28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Sven]

Seventh Victim is my favorite.

[Yxklyx]

What the fuck is this?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1230552/

More Things That Happened - David Lynch - 76m

This isn't much more than weird/creepy dialogues and improvised monologues. It held my interest for about the first 50 minutes but then Laura Dern goes into this improvised monologue with the silent listener from Inland Empire that goes on and on and on with nothing really interesting to say - followed by a very long scene of four lowly hookers doing nothing much on the street.

[Pop Trash]

I'm really thinking about seeing this when it comes to my arthouse theater near me soon as a repertory film. However, I saw the trailer for it before Battle Royale, and my friends who saw it with me chuckled over how cheesy it looked. Is this not the case?

Lots of people were laughing at my screening, but some of it may have been uncomfortable nervous laughter. There's a karate chopping metrosexual German guy in the movie who is hilarious though.

[Pop Trash]

Also, you're clearly a fan of outre cult movies, so Possession would be right up your alley Ivan.

[Izzy Black]

I prefer Neil LaBute's version with Gwenyth Paltrow.

[Rowland]

I much prefer the last three Val Lewton's over the earlier films.

The Body Snatcher
Isle of the Dead
Bedlam

You know, while I still haven't seen the latter two, The Body Snatcher really surprised me given its subordinate reputation within the Lewton body of work. It definitely deserves more attention, ditto The Ghost Ship.

I prefer the straightforward success of Cat People to Curse, although the latter is still excellent in my eyes.

Honestly, I love The Leopard Man the most right now.

Cat People was my first exposure to Lewton many years ago, been meaning to revisit it. While I recall liking it a great deal, it doesn't rank as a personal favorite. I probably prefer The Leopard Man over it as well, but that's one I believe is more likely to really resonate with passionate horror fans.

[B-side]

The bad guys in the film are supposed to represent McCarthyism, not communism. The people in the film are afraid to stand up to them, as people in America were afraid to stand up against it. They're willing to leave the victims of McCarthy to deal with it by themselves.

Hm. You may be onto something. Apparently Gary Cooper was an avowed anti-communist, so Zinnemann may have slipped this one past him.

[Spun Lepton]

Watched The Muppets last weekend. I'm probably going to pick up the Blu-Ray. Best Muppets movie since the original. Loved it. 8/10

[Morris Schæffer]

The Marine was a pretty bonkers action flick with an amusing villainous turn by Robert Patrick and some funny nods to T2 and Deliverance. The action direction was competent enough, but Cena, besides being literally indestructible, was dullllllllllllll. [•½]



Eight Legged Freaks was allright. Kinda funny how, the bigger the spiders got, the less creepy this entire endeavor became. Sure, it's meant to be cheesy as well, but the balance was off. FX ranged from good to decent, some of the acting was pretty bad, which is I suppose the point, but overall a solid homage populated with characters I just couldn't bring myself to care about except for the mathematical certainty that Kari Wuhrer is hot! [•½]

[Derek]

I believe you're looking for the Masochism Thread, Morris.

[MadMan]

Hm. You may be onto something. Apparently Gary Cooper was an avowed anti-communist, so Zinnemann may have slipped this one past him.

Nah from my understanding Cooper did the movie even though he knew what the subject matter was really about. Which is cool of him. A halfway decent actor shouldn't let politics impact what roles they choose imo.

The Body Snatcher is really good, and features an excellent Karloff performance. I liked Isle of the Dead, but I want to revisit that one along with The Seventh Victim (not really a fan) and The Leopard Man for the third time (just because its good, plus I now view it as possibly the earliest slasher film).

Possession was a film I found both great and somewhat disturbing. Plus, it has Sam Neil so that's an added bonus.

Oh and I really liked Eight Legged Freaks. Its a nice love letter to the old school 50s monster movies, and works best when viewed as such. The comedy may be a bit hit and miss, but the when the jokes landed I laughed quite a bit.

[Boner M]

A friend alerted me to this IMDb user list. Well worth puzzling over.

[B-side]

A friend alerted me to this IMDb user list. Well worth puzzling over.

[Morris Schæffer]

I believe you're looking for the Masochism Thread, Morris.

There's more crazyness coming up with the double bill of Piranha 2: The Spawning and Skyline.

[

Show Spoiler

But relax, these movies were acquired by other means. How do I mean that? Well, other means.

]

[Raiders]

Hm. You may be onto something. Apparently Gary Cooper was an avowed anti-communist, so Zinnemann may have slipped this one past him.

