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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated After Hours (1985) in Movies

Mar 5, 2020

After Hours (1985)

1985 | Comedy, Mystery

8.0

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Scorsese's direction (2 more)

The quirky cameos

Griffin Dunne

Bad 80s music (0 more)

This is one of my absolute all time guilty secret films. Except guilty secret is wrong, because it is too good to be guilty. Perhaps it's better to say one of the most under-rated and under-seen films of the 80s. Forgotten by many and unknown by many more. When listing the best of Scorsese it is easy to overlook this lighter work, dismissing it as a diversion from his main oeuvre, but that is a shame...

Set over the course of one crazy night on New York, where everything goes wrong and spirals into one weird encounter after another, it is an allegory for lost direction and anxiety in a confusing time; chasing the rat race, money, dreams and love, only to fall down a never-ending rabbit hole. Watching the cameo appearances come and go is like doing an 80s B-movie checklist. Griffin Dunne himself has drifted into obscurity now - not that he was ever huge - and this remains the one thing he will perhaps always be known for.

I wonder if it would make any sense at all to anyone who can't remember the 80s first hand? For me it screams nostalgia for that time: the epitome of music, fashion and movie style back then. I recommend it in an unlikely double bill with Desperately Seeking Susan. Trust me.

Kudos

Vegas (725 KP) rated Ready or Not (2019) in Movies

Feb 20, 2020

Ready or Not (2019)

2019 | Comedy, Horror, Mystery

7.6

(46 Ratings)

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Very strong cast (1 more)

The black humour

A fun horror rather than a gory horror

I really enjoy horrors, thrillers and dramas set predominantly in mansions, stately homes castles, chateaux etc so it gets off to a good start. The setting has a feel of a cross between Clue and the original Sleuth... Both of which are among my favourite films...

Marrying into a family who made their money through games all new family members have to play a random game, most harmless but draw one card and you are in for a bumpy ride, and might not see the night through...

An oddball bunch of family members make this a fun horror movie rather than a gory or suspenseful one, even though there is a lot of blood and gore it doesn't feel like it, it's certainly not like watching the Saw franchise, the black humour works brilliantly alongside the serious moments and you can really get behind Samara Weavings character, trying to remain alive in a cat and mouse chase around the Mansion with her portrayal of newlywed Grace who instead of spending her wedding night with her husband ends up playing a scary and dangerous game of hide and seek with her new family...

A well made film that delights with its humour, made stronger by the cast and not a stereotypical usage of the usual, lone girl (potential) victim/survivor seen in other horror films.