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RasGold
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rasgold is a 30 year Video Production veteran and up-coming Film Director
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I've seen almost every movie since 1929.
If there's something I should see, please let me know as I'm running out of good stuff to watch.
Favorite Films:
Slaughterhouse Five
A Clockwork Orange
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Brazil
The Fourth Man
The Other (1972)
Female Trouble
Pink Floyd's The Wall
The Haunting (1961)
Donnie Darko
Hair
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
(Check this out:http://youtube.com/watch?v=kYHKoXAnJT8)
Run, Lola, Run
Jacob's Ladder
Pan's Labyrinth
The Gift
The Fury
The Birds
Suspiria
The Grandmother (David Lynch--1970 short film)
The Meaning of Life
Twitch of the Death Nerve
Dead Alive/Braindead
Dementia 13
SLITHER
Shaun of the Dead
The Descent
VAMPYR (1932)
NIGHTMARE in a Disturbed Brain (1981)
The HOST
Tideland
Dellamorte Dellamore
Night Watch (Russian)
Bug!
Cloverfield
REPO! The Genetic Opera
6ixtynin9
ZombieLand
Moon
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Monsters (2010)
Runs out of ammunition!
I just saw MONSTERS on VOD/AppleTV ... While there were clearly not enough monsters of either Alien nor Human decent, we are left with a slightly heavy (if not preachy) drama of human survival. ... It's recommendable as a piece of curious art. I was left with memories of past relationships and my childhood years watching "War of the Worlds." I would rate this film higher, but it is not a film I would recommend to anyone who does not appreciate film for film itself. On one hand, MONSTERS is a masterpiece of guerrilla film-making, with a cold-cocked human interest story interwoven with a hopeless tale of human survival; on the other, it is a blatant rip-off of nearly every other "monster" story that has come along before it.
If you want to see a better-than-average TV/Theatrical performance on the BIG screen, be prepared to sit through an endless barrage of well tuned dialog, coinciding with impeccable editing techniques, and a story that has no real monsters other than lingering memories of monsters gone by; and we can overcome our misfortunes no matter how other-worldly they may be (tho, this film has a slightly different out-take on that ... obviously, after viewing).
MONSTERS cannot be compared to any one single movie but a group of movies, and never quite brings the scare factor those previous films evoked in their time. The "wow" factor is left all in the viewer's mind; a reference to those days, six years ago, when the malady was occurring, and this film never quite realizes there are people watching ... Real humans that might have gone through this in the past, and are currently experiencing these emotions at show-time.
The aliens in this film cannot be controlled as easily as those of another recent motion picture :::cough-District 9-cough::: and seem a curious cross between two others :::hic-Cloverfield/The Mist-xcuseme::: but still, we have the chill of classic alien invasion movies from an outsider's viewpoint. The military got it all under control.
References to our current Mexican/United States border fence indications were obliterated from this review, as they are obvious to any who are remotely interested in this film.
Cloverfield (2008)
This comment may contain spoilers -
This comment may contain spoilers.
I am a monster movie aficionado.
The discovery of Cloverfield piqued all our senses.
Have you ever seen raw footage from a video camera before it has been edited?
Not only is this a document of a monsters' attack on New York (the captured data covered over previously recorded footage of another very important event: A recording of a man and a woman, and their wonderful day at Coney Island), it is also a movie that captured audiences.
The SD card (controlled by the Department of Defense) is only one of many.
There are more.
My review of this pick? I've seen it several times.
My interest is piqued.
-----On a side note-----
We cannot disclaim: TAGRUATO; BOLD FUTURA; YOSHIDA MEDICAL; PARAFunWAX; SLUSHO!; or 1-18-08, as we've lived with them for such a long, long time ...
As it turned out, they really had *nothing* to do with the film.
I can hardly wait to see what's next.
Communion (1976)
Horror, Sweet Horror!
