Jump to content

VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented


Frankie Crisp

Recommended Posts

Watched the Lethal Weapons movies for the first time.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

A suicidal, former Special Forces, cop is partnered with a veteran of the force, the two tasked with investigating the death of a young girl who leaped from a hotel balcony to her death. Why has it taken me so long to watch this? Great film.

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Riggs and Murtaugh take on members of the South African consulate who are using their diplomatic immunity for illicit again. Every bit as enjoyable as the first film, Joe Pesci especially is a hoot. Patsy Kensit is probably the only person who struggles to do a South African accent!

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

Two weeks before he’s due to retire, Murtaugh and Riggs are on the case of an ex-cop who is dealing in black market fire arms. They really ramped up the comedy here compared with before. My least favourite of the three, not that it is bad or anything mind. Great to see Joe Pesci back.

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Out fishing one night, Riggs and Murtaugh stumble across a people smuggling operation and find themselves caught up with the Triad. Heavy on the action but a noticeable step below the first three films with a fairly uninteresting story. Father time has also clearly caught up with our leads.

Rear Window (1954)

I've not watched any Hitchcock before but Devon's posts got my wanting to check some out. Confined to his apartment following an accident, L.B. Jefferies spends his days watching his neighbours, becoming convinced that one has murdered his wife. Took a bit of time to get going but when it does the tension quickly builds off the back of a razor sharp script. I've already downloaded Frenzy and The 39 Steps so look forward to checking them out at some point.

Clue (1985)

Six strangers are invited to a Victorian mansion, but when bodies start to pile up they’re left trying to figure out who is responsible. Admittedly the ending is very hard to follow, but way better than a film based on the game Cluedo has any right to be. Lots of silly pun based humour and slapstick.

True Romance (1993) (Sony Movies)

A newly married couple accidentally acquire a suitcase full of cocaine. As they look to sell it on, they are unaware that the Sicilian mob is on their tale. Quality direction and script, an awesome shoot out, mesmerising performances (Walken, Hopper, Oldman, Gandolfini), just watch it!

Risky Business (1983)

With his parents away on holiday, a high school student looks to have some fun in their absence but things end up getting out of control. I wasn’t keen on this; I couldn’t warm to Tom Cruise’s character and Lana the prostitute was a pretty dreadful and unlikeable human being.

Edited by Magnum Milano
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Magnum Milano said:

Rear Window (1954)

I've not watched any Hitchcock before but Devon's posts got my wanting to check some out. Confined to his apartment following an accident, L.B. Jefferies spends his days watching his neighbours, becoming convinced that one has murdered his wife. Took a bit of time to get going but when it does the tension quickly builds off the back of a razor sharp script. I've already downloaded Frenzy and The 39 Steps so look forward to checking them out at some point.

In the source novel, it’s only revealed on the last page that Jeff is in a wheelchair because of his broken leg. And of course, now you’ll have to play “Spot Hitch” doing his cameos. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
2 hours ago, Mr_Danger said:

What are considered the ‘bad’ Hitchcock films?

The ones that you've probably not heard of or that history has forgotten are largely his crap ones. There aren't many 'hidden' gems in his collection, all of his really good films are generally well known and highly thought of. You could make a case that The Wrong Man, which is an absolute masterpiece, Stage Fright and Frenzy aren't perhaps as well known as they should be, and that would probably be fair.

He got better as he got older even though he made all-time greats in the 30s and 40s too but that's where you'll find most of his duffers. Murder!, Number Seventeen, Waltzes from Vienna and Under Capricorn are all awful. Jamaica Inn and Mr and Mrs. Smith are both extremely boring. Basically, if you don't know it, you're probably best off steering clear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Worth noting that Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train and North by Northwest, three of Hitchcock's best, are all on TCM over the next week. So make sure you join me and @Frankie Crisp in watching the latter one especially.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Worth noting that Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train and North by Northwest, three of Hitchcock's best, are all on TCM over the next week. So make sure you join me and @Frankie Crisp in watching the latter one especially.

Love North By Northwest, the story itself is great but that plane scene is so iconic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watched a couple of 1970's AIP films last week. 

A Small Town in Texas was very enjoyable and less exploitative than I thought it would be. Starts off as a nice little character study and tells a good story before the inevitable car chases and shootouts. 

Bobbie Jo and The Outlaw wasn't as good but still had its moments. Much more on the exploitation side of things. Lynda Carter gets them out, if you're into that sort of thing (you are). Oh, and it's directed by the same guy who did Commando and Showdown in Little Tokyo, so there's that too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Compliance. A fast food restaurant receive a call from the police saying an employee robbed a customer. I watched it last night but the more I think about it, the more ugly the film is. It’s based on true events but just seemed like when the Sunday Sport used to titillate stories of sexual assault. Not really sure what the goal here was. Ann Dowd was excellent as usual. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Compliance. A fast food restaurant receive a call from the police saying an employee robbed a customer. I watched it last night but the more I think about it, the more ugly the film is. It’s based on true events but just seemed like when the Sunday Sport used to titillate stories of sexual assault. Not really sure what the goal here was. Ann Dowd was excellent as usual. 

Yeah, I watched that a few years ago and felt the same. It's a really horrible story and I just felt very empty and a bit sad after watching it. 

On somewhat similar lines, just remembered that I watched Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey the other day and it was surprisingly good. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THE SMALL WORLD OF SAMMY LEE (1963)

Anthony Newley (the man David Bowie and Leonard Rossiter stole off of - who else can say that) has to raise 300 quid to pay off his bets or get razored up. All while still doing his compere act at the Soho peep show he hates working at. All filmed in Soho, and its worth it alone to see the area in the 60s (a fantastic opening 3 minute shot showing the whole area in particular is great) It also all takes place in 5 hours which ramps up the tension. It is basically UNCUT GEMS with cockneys and in black and white. I do wonder if the Safdie's took some inspiration from it. Sleazy, funny and quite melancholic, recommended for those with an interest in 60s British noir.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
4 hours ago, Factotum said:

THE SMALL WORLD OF SAMMY LEE (1963)

Anthony Newley (the man David Bowie and Leonard Rossiter stole off of - who else can say that) has to raise 300 quid to pay off his bets or get razored up. All while still doing his compere act at the Soho peep show he hates working at. All filmed in Soho, and its worth it alone to see the area in the 60s (a fantastic opening 3 minute shot showing the whole area in particular is great) It also all takes place in 5 hours which ramps up the tension. It is basically UNCUT GEMS with cockneys and in black and white. I do wonder if the Safdie's took some inspiration from it. Sleazy, funny and quite melancholic, recommended for those with an interest in 60s British noir.

Sounds really interesting. Newley passed me by, but after an enthusiastic Lenny Beige was going on about him, I’ve been checking out some of his musical work. Is this streaming anywhere? Also, I’d never heard of this film until today, but I guess Edgar Wright is a fan as it’s part of a series he’s putting on

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Awards Moderator

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (iPlayer)

One of those films where, after you’ve seen it, a whole bunch of Simpsons jokes make a lot more sense. Crazy, anarchic 60s comedy about a big buried pile of cash and the group of people desperate to get to it first. The last five minutes were a disappointment but up until then, I had loads of fun watching this. It’s on iPlayer until Monday if you fancy it over the weekend.

Edited by HarmonicGenerator
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...