Topic: The Movie Thread

@MightyDemon82 Yeah, excellent movie! One of my favourites of the year, along with "28 Years Later".
The jumpy girl, was it when Matthew turned into Gladys at the end of Archer's dream? That scene got the biggest reaction with the crowd I was in (along with when Justine lay back in her bed and Gladys stared at her from the ceiling)

I started The New Tale of Zatoichi this morning, and was pleased to see that it was the first Zatoichi movie to be presented in colour, not that there was anything wrong with the first two black and white entries, but something about it being in colour makes it more lifelike, obviously, I'm aware that a lot of the Japanese movies from the 1960s and around that time are still all only available in black and white, but that doesn't present me with any objections with regard to watching them in the future.

@FuriousMachine It was neither of those. Although those scenes got reactions as well. It was near the end when Archer is looking for Matthew and Glady's jumps out of the Darkness .

Gave everyone sitting around her a good laugh including her partner.

@MightyDemon82 Ah, yes, that one got a few jumps with us as well. Watching horror with a crowd is the best! I remember seeing "Evil Dead" in Seattle back in 2013 and the trailer for "The Conjuring" ran before it. There was a solitary dude sat in one of the front rows and at the end of the trailer, when the hands come out of the darkness and claps, I witnessed the rare natural phenomena that can only be described as a "popcorn geyser" abruptly erupting in front of me. Good times

@FuriousMachine Nothing quite like watching a movie at a packed screening.

Not horror movies. But two of my favourite cinema memories are with 'The Fellowship of the ring' and 'Jurassic Park'.

In the scene in Fellowship where Aragon beheads the Uruk-Hai a young lad burst out laughing and then everyone else watching laughed at him laughing.

In Jurassic, it involved a 12 year old me. The closing moments of the film when the raptors are closing in on Grant & the gang and I blinked at the crucial moment when the T-rex knocks down the wall. All I saw was the rex covering the screen, I jumped out my seat it folded up and I landed on the floor. My Dad telling me to "Get up you Idiot". 🤣

@MightyDemon82

I have this strange story about my family all going to the movies to see Raiders of the Lost Ark.

As the German soldiers are being melted at the end (spoiler), once the Ark has been opened, apparently my mum put her hands over my eyes!

I would have been maybe six or seven years old. Not sure if this is actually true, though. But she told me that several times, as I was growing up, and so I believe it.

@Matthewnh that might have creeped you out at that young age. I was put to bed scared of 'Gremlins' as my parents had rented it to watch with the neighbours 2 older lads they were babysitting. I would have been around 6 at the time.

Apparently you can check out the first four movies in the 'Zatoichi' series first ,and then delve in wherever you like, so with that in mind, and relying on further t'internet information, I intend to finish New Tale of Zatoichi and the film after it and then watch Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival ,which is allegedly the best in the series.

RIP Cineworld Glasgow. Yes, it was a bit of a dump because it’s a Cineworld, but it’s the tallest cinema in the world which was always a mad record and also made me feel violently ill coming up and down the escalators, especially with a belly full of popcorn. There are better cinemas in Glasgow but it’s where I saw basically all movies growing up, Avatar, the Marvel movies etc.

Finished New Tale of Zatoichi this morning. I thought it was fantastic! Effortless and seamless swordsmanship and acting from Shintaro Katsu, playing the titular character. I would recommend watching the first two films in the series first, though, as the plot follows on from them, apparently the first four films, as I've said before, are sequential in a narrative-sense.

I'm planning to watch the fourth film in this canonical series of the first four Zatoichi films, Zatoichi the Fugitive, next, to conclude the quadrilogy, then move on to Zatoichi's Conspiracy and Zatoichi ,the 25th and 26th (concluding) films in the series, respectively. Then maybe I'll move on and watch an anime, perhaps The Sword of the Stranger, on Blu-ray. Planning on skipping the remaining films, for the time being, as I hear they're not canon.

@MightyDemon82 hahaha, that's brilliant! I was nineteen when JP came out and I was convinced that it was a kiddie-friendly Spielberg movie (of the PG kind) and almost didn't go see it... but, you know, dinosaurs, so I went to see it anyway and was pleasantly surprised over the level of carnage it supplied. Had a week spot for the franchise since, even though I struggled to like the first three "World" movies ("Rebirth was a step back in the right direction, I thought).

