torsdag 25 april 2024
Supersex
tisdag 23 april 2024
Spaceman
lördag 20 april 2024
I.S.S.
söndag 14 april 2024
Mayhem
When it comes to French movies i have a bit of mixed feelings regdarding French cinema releases. There are some French films that are really good that caught my attention from start to finish such as the 2016 brillant drama film It´s Only The End Of The World from director Xavier Dolan, while there are some French films that are just ok but look too much similar to other French drama films. I have seen quite a lot of French drama films regarding the countryside, wine gardens, different cheese flavors and of course all the romance that comes along with this combination. But the one genre where i feel that France have done really well is actually in the horror genre and especially during the late 2000´s. For a couple of years straight there we had some really good horror releases such as the 2008 French horror film Martyrs or the 2007 disturbing French horror Inside. Both of these French horror films are a must see, even if you are not a big fan of foreign films you might actually enjoy at least one of them. But it was in the year of 2007 when director Xavier Gens released his directorial full feature debut film known as Frontiére(s). A quite interesting and different horror film from the ordinary releases where it takes place during a violent aftermath of a political election. A gang of Muslim Arab youths are split up while trying to pull of robbery. What they don´t know is the family that welcome them into their family-run inn are not as friendly as them may seem. Frontiére(s) may have some problems on a technical level with some shaky camera moves but the film does look good otherwise and the horror scenes are actually well made. A film worth picking up if you are interested in foreign horror films. Speaking of director Xavier Gens i saw the trailer of his latest film Mayhem late last year, The trailer looked great and it seemed to be a film in my taste. Is the film Mayhem a action feast for us who loves a lot of violence or is it just as bad as Ronan Keating´s third solo album Turn It On released in 2003?
After being released from prison and is able to start a new life, Sam ( Nassim Lyes ) moves to Thailand where he starts a family with his girlfriend Mia ( Loryn Nounay ). Mia dreams of having their own restaurant on a beach area and they hope to settle a deal for the land where they want the restaurant to be. Their request is denied because it would cost much more than they can afford, and Sam have no other option than try to get the money they need. Only one way to get money quickly and that is through drug smuggling. When the operation goes wrong the criminals kidnap his daughter and kill his girlfriend. Sam manage to survive with only one thing on his mind, he will get his daughter back.
Imagine if you combined the Liam Neesan classic Taken and combined it with the martial arts action classic The Raid while having the plot moved to Thailand, you pretty much have Mayhem served on a plate. There are of course big differences between these films but i think you might understand what kind of film Mayhem is and what kind of audience would appreciate it best. Let me put it this way, this is the kind of action film that doesn´t care about what´s trending on social media or how a film should look like in 2024. This is pure old school martial arts action just like we used to get in the 80´s and 90´s with some extremely violent martial arts scenes. Not as violent as The Raid but still violent enough to please fans of this genre. There is even a dramatic story bound into the plot and guess what, it´s actually not that bad at all. I think the dramatic tone is done well in Mayhem without being too melodramatic. I also think the story surrounding the main character Sam played by actor Nassim Lyes is a man a lot of fathers worldwide can recognize themselves in, especially if their daughter is a victim of a crime. What would you do if your daughter were kidnapped by human trafficking criminals and how far are you willing to go to bring her back? Not only do we find a classic revenge story in Mayhem but we also see the tragedy of human trafficking that´s happening everyday in Bangkok. Even if you only see certain scenes of young girls being sold it is still a horrible reminder of how girls are being sexually molested everyday. The biggest strength of Mayhem is without a doubt the action scenes, especially when the martial art scenes kicks in with extreme brutality. Lead actor Nassim Lyes is incredibly good physical shape and he knows how to fight, and that comes off well on the big screen. Anything negative that comes to my mind? Perhaps that some of the thai actors were not that good when it comes to delivering dramatic dialogue. Other than that i can´t say anything bad regarding Mayhem because this is a great martial arts action film that will especially be appreciated by fans of The Raid films. Director Xavier Gans does not only deliver his best looking film so far but he clearly shows that he knows how to make effective action films. What are you waiting for? Pick up a physical copy of Mayhem today and i promise you are going to have a good time.
