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Reviews
Vermines (2023)
Decent,well made French horror.
Both Mum and Laura would run a mile then watch this spider infested horror, they're everywhere!
This is a well designed horror with excellent visual (?practical effects) that really treads the line between gross out horror, developing characters and adding much needed taunt tension ( the walk through a tunnel of spiders had me on the edge of my seat)
The setting of a run down French tenement building is effectively used to create horror, tension and the largely unknown cast that populate this environment seem they actually live there.
This reminded me of Rec,Evil Dead Rise as a high rise horror chase.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
Effective thriller ruined by last 5 mins.
Rose Glass's follow up to Saint Maud is a sweaty,twisty thriller that's reminded me of a mash up of Blood Simple, Bound, Thelma and Louise and Breaking Bad/ Better Call Saul in its depiction of blue collar working class individuals thrown into a nightmare of double dealings, revenge,sex,drugs (with the exception of Bound) all filmed under a sun bleached environment.
Kristen Stewart is excellent in the lead and shows depth and vulnerability, as she did in 'Spencer ' and is fast becoming a solid actor.
Katy O'Brian is dedicated as the pumped up body builder and its good to see Ed Harris again as the scary crime boss (with even scarier hair)
Where the film fails is in the stupid last 5mins which is just laughable and utterly stupid (this ruined the film for Laura!) it's like a tacked on fantasy. Was Glass bereft of any other ideas ? Did she deliberately want to add something stupid as a ' breather' for the audience after the bloody events prior. Whatever it is its really weird!
Monkey Man (2024)
Violent,clichéd but heartfelt actioner.
Philip Juma lookalike Dev Patel co writes ,stars and directs this impressive looking action thriller with bone crunching fight scenes mixed in with a surprising amount of character depth; the audience is with the character'Bobby' and his past troubles and Patel effectively shows the painful trauma with a degree of sympathy. Thus rendering the final third as a kind of valedictory kick ass fest.
The streets of Mumbai are well shot and Patel shows the hardships of the homelessness ,especially the young people.
Where I feel the film is let down is,like most action films , a terrific sense of deja vu throughout a smattering of John Wick,Only God Forgives,The Raid (1 and 2).
The editing and cinematography are extremely well done but Patel uses an abundance of close ups that not only confuse the audience as too who is who but gives a nauseous feeling. It's too frantic, even for an actioner.
Nonetheless, this is a bold directional debut from Mr Patel that spends the first half developing characters and story before plunging into the excitement the audience wants.
The fights in the toilet and bar are really really well done.
Please no Monkey Man 2!
Blackout (2023)
Interesting but talky horror.
One of the- many- great ideas of An American Werewolf in London is how sad and pitiful David finds himself as a werewolf. He's aware of what's inside him and what can come out and he's powerless to stop it. The scene where he attempts to slit his wrists in the phone box is one of the saddest moments in cinema; not just horror.
This new horror from cult writer/director Larry Fessenden explores this idea into a feature length horror, with mixed results.
Its extremely talky and slow that would test the patience of most horror junkies. The film never picks up momentum; even when law enforcement officials go after the' beast' there's a lull in the pacing where an ex girlfriend is making dinner and drinking wine with her new boyfriend. Alex Hurt sadly doesn't have the sympathy that David Naughton displayed in the classic aforementioned 1981 horror but he's solid (as was his late father William Hurt).
The effects and make up are well done despite its low budget.
It's an interesting venture that could have been better developed.
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Alan Partridge meets The Exorcist.
I was actually looking forward to this found footage, 70s inspired horror. Reading the(brief, no trailers) descriptions and a plaudit from Stephen King himself wetted my appetite to the point of me travelling to the Odeon at 2200 AFTER WORK!
Sadly, this is a marginal letdown.
The setup, the 1970s looking TV studio, all the qips of making a live TV event, David Dastmalchain playing the ever grinning host, the rough looking photographic sheen all are top notch.
I felt a tremendous feeling of deja vu throughout ,almost like its a greatest hits package of other horrors mainly 1992s BBC cult horror Ghostwatch, that it doesn't establish anything original.
For those who haven't seen ANY horror films then they may find things scarier here than I did.
A predictedable stew of jump cuts,demonic voices, lights smashing,demonic images intercut with a static image, spewing, cursing etc.
And it just ain't scary.
Sleeping Dogs (2024)
Solid, watchable twisty thriller.
Russell Crowe seems at ease in his early 60s(!) playing original characters with quirky traits (The Pope's Exorcist), he knows he'll never play the handsome ,muscular lead like the early 2000s but at least he takes chances that elevate a B movie.... and he hasn't had facial work done!
