October 2018 Film List

X the man with X-ray eyes

True grit

Incredible melting man

Ghostbusters

*Let sleeping corpses lie 6/10

Don’t blink

Doom

Screamers

Brighton Rock

8 Post Apocalyptic Shorts

The Last Man (2015)?

Written and Directed by Gavin Rothery – Starring :  Richard D Glover
This short film stars Richard D Glover who usually appears on Ben Wheatley productions, we follow his solitary struggle as he navigates a barren burnt wasteland in search for survivors, hints at a war between two groups is evident from the propaganda littering the derelict buildings but at this point he’d be happy to just meet anyone. From time to time we hear a radio broadcast asking for people to respond but our silent hero has no means,  apart from this the film is almost silent.

Glover is a pretty decent actor so his contributions really help but the detail and effort that went into the production of the film and those desolate backdrops is pretty stunning. It’s certainly nothing new but it’s clear to see that this is someone’s pride and joy and a lot of effort had gone into it.

Brawl in cell block 99 (2017)

Director: S. Craig Zahler.
Starring. Vince Vaughn, Don Johnson, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier USA. 2h 12m.

Not being a huge fan of comedy it’s not surprise that I haven’t seen a lot of Vince Vaughn, in fact the only film that comes to mind is the abysmal remake of Psycho (1999) which I sat through wondering a frame for frame remake was needed while nursing my very first tattoo in the back of a dingy Odeon Cinema… I was not impressed.

So when I heard that he has broken character and was starring in a grisly prison action drama from the unstable Bone Tomahawk (2015) director S. Craig Zahler. I knew this was going to be a great film and it didn’t disappoint, much like the horror western Brawl in Cell Block 99 take a while to really get into the swing of things.

February 2018 Watch List

The Wolfman
Robocop
Amadeus
Point Blank
*Slash Dance 4/10
Old boy
Dog soldiers
Hard to be a God
The Right Stuff
The taking of Deborah Logan
UFC Fight Night 215
Subspecies
*Limehosue Golem 4/10

3 Short DON’T Horror films

Often in horror movies there is some kind of  instruction, like Don’t go into the house (1979) and in the case of Nightmare of Elm Street (1984) Don’t ever sleep again..

So here are 3 short horror films with some more rules on what you shouldn’t do.

DON’T LOOK AWAY

This is quite a compelling short movie which captured my imagination, a teenage girl is being teased by her brother, when she noticed a man standing outside her house, he’s in a disheveled suit with a bag and chains over his head, her father warns her not to look away and that he’s on his way to help her. Not really taking the advice she asks her brother to watch the creature while she locks the doors, as her brother is a massive douche but on returning she can no longer see the man but her brother still can, where has HER spectre gone? What’s going on?? Hopefully daddy is on his way to rescue these lovelies soon.

For a short movie it’s made well and the acting is fairly natural, the concept of this ghoul like character who reminded me of something that could have cropped up in Thirteen Ghosts (1960/2001). It has a great urban legend feel to it and with some working I reckon this could make a decent horror.. I think I just want to know how this creature came about really..

Justice (2017)

Director: Richard Gabai

Starring. Jackson Rathbone, Stephen Lang, Nathan Parsons, John Lewis  USA. 1h 32m.

Westerns often have lawless towns that are soon put on the straight and narrow once a righteous man is found to run the bad guys out of town, these bad guys, usually idiots are under the control of a bad guy with some political ties.. but the righteous man usually still kicks their asses.. there you go I summed up this film. It’s not often that a film pile drives itself into the biggest clichés of a genre, the only thing missing from this was some injuns and a spittoon.

Starting off in the quiet sacred space of a church, Rev. Thomas McCord (Rathbone) busies himself with reverend stuff when a hooker strolls in looking for salvation, getting rather close the mayor walks in seeing their embrace starts hollering and the burns the church down with McCord in it. later on a tougher older brother James McCord (Parsons) waltz into down, freeing slaves and is generally an all-round American hero without a spandex suit. He finds that his brother has died in a tragic accident but isn’t biting on that schit and begins his own investigation while staying with an ex prostitute and some of the kinder people in town he goes head to head against Mayor Pierce (Lang) and his slow witted henchmen led by Reb (Lewis). The is a struggle as the Mayor and Freedom fighter tussle about who’s the alpha male until a bloody showdown, in the meantime the born again prostitute finds a higher level of repentance.

There’s little atmosphere in this film, and nothing builds as the movie progresses, the actors just move through their steps and lines as if automated. Lang strangely bothered to appear but didn’t really deliver a performance, nothing in par with anything he’s done before, but with so little hope that this was going to sell why waste your talent, to be fair, if you’re going to do a job, do it right! He does bring in a whole smooth callous mayor, but most of the animosity is between James and Reb, they spend much more screen time at each other’s throats.

A few scenes just didn’t make any sense and the plot holes are frequent, in one scene there is a public discussion on breaking James out of jail, with half of the people saying they didn’t want a part of it, and wandering off, I guess to remain silent!? Leaving the rest to open discuss how they are going to perform an unlawful act, as you do.. in the middle of town?

Somehow the acting is on par with Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, and feels soulless and bleak while the films gets sentimental around the point of the big showdown that has been on the cards since the first 10 minutes, this finale is lacklustre and manages to bring the film down to a point of no return.

Overall this is just dull and boring..