Rating: DDD
torsdag 11 april 2024
The Curse Of The Clown Motel
måndag 1 april 2024
The Beekeeper
When my grandfather was alive i used to spend a lot of summers out in his summer cabin, he had a neighbor not far away who would sell home made honey. This was honey that his neighbor produced through his own honeycromb. So instead of buying honey from a super market my grandfather used to get fresh honey locally produced. I remember we tried some great ice cream topping it with the honey while having fresh brewed coffee on his porch. Those were good days and i still remember the glass jars that he used to keep the honey in, just in case he would need the honey for other things than just topping ice cream. From what i understand a lot of people are worried about the decline of living bees worldwide. As most of us know bees are a very important part of the eco system who help wild trees and wild flowers so we need to make sure bees survive. Luckily there are great non-profit organizations such as Save The Bees USA who work hard to make sure that all bee species will be able to survive into the future. They also educate children to learn about bees and why they are so important. If you want to find out more just google Save The Bees USA and you will see their official homepage with all information on what they do and how you can help them. Speaking of bees there is especially one classic horror film that i especially remember from the 70´s that i used to watch many times on VHS. And that is the 1978 horror film The Swarm from director Irwin Allen ( director of the 1961 sci fi disaster classic Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea ). The Swarm tells the story of scientist Dr. Bradford Crane ( Michael Caine ) who discover that African killer bees are the cause of chaos that broke out in Texas, at a United States Air Force ICBM commander bunker. After this horrible attack Dr. Crane is worried that these African killer bees will attack civilians as well and warn everyone. The Swarm is a classic natural horror film in true 70´s horror style where actors such as Michael Caine ( Get Carter ), Katherine Ross ( from the 1975 classic The Stepford Wives ), Richard Widmark ( from the 1974 classic Murder On The Orient Express ) and many more legenday actors are included in this film. I highly recommend you pick up The Swarm on DVD or blu ray if you enjoy 70´s horror films. Speaking of bees in film i was suprised lat year when i heard action star Jason Statham was coming out with a new film in 2024 where he plays a beekeeper. You might think this is a drama film about bees but it seemed to be an action film in true classic Statham style. Directed by David Ayes who gave us the 2016 superhero action film Suicide Squad ( which i enjoyed but had issues with Jared Leto´s performance as The Joker ). I did watch The Beekeeper in cinema and the question is, does Statham still manage to do solid action films or is he running out of good ideas with his latest attempt to please his audience?
Retired schoolteacher Eloise Parker ( Phylicia Rashad ) lives by herself in a house out in Massachusetts, but she has a tenant in her barn, Adam Clay ( Jason Staham ), who is living a quiet life as a beekeeper. Eloise falls for a phishing scam and is robbed of over 2 Million U.S. dollars, the majority which belongs to a charity organization she manages. Devestated over all that happened, Eloise decides to take her own life. Adam find her inside the house and is seen by Eloise daughter FBI agent Veronika Parker ( Emmy Raver-Lampman ) as she arrest him. Veronika find out that Adam have no traces of gun powder on him and have nothing to do with Eloise´s suicide. However, Adam is not only a beekeeper but belong to a secret group known as the Beekeepers. He sets out to find everyone responsible and make sure they regret it.
To be honest i did not have really high expectations about The Beekeeper just in case i would be disappointed being a true Jason Statham fan. But this is honestly one of his better action films in recent years and i am so happy to see that he is able to deliver solid action films. The Beekeeper may sound like a pretty boring idea on paper, but don´t judge this film by the movie poster it is more entertaining than you might expect. To see Jason Statham do a different kind of character is actually a great idea, since he seems to be able to try more dramatic roles as well. Does this mean The Beekeeper have dramatic scenes? At least in the early beginning where we see his character Adam Clay living as a tenant in a barn where he works hard to produce honey. After the more dramatic opening scenes the film switches over to true classic Statham action and we are right back to where he belongs. The violence is of course really over the top with lots of fighting, the sound effects are really good during these fights and the quick dialogue works well even if some of dialogue scenes are a bit cheesy. I think in an action film like this you can´t take everything too seriously and just have a good time instead. Statham is known for looking a bit stiff with his facial expressions but it is when he actually goes into his character where the magic begins. Even if he knows how to punch people he knows how to act as well when some scenes need to be more dramatic. We have to talk about actress Emmy-Raver Lampman ( from the Netflix TV series The Umbrella Academy ) as the character Agent Verona Parker and i know some people are very divided about her character. I personally enjoyed her tough attitude and i feel she fit in well with the story. So any issues i have with The Beekeeper? Honestly not really since i actually had a good time with this film. Is it a bit over the top in some fighting scenes? Sure, but i honestly don´t care i just want to be entertained while watching a Statham film. Director David Ayes knows how to make fun action scenes and he proves that clearly in The Beekeeper by letting Statham go all in with extreme violence. The Beekeeper may not win a new audience unless they like Statham as an actor but if you are a fan i guarantee you will enjoy yourself. Who knew kicking ass and helping bees would be a great combination? The Beekeeper proves that this combination actually works.
