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

20 Years Anniversary Review Of The Punisher

We want to believe in justice, if you do right in society you will be treated good and live an ordinary life filled with precious memories. Unfortunately for some people they will never experience true happiness. Losing someone you love unexpected can change everything. When you thought you had a future and suddenly everything is taken away from you. That is exactly what happened to the comic book character Frank Castle in the comic book The Punisher where he lost his wife and 2 children. Back in the late 80´s i came across comic books of The Punisher in my local comic book shop in my hometown. Even though i never bought any copies of The Punisher at that time i did read some of the comic books in the store, we were allowed to by the owner thankfully. And i did see the 1989 film adaptation in 1990 on VHS with action star Dolph Lundgren as the character Frank Castle. I know that this film have divided fans of the comic books but i actually enjoyed this film from director Mark Globatt ( who is the editor of the classic sci fi horror film Hollow Man, a must buy on DVD or Blu Ray ). Since i didn´t read all of the comic books of The Punisher ( just some of them ) i don´t know if the 1989 film adaptation managed to caption the spirit of the comic books. I just rememer the film being a fun dark action film and Dolph Lundgren does a performance that matches the character well. That doesn´t mean i could not see problems with the film but i didn´t really think much about it and just wanted to see Dolph kicking ass. For a long time it seemed that The Punisher wasn´t going to get a reboot, at least i didn´t read much about it in the 90´s and i used to buy a lot of movie magazines back then. Until we got the news in 2002 that a new film was on the way and American actor Thomas Jane ( who can forget him from the 1997 classic Boogie Nights ) have been chosen to play Frank Castle. The film was finally released in the spring of 2004 and it seemed that fans of the comic books were much more pleased about this film than the 1989 film of The Punisher. I did see the 2004 film version in cinema and did enjoy it at that time. Since it is now 20 years in 2024 since the 2004 film version was released worldwide in cinemas i thought it might be nice to revisit the film and see if it is any good still today. Is it possible that The Punisher is still a solid action film or has it aged more than i expected?

An FBI bust of a smuggling operation results in the death of Bobby Saint ( James Carpinello ), the son of mafia boss Howard Saint ( John Travolta ), and Otto Krieg ( Thomas Jane ), an arms dealer. However, Krieg´s death was faked and is later revealed to be undercover FBI agent Frank Castle. Enraged at the death of his son, Howard Saint orders his men to find out all information they can find about Frank Castle. He finds out Frank is going to Puerto Rico on a family vacation with his wife, his son and relatives in the family. Howard´s wife Livia Saint ( Laura Harring ) order Howard´s men to kill Frank´s whole family as a revenge on their son´s death. Out in Puerto Rico no one is prepared for what´s to come when armed men assassinate Frank´s family completely. His wife Maria Castle ( Samantha Mathis ) and his son try to escape by getting to a boat but is run over by a car. Howard´s men shoot down Frank and try to burn the boat bridge down with Frank on it. Luckily he survives but is badly damaged and found in the water by local fisherman Candelaria( Veryl Jones ) who takes him home to take care of him. When Frank is healed enough to go on his own, he makes a pact. He will revenge the death of his wife and son no matter if it means he will not return home alive.

