Spotlight – Dominic Cooper

Dominic Edward Cooper has always been one of those actors who, while working alongside some brilliantly trained and classical actors, is able to match them, but I feel if and when he’s given a leading role he loses a little bit of his strange presence. A lot of people question his ethnicity but from what I can find online he’s just brit, although with dark hair and olive features he’s been able to play a range of other ambiguous races in his films, but remainsone of those average white guy actors aka Your Guide to the Indistinguishable British Dudes as featured in Vulture https://www.vulture.com/2014/10/luke-evans-looks-like-orlando-bloom.html

Here are his top films in order..

04.Stratton (2017)

In this pint sized James Bond styled movie, Cooper plays John Stratton, a British SBS operative on some world saving mission. He plays the quiet type of saviour who likes to get his head down and be tough, and in an attempt to maybe make him more human he spends just as much time trying to get over the evil things he is forced to do to save Queen and Country. The film seemed to have been set up to be part of a franchise but it wasn’t accepted as well as expected, probably the fact that part of the highlight showdown was on a double decker bus!? 3/10 {REVIEW}

Spotlight : Willem Dafoe Vol. 1

The craggy faced gentle soul that is Willem Dafoe has graced our screens for decades. Usually playing a passive loveable character he is able to be an impressive creepy bad guy, either way he never fails to entertain. Please note that this list isn’t in an order of best to worse it’s just numbered for clarity.

06.The Hunter (2011)

Click for review

Martin

A balanced drama with an unwitting slice of fantasy science fiction. Willem stars as a hunter with a conscience that gets placed with the ultimate eco warrior family while he’s tasked to find the extinct Tasmanian Tiger. Bittersweet and warming, the film uncovers lots of dark secrets and see’s Martin (Dafoe) pushed to his limits both physically and mentally. His character is subtle; especially compared with the lippy Sass (Morgana Davies) who he has to partly care for with her Silent brother played by Dinn Woodlock. Sam Neill makes a shady appearance and the darkest character of them all is played by the stern Callan Mulvey as a rival hunter. Willem outshines them all in the simplest of ways. He really is a gem in this outstanding film. 9/10

Spotlight – Eli Roth

Here are a handful of Eli Roth movies that I think are more notable, which movies would you choose?

05.Hostel (2005)

Director/ American Stoner

Roth managed to breath some life into the torture subgenre of horror with his breakthrough Hostel, the initial part of a trilogy which is best watched at a duo, the third installment is just terrible and so detached. The film follows three friends travelling around Europe who encounter a man (who likes to eat meat) on a train, he persuades them to check into a hostel in a secluded Slovakian village with the promise of encountering lots of hot lusty women. The guys scarper to the Hostel, only to find themselves drawn into a deadly game.

The films selling point is the buckets of guts and blood, with the attempt to make a nouveau video nasty Roth was content to add in as much material which was both questionable and a potential to get the film banned in a few countries, cut and uncut versions flew off the shelves as the wildly thrilling movie filed with real belly laughs and splattered kill scenes gained a lot of fan thumbs up.

Spotlight – Tony Todd

Best known for his role in the cult classic Candyman that is still inspiring new directors to this day, the inspiring story from Clive Barker was really brought to life by the the 6’ 5”  gentle giant, Toddy Todd who, while not leading as many films as any fan would like, when he does appear in a movie , not matter how short to long his role, really makes an impact in any film and continues to support a thriving horror community.

06. Murder Set Pieces (2004)

– Video Store Guy

Notable one of the more modern Video Nasty’s, Murder Set Pieces was a wildly banned horror. Directed by Nick Palumbo it features a deranged photographer (Sven Garrett) travels and documents his serial killer lifestyle. While he’s out slashing prostitutes and trying to bed underage girls he pops into an adult video store looking for a particular snuff movie named Nutbag (a reference to Palumno’s earlier movie) , Tony Todd happens to be the Clerk and the confrontation blows up in epic proportions! Tony is one of a few notable names however it’s generally slated for being disgusting, vile and disturbing, and this is why I love it so much!

Spotlight – Hugh Jackman

So I set myself challenge. List 5 awesome Huge Jackman movies and don’t mention any Marvel films..

01.Van Helsing (2004)

The framed monster hunter returns for some kind of gothic steampunk revival, looking and feeling much like another Underworld movie, the movie co stars Kate Beckinsale and features Richard Roxburgh as an unusual choice for Count Dracula but one that surprisingly works so well. Strangely the movie works on some levels. With comedy buffering each scare the movie was always aimed at being a family favourite and the cast get full marks for managing to keep a straight face through half of the ridiculous antics. Otherwise it is a fun and enjoyable adventure.