Rating: DDD
lördag 30 mars 2024
Night Swim
onsdag 27 mars 2024
Gods Of The Deep
Even though i have not travelled around England ( as i hopefully will some day in the future ) i have been several times to London. Everytime i have been there i have done something that is very traditional in England and that is to have a real British Breakfast. So for those of you who don´t know what a traditional English breakfast looks like it should include back bacon, eggs, British sausage, baked beans, bubble and squeak, fried tomato, fried mushrooms, black pudding, with fried and toasted bread on the side. Of course i would imagine that not att British people enjoy this traditional Breakfast meny but i actually do. Just to sit down and enjoy all this lovely food in the early hours of the morning is lovely indeed. I remember one of the visits in London i even had a glass of whiskey as well in the morning at a pub, just to start my day off in a pleasant way in London city. I have been a really big fan of British movies and TV series ever since the late 80´s and i have almost lost count of how many British crime series i have seen. I would say in the last 15 years i have been looking into several British independent films as well since they clearly make some interesting horror films. Let´s especially talk about one specific director who i discovered in the 2018 independent horor film known as Winterskin. The director i am thinking about is known as Charlie Steeds who have been very productive in the British independent cinema making several films. I have basically seen almost all of his films except for one, i have not seen the 2016 film known as Deadman Apocalypse. I will check it out at some point but i actually bought several of his films on DVD. I own Winterskin, The Barge People, A Werewolf In England, Escape From Cannibal Farm, Death Ranch, Werewolf Castle, The Haunting Of The Tower Of London and An English Haunting on physical DVD release. So i can assure you i am a big fan of director Charlie Steeds which is why i have really been looking forward to see his latest film Gods Of The Deep on VOD. A film that seems inspired by a Lovecraftian style, and i am a big fan of the Lovecraftian film Dagon from 2001. Is it possible Gods Of The Deep is one of director Charlie Steeds better films or is this not as good as i was hoping it would be?
A deep sea submarine team is sent on a mission to explore a strange structure in an oceanic trench of Antarctica. What they don´t know is that beneath this structure lies a very old secret that the modern world have never seen before.
Already from the beginning you can tell that director Charlie Steeds steer us on the right path to where we want to be. We get a film that reminds me dearly of classics such as the 1989 horror sci fi film Leviathan, the classic with Robocop actor Peter Weller. Even if these two films are very different in many ways i feel that Gods Of The Deep tries to go into a similar path, except this film is of course not as violent as Leviathan. That is completely fine since i feel the story surrounding Gods Of The Deep is being told more seriously, while Leviathan for example didn´t really have a deep story but just focused being a fun sci fi action horror monster film. There are some details i noticed in this film that are quite different from the previous films of director Charlie Steeds, and that is especially the set up of the story taking place underneath the sea. This is something we have not seen Charlie Steeds do in the past, even though the film Freeze did have fish creatures from the ocean but not any underwater attacks like in Gods Of The Deep. Just the fact that director Charlie Steeds took on this project shows that he was prepared to go in a different direction, and i actually feel he managed to do this well. The cinematography from Charlie Steeds looks great, the Lovecraftian monster design looks cool and the crew sent out on this mission turns out to be a great match for the characters. Speaking of characters there are several of returning actors from some of director Charlie Steeds previous films. You find actors such as Tim Cartwright, Rory Wilton and actress Rowena Bentley and i have to say i am delighted to see them in the cast. Some of the other actors do ok in their roles, but these three actors really make an impact. I have to mention actress Makenna Guyler, she surprised me in a positive way. Anyhthing missing in Gods Of The Deep? Perhaps some more bloody scenes and to see the Lovecraftian creature more in certain scenes. Otherwise i had a good time with Gods Of The Deep since i am a fan of underwater sci fi horror. Director Charlie Steeds proves once more why he gives hope to independent horror films with Gods Of The Deep. If you are a fan of Lovecraftian films you might actually enjoy this, it´s another delightful release from Charlie Steeds.
