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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 1, 2012 13:38:28 GMT -5
Ok the rules for this one are simple.
1 point for any non-horror Foreign film 2 points for Foreign horror film 3 points for any Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or New Year's movie that in non horror 4 points for any Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or New Year's horror movie.
Bring it on LOB! Ends December 31st midnight pacific time.
Edit:Damn Typing Skills
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 3, 2012 2:02:29 GMT -5
Spoilers for all of the following movies:
First I watched 1972's Amicus anthology horror film Tales From the Crypt which I found to be uneven ,but ultimately likeable. The first story was about a woman who kills her husband on Christmas Eve and then gets her house invaded by an escaped maniac dressed as Santa. I really liked this story. The acting was good for all of the speaking characters and the gore was good. There was a genuinely good scare that made me jump and I loved the ominous atmosphere that was created by having Christmas organ music play in the background. I also like how she has a reason for not calling the police because of her husband's body. There was this awesome ragdoll scene involving some stairs ,but the end was really bad due to the hilariously fake looking strangling.
The second story is about a man who's having a fair and has a premoniton of his death. The acting in all of this was good and there was good use of 1st person cinematograhpy. The reveal involving a mirror managed to scare me as well, great makeup.
The third story is about a garbage man who doesn't want to sell his land(Peter Cushing) and how he is eventually laid low so that his land can get bought. The acting and cinematograhpy was good, particuarly showing Cushing as this sympathetic incredibly likeable character and on the flip sides the antagonists were portrayed well, really showing their snobbery and in the case of all the mom's stuck up fools. The end had good, creepy looking makeup especially from afar, but the eyes didn't look good and the acting suddenly became pretty bad.
The fourth story is about a rich man who has to liquidize his assets to pay off a huge debt and how his wife finds a statuette that grants wishes, with a twist. The acting was good and the ending was really cool. After dying they wish him back ,but he's already been imbalmed so when they try to rekill him with a katana there's no blood only organs.
The fifth story was the worse and took too long. It's about a retired military man and how he mistreats the home for the blind that he has recently began to run. Awesome german shepard and cool ideas involved as to the setup they create for him ,but ultimately too slow and not the best acting. However, Patrick Magee (the guy who's wife gets raped in A Clockwork Orange) is the leader of the blind and does a good job acting. The reveal is that there already dead, which was predictable and they get thrown into hell which is this hilariously fake looking pool of lava. It also didn't make sense because while some were bad people, alot of them weren't. Something that also struck me was the rapidity of the movie. Unlike other anthology horror films where the stories can linger a bit these ones get started and climax pretty quickly, except for the fifth one. Overall I got two genuine scares, a third story I really liked, and some so bad it's good moments.
Second I watched Don't Open TIll Midnight, a so bad it's good British slasher about a serial killer that kills anyone who dresses as Santa Claus. Man the acting and gore are really bad and decent respectively in this film, I mean like so bad that you wonder how these movies get made bad ,but it manages to be hilarous. There aren't really any likeable characters,exept for one who's okay. The pacing is really weird, at first it moves incredibly fast with alot of santa Clauses getting killed, but towards the end slows down alot. I really liked the soundtrack in this movie though. Oh yeah the Claustration scene was hilarious as was the dumb ending. Apparently the film went through 3 directors which explains a lot.
After that I watched Sumo: East and West a Japanese-Amerian documentary from 2004 about the state of sumo wrestling. It showed how recently the Hawaiins had really been dominating due to them being naturally bigger and how while professional Sumo was in decline, amateur sumo was increasing in popularity all over the world. It really focuses on the cultural differences and how high pressure Sumo is. After all it's the only martial art where you can lose your belt ranking, you don't make much money unless you're in the elite, and if you lose too much you get retired which you can't come out of on the professional level. There was also this US propogand clip from WW2 making fun of Japan and sumo which is pretty alarming, not that anybody's propoganda is really cheery stuff.
Fourth I watched 2010 German mvoie The Robber which was based on the true story of an Austrian marathon runner who also robs banks. This was a great little movie and by that I mean that while the scale may be smaller, everything is done incredibly well. The acting, gore, violence, cinematograhpy, and soundtrack were all great. I really liked the foot chases of the titular Robber and his elusion of the police. This movie reminds me of Le Circle Rouge in terms of it's emotional coolness. The main charcter hardly ever becomes hothead and instead stays calm most of the time assessing his situation. The ending was predictable, but sad and very realistic.
Coup de Jarnac for Jake.
JAS-10
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 4, 2012 2:55:03 GMT -5
Watched 2 godawful horror movies.
First I watched 2010's British horror movie The Reeds about a group of friends who decide to take a trip to the aformentioned reeds. The cinematograhpy and setting in this movie was great, the reeds looked beautiful and there was this creepy atmoshpere. Aside from that this movie was utter crap, horrible acting, special effects, and story. Some of the gore was good ,but most of it was bad. I'd like to see another, bettter horror movie made utilizing the same setting.