This is a nifty little thriller that kept us guessing until the end with a twist, I'll admit, I didn't see coming.
It avoids most cliches of modern thrillers- a silly,obtrusive soundtrack, over the top editing, the obligatory chase scene and shoot out, a redundant romantic sub plot.
I couldn't quite believe that a video tape of Freeman's wife having sex with the Professor existed and seemed too contrived in setting up the twist at the end. Lazy scripting.
It tells its story well and leaves the audience talking about it. Whether they liked it or not. Nothing wrong in that.
Perfect Days (2023)
More of a ' ho- hum' day.
Koji Yakusho commands the screen in the lead, as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, getting the most out of life by setting beauty in the most everyday, mundane things- trees blowing in the wind ( my man!!), plants and flowers, being kind to others.
His outlook is like the film quiet and reflective.
Like most Wim Wenders films this is meditative and slow paced; it will please some and anger others.
The story is really thin and doesn't develop and like Lost in Translation its more concerned with showing us the everyday city surroundings of Tokyo rather than giving the audience drama or narrative.
Tranquility will wash over. This is either a good or bad thing.
I didn't dislike it but maybe would have liked it more if I was hungover. It's a soothing balm that isn't taxing ie a gentle, sweet cure to a hangover.
Wicked Little Letters (2023)
Sharply written,entertaining comedy.
Despite some clunky casting and 'box ticking' in today's 'keeping everyone happy' standards( would there really have been a black judge in the early 1920s?), this is a breezy, humorous 'true life' British comedy.
It's like a vamped up Ealing comedy for today's poisonous social media keyboard warriors, who get off with writing nasty comments on everything/everyone within the privacy and comfort in their own homes; as witnessed by the real culprit who was sending these letters in the first place.
Religion doesn't come out of this well and its easy to see why the person turned out the way they did when confronted everyday with pious Biblical teachings and domination.
The performances are great.
Fatale (2020)
Silly thriller.
Heaven knows what the talented but miscast Hilary Swank is doing in this overblown,silly thriller that looks like a glossy Vogue and GQ mash up with a pinch of Fatal Attraction,Basic Instinct, Jade . In fact its looks very much like a straight to video 90s thriller, that is forgettable as soon as the TV is switched off.
The music is obtrusive and overdone, it's badly acted by all inc Ms Swank(who doesn't convince one iota as a detective), poorly directed- the tension is watered down by poor editing and the said music score.
However, for a' forget it but let it all hang out after a busy day' type of thriller, it's twisty and those willing to leave their problems, and brains, at the door you could do far worse!
American Fiction (2023)
Well written, sharp and humane comedy
There's a lot to say about how our culture is defined by rules, regulations and taste in this well done comedy, that had me laughing and smiling(knowingly)throughout.
I'll like to double bill this with the equally sharp black comedy'The Lesson' about how authors publish their work and how prissy and self important people who bang on about language really are (at times), I'm looking at you Judy and Mark! Whilst most hard working people just want is too let go and be entertained at the end of their day.
The analogy of the Jonnie Walker whisky here is deliberately aimed at this observation.
Jeffrey Wright is excellent in the lead and really feels like a writer with the added loathing and cynicism that'Miles' displays in Sideways- in fact, the film has a loose,jazzy style like Sideways and he leads a well picked cast.
One of my films of the year!
You'll Never Find Me (2023)
Portentous Aussie horror.
This two person,one location Australian horror has been getting rave reviews (5* in The Guardian) that I was very excited to see it.
Sadly, this is a slow slow paced, pretentious horror that will test the patience of most horror fans. If its a flawed character paying for his crimes in a kind of purgatory/ hellish place then any Amicus horror from the 70s or the recent 'Southbound' did this much better.
Without sounding cocky, I guessed where this was heading so I had to endure the duration of the film with tedious talk and why exactly a young woman would wander around during the rain soaked night to knock on the trailer door of a creepy man. This motivation shows exactly why she would do such a crazy thing.
The sound and photography is excellent as is the performances (with the lead actor looking like Steve Oram)
Dogman (2023)
Makes you love dogs even more!
This bizarre, odd drama/thriller had many critics rolling their eyes I'm disbelief, according to the reviews I read.
I found it daring, ballsy, utterly strange ,poignant and had lots of heart.
It also contains lots of cute,lovely dogs....
Caleb Laundry Jones continues his journey into playing socially detached, awkward characters and like his previous effective performance in Nitram,he isn't afraid of portraying them with a sense of sympathy either.
He's one of the best actors around at the moment.
To play a disabled guy in leg irons,dressed in drag takes courage in today's toxic,cancel culture.
The film is like a twisted version of Oliver Twist,with dogs as the artful dodgers.
