Tag: Riley on Film

Roger Ebert wrote in his review that most viewers would find this film unwatchable. I agree with him. I hung in there to the end. It’s pure chaos until the most graphic rape scene I’ve ever seen. Is that the best place to find clarity?

Irreversible (2002)
Irréversible (original title)
Not Rated | 1h 37min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | 22 May 2002 (France)

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass.
Director: Gaspar Noé
Writer: Gaspar Noé
Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel

Gaspar Noé, our director here, has done something cool with the film structure. Everything else about the film feels like torture. I won’t tell you the sordid details, those who are curious will find the film and check it out. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Besides the gut wrenching rape scene, there is an equally disturbing segment in a gay bar of a man bludgeoning another mans face to a pulp. It looks so lifelike I am curious how they did it. In a twisted sense, it is a sort of accomplishment. The director shows you scenes in reverse order. In other words, if someone dies, you will see them later. It’s a bit confusing but some people who like figuring out puzzles may life the effect. For me, this film left me empty. I didn’t think it was a marvel of a film as some critics say. I don’t think you should see it since there are at least 2 things you cannot unsee. It is clever in technique and structure but that’s not enough for why I go to the movies. 4/10.

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Watching Leatherface run after a victim is like American Pie for horror lovers. He’s a truly chilling character concept that I am glad we didn’t have to say goodbye to after the first movie. This movie is a lot more campy than the first one but it still has a charm all its own that works to entertain and scare the viewer.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Unrated | 1h 41min | Comedy, Horror | 22 August 1986 (USA)

A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall hunts them.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writers: L.M. Kit Carson, Tobe Hooper (film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”)
Stars: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow

The director Tobe Hooper has lightened up a lot and become and movie rock star since the first film. I’ll never forget seeing his “Funhouse” as a kid in the 70’s and not being able to sleep for weeks afterward. This one is more fun than scare but some of the old conventions are still there like whacking the girl over the head and feeding the blood to grandpa. Tobe Hooper is a legend, he brought evil to the daily papers and made it seem like it dwelled among us.

Dennis Hopper is in this and he really brings the camp to a high point with his “holster chainsaws.” There’s a pretty young lady Caroline Williams who shines on-screen and the brother of Leatherface with a visible plate in his head. The whole thing is wacky but it works as a horror movie. I was a little disappointed the way they portrayed Leatherface as a buffoon in love. Did they think he’d never had a woman try to woo him before? Dennis Hopper, the girl, and the overall lunatic comedy of the thing made it well worth my time. I give it an 8/10..

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I first watched this film because I considered it to be a “weird” film, and I was doing a series on those. After watching, I don’t think it’s necessarily in that category. It is complex and the plot contains a total of 9 stories but there isn’t anything weird about it per se. I found it to be quite inspiring. Unfortunately, it is far too long at 3 hours and I think the message could have been sent in a lot less time. There is a lot there worth seeing though.

Cloud Atlas (2012)
R | 2h 52min | Action, Drama, Mystery | 26 October 2012 (USA)

Cloud Atlas is a movie starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Hugh Grant. An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski | 1 more credit »
Writers: David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski (written for the screen by) | 3 more credits »
Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant

The directors here are the Wachowski brothers, from “the Matrix” and Tom Tykwer who I have not heard of but it appears he makes German films. Their influence is what you’d expect: sci-fi, flying camera angles, and most of all: fantasy imagery.

People smarter and more into this than me have already weighed in on the internet. A simple title search will give you plenty f details about the film. I myself was not that into it at 3 hours. I found it hard to stay focused and the payoff for me was only slightly worth the time spent. If you want a visual landscape to sink into and relax, this one could fill the bill. As your standard beginning middle end 90-100 minute movie, I think it fails. Then again, I don’t think it’s trying to be standard. I kind of think it would have been better if it did.

“We are all connected” is the main idea. Breaking out of man made conventions is the secondary one. Then there is a journey into reincarnation which I found interesting. Unfortunately, that is never really developed to where the many incarnations of actors are explained. It’s a trip and a great visual fest to trip out on. AND, it has a good message. I think everyone should see it once. I think I would enjoy it more a second time, but I just don’t want to spend 3 hours on that enough. 7/10.

