Tagarchief: Dungeon Classics

Dungeon Classics #11: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998, UK)

Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Nick Moran, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Jason Statham
Running Time: 107 mins.

Guy Ritchie’s low-budget debut is still his best film, although its hilarious follow-up Snatch comes close. Four friends raise 100.000 pounds to let one of them – card wonder Eddy – participate in the high stakes game of underworld figure Hatchet Harry. They lose 500.000 due to foul play on Harry’s part and have one week to pay back the ‘porn king’ or his enforcers will start collecting their fingers and Eddy’s father’s (played by Sting) pub. This is the beginning of an exhilarating quest for money, featuring dumb criminals, antique rifles and an unconscious traffic warden. Ritchie employs all editing and camera tricks he can come up with which makes the movie – groovily shot in shades of yellow, brown, and grey – a visually rip-roaring experience. The clever screenplay, brilliant soundtrack and delicious cockney accents add to the enjoyment. Not to be missed this one! Allright?

Dungeon Classics #10: Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990, USA)

Director: Joe Dante
Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover
Running Time: 106 mins.

According to IMDb, director Joe Dante prefers this movie to the first one. Understandably so. Obviously, the makers had a lot of fun coming up with the overload of mayhem the new batch of gremlins cause. This time Billy finds Gizmo in a hyper modern office building, but leaves him unattended. So of course, he gets wet and the gremlins make a glorious return, creating an incredible amount of damage to the building. Since most of the human characters are unsympathetic, it is easy to root for the monsters. It is only because of Gizmo, who Spielberg insisted must remain good in the first film (originally he was to turn into Stripe), that we find satisfaction in the gremlins’ ultimate demise. This fast-paced sequel does indeed offer plenty of the good stuff that made the first movie such a resounding success.

Dungeon Classics #9: Gremlins

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Gremlins (1984, USA)

Director: Joe Dante
Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton
Running Time: 106 mins.

Billy gets a very special Christmas present: A mogwai (Kantonese for monster or devil). A cute little furry thing called Gizmo. The problem is: keeping mogwais ain’t that easy. You get them wet, they spawn more mogwais. You feed them after midnight, they morph into the little monsters called gremlins. And if you drop one in a swimming pool…you get violence, terror, and mayhem during the Christmas season. This Spielberg-produced creature feature became understandably very popular. It has many memorable scenes, a super cute hero and a terrific villain in Stripe, leader of the monstrous gremlins. The movie has aged pretty well due to the excellent creature effects (all animatronics). And since it is family oriented, it remains a favorite for the holidays. Not just for eighties nostalgists like me.

Dungeon Classics #8: Shogun Assassin

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Shogun Assassin (1980, Japan | USA)

Director: Robert Houston, Kenji Misumi
Cast: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Kayo Matsuo
Running Time: 85 mins.

In the early seventies, the classic manga Lone Wolf and Cub – about a hunted warrior who travels around with his young son – was first published and quickly adapted into a six-part film series. These are still the most entertaining samurai movies ever made, full of compelling stories in feudal Japan, astonishing violence and swordplay, and inspiring Buddhist wisdom. In 1980, American actor-director Robert Houston made the American version. For this he somewhat simplified the story, provided a now classic voice-over track (referenced in a.o. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and the album Liquid Swords by Wu Tang Clan-member Genius GZA) and a typical eighties synthesizer soundtrack. Houston did a fine job editing together the best parts of the first and second (the best) movie. You couldn’t wish for a more action-packed samurai flick. And the final duel with the Masters of Death is truly unforgettable. If you want to get really dirty, I would advise the original series of six, but nothing wrong with this one for starters. It’s masterful.