'Jaws'...again.
Spielberg's masterpiece, as far as I'm concerned, and probably one of the finest Hollywood movies ever made. There's not really much more to be said about it really.
I watched it this time with the old audio mix and not the "new" one that's been the standard since 2000 DVD I think. The older mix is much fuller sounding and far more pleasing. There's a real weight to it that's absent in the newer surround mix. The only thing I really miss from it was the sound of Quint's shin bones cracking as the shark takes its first bite.
10/10
'The Dark'
I've heard it mentioned that this is a kind of Canadian 'Let the Right One In' with "zombies". That doesn't really add up for me though. In any case, it's not a bad little horror flick, but it is a little absurd and the ending lets it down. There's a central thread through the film of child abuse that's far more disturbing than anything else in the story too. But, it's a good, offbeat, tale that's well acted.
7/10
'Creepshow'
One of George Romero's more well known films, outside of his "...of the Dead" series. A portmanteau of five different stories based on the old US horror comics of the 50's, 60's and 70's. It's a real mixed bag, as all of those type of movies are, and the stories don't work all that well really. Especially the ridiculous Stephen King one, where his overacting and unfunny mannerisms results in just being irritating, rather than humorous. But, the film ends up being a relatively satisfying whole and its two hour pass by easy enough. It's littered with famous faces too, like Ted Hanson, Ed Harris, Leslie Nielson, Hal Holbrook, etc and everyone is having a great time of it, which makes it more enjoyable.
6/10
'Red Road'
Andrea Arnold's treacle paced suspense plays out interestingly, if infuriating at times, as the viewer isn't in on why the main character, Jackie (a brilliant Kate Dickie), is doing what she's doing and you are often left wondering why she's putting herself in so much potential peril throughout the film. The reveal at the end let's you know why. Jackie works for a surveillance company that uses Britain's myriad of CCTV street cameras to observe the streets of Glasgow and she sees, one day, a man who she takes a special, and dangerous, interest in.
'Red Road' is rough, nasty and real, even though the events are extraordinary to most people. I'm not sure if it works in its entirety and there's a sense of unnecessary explicitness about a particular scene, but it's a relatively absorbing watch.
7/10
'Zombie'
When a crew-less boat enters New York harbour, the events it kickstarts lead intrepid reporter, Peter West (Ian McCulloch), and the boat owner's daughter Anne (Tisa Farrow) to the Island of Matul, where the bodies of long dead Conquistadores are rising up from their graves to chow down on unfortunate Caribbean residents.
Lucio Fulci's ridiculous and quite fantastic cheapo undead epic from 1979, which kicked off a whole cycle of zombie/cannibal exploitation pictures that lasted well into the 80's. 'Zombie', or 'Zombie Flesh Eaters' as I've always known it as, is Italian exploitation cinema's king flick. A badly acted, badly paced, badly directed masterpiece that never fails to entertain, if you're in the right frame of mind.
It's as silly as it sounds, but it doesn't stop it from being wildly amusing. Made for a paltry $500,000, 'Zombie' is surprisingly well shot and looks like it was made for much more. It's special effects are gruesome, especially for the time, and there's a real OTT nature to everything. The showcase zombies are creepy and the guts they spill are in glorious deep red. Special mention should go to the utterly ludicrous zombie vs shark sequence, where a stuntman in zombie makeup squares off with an, honest to shit, tiger shark! Remarkable stuff.
It's hard to mark 'Zombie' with an out of 10, because I have a personal history with the film. Since I first discovered the film on the shelves of a tiny video shop when I was a child and its subsequent banning under the infamous video nasties bill, I became a little obsessed with tracking down the film. During the late 80's and well into the 90's I scoured everywhere I could to buy an uncut copy, but to no avail. Where once the video was everywhere, it was nowhere to be found by that stage. Vipco released a heavily cut version on video in the mid 90's, but that was pointless. I eventually settled for an awful looking pirate copy that I bought from some guy in Belfast. But it wasn't until the advent of DVD and the internet, that I could get a legit copy that didn't look like it was filmed on a potato. These days there's a list as long as your arm of various releases of 'Zombi', 'Zombi 2', 'Zombie', 'Zombie Flesh Eaters', or whatever it's called in your neck of the woods. The latest is a 4K transfer on blu-ray, from Blue Underground, and the film has never looked better. It positively destroys the previous benchmark release from Arrow Video in 2012 and it, more than likely, looks better than it did in most cinemas in 1979.
I wouldn't recommend 'Zombie' to everyone, though. Most modern zombie fans would think it quaint, most film fans would think it stupid and there would be plenty of people still appalled by it's gory effects. But, if you want to check out something like this, you probably know what type of schlock the film is already, if you haven't already seen it by now.