Second I watched an ever worse Italian horror movie from 2003 The Massacre which made The Reeds look like a masterpiece. The only good thing about this movie was it's awesome rock soundtrack. The acting, gore, cinematograhpy, actual acts of violence, and story was all bad. Also it ripped off the great Texas Chainsaw Massacre... alot.. and badly.
Thank god I got past these two crapfests and can move on to hopefully better movies.
JAS-14
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 6, 2012 22:48:52 GMT -5
First I watched 2005 Singapore horror movie The Maid. I was expecting this to be bad ,but it was actually pretty good. One thing I didn't like was that while the soundtrack wasn't bad there were times where it was too over the top and would've been better without it. The acting and story are pretty good as is the gore and some of the makeupe effects. It's about a Fillipina made who's recently immigrated to Singapore to get a job as a made in order to help support her family. The maid (played by Alessandra De Rossi) does a really good job and is a very sympathetic character. Once you find out what's really going on and what happened it gets really dark. Also what I found interesting was how the characters used broken English to communicate as a common language and apparently alot of the older Chinese in Singapore speak English albeit broken.
Then I finally watched Inger Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957) which is about a knight who has returned from the crusades with his squire and finds himself questioning the purpose of life and decides to challenge Death to a chess game in order to prevent his fate. Cinematograhpy is great, which is to be expected from a Bergman film. The soundtrack is at times over the top ,but at other times great. It's really funny (light and dark comedy) and Sydow does a great job as does his squire who is darkly hilarious, yet wise ,but quite itense as is Sydow when it comes to business. I was surprised at the vulgarity in a 50's movie (though I think Europe was less constrictive when it came to censoring) and when the violence is done it is realistic (better than in The Virgin Spring except for one scene). One thing besides some of the acting being great ,was how great the dialogue was it could be funny and at other moments so darkly true.
JAS-17
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 9, 2012 23:38:31 GMT -5
First I watched Nicolas Winding Refn's 2008 British film Bronson starring Tom Hardy as the titular real-life criminal Bronson. This is a great movie, the acting, cinematograhpy, soundtrack, gore, violence, and comedy are all great. It's basically just about Bronson's real life journey to becoming England's most violent and expensive prisoner. Apparently Hardy gained 42 pounds in muscle for the movie and it impressed the real life Bronson so much that he shaved his famous mustache off so that it could be used on Hardy. I don't want to give the individual details away ,but this is a great movie. NWR is becoming one of my favorite directors after seeing his three 2000's masterpieces Bronson, Valhalla Rising, and Drive(all of which were great movies).
After that I watched Park Chan- wook's 2002 South Korean movie Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance the first of his Vengeance Trilogy for the first time. Great movie, the gore, acting, cinematograhpy, violence, soundtrack, and complicated yet understandable story are all great. It's about 2 men who are after vengeance, including against each other. The first hour takes it's time ,but that serves a point it lays the groundwork and therefore makes the second half more shocking. This was a really sad movie with almost everyone not actually being pure evil ,but victims of misfortune. Again a great movie and a high reccomend.
JAS-19
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 9, 2012 23:39:07 GMT -5
LOB I know you're going to clean house soon so bring it on!
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 12, 2012 0:33:04 GMT -5
First I watched the great 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros. Not much more to add about this film , except that there's a really good gore effect at a restaurant.
After that I watched 2006 South Korean horror-comedy The Host for the first time. This movie was awesome ,but left me kind of confused as a viewer. I mean there were parts that were over the top comedy ,but all the parts with the daughter in the sewer were incredibly serious and intense. It went from over the top comedy to seriousness and then an incredibly awesome, intense, and ultimately sad conclusion. Great soundtrack and cinematograhpy in this movie. At parts the creature looked good ,but at others terribly fake looking CGI hindered it, although I really liked the creature's design itself. Glad I finally watched it and a reccomend although the mood shifts left me sort of disorientated.
JAS-22
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Post by loverofbeers on Dec 14, 2012 22:24:07 GMT -5
Sorry I have been away. Puppies have kept me from sleeping well for two or three months. Always exhausted till yesterday and today, the puppies have settled down now and I can sleep. Two have been adopted, one is sleeping over a new house tonight, one I am keeping, one is for my nieces, and than only two more to be adopted including Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy III and Sunshine.
Gonna get into this competition starting tomorrow or Sunday hopefully. So keep bringing it Jake!
Dog will hunt again! Someday.
Drinking a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, and a Cheers! to Bob Barker. Remember get your dogs spayed or neutered, don't be a dumbfuck fool like me.
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Post by loverofbeers on Dec 14, 2012 22:30:29 GMT -5
The Seventh Seal is so good. I need to rewatch it someday.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 15, 2012 0:58:07 GMT -5
When I was a kid I learned that lesson with both dogs and cats.
We had 2 Golden Retrievers and the male who we got from a previous owner was supposed to be fixed. Well then one day in the rain theres a puppy and long story short we ended up with 12 puppies. It was madness, one was a runt and had to be handfed through a bottle every day and of course he ended up being the biggest one.
