The Recommended Movies Thread

[sandman67]

THE POSSESSION

This little shocker has been out since late 2012, but I only just caught up with it despite in its release days seeing a trailer and thinking Id drop it when available. Its a creepy little tale about an EXORCIST styleee little lass getting possessed by a demon so is a genre that has been thrashed to death, but luckily two things here count in its favor - one, Sam Raimi, the master of horror thrillers, is the director; and second it uses a real life story with a whole different slant to the possession to base the plot on.

A couple going through a divorce share access to their two daughters, and so when its dads turn he takes the girls to a yard sale for a fun trip. There his youngest lass buys an old wooden box carved with Hebrew script, a box that apparently has no way of being opened. Thing is that this is no ordinary box - its a Dibbuk Box, a Hasidic Jewish way of trapping malevolent spirits. When the young girl accidentaly opens the box all hell, quite literally, breaks loose and it becomes a struggle to release her from the spirits grasp and get the damn thing back in the box.

Its wonderfully filmed by Raimi, like all his flicks using the sets and scenery to build up the chills and thrills, and the acting for a horror flick is top notch.

Anyways, out and about in DVDRIPs all over the shop and well worth a watch.

Three cheers all round.

[richard]

Well I'm a Hannibal Lector (Hopkins) fan and got given a copy of Hannibal Rising recently. Was apprehensive that without Hopkins it would not appeal. How wrong I was.

Great plot and well acted and the young Hannibal has the same scary look in his eyes and when he grins. Google it for a good write up or wait until guru Sandman gives his eloquent critique

[Ginjaninja]

...while you're at it Sandman, any chance we can get a literary review of 'The World of Suzie Wong' please...???
I think this is a fantastic film and could easily be any of us longterm bachelors in Hua Hin/expatriate-Asia.
The ultra-low-budget scenes in the hotel room with the Suzie art just cracked me up (few wines required of course).

GN.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054483/

[sandman67]

ok....as per Richards request and as I watched it again a few weeks ago on UK TV here is HANNIBAL RISING

Riding the crest of the Hollywood "Origins" backstory trend that has been popular for a few years now (especially with the superhero genre) the makers of the Hannibal the Cannibal flicks decided to fill us in on how Mr Fava Beans and Brains got to be the mad bad and dangerous to know shrink from hell.

It explains how young Hannibal and his sister were born into an aristocratic family in the Balkans only to see all they loved torn apart during the hellish inferno of WW2. After hiding out during the Nazi occupation the pair are discovered by local partisan fighters who are working for the Nazis, and unfortunately in a world of no food and freezing cold weather have developed a dog eat do attitude...or more to the fact cannibalistic tenancies. They kill Hannibal's little sister and eat her, leaving Hannibal alone to escape, only to become a victim again as an inductee in a brutal communist boys school. Escaping again he is adopted by his aunt, a Japanese ex-patriate now resident in post WW2 Paris. She educates young Hannibal in the code of Bushido, and then turns the revenge bent Hannibal loose to wreak his terrible revenge on the partisans who killed his sister, all of whom now hold down respectable jobs or are mafioso. So begins Hannibals transition from man to dragon.....

Its excellent in all respects, from the scary as hell male lead to the corking chiller thriller plot that just rolls along like a blood soaked rollercoaster of doom. Definitely a highly recommended flick for thriller chiller fans, and definitely a three scary grins and a katana keeper all the way.

[sateeb]

Best movie I've seen in a long time. Perfectly sums up today's self obsessed me me me society.

"God Bless America"

Bobcat Goldthwait has given us a hilarious comedy that perfectly satirizes our self-centred, celebrity-obsessed, uncritical age. Throughout the dark comedy Joel Murray delivers a perfect performance as one of the last thinking men, who has grown weary of life and society. In between the action and the comedy, Joel Murray's character delivers scathing indictments of society. Besides being hilarious, this movie is really an interesting exploration of the insensitivity and thoughtlessness of modern popular culture. This movie is the antidote our "reality show," celebrity-obsessed, know-nothing-and-proud-of-it culture. The film's outlandish violence perfectly captures Horace Walpole's epigram, "This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel." Unfortunately, as the movie points out, few people are now capable of either thinking or feeling....from IMDB

http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/7360100/ ... iD-AMIABLE

[dtaai-maai]

HANNIBAL RISING

...

Its excellent in all respects, from the scary as hell male lead to the corking chiller thriller plot that just rolls along like a blood soaked rollercoaster of doom. Definitely a highly recommended flick for thriller chiller fans, and definitely a three scary grins and a katana keeper all the way.

I'm slightly surprised to be in complete agreement with the above. And Rhys Ifans, once the scruffy and stupid but lovable Welsh housemate in 4 Weddings, makes a remarkably effective villain.

[Homer]

Bobcat Goldthwait has given us a hilarious comedy that perfectly satirizes our self-centred, celebrity-obsessed, uncritical age.