'First Man'
A film that's as cold and aloof as Ryan Gosling's performance, Damien Chazelle's 'First Man' is a curious affair. For such a monumental achievement, it remains a very lacklustre account and comes across as mightily underwhelming. It's perplexing, as the ingredients all seem to be there. But, at the end of the film, I was sort of glad it was done.
There's nothing wrong with the film in any general sense, although I'd question how accurate a portrayal of Neil Armstrong it was, and the events play out in a relatively ok manner, but it all seemed very perfunctory and in some places, rather dull.
It's directed well, looks fantastic, and contrasting Gosling's pretty vacant turn, there's a genuinely pleasing performance from Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong. But, I couldn't help but feel that it was all terribly uninvolving. There's also one or two queer portrayals in the film, apart from the central character. Was Buzz Armstrong really an arse? Maybe he was, but it certainly didn't feel right.
Perhaps I was expecting 'The Right Stuff', but just got some..."stuff"?
5/10
'Village of the Damned'
It'll come as no surprise to anyone here, if anyone reads this nonsense, that I'm quite the John Carpenter fan. But, I've never been blind to his faults either. The man has incredible highs and terrible lows, but even his lows are interesting enough. But, two films of his that I've never cared enough to even bother with (not in their entirety anyway) have been 'Starman', 'Memoirs of an Invisible Man', and his 1995 remake of 'Village of the Damned'.
If Carpenter is to be believed, he reluctantly took on the job to remake the 1960 British Sci-Fi classic because of some vague contractual obligation and wasn't that enthused about it. The resulting film shows all the hallmarks of that lack of enthusiasm too as it is incredibly mediocre on such a deep level that you'd genuinely question if it was directed by the same person that made 'The Thing'. Everything about 'Village of the Damned' is so bog standard you'd be forgiven if you checked the back of the box a number of times to see if Carpenter's name was really on there. But on there it is, along with Superman, Mrs Crocodile Dundee, Luke Skywalker and...er...Kirsty Alley.
The story runs pretty much along the same lines as the original, A village falls asleep in a strange manner and when they wake up, they find that a number of women are mysteriously pregnant. Later they give birth to odd looking white haired children, who have a hyper intellect and other worldly powers which they use for malevolent purposes.
There are a number of deviations from the 1960 movie, but not many and there's nothing too wild going on. But, the film is just so entrenched in that awful, and insipid, 90's period, which was probably the worst decade for horror movies, because the MPAA exerted an iron grip over what film makers could show. But, in fairness, the sins of 'Village of the Damned' transcend it's limiting timeframe and it would have been an unmemorable outing no matter when it was made. It's 90 minutes felt much longer and more than once I had to stop myself from admiring Linda Kozlowski and return back to the story.
I suppose if one had never heard of 'The Midwich Cookoos' or the 1960 'Village of the Damned', then there might be something in this film for them and going in with a clear mind might benefit the viewer. But if you've seen the older film, it's impossible not to draw comparisons and, ultimately, negative conclusions.
2/10
'Barry Lyndon'
Stanley Kubrick's often overlooked epic about an Irish rogue, who sees his fortunes rise and fall during the Seven Years War in Europe. 'Barry Lyndon' features some of Kubrick's most obsessive work and everything from the likes of costuming, characters, music, locations and lighting are all superbly handled. Although I feel he could have been a good bit more pedantic about Ryan O'Neal's wandering "Irish" accent. The film looks magnificent too (on the Criterion Blu-ray) and genuinely feels like a glimpse into mid 18th Century. At times it's like looking at a Gainsborough or Hogarth painting in motion and coupled with the excellent choices in music, such as the central motifs of Handel's Sarabande and Schubert's Piano Trio No.2, it makes for very admirable viewing.
Where 'Barry Lyndon' may let itself down, though, is in it's sloth-like pace. Kubrick is in no hurry to get Redmond Barry - or us - anywhere and his deliberate unwinding of Thackeray's tale may be far too slow for many people. But, it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer, stubborn, sense of commitment to the production.
Acting wise, it's unfortunate that the central character comes off as the worst. Ryan O'Neal does his best with what is a fairly unlikeable guy, but his aforementioned vocals leave a lot to be desired from a native Irish man, it has to be said. It's fair to say that his lack of mastery of the accent becomes less and less important as the story progresses, but it's nonetheless slightly grating on the ear. Elsewhere, O'Neal is supported brilliantly by the always excellent Leonard Rossiter (as the pompous British Captain John Quin), the creepily voiced Patrick Magee (as Barry's partner in genteel crime, the Chevalier du Balibari), the stiff and militaristic Hardy Kruger (as Prussian Captain Potzdorf) and the beautiful Marissa Berenson (who exudes an effortless sexiness under a ton of clothing and cancer causing lead based white makeup).
