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    I like to take chances on movies. I like to track down little known or under-seen films, hoping to stumble across something special. Sometimes gems are found, sometimes they are not. Let me tell you about one of each.

    The Untamed (2016):

    Alejandra is alone. Though married with two children, her children give her no release from her loneliness, neither does her marriage. She doesn’t realize how alone until she meets Veronica, a young nurse who wants to show her something that lives in an old cabin in the woods.

    I write a lot of reviews with the words “this won’t be for everyone”. This one is definitely no exception. The Untamed mixes familial drama, commentary on sexuality, and Lovecraftian alien sex (yes, you read that right) to deliver an interesting meditation on the power of lust and how the urge to satiate those desires can both liberate and destroy the ones that seek it and those they love.

    If graphic sexuality is not your bag, you’d probably want to steer clear, but if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, then The Untamed delivers some interesting morsels to chew on.

    Grade: B+


    Kolobos (1999):

    I would’ve had a better idea of what I was in for if I had watched the trailer first. If I had, I would have been treated to a wonderfully '90s voice-over delivering with deadly seriousness the tagline: “When you’re dead…no one can hear you scream”. I just…I don’t know, guys.

    To be fair, if I had caught this on cable late at night back when it first came out in 1999, I would probably would have some misplaced nostalgia for the movie. It has some interesting ideas at play with a combination reality television and the SAW franchise, it unfortunately can’t build those stray ideas into something more compelling.

    Essentially, five young people respond to an ad to star in a reality show to be filmed in a remote house. Once there, they found out that not everything is as it seems and they begin getting picked off one by one.

    The practical gore effects are okay for the low budget nature of the film and there is some tension in some sequences, unfortunately the dialogue and acting make this a rather rough watch. And by the time the movie reveals all its secrets, one wonders why they might have bothered at all.

    There is some low budget charm here and this might play better with a group of friends and large amount of booze, but it didn’t quite work for me.
    If you like the idea of the premise, check out 2002’s My Little Eye for a better take (and a very early role for Mr. Bradley Cooper)

    Grade: D

    Comment


      Tyree, I am right with you about Parasite. I do think that it will wind up winning Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, though it should be Best Picture hands down.

      And we seem to be on some kind of same wavelength because I was just thinking about Suicide Kings the other day. This was a regular rental for me and my college roommate back in the day and we absolutely loved it. I need to track it down on DVD or Blu-Ray to see if it holds up to my memories of it. I remember Henry Thomas and Christopher Walken being great in it.

      Comment


        Just in case you guys were somehow interested in that Kolobos trailer...

        https://video.search.yahoo.com/searc...5&action=click

        Comment


          Originally posted by Sock Monkey View Post
          Nothing wrong with reviews that are short and sweet!

          I haven't checked out Picard yet. I've heard mixed things, but Patrick Stewart is just a great actor in general that it's at least worth a watch to see him.
          I never really considered myself a Trekkie but I watched The Next Generation pretty religiously back in the day. And I agree that Stewart is a very good actor.

          Comment


            Stewart was also terrific in the episode of Extras we were graced with.

            Socky, I've seen The Untamed and oh yea buddy, the sex scenes comand your attention that is for-damned-sure spot on. I liked it a lot, would have given it your rating if not maybe even an A-


            Ok, this is a first. I actually had to stop watching a film because I started freaking out and also maybe you guys have some answers. Back in 2008 a spiffy little 10 minute horror short came out called " There Are Monsters ",
            https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596761/

            and, possibly, my memory is horrible, around that time learned Mike Flannagen bought
            Kealan's creepy-as-fuck "Peekers" and was going to make a full length feature film from the insanely scary short film, a film close to this board's heart.I have to apologize for my timeline
            here as I honestly am taking a stab in the dark with it.
            Now, the film I just lifted my skirt and ran away from to come here and hide is 2013's
            There Are Monsters an extremely paranoia inducing film with the creepy factor's amp cranked up to 11. Yes, based on the 2008 short film and even has the crazy good grocery store scene but ramped up sky high this go-round...

            https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2977158/
            However, this has, so far, had such a "Peekers" feel that I am wondering just what the hell is going on ? I mean, I just came here after seeing, ala "Peekers" the news turned on to empty seats. Bigger than shit I bet you some creeped out looking news guy will kinda float
            into the camera just staring.
            Anyway, heading back in, pray for me. I'll come back and review it, I have around 53 minutes left.
            Thanks, guys.

