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08-17-2006, 05:37 PM
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#1351 of 2071 
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2000
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Local Date: 11-18-2008
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
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I happened to check the birthday list on the front page of HTF today, which I don't usually do...happy birthday, Mario! I didn't realize we were that close in age, only about 2 1/2 months apart.
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Um, let's not talk about birthdays. 
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08-17-2006, 06:02 PM
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#1352 of 2071
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Local Date: 11-18-2008
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
Steve Gon,
Thanks for the PM. No offence to other HTF members but August seems to breed film fans as, apart from myself and Steve, I know of two like-minded Maltese friends/colleagues of mine who fall under the sign of Leo..albeit born decades apart!
Sandro,
Thanks for reading my review of A PROFESSIONAL GUN (1968). Actually, I was underwhelmed by COMPANEROS (1970) myself but I plan to check it out again this coming weekend...
Haggai,
Thanks for noticing my birthdate  . Now I know the reason why our taste in film is so alike...
Joe Karlosi,
I know you haven't posted a review here for some time but I'd love to hear your thoughts on Jacques Tourneur's CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957). It's one of my All-Time Top 10 Horror Films and, therefore, I'm curious as to why you only gave it a *** rating...
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08-17-2006, 06:31 PM
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#1353 of 2071
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Member
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Posts: 4,608
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
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Originally Posted by Mario Gauci
Joe Karlosi,
I know you haven't posted a review here for some time but I'd love to hear your thoughts on Jacques Tourneur's CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957). It's one of my All-Time Top 10 Horror Films and, therefore, I'm curious as to why you only gave it a *** rating... |
Believe it or not, I nearly gave it a ****, Mario (which translates to "exceptional" via my rating system) but settled on a *** ("good") instead. I think my feeling was that this U.S. CURSE OF THE DEMON was a notch below the original (and longer) British version, which is technically a different film with more footage and is properly called NIGHT OF THE DEMON. So I was torn between the two. It's been some time since I saw NIGHT, but I recall it being even stronger.
It's a very interesting film with a powerful occult atmosphere. I think the cast is well chosen, including Dana Andrews as the skeptical psychologist, and the marvelously odd Niall MacGinnis as the head warlock, if you will. The monster featured in the film is also frightening, and I'm of the opinion that it was a good thing to feature it, though perhaps it should have been shown more sparingly from a distance in the beginning and only seen full and up close for the finale. |
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08-18-2006, 01:00 PM
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#1354 of 2071
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Member
Join Date: May 2001
Local Time: 10:52 AM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 8,497
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
title: house of wax
rating: c
comments: another wifey selection. i guess it was okay ... it wasn't horrible ... had some cool gruesome scenes and a couple of jumpy moments.
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08-18-2006, 01:23 PM
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#1355 of 2071
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Adam_S
Member
Location: Marina del Rey, CA
Join Date: Feb 2001
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Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 5,060
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
it's not film but I've been watching the first dvd of house season 1, and especially the brian singer episode the show is every bit as good as film. Once you make the leap past the pilot and get into the show's wicked sense of bitter/cynical sarcasm from House and play up the Holmes aspects more the characters and dialogue just start working brilliantly. The best show on TV bar none and I'll be rooting for it come emmy night.
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08-18-2006, 02:41 PM
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#1356 of 2071
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Member
Location: Alexandria, VA
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Posts: 3,795
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
It All Came True (1940) 7/10
Light comedy/gangster spoof that vaguely seems like a milder precursor to Arsenic and Old Lace, with two eccentric old ladies running a boarding house where a hardened criminal takes up residence. Bogart as the gangster and Ann Sheridan as the brassy daughter of one of the house's owners have some good scenes together, although it also becomes a sort of musical/comedy revue, with various skits and songs as they convert the house into a nightclub. Reasonably enjoyable if you like the cast, albeit not very memorable in any way.
Allegheny Uprising (1939) 5/10
The second of three movies that paired John Wayne and Claire Trevor right around that time, this one doesn't amount to much in comparison to the great Stagecoach or the very good Dark Command. Set in the pre-revolutionary time of the French and Indian War, Wayne and his compatriots lead a local resistance against the tyrannical presence of the British. There are a few good action scenes, and Wayne is decent enough, but the script is weak. And Trevor, whom I almost always love, is uncharacteristically shrill and ineffective.
