VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[WyattSheepMask]

On 8/15/2025 at 12:41 PM, Merzbow said:

Together

I would have no issue with so much of the run time being based around the relationship problems of the main couple if it wasn't so half arsed and both of them being completely unlikable, there's a good idea there between the issues and the body horror but it never fully clicks. The body horror alone is very well done, really fucking icky with some amazing contortionism thrown in too but the glue of the narrative never fully holds it all... together.

Watched this the other day and felt similar. Theres some outlets calling it “the best horror movie of the year”, it’s not even the best horror movie of this month.

There’s bits that you can see coming a mile off too that don’t help it (saying that, the last shot was piss funny though).

A decent idea but poorly executed 

 

Edited August 16, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[DavidB6937]

On 8/15/2025 at 4:35 PM, JoeManco7 said:

Nobody 2

No Clark Griswold, but like National Lampoon's Nobody Vacation. 

A very good sequel. If it does good business then hopefully they make at least one more film (The Nobody Trilogy!). If they do then I hope they don't go even more high concept with something like 'Nobody in Space' and maybe do something more dramatically with how one of the characters continues on with their life wherever they will be after what happens in this film:

  Reveal hidden contents

Hutch Mansell gets one of his finger's cut off and it is then swallowed by some fish

 

Saw this today. Really loved it. I pretty much love anything Bob does anyway but the first movie was such surprising fun.

This was obviously more of the same but that's no bad thing. It's like John Wick in not deviating from the formula too much but just finding more inventive set pieces and I loved the setting here.

[Merzbow]

Weapons

Can't say much without spoiling anything but I found it to be far sillier than expected, far from being a bad film but not exactly for me either.

[FLips]

Sister Act
Whoopi Goldberg hides away in a nun convent as part of a witness protection program after she sees Harvey Keitel kill a fella. Turns out all the nuns are shit at singing so she whips them into shape.
Less believable than the actual plot is the part where she puts a catchy beat over a hymn and young hip kids start attending the church because they can hear it. Whole thing is a silly farce but it's very enjoyable and perfect weekend afternoon viewing. 

Step Brothers
Speaking of a farce, this one unlike 40 Year Old Virgin and Anchorman still works for me. While Ferrell and C Reilly are funny, it's the surrounding cast also leaning into the stupidity that makes me laugh. Everyone knows it's a dumb film and everyone puts 100% into making it work. It's the fuckin' Catalina Wine Mixer!

Bought more for the collection too (I watch one and buy three more, I need help)

Lawrence of Arabia - £1.50
The Mummy Returns - £1
The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emporer - £1 (They didn't have The Mummy so these two are on hold til I find it)
True Grit (2010) - £1.50
The Thing (1982) - £4
Leon - £2.50
Cyborg - £2.50
2001, A Space Odyssey - £3
Ghost in The Shell (2017) - £1.50

I umm'd and ahh'd about GITS last time and my mate talked me down, but it's £1.50 and this copy has an absolutely stunning artwork sleeve so I thought fuck it, can't be not worth £1.50 can it...can it?

Almost picked up copies of Timecop and The Shining too but the discs looked like they'd been through a shredder.

[Devon Malcolm]

Ghost in the Shell (2017) > Ghost in the Shell (1995)

[FLips]

21 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Ghost in the Shell (2017) > Ghost in the Shell (1995)

This gives me a little confidence. 

I'll admit my only exposure to Beat Takeshi has been in the Yakuza games where in (I think 6 if I recall) he plays an absolutely tremendous character, and Takeshi's Castle, but I've really enjoyed what I have seen him in. A CEX I was in the other day had a trilogy of Violent Cop, Boiling Point and Sonatine in for I think £10 but the discs were wrecked. Would have picked it up otherwise. I want to get around to watching Kikujiro too. Excited to see him in this.

[SaitoRyo]

The Naked Gun

I thought this was OK. A handful of laughs and I do appreciated being able to go to the cinema to see a comedy that clocks in under 90 minutes. Everyone in the cinema seemed to be having a good time with it, but it's just not a patch on the original imo. The cast were clearly all committed to it, but Neeson is no Nielsen and a bunch of the jokes didn't really land for me. Not terrible, but a disappointment given how glowing some of the reviews have been. 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Speaking of things that aren't a patch on the original... 

