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Mogwai recommended Kiss Me Deadly (1955) in Movies (curated)
Dean (6921 KP) rated Thor: Ragnarok (2017) in Movies
Oct 24, 2017 (Updated Oct 24, 2017)
Great characters (3 more)
Brilliant action scenes
Amazing Sfx
Very funny!
Hammer time!
This film was an absolute blast! Packed with action, lots of characters crammed in and very funny throughout. It's such a stark contrast compared to the last Thor film. It has a great blend of elements from the Avengers films and similar in style to the Guardians of the galaxy films. Don't miss it!
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Phantoms in Books
Jul 25, 2017
Flimsy story, almost comedic
While this story was extremely engaging for its genre and content, it started off with the mystery of a psychological thriller and ended up becoming like a 1970's hammer horror. It couldn't hold itself in the end and the description of the "thing" reminded me of a Sam Raimi style boring gorefest. A bit of a disappointment after 14 hours of listening.
Megan Abbott recommended Kiss Me Deadly (1955) in Movies (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated Hands of the Ripper (1971) in Movies
May 27, 2018 (Updated May 27, 2018)
Bring the Daughter; Have some Slaughter
Pretty decent Hammer horror melodrama set in a sort of grab-bag version of late Victorian London. Anna (Rees) grows up an orphan, little suspecting the identity of her father, or the fact that she seems to have inherited his compulsion to kill. An ambitious psychiatrist (Porter) takes her under his wing, believing he can help her with her little problem. (As ever, hubris comes before a gory comeuppance.) Meanwhile, Hammer whips up gallons of fake blood.
Not-bad production values and decent performances go a long way to make up for some fairly preposterous plotting; you get the classic Hammer sense of a traditional costume drama coupling energetically with a disreputable exploitation movie, with a good time had by all. On the one hand this is another tale of an improbably arrogant man whose specific area of brilliance doesn't stop him making a whole series of insanely bad decisions; on the other it is about the power of men to seriously screw up the lives of women in patriarchal societies (so perhaps still somewhat relevant). Film does an interesting little dance, too: are Anna's problems purely psychological or is she genuinely possessed by the spirit of the Ripper? Well put together, some interesting ideas, doesn't outstay its welcome - definitely worth a look if old British horror movies are your thing.
Not-bad production values and decent performances go a long way to make up for some fairly preposterous plotting; you get the classic Hammer sense of a traditional costume drama coupling energetically with a disreputable exploitation movie, with a good time had by all. On the one hand this is another tale of an improbably arrogant man whose specific area of brilliance doesn't stop him making a whole series of insanely bad decisions; on the other it is about the power of men to seriously screw up the lives of women in patriarchal societies (so perhaps still somewhat relevant). Film does an interesting little dance, too: are Anna's problems purely psychological or is she genuinely possessed by the spirit of the Ripper? Well put together, some interesting ideas, doesn't outstay its welcome - definitely worth a look if old British horror movies are your thing.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Abominable Snowman (1957) in Movies
Mar 23, 2018 (Updated Mar 23, 2018)
Solid Hammer genre movie. Really an odd piece of atomic-era pessimism, as you'd expect from famously glum screenwriter Nigel Kneale; expedition to track down the Yeti goes rather awry, and the question becomes that of who the real monster is.
A bit dated now, especially in terms of the production values - there are some exterior shots filmed in the Pyrenees, but all the dialogue scenes were done on a sound stage. Despite being the main character, Peter Cushing (in only his second film for Hammer) is second-billed to the American Tucker in the hope of flogging the movie to the States (pretty much standard practice at the time). Decent script ticks all the plot boxes; curiously ambiguous ending doesn't hurt either, but the Yeti suits are not much cop, it must be said. Probably worth watching if you like unusually brainy B-movies.
A bit dated now, especially in terms of the production values - there are some exterior shots filmed in the Pyrenees, but all the dialogue scenes were done on a sound stage. Despite being the main character, Peter Cushing (in only his second film for Hammer) is second-billed to the American Tucker in the hope of flogging the movie to the States (pretty much standard practice at the time). Decent script ticks all the plot boxes; curiously ambiguous ending doesn't hurt either, but the Yeti suits are not much cop, it must be said. Probably worth watching if you like unusually brainy B-movies.
