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Saturday 13 November 2010

Saturday 9 October 2010

#7 Graham's second

Last Night is a cult Canadian film made in 1998 that recently received a belated DVD release. Directed by, written by, and starring Canuck crazy-face Don McKellar, Last Night follows several Toronto natives as they prepare for the end of the world. It’s a surprisingly funny and uplifting low budget film featuring a who’s who of Canadian character actors, including Sandra Oh, Callum Keith Rennie and even David Cronenburg. Definitely one of the best films I’ve seen this year.

Mad Max 2 should need no introduction but I’m going to give it one anyway. Mad Mel stars as the post-apocalyptic saviour and leather-clad badass in possibly the greatest action movie of all-time. Commando favourite Vernon Wells does his bit as a hideously kinky savage who’d rather like to see our hard-bitten hero get deaded, while some of the most memorable supporting mutant bastards ever seen provide evil support! And if that isn’t enough for you, Mad Max 2 features the best chase scene of all-time - often imitated but never improved.

Friday 1 October 2010

Saturday 28 August 2010

#5 Kate's first


Barbarella (1968)


Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Saturday 7 August 2010

#3 Jimmy's first

Sanjuro (1962):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056443/

Sanjuro is Akira Kurosawa's sequel to his influential Yojimbo (remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars). Sanjuro's tone is lighter than its prequel, emphasising the characters manipulative cunning and well concealed good nature. Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe was described as a "knight in dirty armour" and this fits Mifune's character in Sanjuro as well.

For a Few Dollars More (1965):

Is Leone's sequel to A Fistful of Dollars, and although in no way based on Sanjuro, it is similarly more reflective than its prequel. Clint Eastwood's classic portrayal of his man-with-no-name is superbly supported by Lee Van Cleef as his partner, and Gian Maria Volante as the unforgettable lead villain. Klaus Kinski's sneering hunchback is a bonus and the legendarily immense soundtrack closes the deal.

Friday 23 July 2010

#2 Bryan's first

The first is Herk Harvey’s Carnival Of Souls (1962) (78 minutes) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/

Carnival of Souls is a low budget 1962 horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the movie never gained widespread public attention when it was originally released as it was intended as a B film and today, has become somewhat of a cult classic. Set to an organ score by Gene Moore, Carnival of Souls relies more on atmosphere than on special effects to create its mood of horror. The film has a large cult following and occasionally has screenings at local film and Halloween festivals.

The second is The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari (1920) (71 minutes)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (German: Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari) is a 1920 silent film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time. This movie is cited as having introduced the twist ending in cinema.

Saturday 17 July 2010

#1 Graham's first

The Hired Hand (1971) is Peter Fonda’s directorial debut, an elegiac western that was inexplicably buried by the studio. It’s a small but beautiful movie driven by three outstanding performances from Peter Fonda, Verna Bloom and Warren Oates, and a haunting score from Bob Dylan collaborator Bruce Langhorne.


Fonda stars as Harry, a burnt out drifter who returns to his wife, Hannah (Verna Bloom), and their child after years out in the American wilderness with his buddy, Arch (Warren Oates). Determined to change his ways and prove his commitment to his family, Harry renounces his old ways, but the violence that coloured his former life is never far away.


It’s kind of like Paris, Texas with guns.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067204/

My second film is Thomas McGuane’s adaptation of his bonkers book 92 in the Shade (1975). It’s a surreal, freewheeling comedy-drama starring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates as rival tour guides in Key West, Florida, locked in a bizarre battle of wills, which gets out of hand rather quickly.


The cast list reads like a who’s who of seventies character actors. If Margot Kidder, Harry Dean Stanton, Joe Spinell and Burgess Meredith aren’t enough then there’s no helping you. It’s not the most coherent movie in the world, but it’s always amusing and another hidden gem from the seventies.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072594/