Spotlight : Scott Speedman

I’ve always found the British-Canadian actor to be one of those shy types, he doesn’t seem to have enough in him to play a strong lead but as a supporting actor he can really boost a movies vibe. Hopefully we’ll see more of him in the future but here are what I think are some of his stand out roles.

01.Underworld (2003)

It took me ages to bother watching Underworld because I knew exactly how it was going to play out before it had even been released and I was spot on. But basically vampires vs werewolves and to make things exciting we’re treated to a hybrid between the species and this precious mutant love interest is Michael (Scott Speedman). It’s an okay film, adored by lots of proto goths and pseudo kinksters. Speedmans performance isn’t blinding but he certainly does put a lot of energy into this role.

Sean Harris

Sean Harris has long been of those whose his presence in a film with encourage me to watch it, an unusual method actor, for me first burst onto the screen in the the aptly titled Creep (2004) when he played some kind of genetically modified subterranean creature and to be honest I thought they had possibly found some kind of missing link as he played the part so accurately, from then, all of his roles have been utterly perfect and once I see his name is in the cast list I’m sure to watch.

Possum (2018)

Possibly one of Sean’s most involved and highly praised roles happened so late his career, as Britain’s hidden secret weapons of acting seemed to have grabbed the headlines in this dismal world where he plays a very convincing; shamed children’s entertainer and puppet maker who returns home to his family home to be confronted by a sadistic and violent father. The movie is a giant slice of British melancholia everything is so drab and dreary, the house he lives in is run down peeling brown wallpaper is the theme, the world outside just an isolated mess and the constant haunting of his spider crab puppet with dolls face which changes and stalks him is nightmare inducing it’s a brilliant slice of dark natured cinema with some hints of art house pop place throughout especially a surreal connection with latex balloons. [REVIEW]

Xander Berkley is the best scumbag husband..

I couldn’t resist writing this piece after rewatching Todd Haynes’s unusual drama, Safe (1995), I realised how often I had seen Xander Berkley play a bit of a dick husband. So in a similar vein to my short article on The Life and Times of Stathis Borans, here’s another insight.

I do plan to do a proper spotlight on Xander’s acting career, however today I am going to focus on a role that he seems to play so well but luckily isn’t type casted to just yet. So when did it all start?

Candyman (1992)

Trevor Lyle

Back in 1992 Xander was cast as a brilliant university lecturer and doting husband in Bernard Roses supernatural horror, Candyman. Based heavily on Clive Barker’s novel, The Forbidden. The main protagonist is the gorgeous Helen (Madsen) who is on the trail of an urban legend known as Candyman who has taken on a Folk Hero statue in a nearby predominantly black neighbourhood. Her husband Trevor (Berkeley) being so teaches a similar urban legend course which forces Helen to have to speed up her investigations of an entity that appears once you say his name in the mirror 5 times, however I believe it’s only 3 times in the book… As Helen becomes entangled with Candyman and his mythology come to life her doting husband’s true colours come to light.

5 Selected – Tim Curry

01.Legend (1985)

Darkness

Cult classic gothic fantasy that inspired a generation. Tim plays Darkness, often mistaken for the Devil, but it’s easily done as he’s a giant red goat lord with a wicked sense of humor and a taste for the macabre. Ridley Scott’s all encompassing diverse fantasy world is stunning and set to a backdrop of slow motion falling snow and a Tangerine Dream OST. Tim brings his sly stylish character to his devil like character, through camera trickery his larger than life presence is topped up with a really sinister persona and those lovely lips! Ridley picked Tim for the role after seeing him in Rocky Horror Picture and encouraged him to bring out a bit of Dr Frank -N-Furter in this role, Richard O’Brien was even considered for the role of Meg Mucklebones.

Those 5+ hours a day to get ready we’re really worth it even though Tim felt claustrophobic he managed to shake that all off to preform, however there was a particular scene when it got too much and Tim managed to pull off some of his own skin while desperately trying to escape from the layers of makeup 😦

Spotlight – David Hess

David Hess is easily one of my favourite bad guys, reflecting back on his career it feels like he’s done it a million times but there’s only a handful of performances but each is a sterling moment in cinema as he manages to craft the ultimate guy who you never want to meet.

04. Swamp Thing (1982)

Ferret

A slightly more light hearted comic inspired horror, reimagined by Wes Craven as Ray Wise / Dick Durrock co star as Dr Alec Holland who is accidentally transformed into Swamp Thing while trying to protect his beloved swamp land from an evil scientist Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) and his wicked henchmen, one of which is Hess. He isn’t a big player in this movie but it’s great to see his bad boy persona played out in this fun science based cartoony horror, for me one of the best re creations of the fuzzy green eco hero.