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I was reading James King's rather fine book on 1980s teen movies (it's my decade) and there was a footnote about The Shining where he mentioned Scatman Crothers played the "creepy caretaker". Creepy?! I thought he was really nice, which is why his unfortunate event has the resonance it does.

So what does the board say? Creepy Crothers yay or nay?
 
I was reading James King's rather fine book on 1980s teen movies (it's my decade) and there was a footnote about The Shining where he mentioned Scatman Crothers played the "creepy caretaker". Creepy?! I thought he was really nice, which is why his unfortunate event has the resonance it does.

So what does the board say? Creepy Crothers yay or nay?

Nay!

But at first he appeared creepy, it was only later (in the film) I realised he was nice and caring.
 
Yes, there you go, he sympathises with Danny for having the shine. James King made him sound like a potential Scooby-Doo villain.
 
He was the good guy. Not creepy.
 
I was reading James King's rather fine book on 1980s teen movies (it's my decade) and there was a footnote about The Shining where he mentioned Scatman Crothers played the "creepy caretaker". Creepy?! I thought he was really nice, which is why his unfortunate event has the resonance it does.

So what does the board say? Creepy Crothers yay or nay?
I remember him as being very warm and fatherly in the film, not creepy at all. I read the book but it's been too many years for me to remember how King wrote him up. I'd leave him with my kids.
 
What happened to the PSYCHO house ?

( I was about 12 watching a bit of PSYCHO 2 being filmed, not at the house itself obviously. We were all, unbelievably now I look back on it, allowed to step outside the Universal Studios tram to watch just one shot with Anthony Hopkins and whoever was playing the sheriff although we were ordered to keep quiet)

Anthony who?!
 
Scatman Crothers was in lots of things, including Black Belt Jones, an actual (American) kung fu movie. In that documentary about The Shining by Kubrick's daughter, he breaks down in tears because the experience was so intense. Poor old soul.
 
Just bought this collection - set. Personally I'm a fan of (30's to 60's) horror - thriller movies: both B-movies and the classics. Can't wait to fire them up with some munchies and a cocktail. I've seen roughly 1/2 of these movies however it's been a good many years in many cases.
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls053693182/
 
Sicilian Ghost Story: A tale of young love, kidnapping and horror; a new take on the "Mafia Film" set in a Sicilian town. Luna (Julia Jedlikowska) is in love withe 13 year old classmate Giuseppe (Gaetano Fernandez), they teasingly play in the forest, when a dog threatens Luna he protects her, losing his schoolbag. When Giuseppe disappears Luna is forlorn, thinking he just abandoned her but it is soon revealed that he was kidnapped by the Mafia as his father, also a mafiosi is cooperating with the authorities.

Locals do not want to discuss it and there is a consensual myth even at the school that the boy is ill. Luna won't stop looking for him, even producing leaflets about his disappearance. Her parents fear that this will draw the attention of the gangsters and the town police don't want to be reminded of the reality.

Much more than a gangster film this tale develops as Luna seems to forge a psychic bond with Giuseppe, seeing him in captivity, viewing where he will be moved to. Giuseppe is also aware of that link and undergoes out of body experiences as he falls ill whilst in captivity. As the film progresses the supernatural elements build towards to a climax which threatens to provide a Romeo and Juliet ending.

Some terrible scenes of cruelty, violence and horror. In the forest sequences there is a sense of primeval panic as the sparse trees seem to close in looking like bars in a prison cell. Great performances by Julia and Gaetano. Written and directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza this is truly a powerful tale of love conquering fear and indifference. 9/10.
 
Mom and Dad

For some reason that's satisfyingly never really explained, all parents across the states decide to kill their own kids and that's that. The authorities cant keep up, the story focuses on Nicholas Cage and his wife's family, their kids are you typical cheeky 5 year old lad and bratty teenage daughter so you're almost sympathetic with the parents before they switch to full on psycho mode.

The premise of the film is obviously a dark one but it plays out more like a black comedy, the last third of the film is pretty much stalk and slash mixed with Home Alone. There's a nice twist that I won't spoil here, the only slightly annoying thing is the parents switching from Olympic runners during the chase scenes to walking slowly (for tension build up, I know) when they sometimes corner the kids ..

