Red Notice

The ones who know me personally, they know how much i love napkins. I collect napkins of all kinds, especially with flowers, coffee beans, oak trees, and with ocean pictures as well. I don´t know how many of boxes of napkins i have, let´s just say i probably have enough to please 7 Trump rallys in Alabama, and that is quite impressive. So why would you want to save napkins? I figured out that if there is one thing doomsday people have not thought about, it is that they might run out of napkins after eating their cans of food. They might have lots of cans, but they will have to come to me to find napkins. So if you ever see a big yard sign with the title " The Napkin King ", that would be me. It will most likely be seen next to one of Mike Lindell´s My Pillow commercial signs, since i thought we would make a great team. Speaking of napkins, i am not sure, but i have a feeling that Dwayne Johnson might be one of those guys who knows what quality napkins looks like. You can tell by the look of his eyes, that as soon as he enter a store, he knows exactly what kind of napkins will be a perfect match for dinner. You may think this is easy, but you have to be very aware of what works or not. I have no idea if he also have boxes at home, but considering the amazing career he have, it is quite possible he could have. Speaking of Dwayne, he have so many wonderful films in his career, and we could probably discuss several of them. But i decided to bring up one title that you don´t hear much about these days, and that is the 2013 action thriller known as Snitch. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh ( who also directed Angel Has Fallen with Gerard Butler ), this film tells the story of college student Jason Collins ( Rafi Gavron ), who is arrested after the Drug Enforcement Agency find drugs in his home, wich he got from his friend Craig Johnson ( Jason Alex McCune ). At a barbecue, John Matthews ( Dwayne Johnson ), John´s estranged father and owner of a construction company, gets a phone call from his ex-wife Sylvie where he finds out Jason is arrested. They meet up with an investigator in Jason´s case who inform them that he could be facing 10 years in prison. John manage to figure out a way to try and help Jason get a reduced sentence, by being an informer on a drug dealer. Snitch may not be one of the best films in Dwayne´s amazing career, but i do think this is a good film, trying a different approach, especially since this film have a lot of truck scenes. Director Ric Roman Waugh balance the serious tone of the drug issues, with effective action scenes. Definetely worth checking out on Netflix, Amazon Prime or on VOD. Speaking of Dwayne Johnson, he keeps himself quite busy. with several films coming out such as Black Adam and Red One. This autumn he clearly made a big impact on Netflix, in the action comedy Red Notice. It turns out that this film is the most watched original film on Netflix ever, wich is of course impressive. With a great cast included, is Red Notice the film to watch this Christmas, or should this project have been cancelled before production started?

Two whousand years ago, Marcus Antonios gifts Cleopatra three bejewelled eggs as a wedding gift symbolizing his devotion. Three eggs are lost to time until two are found by a farmer in 1907, but the last one remains lost. In 2021, Special Agent John Hartley ( Dwayne Johnson ), a criminal profiler for FBI, is assigned to assist Interpol agent Urvashi Das ( Ritu Arya ) in investigating a potential theft of one of the eggs kept on display at Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant´Angelo in Rome. John Hartley notice that the egg on display is fake, and prove it to the visitors. The real egg is stolen by internation art thief Nolan Booth ( Ryan Reynolds ), who manage to escape while being chased by John. Nolan believe he have managed to get away, but John manage to track him down to his home, where Nolan still have the egg. He is arrested and the egg is taken to custody. The egg is stolen again from the transport veichle, by the well known Sarah "The Bishop" Black ( Gal Gadot ). John is arrested in suspicion of being connected with the egg theft, and is taken to prison to Russia, where Nolan is also locked up. The Bishop shows up in prison, suggesting that they help her find the third egg. They accept the offer and escape the prison. But they soon realise, this mission have a lot more twists and turns than they expected.

