Meeting up with old friends brings back memories of the good ole days, a chance to catch up and congratulate each other and relive old times, and the perfect setting for a rose tinted reunion is a far away cabin in the wilderness , with no distractions and no neighbors to distract or keep a watchful eye. The only problem, having not seen your old school friends for some time there’s no guarantee that everyone still has all their own marbles. Will this weekend in the Alpines be a few beers and burgers or a weekend of psychological meltdowns and digging up buried true feelings?
Director: Anthony DiBlasi Starring: Juliana Harkavy, Natalie Victoria, J LaRose, Joshua Mikel. USA. 1h 30m
Just when you thought it was safe enough to guard an abandoned prison during the graveyard shift… There’s something about The Last Shift which really resonates with horror fanatics. A simple story which is the ultimate setting for a horror story is amped up with good old fashioned ghostly atmospherics and relies on practical effects, this is what the fans cry out for constantly and when it’s delivered it’s welcomed with open creepy arms!
Jessica (Harkavy) is left to her own devices while guarding a local empty and highly haunted prison during the night shift. and the night becomes a roller coaster of jump scares, poltergeist activity and moving family revelations.
Director: Bennett Miller Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michel Hall .USA. 2h 14m
My first viewing of Foxcatcher was quite surreal, I was more mesmerized by how different the cast looked, Carell’s beak nose and Ruffalo’s hairline are almost mystical, so much great effort went into the prosthetics and character development. This high level of glamour is only a part of a riveting tale of shocking depravity, orchestrated by a filthy rich individual pulling the strings in his own dangerous game, involving the USA Wrestling entry into the 1988 Olympic games. Continue reading Foxcatcher (2014)→
Director: Kathryn Bigelow Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Tom Sizemore . USA. 1h 42m
We always assume that the police force are highly attentive and can sniff out a bad guy a mile away but just like everyone they have moments where they are as vulnerable as you and I, and it’s during one of these moment of vulnerability which catches a rookie cop off guard and leads to a crime wave in New York City.
Jamie Lee stars as Megan, a rookie cop full of pride at her achievements and eager to be a great cop she finds herself suspended on her first day when she blows a low life criminal ( Sizemore) away in a convenient store when he holds the place up, with her high level of enthusiasm she doesn’t remember what happened to the gun she knew he was holding and is suspended for killing an unarmed man. Unbeknownst to New York’s finest the gun is now in the hands of Eugene Hunt (Silver) highly stressed commodities trader who’s slowly become unhinged and is now totally in love with Megan as sees her as a death goddess. Megan, after being taken to the cleaners by the powers that be, headed by Nick Mann (Brown), is soon reinstated when a body turns up with a bullet, with her name carved into it. Continue reading Blue Steel (1991)→
I’ll start my review by saying that I adore everything about this quirky film, even the bad bits, so buckle up for a fangirl review of what is commonly thought of as a bad movie.
It’s never easy when a foreign director attempts to break into different cinematic style, for me John Woo totally struggled with his western movies, Jean-Pierre Jeunet didn’t get much applause for Alien Resurrection but was made a god for any of his French movies, (it goes both ways) and Kitano seemed to have been lost in translation while still maintaining his signature cool style, and I think he made a wise choice in starring in the movie to try and hold on to whatever he could from his previous great titles. One of Kitano’s strong facets is that you can kinda link his character throughout his movies, growing and becoming tougher and cooler each time, if you thought he reached his peak, you’ll be mistaken he’ll level up forever. Continue reading Brother (2000)→
I’d be a terrible hypocrite if I claim to champion indie movies and let this one slip by without raising a glass to it. Now I might be slightly biased with my opinion about this low budget horror but I was awake at about 3am feeling like death had warmed me up, delirious with a fever I thought a movie would help me pass over to a better place, and this gem cropped up, I love the title Chemical Peel, it sounds so grotty. So while high on chewable morphine I really got into the movie, I should add that later on I watched Blood Glacier for the first time and was doubly blown away. I have since watched the movie on tree more occasions and each time I’ve been laid up in bed with a virus and knocking on heavens door. I guess this makes it my official sick flick?
Director: Ant Timpson. Starring: Elijiah Wood, Michael Smiley, Martin Donovan, Stephen McHattie .USA. 1h 33m
There comes a time in anyone’s life when they get a pang of nostalgia and have to find their roots, discover what kind of stock they have come from. Sometimes it’s just to determine medical symptoms and at other times it’s to find out where we are down the big line of success or fuck ups. Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy is such a journey but one that no one could have predicted.Continue reading Come to Daddy (2019)→
Director: D Alexander Moors Starring: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Rim Blake Nelson. USA. 1h 34m
A deeply atmospheric and emotive recount of the strange relationship between the unique pair of individuals who basically brought Washington to its knees in 2002. John (Washington)and his “adopted” Antigen son Lee (Richmond), are brought together out of love and necessity, but soon their turbulent relationship became needed and cold violence. A highly provocative insight into the killers from D Alexandre Moors, his first full length feature, shows incredible talent. Later on he was able to display further capabilities is his more appreciated project Yellow Birds (2017).
John is a highly strung individual, moving from sofa to sofa, from friend to favour as he rages at the world around him, hooking up with a protective friend he manages to tutor his new son in a military fashion, their daily lives are a mix of regimental and relaxing with friends, cook outs and sniper training.
Director: Christopher Smith Starring: Melissa George, Michael Dorman, Rachael Carpani, Henry Nixon, Emma Lung,Liam Hemsworth. UK. 1h 39m
At first glance it would seem that the title seems to refer to the Bermuda Triangle, where puzzling things seem to happen at sea, but really if this film deserved an apt title it would be Loop but that would sound stupid.. so triangle it is.The film is quite smart and even with rounds of repetition it’s still interestingly constructed, sly and a fairly deep piece from British Director Christopher Smith who gave us deeply disturbing projects such as Creep (2004).
Set in the US, with a totally Aussie/New Zealand crew, there are a few accent faux pas but they are totally acceptable in the time loop chiller, that seems to be a cross between Ghost Ship (2002) and Donnie Darko (2001), that sees a group of youngsters take a jaunt on a fancy yacht and run into curious difficulties.
Director: Mark L Lester W: Jeph Loeb P: Joel Silver Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells, David Patrick Kelly, Bill Duke, Bill Paxton. 1h 30m. USA.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a retired  United States Special Forces Colonel John Matrix doing this best to raise his daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano), the two live in a secluded cabin in the hills. One by one his old team are assassinated by unknown mercenaries in violent and unsuspected ways. When his ex commander visits to warn him; they are met by same mercenaries who kill the men posted to protect the family and kidnap Jenny. John is presented with a task from a ruthless south american dictator who needs him to carry out a political assassination in Val Verde, reluctantly he accepts in order to protect his daughter. But john has other plans..After killing his entourage his escapes the plane to the remote island, thus giving him 18 hours until they realise he’s escaped and thus to find and rescue this daughter. Following the vertically challenged Sully (Kelly) he teams up with reluctant Cindy (Chong) and eventually the two work together to locate the missing girl.Continue reading Commando (1985)→
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