The Little Big Man/Forrest Gump style setup works on showing the audience show this strange man with his'children' of dogs came to be.
Only the ending feels rushed and out of place.
Cold Meat (2023)
Decent twisty two hander shocker.
This lean 90min two person trapped in a car set up is well acted by the two leads, has an unexpected twist at the end of the first act and is well designed, despite its low budget,in the unforgiving, harsh snowstorm outside the car.
Some will find it needlessly talky throughtout it's, short, run time about the psychology of what drives 'David' to do what he does ,I however, found this interesting and added adds character and depth to this troubled mind.
Only the last five minutes let the film down with the appearance of a possible spirit in the forest/Wending that haunts the nightmares of David suddenly becoming'real' , this isn't a monster movie made real but more the'monsters' within us that drive us.
It felt cheap and tacked on!
Road House (2024)
Entertaining.
The original 1989 Roadhouse wasn't great art, it didn't inspire people to become filmmakers, it doesn't appear in the top 100 movies but it was terrific entertainment with a witty and quotable script , a solid corrupt businessman,old fashioned style fights and a charismatic lead in Patrick Swayze. Whenever it's on TV I'll always watch it.
Here the story has been expanded to include a greedy,greasy yuppie, a corrupt police force, a zero chemistry love interest (as was the original with Kelly Lynch playing the least convincing Dr ever) a pumped up human steroid in Conor McGregor and more backstory to Dalton's character.
Jake G (too tired to spell his surname!)at least looks the part below the head wise but seems rather miscast- he doesn't look a fighter, too clean cut.
It's colourful, well set in the Florida keys, has some funny scenes - the beat up thugs being taken to hospital in the car,has something to say about the amount of morons being patched up in understaffed under resourced hospitals (did the writers overhear me?!!) and has plenty of well choreographed fight scenes.
It didn't need to be remade but is a passable time killer.
Spaceman (2024)
Bit of a ' long journey ' slog.
After his bravura performance in UNCUT GEMS, Adam Sandler is developing into a fine almost daring actor that bequeathed his age. He portrays isolation and loneliness into an intriguing characterization of a astronaut heading to Jupiter to collect space dust.
Despite, impressive visuals this is neither a creepy sci fi nor a decent horror expressionism nor a sturdy character study- it's more like a sub Malick dreamy cross cutting of Sandler looking mournful, thinking of the past with his wife (an underwritten Carey Mulligan) and talking to an ? Imaginary spider.
Either way it's rather tedious.
For an isolated man alone in a hostile place it ain't Castaway or even the much better Sci fi Ad Astra.
Lady Macbeth (2016)
Dark, chilling and blackly funny.
I can't believe I missed this when it came out in 2016!
Florence Pugh is dazzling in the lead role, submissive at the start and consumed by evil and wicked intent at the end- terrific character development- something I always look for in movies and more often than not doesn't really deliver; even in good movies.
The scene of'Teddys' death is horrible , with the camera not cutting, adding to the evil Mrs Lester has become, its unflinching and I haven't been able to forget it since.
At 90mins this is a decent length, it's wonderfully shot by Ari Wenger, who also shot the wintry look for Eileen in 2022.
Kuolleet lehdet (2023)
Heartfelt romance.
My issue with some romantic dramas/comedies is the casting and script need to be spot on in delivering the chemistry needed between the two lovers- the audience needs to invest whether their romance is believable and whether they have a chance.
This was something the well done but flawed Past Lives failed too do!
Here, I was emotionally invested with these two poor, downtrodden, hard up characters that I really really wanted them to be together.
The film shows the grubby side of Finland ,the working class , and its shot with a keen eye that it reminded me of Blue Velvet with the Hoppersque/Caravaggio style framings that blend in the characters loneliness.
It's also blackly funny but not too mocking of its sad,lonely characters.
At 81mins it's the perfect length that most films nowadays need to take note of.
Broad Peak (2022)
Well told survivalist drama.
This Polish true lifer is a solid ,watchable drama about conquering a hostile, treacherous mountain range with an ending that told both Laura and I by surprise.
Up too that point I thought the last third act was too convient in its telling of our lead wanting to go back up to finish what he started. I never got the sense that for the last 25yrs he was pining on going up to the summit, that he was empty or lost, defeated.
Add too the fact that he never received much re-training under such harsh conditions; just re -attempted it may have had an impact on his destiny after completing the summit trek?
Nonetheless, this is a brave well told story.
Wil (2023)
Bleak but authentic WW2 drama.
Despite the poor title(the character isn't referred to that much, even more so for the audience to remember his name) and a uninvolving romantic sub plot with his friend's sister that is underwritten, this is a chilly, well acted drama.