You can tell already from the beginning of this film that it is more well made than the 1989 film adaptation of The Punisher. The action scenes are much more effective, the dark tone of the comic book character is much more presented in this film. The character of Frank Castle is definetely much more deeper in this film, seeing a man who lost it all and now lives completely to revenge his dead family. There are scenes where you can clearly see his pain and how it feels to live inside an eternal darkness. I think anyone who have had a family member brutally murdered will recognize themselves in Frank Castle and understand what he is going through. Can you ever forgive someone who took away someone you loved more than anything? Will you ever be able to find any joy in your life again? Even if the action scenes are the best part of this film i do feel that the drama scenes does make at least a bit of an impact. Especially where legendary actor John Travolta deliver some of his groovy dialogue scenes as the main villain Howard Saint. That´s one thing i have always liked about John Travolta is when he knows how to be dramatic, even when he acts a bit over the top you know he will make it work. Lead actor Thomas Jane as Frank Castle works better than i expected, maybe because i didn´t really see him as Frank when i heard he was chosen for the role. It seems he really tried to capture the personality of Frank and he does this surprisingly good. Nice to see legendary actor Roy Schneider as the character Frank Castle, Sr even though i wish he had more screen time than what we get. When it comes to the action scenes there is plenty of really violent moments to enjoy. Not only weapons being used but body violence as well in a way that matches the tone of this film. You can tell the film have aged a bit and definetely looks like an action film from the 2000´s but that´s ok, what matters is that the film is good. Anything negative to say? Honestly i don´t really have anything negative to say even if i know this is not a perfect film in any way. As an action movie The Punisher does what it sets out to do, entertain the audience and especially the fans of the comic books. Director Jonathan Hensleigh ( director of the Liam Neeson action film The Ice Road, who is also directing the upcoming sequel ) seems to have taken the source material of The Punisher seriously and clearly wanted to please the fans of this comic book character. He delivers a good looking action film that´s definetely worth a watch if you enjoy this specific genre. The Punisher still holds up today and i have a feeling it will for future comic book fans as well, a film worth checking out no matter if it´s on streaming or a physical copy.

Rating: DDD

Society Of The Snow

Tragedies can cause a lot of traumatic memories and affect us for the rest of our lives. No matter what tragedy you have gone through you may never be the same again. We are forced to try and deal with our past, even how hard it is we need to speak about it. We may not be able to heal completely but it may help us move forward with our lives because there are no other options. Every year people go through accidents, unexpected events where you may be injured in a serious way or perhaps you loose a very close family member that will leave a very deep scar on your heart and affect you mentally. Life is full of misery unfortunately and we will never be able to escape it completely. I personally try to keep some hope within me and believe in the goodness of people. If we all give up there will never be any way out, so we must help each other any way we can. Speaking of tragedies some of you who are in my age group ( im 47 this summer ), you might remember reading about the 1972 horrible plane crash that happened into the Andes on October 13, where Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into the snow filled mountain with 45 souls on board the plane. As weeks went by peoples lives were lost and food supplies were running out, which forced the survivors to do one very controversial choice to survive. They were forced to eat the dead passengers to be able to survive. I remember reading about this story in the 80´s since they were still talking about this horrible tragedy. It must have been 1985 i first came across this story when i was 9 years old at the local library and i used to sit there and read newspapers in the newspapers section. I was about to dig into this story again many years ahead all the way to 1993 when a film called Alive was based on the true story regarding the plane crash in the Andes. I remember i enjoyed this film for being a powerful drama with a great cast included where you found a very young Ethan Hawke. I have not seen this film in a while but i do remember it´s worth checking out if you are interested in this story. So late last year i heard that Netflix was releasing a new film called Society In The Snow, a new film based on the true story of the tragic 1972 plane crash. Since i have known about this story for many years i was curious to see if this new film would tell the story differently than the 1993 film Alive. Is the film Society Of The Snow a must watch on Netflix or should you skip this one and watch the Netflix action film Extraction with Chris Hemsworth instead?

in 1972, the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into the snowy mountains of the Andes. On board the plane was a rugby team from Santiago, Chile. The remaining survivors from the crash try to use what´s left of the plane as a shelter. The food supplies are running out and no one knows where they are. If they are going to survive someone has to go look for help, or it might be too late to save anyone.