There is no question that Red Notice reminds me of a lot of coup films, that have used similar ideas when it comes to stealing art or historical objects. One film that comes to my mind, is the 1999 action thriller Entrapment from director Jon Amiel. In this film you see actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing the investigator Virgina "Gin" Baker, where she is sent undercover to investigate professional thief Robert "Mac" MacDougal ( played by legendary actor Sean Connery ). This film is one of those titles you remember, for actually being pretty descent, where the basic plot is stealing a priceless Chinese mask. In Red Notice, we have another historical object that is being stolen. When Entrapment managed to be charming, and worked well as a caper film, you could say that Red Notice is a much more adrenaline inspired action comedy, that have an Entrapment vibe in the plot. There is especially one issue i have with this film, but let´s bring out what i did enjoy with Red Notice. First of all the chemistry between actors Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds works well. You can tell that they had fun making this film, and they both know how to entertain the audience, in their own unique way. This film does have a good rythm, where there are some fun, and intensive action scenes included. In some ways Red Notice feels like a 90´s action comedy, and this could have gone really bad, but they actually managed to make the tone of this film work. Actress Gal Gadot also know how to charm the audience, and even if she may not give one of her strongest acting performance in this film, she still have a magical screen presence. Now to my problem with this film. There is one specific actor in this film that deliver an acting performance, that reminded me of the 1999 film Simon Sez ( a film that should be seen, for being so terrible ). Basketball player Dennis Rodman tried to be an action star, without any luck. If you have seen that film, you might remember some of the acting performances in that film. And you will find the same level of bad acting as Simon Sez, with actor Chris Diamantopoulos. For a bad guy in the film Red Notice, he is really awful as a villain. It is almost as if he did an audition for a Simon Sez sequel ( maybe that was his plan? ).  Other than that, i can´t really say anything else that affect my opinion on this film. The biggest difference between Simon Sez and Red Notice, is of course that this is actually a fun film, while Simon Sez is just terrible, in every possible way. I had a good time with Red Notice, for what this is, a throwback to the 90´s. If you can accept that we have seen this type of film many times before, just go into this film with an open mind, and you might actually enjoy it. Red Notice may not bring anything new, or original, but is definetely made to entertain the audiences who appreciate the films of the 90´s, and that´s good enough for me.

Rating: DDD

Old Henry

As long as i can remember, i always wanted to stay in a old wooden cabin, out in the desert. Imagine waking up in the morning, seeing the dusty American desert road, while having coffee, and a whiskey on the front porch. Of course i would be wearing my tight jeans, my cowboy boots, a wood stick with the letters Motörhead, while reading author Fredrik Strage´s book 242 Krönikor. This combination could not be more perfect, and when you think about it, nothing could feel more like the American west than having all of this in a desert cabin. If you don´t know who Fredrik Strage is, i can tell you that he is one of the greatest Swedish icons in history. No one have as much knowledge about everything as he does, If you would ask him about what berries grows on the mountains of Norway, he knows every kind, plus what tea flavors you should have in your tent. He is quite incredible, and i believe he will be the one who survives the Apocalypse, because he knows exactly how to do at the end of days. Speaking about American dusty roads, i am a big fan of old school Western films. I have seen quite a lot of films in this genre, and i still consider the 60´s and 70´s Western era to be the best, where they really made some true classics. But let´s be honest, we did get some really good Western films as well in the 80´s and 90´s. One of my personal favourites, was released in 1992 from director Clint Eastwood, and the film is called Unforgiven. This film is a true love letter to this genre, with an amazing cast that includes legendary actors Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Unforgiven takes place in 1880, in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, where The Schofield Kid ( Jaimz Woolvett ) visits Will Munnay´s ( Clint Eastwood ) hog farm, hoping to recruit him to get 1.000 dollars reward, that prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald ( Anna Thomson ) offer to the one who kill the cowboys who slashed her face. Since Will´s farm is in need of money, he accept the offer, but pick up some help along the way. Unforgiven is not only a really well made Western film, but is quite serious as well. And this is exactly why this film is so good, you can actually feel the atmosphere of this film. Clint Eastwood deliver one of his best acting performances in this film, no doubt about that. A must see on Netflix, Amazon Prime or VOD. Since i try and check out Western films every year that´s released, i heard some positive reviews on a film called Old Henry. I noticed while i picked up a DVD copy of Old Henry, that this film has quite a good cast that includes Tim Blake Nelson, Trace Adkins and Stephen Dorff. Is this the perfect Western film to check out this Christmas, or should you read Fredrik Strage´s book 242 Krönikor instead?

Henry ( Tim Blake Nelson ) and his son Wyatt ( Gavin Lewis ) live on an average farm. After discovering a lost horse with blood on the sadle, Henry goes to investigate and finds a near-dead man named Curry ( Scott Haze ) and a cash loot. He brings Curry back to his farm to save his life. Soon after, three outlaws led by Ketchum ( Stephen Dorff ), come to Henry´s farm in search of Curry. Henry manage to convince the outlaws that there is no one there, as the continue to look for Curry. The longer Henry keep this sectret hidden in his home, the more dangerous it becomes for Henry and his son.

