On Saturday, being the closest to Halloween, I had the pleasure of being one of a very few that decided to take advantage of a full night of horror films in Romford for absolutely nothing. Given the fact that the tickets were completely free I am amazed at just how few people turned up, and even more by how few stayed the distance and we're still there at the end. Anyway, without dwelling on the lack of people I will now go through the films and my feelings and thoughts about them.
We started of by being shown to the top floor of the Mercury Mall and into the closed down nightclub, Pulse. It is a great setting for watching horror films and I hope they do more of this kind of thing there.
The films kicked of with something light and mainstream, Beetlejuice. It was good fun watching this Tim Burton classic again and a nice easing into the night. For the first time it struck me how much Micheal Keaton's character reminded me of David Lee Roth.
The second film was the John Carpenter classic The Fog. I must say it was a lot better than I remember it being, maybe it was watching it on a big screen for the first time.
The third film was Dawn Of The Dead, one of my favourites of George A. Romero's zombie films. Unfortunately the version we watched was the Dario Argenta edit, which, although slightly more gory, was nowhere near as good as the original and was spoiled but some odd cuts and misplaced music.
At this point we moved from the old Pulse nightclub to the Premier Cinema one floor down.
The first film we saw there was The Belko Experiment. An excellent film with a good cast. A great horror/conspiracy theory slaughter fest that works so well.
Next we had a special uncut/new edit of the Dario Argenta classic Susperia. It has been a long time since I've seen this film so couldn't tell the difference in the cut but I would say that, although it is a classic and good in many ways, I find it a little slow in places, a bit over long, many too European (if you know what I mean), it's very odd in many places and has some unintentionally amusing scenes and dialogue. The Goblin soundtrack was great to hear again.
Next up was another piece of Italian horror, The Beyond. Again it was a bit slow in places. There is an excellently unintentionally funny scene with some fake spiders and a fake head. There was one scene in each of these Italian films that left me wondering what it is that Italian horror film makers have about blind people being attacked by their own guide dogs?
Then we had a more up to date and slightly more light hearted film called Tales Of Halloween. It is a film made up of a number of short films made by modern day horror film makers. It is good fun and has some great traditional scares, a good amount of gore, some great cameos and geat use of old film clips (especially from Night Of The Living Dead).
The whole night was rounded of with another classic film from John Carpenter, The Thing. There really is very little to say about it except that it is excellent.
All in all a good night of films, all I hope is that when, or if, they do a free night like this again, more people turn up.
Showing posts with label films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label films. Show all posts
29/10/2017
23/07/2017
Things I've been watching on TV and on-line, good and bad (Pt 2)
Continuing my look at some things I've been watching recently, I am going to move on from superheroes to other films and TV series.
I am, to a certain degree, a creature of habit, as are we all I suppose. With films and TV this means that I often like to re-watch things, especially those things I liked in my youth. This habit can bring both happiness and disappointments. I was recently reminded of a few shows that I watched as a child and so decided to revisit them, to my joy I still found H. R. Puffenstuff a complete load of nonsense that raised a smile and even the odd silly laugh, I was also pleased to find that I was still entertained by Land of The Giants though maybe not as much or in the same way as I was as a child. Timeslip, on the other hand I found dull and slow and really not very good, and I found The Champions boring and cheesey. I may try again with some other series but I think I might leave it a while and choose carefully. While revisiting old TV series may not always give the results you expect, most of the time, the same is not true of films. I have been re-watching some films that I saw as a child and loved, and also some that I have seen as an adult and loved. First up is the absolutely brilliantly surreal Rubber, I would urge everyone to watch this film even if it's only once. I am not going to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it but let's just say that it is an interesting film with a unique take on serial killers. Another film by the same people who made Rubber that I also watched again is Wrong, whilst it is in a similar style to Rubber it is a very different and slightly more surreal film in many ways, but equally worth watching.
And now to new ground, well in some cases old new ground. Moving on to films and TV series that I haven't seen before. Let's start with TV shows.
I missed out on watching Broadchurch when it was on TV so have now made up for it by binge watching all 3 seasons. I now understand why so many people were praising it so highly. Brilliantly written and filmed, the editing, soundtrack and cinematography were second to none. Added to that was a fantastic cast that acted their socks off. One of the best things on UK TV for some time. Another great series that I watched and then caught up on the older seasons was Line Of Duty, again it was brilliantly written and well made with a strong cast, I am hoping they do another season soon. I have also dipped into a few other programmes but not watched as fervently, one of the better ones is Night Shift which reminds me a little of MASH with a big helping of ER mixed in. My good lady wife introduced me to a series called Master Of Photography, which is a competition between European photographers where they are given set tasks each week, it was really interesting, as was Landscape Artist Of The Year.
