What movie are you viewing at the moment?

[Devius]

On BBC 2



A documentary that's revealing and honest.

[Wendigo]

Trilogy of Terror (1975)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073820/


A classic horror anthology from Dan Curtis involving Karen Black who stars in all 3 tales, the first two are so-so, the third story "Amelia" with the African fetish doll that comes to life is still pretty effectice today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBfR7QtDlTk

Amelia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nra7OmV1IzE

[MaxJoker]

Originally Posted by Wendigo

Love it love it love it
One of the first horrors I remember watching
Zombie Flesh Eaters being the very first.
Was six years old.
Which yes explains a lot
Majestic studios had a limited release of the Zuni fetish doll in 2004.



With all the cringing (At times) remakes , reboots and duff franchises being hurled at us nowadays. You've got to wonder why this classic episode hasn't been properly scripted into a movie format and filmed



They go for big money , upwards of £400 on average.
There`s one for sale used on (Evil) eBay now with a single bid of $99.99 and twenty two watchers.
If I win the lotto jackpot tonight I`ll get a Zuni for myself and for anybody else who wants one

Currently streaming ,



Filmed in twenty three days on a practically nonexistent budget. This horror western-ish tale is of an alcohol drifter . Who gets lost and ends up in a mentalist sporting contest being held by psychotic rednecks , that he then must do battle with alongside his hangover and withdrawal symptoms.



Two sturdy well worth watching thumbs

[wimbo77]

Quote wouldn't work so i used print screen.



Careful ! £400. Zuni could end up on Fake Britain.

[Wendigo]

Battleship (2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440129/


Scientists send a signal out to a distant Earth-like planet, not everyone thinks this a good idea but you know what is going to happen ET comes a calling just as a massive naval exercise is going on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NNQqHsIc-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJgcRuL4DP0

[scoundrel]

You could hardly call it heavyweight drama; but it is a pleasant entertainment. It is adapted from a fantasy novel about a cat; but as it happens I like cats. The premise is that a rather charming but superficial romeo, a fireman called Zach, is adopted by a homeless cat who manipulates him effortlessly into allowing food and board. Meanwhile Zach crosses pathes with Marilee, a student at the nearby veternary college and perennial wallflower who is not able to meet or date, allegedly due to having too busy a life but really at least as much because she is desperately shy around men.

With no prior knowledge of how to care for a cat, Zach finds himself in difficulty and is grateful for Marilee's advice on diet and elementary care; she is fine when talking about professional matters. Zach thinks he is only caring for the cat. The cat is called Ambrose on his collar and turns out to be lost after his previous owner, a little old lady with no relatives, quietly passed away. Zach is willing to pass Ambrose on to a better home but this proves to be a bit of a Holy Grail. Things get worse: Zach's latest casual relationship is with a wealthy and extremely hot model called Blair whose father owns the pet shop chain where Marilee works to pay her rent and tuition, and it turns out that Blair detests cats. In fact, Blair is a rather bad lot. When Marilee calmly corrects Blair for mistreating the cat on the shop premises, Blair revenges herself by directing her obedient father to fire Marilee on the spot: a very mean and spiteful act which speaks volumes about the character of the person doing it. Of course, Blair can also see that Marilee is sweet on Zach and of course Blair doesn't like it. Sadly, pretty girls aren't always nice to know.

But indirectly, Blair has done Zach a big favour. He is mortified when he learns that Blair has done this thing to the nice girl who works(ed) at the pet store. He also finds himself increasingly on the cat's side against this woman who is exercising seigneurial rights over his life and, unusually for Zach, good looks are not enough any more, and he gives her the marching orders. He also seeks Marilee out in order to humbly apologise for the harm done to her, which is rather serious, even though he was an innocent party...and so it begins.

The film is of a rather difficult novel to film because the book is really the story of Ambrose the cat, who for reasons of his own needs to play Cupid and bring two humans together. Since cats cannot talk, film needs to tell this story through human words and interaction, and in particular, why the seemingly shallow and self absorbed Zach and the very introverted and reticent Marilee can successfully find one another.

