[inksb]

Who Can Kill A Child? I picked this bluray up last year from Mondo Macabro. It's an interesting film about a couple who visit an island in Spain only to discover after arriving that only the children are left on the island. As it progresses they realize the children have killed all the adults and plan to do the same to them. I enjoyed it but it has a really rough opening that show's footage from the holocaust and subsequent wars of children being starved to death, lots of dead bodies, horrific real life imagery. It was rough and goes on for like 7 minutes.


Probably the weakest film I've seen from Ben Wheatley but I was still entertained watching it's almost non stop gun fight. Worth a watch if you are bored and it's still free on Amazon.


A slow burn low budget horror film. A cast of three characters in an old house, a couple visit's the husbands brother at Christmas. They arrive and the brother is acting very weird, come to find out he thinks he has the devil trapped in the basement. The film unfolds with the three of them reacting to this news and what to do. Really nice score by Ben Lovett really elevates it and it's shot really well, the budget while very small doesn't feel that way. This one was a nice surprise.


I just got the new bluray from 88 Films, I highly recommend it to any folks who are region B or region free. It's an excellent set of a fantastic Jackie film. Jackie stars as a lawyer hired by a crime lord to defend his factory from being shut down. Jackie employees his friends to do some behind the scenes work for him investigating some people invovled in the case. Hi-jinks ensue, Sammo is hilarious here, Biao plays an idealistic crazy person. Biao has some crazy acrobatic action scenes late in the film. Lost of great action scenes through out the film, lots of laughs, it's very playful and a big knockdown crazy brawl at the end that culminates in Jackie fighting Benny Urquidez in a fast paced, hard hitting fight. They also had an incredible fight in Wheels on Meals as well. The more I dive into Jackie's 80's output the more I realize how much I love everything about that period of his film career.

[inksb]

It's actually a bad film, right?

Yup

[skeletonbutt]

yeah, i thought so too. an invisible man would be easy to avoid, if he was trying to remain stealthy. close the door to a room after you enter it! get an uber and leave! what's he gonna do, take off the suit and drive after you? or drive after you with the suit on? and how does this suit that's comprised entirely of cameras display an image to create the optical illusion of invisibility? why before she left did she leave the ladder in the hallway? why not turn the security system in the home back on when she arrived there before him? it was established earlier that she can turn it on/off. he may be invisible but he can't open doors or windows without sounding the alarm. why didn't she put on the suit immediately after discovering it? WHY

[inksb]

yeah, i thought so too. an invisible man would be easy to avoid, if he was trying to remain stealthy. close the door to a room after you enter it! get an uber and leave! what's he gonna do, take off the suit and drive after you? or drive after you with the suit on? and how does this suit that's comprised entirely of cameras display an image to create the optical illusion of invisibility? why before she left did she leave the ladder in the hallway? why not turn the security system in the home back on when she arrived there before him? it was established earlier that she can turn it on/off. he may be invisible but he can't open doors or windows without sounding the alarm. why didn't she put on the suit immediately after discovering it? WHY

All questions I had. It was just a baffling film and I can't believe how many people loved it. In particular critics that usually tear apart new horror over every little detail.

[skeletonbutt]

she's a woman, she's abused, no one sees it, no one believes her. it's like the overt socially conscious message is more important than the mechanics of the script. i can understand overlooking logic when it's a low budget horror film, but this was supposed to (re)launch the dark universe and the script was kinda weak, like they came up with the twist of making the main character a woman and the titular character literally invisible for most of the movie (he's barely in it), and then just slapped the rest of the script together based on that. visually it looked good though and was photographed well and the initial creeping scenes were effective. it just dragged on too long, and when it takes too long, the audience starts to think, and when it's full of holes like this it's not good. scojo should chop it down to 85 minutes and see if there's a good movie in there.

edit: just to be clear because i came across as a misogynist: my issue isn't with rebooting the invisible man. if you're going to do that in 2020 and make it a story of empowerment from a female perspective, why not have a woman write and direct it? birds of prey was. maybe more care would be put into the script and character had it been. feels like wokespoitation to have a man do both.

[static14]

Watching the Twin Peaks season 3 marathon on Showtime. :)

[inksb]

Watching the Twin Peaks season 3 marathon on Showtime. :)

My wife and I plan on watching the whole series again this summer. We have been together for 15 years, I've tried many times to get her to watch Twin Peaks and she just couldn't get into it but right before S3 came out I rewatched the first two seasons and she sat down and actually watched it. Turns out she loves the show. It just took many years and attempts for her to realize it

[static14]

My wife was the same way. She loves seasons 1&2, but couldn’t make it through season 3.

[deafmetal]

J is the exact opposite, she would never agree to watch the original series, but went in blind on season 3 on a whim and enjoyed the experience, other than what we kind of both felt was an abrupt ending to the series.

[ScoJo]

TP is far too intense and 'scary' for my gf. I watched S3 each week with a pal, she's an og Peaks fan too. We got in the donuts, good weed and good gin, and boy did we get a ride. We absolutely loved it. After a few episodes (inc Ep 8 of course) we just sat in stunned silence. Im not sure when I'll be ready to revisit- it doesn't have the same vibe as the first two seasons, where it was fully episodic and you can just watch the odd ep for fun, out of sequence. This truly was a 17hour Lynch Experience!

