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Reviews
Silent Night (2023)
Great run through of John Woo's best moves
This one runs through some of John's best from his action heyday:
Motorcycle assassins
Stand-offs
Detective with two guns
Loading the shotgun
An absolute stand out tracking up a staircase that obviously echoes the hospital one shot in Hard boiled
Loads of slow motion.
Fluttering birds
If you like John Woo you will love this. Some of the reviewers her don't accept the stylization or the time spent on character set up
Woo embraces some newer film technology in the action here. The plot is nonsensical but I loved it. I'm now not so worried about him remaking the Killer in the US
my vote 9/10 just to balanc esome of the haters.
LOLA (2022)
excellent SF gem
There are millions of plot holes and inconsistencies in here but being picky is a bit churlish with so much creativity, so well presented. The CGI mucking about with news reels was excellent e.g. Hitler in Piccadilly and the Mall.
My main concern is that the found footage thing with film just doesn't work. They would have had to have millions of feet of celluloid during wartime to keep shooting and changing reels. This was a problem with Frankenstein's army, another WW2 found footage movie
I saw this at Frightfest in 2022 and again on TV. I have to say it was better on a smaller screen
Still, highly recommended and I look forward to seeing what Andrew Legge does next
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
I was a teenage Smurf
Colossal disappointment here. I can't believe a 3.2 hour movie had such dull and puerile dialogue. The middle hour of whales and teenage dullards had me wanting to open a book till it was over. He still does the action stuff brilliantly but the finale was strangely lacklustre. The music was cliched and the noble savage sentimentality was grating. Overall worst was the teenagers "bro". The convoluted heavy lifting of the exposition to get the returning characters back was weird and clumsy.
Is he going to see out the rest of his career making these bloated cartoons? Sad
I should say I saw it in an IMAX, it looked OK but Dune did far more imaginative stuff creating an alien world.
Fall (2022)
Stupidest climbing film ever..
This film is well made with excellent CGI and practical stunts but is definitely the most idiotic climbing film ever (and I've got a soft spot for Cliffhanger!). Right from the start they seem to be climbing but using rope not for anything! They aren't joined together, No one knows how to belay. Don't get me started on the stupid leaping from rock to rock.
1. On the main event they take a silly and pointless 50 foot rope. Climbing ropes are 50 or 60 metres!
2. They don't seem to ever attach themselves to anything or have any way to do this. The makes didn't seem to get any advice on climbing at all. They just made it up. No slings, quick draws or carabiners.
3. You can't climb a rope hand over hand. You can't pull someone up on a rope. If you do you might use even the simplest friction or belaying technique.
There have been recent movies which showed realistic climbing techniques or some practicalities that weren't idiotic. I know this sounds pedantic but it appeared to me to be lazy scripting.
Well made but dumb.
The Empty Man (2020)
really impressive horror
This one needs a bit more love. It's not a teen slasher as the trailer implies. Sinister apocalyptic cults are involved and an investigator who you know is getting in way over his head. It's unusually long for this type of film bur never boring (unless you were expecting the latest reboot/rehash horror). It's a real shame only remakes get into cinemas these days in this genre. Scream, Halloween,Candyman etc, all weak stuff next to this,
Give it a try.
Las Vegas, 500 millones (1968)
Great film, stylish direction
I was surprised how excellent this was and how little known these days. It's very violent for its era with a brilliantly staged heist gone wrong at the start and several shoot outs along the way as the plan plays out. The cast are great and the Euro production is glossy with time capsule moments and soundtrack. Gary Lockwood appears to have come straight off 2001 to do this.
Come in cielo, così in terra (2020)
Unique found footage , puppet horror
I just saw this at Frighfest and thought it was an amazing, audacious piece of work. A religious conspiracy movie that spans centuries. All the medieval stuff is done with puppets and the modern stuff is found footage. Amazingly it works! It also generates a lot of horror and dread with a sense of the cruelty of monastic life and religious fanaticism
Highly recomended.
Depraved (2019)
Terrific Frankenstein movie
I saw this at Frightfest and was really entertained by it. it nods to Karloff and Lee etc as well as the novel. it also references the wickedness and venality of american drug companies, capitalism etc. the acting especially the monster is great. it even nods to the novels snowbound ending. it delivers on gore and violence pleasingly. The monster has great pathos as it should.
Larry Fessenden's best movie in my estimation
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
OK only
THis is an OK monster movie that bears out the notion that big budgets and successful B movie type ideas don't mix. The film makers are clueless about build up or suspense. The big guy come on in the first 5 minutes! haven't they seen the original? The greatest build up to a monster reveal ever. Have they ever seen a good monster movie? Have they seen Jaws or Alien? Then they do the same thing all over again. they reveal the baddie monsters in a pointless and suspense free early punch up with Kong so the big action scene in the bone yard has no suspense or reveal. Obviously the characters are stupid and cardboard. Was there ever a journalist in a movie not angling for a Pulitzer? Hiddleston is pure cardboard, Just being a Brit isn't a character! Someone should tell Hollywood editors that the silly slo-mo bit when something is thrown or hurled is now so over as to be an utter cliché. The CGI was OK but too much fake water. Why didn't Kong walk like and Ape on his knuckles? I would never nit pick like this with a cheaper movie. The high water mark of recent monster movies is Tremors. Character, build up and great pay off