Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Martin]

What a bummer! The local AMC theater near me (AMC Esplanade in Phoenix AZ) is showing the Thrills & Chills movie deal each Wednesday & Friday of October. I'd just assumed that would be the case in all of their locations, but, from what you have written, it sounds like it may very by location/market. Hopefully, you'll have a chance to check out the showing you mention on the 20th. I've already reserved tickets for the rest of the Thrills & Chills showings for this month!

I have two AMC theaters in my area. One does not have any offering and one has the offering on the 20th.

[sholloman81]

[QUOTE=Ben Staad;n190110]It's interesting how many good movies are coming out from overseas in the last several years. Big budget blockbusters is still the Hollywood thing but there are some amazing movies and shows from places like South Korea, Russia, Germany, and all over the place.

Definitely agree with this statement. With streaming providers offering a lot more platforms for these type of movies to be seen and with horror movies (finally) getting love at the awards ceremonies/from critics and thus being exposed to wider audiences, it seems like we're in a golden age for foreign horror films over the last decade. And as you mentioned in your post, it also seems like they are coming from all corners of the globe as opposed to being centered in one "it" location as if felt like they were in the past (for example Italy with all their Giallo horror movies or Spain with all their low budget vampire films). I would love some horror website or magazine to come up with a list of the top 50 foreign horror films of all time; or, a list of the top horror movies from each country. I know that I've probably got at least 15-20 foreign horror movies on my shelf at home and would love to find more titles that I may have overlooked or never heard about when they were first released. Having an all-region blu-ray player has definitely helped me expand my foreign horror blu-ray collection.

On a side note, since we are speaking about foreign horror films, I desperately want to see Julie Ducournau's new one "Titane". If anyone has seen it, I would love to hear their opinion of it. The description for it seems batshit crazy (in a good way), and I really loved her prior horror film "Raw". Those French horror directors sure make some extreme films.

[sholloman81]

I checked my local AMC theaters. This does not appear to be something they are embracing here. The only Chills and Thrills scheduled is October 20th.

What a bummer! The local AMC theater near me (AMC Esplanade in Phoenix AZ) is showing the Thrills & Chills movie deal each Wednesday & Friday of October. I'd just assumed that would be the case in all of their locations, but, from what you have written, it sounds like it may very by location/market. Hopefully, you'll have a chance to check out the showing you mention on the 20th. I've already reserved tickets for the rest of the Thrills & Chills showings for this month!

[Martin]

Darn. Just looked this up and it's on a few streaming services that I don't have. AMC+, Shudder, and something called Spectrum.

Spectrum is a rebranding of Charter Communications. Last I knew they were a cable and internet company. I was not aware that they were offering streaming services.

[Ben Staad]

Darn. Just looked this up and it's on a few streaming services that I don't have. AMC+, Shudder, and something called Spectrum.

[Ben Staad]

I didn't know this movie existed. I will now need to keep an eye out for it. I really liked Train to Busan and thought it was a top notch genre flick. It has been a bit since I watched this but I have a memory that I thought the ending sequence was a little long and detracted slightly from the movie.

It's interesting how many good movies are coming out from overseas in the last several years. Big budget blockbusters is still the Hollywood thing but there are some amazing movies and shows from places like South Korea, Russia, Germany, and all over the place.

On a side note- Has anyone seen the sequel to Train to Busan, "Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula"? If so, was it worth watching? I remember seeing poor reviews for it when it was released; so, I didn't end up seeing it in the theater. Meant to check it out later on blu-ray but totally forgot about it until my rewatch of Busan last night.

[Martin]

Went to my local AMC theater last night for another of their Thrills & Chills movie nights. The surprise horror movie they ended up screening was Train to Busan. I had seen it before but never on the big screen; so, I was happy with the choice. I generally enjoy zombie movies and this is a very good one. My only two (small) gripes with this film are that some of the Korean to English translations were a little wonky and that the ending with the little girl singing always seems a little melodramatic to me. That being said, this film is still a top-notch example in the zombie genre, especially taking into account that it is a foreign (non-English) release.

On a side note- Has anyone seen the sequel to Train to Busan, "Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula"? If so, was it worth watching? I remember seeing poor reviews for it when it was released; so, I didn't end up seeing it in the theater. Meant to check it out later on blu-ray but totally forgot about it until my rewatch of Busan last night.

I checked my local AMC theaters. This does not appear to be something they are embracing here. The only Chills and Thrills scheduled is October 20th.

[sholloman81]

Went to my local AMC theater last night for another of their Thrills & Chills movie nights. The surprise horror movie they ended up screening was Train to Busan. I had seen it before but never on the big screen; so, I was happy with the choice. I generally enjoy zombie movies and this is a very good one. My only two (small) gripes with this film are that some of the Korean to English translations were a little wonky and that the ending with the little girl singing always seems a little melodramatic to me. That being said, this film is still a top-notch example in the zombie genre, especially taking into account that it is a foreign (non-English) release.

