Mastadge posted: Drag Me to Hell -- Sam Raimi, 2009 -- What a disappointment. There is lots to like here -- as a stream of Raimisms it works just fine: constant silly/disgusting gags, Raimi's distinctive hyperkinetic visual style, all that's on full display here, so if you've ever liked a Raimi film, especially pre-Spider-Man, chances are you'll like this one. And this flick does boast an impressive score by Chris Young, who's mostly been doing fine but by-the-numbers work in recent years but here goes back to his roots. But despite the constant fun, this thing fails as a movie. Justin Long is utterly wasted here, but far worse is Alison Lohman, who delivers a career-worst performance as a character who's pretty much completely passive until the end of the movie. While we're on actors, it's a shame that Bruce Campbell hasn't even a cameo here -- he could have injected a lot of energy into the movie if he'd been cast as, say, Rham Jas. Further, the set-up fails pretty spectacularly. Lohman's character absolutely made the right decision to deny the old lady, and the old lady shamed herself. The only mistake Lohman made was not owning her decision, which given the circumstance was a perfectly acceptable white lie. And falling into the realm of it's-not-a-good-sign-that-I'm-thinking-about-these-things-during-a-horror-comedy is that this takes place in one of those completely insular movie worlds. Lohman doesn't seem to be part of any community. Aside from her boyfriend, her boss and her coworker, there seems to be no one in her social network at all. No friends, nothing. Her life just didn't feel real enough for me to get involved in it much. And finally the end twist is predicated on a switcheroo subplot that I think caught absolutely no one in the audience by surprise. In the end this is a fun movie to watch, and Lohman's cute enough, and Raimi's fun enough, that it's not a waste of a couple hours, but it doesn't really hold together. Enjoyable but could easily have been much better without losing any of its campy energy. (***)
Zaz posted:"Libel" (1959) on TCM. It was a tribute to Anthony Asquith (a British director)and written by Anatole de Grunwald. It came on before the film I wanted to see; "The Demi-Paradise" (1943) starring Lawrence Olivier. "Libel" was very entertaining; it involved whether a British baronet was really himself, or an imposter--an actor--he had met in a POW camp, and who was studying him in an attempt to take over his life. It sounds stupid, but played beautifully, and Dirk Bogarde, in a dual role, was really excellent.
black_saber posted:Lord of the rings The Two Towers Extended edtion and man its even better than the regular cut!