Rating: DDD
tisdag 26 mars 2024
Pig Killer
If you ask any religuous person how they look at the meaning of evil they will all have their own view on what true evil means. It may be connected to what some say is known as Satan, while others are especially thinking about demons. Then you have those with faith who believe that true evil comes from spirits who are filled with hate. I personally believe more in different diagnoses and while some people are very mentally unstable they usually have a medical reason for that. I have heard for so many years especially from American evangelical christians some of the most bizarre ideas, such as you become evil if you masturbate and welcome demons inside you. They also say that My Little Pony horses with rainbows can also demon possess your daughter if she plays with the rainbow horses. I have even heard that if you buy a coffee rainbow mug at 7 Eleven and hold that mug in your hand you can also become demon possessed. Now please be honest, does anything that i just told you what some American evagelical christians have said sound realistic at all? No? That´s exactly what i was thinking. When it comes to evil people we are usually talking about people who are very mentally disturbed with several diagnoses. They feel no remorse at all, they don´t care if they took another life because they just do what they believe is right. In some cases there are mentally unstable people who will tell you a voice ( or several voices ) told you to kill another person. There are many murderers worldwide who are considered to be extremely disturbed and a classic criminal case that shows a perfect example of that is the serial killer known as Robert William Pickton. He was arrested in 2002 and convicted in 2007 of second-degree murder of 6 women and suspected of killing many more victims. I remember following this case on CNN back in 2002 since this was a big story at that time. I have also seen an interesting documentary regarding serial killer Pickton. Last year the distribution company Vinegar Syndrome released a film inspired on the serial killer Robert Pickton who is played by actor Jake Busey ( son of actor Gary Busey ) in the film Pig Killer on blu ray. I just had to pick this film up since i am a big fan of films based on real serial killers. Is this a film you should pick up from Vinegar Syndrome or is it even worse than you expected?
Robert Pickton ( Jake Busey ) may seem like another ordinary farmer, especially running a pig farm. But there is another truth hiding withing this farm where Robert is a brutal serial killer, picking up hookers and dismember their bodies at his farm. Police Detective Oppal ( Michael Paré ) and his collegue Detective Schneer ( Robert Rhine ) are on the cases of the missing women and see a connection to Robert´s farm.
I have seen quite a lot of serial killer over the years and there are several titles that are inspired by different serial killers. Pig Killer is what you would call a pretty ordinary serial killer story that we have seen several times before. However, the biggest difference is that this film is quite brutal in some scenes and you actually see Robert Pickton butcher women´s bodies. I can honestly say that a bigger film company would never have done a film like this since some details are very gory, and i have to say i really appreciate that this film really tried to portait how disturbed Robert Pickton really is where he loves cutting women into body pieces. There are some issues i have with this film but let me talk about what i especially enjoy other than the gory scenes. The lead role played by actor Jake Busey actually took me by surprise. I have seen Jake Busey in several films in the past and i can´t say i have been a big fan of some of his film. But in the film of Pig Killer he really show that if he get the right part he does know how to act good. The performance as serial killer Robert Pickton is stronger than i have ever seen Jake Busey do in any of his other films, so he really proved that he was a great choice for this role. I especially feel his performance is best when he loses control completely mentally and can´t control himself. I also enjoy the acting from actor Lew Temple ( who played the character Axel in the TV series The Walking Dead ) as the character David. The chemistry between actors Michael Paré and Robert Rhine both playing detectives investigating the missing women also pull of a good performance. I have to mention actress Kate Patel who also deliver with her performance as the unstable beauty Wendy. Ok so there are especially two things i feel this film does wrong and let us begin with the happy playing music in some scenes. The music doesn´t really fit in well with the story and doesn´t help the serial killer tone of the film. The second issue is that this film is 2 hours long. I understand that there is a lot to tell regarding the crimes of Robert Pickton but in this playtime we don´t really find out that much regarding his victims. I would still say i do enjoy Pig Killer as a serial killer film because this is a interesting story and Jake Busey really pulled of a great performance. Director Chad Ferrin proves with Pig Killer you can make a brutal serial killer film on a limited budget, and make it look good as well. If you are a fan of this specific genre then you will most likely enjoy Pig Killer as well. Get your physical copy of this film at Vinegar Syndrome and support quality indepenent films.
Rating: DDD
torsdag 21 mars 2024
20 Years Anniversary Review Of AVP: Alien Vs. Predator
In space no one can hear you scream.....
