Paid Members Thunderplex Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 I watched Feast last night, a horror-comedy about a redneck bar under attack by a bunch of powerful monsters with razor-sharp teeth. For the most part, I enjoyed it. It is a self-reflexive film that pokes fun at and plays around with horror conventions; i.e. putting up title cards for archetypal characters with bits of 'fun' information and referencing cliches through the dialogue itself. There's barely any character development, though, and it doesn't really matter, because this is about fun, audacity and irony. I like that the tone is kept relatively dark, which adds nicely to moments like <-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler the kid being snatched away after the trite reunion with the single mum and when the guy has his eye pulled out of its socket by a monster and shouts "give me my eye back!"  [close spoiler] ");document.close(); But occasionally it just isn't as funny and witty as it thinks it is, like some of the poor jokes in the characters' title cards. And the crass stuff (I think there's 3 instances of monster sex) isn't as funny as stuff like <-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler Henry Rollins' character, a motivational speaker, giving a hammy 'inspirational' speech to unite everyone in the redneck bar against the monsters.  [close spoiler] ");document.close(); Plus, it's a bit wannabe-Tarantino at times, especially the bloated first act. Also, the team behind Feast have done the sequel to Piranha, which is out soon. From watching Feast, I think Piranha 3DD won't be anywhere near as good as the original, but it should be decent enough.  Feast was excellent. the sequels were a letdown though.  Watched the Straw Dogs remake. Didn't facy it at first, but found the characters engaging enough, and it went along at an excellent pace. Not seen the original so can't compare, but I'd recommend it.  Also watched Contagion. Felt like the movie version of the Pandemic board game. I thought it was going to be like outbreak, but was more of a drama. Very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) The original Straw Dogs really surprised me, I thought I was going to hate it as I'm not really a Peckinpah fan. It was great, though. Even if you don't like it, Susan George's nipples are mesmeric. Â I'm sure I can rely on you film fans to be voting on my great film poll as well, by the way. I'll just fill in your selections if you don't. Edited January 6, 2012 by Gladstone Small Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members chokeout Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 The most shocking thing about the original Straw Dogs is Susan George's acting. The only thing she does with any conviction is get her tits out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 I was very dubious about the Straw Dogs remake as soon as I saw James Marsden had been cast in the lead role. Surely the whole point of the film was that the bloke was forced to 'become something he wasn't' due to the circumstances, hence Dustin Hoffman being perfectly cast in the original. Having a bloody 'X-Man', 6ft tall & buff in the role is as much of a stretch of the imagination as sticking a pair of specs on a gorgeous girl to make her a 'nerd'? If I do eventually check this out it's purely because of James Woods' involvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 He does the nerdy writer thing quite well to be honest. James Woods is fucking crazy in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 He does the nerdy writer thing quite well to be honest. James Woods is fucking crazy. Â Amended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I'm aware this post contributes very little to the thread (no change there then) but is Big Trouble in Little China worth watching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) EDIT: Double post. Edited January 6, 2012 by Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gmoney Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 Yes. Yes it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted January 6, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 A crazy hybrid of all the top 80's genres. Fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Galt Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Saw The Artist earlier and that film deserves to win everything it's nominated for. Absolutely amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Seven Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Co-signed. I absolutely loved it. If you really wanted to you could tear apart the straightforward as hell plot structure and even question why we should feel sorry for a character who is so ostentatiously egotistical when we meet him, but I think that would be incredibly petty and I was disappointed to overhear a good few "Wasn't as good as I thought it would be" style missives upon leaving the cinema. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazing_Red_Fan Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Add me to the list of people who absolutely love The Artist. Saw it tonight, sold out crowd at the lovely Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle (which definitely added to the experience, fantastic crowd). I don't think I like it as much as Drive (which probably won't get any Oscar noms, except maybe Al Brooks), and agree that it should win everything it's nominated for. This is a film for people who love film. Can't recommend it enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members neil's bitch Posted January 7, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 7, 2012 Rented out some DVDs last night, the first of which being:  Captain America  I had been looking forward to this for a while as I didnt get the chance to get down the cinema when it came out.  Plot wise, its an "origin story" with them picking the kid who goes onto be the first super soldier etc. They way it was put across was fairly good, showing that a persons real charecter comes from the passion they have for something, and not just the physical attributes. The later scences in which he become some sort of propaganda icon, is pure greatness.  Other than that it's "OK" at best ,(i thought it was better than Green Lantern though), with some shots looking rather cheap at times, which sort of puts you off. On the whole it feels like it could of been knocked up a notch, as you sort of feel not alot really happens. But in seeing the "Secret ending" which i believe was originally after the credits, (now being shopped onto the direct ending of the film) does have me hyped up for the Avengers movie later this year.  If you fancy this, and do enjoy a decent super hero film. Check it out, if you need something that gives you a better 'Pay-off' then maybe give it a miss. Its an origin film / super long promo for The Avengers, so dont expect to much from it.  7/10.  Also got to see:  Rise of the Planet of the Apes  Another movie i didnt get chance to see at the cinema. During this time i was generally hyped to see it anyway, but of those who did see it, did mention it was amazing. And they are not wrong!  As you would imagine, this is about how the apes come to break away from being "Test subjects" or "Zoo animals" and thus take over the world. For this film in itself, we see how the first apes generally come to be.  The general plot is to show how the apes become as smart as they end up ,(as we know from the older films), which in this case would be due to James Francos charecter trying to create some form of cure for alzheimer's , (being able to help the brain with learning functions etc). The drug works, and of course all hell breaks out in due course. With various things going on, (The apes breaking free from various forms on imprisonment etc) you get a real sense of how this is all going to pan out. This is all well and good until:  <-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler The Main Ape shouts "NOOOOO!!" and later full on talks saying something like "I am home" in response to Francos charecter  [close spoiler] ");document.close(); Which as much as it fits perfectly, and i enjoyed the film.......That was just flat out strange. Anyway, a great film with everything making as much sense as i suppose it can when it comes to Apes taking over the world. Also the additional little ending:  <-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler When the airline pilot has become infected, and it sort of shows that he's spreading it about via his airline trips and so on  [close spoiler] ");document.close(); Makes it even clearer how this would work on a grand scale.  Overall i would say amazing film, mostly one of the best from last year altogether and well worth a watch. I think i'll be buying it when possible, and on top of that look forward to sequels and so on.  Great stuff, 9/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I'm aware this post contributes very little to the thread (no change there then) but is Big Trouble in Little China worth watching?This contributes even less, but where can I get one of them shirts in your sig (apart from outside the ground, which I won Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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