Cupid's role is divided between several supporting characters. Marilee seriously covets handsome Zach from the beginning but is convinced that he is not from her rather humble world. But in fact, when the surface mask starts to slip a little, Zach is not actually out of her reach at all. He really enjoys the fact that she is not chasing him and that he needs to do the work, as actually is her right as a pretty girl. She has no real appreciation of herself, no female vanity; it takes her married younger sister to put her foot down before Marilee will even go to a clothes shop and put on a little black dress so that Zach can have a proper chance to appreciate her. It takes Zach's very bloke-ish but good natured colleagues at the fire station to make him reconsider his feelings for the woman who has so accidently crossed his path. Destiny is not just as easy as all that; people who like these two characters want to see things work out well and assist. This often happens in real life so the film is working to minimise suspension of disbelief.

As is usual with such films, circumstances also bring the characters closer together. Zach takes Marilee home after they go rather prosaically to a fast food stand which is her favourite place to eat (a first date arising from an encounter engineered by Marilee's sister) and it turns out that Marilee's unpleasant lady building supervisor has found out that she is secretly keeping a pet against the building's rules. Mrs Winnamucker intends to evict Marilee on the spot but Zach, who knows building codes rather well, returns fire by citing several instantly apparent code violations and letting her know he will inspect her building and is full willing to close it down if the violations are serious enough. He cannot prevent the eviction but insists on the mandatory 48 hour notice period which Mrs Wannamucker had intended to bypass, and makes extremely clear that his official attention has been attracted and that Mrs Wannamucker has made an enemy of him. If nothing else, she goes away realising that she is in difficulty because she abused her little bit of power.

Zach genuinely sympathises with Marilee's new fall down life's snakes and ladders, that she is now about to be homeless as well as already jobless; it is as punishment for the real harm which Mrs Wannermucker needlessly inflicted that Zach has committed himself to be officially unpleasant when he would not normally do such a thing. However, and this is quite nicely set up by the script, it so happens that Zach lives in a fixer-up house which he is slowly redecorating to sell, and which comes with a granny flat with separate door; so he can offer temporary refuge to Marilee and her cat without suggesting anything not entirely respectable. He genuinely wants to help Marilee; plus she has shown some aptitude at decorating (her younger sister is an estate agent or "realtor" as they call it in the USA). He owes Marilee recompense for the action of Blair in getting Marilee fired when Blair was still his girlfriend; and she can help him speed along the fixing up of the house for resale. Also, he isn't a mug and he sees Marilee much more clearly than Marilee sees herself; Marilee is rather hot, has been on the shelf far longer than is quite right, and would potentially be raring to go, if he treated her absoutely right and earned and deserved her favours.

He would like to get to know Marilee a lot better, though exactly what he feels about her is confusing to him. She is not his usual type and a relationship with her would have to be genuine; and he also is in no rush and is reticent to push into anything resembling actual commitment. Having her live so close by is extremely suitable, tactically, so that he can progress slowly and assess the situation without rushing either her or himself. Incidentally, his hidden kindness and warmth is working in a nice parallel to the first moment when he rescued and took in Ambrose, the lost stray cat; Marilee is as lost and helpless as Ambrose was and Zach's humanity has already been established.

Against this, despite seeming much more confident than poor frustrated and timid Marilee, Zach has his demons as well. The way he instinctively retreats after their first kiss, an unplanned event on his side (she made the moment possible) is very telling. It is potentially a crossing of the Rubicon and he is not ready; it isn't a bit like a casual fling with Blair would have been, its really serious. There is a grave misunderstanding which springs from this, in that Marilee feels rejected and this is reinforced when he declines to go to a party with her when she could have really used a harmless male escort, and claims to be working. When he shows up at the same party, laughing and joking with a beautiful blond woman in a red dress, all she can do is retreat into a deserted street in order to cry her heart out where no one will see and no one will ever know.