That has to be one of the most classic words written on any movie poster and that is of course written on the movie poster of the fantastic science fiction horror film Alien from 1979. Directed by legendary director Ridley Scott this is one of the most beloved science fiction films in movie history. A very well made horror film for it´s time and powerful acting performances from the whole cast where especially actress Sigourney Weaver became a female icon action hero as the character Ellen Ripley. Not only is Alien a true classic but the film also proved that on a budget of 11 million US dollars they managed to make a sci fi horror film that looked far more modern than anything we have seen before. I can not tell you how many times i have seen this film but i never get tired of it. Alien is without a doubt one of those films that you simply have to see especially if you can watch it on a 4K player with really good sound and lovely picture quality. The 1986 sequel Aliens is one of my personal favourite sci fi horror films of all time and i can watch this film over and over again. The Alien sequels that followed turned out to be of very different levels of qualities, where especially one of the films failed pretty big to capture the spirit of Alien. All of you who grew up in the 80´s might remember the 1987 action classic Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the best action films of the 80´s. I really enjoy Predator 2 with Danny Glover as well even though it´s a very different film than the original in many ways. The franchise of the Predator got more sequels as well and they also turned out to be less good. In the year of 2004 director Paul W.S. Anderson ( director of the classic martial art film Mortal Kombat in 1995 ) released his film AVP: Alien Vs. Predator where he combined both of these aliens in the same film. At the time this film came out a lot of fans of both franchises had their doubts, would it even be possible to match these aliens together on the big screen? I watched this film in cinema back in 2004 and i also bought the double DVD back in the day it was released. I decided to revisit the film now in 2024 since this film turn 20 years old. Is this still an entertaining action horror film or have AVP aged just as much as American televangelist Kenneth Copeland´s own video sermons?
A Predator ship arrives on Earth and use a heating device to melt a hole in Antarctic ice. Meanwhile, a satellite detects the heat bloom beneath Bouvetoya, and island about 1,600 km of the coast of Antarctica. Wealthy industrialist Charles Weynland ( Lance Henriksen ) discovers through thermal imaging that there is a pyramid buried 2,000 feet beneath the ice. He assembles a team of experts on a mission to investigate this pyramid underneath the surface.
When this film came out 20 years ago i already knew it wasn´t going to be as good as Alien, Aliens, Predator or Predator 2. I knew that this would be a completely different approach on these aliens battling each other and i knew i shouldn´t take this film too seriously. Perhaps that is why i enjoyed this film back in 2004 because im a big fan of both franchises and just wanted a fun sci fi horror action film. Looking at this film now after 20 years a lot has happened, especially when it comes to CGI effects and you can tell this film looks very 2000´s in the style of how this film was made. And i am completely fine with that, because honestly there are plenty of monster movies out there that are far more worse than AVP if we are being honest. You can probably say that AVP is a perfect example of how a popcorn movie night should look like, if you just want to unplug your brain cells and just be entertained for a moment. I do have some issues with this film but let´s talk about what i enjoy about AVP. I feel that having this film take place in Antarctica is a really good idea, it is almost as if director Paul W.S. Anderson felt influenced by John Carpenter classic The Thing where an alien monster attacks human beings. This is pretty much the same in AVP except here we have 2 different alien spieces attacking each other while humans are sacrificed as well. While the film The Thing is much better as a horror film than AVP on many different levels i do feel that if they were going to make this concept work between alien species they choosed a perfect location for this battle. Regarding the monster design you can tell especially that the Predator aliens looks different from the Predator films. I can still accept that though since they still function well as alien hunters. The classic Alien design is still there with some changes made as well, i don´t have a problem with that either since i enjoy the battle scenes. Lead actress Sanaa Lathan as the character Alexa turns out to be pretty tough on the big screen, which fits well with this film. Ok so one of my biggest issues in this film is Italian actor Raoul Bravo as the character Professor Sebastian. He does a terrible performance in this film and you can not connect with this character at all. I would like to know if he even wanted to be in this film at all because he doesn´t seem engaged into his character. You can tell that the plot have several diffent issues that could have been fixed, especially when they can´t even explain the pyramid maze properly. If we look outside of these issues i do still feel that AVP is still a horror action made for fans of sci fi horror. Director Paul W.S. Anderson give us a film that knows what audience it was made for and that alone shows that he have passion for this project. AVP: Alien Vs. Predator is a film that may not change movie history in any way, but for a popcorn movie night this is definetely a great choice. Let the alien battle begin and sit back and enjoy this silly but entertaining monster film.