[ScoJo]

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[Hatter313]

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Having just rewatched kwaidan which sent me into a spiral of Japanese yokai mythology... yes!

[inksb]

Watched this last night, it was OK. It had a decent spin on the satanic cult film but overall it was just mildly entertaining.


I did not like this one at all. I've enjoyed most of Mickey Keating's films but this one was just ruined by two really awful actors and even Lauren Ashley Carter not doing much but freaking out. Basic ex military paranoid guy locking something up in the basement and having a tin foil lined house because 'they' are watching. Unfolds exactly how you would think it does. Skip it.


For years I thought I had seen this film, turns out I have not. It was pretty good, I do like cannibal films that don't include unnecessary animal violence. My only complaint about it is the score done by Damon Albarn and Michael Nymen, it's weird and not in a good way. It feels removed from the images on the screen, at times it feels like some one just discovered a new sound they could make with an instrument they had never really used before. There are moments where it works but other times it's in such contrast to the film it distracted me. I'm pretty sure there are 2-3 minutes of someone blowing into a harmonica with no melody and then they added some effects to it. Outside of that I enjoyed the film and didn't expect some of the twists and turns in the second half.


Well I'll start by saying I loved this, thought it was fantastic but and this is a big but, it will not be for everyone. It's a beautifully shot film with a fairly simple yet different take on the fairy tale. Oz, like his previous films, takes his time allowing his imagery to tell the story. Unfortunately, this is my one complaint, it feels like the studio made him add a bunch of voice over to explain stuff. It's not bad voice over, it's just a bit too much voice over. I'm amazed they put this on nation wide release and I'm kicking myself for not getting to the theaters to see it on the big screen, it's really beautiful. I hope others enjoy it but I feel like it's going to be a love or hate it scenario.

[Hatter313]

I dig both of his previous films a lot. I am the pretty thing that lives in the house is a movie where almost nothing ever happens and there’s next to nothing to develop but I still sat on the edge of my couch glued to the screen because I kept expecting something. Wasn’t even disappointed when the credits just rolled on up, just satisfied by the mood of the thing and needing nothing else. And blackcoats daughter was a great fresh take on a few well worn tropes mixed nicely and bleakly together.

Also my academic background, far in the past as it is, is in folklore and fairytales, so I’ve been waiting to check this new one out for some time.

[skeletonbutt]

i disagree 100% about the ravenous score and have listened to the G&H one a lot too! want to check out G&H soon. haven't seen an oz perkins movie yet.

watched cruising yesterday. scojo (or anyone else) was a version of cruising ever released that has all the layers of sound like in the movie or just the songs?

[ScoJo]

i disagree 100% about the ravenous score and have listened to the G&H one a lot too! want to check out G&H soon. haven't seen an oz perkins movie yet.

watched cruising yesterday. scojo (or anyone else) was a version of cruising ever released that has all the layers of sound like in the movie or just the songs?

I.m with you @SB - I came to Ravenous very late, and was completely wowed by both the film and the score - I listened to a rip of it on repeat for a week! Would love to see that find it's way to wax, you would think it's feasible considering the composers individual fan bases and the fact that it's become a cult movie.

Sadly, there has never been an official release of the actual score from Cruising - this was a very hot topic between some of us die hard Cruising/Jack Nitzsche heads when the WW triple LP 'complete' edition came out - as much as I love and respect that release and the work that went into it, even Friedkin's liners didn't really tell the full story of Nitzsche's work on the underscore - that he took existing source tracks, added sound foley and additional drones and instrumentation, and that this mix is what you hear in the movie which is so powerful. It's quite a unique approach for a composer, and really falls more into the world of sound designer/sound mixer tbh - it makes me think that he may even have only completed his work on the score at the mixing stage with Friedkin, explaining why the master tapes of the work don't really exist in the form you might expect usually with a score. Who knows eh?

When I did my first batch of CD handmades back in the day, I put one together for Cutter's Way (still my favourite JN score) before that got a legit CD release hallelujah! On that CD I put additional bonus JN score cues from both Hardcore and Cruising. I'll happily dig out the original files if you DM me. For years, there was someone's rip of music/sound fx from Cruising which they'd made into a suite on Youtube, but this 'mysteriously' vanished at exactly the same time that WW put their Cruising set up for sale.... just saying.

[inksb]

i disagree 100% about the ravenous score and have listened to the G&H one a lot too! want to check out G&H soon. haven't seen an oz perkins movie yet.

watched cruising yesterday. scojo (or anyone else) was a version of cruising ever released that has all the layers of sound like in the movie or just the songs?