If you are a fan of the 1993 film Alive i can tell you right now that Society Of The Snow goes even further into details regarding the plance crash and how the survivors managed to find different ways to use the supplies they found. Not only that i also feel that this film digs deeper into the characters than the film Alive did. Society Of The Snow really show how important it is to set your mentality into survival mode if you are going to make it back home. One big difference between Society And The Snow and the 1993 film Alive is that this latest film adaptation manage to show the fear even more of people knowing that they could die any moment as they are running out of food. How do you handle the mentality being stuck up in the mountains with bodies lying all over the crash site? How do you try and keep a positive mentality when everything seems hopless and no one is coming to save you? The costume design looks very 70´s and i do think they managed to capture the style of the 70´s in general including on board the plane. I have to talk about the cast of this film because it is not often you see these many characters on screen who all do a wonderful job with their acting. Each actor deliver strong solid dialogue and they all give their characters depth, realistic facial expressions how anyone would handle this horrible accident. For example there is especially one scene where actor Enzo Vogrincic playing the character Numa Turcatti really tried to capture the panic of getting buried underneath the snow during a snow storm. Acting like he does in this specific scene is exactly what this film needed to be even more effective. The film is quite long for a survival drama coming in at 2 hours and 25 minutes, but it doesn´t feel that long to be honest since this is such a well made film. Director J.A. Bayona ( who directed one of my favourite Spanish horror films The Orphanage back in 2007 ) manage to tell this classic survival story but bring in completely new life into the energy of this film. An unforgettable story told in a very brutal and honest way that we don´t see very often these days. There is no doubt in my mind, Society Of The Snow is a must watch on Netflix for all ages.

Rating: DDDD

The Loch Ness Horror

If you would ask me is there any country i have visited that will forever be close to my heart it is without a doubt Scotland. I have told the story before how i met a Scottish woman in Spain named Sharon back in 2002 and she invited me to celebrate New Years Eve that year in Edinburgh. The following years as i went back to Scotland is forever in my heart because her Scottish family and her friends welcomed me in a very wonderful way. One thing i may not have talked that much about is that we actually travelled to the town Perth, where they filmed outside the city to the 1995 film Braveheart close to the lake Loch Leven. It was pretty surreal standing at some locations that you can actually see in the film, even though you have to look for it in the film to recognize the specific locations. I remember talking to an older gentlemen who owned a pub in Perth who told some stories during the filming of Braveheart, how locals would go look while the film was being made and some of them actually got to meet Mel Gibson. What i understand they thought he was really friendly and talked to anyone. Also on one of my journeys here in Scotland we did pass the very famous Loch Ness lake where the legendary creature is supposed to live. Unfortunately we didn´t have much time to explore the lake since we had to get back to Edinburgh, but i have to say it was actually fun to see the lake from a distance while we drived on the highway. The stories regarding the beast Nessie in Loch Ness have been told in many different versions at it seems there are still people who believe that the creature lives inside the lake or even that there is a family there who have lived for many generations. I personally feel doubtful a creature could live that long in this lake without being discovered after so many years, but it is definetely an interesting mystery that i am sure a lot of people will continue to investigate into the future. There have been several films made regarding Nessie in many different categories where even legendary actor Ted Danson starred in a drama film called Loch Ness back in 1996. So here we are with a B horror movie simply called The Loch Ness Horror that´s another attempt to take on the world famous beast. Considering i have been several trips to Scotland and i am interested in the mystery surrounding Loch Ness, is this a fun B horror movie or is this a disaster as Eric Saade song Manboy in Swedish music TV contest Melodifestivalen 2010?

A group of people are sent out on the famous Loch Ness on board a ship, but not for the reason they first thought. They are about to face the creature known as the world famous Nessie.