@Matthewnh Wait, was she too late and didn't manage to cover your eyes until after the melty-melt, or did she manage to shield you from the grisly business? It it's the former, then that is quite funny. I was probably the same age when I saw it. I never got to see it at the cinema; the age restrictions in Norway were quite strict back then, so I saw it on a pirated VHS tape provided by our neighbour. I'm pretty sure I thought the scene was "cool" when I saw it (the way kids love seeing things they're really not supposed to and can't wait to tell their friends), but I'm also pretty sure it disturbed a few nights of sleep, so if you're mum managed to shield you from that, go mum!

It wasn't until I was eleven, almost twelve, that I was properly traumatised in a movie theatre. We were visiting distant relatives in Minnesota and one of my older relatives wanted to go see a movie with me. Initially he wanted to see "Aliens", but mum didn't love that idea, so we went to see a horror-comedy, "Vamp", with Grace Jones instead. And oh boy was that a little too much for little me, I was a bundle of nerves through the entire movie and I didn't sleep for days. My relative felt so bad about that.
It would be quite a few more years until I dared even peek in the direction of a horror movie, until the spell was broken with "Friday the 13th - part VI" at a birthday party sleepover (if I could have avoided watching it and still save face with my friends, I would have, but as it were I was "trapped" and wound up having a great time). Been a horror fan ever since, with a special love for vampire movies
(I did see "Aliens" on VHS a year or two later and while it didn't affect me then, I did find it all kinds of intense and would probably have been a wreck if I'd seen it in the theatre as my horror-fragile eleven year old self )

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I love hearing about your Zatoichi journey, my friend, so I hope you'll keep posting I'm planning to do the same some time soon, though I'll do the Lone Wolf and Cub films first.

I recently watched Police Story 3 as I hadn't watched an old Jackie Chan film in a long time and didn't think I had seen that one. I think I recall better ones but the final action sequences are crazy. With the stunt 'outtakes' during the credits it's insane no-one wasn't seriously injured or killed. I wonder if Hong Kong movies have become safer more in line with Hollywood over time or still more risk taking.

Also rewatched Toy Soldiers for the first time in ages. One of the more entertaining 'Die Hard style' movies I think. Better than most of the Die Hard films to be honest.

@FuriousMachine I hope you enjoy the Lone Wolf and Cub films as much as I enjoyed Shogun Assassin from that lot. I watched a bit of Zatoichi the Fugitive this morning, and greatly enjoyed what I saw, hopefully the opening premise will be extended/executed to the same degree of quality, throughout the remaining duration of the film.

Edit: I watched a bit more this morning, two more scenes - it's shaping up well.

@FuriousMachine did your dealer, wink wink, nudge nudge, come through with your V for Vendetta Steel? Assuming it was a global release date today

@Ravix Sure did, arrived Friday, actually, along with the "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" and "The Conjuring" steelbooks. "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Mortal Kombat" may be no-shows, though, as I've had no word on them (also released officially yesterday).

@Ravix Zavvi have sale on for steelbooks. 2 for 30 quid and 2 for 40 quid... 👀

@FuriousMachine noice! Lawrence went like hotcakes in the UK a few weeks ago, so you'll be lucky, but you never know 🤞 It seems you have slightly different release dates then, potentially. Where do you order from? Bloke down the pub in a tench coat, right? 😁

@JohnnyShoulder shush you, I will not be led into temptation. I already have too many, too soon! With 7 more on the way. I kid you not 😭 or was that just the right amount right on time, or was it maybe not enough at far too slow a rate? Hmm, hahaha 👀

Honestly though, Italy has been far better than any 2 for £30/40 deal. Averaged about £12 a movie, which is a real steal! And got the hard to find A Knight's Tale which wasn't available anywhere else without dealing with scalpers too.

If anyone can find me a 'Kingdom of Heaven' or a 'The Last Duel' from a reputable seller I'd give them a wee cuddle for their troubles however 🤪

@Ravix Yeah, I know, I put in a pre-order quite a while back, but I may have been a bit too slow. I typically order from a Norwegian peddler of film and music (so they have me on the hook for my vinyl needs as well) and occasionally they won't know the exact amount of stock they'll get when they put out pre-orders and, as a result, some will be disappointed. It is very rare that this occurs, though.

I'm still angry at Zavvi... ordered tons from them before, then one day they just went "sorry, Norwegian customers are no longer welcome". I sent them a few emails asking if it was a temporary thing or, if not, what the reason for it was and they never gave me a clear answer (they said something along the lines of "sorry you're having problems with our site, but you'll be excited when you hear what we're working on" and I went "Bringing back shipping to Norway?" and they went "uh, no" so I asked why I should be excited then and they never answered)

@FuriousMachine Yeah I stopped using Zaavi for some reason. Can't remember exactly, but I think it was something like I pre-ordered a game (when I still did things like that) and they ended up not being able to fulfil it.