I Just Watched (Films)

[Animalmother]

War of the Rohirrim

I'm not really into anime, but I do like The Lord of the Rings, and I'm willing to tolerate anime if it's an adaptation of something else I like, such as Terminator Zero.

This was very good indeed. It could have been better, I think, but the animation was slick, the visuals beautiful, and even though the music wasn't Howard Shore, the composer imitated Shore's Rohirrim theme throughout, which was very nice, and nostalgic.

The plot feels a little "we've been here before", but that's just the nature of telling an earlier story in the same location, I guess.

My first thoughts, when the film was over, were: "I wish they'd just remake the trilogy in this style, rather than trying to make a new appendix-based film."

If you haven't already watched it, I'd highly recommend the Castlevania series on Netflix. Very well made and voice acted. I knew practically nothing about the games but that didn't matter, it does it's own thing anyway.

[Sly Boots]

War of the Rohirrim

I'm not really into anime, but I do like The Lord of the Rings, and I'm willing to tolerate anime if it's an adaptation of something else I like, such as Terminator Zero.

This was very good indeed. It could have been better, I think, but the animation was slick, the visuals beautiful, and even though the music wasn't Howard Shore, the composer imitated Shore's Rohirrim theme throughout, which was very nice, and nostalgic.

The plot feels a little "we've been here before", but that's just the nature of telling an earlier story in the same location, I guess.

My first thoughts, when the film was over, were: "I wish they'd just remake the trilogy in this style, rather than trying to make a new appendix-based film."

If you haven't already watched it, I'd highly recommend the Castlevania series on Netflix. Very well made and voice acted. I knew practically nothing about the games but that didn't matter, it does it's own thing anyway.

Just not the most recent one (Nocturne?), which I had to turn off midway through the first episode, as I thought it was garbage.

[Animalmother]

That was utter shit

[Animalmother]

The Vourdalak
A very French horror movie about a noble dandy who gets lost in the woods of 18th century Eastern Europe and comes across a weird family. The father has becomes a very cadaverous vampire and shit gets weirder. It's pretty low budget and looks like a well made student film. They seem to be doing the whole only using natural light thing so the night scenes are very dark. The vampire is done using a puppet and looks both hilarious and creepy. Hard to recommend but not bad either.

[Wrathbone]

Conclave

Seemed an appropriate time to watch it. Very much enjoyed it - a nice mix of intrigue, politics and soul-searching. Any concerns I had about it being a ponderous subject matter that could make the film drag were entirely swept away, to the point where the 2 hours flew by. In fact I think it could have benefitted from another 20 minutes, delving deeper into some areas (and I say this as someone who hates films that push past 2 hours without a vital reason).

8/10

[Stormbringer]

Sisu

A silly Finnish WW2 action flick, a little bit like Blood & Gold that I mentioned earlier, but even more silly and extremely over the top. However, highly entertaining. A Finnish commando-turned-prospector is attacked by a platoon of Nazis in occupied Lapland in the final months of the war. They come to regret meddling with him. Mad Max meets Indiana Jones meets Valhalla Rising.

[Rusty]

Oh yeah, remember that as a fun film for the boys monthly film night. Must watch it again.

[Wrathbone]

Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Straightforward and well-presented.

[Stormbringer]

If ya'll really liked Sisu, try Blood & Gold, also on Netflix. It's a bit more layered and complex, but with equal amounts of absurd Nazi-killing action.

[Lenny Solidus]

Punch

Imagine if you will that you are living out your life in a seaside town that takes a grip on you in your early years and proceeds to never let go as you slowly slide into your middle age years, now imagine that a serial killer who dresses up as Punch aka Punch and Judy adorning a mask who stalks victims with a bat has been terrorising that same town at the same time each and every year taking enough victims before disappearing and never getting caught each and every time.

If the very notion of living in a seaside town isn't horror worthy enough imagine straying away from the promenade and onto the beach only for a person dressed in all black but adorning a wide-eyed grinning Punch mask with an unusually high-pitched squeaky voice knocks the soggy chips out of your hands and then continues to bludgeon you to death with a bat while giggling like a complete loon on a bird shit infested piss soaked creaky boardwalk. Not how I would like to go, that's for damn sure. As far as modern day Slashers generally go the annoying thing with this movie is that it holds some actual promise underneath here and there in somewhat minor circles, it's extremely grim and often very well shot with some very relatable characters and writing and genuinely pans out in a way I personally didn't expect - though should have seen coming a mile off.

Writer/Director Andy Edwards (Zombie Spring Breakers/Rumpelstiltskin) actually shows a bit of flair within the Slasher genre here, but never really enough to make it anything of a standout. Had it been his directorial debut it would have even perhaps had me excited for what he had coming next but as he's been doing this kind of thing since at least 2010 it only proves that he's actually quite limited although to be fair to the man so obviously is his budget which doesn't necessarily mean it has to end up this bad. It's all sadly just very forgettable outside of the seaside town aspect, which I feel is both a distinctly genius pick and at the same time incredibly utterly underutilised in what could have been. The numerous scenarios that I had envisioned never taken advantage of. Shame. I'd have given anything to see Punch say strapped to a Punch bag arcade as the protagonist goes for the highest score and every blow made the squeaky voice go even higher or chased down and trampled to death by a fed up rogue beach donkey.

If you are in the mood for something like this, I strongly recommend Heart Eyes instead, a movie that brings the Slasher genre more up to date with a highly unique take on top.

3.5 Punches out of 10. That's not the way to do it.

[Wrathbone]

If the very notion of living in a seaside town isn't horror worthy enough imagine straying away from the promenade and onto the beach only for a person dressed in all black but adorning a wide-eyed grinning Punch mask with an unusually high-pitched squeaky voice knocks the soggy chips out of your hands and then continues to bludgeon you to death with a bat while giggling like a complete loon on a bird shit infested piss soaked creaky boardwalk.

Not entirely dissimilar to my typical experience when venturing over to nearby Morecambe...

[Stormbringer]

Just re-watched Willow for the first time in...maybe 15 years or so? I can't even remember. I decided to introduce my oldest sons (13 and 12) to it this evening.

The nice thing was, other than my favourite scene (with the two-headed, fire-breathing monster), I'd forgotten pretty much everything about the film, so it was a nice surprise to see how the plot unfolded. I'd say it holds up pretty well in terms of visual effects and cinematography.

I'm annoyed that Disney+ removed the sequel series from their platform. I've heard it's quite bad, but I'd like to have been able to make that judgement myself.