Rating: DDD
söndag 17 mars 2024
40 Years Anniversary Review Of The Terminator
torsdag 14 mars 2024
Lift
måndag 11 mars 2024
The Jester
torsdag 7 mars 2024
Suitable Flesh
In my youth i was never really familiar with the work of writer H.P. Lovecraft. I remember seeing books at the local library where his name was mentioned but i never really sat down reading one of his stories, instead i would return to one of my favourite novels at that time which was Stephen King´s novel Misery. A really good book that was also turned into one of my Stephen King favourite films Misery with a brilliant performance by actress Kathy Bates. As i understand H.P. Lovecraft have a very large crowd of fans worldwide who love his stories and even if he passed away back in 1937 his work will definetely live on in many generations into the future. When it comes to the short stories of H.P. Lovecraft you can find several horror films inspired by some of these stories. One of the films i especially remember discovering that was clearly inspired by H.P. Lovecraft is the 2001 horror film known as Dagon. Even though it must have been over 20 years ago since i bought this film on DVD i still rewatch it now and then because it is a personal favourite of mine. Loosely based on his short story Dagon ( 1919 ) and his 1931 novella The Shadow Of Innsmouth, Dagon tells the story of Paul Marsh ( Ezra Godden ) is on vacation in Spain with his girlfriend Barbara ( Raquel Merono ), and their friends Vicki ( Birgit Bofarull ) and Howard ( Brendan Price ). A sudden storm blows their boat against some hidden rocks. Vicki is trapped below deck and Howard stays with her while Paul and Barbara head into land to try and get help. They are about to find out in this fishing village this is a place of pure evil. Dagon is a fun horror film that uses practical special effects and really capture the style of H.P. Lovecraft with the monster designs and the strange symbols found all over the village. If you have not seen this film from director Stuart Gordon i suggest you pick it up on DVD. Last year i was reading online about an upcoming horror film called Suitable Flesh inspired by a story called The Thing On The Doorstep from author H.P. Lovecraft. I was especially interested when i noticed that both actors Heather Graham and Barbrara Crampton was included in the cast. I picked up a physical copy of this film and the question is, does this film work inspired by H.P. Lovecraft or is it a total disaster from start to finish?
In a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Daniella Upton ( Barbara Crampton ) visits the morgue where the mortician is dissecting the body of an unseen figure, the victim of a brutal murder. Daniella visits the murderer, her friend Dr. Elizabeth Derby ( Heather Graham ), who begs Daniella to destroy the brain of the corpse and begins to recount her story to explain why she must do so.
Whenever you enter a film that is inspired by a story of author H.P. Lovecraft you know there is a chance that the film can be quite different from the usual horror release. And honestly i have to say that Suitable Flesh definetely stands out from other horror releases for a number of reasons. This is a so called body horror film where a different personality jumps into different bodies, so once you figure out who is inside a specific body you understand what is going on. I would also say that Suitable Flesh is very influenced by the Lovecraftian classic Re-Animator from 1985 as well as the cult film From Beyond, something we don´t see very often in modern films these days. I definetely feel that Suitable Flesh does make sure to present us with characters that we actually are interested in, instead of just focusing on a main character and forget about everyone else. Regarding the body horror events i do feel that this is one of the details where Suitable Flesh becomes interesting, where different individuals have some kind of seizure on a completely different level than we are used to see. For being a horror film that surrounds itself on therapy sessions i feel that the film does a great job switching the plot just at the right time, without forgetting what the main story tried to tell us. The acting in general is actually pretty good and i have to say actress Heather Graham as Dr. Elizabeth ( who can forget her in Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me ) does not only look fantastic i also feel that her performance matches her character really well. Legendary actress Barbara Crampton knows exactly how to make her scenes magical with her screen presence and she looks incredible as always. One preformancethat surprised me is actor Johnathon Schaech (who i especially remember from the 2011 war action film 5 Days Of War directed by Renny Harlin ) as Dr. Elizabeths husband Edward. His performance in this film is definetely a great match to the character. The horror influences surrounding Suitable Flesh works pretty good for the most part, the one thing i do feel they should have done is being more brutal than holding back the violence. Other than that i had a good time with Suitable Flesh and this is a great Lovecraftian film from director Joe Lynch ( director of Wrong Turn 2, my personal favourite film in the Wrong Turn franchise ). If you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft you should definetely pick up Suitable Flesh on a physical copy. Suitable Flesh proves that there is still hope for quality horror films to see the lighht of day, let´shope we see Barbara Crampton return in a future Lovecraftian film.
