Ready or Not - streamed via Disney+
A cracking B Movie horror romp for Halloween. I remember this film receiving praise when it came out, but it had slipped off my radar, so I’m glad we found it last night. Pitch black humour, an inventive concept and a very witty script viciously satirising the privileged financial elite, their caustic characters wonderfully portrayed by an excellent cast, especially the hissing matriarch (the superb Henry Czerny) as the evening unravels. Samara Weaving in the lead is excellent - sparky, fun, and a real screen presence. I hope her performance leads to greater things. Highly recommended, although not for the squeamish.
I don’t even keep my Blu-ray player switched on these days since Sainsbury’s stopped selling Blu-ray Discs & even cheap DVD’s. Used to enjoy dropping a decent film in the with groceries to watch on a Saturday night! I guess they just aren’t selling which is a big shame as streamed stuff on Netflix is decent quality but still nowhere near what Blu-ray can deliver on my set up especially on the audio side of things.
Sad times. 
Dune 1984 Spicediver Redux
Having been to the cinema to watch the new version and enjoyed what it does within a constricted narrative I thought I would revisit the 1984 Jordan take.
The Spicediver Fan Edit is by far my favourite version. For a film that I consider deeply flawed in execution and narrative there is much here that I admire, as a result I have a ridiculous number of edits!
This edit slots in numerous bits that were cut by the studio to bring the film down to a 90 minute run time. The restored sections do give a bit more exposition and much needed breathing space, this is still an overly dense take on the source material.
For me the portrayal of the Harkonnens is more parody than drama. Prochnow’s presence is much expanded, which is needed to allow his death to properly land; however, the choices made in the approach to certain scenes is overly bombastic in my view. I understand the source of the emotions from the book but in the film they come across as overly strong & inconsistent.
Over all this is the version of the 1984 film that I default to. The casting in this film is uniformly excellent for the main roles, although some of the minor ones suffer, but not as badly as the TV series. The set designs are almost Boroque and on an enormous scale. The effects suffer in comparison to their modern counterparts and I was never a fan of the thopter and transport designs.
Close to being a visionary piece of film making.
M
After being forcibly reassigned from a federal investigation of notorious drug dealer Robert Randolph (Ving Rhames) to a local case involving robbery and the murder of a Jewish shopkeeper, embittered detective Bobby Gold (Joe Mantegna) unexpectedly experiences a religious awakening.
Country Strong. 2010
Actually way better than you could imagine.
Gwyneth channels the “Emmy Lou “ superbly.
Great soundtrack.
Getting stocked up for winter.
I bought Spiral 8 because I refuse to purchase a tv license.
Nurse Jackie I never watched.
The blu rays were cheaper on e bay than the streaming alternative.
All will go to the Hospice shop when seen.
N
Classic.
Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had filed it under Thriller, which is inaccurate, the film is a bit of a genre bender.
It opens with a young Bruce Dern failing to persuade the family patriarch to allow him to elope with the eponymous Charlotte. This eventually results in his brutal murder, where the full details are sheltered from we the viewers, so we do not know who the culprit was. The film now moves forward forty years.
The future Charlotte is now played by Bette Davis. Now the film moves into psycho horror for the next hour. As the viewer is constructing a number of possible scenarios the dastardly plot is revealed and we move into psycho drama.
The third act ALMOST seemed to move into Coen brother territory. Had it done so I think this could have been a superb film. As it was it a good, but damn me it could have been so much more. The ending would have been the same but reached far more memorably, and without the rather contrived circumstances that were used.
Not great but I enjoyed it.
M
From 1980, a film about three women struggling to establish themselves in Russia’s massive impersonal capital city.
Two for the Seesaw
Based on a stage play, and it shows it, very verbose. Robert Mitchum & Shirley MacLean are great leads but I did not find this a convincing film on any level. I thought the dialogue contrived and the relationship unlikely.
There is much here that the modern viewer will dislike, I am generally ensured to such feelings but not here. Having the leads hit each other is something that happens in some relationships obviously, unhealthy ones, I was unsure what the playwrite was trying to convey. At this point in the film my interest in their relationship ceased and so did any enjoyment.
Robert Wise directed this between ‘West Side Story’ and ‘The Sound of Music’, I think he chose poorly.
I won’t be watching this again, ever.
M
Thanks Haim. Found it on Amazon Prime. Will watch it soon
It won the Academy award for foreign films in 1980 but some critics today look at it as being over simplistic. Anyway, definitely worth a watch.
Are we allowed ancient technology, in the form of DVDs?
Edit: Didn’t read the thread title properly … … … Doh. 
If so, this is just a delightfully bonkers French / Belgian comedy romance.
It’s as mad as a mad thing, yet strangely touching, and is well worth a viewing.
It’s there on Amazon, if you don’t mind paying, and also on The Tube for free.
Just watch it, and if you’re not inwardly smiling by the ending … … … you’re a cold, heartless, person.
There is still a huge number of films where this is the only format available. Also a huge number of films that aren’t available on any format at all for that matter.