Tobe Hooper goes for something completely different for the sequel, ramping up the gore and the black comedy. I've seen this a couple of times before, way back in the day, and it's always been a film of two halfs for me. I actually quire like the first half, but am not a fan of the second (basically when they go to the underground lair). Dennis Hopper sadly isn't given much to do, but he's as game as everyone else and it has a sort of frenzied energy. 

The first Texas Chainsaw is a classic. This is just alright. Am tempted to check out the third one, as I've only seen it once many moons ago, but feel like that would probably be a waste of time. Don't think I've ever The Next Generation one all the way though - anyone care to vouch for it?

[Devon Malcolm]

13 hours ago, FLips said:

This gives me a little confidence. 

I'll admit my only exposure to Beat Takeshi has been in the Yakuza games where in (I think 6 if I recall) he plays an absolutely tremendous character, and Takeshi's Castle, but I've really enjoyed what I have seen him in. A CEX I was in the other day had a trilogy of Violent Cop, Boiling Point and Sonatine in for I think £10 but the discs were wrecked. Would have picked it up otherwise. I want to get around to watching Kikujiro too. Excited to see him in this.

He's not in it that much but it's a good film. I didn't like the animated film at all, it was really boring and confusing, but this is much action-packed. Kikujiro is brilliant but I'm up and down on his work as a director. Sonatine is one of the most boring films I've ever seen but he's a great screen presence. You should catch Battle Royale.

49 minutes ago, SaitoRyo said:

The first Texas Chainsaw is a classic. This is just alright. Am tempted to check out the third one, as I've only seen it once many moons ago, but feel like that would probably be a waste of time. Don't think I've ever The Next Generation one all the way though - anyone care to vouch for it?

The TCM series is surprisingly short of absolute duds until the most recent two. The Next Generation is alright and probably the weirdest of the series.

[Chris B]

1 hour ago, SaitoRyo said:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Tobe Hooper goes for something completely different for the sequel, ramping up the gore and the black comedy.

I think he was going for more black comedy in the first one and missed the mark, semi-accidentally creating an unrelentingly nightmarish film.

[Hannibal Scorch]

New shark film from Japan to keep an eye out for, this is just a clip

Hot Spring Shark Attack

[SaitoRyo]

Alamo Bay

Intriguing drama about the tensions between Texas fisherman and Vietnamese immigrants during the late 70s and early 80s.

Ed Harris plays a racist, piece-of-shit Vietnam vet who blames the 'gooks' (a word uttered about thirty times during the course of the film) for his rotten lot in life. Amy Madigan is his love interest, but she's actually a decent person and her family hires the Vietnamese people to work their boats, so there's a conflict there. Inevitably, it all leads to violence, as the rest of the hicks team up against their perceived enemy with tragic, entirely avoidable results.

I love films like this. Not necessarily the subject matter, but because they are about real, everyday, small-town people and the problems they face. It's not a perfect movie, but I thought it was really good and well-made with some very strong performances. Also, I'm a sucker for a Ry Cooder soundtrack. 

Been meaning to check out some Louis Malle stuff for a while now. I reckon Atlantic City might be next. 

 

[gmoney]

3 hours ago, SaitoRyo said:

Been meaning to check out some Louis Malle stuff for a while now. I reckon Atlantic City might be next. 

I recommend Lacombe, Lucien. One of his French language films. It is an excellent film, about the banality of evil. It was banned in France for years. 

Edited August 18, 2025 by gmoney

[Devon Malcolm]

Atlantic City and Elevator to the Gallows are excellent films. I hated My Dinner with Andre though.

[johnnyboy]

Sorry, Baby

Incredible.  An astonishing portrayal...

Spoiler

of sexual assault.

Eddington 

Ari Aster so no spoiler tag required for the obligatory naked cock.  As a satire it didn't really land for me and came off more as a legit MAGA wank fantasy which I was not in the mood for.  Possibly because of this it felt interminably long.  It's two and a half hours and it felt like double that.

Edited August 18, 2025 by johnnyboy

[FLips]

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension

An unbelievably good cast try their hardest but struggle to do much with this mess of a film. I hear it’s a cult favourite but I came away from it disappointed they never got this lot together for something better. 
There’s nothing wrong with campy send-ups of sci-fi and comic books, and there’s nothing really wrong with great actors hamming it up to make the most of a bad script, but this commits the cardinal sin of being incredibly boring.

One of the best parts about it is the end credits, and that’s not a slight. They actually do something fun with it.

Edited August 19, 2025 by FLips