Like Munich: The Edge of War and One Life the German occupation is a catalyst in providing a tense background for a story where anything can happen.
I thought the bleakness added to the overall tragedy especially at the end, which may alienate some hoping for a happy ending.
With The Zone of Interest and One Life , the topic of the Holocaust is still prevalent and important.
Memory (2023)
Brilliantly acted, tender love story.
Spanish writer/director Michel Franco is a talented filmmakers whose two previous films Sundown and New Order were totally different to each other but showed a range of depth that isn't noticed much in movies nowadays. One film was humane and a 'different' side to a love story and the other was inhumane and about society collapsing with violence. New Order was a very scary film.
His latest Memory, is more the former. And like Tim Roth in Sundown, Franco gets magical performances from Peter Sarsgaard and Jessica Chastain.
I liked how Chastain's character felt comfortable with the character Saul because he was unable to either control or dominate her-something that she is escaping from.
One could argue about the theme of 'consent' and I think this is a question the film raises- can Saul consent to a sexual relationship with his caregiver even though he was dementia or is Sylvia's characters too emotionally scarred to either care or acknowledge?
Either way this is an original love story with two great performances, that I'll be remembering for a while to come.
One Life (2023)
Worthy tear jerker.
Anthony Hopkins excels in the lead role, showing he's still magnetic well into his 80s and he's ably supported by Johnny Flynn playing him as a younger man and it's good to see Lena Olin again on the screen, playing his wife.
It's a solid drama that will appeal to the same target audience that made The Great Escaper,Operation Mincemeat,Dirty Little Letters etc popular; the older generation- and there's nothing wrong with, at least their going to the movies!
I knew about the Kindertransport but not fully; this film dutifully tells the story and it has the same level of tension that Munich: The Edge of War had ,countries being invaded as a set up to tell humane stories.
The classic TV recreation on' This Life' was well done and moving.
Stranger in the Woods (2024)
Lovely location, lousy film.
Somewhere in this, could, be a nifty little thriller however with poor direction and tedious acting it becomes a bore.
Firstly the characters are all stereotypical of the kind that go into the woods in the first place- they tire of the city,their successful,one is going through some mental health issues, being away gives them reason to paaarty etc. They don't develop or act in any interesting way, they're all from the same stock characters that populate all these types of movies.
The 'boyfriend' overacts so horribly at the end he makes Jack Nicholson in The Shining seem like a kitten. Laughably bad!
And his brother is so overdrawn as a reclusive backwater hunter , he'll make the characters in Deliverance appear like page Boys.
The direction is poor with an over abundance of slow mo shots of running, a protracted ending and sloppy ending. The wet music adds nothing.
The only person who comes out of this routine horror is the lovely dog!
Trunk (2023)
Sightly above average.
Surely the antagonists would have heard the racket that our heroine causes in the truck of the car especially when they're sitting not two feet away in the front seats.
On quiet country roads in the middle of the night surely our heroine would of heard 'Enno' speaking to her on her phone from the front seat and her in the truck within two feet of each other.
These are two huge contrivances that the audience has to suspend disbelief in.
If the audience hasn't seen the movies it emulates; they are too numerous to list here; then they may have a better time.
It's overlong and could lose 15mins but it's well filmed adding claustrophobia and the car speeding through oncoming traffic seen via the busted rear light adds a sweaty ,tense feel.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep (2023)
Underwhelming rather clichéd horror.
Echoes of the excellent 'Carnival of Souls' and the nifty but underrated 'Yellow Brick Road' permulate throughtout this outdoors expressionist horror about a female ranger going mad in a forest.
The set up is overly familiar with too much emphasis on her mind unravelling with walking through a twilight world of things unseen then seen, calls in the night, ghostly figures, shattered memories, redundant walkie talkies etc.
The similar 'woman going mad in the woods' Outpost did this rather better , with better acting; nonetheless at 82mins it's short enough too tell its story and end without padding out.
The Iron Claw (2023)
Superbly acted, cautionary tale.
Zac Effron is impressive in acting(and muscle) as the lead in writer/director Sean Durkin's best film to date.
It's a cautionary tale of how to strive to be the best can affect those around and ,whilst not highly original in this concept ,the idea of wrestling is a suitable backdrop to develop this concept.
The father(well played by Holt McCallany) is tough and dominant but isn't a nasty,mean, obnoxious bully like say Murray Wilson (Brian Wilsons father) or Joe Jackson (Michael Jacksons father) or even the fictitious character 'Fletcher' in Whiplash,who were detestable within the unmanly music industry- here he is well placed to be the best of the best in a sweaty, competitive industry.
It's well told, heartfelt story that made me smile at the memories I used to have watching WWF when I was younger.