'Barry Lyndon' is certainly not for everyone and, in fact, it's difficult to imagine young audiences of 1975 sitting still for its 3 hour running time, never mind the iPhone obsessed movie-goers of today. But, it has its own rewards for a viewer who's patient enough to simply watch a well told story unfold in a artistically crafted film.
9/10
'Unbreakable'
The first part of M. Knight Shyamalan's loose (very, very loose) "trilogy" dealing with people who are "others" and who can be seen as comic book heroes and villains operating in a more realistic world than a comic book could provide. A film that puts forward the idea that what if Superman was here n Earth, but he didn't know he was Superman. This "Superman" is Bruce Willis, who has an enormous strength and an extraordinary ability to endure pain and damage, but has suppressed his abilities in order to live a "normal" life. A life that is in some turmoil, as he estranged from his wife and withdrawn from his kid, due to internal conflicts that he fails to understand.
His co-star, Samuel L. Jackson, is a man who suffers from Osteogenesis imperfect, which affects his bones, making them extremely brittle and prone to braking. Called "Mr. Glass", by other kids during his childhood, he has developed the idea that if he was so susceptible to braking, that logic would dictate that their must be a person (or people)in the world that are not.
Shyamalan's career has had its fair share of ups and downs, with many observers claiming that his career zenith was his third feature and the one that shot him to fame, 'The Sixth Sense', and that he's never managed to reclaim that plateau with his subsequent movies. While 'Unbreakable' can't live up to 'The Sixth Sense', the latter film remains a very interesting watch on its own merits and its central premise is a satisfying twist on the usual superhero story.
It's not without its faults, though. Willis's powers are ill defined, perhaps purposely, leading to the audience wanting to know more about what he can do. The family subplot can kill the film stone dead at times and comes off as somewhat unnecessary and, on the whole, the film is ultimately a superhero "origin" story that goes nowhere, even if it all runs along in a relatively satisfactory manner.
7/10
'Split'
A clumsy follow up to 'Unbreakable', which never seems to be a sequel until a strangely tacked on ending reveals itself as such. However, while the effort to make 'Split' a sequel comes off as a complete afterthought, the film itself is very well done and is considered by many as Shyamalan's best movie since 1999's 'The Sixth Sense'.
Sporting a generally superb performance by a chameleon-like James McAvoy, 'Split' is genuinely creepy in its initial setup that sees a deeply troubled man kidnap three teenage girls for reasons that initially appear unspecified. McAvoy's character(s) suffer from a deep multiple personality disorder, hence the title, and over the course of the film, a number of them slowly unveil themselves and their various motives, all of which have the semi-united purpose of preparing for the coming of "the beast".
'Split' can be watched as a stand alone film, separate from 'Unbreakable' (if one ignores the ending, of course) and in a number of ways, it's more satisfying to do that, even if setting the film in same narrative universe as the 1999 movie is ok, when everything is weighed up. As a viewer, you just get the feeling that it never needed to be and that the story can survive in its own right.
The film's real strength, though, lies James McAvoy's excellent turn as the stricken D.I.D. sufferer and he elevates the film above what could have been a laughable exercise in the hands of another actor with lesser ability. It's a genuine joy to see him switch from one personality to another, sometimes in the same scene. His presence is aided very well, too, by a more measured (but no less satisfying) turn from Betty Buckley as his psychiatrist, who comes to understand and fear her patient. The main protagonist is provided by the strange looking, but attractive, Anna-Taylor Joy, who transcends what could have been a simple "final girl" trope and makes the role more interesting than its surface suggests.
While 'Split' also goes off into superhero - or villain - territory in its final third, its association to 'Unbreakable' is never truly comfortable, even if "the beast" exhibits the same super strength as David Dunn (Bruce Willis) in the previous film and I can understand why some audiences felt that it went off the rails, in a way, toward the end. But as a whole it's fine, if uneasy, and with the release of M. Knight's latest film, 'Glass', those associations may be strengthened in a more cement-like fashion.
7/10
'Sicario'
Put simply, one of the best thrillers made in the last ten years, 'Sicario' is another feather in director Denis Villeneuve's cap, a piece of headgear that already features quite an impressive plumage.
Choosing wisely to focus on FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), the film uses her as an appealing audience stand in, as she learns her role in the story along side the viewer. A story that's shrouded in dodgy actions and activities, even from the supposed "good guys", who in reality never even appear. Mercer and co-agent, Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya), volunteer to be attached to a special government sanctioned task force, who have orders to perform crackdown missions on Mexican drug cartels, who wreak havoc on the local population and who's export does the same in the U.S. Becoming increasingly appalled, however, by the questionable methods that the task force employ, she begins to question her decision and just exactly what her role is in these missions.