The Gretel & Hansel score is great, I listened to it a handful of times when it released digitally earlier in the year. I actually thought some of it worked even better in the context of the film than just standalone. I think I may have to order this one eventually, probably wait for the next waxwork sale (missed the recent one unfortunately)

And the Ravenous score just didn't work for me at all. I could see it being an interesting listen separate from the film but parts of it just feel amateurish to me. Part of the issue also stems from the mixing in the film too, it feels like it's separate from all the other elements (dialog, background noise, sound effects), it's not blended well at times. But hey maybe I'm just in the minority and lots of folks dig it. I should note I watched the version that's on Netflix and who knows what version of the audio they used. There could be multiple versions and this is downmixed from one that wasn't done well or with care.

[skeletonbutt]

i can see why it wouldn't work for some people or that they would find its simplicity annoying but i think that's part of its appeal to me! haven't listened to the score or seen the movie in years but that main theme is burrowed deep into my brain!

scojo thanks for the info. if i could get those files that would be great, i am curious to see if they work as well outside of the movie as they do within it. i was really paying attention to the sound this time around for whatever reason. i think the end finally clicked for me (SPOILER...) when he's in the bathroom shaving and karen allen is in the other room trying on his clothes, you can hear her walk over to the bathroom though she is never shown. when he looks into the mirror and "breaks the fourth wall", he's just looking in the mirror at her dressed up as him.

[ScoJo]

scojo thanks for the info. if i could get those files that would be great, i am curious to see if they work as well outside of the movie as they do within it. i was really paying attention to the sound this time around for whatever reason. i think the end finally clicked for me (SPOILER...) when he's in the bathroom shaving and karen allen is in the other room trying on his clothes, you can hear her walk over to the bathroom though she is never shown. when he looks into the mirror and "breaks the fourth wall", he's just looking in the mirror at her dressed up as him.

Interesting take @SB - I've never been troubled by him breaking the fourth wall tbh - I don't mind when a character in a dramatic film decides to 'stare right into my soul' !!! ;-)

I dug out the Cruising suite - it's about 5minutes worth and I'm pretty sure I just ripped the guy's work that he had up on Youtube. Its neither very considered nor complete - so to be honest, it's about time I stopped fucking about and took a run at making my own version of the Cruising score cues. Leave it with me and consider my energies FINALLY FULLY FOCUSSED IN THIS SPECIFIC DIRECTION :-D

[skeletonbutt]

i too prefer to think he breaks the fourth wall! glad i could help you find the motivation to start a project, you certainly don't seem to have any others on the go at the moment. ;)

[ScoJo]

i too prefer to think he breaks the fourth wall! glad i could help you find the motivation to start a project, you certainly don't seem to have any others on the go at the moment. ;)

Haha, nice ;)

Fwiw, my all time favourite breaking of the fourth wall is Ice Cube in the last shot of Ghosts of Mars. I've always loved the sheer balls of it, how he cocks the gun and improvs the look right down the barrel of Carpenter/Kibbe's lens.... it's fucking legendary. But the last time I re-watched the film about a month ago I actually was waiting for that moment with baited breath and then found myself punching the air and shouting 'YES' like a giddy schoolgirl when it happened. The entirely oblivious look on Henstridge's face as he does it just sweetens the deal. It's like Cube is saying 'yeah... this is just for you.'

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[Hatter313]

I like GOM more than I should, but....Somewhere there’s a world where that movie got made the way he wanted to make it...and Ice is Kurt...Desolation is Snake....and all is peaceful in the night....

....

....


But instead we live in this one, so have at ‘em

[ScoJo]

i too prefer to think he breaks the fourth wall! glad i could help you find the motivation to start a project, you certainly don't seem to have any others on the go at the moment. ;)

Well I'm working on something - turns out the bluray has a 5.1 mix, I can't really work out whether the score/fx are isolated in this mix but I'm working on ripping the AC3 surround files somehow so I can see what's there. Think in any event it would probably pan out to about 10-12mins of music/sound design, enough for a 7" ep... wonder if anyone would be interested?

Working on a simple front sleeve idea...

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[inksb]

i too prefer to think he breaks the fourth wall! glad i could help you find the motivation to start a project, you certainly don't seem to have any others on the go at the moment. ;)

Well I'm working on something - turns out the bluray has a 5.1 mix, I can't really work out whether the score/fx are isolated in this mix but I'm working on ripping the AC3 surround files somehow so I can see what's there. Think in any event it would probably pan out to about 10-12mins of music/sound design, enough for a 7" ep... wonder if anyone would be interested?

Working on a simple front sleeve idea...


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I still haven't seen Cruising. I had the new Arrow bluray pre-ordered, it shipped and then refused delivery and then UPS wanted me to pay $15 to change the delivery address stating it had to change hubs, which was a lie because the address it changed to would have been pulling from the same hub as there is only one with in 60 miles. So I had to refuse delivery lost my pre-order price and the price at the time to re-order would have been $35 which was $13 more than my pre-order price. I just said fuck it, I'll get it on sale at some other point.

Pointless story aside, I have heard so much talk about Cruising around here that the 7" absolutely piques my interest.

[ScoJo]

Cruising is pretty hectic. If not downright rowdy. And sleazy and grimy as hell. It has that late-1970s-New-York-as-Hell thing in spades.

I love it.