When you go into a film such as The Loch Ness Horror you probably know this is a film you can´t take this film seriously at all. And that is exactly how you should approach this film, because this is truly a B movie made for the audience who enjoy cheesy B monster movies with bad acting and terrible CGI effects. I am one of those who actually appreciate films such as this if they are made to be entertaining for an audience who appreciate this genre, and doesn´t take itself too seriously at all. I will say this, even though this is a film i can probably find several flaws with i still feel that i appreciate that they decided to make this film connected to Nessie. I have seen another Loch Ness related B movie in the past called Beyond Loch Ness released in 2008 and i actually enjoyed that film. Now, these are 2 very different films anyway even though they both have Nessie included. The biggest difference is that The Loch Ness Horror is made like a submarine film, almost like an old school underwater action film we used to get back in the 60´s and 70´s with submarines, although they use a big ship here instead with diving technology. So let´s talk about what i especially enjoy about The Loch Ness Horror and that is especially the attack scenes of Nessie. Even though the Nessie creature may not look fantastic it definetely feels like a throwback to old school monster movies we used to find on VHS. Nessie looks much bigger than i expected almost like it´s ready to fight against King Kong. We even get smaller creature attacks in this film which is a fun idea. When the action scenes finally kick in ( there are some really long dialogue scenes, even though this film isn´t that long ) we do get some fun moments that is just silly B movie entertainment. I enjoy the performance of actor Dan Gittens as the character Bryce because he plays too over the top and screams for no reason, i love that. That they use a real ship definetely helps the film look better, instead of just using green screen. We might as well get into the negative and that is without a doubt the dialogue scenes. So many scenes with dialogue and they don´t really feel interesting or help the film in any way. I think it would have been a better idea to focus on making more action scenes instead, because at the end of the day you are not going to remember any of the dialogue scenes in The Loch Ness Horror to be honest. It comes to no susprise that the acting in this film isn´t that good, but i can accept that as long as it´s entertaining enough as a B movie. Overall i still feel that The Loch Ness Terror is a film that at least made an attempt to do something fun with a connection to the Nessie creature in Loch Ness and that´s good enough for me. Director Tyler-James ( director of the beloved B movie film Dinosaur Prison that i actually enjoyed ) may not bring anything original with The Loch Ness Horror but he clearly have a passion for this genre even though the budget isn´t that big. If you just want to watch a B movie monster movie i say give this film a chance. If Meghan Markle could act in the 2010 film Remember Me, it definetely proves that The Loch Ness Horror have a chance to make an even bigger impact than her in that film.

Rating: DDD

Slotherhouse

Animal horror films have been around for a very long time in Hollywood. You have everything from attacking alligators, wolves, grizzly bears, dogs, sharks, the list could go on forever. What i think have made films such as these fun for the horror audience is the fact that people know that there are a lot of dangerous animals out there, no matter if we are talking about a jungle, a forest or even in the ocean, you never know what animal could attack you when you least expect it. I have seen quite of few animal horror films over the years and i do have some personal favourites such as the 1975 classic Jaws from legendary director Steven Spielberg. But then i have some animal horror movies that´s more seen as B movies that i enjoy such as the 1976 animal horror film known as Grizzly. It´s not one of the greatest films in this genre but i still feel that Grizzly found a concept that worked with the plot. The film takes place at a national park where two female hikers are brutally killed and the national park´s Chief Ranger, Michael Kelly ( Christopher George ) can tell that these murders were done by a large animal. As the investigation goes on more people will become victims that is caused by a large grizzly bear. Grizzly especially worked thanks to fun pracitcal effects and had some fun animal attacking scenes. If you are going to make a horror film about a grizzly bear you should use cheesy attack scenes like they do here in Grizzly. The acting is a very mixed bag but director William Girdler still deliver a simple and enjoyable 70´s horror film worth checking out on DVD or Blu Ray. Speaking of animal horror last year i was reading online about a horror comedy called Slotherhouse where a sloth muder people. I was planning to watch it around Christmas time but plans changed so i picked up a blu ray copy recently to check it out. Is this one of the better horror comedies in recent years or is Slotherhouse a disaster from start to finish just like Marjorie Taylor Greene´s biographical book MTG turned out to be?

Emily Young ( Lisa Ambalavanar ), is a senior who wants to be elected as her sorority´s president. She adopts a cute sloth that all the girls at the sorority house loves who is named Alpha. What Emily doesn´t know is that Alpha have a past of hurting people, especially with the help of the claws.