As a child, I grew up in a Italian/Catholic household. As I LOVED horror films, I asked if I could go see it. My parents had seen the film and suggested I should read the book before I also see it. I found the film to be VERY faithful. The images of COMMUNION (a.k.a "Alice, Sweet, Alice") were very potent for me. (I think the book was actually novelization of the movie.)
Now, after viewing it again as a home/DVD double bill: "Good Girls Gone Bad" with TheEXORCIST, I found it to stand the test of time. COMMUNION is an excellent period piece with the inclusion of horrific images common to many horror films. However, aside from the multiple ... and I do mean MULTIPLE ... stab scenes with a butcher knife, COMMUNION is not really a 'horror' film. It is a mystery/suspense.
The good: The film is very exciting and intense. The characters are believable and cause the viewer to sympathize with them. ****Semi-spoiler*** The scene were Alice kills a cat looks VERY real, was EXTREMELY disturbing and could not possibly have been done with PETA's approval. Also, the fact that Catherine knows her 'sweet little Alice' could not have committed the crimes, she continues to treat her like an adult throughout the movie. This was a smart move on director Alfred Sole's behalf. The retitling to "Alice, Sweet Alice" was cool, made more sense than "Communion," and plants a seed in the audience that "Alice did it" even before the picture starts.
The bad: Why were the characters not more upset there was a killer in their midst?!? Someone had killed Karen. Someone was terrorizing those involved. Someone was using a kitchen knife and bricks to kill ... Kill ... KILL! ... Hmmmmmm ... I would have DEMANDED police protection!
All-in-all, this film is an excellent example of the macabre, and I recommend it for all those who like death and such in a film.
Phantasm (1979)
Alomst ... Does NOT stand up to the test of time :-( ... (EDIT)
With the re-release on Blu-Ray, I've got a second opinion on this film.
1. Fond memories of the film being VERY scary when I saw it originally in the theater (1979).
2. Nearly 25 years later, a re-watch on VHS with a friend left a muddy image of the film (original review unedited below).
Bad quality, dark, mumbled dialog, bad sound; just this side of awful.
3. Now, with the re-re-re-release onto Blu-Ray my opinion has changed once again.
The magic has returned! The film is amazing with the image/sound quality restored!
A CLASSIC once again!
(My original IMDb review)
Although, I do think the film to be a classic, I first saw this film in 1979 and it scared the bejesus out of me. It was one of my favorite horror films due to its originality and Sci-Fi twists.
However, nearly 25 years later, the film is often crude and, after viewing it with a friend, I found it to be quite tedious. Many films, including Night of the Living Dead, The Omen, The Exorcist, Halloween and even Friday the 13th, hold onto their "oomph" factor. Sadly to say, while Phantasm still holds a fond memory for me, this recent viewing left the film a bit weak in my opinion.
Also, as I remember ... PT 2 kinda bit; the only greatly remembered aspect was 'ball's-eye-view.' And I do remember the series got better with PT III and IV. All the Phantasm features played lightly on current film trends and I sorta recommend the original if you want to follow the story as a PT V may be on the horizon.
Monsturd (2003)
Get out your toilet paper.
I bought this movie solely on IMDb reviews. My local BLOCKBUSTER did have it for rent. However, with their high rental rates for newer movies, it was actually cheaper for me to buy it. ***SPOILER*** Three scenes made me laugh so hard I almost Monsturded my pants! Only two things about this film bugged me tho ... 1) Monsturd should have been a direct result of Jack Schmitt (our unwitting, escaped serial killer) coming in contact with the deadly toxins that were dumped into the sewer system. NOT a recombinant DNA creature that miraculously sprang out of nowhere. 2) When the deputies puked and puked (and puked), the Fed and the Sheriff should also have puked (at least once) after finding the (smelly) remains of Monsturd's victims. All in all, the movie is a real piece of crap (pun intended). And should be rented (or bought) by any and all who are into potty humor, bad film and great laughs.