I had no high expectations at all of Old Henry, so i am very pleased to say, this may be one of the best Western films i have seen in recent years. In fact, there are so many details that this film did so well, i am quite shocked to be honest. Most films in this genre are usually pretty ordinary, and does not stand out very much. But this is exactly why i am so pleased with Old Henry, for actually delivering something we don´t see very often these days, a Western film that actually takes itself very seriously. So what is it specifically that i enjoy about Old Henry?  Let us begin with the beautiful cinematography by John Matysiak. He have done a wonderful job with this film. You can tell that he really made an effort to make this film look really professional, and capture the right feeling of the time period of the early 1900´s. The costume design works well, where i especially think the main character Henry´s dirty look matches well with his lifestyle. Now, we have to talk about the cast, and of course we have to start with the acting performance from actor Tim Blake Nelson ( who you might remember from the George Clooney film Syriana, well worth watching ) as Henry. I have seen Tim in several films over the years, and this may be his best acting performance i have ever seen him do. Not only does he manage to portrait the character Henry in a realistic way for the early 1900´s, but he manage to capture the pain, and emotions that Henry is clearly carrying, being a poor farmer. Actor Stephen Dorff is known for doing average acting performances, but in this film he actually step it up a level as Kethcum. It is nice to see that he still have something special, as i remember him delivering in the 2012 film The Iceman with Michael Shannon. This is the first film i have ever seen actor Gavin Lewis in, and i am quite impressed of his performance. Old Henry does not only capture the classic Western atmosphere, but also feels a lot more dramatic than i expected. Director Potsy Ponciroli have definetely proved with this film that you can make a very serious Western, with a strong solid story, If you are a fan of this genre, you have to pick up this film on DVD or Blu Ray. Old Henry deserves respect for trying to get this genre back on track, by delivering a film that holds a high level of quality. I lift my cowboy hat off for director Potsy Ponciroli, to show my respect for the work he did on this film. He is definetely the future of Western films, if he will return to this genre. I really hope that he will, and we might actually feel hope for the future.

Rating: DDDD

Last Man Down

Let´s go back a couple of years in time, when i celebrated my 40th birthday in 2017. We had a big party, with friends and family gathering. We had a singing question contest, and we also had some really good food included ( a lot of alcohol of course ). While we had dinner, we discussed at the table about great action films, and i remembered one of the women talked about Fast & Furious 8 and how good it was. She asked me if i could recommend a great action film, and i said:- You have to see Commmando. She looked at me and said:- Commando, isn´t that an old film? I said:- Yes, but it is one of the few films that proves that men really understand women. This woman looked strange at me after i said this, and wondered if i was being serious. Of course i was, you are always serious when you talk about Commando. This is one of the few films in this world, that knows how women think, feel, and most of all capture their emotions about life in general. So my advice to all of you men out there, if you really want to learn how to get to know women on a more personal level, you need to see Commando. This is a classic action film from director Mark L. Lester ( who later on his career directed Showdown In Little Tokyo with Brandon Lee and Dolph Lundgren ), with legendary actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Retired United States Special Forces Colonel John Matrix, where he goes hunting down the men who kidnapped his daughter Jenny Matrix ( Alyssa Milano ). Commando is filled with a lot of fun violence, several classic dialogue scenes, and Arnold Schwarzenegger knows exactly what to do to please the audience. This is one of those 80´s films that you have to see, it is a true classic. In 2018 we actually got a similar story of Commando in the really good B action movie Commando Ninja, from director Benjamin Combes. This film turned out to be one of the best action films in a very long time. Actor Eric Carlesi as John Hunter is a perfect match, as we get loads of guns, dead bodies, and even a dinosaur attacking. A must see for everyone, and a sequel is being made right now. Since we did talk about Commando earlier, i noticed that a low budget action film called Last Man Down seemed to have found inspiration from films such as Commando, so this made me curious. Not knowing anything about the plot, i decided to pick up a DVD copy. Is this one of the better action films of 2021, or is Last Man Down just as bad as Latin Hitman with Damian Chapa ?

John Wood ( Daniel Stisen ) lives alone in a cabin, minding his own business, surviving with what the wild nature has to offer. A pandemic have been going on for quite some time, and John have left the world behind. One day, an escaped test subject called Maria ( Olga Kent ) shows up at his home with soldiers. They soldiers are all killed, and John allows Maria to stay at his cabin. The more time they spend together, the more they find out about each other, including some secrets.