'Sicario', which means "hitman" in a bastardised Spanish slang, motors along at perfectly balanced pace and fills its 2 hours in a more pleasing way than most modern films. There's no flabby scenes at all and everything is used for a reason, even when it first appears not to be the case and it showcases at least a couple of superbly tense setpieces. Villeneuve's direction is as tight as a tripwire and with excellent support to Blunt's lead from Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro, there's little here to be harsh on. But, I suppose if a criticism does come to mind, it might be the film's depiction of Mexico, which has been overwrought, if somewhat understandably for dramatic purposes and there may be some confusion as to who the task force's ultimate target is.
9/10
'Sicario: Day of the Soldado'
A completely unnecessary sequel to a fantastic film, the awkwardly titled 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado' has much to recommend it, however. Not least of which is a fantastic performance from newcomer Isabella Moaner as the daughter of a Mexican drug lord, who is kidnapped by the same U.S. task force - featuring Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro - that we were introduced to in the first movie. This kidnapping is a black ops attempt to spark a feud between the major cartels in the hope that they will thin out their numbers and make them more manageable for the U.S. Eventually, mission creep causes everything to go to hell and inevitable division raises its ugly head.
The sequel to Denis Villeneuve's 2015 film is not up to its predecessor's quality, but it's certainly not a bad film in its own right and once it gets over an extremely ill-judged opening sequence, it settles down into its own engaging story. It misses the Emily Blunt character initially, but once it gets going properly, you realise that she isn't really needed all that much, as she's already done her job in the first movie. Plus, her "audience usher" role has been replaced in a way by Moaner, whose pretty face becomes a wide eyed landscape of terror, as she goes through her horrible, if educating, experience, eventually winning the audience's sympathy.
The film's reasonably fine story does threaten to boil over into melodrama here and there, and it may come across as a terribly cynical venture to some, but its main issue is that it has to live in the shadow of Villeneuve's excellent film. There's also a bit of 'Murica going on in the aforementioned opening that can put a bad taste in the viewers mouth, but that's quickly forgotten about once the story proper gets going and its ending is just as ill-judged as its opening. But over all, 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado' is a decent film that's well able to stand on its own two feet.
6.5/10
'Bumblebee'
Goofy and silly, but not entirely without its charms, this Transformers prequel, set in 1987, is probably the best of these types of films. Although, I'll confess to only having seen 2007's 'Transformers', which I thought was pretty poor.
'Bumblebee', after a dodgy start on Cybertron, settles down into a standard fish out of water story, which sees Autobot forward scout - B-127 - sent to Earth because the war on his home planet has gone badly, with the Decepticons gaining the upper hand and the Autobots fleeing. On earth B-127 meets Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a teenage grease monkey Smiths fan who longs for her own car, which B-127 fulfils in the form of a VW Beetle, that he uses as a form of camouflage to avoid detection by other humans. But two Decepticons follow B-127 to Earth and are determined to destroy him and discover the location of the other Autobots.
Like all Transformers movies, and the entire franchise itself, 'Bumblebee' is utterly ludicrous, and probably has the most entertainment value for grown up 80's kids, who fondly remember the cartoon, and other children of all ages. It does its best to channel any 80's movie you can think of and, in fairness, it does it pretty well at times. Plus, the decision to "mute" B-127 was a really smart one, as it allows the two main characters strive for communication and understanding an endearing one. There's one or two times where the story turns into a schmaltz ridden mess, but it rights the ship continually, with several well placed moments of humour that actually work, helped in no small part by Jorge Lendeborg as the nerdy boy next door and John Cena as an 80's Reganite military blockhead.
There's a pleasing script by Christina Hodson and it's fairly well directed by Travis Knight, who allows the film to zip along, but isn't afraid to slow things down a touch either. There's also a definite touch of Spielberg going on in the background that suggests his Executive Producer role may have had more impact than is usually the case. A fitting 80's soundtrack is also provided that helps set the period, although it does become a little over cooked at times. But, Bumblebee's use of the 80's radio classics as a form of communication is very well handled.
As you would expect from a Transformers film, it is laced with CGI, and it is well done for the most part. But the speed at which the robot fights unfold are rapacious on the eyes and can lead to some confusing fatigue. There's a couple of surprisingly clumsy moments where the fakery is incredibly obvious, however, but it doesn't subtract from the film in any real way.
By its end 'Bumblebee' comes off as an enjoyable time at the pictures and its comparatively smaller scale to the other Transformers movies helps it no end and while it is a prequel to 'Transformers', you don't really have to endure that movie or the rest of them to enjoy it.
7/10
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Originally Posted by Neil
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