What movies have you seen recently?

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I've seen all three of these films. I enjoyed all three.
Renfield is comedy/horror. The Pope's Exorcist is horror. It is also "inspired" by real events, and a real person.

Invaders from Mars (1953)

A small boy witnesses a bright light in the distance, in a field, from his bedroom. Then his father goes missing, only to return a cold and different man. The police that were called to look for him show up, and they have changed as well. All have a mark on the back of their neck. One by one, the people the boys comes in contact with go to checkout the mystery area, and returned cold, and with a mark on their neck. I know, you might be thinking Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but that movie is released for three more years. I came away enjoying it. There are parts that are scary, like when a little girl is abducted by the aliens, performs her malevolent tasks, and is then killed, once her usefulness is over.

I watched this through the Roku RiffTrax application. I clicked the Rand[om] button and the movie selected was Invaders from Mars. It was the type of movie where I wished I could turn off the Riffs of Mike Nelson, Bill Colbert, and Kevin Murphy. The next day, I ordered it off Amazon, the movie minus the Riffs. It's coming as a double feature; Invaders from Mars (1953) and Invader from Mars (1986), directed by Tobe Hooper. I'm looking forward to both.

1953 trailer


1986 trailer

Apparently there have been prequel and sequel thoughts for the other other adaptation: I Am Legend [2007].

Last night I watched:

John Carter [2012]
<=>"Lost in Our World. Found in Another."



Based upon a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, set on a fictionalized version of Mars known as Barsoom. The lead character is a Virginia soldier who is a veteran of the American Civil war who is transported to Mars...where the weaker gravity effectively gives him incredible strength and jumping ability compared to the natives of Mars.

Even though the movie does not feel like a huge blockbuster when I watch it, it is very well made and a very excellent movie.

This movie is good RECOMMENDED good

I’m looking forward to seeing The Pope’s Exorcist & Renfield. [/quote]
I've seen all three of these films. I enjoyed all three.
Renfield is comedy/horror. The Pope's Exorcist is horror. It is also "inspired" by real events, and a real person.[/quote]

Good to know, pcgoblin. “Invaders from Mars” sounds good too! I loved “The Twilight Zone” episodes & that sounds similar.

I got the DVD of Invaders from Mars today, and I'm watching the 1953 version. This is not an Oscar worthy film, but as much I as I like RiffTrax, this is not a half bad movie. The parents, who are controlled by aliens remind me of Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons when it comes to their dialog, sort of clumsy and cold. It is told from the point of the view of the little boy and that is where the "scary" comes in. He is preoccupied with his parents and their safety. The space alien music is creepy too.

It has the British version too, which added some footage according to Wikipedia. I may watch that tonight too. Or I'll watch the Toby Hooper 1986 version tonight, and watch the British version tomorrow.

You know it does end a bit like a Twilight Zone episode.

Living Dark: The Story Of Ted The Caver.

Two estranged brothers discover that their father's grave is over a passage of caves he had been working in prior to his death. Exploring the caves to understand their father's obsession, they find something terrible hidden far in the recesses of the dark.
Though low budget, it's a very effective horror film, playing up on fear of closed spaces, and of course, fear of the dark, and what might be hiding there.

Invaders from Mars (1986)

Tobe Hooper's remake of the 1953 film. This had a larger budget ($7,000,000 vs. $290,000), 1980's state of the art effects by Stan Winston (creatures) and John Dykstra (models). It also had Karen Black, whose performance was excellent. Everyone else was good, but felt uneven. A new character, a school teacher was very menacing and seemed to delight in how "evil" she was being. One has to "blame" Karen for being so good/natural, making every one else look a bit over the top and forced. Personally, I thought it drifted around in terms of feel and style. Still it was a good film. So for me, it was good with some minor flaws and some strong points.

If the 1953 budget of $290,000 were adjusted for 1986 dollars, it would be $1,190,411.

I also watched the 1954 British edit of Invaders from Mars. I liked the added content of the observatory scenes, but I thought the ending was less scary.

If you are interested in watching the 1953 version, it can be streamed from the Internet Archive.
Invaders from Mars (Internet Archive)
and Tubi TV
Invaders from Mars (Tubi TV)

I also found this YouTube recording of John Sayles providing an introduction to the film for the 2022 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. When I watched it, I thought he was spot on.
John Sayles on the Most Interesting Thing about 'Invaders from Mars' | TCMFF 2022

This sounds good. I found it on Tubi TV and plan to watch it after I take a break from WATCHING stuff.
Living Dark: The Story Of Ted The Caver

I think the original version is better. For the British version they tacked on an unnecessary, not well-connected scene.

Last night we watched:

Something in the Dirt [2022]



It held our attention. Visually it was solid. The story was a jumble, though. I can't recommend it; I won't suggest avoiding it.

What to say? eh Eh eh

Yes. There is a scene where they look at the relatively short history of UFO sightings. I sort of enjoyed that. There are some issues with the added shots and intercutting those later filmed shot with the existing footage, but I totally over looked those. I think the British end weakens the film.

I watched Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver (2013) on Tubi TV.

During the credits there is a photo, and when I saw it I thought "Floyd Collins." I'd heard a podcast about him on Stuff You Should Know.

Here is an article about Floyd.
From the Baltimore Sun: In 1925, the World Watched as Spelunker Floyd Collins Was Trapped in a Cave

But the movie, this is a good movie. Small cast, limited locations, and there is a real sense of terror. Probably a limited budget, but it is put together in such a smart way. The closed space struck a chord.

Last edited by pcgoblin on 21 Apr 2023, 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This week I saw:

Suzume

Renfield

Air

Ten Thousand Years of Longing

I was supposed to go and see The Pope's Exorcist today but we didn't go, and now it's out of our cinema, so that's pretty sad for me.

Air is on my "watch list." Did you enjoy it? It looks good.

Nocebo

Is it any good, I've had it downloaded for a while now but haven't watched it.