Rating: DDD
måndag 4 mars 2024
The Marvels
I still have some very special memories from the local comic book store in my hometown back in the 80´s. Me and my school friends used to go on our bicycles down there to read comic books, buy some of them while talking to the owner about different superheroes. I especially remember that the owner loved to collect Spider-Man comic books and he had a lot of them. Some of the very early numbers could be found as well, unfortunately i can´t remember which his oldest comic book numbers was but i do remember seeing a couple comic books from the early 1970´s. The owner already knew i was a big fan of The Hulk at that time so he would tell me when he was getting new The Hulk comics coming out. This was usually where i bought my The Hulk comics and i would bring them with me to school to show my friends. Either way, hanging a local comic book shop like this in the 80´s was a great place to be as a kid. We stayed away from drugs and we also met smiliar people who liked comic books as well. He did even sell certain films on VHS if you were lucky but his store was basically focused on comic books. Sometimes we would talk about films made based on comic book characters and i especially remember in 1990 after we all have seen the 1989 action film Batman with Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger where we all were really hyped up over what we all have experienced. This was a really fun comic book adaptation of the classic superhero Batman from director Tim Burton and we all especially loved legendary actor Jack Nicholson as The Joker. I remember the owner did buy a poster of the film and put it on his wall above a comic book section where Batman comic books could be found. Speaking of superhero movies we have had a lot of films over the years especially from Marvel Studios with everything from Thor, The Avengers, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians Of The Galaxy and many more. I actually really enjoyed the film Captain Marvel even though i know some people were divided on this film. Well, Captain Marvel is actually back in the film known as The Marvels with other comic book characters. A film that did really bad at the box office and proved that the audience wasn´t interested in superhero films anymore. I decided to give the film The Marvels a chance on Disney + to give you my own opinion. Is this actually better than i expected or should Marvel Studios stop making superhero movies in the future?
Carol Danvers ( Brie Larson ) destroys the Supreme Intelligence, the artificial intelligence thhat leads the Kree empire. This leads to a civil war on Planet Hala, the Kree home world, rendering the planet barren as losen its air, water, and sunlight over the next 30 years. The Kree´s new leader Dar-Benn ( Zawe Ashton ) discovers one of the two legendary Quantum Bands. She uses the Band to forcibly open a new jump point that connects to the network. Captain Monica Rambeau ( Teyonah Parris ) discovers that Kamala Khan ( Iman Vellani ) is the one who have the second Quantum Band. Nick Fury ( Samuel L Jackson ) and Rambeau visit Kamala on Earth. Rambeau surmises that their light-based powers are linked through quantum entanglement. With their combined powers they are forced to use them facing pure evil.
I have not seen every single Marvel Studios film so far simply because i felt that they have been making too many Marvel films in the last 10 years. I might watch some of them at some point but the biggest reason why i watched The Marvels was to see actress Brie Larson back as Captain Marvel to be honest. Ok, so i do have some issues with this film but let me be clear, i am all for strong female characters in films as long as they are done in a positive, inspiring way. I have no problem with female superheroes at all because there are some good ones out there ( i am especially thinking about actress Gal Galdot as Wonder Woman ) that works really good on screen. One of the biggest issues with The Marvels is that these so called female superheroes are not as cool as we would have liked them to be. With all their super powers and their attitudes you might think that the action scenes are quite enjoyable, but it all turns out to be way too predictable and don´t leave many surprises at all. In fact in some action scenes it just feels like they created those scenes just to fill in content but without any bigger reason. If you are going to make superheroes fight against evil at least make the story telling effective, and also make an effort to make the action scenes powerful. There are moments in The Marvels where i wonder if they really worked that hard on this film to make it look good, but instead it feels like we are left with an unfinished product that could have been enjoyable. Regarding the female actors i will say that actress Brie Larson is not all terrible, it´s just that she doesn´t do as good as she did in Captain Marvel where her performance was stronger. Even Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury have done stronger performances in the past as this character, and he is actually one of the few highlights in The Marvels so that clearly shows this film is struggling with several issues. So anything positive about to say about The Marvels? There might be a few scenes where i at least found some smaller enjoyable moments, but other than that i am not that impressed with this film. Oh, and the scenes that´s supposed to be funny falls flat to the ground. Director Nia DaCosta have proved in the past she is a good director with Little Woods and the Candyman remake ( a film i actually enjoyed ). Unfortunately it doesn´t feel like she put that much effort into The Marvels to make it a solid superhero film and i am honestly quite bored most of the time. Not as bad as director Albert Pyun´s 1990 version of Captain America, but i am not sure if many people will remember The Marvels in the future.
