Ted's Salmagundi
A Palatable Potpourri of Posts by Ted Salmon...
Thursday, 15 April 2021
The Terror (Series 1)
The Human Centipede Trilogy
Too Close
Thursday, 1 April 2021
PodHub UK Podcasts for March 2021
Friday 5th March
Wednesday 10th March
Friday 19th March
Wednesday 24th March
The Podcasts
PodHubUK - Phones Show Chat - The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts
The MeWe Community Groups (follow the links to join up)
Phones Show Chat & The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Classifieds - Tech Addicts
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Allan Gildea
Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Violation
Blimey! Hold onto your hats here for this Canadian arthouse, horror, thriller of a film! It's a film about two sisters who live each side of The Pond. One visits the other with her husband and spends time with her sister and her husband in a very remote location where nobody can hear anyone scream!
Feelings of jealousy arise from childhood days, some in flashback, then following an incident with her sister's husband, first sister (the fruitloop) has the perfect opportunity to exact revenge. This is not for the lily-livered as there's a lot of gruesome violence and graphic nudity. I had to look away at one point - think Shallow Grave mixed with Dahmer!
I think I'll now leave it to those who can tune into the Shudder channel to give it a go if I've not put you off! There's an annoying amount of handheld camera in use as the clear low-budget masquerades as arthouse with a great deal of attempts at artistic imagery and timeline jumping, some of which lands well, much not. It takes a long time to get going and for anything to happen but when it happens, it happens!
Directed, written by and starring Madeleine Sims-Fewer alongside Dusty Mancinelli it also features Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe and Obi Abili making up the foursome. The actors seem to have a background in lots of TV work and short films but certainly the two sisters, Sims-Fewer and Maguire play it very well and convincingly.
This is something very different indeed, not horror in the spook sense, but horrific in terms of what people can do to others when driven so strongly to revenge. Or maybe real people can't! (You can get to the Shudder channel via subscription at AmazonUK or at shudder dot com.) You have been warned!
The Shape of Water
We know what we're going to get with Guillermo del Toro of course and this 2017 dark fantasy feel-good is no exception. I'm sure we've covered it on the show at some point in the past but I hadn't seen it until now, as it does the rounds on Film4 in the UK.
Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a cleaner at some sort of research facility in 1960s America who doesn't appear to be able to speak. The facility acquires some sort of amphibious being, shaped very much like a human, and are trying to use it for the benefit of the USA over Russia in the space-race.
There's double-agents and nasty people left, right and centre, including the really nasty-looking head of security played by Michael Shannon who seems to be hell-bent on abusing the creature with a cattle-prod, especially after it injures him. He plays Mr Nasty excellently and you really want him to get his comeuppance!
Elisa's cleaning buddy Zelda, played by Octavia Spencer, is delightful in her role too adding some comic turns as the only person at work who seems to be able to 'sign' with Elisa. The pair are very funny together.
Anyway, in a most unlikely sympathetic chain of events Elisa forms a bond with the creature and ends up trying to help him to escape his likely path if he remains where he is. The film then turns into a rescue attempt whilst most of the other players try to stop it.
All of the players do great jobs and yes, it's a bit daft and silly, but in an almost 'Amelie' type way, mixed with delicious works of Tim Burton! Richard Jenkins and Michael Stuhlbarg make up the main parts from there and do so very well.
It's a dark but comic outing with del Toro pulling no punches with a bit of sex and violence here and there. I have read a good number of negative reviews about this but I really enjoyed it. Sally Hawkins carries it off in the lead role with great command and it's well worth a watch if you haven't been late to the party like me!
Amanda
Here's another one that the French seem to just nail, more times than not. A warm drama about family, family responsibility and the power of blood being thicker than water.
David's sister is killed in a terrorist attack in Paris and leaves her 7 year-old daughter in the lurch. David is close to his sister and her daughter so is the natural choice as Guardian.
But he has a life too, a new relationship blooming and grandparents/in-laws to deal with and take into account. Amanda is the little girl, played by the 10 year old (at the time) Isaure Multrier. She seems to leap between acting really well in the role at certain times, but becomes wooden, demonstrating inexperience and youth at others. I hope she continues as she's a charming and pretty girl in an ordinary type of way.
Directed by the similarly not-too-experienced Mikhaël Hers, the photography and command of scene is thoughtfully executed, not afraid to long-linger to capture a mood where appropriate to do so. Much silence is adopted in support rather than sloppy music!
Vincent Lacoste plays David in the other lead role and pulls it off beautifully. Young and spritely, but inexperienced in the ways of the world, having to face a real grown-up dilemma and bunch of choices. He does this well, throughout.
There are some threads left open at the end which I saw as significant in terms of 'life being like that'. The two main players watch tennis and during the game they both came to the realisation that life goes on, there may be turning points, fun and sadness along the way, but we just have to get on with it.
A real gentle drama with some funny bits thrown in and love present - and in the making - but mostly it's about family ties and bonding. Well worth a look as it does the rounds on Film4 in the UK.
The Terror (Series 1)
Just come to the end of this, this week and thoroughly recommend a watch for those who haven't skipped ahead on the iPlayer and gorged t...


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