What Is The Last Movie You Saw

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Mazz22 said:
I grew up on horror movies. I am the youngest of 7 and my two oldest siblings loved them so when the VCRs came out in the early 80s, they got one and would rent 3-4 movies a weekend. Not sure it was the best thing for me to see at such a young age but it is amazing to me all the remakes of the 80s and 90s horror flicks. I do enjoy seeing another director's interpretation. On that note, when I was away on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I saw the reboot of the original Hellraiser. It was released in October of 2022. I read the Clive Barker book on which the movie and 10 subsequent sequels are based - the Hellbound Heart.

What immediately caught my eye was the cinematography. I have to say, today's technology really adds levels of exquisite detail and for horror movies in particular, it really creates the tension necessary to create that eerie feeling. What I really enjoyed was the puzzle. If you are familiar at all with the Hellraiser series, it focuses on a puzzle box, made by a French toy maker. It opens a gateway to the Hell-like realm of the Cenobite lifeforms. The Cenobites are an order of former humans who have become monsters who harvest human souls to torture in their sadistic experiments.

In this reboot, the puzzle actually takes on different configurations each time it is solved - the blade which stabs the person who solves it then takes them to the Cenobites as a sacrifice. When the sixth and last configuration is solved the person is then presented with a "gift" from the Cenobites. One of the choices is to have someone resurrect from the dead. The lead character whose brother was the first sacrifice could be resurrected upon her wish but she refuses as she knows the "gift" will be twisted in some way. The Cenobites tell her that by choosing to live with her guilt and loss, she has effectively chosen the gift of "lament." Not sure I have ever heard of lament being called a gift before but that is the brilliance of the series - it paints a very thin line between pain and pleasure.

So the story itself is nothing like the original but obviously it has the same themes. It evokes Barker’s original adaptation in the same way a good cover song recalls its source material: with love, intelligence, and an inevitably crushing sort of redundancy. What I found fascinating is Pinhead who is the star cenobite of the series, is played by a woman, Jamie Clayton. In the other films it is played by Doug Bradley who was simply awesome but Clayton gives the character more of a mysticism and she is referred to as the high priest which is more in line with the novel. It feels much more spiritual than the other movies which were more sadistic and ornery.

Also, it was made by Disney. LOL It’s curious to say the least to see the reimagining pop up on Disney-owned Hulu with a robust budget and glossy sheen, and even curiouser to find that it’s just as gory and just as committed to its unhinged world-building as the films that have come before. It doesn’t always work, and at times it really really doesn’t, but it feels confident and unfettered in a way that so many horror films don’t these days.

Anyways, the acting was probably a B- except for the cenobites who are always an A but it is well done and certainly provides a good fright and as an added bonus, it makes you think about morality and the razor difference between pain and pleasure.
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I've mentioned here that I'm a big fan of the genre and thought the original Hellraiser was outstanding and creatively creepy. I have not watched the reboot yet, but will put it
on my list.

Your point about tech making modern movies better is partially true for me, but I think that the artistic vision and skill of the director is the
most important factor on whether it's a boring jump-scare slasher film or something that reaches deep. I guess I've seen so many horror flicks that
I try to be picky and unfortunately most of the modern ones/reboots are too derivative for my taste.

It's actually a streaming series but I just finished season 2 of "From" (Paramount+) after the horror genre's Bill Belichick, Stephen King, raved about it and
I gave it a shot. Old Steve loves the sound of his own voice and reviews everything, but I tend to agree with his opinions because he is a "maven" that
wants to see and read good stuff.

From is about a small,ramshackle village in the middle of nowhere that traps unwilling travelers and then won't let them leave. The woods surrounding
the town come alive with murderous monsters in the guise of smiling, friendly humans who hunt the refugees between sunset and sunrise, but that's just the
appetizer. The whole thing is like a purgatory/metaphysical puzzle with the terrified residents trying desperately to figure out how to survive and
find a way out to get back to their former lives. Really good ensemble cast made up mostly of unknowns.

This thing has almost every horror trope you can think of. Fear of the dark, gory murders, survival, getting lost, being buried alive, ghostly kids,
nightmares, insects, insanity and so forth all controlled by some unseen evil who seems to play puppetmaster for reasons wildly open to
speculation. I wouldn't say it's perfect, but the elements, while not completely original are used in what I thought were very creative ways and
it often creeped me out, which is rare. So, if anybody is looking for long-form horror (there is very little out there with this much depth) that is
well-done and addictive then it's definitely worth a stream.

I think the excellent theme music (The Pixies) and intro gives creepy insight into the vibe of this show:


View: https://youtu.be/Rg0QBuXU_TM
 
Last night I watched William Friedkin's The Sorceror. I'd seen it a long time ago and it made
a strong impression on me, but was reminded of it after Friedkin died recently and rented it for
3 bucks while Wifey was busy.