+1

A warning for those unfamiliar with the bobcat. In his standup comedy days he'd often start with something so offensive and obviously tailored for the specific audience that people would walk out. For him, that was a victory. His movies also throw emotional punches.

[Homer]

42

The story of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player. Inspirational if you're a middle schooler who knows nothing of southern segragation or the overt racism of the era. A treat if you're a baseball fan because they got the era details right. One doesn't need to know the game to enjoy the film. The only obscure point of baseball, a balk, is covered by a boy explaining it to his mother.

Simple story. Branch Rickey, President and General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signs Jackie to a minor league contract, later promotes him to the big leagues. Rickey selected him because he thought Jackie had big league talent and could keep his cool while enduring racists baiting from all around him, including members of his own team. Both Rickey and Robinson are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 42 title refers to Jackie's uniform number.

Well acted, mostly by actors known for their supporting roles and work in ensemble casts. Harrison Ford plays Ricky well, proving he actually still is able to enunciate (he mumbles through most of his roles).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/?ref_=sr_1
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/42_2013/

BluRay rips out now where ever fine bits are torrented. http://torrentz.eu/search?f=42+2013

Most baseball fans know that after the first few (3?) seasons Branch relieved Jackie of his promise not to react to any racial taunting. It's said the new promise was that he'd react as appropriately as any other ball player when someone else crossed the line.

[dtaai-maai]

And Rhys Ifans, once the scruffy and stupid but lovable Welsh housemate in 4 Weddings...

4 Weddings? Make that Notting Hill...

[sandman67]

DESPICABLE ME 2

Groo the reformed supervillan and single father of three adopted daughters is back with a vengeance in the second installment of the cartoon spoof of classic Bond, and if anything the second is better than the first. Groo is having a hard time settling into fatherhood and coping with normal surburban life. When he turns his supervillan mind to being good, and his resources of evil into making jam and jelly instead of evil machines, his sidekick Dr Nefario leaves for better opportunities elsewhere. Just when things are seeming like peaches and cream a new supervillan comes onto the scene and Groo is forcefully recruited by a super secret agency to save the day, the world, and his three beloved daughters from the bad guys. Just for jolly Groo is given a clumsy and over enthusiastic female sidekick who is keen to make a name as a villain buster, and suddenly Groo's little yellow helpers The Minions are going missing. So what is going on, and can Groo save the day?????

Like the first installment while its a film aimed at kids there is a lot of sly adult humor thrown in there for the parents in the audience, as well as a lot of reverential head nods to classic spy flicks, but best of all those lovable chaos merchants The Minions get increased exposure. The slapstick comedy is therefore ramped up and its a giggle fest all the way. Honestly, it ranges between plain smile all the time to laugh out loud funny when the little yellow loonies are on screen. Lush visuals and great animation are cherries on the cake.

Out and about in watchable TS/CAM versions apparently from Italy .... but unfortunately like all CAMS the sound is terrible and the Minions are speaking Italian versions of their usual gobbledygook so you loose a few laughs. Id wait till the full DVDRIP is out as the visuals and sound improvements will be worth it. When it does its a solid gold three banana's keeper.

Banana?

[sandman67]

a while back I was ranting at the fact Steven Spielberg was going to remake one of my favorite Asian extreme revenge thrillers OLDBOY....with that gurning Scientology fanboy goof Will Smith as the main character (and no doubt finding some way of ramming his equally annoying son in as well)

Anyway, seems Steve got the fan messages that deluged the net (along the same lines as mine at the time - do it and someone will claw hammer your head to pulp) and shelved it. Then along comes Spike Lee, picks up the ball, runs and slam dunks the bugger! Early reviews of the pre-release screenings have all been positive, and it seems Spike hasnt ruined it, and in fact its as good as the original, albeit with some minor differences - more a revisit than a remake. It also has Josh Brolin and Sam Jackson in there, both proven well suitable actors for the twisted story that OLDBOY tells, as well as a surprise star role for the main actor from DISTRICT 9.

Anyway, here is the trailer, and I must admit..... Im looking forward to seeing it.



watch this space

...... and in the meantime if you fancy blistering your brain and scarring your eyeballs here is the full orrible original in DVDRIP quality 480p subtitled lovliness (for the subs hit the "captions" button on the player bar)

[migrant]

Just saw there is a Sin City 2 coming out with a great cast! Sounds like 2014 though

[Homer]

....with that gurning Scientology fanboy goof Will Smith as the main character (and no doubt finding some way of ramming his equally annoying son in as well)

I wouldn't mind if his son played the octopus.

I'm reluctant to admit that the film could be remade or revisited without seeming pale next to the original. Spike Lee, when he's on top of his game, could do it.

[Big Boy]

PEE MAK with English subtitles.

I downloaded this yesterday to see what the fuss had been about. Unfortunately, the English subtitles made little sense to me, although Mrs BB had a good laugh.

Reading the credits at the end, it said, "Subtitles by Google Translate" Say no more.

[blue05]

had a watch of Olympus has Fallen, great way to spend a couple of hours. Action packed , reminders of die hard all the way