Rating: DD
fredag 1 mars 2024
It´s A Wonderful Slice
onsdag 28 februari 2024
Killers Of The Flower Moon
I have been a big cinema visitor since i was a young boy in the late 80´s. Back in those days i used to go to the big screen after i made my money selling morning newspapers, and if i had made some extra money i would spend it on another film. Back in those days a film could cost about 50 Swedish kronor compared to 140 Swedish kronor that a ticket cost today so it was easier to see more than one film. I remember when i was 14 years old back in 1990 and i got my ticket to Martin Scorseses latest film Godfellas, a mobster film that critics were calling one of the best films of that year. I wasn´t allowed to go see this film since you had to be 15 years old to get into the screening but since i knew the cinema worker Michael he knew how much i loved director Martin Scorsese and he let me in. That was one of those magical moments i will never forget from one of the greatest cinema experiences i have ever had. Godfellas was truly an amazing film with a perfect cast. No matter if we are talking about the acting performances of Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and many other actors this really is one of the true iconic motion pictures from legendary director Martin Scorsese. After Godfellas i actually went to see every single motion picture that Martin Scorsese released in cinema. Interesting enough i would say that ever film i have seen him direct have been fascinating for different reasons. One of my personal favourite 90´s films from director Martin Scorsese ( not as good as Godfellas but still a classic ) is the 1995 crime drama Casino that reunited Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the difference was of course that this film focused on a plot regarding a famous casino in Las Vegas. Here we find sports handicapper and Mafia associate Sam "Ace" Rothstein ( Robert De Niro ) who is sent by the Chicago Outfit to Las Vegas to run the Tangiers Casino, with frontman Philip Green ( Kevin Pollack ). Sam soon doubles the casino´s profits, so to make sure Sam is safe Chicago boss Remo Gaggi ( Pasquale Cajano ) Sam´s childhood friend and mob enforcer Nicky Santoro ( Joe Pesci ) to protect Sam. Casino is not only one of the greatest casino films ever made but this is a very powerful mobster drama as well with really good acting performances. A film you definetely need to watch on streaming or on a physical copy. Speaking of Martin Scorsese he released his latest film Killers Of The Flower Moon last year, a film i have really been looking forward to see. Especially since it was going to tell a story that includes the lives of indigenous people. Is the film Killers Of The Flower Moon another proof of why director Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, or is it not as powerful as i was hoping it would be?
In 1919, Ernest Burkhart ( Leonardo Di Caprio ) returns from World War I to live with his brother Byron Burkhart ( Scott Shepherd ) and uncle William King Hale ( Robert De Niro ) on Hale´s large reservation ranch. Ernest soon meets Mollie Kyle ( Lily Gladstone ), an Osage whose family owns oil headrights. They decide to get married in an Osage ceremony and over the next years have 3 wonderful children together. Hale secretely orders the contract killings of multiple wealthy Osage. He explains that Ernest inherit more headrights if more of Mollie´s family dies. Mollie is suffering with diabetes while her mother Lizzie Q ( Tantoo Cardinal ) is ill. More Osage people end up being killed just so Hale´s plan will be successfull, but will it work if the truth is revealed?
If you are a true fan of director Martin Scorsese just like myself i can guarantee that you will enjoy Killers Of The Flower Moon. Even if this is in many ways a different film from what he have done in the past, you can still feel that Scorsese knows exactly what he is doing. I am especially talking about his unique way to direct his films where you can actually sense that this feels like it´s taking place in the year of 1919 and other years following. The costume design looks really good and as always you can trust that director Martin Scorsese have made sure that the characters are interesting. The biggest power that Killers Of The Flower Moon is the quality of acting that we get in this film. Especially from legendary actor Robert De Niro and Leonard Di Caprio in their scenes together. These two actors are the perfect example of how you want professional actors to perform on screen. Their dialogue is smooth, powerful and will definetely make a strong impact on you. I would especially say that Leonardo Di Caprio as Ernest is one of those characters i think a lot of people could feel a connection to. On one hand he is a family father who cares for his family but hes also struggling with personal issues, while he may not be the most smartest individual. One of the strongest acting performances comes from actress Lily Gladstone playing the Osage woman Mollie. There are several scenes where you can feel her pain as she see her people being murdered and no one seems to care. One of the issues i have with this film is that i think director Martin Scorsese should have shown even more of the brutality, how indigenous people have been brutally murdered, and experienced a lot of racism hate over so many years. He does show some scenes of some murders but i think in a film that´s 3 hours and 20 minutes that could have been done much more graphical. If you are going to show reality of indigenous people i think you should do it properly as truthful as possible. Otherwise i still feel that this is a very interesting drama that´s not only interesting from a historical perspective, but i also feel that people should be aware that racism have always been a part of society. Director Martin Scorsese may not have done his best film with Killers Of The Flower Moon but it is definetely a film you will enjoy if you like his previous work. If you can sit through 3 hours and 25 minutes this is a film that have a lot of important issues to talk about. I wouldn´t be susprised if Killers Of The Flower Moon bring home at least two Oscar statues this year, there is a lot to appreciate about the qualities of this film. A must see if you are a true Martin Scorsese fan.
Rating: DDDD