8 out of 10.
 
No mention of the Hokey Cokey? Or the Hokey Pokey as Nicolas Cage sings for some reason?
 
No mention of the Hokey Cokey? Or the Hokey Pokey as Nicolas Cage sings for some reason?
I don't remember that bit but it wouldn't surprise me. There's a great flashback sequence with Cage having a really age inappropriate father to son talk that made me laugh.
 
I don't remember that bit but it wouldn't surprise me. There's a great flashback sequence with Cage having a really age inappropriate father to son talk that made me laugh.

It's what he sings as he smashes up the pool table. It was a variant I hadn't heard before!
 
Selma Blair stole the show for me, but she doesn't seem to be getting the attention Cage going nutso did, possibly because she was a lot more nuanced (for a character trying to kill her kids, that is). She really sold the dejection at being told to take classes instead of being useful in society because she was perceived as past it.
 
The Meg.

An international underwater marine biology lab, off the coast of Shanghai, is researching the lowest undersea poiint of the Earth and find that ithey can penetrate even further down. In so doing, however, they disturb a relict megalodon - a prehistoric gargantuan shark - which traps one of their submarines. They then have to call in a Megalodon expert called Jonas (sic) (Jason Statham) who is the only man to have encountered one before.

They didn't believe him then.
This time they're going to have to.*

Jonas rescues the submarine members but the Meg - meanwhile (and for reasons that are not really apparent) leaves its abode and goes on the rampage. So the team members have to hunt it down. This will take them to a coastal resort of China where the Meg could have a feeding frenzy....

Shark attack scenarious have become a B-movie cliche now, and they're usually tongue in cheek with ropey CGI effects. This one stands out for its good production values (I think they use a model for the most part) decent acting and reasonably credible plot, which is not so predictable either.

The film, though, couldn't be more cheesy if it tried, with every cliche in the book being rattled through: the selfless heroism, the matey merry banter, the sexual tension between the two main actors, the cute but clued up kid, the cool black guy who act as the voice of reason, the dedicated scientist...and so on.

The film has some Chinese input, in the form of Chinese actors and dialogue - which is refreshing, if increasingly common.

Statham is not my kind of actor - too old school action-hero for me - but here is more likeable as the dragon slayer whou would, given a choice, run away from the dragon.

I would like to have bean treated to more scientific exposition - after all the premise is quite a credible one. Allso I would have prefered a more eco-friendly ending (the story seems to promise one).

8/10: Ideal summer movie (which I saw on my UK break!). It is not the creature feature Jaws reboot I was expecting, more of an undersea adventure yarn, but there's a naive goodnaturedness about it which is impossible to dislike.

* That's my line not theirs, but they can have it - with commission!
 
The Meg.

An international underwater marine biology lab, off the coast of Shanghai, is researching the lowest undersea poiint of the Earth and find that ithey can penetrate even further down. In so doing, however, they disturb a relict megalodon - a prehistoric gargantuan shark - which traps one of their submarines. They then have to call in a Megalodon expert called Jonas (sic) (Jason Statham) who is the only man to have encountered one before.

They didn't believe him then.
This time they're going to have to.*

Jonas rescues the submarine members but the Meg - meanwhile (and for reasons that are not really apparent) leaves its abode and goes on the rampage. So the team members have to hunt it down. This will take them to a coastal resort of China where the Meg could have a feeding frenzy....

Shark attack scenarious have become a B-movie cliche now, and they're usually tongue in cheek with ropey CGI effects. This one stands out for its good production values (I think they use a model for the most part) decent acting and reasonably credible plot, which is not so predictable either.

The film, though, couldn't be more cheesy if it tried, with every cliche in the book being rattled through: the selfless heroism, the matey merry banter, the sexual tension between the two main actors, the cute but clued up kid, the cool black guy who act as the voice of reason, the dedicated scientist...and so on.

The film has some Chinese input, in the form of Chinese actors and dialogue - which is refreshing, if increasingly common.

Statham is not my kind of actor - too old school action-hero for me - but here is more likeable as the dragon slayer whou would, given a choice, run away from the dragon.

I would like to have bean treated to more scientific exposition - after all the premise is quite a credible one. Allso I would have prefered a more eco-friendly ending (the story seems to promise one).