If you are making a horror film combined with comedy you have to be able to make both of these genres work well together. It worked really well in classics such as Shaun Of The Dead and Zombieland. When it comes to Slotherhouse i would say that the horror elements works better than the actual comedy scenes. I didn´t find myself laughing that much in this film and it is clearly trying to joke about a sorority house. The idea itself regarding a sorority house is not a bad idea, we have seen comedies in a sosority house work well in films such as the 2008 comedy The House Bunny where actress Ana Faris did one of her funniest comedy roles as the blonde bimbo Shelley. Unfortunately it feels like the sorority house idea falls pretty flat in some scenes in Slotherhouse, as they didn´t want to make this film too wild because this is a PG-13 film. I think this was a big mistake since they could have really gone crazy and used the sorority house in a much more creative way. But let´s get into some details that i do enjoy about Slotherhouse and the puppet sloth named Alpha does bring some charming scenes where the creature attack the sorority girls. Since it is a PG-13 film you don´t really get to see that much blood but i do enjoy some attacks anyway where they turn out to at least being creative. Even if the design of the sloth may have some flaws it is still a fun idea having it attack human beings. My biggest problem ( outside the comedy issues that this film have problems with ) is the annoying character Zenny played by actress Bianca Beckles-Rose. I am sure shes a wonderful woman in real life but the acting of this character is really bad. In fact every scene we get with this character is not working at all. Zenny is the kind of woman who tries too hard to look cool but fails miserably. Lead actress Lisa Ambalavanar is ok in the role as Emily. It´s too bad they focused more on the comedy scenes than making the horror scenes more effective, because there is a fun idea surrounding Slotherhouse. Director Matthew Goodhue have not made a terrible film, but with such potential for a fun plot it feels like Matthew didn´t try really hard to make this film work. Only watch Slotherhouse if you want to, otherwise i would highly recommend Shaun Of The Dead instead.

Rating: DD

Showdown At The Grand

Cinema magic isn´t the same anymore. Even if we do get a lot of quality films released every year there is just one thing i actually miss from the 80´s and 90´s and that is true summer blockbusters like we used to have. In the 80´s we got so many wonderful films such as Raiders Of The Lost Ark, For You Eyes Only, Poltergeist, The Karate Kid, Police Academy, The Goonies, Back To The Future and many more. I used to go every summer checking out the latest blockbusters with my school friends, back in those days ticket´s were not that expensive either. Summer blockbusters are no longer the same since the audience doesn´t seem to enjoy watching films in the cinema as we used to do. Just look at the box office numbers from last year when big box office films such as Fast X, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, The Flash, Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and many others flopped really big at the box office. You would think that with such big titles people would want to run to the cinema but people wasn´t interested in films such as these anymore. At least the audience seemed to enjoy Meg 2: The Trench with almost 400 million dollars in ticket sales at the box office, so Jason Statham and big sharks at least helped cinemas get an audience. Biggest success of last year was of course Barbie with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling that makes fun of the brand Barbie and is also satirical about the American perfect life. There is in my opinion one film that managed to do this even better, that really made fun of both Hollywood and box office movies and that is of course the 1993 action comedy Last Action Hero. Directed by John McTiernan, this film tells the story of the ten-year-old Danny Maddigan ( Austin O´Brien ) who is the biggest fan of action movie star Jack Slater ( Arnold Schwarzenegger ). He is given a chance to see a screener of his latest film Jack Slater IV by his friend and cinema owner Nick ( Robert Prosky ) by giving Danny a golden ticket. What Danny doesn´t know is that this ticket opens a portal between the real world and the cinema world through the magical ticket, so suddenly a dynamite is thrown out of the screen right into the cinema seats where Danny is. He runs towards the screen and end up on the other side in the actual film. He get to hang out with Jack Slater himself, but how will he cross back to the ordinary world? Last Action Hero makes fun of action stars, lots of movies, it even makes fun of the stereotypical people of Hollywood. A must watch if you love Hollywood action movies on the big screen and a true classic from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Speaking of cinema last year i heard about an interesting film called Showdown At The Grand that seemed to be inspired by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Since i am a big fan of both of these legendary directors of course i had to watch Showdown At The Grand, a film that definetely looked different from the usual film released every year. With a great cast included is this one of the highlights from last year or is Showdown At The Grand not the worthy cinema tribute i was hoping it would be?

George Fuller ( Terence Howard ) is the owner of the classic theatre Warner Grand since it opened in the 1920´s with a showing of Fritz Lang´s Metropolis. Times have changed and visitors don´t come around like they used to and bills are not easy to pay. He is offered by big-time developer Lynn Shrader ( Amanda Righetti ) a lot of money if he will allow her to buy the property but he declines the offer. This theatre means too much for him to sell it. Lynn is not taking no for an answer and send her goons Reed ( Mike Ferguson ) and Burton ( Jon Sklaroff ) warn George by beating down his friend Lucky ( John Savage ) pretty badly. However this does not stop George to give up, he have too much planned as he is about to have a special appearance by legendary action actor Claude Luc Hallyday ( Dolph Lundgren ) at Warner Grand for the audience.

