effort compared to some of the other crap low-budget haunted house efforts I've watched on Netflix/Lovefilm.

What's it a remake of, by-the-by?

 

[Reno]

Meh. We'll just have to agree to disagree. I thought it was a decent enough low-budget haunted house effort compared to some of the other crap low-budget haunted house efforts I've watched on Netflix/Lovefilm.

What's it a remake of, by-the-by?

As I wrote above, it's a remake of the 80s British TV movie.

The Woman in Black (1989 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It wasn't a low budget film either (if you think thats a justification for its failings) it had a relatively large budget for a British horror film and was art directed to death, cramming every corner of the frame with "creepy dolls" and other tiresome cliches of the haunted house film. From The Pact, to The Innkeepers, to Left Bank I can think of about ten haunted house films of the last few years which felt a lot more fresh than The Woman in Black.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Onwards with season one of Game of Thrones.

Some baby dragons have just arrived. I hope it's not gonna go all lord of the rings.

 

[butchersapron]

It was another rubbish remake which didn't get what made the original great. The 80s TV movie written by Nigel Kneale was a far better adaptation of the novel. The film was just silly and unlike the TV movie, not scary at all.

I've been trying to get a NIgel Kneale revival going for years. He did so much that just isn't shown. Beasts for instance. I might take to the people at the Cube about this. They love the folk horror stuff.

 

[moody]

watched Nymphomanic Vol 1 last night thinking it'd be quite smutty but was in fact quite dark, esp the bit where her dad is dying.

I am sure there was an erect penis in one bit towards the end, surely thats not ok in movies no?

 

[Reno]

watched Nymphomanic Vol 1 last night thinking it'd be quite smutty but was in fact quite dark, esp the bit where her dad is dying.

I am sure there was an erect penis in one bit towards the end, surely thats not ok in movies no?

What's not ok about an erect penis ?

 

[The Boy]

What's not ok about an erect penis ?

Censors are a bit funny about it, aren't they?

 

[oneunder]

watched Nymphomanic Vol 1 last night thinking it'd be quite smutty but was in fact quite dark, esp the bit where her dad is dying.

I am sure there was an erect penis in one bit towards the end, surely thats not ok in movies no?

Ha ha. Watch Vol 2.

 

[Reno]

I've been trying to get a NIgel Kneale revival going for years. He did so much that just isn't shown. Beasts for instance. I might take to the people at the Cube about this. They love the folk horror stuff.

The had a great evening on him at The Horse Hospital a while ago with a reading of The Road, which is considered lost.

Even The Woman in Black is difficult to get hold of now apart from poor quality YouTube versions, even though it was a great success for ITV at the time. I think there were complaints about it being too scary because they never showed it again.

 

[Reno]

Censors are a bit funny about it, aren't they?

There have been quite a few erect penises in art house films for the last couple of decades now. It's not considered that big a taboo anymore and it shouldn't be, considering there has been lots of explicit female nudity even in mainstream films, while the culture has always been far more coy about penises.

 

[Reno]

Ha ha. Watch Vol 2.

Also there are two versions of Nymphomaniac, the director's cut being longer and far more explicit.

 

[The Boy]

It's not considered that big a taboo anymore and it shouldn't be, .

Of course it shouldn't, but it's still rare enough that one can be surprised (which is what I assumed moody meant by 'not ok').

 

[moody]

Of course it shouldn't, but it's still rare enough that one can be surprised (which is what I assumed moody meant by 'not ok').

Exactly. I'm no Mary Whitehouse so am cool but was surprised as never seen in a non porn movie before

 

[Virtual Blue]

I thought the Woman in Black was alright.

She's not my type

 

[Reno]

Exactly. I'm no Mary Whitehouse so am cool but was surprised as never seen in a non porn movie before

Some non-porn films which feature unsimulated sex and erections:

9 Songs
Love
Enter the Void
Intimacy
Romance
The Brown Bunny
Stranger by the Lake
Baise-moi
Shortbus
Import/Export
Pasolini
Starlet
Wetlands

...and Von Trier's own Antichrist

 

[moody]

Ha ha. Watch Vol 2.

I doubt I could.

 

[Reno]

I watched season 5 of Girls over the last three evenings and thought it was great, though Hannah is more monstrous than ever. The episode with Shoshanna in Tokyo was particularely good.

Started watching American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson which pretty compelling and unlike quite anything I've seen. It's a serialised 10 episode crime drama based very closely on the infamous case with a high profile cast. This was shown on the BBC but then was moved later and later in the schedules. It shouldn't work but somehow it does. Cuba Gooding Jr. Seems miscast, but his performance is excellent, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro looks like an animatronic puppet, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian is uncanny and Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark proves yet again that she's the most versatile actress on US TV.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Also there are two versions of Nymphomaniac, the director's cut being longer and far more explicit.

I'm assuming he watched whatever version Film Four are showing, which is split into two parts (2nd part on tonight). Is this the director's cut? Still to watch it meself. Looking forward to some filth.