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Like Traci Lords in Excision, here we have another ex porn star Marilyn Chambers playing a role in a horror film. She does a great job. She’s calm until the disease kicks in and then she’s, well she’s almost like “Rabid.” As a beautiful woman, men are always forcing herself on her which gives her the chance to infect many of them, they must feel very sorry when they get the virus.

Rabid (1977)
R | 1h 31min | Horror, Sci-Fi | 8 April 1977 (USA)

A young woman develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, which turns into a city-wide epidemic.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: David Cronenberg
Stars: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver

This is classified on a few services as “body horror.” In truth, there are only a few scenes that could merit such a label The director David Cronenberg gives us a lot of flesh on the gurney and peel some back while chopping or otherwise getting more of it off the victims. I liked the film but to risk stating a critic cliché, it watched like some kind of soft porn film on Cinemax. They could have done a lot more with it if we knew more about the virus. There’s a lot of unexplained stuff here. I can say it was a fun watch and it was fun watching the misogynistic doctors and assorted males get bitten. 7/10.

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Holy mother of God, what is this movie? I’ve seen it on my recommended list for years and now I can say I’ve experienced it. A pretty decent slasher/home invasion film. What sets it apart is the complete eclipsed insanity of the killer/narrator. That’s right, the psycho dude narrates the film.

Angst (1983)
Not Rated | 1h 27min | Drama, Horror, Thriller | 1983 (USA)

A troubled man gets released from prison and starts taking out his sadistic fantasies on an unsuspecting family living in a secluded house.
Director: Gerald Kargl
Writers: Zbigniew Rybczynski (screenplay), Gerald Kargl (screenplay)
Stars: Erwin Leder, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Silvia Ryder

The director here, Gerald Kargl, has only 2 credits to his name. He is Austrian and you may know this film has English subtitles. If this film is any indication, he knows the backbone of disturbing cinema. The film is that way beginning to end. He has taken an innovative approach here with the killer being the narrator to inform us of his mental narrative while killing.

The killer is played by Erwin Leder and he is voiced off-screen by Robert Hunger-Bühler. Leder is really a scary looking guy. I think he was a good choice for the role. There isn’t much build up to the killings here and I noticed the final kill happened before the last 1/4 of the film. You won’t usually see this in American horror, they like to drag it out and keep us wondering if the “last girl” will make it, and such.

It was refreshing to see a horror film go so quickly in its pace. Yu really believe the psychopath loves the act of doing it. His narrative plus actions play together to create a truly chilling effect. We even see him pull his pants down on the young woman victim’s bloody dead corpse and ejaculates (We can probably assume). DO NOT see this movie unless you can handle a film that reveals the mind of a sick killer/necrophiliac. This film pulls no punches and will likely change your mind about the rehabilitation of murderous sex offenders. At any rate, it was a good film and as many recommended to me, I can recommend it myself as a disturbing and engaging horror movie. 7/10.

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Well, inquiring minds want to know what the nude scenes are like with Michael Fassenbender. I’ll tell you, he does his ancestry proud. Question is: did I need to see the lanky dangling reveal … and so often! Having said that, this is an engaging film but no one gets engaged because it’s about a sex addict who gets freaked out by commitment. Too bad there isn’t enough character development to make it humanly worth something.

Shame (2011)
NC-17 | 1h 41min | Drama | 13 January 2012 (UK)

A man’s carefully cultivated private life is disrupted when his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.
Director: Steve McQueen
Writers: Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan | 1 more credit »
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale

Steve McQueen is our director, he did the amazing powerhouse film “12 Years a Slave” an a whole lot of other unknown and short films. I feel he must have had some personal reason for making this film. It certainly raises awareness that people can become detached as sex addicts. Maybe it says a bit about how we all are somewhat detached. This man casts his sister out (Carrie Mulligan) because she threatens his sexual conquests and peace of mind. Is that his right? I kind of thought maybe it was? Anyway, McQueen has made something profane here and not entirely helpful in my opinion. It is more than average entertainment though I must admit.