            Comment


              The Lighthouse:

              The plot of The Lighthouse is simple: Two men--an old lighthouse keeper and his younger assistant--take an assignment in a remote lighthouse where loneliness and madness await. But it is the execution that changes everything. It almost feels that director Robert Eggers stepped back from his previous film The Witch and decided that it was way to accessible for mainstream audiences. Shot in black and white with a long-abandoned aspect ratio, Eggers doubles down on his time-appropriate dialogue and lets both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe let loose with two fantastic performances. While the characters are battered psychologically by each other and their pasts as much as the titular lighthouse is by the raging storm that engulfs the rocky patch of land the two men temporarily call home, it is the calm moments, the slight breaks in the storm of insanity that provide the most chilling effects.

              Though more Art-house movie than straight Horror fare, Eggers does populate his film with enough glimpses of the horrific to keep viewers guessing and engages. Those looking for tidy answers or easily explained twists need to look elsewhere as this is far more David Lynch than Wes Craven.

              Grade: B-

              Comment


                I really want to see The Lighthouse, but think it's a movie to watch when my wife isn't around. I should have watched it last week when she was gone. Dammit.

                Comment


                  I saw the movie 1917 on Monday. I thought this movie was very good, it kept my attention and didn't make me wonder when the movie was going to end. The open ended start and ending were interesting.

                  Cap
                  Books are weapons in the war of ideas.

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by c marvel View Post
                    I saw the movie 1917 on Monday. I thought this movie was very good, it kept my attention and didn't make me wonder when the movie was going to end. The open ended start and ending were interesting.

                    Cap
                    We caught a preview of this before genera release and enjoyed the hell out of it. The more I think about it, I loved the hell out of this film.

                    Comment


                      Sorry it took a bit, Guys. And yes, I liked 1917 also but seems not as much as most folks.
                      Mistake #1: Watching it with your spouse.
                      Mistake # 2: Not watching it again.
                      Mistake # 3 Not eliminating # 2 and will remedy that before week's end.

                      But,sadly, I did jump right back in and finished There Are Monsters, which really got to me, those wide, impossible grins. However, the film seemed to lose its subtle build of that vital factor. Also, it seemed to lose it's quiet, subtle grip like a rookie pole dancer sliding to the floor minus all that it had going on so well. Seemed rushed, hokie, fell right into a sloshy retread of other end of the world grabs by replicants... what happened to the "twin" plotline (?), lost track of...
                      ...was like Hey guys ? Was not this was a documentary type thang, one camera, sound girl then in come the cells to film when shit gets happening, way too rushed IMHO that the first 40 minutes or did so well, like, say, the kid with hair-topped half a vagina and a kidney in his lunch box for school...?
                      Too bad. Of course the moods, locations and whatnots we are in when we view films vary so, well, I could have started in a very hyper-aware sense of paranoia, possible glee of maybe finding a real memorable deeply buried stinger that slipped under my radar.
                      I should have just watched "Peekers" again. Now that is a helluva gem that gives the viewer trouble getting it pulled out of their skin.

                      B-

                      (Note: For a proper, scary, paranoia inducing chiller, I, off hand, just now thought of is the sleeper Dawning, just, I don't really know why that particular movie came to mind...
                      ...carry on... )

                      Real quick:
                      I found a copy of Robert Aldrich's early, '71, Depression Era tommy gun's a blazing gangster film The Grissom Gang . Spoiled, rich daddykins young lady Kim Darby is kidnapped. The crazy-good-as-always Scott Wilson ( show of hands: who did not cry at the end of The Ninth Configuration), plays the youngest of the Grissom clan as a dim, possible gashuffer of a kid who loves his Momma and his switchblade; a child/man who falls in love with Darby at first sight.
                      I swear, sorry to beat a dead tired cliche' to death but this film, plot centered in a Hollywood Kansas City backlot for city scenes really DID make you feel in dire need of a shower as every actor was beaded non-stop with sweat. Great cast, funny, violent script - the clan's answer to anyone who posed a threat, even the most inane threat, was dealt with the hand stitched motto KILL KILL KILL.
                      A lot of fun.
                      Wilson's and Darby's "Love Nest" was a riotest tacky acid trip, like a 60's Vegas hotel room.
                      Robert Lansing was his usual cool self and, for old farts like me, where the name Ralph Waite is not a head scratcher, I recommend maybe watching this again or, for you lucky youngsters out there, I honestly think you too would get a kick out of The Grissom Gang.
                      Obviously the violence is no The Irishman in the effects department we are now all so used to--- film itself would land a pg rating these days -- but, like I said, a very fun sweaty ride.
                      Don't forget to pack a heater ! and remember, this is not Scarface.