Now on to films. I must admit that most of the films I've watched of late have either been superhero films or will be covered in my next blog entry, but I did watch a few other films. One was London Has Fallen, it is (to parphrase a footballing term) a film of two halves. The first half of the film is a well thought out action movie that has a good story that is moved on well by the action sequences, but the second half is more like action for action sake, too much unnecessary violence that didn't move the story on and just seemed to be there to add to the body count. Another was the film of Spooks, I loved the TV series and was looking forward to the film, I must say it was ok. It wasn't as good as the series but, by keeping connections to the series in a number of places it worked as part of the whole. Lastly there was the James Bond film Spectre, while I don't think it was as good as either Skyfall or Quantum Of Solace, it was a good film with some excellent set pieces and was made to the high quality that you would expect from the Bond series.
Well, that's it for this time, the next post will be entirely about films, TV shows and odd bits I have watched on YouTube. As usual, if you have any comments please leave them on here. Thank you.
I am, to a certain degree, a creature of habit, as are we all I suppose. With films and TV this means that I often like to re-watch things, especially those things I liked in my youth. This habit can bring both happiness and disappointments. I was recently reminded of a few shows that I watched as a child and so decided to revisit them, to my joy I still found H. R. Puffenstuff a complete load of nonsense that raised a smile and even the odd silly laugh, I was also pleased to find that I was still entertained by Land of The Giants though maybe not as much or in the same way as I was as a child. Timeslip, on the other hand I found dull and slow and really not very good, and I found The Champions boring and cheesey. I may try again with some other series but I think I might leave it a while and choose carefully. While revisiting old TV series may not always give the results you expect, most of the time, the same is not true of films. I have been re-watching some films that I saw as a child and loved, and also some that I have seen as an adult and loved. First up is the absolutely brilliantly surreal Rubber, I would urge everyone to watch this film even if it's only once. I am not going to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it but let's just say that it is an interesting film with a unique take on serial killers. Another film by the same people who made Rubber that I also watched again is Wrong, whilst it is in a similar style to Rubber it is a very different and slightly more surreal film in many ways, but equally worth watching.
And now to new ground, well in some cases old new ground. Moving on to films and TV series that I haven't seen before. Let's start with TV shows.
I missed out on watching Broadchurch when it was on TV so have now made up for it by binge watching all 3 seasons. I now understand why so many people were praising it so highly. Brilliantly written and filmed, the editing, soundtrack and cinematography were second to none. Added to that was a fantastic cast that acted their socks off. One of the best things on UK TV for some time. Another great series that I watched and then caught up on the older seasons was Line Of Duty, again it was brilliantly written and well made with a strong cast, I am hoping they do another season soon. I have also dipped into a few other programmes but not watched as fervently, one of the better ones is Night Shift which reminds me a little of MASH with a big helping of ER mixed in. My good lady wife introduced me to a series called Master Of Photography, which is a competition between European photographers where they are given set tasks each week, it was really interesting, as was Landscape Artist Of The Year.
Now on to films. I must admit that most of the films I've watched of late have either been superhero films or will be covered in my next blog entry, but I did watch a few other films. One was London Has Fallen, it is (to parphrase a footballing term) a film of two halves. The first half of the film is a well thought out action movie that has a good story that is moved on well by the action sequences, but the second half is more like action for action sake, too much unnecessary violence that didn't move the story on and just seemed to be there to add to the body count. Another was the film of Spooks, I loved the TV series and was looking forward to the film, I must say it was ok. It wasn't as good as the series but, by keeping connections to the series in a number of places it worked as part of the whole. Lastly there was the James Bond film Spectre, while I don't think it was as good as either Skyfall or Quantum Of Solace, it was a good film with some excellent set pieces and was made to the high quality that you would expect from the Bond series.
Well, that's it for this time, the next post will be entirely about films, TV shows and odd bits I have watched on YouTube. As usual, if you have any comments please leave them on here. Thank you.
15/01/2017
Some things and some not.
I have been watching, reading and listening to some stuff that I'm going to discuss here and now.
