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Reviews
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
Diabolical
I read that Ellen Burstyn refused Exorcist: Believer several times and only agreed when they doubled her salary. This movie has nothing...ZERO...to do with The Exorcist other than a tacky cameo. Ellen Burstyn's presence is meant to give this stinking pile of garbage some credibility but all it actually does is taint the credibility of the actress in question. If she needed money that badly, she could have collected cans and still walked away with greater dignity.
I gave this nonsense 1 star because the page wont allow me vote with no stars. William Friedkin said he didn't want to be around when this trash was released and, luckily for him, death took him before he was made to suffer at the hands of David Gordon Green, the man who butchered the Halloween franchise with the God awful Halloween Ends. At least he got to enjoy William Peter Blatty's Exorcist III - Legion, a flawed but truly notable follow up to the original.
This sad offering is one level above Scooby Doo and several levels below Goosebumps. It belongs in a boxset with Jaws The Revenge and Troll 2 or, better again, burning on a bonfire with Halloween Ends. Somebody somewhere hold a cross to David Gordon Green and keep him the hell away from the horror classics.
Wait for Me (2023)
Uncompromising and powerful
Wait For Me is a throwback to the maverick days of Indie film making. Director Keith Farrell brings us a story uncompromising in its dark delivery. A brilliant performance from Karen Hassan never overshadows the sterling input from Elva Trill and old nugget Sean McGinley with subtle gems to be found in Kelli Hollis as the.beleaguered.brothel madam and in Theo Ogundipe as the the viciously understated henchman Barry.
The film is thought provoking in a way I haven't seen since Ken Loach and Shane Meadows were breaking new ground. It seems like far too long since Paddy Considine gave us Tyrannosaur and a lifetime ago since since the industry offered us the grit of Ladybird Ladybird, Nil By Mouth and This is England. Wait For Me is a worthy nod to those fearless days of film and Keith Farrell is most certainly one to watch.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Death of the Deadite!!
As a fan of the Sam Raimi trilogy, I welcomed Evil Dead (2013) with open arms. Fede Alvarez.is a talented director and.it seemed like a straight forward reboot. What can go wrong? Well, lots actually. There are core ingredients that define dishes and classics are no different. I disliked Evil Dead for the same reason that I dislike Evil Dead Rise.
Both movies liked to think they had a fresh approach to an old pattern but we liked the old pattern. We liked Deadites roaming the forest and the dark bowers of Man's domain. We want Kandarian demons that would swallow our souls....damned trees that reached out from a haunted forest....metal bridges that curled up like gnarled fingers in a fog that follows you home. Over the top? Not at all. It's the magic the Raimi brought...he could play it with the fantastic, the bizarre, the hilarious and the absolute terrifying...that's why it worked.
Evil Dead Rise nods to the original movies but only as token gestures. I will say that the opening sequence was excellent and teased a potential; winner but it swallowed its own soul after that...if it ever actually had one. We're getting used to life after Ash by now but, really, what a collection of paper thin characters drawn from a duff script. So disappointing.
Perhaps someone will step up to the plate and give us a throwback that hits those classic notes. We can dream...
Halloween Ends (2022)
Brutal...in all the wrong ways.
Fans of Halloween will always point to Season of the Witch and shake their heads. Not only because it's a truly awful film, and that's debatable, but because the core ingredient, The Mask, The Shape...Michael Meyers is entirely absent from proceedings. For a series that started out with Jamie Lee Curtis in the lead and John Carpenter at the helm, the franchise managed to live for long periods without them with the fourth and fifth installments offering their own twists. The Rob Zombie remake was interesting and the sequel was, at least, wonderfully bizarre. The key to success is the man in the mask and that's just a starting block.
I though the 2018 return was a worthwhile endeavor. Not great but it certainly captured something from the old days. Halloween Kills was surprisingly satisfying and I would rank it in the top three....and so came the long wait for the grand finale. It came, we saw, it underwhelmed. It's difficult to imagine what went through the minds of writers and director on this one as they virtually removed the very thing we'd come to see...Michael Meyers. How they thought a third rate tale of Corey Cunningham, a nothing character tacked onto series as an after-thought, could hold an audience is beyond mindboggling. Ardent fans turned up specifically to see the promised final showdown between The Shape and Laurie Strode and we left asking "Really.... REALLY???