Later when I was a little older we adopted some kitten that was paralyzed with fear and trapped behind one of our jack o'lanterns. Well eventually the cats mother came and we started to feed it. Then one day we get a box full of kittens left on our doorstep that we found out were the mother cats about nine, then the aformentioned kitten had a litter a day later of about 4, and the kitten's sister had a litter of 4 as well. We managed to find homes for all of them same as the puppies ,but man it's tiring.
The lesson I learned is that unless you have the time, space, and energy to deal with a litter of either puppies or kittens get your animals fixed.
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 15, 2012 1:09:05 GMT -5
First I watched Park Chan-wook's 2009 South Korean vampire horror movie Thirst about a priest who volunteers to help treat a disease and ends up being injected with vampire blood. This was a great movie, the acting, cinematograhpy, gore, soundtrack, and acts of violence themselves were all great. I felt that a particuarly good job was done showing the strength and agility of a vampire, the only thing that was slightly iffy was the scenes of them flying and even those were done well. I thought the final shot was amazing, the movie was darkly comical, yet serious, and that it does a great job of misleading you. High reccomend.
After that I watched Dario Argento's 1982 Italian horror movie Tenebre about a writer who's horrifed to find that his titular novel is inspiring a killer. Lets start with the bad, the acting in this movie is artociously, sometimes comically bad. Now the good; the gore looks really good, the cinematograhpy is good, and the soundtrack is awesome. There's also a cool little moment near the end which I thought was genuinely surprising and inventive ,but I don't want to reveal in case you haven't seen it. The final kill in particular was great.
JAS-26
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 17, 2012 21:29:26 GMT -5
First I watched Lindsay Anderson's 1968 British movie starring Malcolm McDowell, also his film debut, and is about the opressive and horrific conditons of British boarding schools during the 60's and how McDowell and his two friends fight back. I liked this movie, not as much as I thought I would, but still liked it. This movie has great cinematograhpy and interestingly switches between black and white to color randomly. The acting is good and there are parts where McDowell is just great (apparently his performance in this film got him cast in A Clockwork Orange) and he has this great smile in this movie. The gore is pretty realistic ,but I didn't like the final shootout scene. This movie is highly surrealstic and as a result the gunfight suffers ,but I liked the really determined intense look at the end McDowell has as he just fires that machine gun is just magnificent. I also liked the choir soundtrack and I particuarly liked his one quote "There's no such thing as a wrong war. Violence and revolution are the only pure acts".
After that I watched Alexandre Aja's 2003 French horror movie High Tension which I overall liked. I thought the soundtrack, gore, and cinematograhpy was great. The acting was pretty good ,but I did not like the reveal which caused some plotholes. The evil French trucker is great , particuarly during the end when he's running around beaten to a pulp going all modern TCM. Not a great movie ,but a pretty good one.
JAS-29
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Post by loverofbeers on Dec 18, 2012 2:00:38 GMT -5
Ah, High Tension, Haut Tension. Saw that years ago. Right off I noticed that the killer was masturbating or mentally elsewhere like listening to music on headphones as the killings happened or every time the trucker was shown.... Ah, lesbian love.... I spoiled this movie for myself from the start. Good movie but HUGE plotholes and not too obvious but obvious in some ways.
Took three days to watch a movie (Puppies!! Argggh!!!!). I watched Santa Claus filmed in Mexico in 1959 which apparently was very popular on American teevee in the sixties and seventies. Also known as Santa versus Satan.
Okay, here goes the plot. Santa lives in his castle in outer space over the North Pole. Here children from across the world help Old Saint Nick instead of elves. Santa can only fly down to earth on Christmas via flying robot reindeer that will turn to ash (like a vampire) if they don't return by dawn. Santa's right hand man is Merlin the Magician who likes to tinker with making rainbows. Lucifer sends Satan (wha?) to earth to ruin Santa's grand day in Mexico City. And I loved this movie. I recommend, somehow, and I am counting this as horror, there are depictions of Satan, demons, and Hell afterall.
Drinking a Modelo especial from Mejico, Salud! I gots me some points! Yes! Yes! Yes!
LOB-4
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Post by jakeawesomesnake on Dec 18, 2012 3:30:17 GMT -5
I've heard of that one and that it's so bad it's good.
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Post by loverofbeers on Dec 18, 2012 4:39:07 GMT -5
Santa Claus vs. Satan is good crappy gold.
Just watched El Esqueleto De La SeƱora Morales, from 1960 and filmed in Mexico. Translates to "The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales". A good man who earns a living as a taxidermist is married to a killjoy, non-sexual, religious freak of a shrew. She makes her husband's life almost miserable but he remains a jolly good guy (who loves the neighborhood kids and dogs but is not allowed to make kids of his own or keep a dog by his horrid wife). The asshole priest who the wife is dedicated to and the wife's sisters and brother-in-law finally turn this good man into a murderer. This very well shot and made movie reminded me of an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode or a Vincent Price vehicle. Spoiler: almost everybody dies but the asshole priest. Much dark humor here. I'd recommend, but I watched it in Espanol from Youtube. A Modelo Especial Salud, Yankees!
LOB-6
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