The Blue Gardenia (1953) 8/10
It takes about 30 minutes into this Fritz Lang noir before the crime kicks in, with an "I think I killed him, but I was drunk" plot premise. The suspense and paranoia is very well done, once it picks up, and in spite of some plot gimmicks along the way, it's pretty fun and entertaining all the way through.
Force of Evil (1948) 8/10
John Garfield stars in a bleak story of corruption and conspiracy, where even the decent people on the outskirts of the businesses in question are dragged down by the crime syndicate's control. The reliable Thomas Gomez is excellent as Garfield's brother, and the tension builds to several high points, especially the scene where Gomez realizes that he's been set up, and another scene where Garfield realizes that his phone has been tapped. Almost great overall, but a lot of the dialogue seems more flowery than necessary.
Johnny Angel (1945) 8/10
Lots of great cinematography in this little-known but very well made noir. George Raft stars as a ship captain trying to solve the mystery of what happened to his father's boat, with Signe Hasso as a mysterious woman who might hold the key to the puzzle, and Claire Trevor as the devious wife of the rich shlub who's standing in Raft's way. Not too much depth to the story, but the visual portrayal of the dynamics between the characters is terrific, and the three leads are all very good, as is Hoagy Carmichael as a resourceful cab driver.
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08-18-2006, 06:00 PM
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#1357 of 2071
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Posts: 1,602
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
Joe Karlosi,
Thanks for replying re: CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957). It was silly of me not to "suspect" that the lowlier rating was a result of being the shorter U.S. cut of the film.
The thing is that, even though I've owned the R1 double-feature DVD for over a year, I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. So far, my two viewings of the film have been of the superior full-length UK version (on PAL VHS, no less). To confuse matters still, that VHS edition was actually labelled CURSE OF THE DEMON on the sleeve - although I don't recall which title cropped up in the opening credits of the film itself...
I agree that Niall McGinnis was outstanding in it and that the creature was conceptually great...even if the puppet itself (or whatever it was) was rather clumsily animated. Ironically, this was the one film I missed from that batch of vintage horror movies which were shown one Summer week in the afternoon on Italian TV in the early 1980s - including FRANKENSTEIN (1931), THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), KING KONG (1933), THE WOLF MAN (1941), etc. - and which marked me as a horror fan for life. Until that VHS came along some 15 years later, I had to make do with a still of the scary bugger in "Horror Films", a terrific study of the genre I found in my father's library and which I peruse regularly to this very day.
Last edited by Mario Gauci : 08-18-2006 at 06:06 PM.
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08-18-2006, 06:06 PM
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#1358 of 2071
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Member
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
Mario, you've got a lot of horrors you've never seen coming this fall for on DVD for the first time, yes?
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08-18-2006, 07:17 PM
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#1359 of 2071
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Member
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
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Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Mario, you've got a lot of horrors you've never seen coming this fall for on DVD for the first time, yes?
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Sure have, Joe (in alphabetical order):
Before I Hang
The Black Castle
The Black Pit Of Dr. M
The Brainiac
The Climax
Curse Of The Doll People
The Devil's Rain
Frankenstein: The True Story (TV)
House Of The Damned
The Invisible Boy
Jigoku
The Loreley's Grasp
Monster On The Campus
The Man They Could Not Hang
The Mole People
The Monolith Monsters
Night Key
Night Of The Bloody Apes
Night Of The Sorcerers
Queen Of Atlantis
The Strange Door
This Island Earth
Tower Of London
Trilogy Of Terror (TV)
The Vampire's Coffin
Now, if anyone can give me any ideas where I should store all these (and more non-horror stuff) - I'd really appreaciate it !
Last edited by Mario Gauci : 08-18-2006 at 07:21 PM.
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08-18-2006, 07:25 PM
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#1360 of 2071
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Re: Track the Films You Watch (2006)
That's some list! I'm very anxious to hear what you think of some of these. How about the Inner Sanctums? I can't recall if you've seen those.
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