Halloween Ends is an insult to the fans that followed this franchise all the way back to the Carpenter masterpiece. It's insanely conceived, poorly written, badly cast...it lacks any attempt at creativity and it offers us only an abysmal copy of the terror that brought us back time and again. It's over and maybe its for the best. Careers could fall on another dud like this which makes it all the more confusing that the same team were able to hit such high notes with Halloween Kills just a year ago. Shame on all involved.
Mignonnes (2020)
Brilliant, Beautiful and Heartbreaking
Cuties is this years Beasts of the Southern Wild and the only thing offensive about this gem of a movie is the morally idiotic reviews. For those who turned it off after 10 mins, you missed the surprise package of 2020. This is a film about cultural constraints, fitting in, falling down and fighting through it. It 's an astounding film of strength in the face of tradition and it's a truly heartbreaking insight into growing up in a world that doesn't always want you in it.
Amy is an 11yr old Muslim girl caught between the claustrophobic traditions of her culture and a modern society almost devoid of tradition and integrity. Brilliantly and powerfully played by Fathia Youssouf in her first role, Amy is equally at odds with both worlds and Cuties/Mignonnes voices it's objection to the exploitation of children far more poignantly than any outraged reviewer. Amy's struggle to find her own place in the world is an emotional powerhouse and the final scenes are simply unforgettable. Fantastic cast and a brave script written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré in a film that will divide audiences for all the wrong reasons. Just watch the movie and make an informed opinion whatever that should be.
Busanhaeng 2: Bando (2020)
Refrain From Busan
Peninsula is not a direct sequel to Train To Busan. It doesn't connect to the original movie in any way and that includes character, pacing, style and story. I think Sang Ho-Yeon made a conscious decision to offer something unexpected. Did it work? Well...yes and no. The opening 15 minutes are excellent and, had they kept that setting, Boat To Busan might have been a far more intriguing film. But the writer/director had other ideas and we get a Korean mob movie filled with sleazy characters that are never given enough on-screen time to be truly interesting.
The relationship between the lead and his brother in law had the makings of something really poignant and, as we know, this director does that incredibly well. But their collective trauma is never fully investigated and the events of the opening 15 minutes are lost under layers of questionable CGI and unnecessary action sequences. I don't have a difficulty with the plot. 'Loot for grabs' would work just fine if everything around it gelled but the movie is too fast and furious to allow for that.
The final 15-20 minutes almost redeem Peninsula and, once again, Sang Ho-Yeon introduces themes of nobility, self sacrifice and there's a beautiful poignancy that we may have seen before but never quite as well done. So...a brilliant first 15 minutes, a suitably powerful ending but the filling in the sandwich lacked spice....and zombies. The biggest failing in Peninsula is the lack of dread. We could almost accept the lack of character development if the undead held center stage but, for much of the movie, they are reduced to the level of background noise and the director missed a trick on this one.
I gave the film 7 stars as it was an entirely watchable and often engaging film but, regardless of not living up to its predecessor, Peninsula never lives up to its own potential. Boat To Busan would have been the better option unfortunately.
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files (2010)
Simply Excellent
I'm at a loss. I really am. I've read the other reviews on this show and I have to remind myself that we are talking about the same program. I had just looked up the Josh Gates show 'Destination Truth' which, correctly, received applause and I had expected the same here. Fact or Faked is a hugely entertaining, well researched, comprehensive look at the paranormal, cryptozoology, Ufology and the general unexplained. The program looks at these phenomenon without bias and I love the fact that they never ridicule anything, everything is possible. For those of you who enjoy Bigfoot, Ghosts, Lake monsters, Aliens, Conspiracy theories or if you simply enjoy the very lovely Jael De Pardo, then Fact or Faked is an absolute must.