Damien Riley is "Riley on Film." He also podcasts at The DRP ( thedrpodcast.com )
Odd. Reminded me of the sections in Lord of the Rings when the Orcs were born, tearing open their membranes. An exciting action sci-fi. As I have been seeing a lot lately in new movies, probably overstepping to call it horror. It’s worth a watch, nothing spectacular though. Also reminds me of Pandorum.
Have you seen this movie? What are your thoughts?
A car that kills people and predates “Christine”, what’s not to love! Camp and ridiculous most while serious. A lot of fun.
“I am Mother” was a much needed, pleasant surprise horror from Netflix. It creates suspense and drama in a small location, thus not requiring expensive sets or CGI. There are some really good graphics though. A teenage girl has been raised by a sweet robot named “Mother.” But is mother on her side?
The director is newcomer Grant Sputore. He’s already being questioned as “the next Christopher Nolan.” Ok IMDB, I can live with that, as long as you accept my answer of: “We shall see.” One Netflix film? Come on.
That’s about all I can say without spoilers. I really enjoyed it, it was nearly flawless as sci-fi/horror. The horror is very light. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts on this film?
Listen here –> Clown
I know I’ve posted this before but I really think this is an amazing horror and people should check it out. Produced by Eli Roth.
R | 1h 40min | Horror, Thriller | 17 June 2016 (USA)
A loving father finds a clown suit for his son’s birthday party, only to realize that it’s cursed.
Director: Jon Watts
Writers: Christopher Ford, Jon Watts
Stars: Andy Powers, Laura Allen, Peter Stormare
Published first at the DRP film podcast: http://bit.ly/2N1fKo2
Ma is a pretty good thriller. Like many films that are coming out and calling themselves “horror,” I don’t see it as much. Ma has a neat twist but not that neat. All in all, it’s a fun visceral trip to the movies and it has a mystery too. Unfortunately for me, it fell short of full horror which I was looking forward to. It’s an ok horror and decent thriller. Blumhouse did a good job but they should stick to single-genre horror imho.
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There’s a lot going on here in this Netflix horror, not much of it makes sense until the end. Perfectionists are sometimes born that way, other times they are bred. There are musicians here that are indeed perfections. 2 in fact are celebrated in the field of cello and they play together as beautifully as can be. But perfectionism has its faults. As this film reveals its layers we find the answers to its questions, not always as we expect.
Our director is Richard Shepard, an Emmy and DGA award winning writer/director. His features include “The Perfection” “Dom Hemingway” and “The Matador”. He directed 12 episodes of the Golden Globe winning HBO series “Girls”, along with pilots for “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” “Criminal Minds” and “Ugly Betty” for which he won the 2007 Emmy.
The protagonist is played by Allison Williams of “Get Out” fame. She does a great job, far better than she did in “Get Out” in my opinion.
It’s an excellent plot, very engaging. The film suffers when parts drag on unnecessarily. I’d say about half the scenes are overkill and overlong. Still, the film keeps you guessing and the reveal at the end is a fitting twist to the “perfectionist” theme. It’s a duet not many will forget ;) I’m not a big fan of the protagonist and the overlong scenes made it lose points with me. I do recommend it though.
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Listen here –> Creep (2004)
Another great indy horror from dir/writer Christopher Smith. Listen to my review! Trapped in a London subway station, a woman who’s being pursued by a potential attacker heads into the unknown labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city’s streets.
Director: Christopher Smith
Writer: Christopher Smith
Stars: Franka Potente, Sean Harris, Vas Blackwood
Published first at the DRP film podcast: http://bit.ly/2KiBCtb
Listen here –> Airplane
Great comedy like this doesn’t just fall out of the sky. Much should be remembered about how the three directors worked for years to build a style of comedy in a theater group they would later mold into the 1980 film Airplane! In addition to being laugh-a-minute hilarious, it also stands as evidence that hard work pays off in Hollywood.
“A man afraid to fly must ensure that a plane lands safely after the pilots become sick.” -IMDB
Robert Hays Ted Striker
Julie Hagerty Elaine Dickinson
Leslie Nielsen Dr. Rumack
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (as Kareem Abdul-Jabaar) Roger MurdockJim Abrahams, David Zucker
Comedy
PG
Wed 02 Jul 1980 UTC
88min
IMDB Rating: 7.8
The directors of this film, David and Jerry Zucker as well as Jim Abrahams Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated ZAZ) made something to be quintessentially proud of here. They had worked on the Kentucky Fried Theater group together so they had a lot of experience riffing and coming up with improv stuff before they ever directed any movies. John Landis took their humor they had developed and made it into a film called The Kentucky Fried Movie. It is full of dichotomous humor juxtaposing serious settings and scenes with surreal and slapstick humor. Watching the Landis film yields all sorts of influences seen in Airplane! It is a lot more racy however, specifically in its nudity.
This film stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. There are several other cameos by then well-known actors and celebrities. Robert Hays, the lead actor, was an unknown at the time. He does a good job but his role is more of a cog in a larger machine of comedic actors. Leslie Nielsen is by far the most memorable actor in the film. He had been in loads of episodic television as well as films like The Poseidon Adventure. Though he hadn’t done comedy before, Airplane! showed the world he was a closet comedian.
The film is a fairly simple plot derived from the 1957 film, Zero Hour! Note the exclamation mark in both titles. His serious look helps the deadpan humor work so well. The rest of the cast is side-splitting making the film a must watch for any filmcritic or lover of films.
As a kid growing up in the 80’s, this film was alluring to me. Older kids would talk about it and how their parents let them see it. After all, there is a bare breasted woman in it for about 2 whole seconds (the scandal!). Unfortunately I didn’t see it until after I was 10. I don’t recall my exact age but I know it was in my teens. It was the funniest film I had ever seen. Others have come close since, but I think it still hovers around that ranking with me still.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s no wonder Airplane! is one of the worlds funniest films. Its three directors took years to hone their comedic skills and work together. Finally, they put their own money up to pitch the idea to movie studios. After persistence and hard work, the film was made and it remains to this day one of the most exciting and funny films ever made. I recommend it to anyone and everyone.
10/10
Published first at the DRP film podcast: http://bit.ly/2X4JMuV
This is a movie where the villain holds power over the protagonist through psychology. It’s a lot of fun as the thrilling plot starts sleepy and ends up murderous with full torture and duels. My favorite parts are mostly in the ladt 1/3. This is a near perfect thriller with horror elements. I recommend it!
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