I say stick to your initial guns. The film is hardly convincing as any kind of anti-McCarthy sentiment. I doubt so many anti-Communist people would have confused and applauded the film (I find it funny the USSR despised the film as well). I have never seen why this is a film held in such high regard. So much of the film rests on Cooper's shoulders, and he is monotonous and boring, just content to merely walk around with a pained expression on his face.

I will stick up for the film against Howard Hawks' bizarre complaint (and the reason he made Rio Bravo) that Cooper failed to be a traditional western hero, which is precisely the point. Hawks could run circles around Zinnemann so his film winds up being the better one, but it seems so strange for the man who made one of Hollywood's (and cinema's) greatest statements against hard-edged masculinity in Only Angels Have Wings would suddenly view a western with a nervous sheriff seeking help as bad cinema.

[B-side]

I say stick to your initial guns. The film is hardly convincing as any kind of anti-McCarthy sentiment. I doubt so many anti-Communist people would have confused and applauded the film (I find it funny the USSR despised the film as well). I have never seen why this is a film held in such high regard. So much of the film rests on Cooper's shoulders, and he is monotonous and boring, just content to merely walk around with a pained expression on his face.

I will stick up for the film against Howard Hawks' bizarre complaint (and the reason he made Rio Bravo) that Cooper failed to be a traditional western hero, which is precisely the point. Hawks could run circles around Zinnemann so his film winds up being the better one, but it seems so strange for the man who made one of Hollywood's (and cinema's) greatest statements against hard-edged masculinity in Only Angels Have Wings would suddenly view a western with a nervous sheriff seeking help as bad cinema.

I'm a big Cooper fan, and I really dug him in this. Even outside of its politics, it's a tight, tense experience. I can see both readings, really. Perhaps it's better that way.

[Qrazy]

Either way, does it really matter what the exact political subtext is? It's a film about everyone you know bailing on you in a time of need which is very true to life in my opinion.

Rio Bravo is an obnoxious film.

[Irish]

Either way, does it really matter what the exact political subtext is? It's a film about everyone you know bailing on you in a time of need which is very true to life in my opinion.

Rio Bravo is an obnoxious film.

There's probably a good movie to be made with that script, but High Noon wasn't it, mostly for he reasons Raiders notes.

Not sure what you could find obnoxious about Rio Bravo. Maybe the slightly forced romance or Ricky Martin's presence but .. Other than that?

[Melville]

Everybody was right: Seventh Victim was probably my favorite of the Tourneur/Lewton movies I've watched. Very quiet and melancholy. I like the strain of Romanticism running through these movies. And Tom Conway rocks the dark and smug style.

[Kurosawa Fan]

A friend alerted me to this IMDb user list. Well worth puzzling over.

Maybe I'm just exhausted from studying for finals, but this made me laugh really hard. I don't ever want an explanation. The mystery is pure gold.

[Rowland]

Everybody was right: Seventh Victim was probably my favorite of the Tourneur/Lewton movies I've watched. Very quiet and melancholy. I like the strain of Romanticism running through these movies. And Tom Conway rocks the dark and smug style.

The Seventh Victim is actually directed by Mark Robson, who also directed the underestimated Ghost Ship and the last two Lewton productions, Bedlam and Isle of the Dead, neither of which I've yet seen. The only Tourneur-directed Lewton you haven't seen is The Leopard Man, which is a wonderful film, but also the closest to resembling a modern horror film. It's actually fascinating as a sort of proto-giallo/slasher flick, albeit just about the classiest one ever made.

Speaking of The Seventh Victim, I wonder if Lynch was inspired by the scene in which the detective disappears down the dark hallway for his similar scene featuring Bill Pullman in Lost Highway.

[Boner M]

Jacques Rivette reportedly screened The Seventh Victim to his cast and crew before making Duelle. I haven't seen that particular Rivette, but it's not surprising that he'd love TSV given its mood and thematic preoccupations (hermetic societies, cities as labyrinths).

[Melville]

The Seventh Victim is actually directed by Mark Robson, who also directed the underestimated Ghost Ship and the last two Lewton productions, Bedlam and Isle of the Dead, neither of which I've yet seen.

Well, that explains the mysterious "(Mark Robson)" following the title in the file name. It might also explain the less dramatic lighting, though that might've just been me not paying attention. I'll check out The Leopard Man.

[EyesWideOpen]

The whole scene in If.... with Malcolm McDowell and Christine Noonan in the diner is really something amazing.

[Rowland]

Hmm, I didn't expect to like Carnage and Shame more than Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This last month or so that I've spent catching up with the remaining 2011 releases I was really excited for has proved underwhelming, nothing has been anywhere near breaking the list I finalized for our award stuff. Oh well, there are still a few more I'm firmly intent on seeing, after which I think I'll move on for now.