Christine (1983) - full movie

 

On the 29th of april 1983, the novel Christine by the popular American horror writer Stephen King was first published. Only eight months later, on the 9th of december 1983, the film adaptation came out in the US, written by screenwriter Bill Phillips and directed by John Carpenter. By then, Carpenter had already established himself as one of Hollywood's best and most successful horror directors with his iconic horror classics Halloween (1978) and The Thing (1982).

Christine is an immersive horror thriller, focusing on the strange relationship between a high school student and his possessive, jealous and murderous car.

What? A murderous car? Yes, that sounds unbelievable. But watching this cult classic, we felt captivated from beginning to end, thanks to the intriguing build-up of the story, the solid cinematography (by Donald M. Morgan), the efficient editing (by Marion Rothman), the appropriate soundtrack with pop and rock songs from the fifties and mood-enhancing synthesizer music (by director John Carpenter in collaboration with Alan Howarth), and the memorable performance of lead actor Keith Gordon as the akward high school student Arnie.

Arnie is a bespectacled nerd, who is regulated by his parents, bullied at school and ignored by every girl. In the fall of 1978, he notices a "For Sale" sign on a 20-year-old, rusty car: a red 1958 Plymouth Fury that is almost falling apart and has 97,432 miles on the odometer. Still, Arnie buys the car for $250, restores it to its former glory and calls it Christine. Under the influence of his new car, Arnie gradually transforms from a geeky loser into a tough guy who stands up for himself and his car. While Arnie develops what can only be described as a love affair with his Plymouth, Arnie's schoolmate and only friend Dennis (played by John Stockwell) discovers that the car has a sinister history...

To watch the full movie, click on the link "Watch on Odnoklassniki" in the video screen below, then on the play button, and in the lower right corner on the settings icon and "Quality" to select 720p or 1080p for higher quality.

  

Genre: horror / thriller / mystery

Body Heat - full movie

A brooding 1989 neo-noir film by American director Lawrence Kasdan, starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.

Genre: neo-noir / crime / romantic drama / erotica 

Moon - full movie

Moon is an excellent 2009 science fiction mystery and psychological-existential drama, directed by the English filmmaker Duncan Jones in his feature film debut, who went on to direct the science fiction action thriller Source Code (2011), the action fantasy Warcraft (2016) and the neo noir science fiction movie Mute (2018). Jones is also known as  Zowie Bowie, because he's the son of the late pop star David Bowie.

The intelligent, unpredictable and compelling screenplay of Moon was written by director Duncan Jones in collaboration with the English screenwriter Nathan Parker.

The story is set on the far side of the moon, where the lonely American astronaut Sam Bell single-handedly mans a commercial space station of the company Lunar Industries on Earth. With the assistance of his talking computer GERTY, Sam regulates the industrial extraction of Helium-3 from the lunar surface and launches cannisters containing the Helium-3 to Earth as a valuable energy source for the home planet. Sam's three-year shift on the moon is coming to an end, but while he's impatiently looking forward to his reunion with his wife and daughter on Earth, he gradually discovers that something is wrong on the moon...

The complex and versatile role of astronaut Sam is brilliantly played by the American actor Sam Rockwell, who carries the entire movie because there are hardly any other actors on screen. It earned him a well-deserved BAFTA Award. 

Duncan Jones also won a BAFTA Award -in the category Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer- for writing and directing Moon. No surprise there either, because Moon is one of the best debuts we've ever seen. 

To watch the full movie, click the link "Watch on Odnoklassniki" in the video screen below, then click the play button, and in the lower right corner on the settings button and "Quality" to select 720p or 1080p for higher quality.

 

Genre: science fiction / mystery / psychological drama

Tombstone - movie clip

The 1993 western Tombstone by George P. Cosmatos and Kevin Jarre is loosely based on historical events in the turbulent and violent life of the legendary American marshal Wyatt Earp (1848-1929).

The movie clip below features strong performances by lead actor Kurt Russell as the cold-blooded and intense anti-hero Wyatt Earp, and Billy Bob Thornton in his small but memorable supporting role of the insufferable faro dealer Johnny Tyler. 

During the filming of this scene, Thornton reportedly ad-libbed his lines, as he was only told to "be a bully". And he did that brillantly, giving Kurt Russell a great set-up and creative feedback for Russel's powerful delivery of his own lines.

Genre: western / biopic

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders - full movie

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (original Czech title: Valerie a týden divů) is an artistic, taboo-breaking and visually stunning vampire fairy tale, co-written and directed by the quirky Czechoslovakian filmmaker Jaromil Jireš. First released in 1970, the film was part of the so-called Czechoslovak New Wave: a cinematic movement that started in the early sixties.

Surreal

Based on the 1935 novel of the same name by the surrealist Czechoslovakian writer Vítězslav Nezval, and merging gothic horror with folk horror, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders bursts with surrealist symbolism referring to the conflicting emotions of the young maiden Valerie (played by the then 13-year-old Czech starlet Jaroslava Schallerová), who gets her first monthly period (watch her menstrual blood drip on a daisy) and who experiences a (probably imagined) coming-of-age drama, thrown back and forth between her curiosity and diffidence, hope and fear, obedience and rebellion, romance and embarrassment, erotic desires and religious sense of guilty sin. 

The convoluted and somewhat inconsistent plot revolves around Valerie's complex relationships with other characters:

- Valerie's strict and secretive grandmother (played by Helena Anýzová);

- the sympathetic youngster Orlík (Petr Kopriva);

- a mysterious vampire, called the Constable (played by Jirí Prýmek);

- the two-faced priest Gracián (Jan Klusák);

- and the sad village girl Hedvika (Alena Stojáková), who is forced into an arranged mariage with a middle aged man.

Dreamy

Forget the plot and just enjoy the enchanting images (shot by cinematographer Jan Čuřík), the lyrical soundtrack (with music by Luboš Fišer) and the timeless, fairy-tale atmosphere that floates between dream and nightmare. Literally a dreamy film, we feel Valerie and Her Week of Wonders should essentially be understood as a feverish dream of the young and impressionable title character. 

If you are a true cinephile, then you'll certainly appreciate this rather obscure gem in the history of cinema.

To watch the full movie, click the link "Watch on Odnoklassniki" in the video screen below, then click the play button, and in the lower right corner on the settings button and on "Quality" to select 720p or 1080p for higher quality.

Genre: fantasy / coming-of-age drama / horror / erotica

The original Czechoslovakian film poster from 1970.

Phantom Thread - trailer

Phantom Thread (2017) -the new movie by the talented American director Paul Thomas Anderson- is a feverish romantic drama set in the London fashion scene of the 1950's, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville.

Anderson wrote the script himself, directed the film and also took care of the cinematography.

Watch the trailer below:

Genre: romantic drama