Rating 1/10

R – Black Killer (1971), Appaloosa (2008), Bone Tomahawk (2015)
L – A-Z of Westerns Vol 1
5s – Stephen Lang

 

10 of my unpopular movie opinions Vol.1

 

01.Comedy Generally Sucks 

I try not to exclude any genres but I really can’t stick popular comedy films, I guess I just don’t have a funny bone…  no, wait that’s not true at all, follow me on Twitter and find out!! I get a lot of humour from the films I watch I just never feel the need to just sit down and laugh, I prefer to be unsettled. It takes all sorts I suppose, the exception to the rule is Hot Rod (2007) this is something I can sit down and watch with glee about once a year.

 

02.There has never been a decent Batman Film 

just shoot me now! I kinda enjoyed the Tim Burton film, I was about 9 and it was exciting to see all the flashy shit but when I bothered to look back on the film only a few years after its release it was so terrible.. and everything that has come after it has been total crap. I adore the comics, and the animated show was quite fun, but I just can’t visualise a physical batman. I have tried to watch a number of them but I’ve not rated any of them higher than a 3.

03.We need more REAL effects

CGI has it’s place but it’s so typical and boring and can really date a film, it’s guaranteed that within a year or two the film is going to look sloppy. I really admire the craftsmanship and imagination the goes into making real effects, the wonders from Tom Savini and Rick Baker really made an important feature in cinema, it does seem that this era is over but every not and again someone does revive this timeless method over the use of their pooter and it’s brilliant.

04.Budget doesn’t matter 

I get riled up when people rely on the budget of a film for its watchability. There are so many films which cost millions which were total chump and vice versa, it’s one of the dumbest reasons to not like a film. I really admire films like Primer (2004) and Bellflower (2011)  strangely both lofi scifi but they cost less than the catering for a bigger budget film and are deeply moving and amazing tales.

05.Blu Rays are pointless 

I don’t even want to go into my hatred for gay rays. I own one and for some reason it came with the DVD, why the hell I would want both I dunno but I have both.. (the film is Salo, defiantly not something to need to see with any more clarity). I feel the jump from DVD to digital with overstep Gayray, it’s just another use to spend more money like 3D movies and how minidisc was supposed to be the next new format and well we went digital.. I won’t be replacing any of my 3000 films with gay ray.. heck I’m buying more VHS!

06.Cinema experience is overrated 

I do love going to the movies but I prefer to watch them at home, in comfortable clothes, with cheap food, all the booze I can handle, company I approve of and no one telling me to shush or getting offended by my classy farts…

07.2001 a Space Odyssey is sooooo boring.. 

I didn’t want this to get down to films but there are a range of movies and directors that you are expected to worship otherwise you can’t be taken seriously. But 2001, for me.. was so boring.. I really enjoyed the sentinel story it’s loosely based on but this was crap… wait it’s not crap it’s just not thrilling.. not for me..

08.I don’t get hung up about watching  movies on YouTube

 I don’t upload them but I do watch them from time to time, I have a vhs copy of Turkey shoot but there is a HD version on YouTube!! Now and again instead of searching through 3000+dvd’s I do log on and watch it, I don’t feel like a criminal, although technically I am. I’ve watched a few things on there, especially some hard to find films from the Soviet Union. And schit that isn’t on DVD yet,  ultimately it’s evil and somehow it’s funding terrorism (that’s so LOL) but I really don’t see it destroying the film industry completely I still buy a LOT of movies and spend a fortune at the cinema. I’m not a total scumbag but I don’t lose sleep over this.

09.We need MORE black and white movies

 I really don’t discriminate when it comes to movies, (ignore point 01), I like to encompass all of cinema and that includes *old* movies and black and white films, now when I say old I’m talking 1920s and when I mean black and white I mean black and white.. you get me. It’s something often overlooked by younger audiences who can barely cope with a movie without CGI, but I’ve see some impressive new films with CGI that are 90% black at white at least.. and the older films can be equally as thrilling.. turn the colour off and usually lose seats at the cinema,

 

10.The Oscars can bite my ass

I don’t care.. I really don’t..

 

Rampage – Capital Punishment /Rampage You End Now(2014)

Director: Uwe Boll
Starring. Brendan Fletcher, Lochlyn Munro, Mike Dopud, Michaela Mann Canada/Germany/USA. 1h 33m.

Straight after his first rampage in Oregon, Bill Williamson (Fletcher), vanishes off the grid but the actions and message is received loud and clear and his fan base is growing online. He uses the money from his previous heist to fund a new one venture to really get his message home, a second chapter, another rampage and this time he’s coming back for the media. After purchasing weapons and building bombs he shaves his head, sets his house on fire and drives to Washington where he unpacks, burns his car, breaks into a new station, killing security staff and a few employees, he gathers up their number one (asshole) anchorman (Munro) and gathers his hostages in the basement.

Ostatnia Rodzina / The Last Family (2016)

Director: Jan P. Matuszynski
Starring: Andrzej Seweryn, Dawid Ogrodnik, Aleksandra Konieczna. Poland. 2h 3m

I was quite desperate to see this movie as Zdzisław Beksinski is one of my all time favourite painters and his biography is quite bleak, so in the right hands this film should have been glorious and it’s absolutely captivating.

July 2017 News

News

The Death of Louis XIV (2016) La mort de Louis XIV (original title)

Prototype (2017)  1h 5min  | Documentary, Sci-Fi | 2017 (Canada) – Major Daniels comes home early from deployment and makes a startling discovery. He wants nothing but order.