I wanted more history of the family they grew up in. What made Fassenbender’s character turn out this way. Why was she a cutter? Were they both sexually abused? There is nothing to get a hold of as far as character development. It starts with the sex and ends with the blood. There isn’t even a conclusion to explain what Fassenbender’s character has learned from it all. Oh and this all could have been achieved without nudity and graphic sex that required a NC-17 rating. If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time on this one. 5/10

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I had a friend years ago who was clinically depressed. She taught me how she would meditate and find relaxation to the sound of a thunderstorm on CD. “Antichrist” might be like that CD for a depressed person. You wouldn’t think that sadomasochistic images and the indifference of nature would make one feel happy but in some cases, maybe it will.

Antichrist (2009)
Not Rated | 1h 48min | Drama, Horror | 20 May 2009 (Denmark)

A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Director: Lars von Trier
Writer: Lars von Trier
Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm

By Lars von Trier’s own admission, “Antichrist” was created in his own deep despair of depression. I think a lot of people misunderstand it because of that. I see it as a chronicle through consequence. Willem Dafoe, the male in the relationship, tries to do therapy on his own wife when he himself should also be driven to distraction by his toddler son’s death. He isn’t. He is, in essence, the Antichrist without empathy for the depressed one. The way they both treat each other is unspeakable.

The rest of what happens in the film is not for me to tell. It should be experienced. I can say this is one of the hardest watches I’ve ever sat through in movies. Still, for the images it left me with, and the general feeling of the mood, it was worth it. May I’ll remember the film when someone suffers a tragedy. That’s the mire they are walking around carrying. Or maybe I’ll just feel proud that I watched such a noncommercial movie that was trying to evoke something in me I may not ever understand.

No film that I have seen portrays despair this way. I can imagine why. In this case however, it serves to enlighten us of what it’s like out there for our loved ones who suffer and maybe even ourselves.

I think about this film a lot since watching it last week. I give it an 8/10.

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In this one I review multi-award nominated “The Man in the High Castle” and the disgustingly cool horror film “Excision.”

https://media.blubrry.com/thedamienrileypodcast/s/content.blubrry.com/thedamienrileypodcast/ep106highcastleExcision.mp3

Play Episode MP3 / Download

In this one I review multi-award nominated “The Man in the High Castle” and the disgustingly cool horror film “Excision.”

I also make the announcement about how I am about to start having guests on the show talking films and TV with me. After over 100 episodes done by myself, I’m really excited about this!

This first tv show is quite good. It was written by Phillip K. Dick, author of the novel that spurned “Blade Runner.” He is as renowned as Ray Bradbury in science fiction circles. It’s a story of an alternate ending to WWII, imagining the Nazis and Japan won. How would the world be different. What results is a land of rebels, spying and sneaking in the Third Reich seeking a mysterious “Man in the High Castle.” The rebels are assigned to bringing him films that appear to be propaganda showing America and her allies winning the war. There’s a beautiful and talented leading actor Alexa Davalos. She is the prime rebel with two other actors holding supporting roles. It’s a science fiction show, remember that. It looks historical and period but it’s definitely science fiction. I am currently in S2 and I hope  it stays as engaging as it has been thus far. Some of the sci fi stuff is starting to reveal itself. So far I give it an 8/10.

“Excision” is a horror movie that premiered on “Shudder.” In the spirit of “Ginger Snaps” it’s a coming of age high school movie centering on an actor who has a sick and demented mind. One quirky thing about it is that Traci Lords plays the conservative mother. The movie has tons of blood and flesh. It contains, as I say in the podcast, one of the most disgusting scenes I’ve ever seen in horror. Even though it has a comedic element, this is creepy horror make no mistake. There is also a secondary element in this girl’s mind of sex. Put them all together, along with her desire to be a surgeon, and you have “Excision,” a darned messed up film and I loved it. I give it a 9/10.

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