Watching a film like Showdown At The Grand reminds me of a mixture of films such as Reservior Dogs, Last Action Hero, Hobo With A Shotgun and even some Machete influences as well in here. This is a true throwback to why old school movies are so important to us who love visiting the cinema, as well as a tribute to the importance of cinemas alone and  why we love to experience a film in an old school cinema seat. To me personally the biggest highlight of this film is to see Dolph Lungren in the action star Claud Luc Holiday playing a blonde long hair bad ass vampire hunter in a scene called Blood Is For The Living, and he´s even the Bible character known as Moses in a short scene called Moses Versus The Nazis. To me this is the perfect film we have to get made into a full feature film. Who wouldn´t want to see Moses kick nazi ass out in the middle of nowhere? Im telling you that alone is the perfect set up for a future cult film. When Claud shows up as the real personality we get to see Dolph Lundgren act more deep than we usually see and i really enjoy this part. But the film is really more focued on the main character theatre owner George Fuller played by actor Terrence Howard, and how much the local theatre means to him. You can sympathise with his character knowing that society have changed, old school theatres are not as appreciated as they used to be and George is still trying to keep that spirit alive. I think this is one of the more interesting characters i have seen Terence Howard do in quite some time because he really does give his character depth, and he shows an image of a man who believe in his passion for movies. There are some scenes in this film where you really feel that George still want to believe that he will still have his audience returning to his theatre. The plot of the film might be quite thin but i think it is the passion for movies and cinemas that make Showdown At The Grand such a wonderful experience for a movie lover like myself. There are a couple of other characters in this film but doesn´t leave the same impact as the main characters. Showdown At The Grand is definetely not a film for everyone and will most likely be loved by classic theatre visitors like myself. Director Orson Oblowitz manage to combine comedy, action and drama in a cinematic experience that we barely ever see anymore. For me personally this is a true highlight that was made exactly for true cinema lovers, Showdown At The Grand hits the right spots to become a delightful surprise.

Rating: DDDD

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child Of Fire

Science fiction is a very tricky genre to pull off to make it entertaining or find the right fan base. You have the traditional fans of Star Wars and Star Trek of course these fan bases will always argue what franchise is the best of these two. I prefer Star Wars if i have to choose but i actually enjoy completely different science fiction films that´s not connected to any franchises or specific characters from a well known science fiction film. A perfect example of when a sci fi film turned out to be really good is of course the 1996 classic sci fi action film Indepenence Day from director Roland Emmerich. If there is one sci fi film you have to see this is definetely one of them you should put on your watch list. Might as well throw director Roland Emmerich sci fi action film Stargate in there as well, because it is a 1994 sci fi classic. Since we are talking about this specific genre i feel that we should talk about a film that doesn´t get mentioned a lot anymore. And that is the 2011 action sci fi film World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles from director Jonathan Lieberman ( director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning as well, a sequel i actually enjoy ). I know that this film is a very mixed bag from sci fi fans worldwide, some people enjoy this film for what it is a simple alien invasion action film, while some sci fi fans thought it was a stupid film. I personally feel that World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles did a good enough job to make this a fun popcorn film with great tempo in the action scenes. Basically you follow a squad of U.S. Marines as they try to strike back against aliens invading our planet, there is no bigger plot than that. If you enjoy action films and sci fi combined then i think you should give this film a chance. And listen to the commentary track if you get a physical copy of the film, it does give you some interesting information regarding the making of this film. One director who made quite a buzz about himself regarding a sci fi action film he made is the director known as Zack Snyder. His 2011 film Sucker Punch was definetely enjoyed by boys mostly but criticised for making the female characters very sexual in their outfits. Either way the film become a box office bomb so thhe audience didn´t seem that interested after all. Director Zack Snyder have continued making several action films since then and even returned to zombies in the Netflix film Army Of The Dead. So here we are with a new sci fi Netflix film from Zack Snyder simply called Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child On Fire. The second part of this film is coming out this spring so the question is, does Rebel Moon - Part One deliver enough for sci fi fans or is it just as terrible as the god awful sci fi film After Earth with Will Smith?