What an amazing film.

One of the sub-genres I like is hard to describe. Whatever the term is for flicks where the testosterone
level is cranked to the max and there is a desperate fight for survival against long odds. In other words, it's
not like anything that would be produced today. Or could be.

The central story is that a group of strangers on the run end up in Vera Cruz, which is a third-world hellhole and
they are given no choice but to sign up for a suicide mission to transport unstable nitroglycerin to extinguish a burning
oil well through two hundred miles of dense jungle and deadly mountain roads using trucks that are
barely functional. This is not Sense and Sensibility.

It's white-knuckle all the way. Roy Schieder and a superb supporting cast try to make it through the gates of
hell. It's a little-known classic and the great Friedkin's finest hands down. There is a sequence during the harrowing journey
that is one of the most riveting 15 minutes in the history of film. I could barely watch, even the second time around,
but it was even better than I remembered.
 
The wife and I watched Renfield last night in the spirit of Halloween season. It was an okay vampire flic. Lots of gore. A little bit of comedy. And Nicolas Cage. 🤣 It kind of piqued our interest because they were filming it in New Orleans when we were down there on a family trip a couple years ago.
 
Just watched The Exorcist for the first time since I don't know when.

What a holy terror of a film. Brilliant.

Doesn't work at all here. But . . .

Cheers anyway
 
BostonTim said:
Just watched The Exorcist for the first time since I don't know when.

What a holy terror of a film. Brilliant.

Doesn't work at all here. But . . .

Cheers anyway
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I watched it the other day too. There is so much more to that movie than I remembered. I only recall the exorcism scenes from my youth.
 
Last flick I saw in the theater, a few months pre COVID was Parasite and I thought it was wonderfully creative and weird. I often don't agree with decisions from The Oscars, but that one was a worthy winner, IMO.
 
PatsFan09 said:
Wow.

American Fiction.

What an awesome, honest, freakin’ HILARIOUS movie.

Everyone in America needs to see this.

Just… amazing .
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This is #1 on my list. I love Jeffrey Wright. From Boardwalk Empire, to Westworld, etc., he is great.
 
Killers of the Flower Moon, bit of an odd beginning and it's a bit slow but picks up about halfway through the movie. I was a bit surprised at the part DeCaprio played considering his views on all things native American.
 
The Holdovers with Paul Giamatti. Massachusetts boarding school in 1970, Giamatti is a professor that draws the short end of the stick overseeing the students who aren't going home for the Christmas break - which ends up being one.

Solid flick, has been nominated for best picture, actor and supporting actress (if you've watched Only Murders in the Building, you already love her).
 
I watched Eight Below last night.

It's the story of a group of sled dogs abandoned at the South Pole when all the people at a research station are evacuated due to extremely bad weather.

If you're a dog person, you'll want to watch this. Pretty good acting by the humans, but they're a side show. The dogs are the stars.

It currently free on Youtube:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FM0WvnODtM
 
last night, at home, an old fav. Great film. Ghandi.
 
Had a "sick" day the other day. I watched Rebel Moon on Netflix. It was a pretty entertaining with some familiar faces. I'm looking forward to part 2. Also watched the first John Wick finally. It was good but I'm a little surprised how so many people are going so crazy over the franchise. :shrug-n:
 
Watched a movie last night that I did not even know existed, "Dragged Across Concrete" from 2018. Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn are are cops who are suspended for excessive violence and consider crossing a line they'd never envisioned before.

I liked it and would recommend it but at 2 hours and 40 minutes, it was a larger commitment than I realized I was signing up for.
 
Alk said:
Had a "sick" day the other day. I watched Rebel Moon on Netflix. It was a pretty entertaining with some familiar faces. I'm looking forward to part 2. Also watched the first John Wick finally. It was good but I'm a little surprised how so many people are going so crazy over the franchise. :shrug-n:
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I thought Rebel Moon was surprisingly good and am likewise looking forward to part 2. Fantasy and Sci-Fi are one of my go-to genres and Rebel Moon filled the bill. Not the
most original storyline I've ever run across, but I thought it was beautiful to look at.

I also just watched Killers of the Flower Moon after having read the book a few months ago. It's a fascinating story about a little-known slice of American
history , but a very dark one indeed. I thought DeNiro and Lily Gladstone were excellent, but DiCaprio's character was just too dumb for
words. Overall, I would be reluctant to recommend a movie that long (3 1/2 hours) that has nothing uplifting and no real justice. However, if
greed-fueled violence, racism and conspiracy is highly entertaining to you then, by all means, enjoy.
 
Again, another of BT's famous way back when reruns, but a fabulous film. imo,

Babette's Feast
 
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