Scott Morse recommended Rififi (1955) in Movies (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) in Movies
Feb 24, 2018
(The other) Young Frankenstein
At the start of the 1970s Hammer tried to relaunch both their main series with new leading men (Ralph Bates replacing Christopher Lee in this case); this was the only reboot which eventually happened. The basics of the Frankenstein story are (just about) retold; young Victor decides to make a man, if not of himself, then from some body parts.
There's no doubt that Ralph Bates could have been a brilliant Frankenstein, but not in a film with a script like this one's. The film attempts to appeal to a hip young audience by including cleavage by the yard and lots of sub-Carry On film humour; script is also thick-headed and repetitive. The moment Frankenstein's experiments included resurrecting a tortoise everyone involved should have realised there was a serious problem here. Not funny, not scary, not interesting, barely worth watching except for Hammer fans. They got Peter Cushing back for the next one.
There's no doubt that Ralph Bates could have been a brilliant Frankenstein, but not in a film with a script like this one's. The film attempts to appeal to a hip young audience by including cleavage by the yard and lots of sub-Carry On film humour; script is also thick-headed and repetitive. The moment Frankenstein's experiments included resurrecting a tortoise everyone involved should have realised there was a serious problem here. Not funny, not scary, not interesting, barely worth watching except for Hammer fans. They got Peter Cushing back for the next one.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Scars of Dracula (1970) in Movies
Feb 24, 2018 (Updated Feb 25, 2018)
Hammer's sixth film with Dracula in the title was supposed to reboot the series from scratch, with a new actor in the title role; distributors insisted on Christopher Lee being brought back, which explains both the opening sequence in which Dracula is (somewhat bafflingly) resurrected, and the general sense of resignation in Lee's performance.
Script rambles, attempts to inject more gore and sex into the Hammer Dracula formula; director Baker doesn't seem to be really up for it, somehow. Some elements from the original novel reappear, also a few from previous Hammer Draculas. Patrick Troughton (looking like Liam Gallagher's granddad) is good value as Dracula's long-suffering handyman Klove. Some of the younger cast would go on to have decent careers; nothing to suggest that here, though. The rubber bat puppet from this film would go on to have no career whatsoever, which is not at all surprising. All really kind of perfunctory and mechanical.
Script rambles, attempts to inject more gore and sex into the Hammer Dracula formula; director Baker doesn't seem to be really up for it, somehow. Some elements from the original novel reappear, also a few from previous Hammer Draculas. Patrick Troughton (looking like Liam Gallagher's granddad) is good value as Dracula's long-suffering handyman Klove. Some of the younger cast would go on to have decent careers; nothing to suggest that here, though. The rubber bat puppet from this film would go on to have no career whatsoever, which is not at all surprising. All really kind of perfunctory and mechanical.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) in Movies
Jan 31, 2020
Slightly oddball mummy movie from Hammer: much mayhem, sort of prefiguring The Omen in some ways, and a crawling severed hand, but no-one staggering around covered in bandages, either (at least not until the very end, and this may be intended as a knowing joke). The spirit of an evil Egyptian queen possesses the daughter of the man who dug her up and attempts to recover the relics she needs to resurrect herself.
Just about hangs together, but there are some very ropey-looking sequences and the plot doesn't really cohere - there even seems to be some uncertainty as to when exactly it's supposed to be set. A heroically earnest performance from Valerie Leon, given the camera keeps mysteriously panning down onto her chest; everyone else is okay; you wonder if the movie might have been lifted somewhat if first choice Peter Cushing had been able to complete his role. Probably not, but Hammer fans will find it passes the time reasonably enough.
Just about hangs together, but there are some very ropey-looking sequences and the plot doesn't really cohere - there even seems to be some uncertainty as to when exactly it's supposed to be set. A heroically earnest performance from Valerie Leon, given the camera keeps mysteriously panning down onto her chest; everyone else is okay; you wonder if the movie might have been lifted somewhat if first choice Peter Cushing had been able to complete his role. Probably not, but Hammer fans will find it passes the time reasonably enough.