Marilee is stoical by nature and enduring, and is quick to form a new plan. She has managed to get a job again and is able to secure a new flat on the back of being employed, so she is free to pack up and leave, which she calmly does, pretending it is just a simple case of no longer needing to be helped and thanks for everything. She actually has no basis for claiming a grievance because Zach never made any declaration to her and no promises have been made; and she has enough dignity and self respect not to humiliate herself by complaining when she has very arguably got nothing to complain of. She is deeply hurt but will not openly say so. However, Zach is also in a weak position from not having declared himself when he could and should have; it is when the cold front descends that he realises he has blown it and at the best has a lot of ground to make up and a lot of damage to mend. As is often the case, he needed to lose what he had in order to appreciate how important it was and to know definitively how he feels and what he needs from his life.

Meaning to make a clean break, Marilee has left no forwarding address and is not taking messages on her phone. In one of the very few scenes in the film which reflects the magical novel source, Ambrose the cat scratches Zach's local newspaper and draws his gaze to a charitable event at which Marilee will be working as a volunteer. This is a place where she will be and a time when she will be there, and it is his last chance to fly his banner and ask to be taken back. So he does the thing theatrically, borrowing a fire platform which is on its way to be serviced and playing the music and lights to attract her attention. This is enough effort that she feels obliged to give him some time, but she is intensely focused on the blond woman in the red dress and on his refusal to go to the same party with her; that is a killer fact for her, not acceptable. However, it turns out that he is (on this one specific charge) quite innocent. He was in a party representing the Fire Department attending an official function and the lady in the red dress was the Mayor's wife.

Marilee, in an earlier scene, described the courtship of lions rather fancifully. It involved the male lion climbing a hill or mountain and calling to the lioness, and if she joins him then they are bonded for life. Zach climbs the fire appliance and asks Marilee to join him; and of course she knows at once what is meant. It is a rather pleasing little conceit, showing that he really did listen to her when she talked and remembered what she said. I found it quite nicely done, a somewhat fairytale ending but which is integral to the characters and to the story.

Part of what I liked about this film is that it gives more attention to the male character and his part of the story than usual. Zach Stone is nicely played by Brandon Routh and we see as the story progresses that he too is on a journey of personal growth needed before he can achieve a lasting relationship. What also helps is that the essentially lightweight story is underpinned by some rather sad and dark back history from both sides. He comes from a broken home and is doubtful about love and marraige having seen it go wrong and suffered the effects. His best side is expressed through his vocation to be a fireman, a genuine commitment to other peoples lives, and which started when his own childhood home burned down and a fireman smashed his bedroom window and rescued him. It is a nice touch BTW when, late in the film, his bond with his father-figure and station-chief boss is explained; this is the man who saved his life when he was 14 years old. Zach's desire to give back is an attractive trait which, if he only knew it, is highly transferable to a relationship with a woman who will give her hearts affections and her body to him.

Marilee for her part is still young and pretty but is no spring chicken and it isn't only her inbuilt reticence around men which explains why a rather nice and very attractive woman would be between 25 and 30 and not married or even in a relationship. She was a carer for her younger sister when their parents died in a car crash and is now doing overtime to catch up with her own life, work and college simultaneously, closer to 30 than 25 and still only starting out; fitting in dating and boys as well was asking for more time and energy than she could spare, and she thought she would defer it one more year and qualify as a vet first until the handsome fireman turned up unannounced and made her life complicated, though much more interesting.

While still lightweight, this film has rather well drawn characters and a rather credible human story. The main players are all very good actors, including the two cats, and Kimberley Susted as Marilee, as well as being a really good player, is just right in the looks department, very sexy but not in your face with it, classy and someone who improves the more you look at her. This is one of my tick-boxes in a rom-com, a heroine who I like on all the levels required; and it is a fine acting job from such a fine looking woman to make totally believable the point that men have passed by without realising, until Zach the fireman picked her up on his babe radar.

I was entertained.

[deepsepia]

At the moment I've just finished a rather good zombie film, albeit "I am really tired of zombies". This is a Korea film "Train to Busan", and its got some amazing imagery, really stylish and kinetic shots, the action sequences answer the question "what if Christopher Nolan or Paul Greenglass directed Michael Jackson's Thriller video?"