On the backwater moon of Veldt a group of farmers live together to make a solid life by growing their own food and work hard to make the harvest successfull. One of the villagers Kora ( Sofia Boutella ) is doing her best to help the village survive. After a celebration led by the village´s leader Sindri ( Corey Stoll ) while everyone enjoyed a good time, the next day they all get an unexpected visit by Atticus Noble ( Ed Skrein ), the sadistic admiral of the militaristic Imperium and his army. They are looking for a band of rebels led by siblings Devran Bloodaxe ( Cleopatra Coleman ) and Darrian Bloodaxe ( Ray Fisher ), while he offers to buy the village´s surplus grain. Sindri refuses the offer, claiming they have barely enough to survive. A farmer, Gunnar ( Michiel Huisman ), contradicts Sindri´s claim, indicating that the village might have some surplus. Noble kills Sindri and orders Gunnar to prepare enough grain that they will pick up in ten weeks. Kora warns the village that once Atticus returns he will kill everyone unless they mount a defense. Kora and Gunnar depart for the port town of Providence to recruit warriors for the village´s defense.

Before i watched this film i didn´t really read any background information on why director Zack Snyder wanted to make this film or what inspired him to make Rebel Moon - Part One. I wanted to go into this film knowing as little as possible, just to see if i would be pleasantly surprised. One of the first things i can see pretty clear is that this film is definetely inspired by the Star Wars franchise. I don´t knowif that is the case but you can actually feel it with the design of the space ships, certain robots and i would say some costume designs as well. Even if the story of Rebel Moon - Part One is very different from the Star Wars universe you can definetely see that there are some similar ideas in this film. I have no problems with that honestly since i just want to be entertained. Now, i will be honest and say i do have a few issues with this film but let´s talk about what i enjoy about this film. It becomes very clear that lead actress Sofia Boutella is one of the stronger characters in this film as the fearless Kora and i especially enjoy watching her battle scenes. Actress Jena Malone ( who fans of The Hunger Games definetely remember ) as the spider creature Harmada is a highlight for sure and i wish we could have seen more scenes with her. We also have legendary actor Cary Elwes ( who does not remember him from the classic The Princess Bride? ) here as The King and there is something charming about his screen presence. Once you see Cary in his scenes you can´t help feeling joy in your heart. I do feel that some of the battle scenes between good and evil have some fun moments, and even if this film doesn´t show any blood i still feel that the action scenes does have some enjoyable moments. So let´t get into some issues with this film and i have to mention that some of the acting in this film is really bad. We have seen this before in films such as Jupiter Ascending and we find it in Rebel Moon - Part One as well. It is like some of the actors don´t really feel passionate about their characters and i feel that it is a big missed oppurtunity. To be honest the plot is not really that interesting and i feel that the side story of the main character Kora saves the film a lot when some other parts of the story feels very uninspired. Knowing this is a Zack Snyder film you know he loves to use CGI effects and it´s a very mixed bag here. Some scenes look good while other scenes could have been improved. I would still say that i enjoyed Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child Of Fire for trying to make a sci fi action adventure for fans who love this genre. Even if it does have flaws there are several details to be pleased about as well. I am hoping Part Two coming this spring of Rebel Moon will be even more fun. As for now i think director Zack Snyder can still be trusted making enjoyable popcorn films, and that´s exactly what you can expect from a film such as this. If you enjoy battles in space with aliens, androids and guns then this should be what you are looking for. Rebel Moon - Part One have enough to please true nerd fans of this genre so i would suggest you also check it out on Netflix.