As far as watching goes, I was interested by comments on social media about the Netflix series of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. The general consensus of opinion seemed to be that it was crap. I loved the books but I wasn't a fan of the UK series so an American series seemed interesting, so I decided to watch it to see just how bad it was. Now, my personal opinion is that it has about as much to do with the novels as I have to do with being a fish. To be honest, apart from the title and name of the lead character, there is nothing that really connects them. Having said all that, I think it's brilliant. It's well written, well acted, we'll made and had me gripped from the first episode. If you forget about any connection to Douglas Adams and watch it purely as a bizarre, funny, action comedy, it is good and I hope they make another season.
I was lucky to be one of the few that braved to severe weather to go to The Underdog Gallery on Thursday and got to see, not only a couple of unique short films by Billy Chainsaw and Jason Atomic, but also the UK premiere of the fantastically crazy Frankenstein Created Bikers. This film is brilliant, it's mad in many ways, it's full of great gore and fighty stuff and also completely insane scenes and plot points, many of which make less than no sense. It is well worth a watch and should raise a smile or two on any face.
I'm happy to see No Offence back on TV, it's an excellent programme that straddles the fence between comedy and drama beautifully.
Looking forward to, what will probably be, my only visit to the main stream cinema this year when the final film in the Resident Evil series hits the UK. I am excited and hopeful that it won't be a disappointment.
I final read The Billy Fidget Letters and it is a good but strange book, worth a read but keep an open mind.
I have started reading the first of Danny Baker's autobiographys To Sea In A Sieve and, although not far into it, I can already see similarities in his and my youth, it will be interesting to see where it goes.
I've been listening to some new folky stuff a lot of which hasn't really done much for me, and some thrashy metally stuff which has been, to be honest, really not my thing. So on the whole most of the newish music I've heard has been less than interesting or exciting or worth it.
Well that's about it for this time, be back sometime.
08/12/2016
Recent things: some old, some new.
I have been reading, listening to and watching a few things recently that are new (at least to me) and a few things that I have revisited. I thought I would share them with you and my thoughts about them.
Starting with books. Continuing my trial of new books and authors I have taken a few books out of the library recently which I thought could be interesting. The first is called 'Me And You' by Niccolò Ammaniti. It is a really well written story of family fragmentation. There is a full review on GoodReads but it is worth just reading it without prior knowledge (which I think is true of most books, the discovery that is part of the enjoyment). The next one is called 'Falling Out Of Time' by David Grossman. I found this a little hard going at times, partly because it is written almost like a play. It is a well focused book about loss and community. The third book is 'Bar Balto' by Faiza Cuene. It is a brilliantly written crime novel with a difference, all you read are the statements of the witnesses and suspects. I am about two thirds of the way through the excellent book 'The Billy Fidget Letters' by Nick Battle and Eric Delve, which is about conversations with God. Then I have the first of Danny Baker's autobiography 'Going To Sea In A Sieve' and 'Festival Of Insignificance: a novel' by Milan Kundera, that I am looking forward to reading. All of these books are well worth a read and I would recommend them to everyone.
Moving on to TV and I've been watching quite a bit of stuff lately, both on normal TV and on Netflix. So let's start with comedy. On Netflix I've been watching a series called 'Danger 5' it is a bizarre adventure comedy from Australia that is difficult to describe but it has elements of many other shows including The Mighty Boost and Police Squad but with an originality and strangeness all of it's own. On normal TV, BBC to be exact, I really like 'Two Doors Down' an excellently observed sit-com set in Scotland with a set of odd neighbours. On the drama front, I absolutely loved series 2 of 'The Missing', a brilliant story that was well made and had a fantastic cast. On the BBC iplayer I'be watched a great series, another Australian import, called 'Deep Water' which is a interesting crime show that has a few twists and turns that make it more engaging. On Netflix I've been watching 'How To Get Away With Murder', season 1 was excellent and I'm pleased to say season 2 is just as good, and a tad confusing in parts. I have also watched the new season of Charlie Brooker's fantastic 'Black Mirror' and it is just as great as always, brilliantly made and acted, we'll written and thought provoking, and a little worrying too. All of these shows are well worth a watch if you get the chance.
I haven't seen many films of late, except on TV and most of those are old ones, but I have been listening to a bit of Radio. Alexei Sayle has been back on the BBC with a great short Radio series called 'Imaginary Sandwich Bar', it is still on the BBC Radio iplayer and is his usual mix of shouting, political insight and social comment mixed with some personal stories, and is just great.