                      B+

                      I also cannot, again recall, if I mentioned this, but if there are any percussionists in C.D. land know what is really a hoot?
                      Watch Whiplash ( again, perhaps if you dug it a lot ) then for a double bill see if you are able to find and watch a 2010, gosh...nordic/danish/swiss...? film called -
                      Sound Of Noise

                      IMDB:
                      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278449/

                      "The narrative revolves around police officer Amadeus Warnebring, tone-deaf scion of a distinguished musical family, and his attempts to track down a group of six guerilla percussionists whose anarchic public performances are terrorizing the city. The drumming set pieces correspond to an avant-garde score with four hilariously titled movements. Where the short involved the six drummers imaginatively using standard apartment furnishings as their instruments, the feature unleashes them on an unspecified city's civic and cultural institutions. Including an amusing backstory for each of the soberly dressed drummers as well as their nemesis, music-hating investigator Warnebring, the film creates a treat for the eyes and ears from the dull, repetitive sounds of everyday life."
                      ---Written by Palm Springs International Film Festival

                      I fell heads shaking, lips muttering Tyree has done finally went clean around the bend.
                      Well. Yeah. And to be quite frank...

                      ...however, I started watching this and ended up really admiring the film's originality, zany "terrorism" plot, of beat bombing a large city with art as the group, a pretty girl, a handful of mad, disgruntled drummers, sees fit to disrupt and try for moments to get rid of force-fed
                      "Shitty Music".
                      Large heavy dykes work well, for starters.
                      I found it quite funny, we, as well as the girl he's hunting down who's pain for the disorder the detective suffers from is very touching, and I feel leads her to loving him all the more--Silence is golden they say and it fits here)...we as viewers feel horrible for the lead actor, a truly TRULY tone deaf (bleeding ears at its most horrific ? Can that happen ?) human being. Smashing a guitar, cannot sit through a child's recital, his own conductor of a brother's concert etc (which, btw, is percussion pipe bombed in a way you have to see to believe.)
                      He is a terrorist detective who falls for the girl he is in charge of locating. A charming romance which we know could never fully blossom which makes the film all the better.
                      By no means is it a musical. Oh lord no. More anti-musical, comparing Mozart to The Butthole Surfers. ( I like both, hairball that I am ) But I did find it funny to very funny, dramatic, bit of suspense sprinkled in but a more well crafted, directed fantasy movie-making effort than anything else, just winging the film off the top of my head, shooting the shit about Sound Of Noise as thoughts form.

                      AWhiplash
                      A-Sound Of Noise

                      Oh, and the answer is "no" if I have seen the original short film Sound Of Noise is based on.
                      I'll check and see if YouTube has it.

                      Thanks for letting me share.

                      Oh. After watching the terrific Home With a View Of The Monster
                      I looked in to the Greenlee Brothers work at Homefront Pictures as I had done with Zack Parker's ( Proxy ) Along The Tracks Production and found some interesting titles of short films from Homefront and the Greenlee Brothers you guys,
                      if you have a bit of time, may like to check out.
                      https://vimeo.com/greenlee


                      Also, speaking of short films I watched a very good one called The Neighbor's Window, a film to make one be thankful for what you have, and not assume anything.
                      Very good short.
                      Last edited by tyree; 02-11-2020, 11:58 PM. Reason: many goofs/short film find

                      Comment


                        Quote from Sock Monkey regarding The Lighthouse :

                        "...and lets both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe let loose with two fantastic performances."

                        Oh man, you are spot on, Socky. I enjoyed this emotionally brutal film quite a bit. Both actors just ripped up the screen. The ending was something else, wasn't it ?
                        B+

                        BTW, I thought Gemini Man was a lot of fun. Appreciate the heads up. I like Will Smith, just cannot help liking him. His early film where he manipulates an entire dinner party really let folks know Smith can act with the big boys with a great script and tight directing. He stole the film.
                        Six Degrees of Separation (1993).

                        Socky, I missed Lucky McKee's Kindred Spirits, flew by me so I am checking that one out tonight.
                        Also, started watching a little indy crime drama called Cruel Hearts early this morning, got only around ten minutes in but had to take off. Have you heard of it ?
                        So far this looks like it could, possibly, hopefully, maybe, be a thriller up there with the rare, great ones (Good Times, Blue Ruin, Green Room...
                        ...but, 'natch, settling down my expectations until I finish. Fingers crossed.
                        Also,will finish that up tonight, get back with my thoughts.