Even if you're tired of zombies-- and "Walking Dead" lost me seasons ago, -- there's something new and interesting in this. The shots and the intensity are in some ways reminiscent of the vibe of the very first Frank Darabont season of Walking Dead, and these are "fast zombies", like "I am Legend". Some interesting Korean political/social/class backstory to the movie, and a cloying spin that wouldn't be in a Western horror film, but two big thumbs up for the film making. There's some really fun stuff in this . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7Z5bM5WlSM

[Brecht]

Europa Report (2013)



Trailer

An international team of six astronauts embarks on a privately funded mission to the Galilean moon Europa orbiting Jupiter. It's widely believed that there's a deep ocean of water under the moon's icy surface that harbors the possibility of life. The team's task is to look for traces of life. After six months in space, the ship is hit by a solar storm which interrupts communication with mission control. When two of the astronauts, Andrei Blok (Michael Nyqvist) and James Corrigan (Sharlto Copley), attempt to repair the communications system from the outside, a blast rips Blok's suit who starts losing oxygen. As Corrigan tries to get him back into the airlock, Blok notices hydrozine on Corrigan's suit, meaning that he can't enter the ship without contamining it and making the air toxic. Blok tries to find a solution but passes out due to the loss of oxygen. He's pushed into the airlock by Corrigan whose fate is sealed in space. Out of contact with Earth and shattered by a tragedy, the crew decides to continue with the mission but its challenges exceed their expectations.

Ecuadorian film director Sebastián Cordero created a suspenseful and realistic flick about the exploration of one of our solar system's most compelling moons. Europa was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Its surface is made of ice and the atmosphere predominantly of oxygen. Scientists believe that there is a 100 kilometers deep ocean of liquid water under the moon's surface, made up of 15 kilometers of thick ice.

This film has some minor faults. For example, Europa's ice surface is shown as thick as on Earth which is most definitely not the case. Other than that, Europa Report will attract your attention if you're interested in a realistic depiction of space exploration in feature films.

During the last two weeks, I've been watching a series of documentaries about our solar system and space exploration. Most of them are BBC productions.

Here they are:

The Planets (1999)
Space Odyssey - Voyage To The Planets (2004)
Wonders of the Solar System (2010)

Still left to watch:

Wonders of the Universe (2011)
Destination Titan (2011)
Voyager: To the Final Frontier (2012)
The Farthest (2017)

The last two documentaries are about the space probe Voyager 1, launched in 1977 to investigate the outer solar system. It entered interstellar space on August 25th, 2012, making it the farthest man-made object to date.

[deepsepia]

Re: "Europa Report".

It's a bit like "The Expanse", a maddeningly close "almost". They did a lot of work to get some.stuff right, but that makes the errors all the more irritating.

The problem is the humans and their.dialogue. they shouldn't be there -- first exploration of Europa would.obviously be robotic. Why exactly do you fly humans across the solar system in order to put a robot under the ice? Oh, to do stupid stuff, that's right. "To bravely die where no man has died before"

Also, I cringed when.someone announces that the temperature is just above absolute zero. Uh, no.

And the crew is resolute in their stupidity. . . They're on the order of "let's split up and explore the basement one at a time"

But there's so.much else to.like about it . . .

[Brecht]

Originally Posted by deepsepia

Re: "Europa Report".

It's a bit like "The Expanse", a maddeningly close "almost". They did a lot of work to get some.stuff right, but that makes the errors all the more irritating.

The problem is the humans and their.dialogue. they shouldn't be there -- first exploration of Europa would.obviously be robotic. Why exactly do you fly humans across the solar system in order to put a robot under the ice? Oh, to do stupid stuff, that's right. "To bravely die where no man has died before"

Also, I cringed when.someone announces that the temperature is just above absolute zero. Uh, no.

And the crew is resolute in their stupidity. . . They're on the order of "let's split up and explore the basement one at a time"

But there's so.much else to.like about it . . .

My thoughts as well. It's not mentioned in the film but perhaps they were preceded by robot missions that couldn't perform the task of drilling through the ice? Like I said, there are some obvious faults but minor enough to keep you awake until the end.