Rating: DDD

Thanksgiving

All over the world each country celebrate different kinds of holiday weekends. For example did you know that in Romania they celebrate Grape Havest Festival between October 7th - October 8th? At this festival they celebrate with grape stomping, wine tasting, live music performances, serving food such as "Zausa" a vegetable hodgepodge, arrange traditional dance shows, art exhibitions, and serve gastronimic delights. It sounds like my kind of festival considering i like to try local food and other countries traditional meals. I might actually try and travel to Romania at some point to visit the Grape Harvest Festival hoping they serve local beer as well. I don´t mind some good wine but i prefer beer to be honest. Would i visit Transylvania if i would go to Romania? Of course, i want to hear the history surrounding Vlad The Impaler as well since i am a big fan of Bram Stoker´s novel Dracula. Here in Sweden we celebrate Christmas weekend and Easter weekend as many other countries do, except for one unique weekend and that is of course Swedish Midsummer. It´s a summer festival where we eat, have moonshine and dance around a Midsommarstång. Unfortunately we do not celebrate as they did in the film Midsommar from director Ari Ester where they sacrificed human beings during Swedish Midsummer. I was hoping we would change our holiday traditions and do exactly what the film Midsommar does, because to me that looks exactly how Swedish Midsummer should look like. Either way i still enjoy celebrating this weekend every summer, as long as someone offer me some moonshine i am all good. A lot of you have probably heard that Thanksgiving weekend is really big in America, and a lot of turkey´s are being prepared that weekend. I have never celebrated this weekend myself but it would be nice to try at some point. Back in the year of 2007 while 2 horror films was released in the same year known as Death Proof and Planet Terror, a trailer of a film supposed to be called Thanksgiving was shown during the Grindhouse cinema run. It turned out it wasn´t a film coming out soon, but after many years director Eli Roth decided to actually make this film after seeing many people interested in that trailer. So here is the actual film Thanksgiving and i was finally able to experience the film myself. Is this one of the better horror films from director Eli Roth, or should this film be burned in the owen with the stuffed turkey into ashes ?

Thanksgiving weekend have arrived in the town pf Plymouth, Massachussets and the big Black Friday sale is about to begin at the local RightMart superstore. Chaos breaks out as customers break into the store and people actually die during the Black Friday sale. The horrible tragedy affects the whole town and people want to understand how this could happen. A year passes by and a group of selected people get a picture invitation to a Thanksgiving dinner with a table with each paersons name next to the chair. What they don´t know is that this is no ordinary Thanksgiving dinner.

The slasher genre have been struggling to make a more modern film and make it enjoyable as well. It´s been a very long time since i have seen a really fun slasher film and Thanksgiving is definetely one of the better releases in the slasher horror genre in quite many years. This film is really brutal, have some really funny scenes, the film looks really good from a cinematography perspective and i have to say that the killer is actually really effective. If you compare the Thanksgiving killer to the Scream killer for example i would say that Ghostface wasn´t really that scary if you ask me. This is why the John Carver masked killer in Thanksgiving is much more effective because they don´t hold back on violence at all, while in Scream you only got to see a smaller amount of killings. We don´t get many horror films based on Thanksgiving very often so of course a film like this definetely feels like a fun idea. One of the best highlights of this film is all the brutal kills and we get some really gory moments. You can feel that director Eli Roth is back in his Hostel cape where he knows how to step it up even further than most horror films these days. After all, if you are making a slasher film you should make the killing scenes really enjoyable and that is exactly what Thanksgiving manage to do. The acting in general is actually pretty good and im especially susprised over actor Patrick Dempsey as the character Sheriff Eric. I am honestly not a big fan of Patrick Dempsey as an actor and never have been, but i do think he did a good job on this character. I really enjoy the acting from Rick Hoffman ( who you might recognize from TV series Billions ) in this film, he was definetely a perfect choice for his character and he brings a powerful personality to the big screen. As a horror film in general i would have to say that Thanksgiving is better than i expected, and that is something i am very pleased about since a lot of horror releases don´t really make a big effort to surprise this specific genre. Director Eli Roth proves once again that he knows how to make fun horror movies and this might be his best one since Hostel if i am being honest. You should also pick up a blu ray of Thanksgiving and celebrate just like myself, i can not promise you though you might suvive if you step into my home. After all, i do have a sweet tooth for fresh meat.

Rating: DDDD