                        One last thing: Have you seen We Go On from the team that gave us YELLOWBRICK ROAD ? If not I highly recommend checking it out. Wonderful supernatural delight with a gut punch ending. Oh, and don't forget Dawning.

                        Catch ya later !

                        Comment


                          Cruel Hearts, despite an above average script, did not come close to being a classic but it still was an entertaining film. Not too shabby. About a hitman who uses looks, info, charm, and psychological ability to locate then open soft underbellies of victims with sneaky placed items or two then watch as the prey eats itself, with anger, worry, suspicions to take the job into their own hands. He stays clean, as much out of the picture as possible sorta plastic wrapped from bloody blowback due to inevitable violence he has set in motion...
                          ...however, things do not always go as planned, do they.
                          Hitman's relationship with a relatively attractive, older, duck-footed waitress working in an middle of the night empty diner, played wonderfully by whoknowswho, is fun. He impressed this terrific, hard-working gal to no end with just a few choice words whispered to her fat sponge of an ex husband sitting on a stool, giving her shit and wanting money...again...
                          Great scene.
                          B-

                          Comment


                            Oh hey, been meaning to ask if anyone has seen or heard of After Midnight, paraphrasing off trailer, From the (?) who brought us Spring, The Endless and Battery which I understand
                            is Jeremy Gardner. However, I had only knew is name as the drunk buddy in Spring, starred/directed Battery, Tex Montana......
                            I dug Battery a lot, one of my favorite undead flicks. I mean, to make the last 40 minutes or so filmed in the back of an SUV with two guys and a hungry horde just outside making it fun, sad, one of the best buddy films I have seen totally entertaining for this viewer ? Not an easy task but Gardner & company pulls it off. Don't see need to mention the greatness that is Spring and The Endless. Least, my humble opinion of the
                            work. Plus making early films ( Tex Montana Will Survive ! ) with budgets around the size of my gas bill...?

                            Back to it. Just curious if anyone has seen the 2019 movie After Midnight . I'll be ordering it tonight.

                            Oh, any Zack Parker fans out there, a film called Inversion, according to IMDB is, or was, in post. I have yet to see nothing but good damned films from Parker, seems like a nice chap, he sold me an early copy of the brilliant
                            Scalene, loved Quench and found Proxy to be wonderful which I hear a lot of viewers did not care for and I can see them having issues with a couple questionable continuity head scratchers...

                            Thanks for listening and I will get back on Tex... plus After Midnight
                            which looks terrific...

                            Comment


                              AFTER MIDNIGHT played at Fantastic Fest last year to some pretty good reviews. Unfortunately, I missed out and saw VFW instead. I thought THE BATTERY was one heck of a film so I’m looking forward to this one. Let me know your thoughts. I’m curious to see if it lives up to the hype.

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by tyree View Post
                                Quote from Sock Monkey regarding The Lighthouse :

                                "...and lets both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe let loose with two fantastic performances."

                                Oh man, you are spot on, Socky. I enjoyed this emotionally brutal film quite a bit. Both actors just ripped up the screen. The ending was something else, wasn't it ?
                                B+

                                BTW, I thought Gemini Man was a lot of fun. Appreciate the heads up. I like Will Smith, just cannot help liking him. His early film where he manipulates an entire dinner party really let folks know Smith can act with the big boys with a great script and tight directing. He stole the film.
                                Six Degrees of Separation (1993).

                                Socky, I missed Lucky McKee's Kindred Spirits, flew by me so I am checking that one out tonight.
                                Also, started watching a little indy crime drama called Cruel Hearts early this morning, got only around ten minutes in but had to take off. Have you heard of it ?
                                So far this looks like it could, possibly, hopefully, maybe, be a thriller up there with the rare, great ones (Good Times, Blue Ruin, Green Room...
                                ...but, 'natch, settling down my expectations until I finish. Fingers crossed.
                                Also,will finish that up tonight, get back with my thoughts.

                                One last thing: Have you seen We Go On from the team that gave us YELLOWBRICK ROAD ? If not I highly recommend checking it out. Wonderful supernatural delight with a gut punch ending. Oh, and don't forget Dawning.

                                Catch ya later !
                                I haven’t seen WE GO ON yet, but it’s in my queue on Shudder. I remember liking YELLOWBRICKROAD quite a bit, so I’ll bump this one up on the list. I’ll keep an eye on THE DAWNING too. So many movies, so little time.

                                Comment

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