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November 30, 2015 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Noir In Color

So here we are … it is the end of November. This post was originally meant to be part of a series in association with the celebration known as “Noirvember” but alas life gets away from you sometimes and plans go awry.

But have no fear – I hereby present you with a condensed version of the series.

The idea being that while we often associate the film noir movement with stylized, moody expressionistic angles in black and white cinematography, there were more than a handful of gritty, evocative pieces during the peak period of this movement (I am looking at you, 1940s and 1950s) that were shot in color. The main thing is that these films evoke a mood

Here are just a few films that I feel are worth your consideration if noir is your thing:

 

Leave Her To Heaven (1945). I have mentioned this film on several occasions but it goes without saying that this is a must-see Technicolor piece noted by the wonderful performance of Gene Tierney that not only shows the full force of her acting powers but is really disturbing on so many levels.

LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN - American Poster 3

 

Niagara (1953). Two couples meet at the honeymooner’s paradise (especially at that time), but dreams are dashed when the merry holidaymaking becomes a murderous nightmare. Starring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, and Jean Peters. Directed by Henry Hathaway.

niagara

 

A Kiss Before Dying (1956). While not an absolute favorite of mine, this film is notable for being one of Joanne Woodward’s first films. In it, she plays an ill-fated heiress caught in the grasp of cunning, socially ambitious go-getter Robert Wagner. Also starring Jeffrey Hunter. An ill-advised and poorly received remake was made in 1991.

Poster - A Kiss Before Dying_01

 

In my “research” (yeah, I actually do a little digging around before my self-described ‘brain dumps’) there were other films (mostly Hitchcock thrillers) that while some may categorize them as “noir,” I chose not to include on the list for purely subjective reasons. But that is the thing — one of the many great issues of debate among cineastes and film scholars alike is how exactly does one define what is considered noir. As I mentioned in my 2014 piece on Leave Her to Heaven, I like the definition offered on AMC’s Filmsite Website. But note: various other opinions on the subject are available.

Seen any of these films? Think I am missing something? Hit the comments section and let me know what you think.

 

Filed Under: Lists, Recommendation Tagged With: film noir noir in color

October 24, 2014 By iluvcinema 2 Comments

Scary Movie(s), Part 2: Friends and Family Edition

For the second part of my Scary Movie series, I decided to poll and troll those who are nearest and dearest to me, with the promise that their individual responses would be protected by anonymity.

I posed the very basic question to them:

Select a scary movie that you “love” and describe in a couple of sentences why this is so.

All in all I would say I was quite entertained, even by the scaredy-cats, who for various reasons, do not indulge in such films. If you will notice, I left the question very vague, because scares and frights mean different things, depending on the person. So without further ado, here are the responses I received:

Sinister – I am not expert, but I liked Ethan Hawke in this and the whole trail of killings and how it turned out they connected was well executed in the film. Paranormal Activity (the first one) – this gave me nightmares and the perspective they filmed were very realistic. (These are) Just my top two, but also like (The) Conjuring and am looking forward to seeing Annabel.

Sinister_Quad_Rev_AW.indd

——

The Shining: Redrum. Redrum. The scene where the costumed partygoers look at the boy in the bedroom still creeps me out to this day. And oh yeah, talking to an evil spirit in the mirror. Not exactly my idea of a festive scene.
Alien: “10 Little Indians” Meets Outer Space. This dark, brooding film was not only depressing visually, but the main antagonist, a 7-foot, reptile-like alien which doesn’t have eyes, is pretty eerie.
IlluminatiWatcherDotCom-The-Shining-46
——
The scene in The Ring when the girl crawls out of the TV is bananas. I have never seen anything like it. it was surreal, the black and white, the color, cinematography magic.
Idk if this is considered scary, but I cannot get enough of Silence of the Lambs. I loved the creepiness of the Anthony Hopkins character, Hannibal Lecter. How he could skin a man alive and not hurt a tiny hair on Clarice. I esp. loved crazy Buffalo Bill telling the governor’s daughter to put the f#$king lotion in the basket. (I love that this person realizes that my blog is PG-13)
Lastly, I think it was Texas Chainsaw Massacre (no I did not see the movie, just a scene). the girl was in the backseat of the car and they just shot a guy and his brains were all over the seat and they made her sit on it- ewwww
The-Silence-of-the-Lambs-hannibal-lector-5079952-1020-576
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Poltergeist 1.  It was one of the first scary movie I saw as a child. My sister and I forced our parents to lock the closet door for months after watching that movie.
194tvn6u6kw0gjpg
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I don’t really like scary movies so I haven’t watched many of them. If I had to pick one, I would say my favorite scary movie is Aliens. Some people may say it is more suspenseful than scary, but I think all really good scary movies are also really suspenseful. But I love this movie because it has a great opening sequence to set up the movie and then a quiet, slow build up to the aliens.  The movie is tense throughout from the dark, wet setting, the eery music and the almost claustrophobic feeling.
So there you have it ladies and gents. And if truth be told, when I was deciding which images to post according to the responses, I was creeping myself out a bit (luckily I had Outlander: The Wedding playing in the background as a distraction). Especially with that scene from The Shining; but I surmised what better time to face my fears :). Well almost anyways, no way would I replicate The Ring or creepy preacher man from Poltergeist (“You’re gonna die…” or something to that effect).
Lovely readers, now is your turn. Post your favorite scary movies/moments in movies in the comments section below.

Filed Under: Fun Stuff, Lists Tagged With: halloween, halloween scary movies, sacry movies, scary movie

July 31, 2014 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Looking Ahead …

I am going to keep this one short and sweet. I am certain to see a lot more than this quick list I compiled, but just based on word of mouth and general interest, these are the films that I am most looking forward to as we hurdle towards the latter stages of the 2014 cinematic calendar.

2014 Movies Late Summer Fall

Interstellar – well just cuz Christopher Nolan and outer space.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them – I really have no word for why I want to see this; I just do.
Frank – Looks a bit off beat and yes, … Fassbender sings!
The Two Faces of January – based on a Patricia Highsmith novel and starring Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst; the scenery looks absolutely lush.
Beyond the Lights – Is this a breakout year for Gugu Mbatha Raw? Anyone’s guess. But I am glad to see Gina Prince-Bythewood back on the big screen.
The Imitation Game – World War II espionage by way of Cumberbatch and Knightley. Matthew Goode and Charles Dance round out the cast.

So there you have it. Always good to have something to look forward to. Thoughts? Share below.

Filed Under: Coming Soon, Lists Tagged With: 2014 in films, beyond the lights, frank, interstellar, late summer fall films, Previews, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, The Imitation Game, the two faces of january

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