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#1
Bad Movies / Re: RECENT VIEWINGS (Bad Movie...
Last post by zombie no.one - Today at 03:09:42 PM^^ I always see this on the shelf at my local HMV and although I'm mildly tempted, to date there has always been something else more tempting to buy... doesn't surprise me that it's a slowie
#2
Bad Movies / Re: RECENT VIEWINGS (Bad Movie...
Last post by M.10rda - Today at 02:54:36 PMTHE GORGON (1964):
The Thing About Hammer Films (...I type smugly, having now seen 15 or 20 or some number in my lifetime, though surely not all of them) is they tend to not actually be that good, or fun. But many of them star two iconic actors who often give amusing performances, and perhaps more importantly they're British, so on this side of the Atlantic anyways everyone automatically assumes these films are very serious and intelligent, like we do w/ Merchant-Ivory films and "Downton Abbey" et cetera. Anyway, THE GORGON is similarly slow, dry, and ultimately technically inept, though with a handful of amusements sprinkled throughout.
Peter Cushing stars as a shady head doctor at a shady medical institution a staple character and setting of the Hammer franchise. I often think Cushing looks bored in Hammer flicks or irritated at needing to partake in such frivolity. He appears irritated all the time in this role, too, but I think it's a legitimate character choice, and he holds one's interest through long dull stretches. (He also weirdly exudes a Robert Englund quality here.) Christopher Lee is first-billed above Cushing for a change, though he has less screen time; he gets a hilarious gray wig and bushy moustache that makes him look like Professor Abronsius from FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS. Nevertheless Lee always looks cool in all senses of the word. Acting was his second career after a life in military intelligence, and I guess after you've had to confront and slay actual monsters (like Nazis) snake-headed women won't even make you blink. Once Lee joins the action and particularly when he and Cushing are onscreen together, the film picks up.
A desolate old mansion near Cushing's hospital is occupied by the eponymous mythological harridan. The screenplay identifies her as "Megara", who it claims was one of the two sisters of Medusa, with "Persephone". Okay, leaving Persephone out of this entirely for a moment...
...According to Edith Hamilton et al, Medusa had two sisters named Euryale and Sthenos............. I have no idea who this "Megara" person is, but I guess it's emblematic of the amount of effort the writer invested in this gig. Anyway, "Megara" looks pretty much like Medusa looks in CLASH OF THE TITANS, and as long as she is only glimpsed in dimly lit or softly focused wide shots, she's scary. (I admit I am a sucker for the whole "Medusa in the shield" motif in horror literature.) Unfortunately Terrence Fisher decided he had to show her in close-ups at the climax, which features larfably bad FX that close the film on a low note. Say what you will about COTH, but Harryhausen's Medusa actually looks scary even when you do see her full-on.
2.5/5
Madame and I have a rubber gorgon head-dress on our coatrack that looks more realistic than the hair on this gorgon.
The Thing About Hammer Films (...I type smugly, having now seen 15 or 20 or some number in my lifetime, though surely not all of them) is they tend to not actually be that good, or fun. But many of them star two iconic actors who often give amusing performances, and perhaps more importantly they're British, so on this side of the Atlantic anyways everyone automatically assumes these films are very serious and intelligent, like we do w/ Merchant-Ivory films and "Downton Abbey" et cetera. Anyway, THE GORGON is similarly slow, dry, and ultimately technically inept, though with a handful of amusements sprinkled throughout.
Peter Cushing stars as a shady head doctor at a shady medical institution a staple character and setting of the Hammer franchise. I often think Cushing looks bored in Hammer flicks or irritated at needing to partake in such frivolity. He appears irritated all the time in this role, too, but I think it's a legitimate character choice, and he holds one's interest through long dull stretches. (He also weirdly exudes a Robert Englund quality here.) Christopher Lee is first-billed above Cushing for a change, though he has less screen time; he gets a hilarious gray wig and bushy moustache that makes him look like Professor Abronsius from FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS. Nevertheless Lee always looks cool in all senses of the word. Acting was his second career after a life in military intelligence, and I guess after you've had to confront and slay actual monsters (like Nazis) snake-headed women won't even make you blink. Once Lee joins the action and particularly when he and Cushing are onscreen together, the film picks up.
A desolate old mansion near Cushing's hospital is occupied by the eponymous mythological harridan. The screenplay identifies her as "Megara", who it claims was one of the two sisters of Medusa, with "Persephone". Okay, leaving Persephone out of this entirely for a moment...
...According to Edith Hamilton et al, Medusa had two sisters named Euryale and Sthenos............. I have no idea who this "Megara" person is, but I guess it's emblematic of the amount of effort the writer invested in this gig. Anyway, "Megara" looks pretty much like Medusa looks in CLASH OF THE TITANS, and as long as she is only glimpsed in dimly lit or softly focused wide shots, she's scary. (I admit I am a sucker for the whole "Medusa in the shield" motif in horror literature.) Unfortunately Terrence Fisher decided he had to show her in close-ups at the climax, which features larfably bad FX that close the film on a low note. Say what you will about COTH, but Harryhausen's Medusa actually looks scary even when you do see her full-on. 2.5/5
Madame and I have a rubber gorgon head-dress on our coatrack that looks more realistic than the hair on this gorgon.
#3
Bad Movies / Re: Generate Movie Poster with...
Last post by LilCerberus - Today at 02:40:24 PM
A couple things around Chernobyl that sound like a bad movie....
Come to think of it, something similar happened near an M&M factory in France...
Not sure which one looked better....
Copilot came up with one version, then I tried to add one line & it made a different version.....
#5
Bad Movies / Re: Generate Movie Poster with...
Last post by bob - Today at 11:49:58 AMcopilot
found another Bouncing Through the Desert 58 in my folder of movie posters so here it is
ChatGPT
found another Bouncing Through the Desert 58 in my folder of movie posters so here it is
ChatGPT
#7
Games / Re: Answer the question with a...
Last post by bob - Today at 11:37:33 AM
How do we stop witches from taking over the world?
#8
Games / Re: Movie Title Chains
Last post by Rev. Powell - Today at 10:46:16 AMBeauty and the Beast
#9
Entertainment / Re: What have you been listeni...
Last post by Rev. Powell - Today at 10:36:12 AM
Outtakes and live performances from the "Axis: Bold as Love" era.