We'll, that's about it for this post. If you have any comment or suggestions for me to watch, read or listen to please feel free to leave a comment here. Thanks.
Starting with books. Continuing my trial of new books and authors I have taken a few books out of the library recently which I thought could be interesting. The first is called 'Me And You' by Niccolò Ammaniti. It is a really well written story of family fragmentation. There is a full review on GoodReads but it is worth just reading it without prior knowledge (which I think is true of most books, the discovery that is part of the enjoyment). The next one is called 'Falling Out Of Time' by David Grossman. I found this a little hard going at times, partly because it is written almost like a play. It is a well focused book about loss and community. The third book is 'Bar Balto' by Faiza Cuene. It is a brilliantly written crime novel with a difference, all you read are the statements of the witnesses and suspects. I am about two thirds of the way through the excellent book 'The Billy Fidget Letters' by Nick Battle and Eric Delve, which is about conversations with God. Then I have the first of Danny Baker's autobiography 'Going To Sea In A Sieve' and 'Festival Of Insignificance: a novel' by Milan Kundera, that I am looking forward to reading. All of these books are well worth a read and I would recommend them to everyone.
Moving on to TV and I've been watching quite a bit of stuff lately, both on normal TV and on Netflix. So let's start with comedy. On Netflix I've been watching a series called 'Danger 5' it is a bizarre adventure comedy from Australia that is difficult to describe but it has elements of many other shows including The Mighty Boost and Police Squad but with an originality and strangeness all of it's own. On normal TV, BBC to be exact, I really like 'Two Doors Down' an excellently observed sit-com set in Scotland with a set of odd neighbours. On the drama front, I absolutely loved series 2 of 'The Missing', a brilliant story that was well made and had a fantastic cast. On the BBC iplayer I'be watched a great series, another Australian import, called 'Deep Water' which is a interesting crime show that has a few twists and turns that make it more engaging. On Netflix I've been watching 'How To Get Away With Murder', season 1 was excellent and I'm pleased to say season 2 is just as good, and a tad confusing in parts. I have also watched the new season of Charlie Brooker's fantastic 'Black Mirror' and it is just as great as always, brilliantly made and acted, we'll written and thought provoking, and a little worrying too. All of these shows are well worth a watch if you get the chance.
I haven't seen many films of late, except on TV and most of those are old ones, but I have been listening to a bit of Radio. Alexei Sayle has been back on the BBC with a great short Radio series called 'Imaginary Sandwich Bar', it is still on the BBC Radio iplayer and is his usual mix of shouting, political insight and social comment mixed with some personal stories, and is just great.
We'll, that's about it for this post. If you have any comment or suggestions for me to watch, read or listen to please feel free to leave a comment here. Thanks.
17/04/2016
Out With The Old, In With The New
As you may, or may not, be aware I had an entertainment blog on another blog site that had basically the same name as this blog. I have had to abandon that blog because the site it is on is rubbish and I now cannot gain access to my blog at all. I hope to be able to import the posts that I put on that blog at some point as I am not going to repeat them on here unless there is no possible alternative. Anyway, I was part way through, for those of you that don't know, an A-Z listing of songs. The tracks, and things, that I list are not my favourites necessarily but are just songs, or whatever, that I know and that stand out for me either in a good or bad way. So I will be carrying that list on from the point I stopped on the other blog.
As a welcome to this, new....ish blog, (maybe I should have added a V0.2 to the end of the blog name😄) I am going to post some random links to some songs and music I like. So here goes and welcome to the new home of my entertainment blog.
Leornard Cohen - I'm Your Man
Beth Orton - I Wish I'd Never Seen The Sunshine
Cradle Of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
Spoiler - Electrifying
Gregory Issacs - Night Nurse
That's it for this introduction, more soon.
Any comments always welcome, thanks.
As a welcome to this, new....ish blog, (maybe I should have added a V0.2 to the end of the blog name😄) I am going to post some random links to some songs and music I like. So here goes and welcome to the new home of my entertainment blog.
Leornard Cohen - I'm Your Man
Beth Orton - I Wish I'd Never Seen The Sunshine
Cradle Of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
Spoiler - Electrifying
Gregory Issacs - Night Nurse
That's it for this introduction, more soon.
Any comments always welcome, thanks.
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