I agree, he’s a talented director with a unique style blending humor and mystery. It’s unfortunate the leak hurt the film’s success, and hopefully he gets more chances to make great movies with the right budget.

 

Lewis Black: Old Yeller: Live at the Borgata

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3091320/

 

The Eternaut
Netflix sci-fi series (6 Episodes)
Absolutely outstanding. We binged the whole series in one go. The acting and FX are brilliant.
I recommend watching with the original Spanish audio and using subtitles.
In the hottest time of year in Buenos Aires, it starts snowing. Everywhere starts freezing and the snowflakes kill people on contact.
I won't tell you any more!

7.5 from 22k votes on IMDB

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27740241/

 

I enjoyed both the movie & the soundtrack! :

 

So nice! :

 

I have this movie but I'm afraid to watch it

 

I've really enjoyed Nic Cage's recent films. Renfield, Longlegs, Pig and the brilliant Arcadian. I was hoping this one was going to carry on the trend.... and it does. Cage's character is excellent. Well worth a watch.

 

The film is better than the trailer. It wasn't as freaky scary as you might think it is. I'm a lightweight when it comes to movies like this and it never crossed my mind to close my eyes.

 

@Lois Lane I can't watch horror movies, I haven't watched any for 20 years, maybe because I'm a believer, magic, fantasy, is not for me.

 

It can absolutely get weird...I've seen stuff.

 

I like the weird
I'm a believer too, as the Monkees said, just in different stuff...

 

I'm currently watching it. It is not a great movie and it will take some effort to finish it, although it is not that bad.
On the + side, it is beautifully shot at times. Pictures of the foggy countryside are superb.
The constantly foggy and dark weather is not realistic for the area, but I suppose it brings a gloomy ambiance.
It reminds me of the british folk horror movies of the 60s/70s. Like Witchfinder General or even more, Blood on Satan's Claws (children keeping a secret, maleficient relic which unearthing brings the curse, ...)
But there are a lot of problems which add to the point of making disbelief suspension very difficult to me :

Spoiler

- CGI are often bad, fortunately, there are not many of them (at the moment, I saw only the 1st half of the movie)
- too much unnecessary jumpscares
- clothes are 'generic XIXth century' and , while most of the action is supposed to take place in 1882, some hats and piece of clothing look more from the 1840s.
- NO children were called 'Timmy' or 'Tommy' in France at the time. And NO farm hand would have been named 'Calum'. These are anglo-saxon names.
- Gypsies woud not have claimed property of land, maybe just the right to travel and camp. Plus Gypsies were under surveillance and were forced to have a passport. If a rich land owner didnt want Gypsies traveling his land, he just had to call the police. If he wanted to remove them definitely, accusing them of theft would probably have been enough. At worse, and to match the 'evil landlord' thing, murdering someone and accusing the Gypsies would have worked.
- This is supposed to be happening in France, not in the wild West. How in 1882 (not 1582) did someone recrut a dozen of armed and horse owning 'mercenaries' in the French countryside ? And keep this kind of murder spree secret ? This scene came 100% from a western movie, with outlaws or former confederate soldiers hired by the rich rancher to torch the natives' village.
And noone would have left a crucified body in plain sight. Rich land owner or not, it would have led very quickly to massive legal troubles.
- In the 1880s, there were schools in every village, and police/gendarmerie everywhere. Here again, the village life looks more from the XVIIth century than from the late XIXth. Remember it takes place in a rich wine producing area and not in a remote alpine valley.
- plus many details about police and military grades, and so on...

If someone wants a folk horror story without any magical/supernatural thing, I recommend the 1963 Italian movie Il Demonio ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167886/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 ). It is directed in the neo-realist way and has a documentary feel. It has influenced The Exorcist by William Friedkin, which is totally different (in Il Demonio, witchcraft/evil is something people believe in, not an external material force).
By the way : I find The Exorcist totally overrated. Friedkin did far better movies than this one.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 20, 2025

ANNIE NIGHTINGALE's Punk & New Wave Years
Great documentary featuring Gang Of Four, Rezillos, DEVO, Ramones, The Damned, Joy Division etc. etc.
When Annie took over The Old Grey Whistle Test she re-invented the show. The previous presenter (Whispering Bob Harris) hated Punk and New Wave.

 

The Good Girls by Claude Chabrol (1960)

This is an excerpt, not a trailer. Quality is bad.

I saw it with a good picture and the black & white was gorgeous. It is a very good movie about young women working in a household appliances shop and what they do during their free time. It might sound like it is a light hearted 50s/60s comedy but it is not, although it has mildly funny moments. It is a somewhat feminist movie with misanthropic undertones. Chabrol is known for his dark outlook on society. Acting and direction are top notch. This is, in my opinion, a 'glued' movie, like when one says a mix is 'glued'. Everything (or nearly) functions with the rest in an integrated whole which is greater than the sum of parts.

 

Blind Sun (2015) by Joyce A. Nashawati

It's a low-budget movie with a superior photography. It's about a Syrian refugee (but could have been anyone) who's been hired to watch a house in Greece belonging to a rich French couple. Water is scarce, heat is unbearable.
It's a slow movie but captivating. A story of seclusion and mental deterioration which could vaguely remind of Polansky's Repulsion but is in fact a Science-Fiction movie about the near future of Europe. The Afro-American writer Samuel Delany wrote "In Science-Fiction, the true protagonist is the setting" and this is true for this movie. Unbearable heat, water being privatized by greedy corporations, abusive police everywhere but no safety at all, a sense of threat and imminent doom, and one being unable to do anything. We (most of the Europeans) are almost there. It is not surprising that it is a Greek movie, after what Greece has endured under the EU rule.
Not everything is perfect, but it is a very good movie, visually stunning at times.

 

French comedy

 

Just binge watched The Consultant on Prime Video.
Christoph Waltz plays an intimidating character. I won't give the plot away, but it really is excellent.
8 x 30 minute episodes.

Waltz played the SS officer in Inglorious Basterds

 

I just finished it. It's actually very good. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Walkabout (1971) by Nicolas Roeg

I've watched it a few years ago and was haunted since then. I saw it again last night and found it more flawed than the first time but still haunting. Beautiful cinematography of the Australian outback. It is an early 70s movies and it shows. It is mesmerizing and has something strong, even brutal, and thought provoking. They dont build like this anymore. It might not appeal to anyone but, despite its flaws, it is close to being a masterpiece.