On a side note- Has anyone seen the sequel to Train to Busan, "Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula"? If so, was it worth watching? I remember seeing poor reviews for it when it was released; so, I didn't end up seeing it in the theater. Meant to check it out later on blu-ray but totally forgot about it until my rewatch of Busan last night.

[Martin]

Went to the local AMC theater near me last Friday (10/01) for their Thrills & Chills movie deal. Basically, you can see a random horror movie each Wednesday & Friday of October for 5 bucks. You don't know what you will be seeing until the movie plays. Friday's showing ended up being the Dawn of the Dead remake which made me quite happy as the original Dawn is still one of my all-time favorite horror movies. While I'm sure Romero hated the fast zombies, in my opinion, this happens to be one of those rare instances where the remake approaches the quality of the original. Overall, I am very glad that I got to see this on the big screen and can't wait to see what the next unannounced movie will be for the next AMC Thrills & Chills event.

That sounds interesting. I may have to check and see if the AMC's near me are doing that.

[sholloman81]

Went to the local AMC theater near me last Friday (10/01) for their Thrills & Chills movie deal. Basically, you can see a random horror movie each Wednesday & Friday of October for 5 bucks. You don't know what you will be seeing until the movie plays. Friday's showing ended up being the Dawn of the Dead remake which made me quite happy as the original Dawn is still one of my all-time favorite horror movies. While I'm sure Romero hated the fast zombies, in my opinion, this happens to be one of those rare instances where the remake approaches the quality of the original. Overall, I am very glad that I got to see this on the big screen and can't wait to see what the next unannounced movie will be for the next AMC Thrills & Chills event.

[Ben Staad]

I am looking forward to Cry Macho. It sounds a bit like the issues with The Mule. Mr. Eastwood is just to old to play scenes with the ladies. That being said I typically like the slow paced movies he puts out there.

[dannyboy121070]

I watched a couple of new theatrical releases on HBO Max this past weekend, and I have to say thank you to Covid for keeping me from spending money to see either of them in a theater. Hugh Jackman's REMINISCENCE and Clint Eastwood's CRY MACHO were OK to watch for free, I suppose, but both had a lot of issues. The Eastwood film started out rocky, with some hideously bad acting from Dwight Yoakam and the actress that played the kid's mother, and the pace was glacial. The mother trying to seduce Clint, who looks like a clone of the evil Reverend from POLTERGEIST 2, was embarrassing. My wife, who knew nothing about the movie when we started watching, yelped "Holy shit! When is he going to stop making movies???"

REMINISCENCE was written and directed by Lisa Joy, who co-created the HBO series WESTWORLD, and was just as pretty and confusing as that show can be. My wife loved it, I thought it was mediocre and too dragged out.

So far, very few of the same-day theatrical releases to hit HBO Max would have been worth paying to see. JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH was outstanding, and THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT and THE SUICIDE SQUAD were both a lot of fun. I'll also throw in MALIGNANT as a worthwhile film, mainly for the bonkers ending.

[dannyboy121070]

As much as I disliked MALIGNANT, I can absolutely see why you and others enjoyed it. The movie swings for the fences with it's central idea and I can absolutely appreciate a film taking some bonkers chances. I've read in places (not in your review) people stating that those who don't like the movie don't like the central conceit. That was not my issue. I watch my fair share of weird and off-beat cinema and I kinda dig some of the ideas. For me, it was all execution.

You mention the giallo influence and I've seen that in multiple other reviews. I'll admit that Giallo is one area of my horror film knowledge that is pretty sketchy. I've seen a couple but not enough to debate its nuances. For me, I really got more of a late '90s/00s vibes a la GHOST SHIP, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THIR13EN GHOSTS (yes, that's how they spelled it...). Clearly not plot-wise, but aesthetically, character development, acting. Even the medical institute in the film looks incredibly similar to the titular HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL.

While the movie did not work for me, I'm glad it did for others and I'm glad it got made.

While we're on the topic of bonkers, has anyone else checked out the trailer for LAMB?

Funny that you mentioned it, but the beginning of MALIGNANT immediately made me think of those early 2000s films that you mentioned.

I'm not exactly steeped in Giallo knowledge, either...I'm not a big fan of slasher films in general, and Giallo films are, to me, usually full of nonsense. I've seen enough to know the tropes, though. The whole killer with an odd psychic power, the color scheme, the stilted acting...those are usually part and parcel of the genre, especially in films by Argento and Fulci.

Lambs, goats, sheep, all of those gross things really freak me out, so that LAMB film looks......disturbing. Yes, I want to see it,, lol.

[Ben Staad]

Lamb looks amazingly weird. Thanks for sharing that.

[Sock Monkey]

I also did a rewatch of THE GUILTY from 2018. I recently heard of the forthcoming American remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal and it made me want to revisit the original from a few years back. I've posted reviews for this the Fantastic Fest topic, so I added a link if you want to read my original review in post #26. Still an amazing film even after three viewings. I'll probably still check out the remake because I generally like Gyllenhaal, but I doubt it'll top the original.