8/10: Ideal summer movie (which I saw on my UK break!). It is not the creature feature Jaws reboot I was expecting, more of an undersea adventure yarn, but there's a naive goodnaturedness about it which is impossible to dislike.

* That's my line not theirs, but they can have it - with commission!
I've been looking forward to MEG for some time, it sounds as if it's exactly what I was hoping it would be, good old fashioned switch yer brain off fun ..
 
The Meg.

An international underwater marine biology lab, off the coast of Shanghai, is researching the lowest undersea poiint of the Earth and find that ithey can penetrate even further down. In so doing, however, they disturb a relict megalodon - a prehistoric gargantuan shark - which traps one of their submarines. They then have to call in a Megalodon expert called Jonas (sic) (Jason Statham) who is the only man to have encountered one before.

They didn't believe him then.
This time they're going to have to.*

Jonas rescues the submarine members but the Meg - meanwhile (and for reasons that are not really apparent) leaves its abode and goes on the rampage. So the team members have to hunt it down. This will take them to a coastal resort of China where the Meg could have a feeding frenzy....

Shark attack scenarious have become a B-movie cliche now, and they're usually tongue in cheek with ropey CGI effects. This one stands out for its good production values (I think they use a model for the most part) decent acting and reasonably credible plot, which is not so predictable either.

The film, though, couldn't be more cheesy if it tried, with every cliche in the book being rattled through: the selfless heroism, the matey merry banter, the sexual tension between the two main actors, the cute but clued up kid, the cool black guy who act as the voice of reason, the dedicated scientist...and so on.

The film has some Chinese input, in the form of Chinese actors and dialogue - which is refreshing, if increasingly common.

Statham is not my kind of actor - too old school action-hero for me - but here is more likeable as the dragon slayer whou would, given a choice, run away from the dragon.

I would like to have bean treated to more scientific exposition - after all the premise is quite a credible one. Allso I would have prefered a more eco-friendly ending (the story seems to promise one).

8/10: Ideal summer movie (which I saw on my UK break!). It is not the creature feature Jaws reboot I was expecting, more of an undersea adventure yarn, but there's a naive goodnaturedness about it which is impossible to dislike.

* That's my line not theirs, but they can have it - with commission!

I'm going to see it next Thursday, it certainly sounds entertaining from your review.
 
I hope it's not too much of a spoiler but I clocked a nice little nod/in joke reference to JAWS: most of the way through the film when the action's later taking place at a beach, a little terrier dog jumps off a boat with loads of revellers, the owner panics and starts calling the dog's name .. "Pippin!", same name as the JAWS dog! :)
 
Exam (2009): The near future (or an alternate present), eight candidates sit in a room, they must answer one question, they cannot communicate with the invigilator or the security guard (he remains in the room). If they spoil their paper or leave the room they will also be disqualified. They have 80 minutes to complete the exam. The prize is a much sought after job with a multi-national corporation. Through info-dumps we discover that a viral pandemic has resulted in many depending on expensive medication, for either themselves or loved ones this makes the job's health care package all the more important to the examinees. But the exam paper is blank.

Tension builds as various attempts to figure out what the question is fail to achieve a result. Infra-red, ultra-violet light; even urine on the paper doesn't work. Is someone taking the piss? THings start to turn nasty as outliers are identified and bullied. How far will the prospective employees be prepared to go to be the successful applicant?

A (mostly) gripping Psychological-Horror film which slips a bit towards the end. All of the action takes place in the Exam Room. Directed, written and produced by Stuart Hazeldene. 7/10. On Horror Channel.
 
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Just watched the "The Hallow". An atmospheric thriller with some Gothic clock and dagger mixed with just enough creature features to let you know it's a definite horror movie.
A young couple moves into an ancient Irish millhouse. They are warned about creatures and mythical entities surrounding the area, but believe such talk to be the stuff of legeng. The creatures start attacking about 1/2 way though and are horrible to look at (during the few brief occasions that one can actually see the things). With great taste the films director "Corin Hardy" chose to only show the beasties and their powers for brief but shocking moments. I won't say any more for fear of ruining it for those who desire to see this film. Hell to the critics I give it a 9 out of 10.
 
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