If you are looking for professional acting in Last Man Down, you might be disappointed. This is not the film that care about acting, but this film clearly want to bring back the 80´s action. Since we are getting closer to the year 2022, this is a perfect timing for a film like this. Because we need action films inspired by the classics from the past, so the legacy of these films can continue for a new generation of action lovers. Let´s be honest though, this is not the kind of film that will be appreciated by everyone. You have big muscles, fighting scenes, and of course quite a lot of dead bodies. So if you enjoy all of this combined, with some cheesy fun dialogue, i have a feeling this will be a film that will fit your taste. Last Man Down is the kind of film that you recognize from the VHS shelves of rental stores, and to see a film like this be released in present day is wonderful. We have to talk about the characters for a bit, so let´s start with actor Daniel Stisen. I mentioned acting earlier, and this is why it is perfect to mention Daniel Stisen. When he looks serious, it is actually quite funny to hear him deliver the dialogue. He is of course limited when it comes to doing serious acting, so it is the action scenes where he works best. Daniel have the right physical shape for a film like this, where he gets to fight against soldiers. If he continue to make films like Last Man Down, he could be a future action star. Swedish actress Madeleine Vall ( who played the character Egeria in the 2017 film Wonder Woman ) plays the tough character Granite. Seeing her beating up guys is one of the highlights of this film, she definetely knows how to deliver in action scenes. Anything negative to say about Last Man Down? I could complain about some of the terrible acting, and that the budget is very limited, but what is the point? I enjoy this film for what it is, a love letter to the 80´s. Swedish director Fansu Njie is clearly inspired by the good old days of VHS video violence, and he does a good job with this film. There are details that he could have polished, but i appreciate his effort to do a film that respect the legacy of Cannon Films. Last Man Down proves that there is hope for Swedish films in the future, and this is the kind of film that we need in the Swedish film industry. Tired of the same love comedies on Netflix that keeps popping up every month? Your sollution to that problem is definetely called Last Man Down, avaible on DVD and Blu Ray.

Rating: DDD

Planet Dune

Over the years as i have been writing film reviews, i have been asked different questions. Some people have asked what kinds of films i enjoy most, while some will ask about what are the best films of the year. I have even been asked if i enjoyed the Twilight films, wich i answered very quickly:- Do they really need to exist? However, about 3 years ago i especially remember one question from a guy named Gunnar, and his question was:

:- What do you think about films made from the company The Asylum?

My answer to that question was very easy, and i answered:- I know they get a lot of shit for making low budget films, but i actually enjoy some of their releases, so i appreciate them for what they are doing. And this is the same way i feel about the company The Asylum today, and i have a feeling that nothing will change my mind on this subject. The one thing i especially appreciate about their films, is that you don´t have to take them seriously, and just have fun for 90 minutes. So what if the special effects are not perfect, or the acting is bad, as long as the film is entertaining. Everything does not need to be perfect, and this is something that The Asylum have proved for many years, and still find an audience who appreciate their releases. I will be honest and say i have not enjoyed every single film. And there is especially one film i wrote a negative review on for the film The Mummy Rebirth, for very good reasons. If you want to read my review on this film, just go back to reviews of the year 2019, and you can find out what my opinion was about The Mummy Rebirth. Since i am a fan in general of The Asylum, i thought we should talk at least about one specific title ( not Sharknado, even if i love every single film in this franchise ) that i especially enjoy. The film i have in my mind is called Flight 666 from director Rob Pallantina. This is in my opinion one of the better releases from The Asylum, that takes place on board a flight, where passangers suddenly are attacked by demonic forces and become possessed. This is a fun B horror movie, that has a little bit of everything you could wish for. Fun characters, fun horror scenes, and a fun story as well included. Definetely one of director Rob Pallantina´s best films. You can check it out on YouTube, or on Amazon Prime. Since i try and check out The Asylum films now and then, so i did see a film called Planet Dune have been released on VOD. i have no idea if this film is inspired by the classic 1984 film Dune, but i will admit that the title sounded fun. Since i enjoy sci fi B movies, i decided to give this film a chance. Is this the masterpiece we all have been dreaming of, or is Planet Dune even worse than i could ever have imagined?

A team led by pilot Astrid ( Emily Killian ), is sent to rescue a freighter on the desert planet known as planet Dune. At first there are no signs of any people there, until they begin to seek through the desert. They are about to find out, that beneath the desert sand, something is waiting for them.

There are parts of Planet Dune that actually works, for a small amount of time. And we should thank the sand worms for that, since they are the best part of this film. When the sand masks attacks, it reminds me of the 1990 classic Tremors. With that said, Planet Dune is nowhere near as good as Tremors of course, but you get a sense that the film makers might have been inspired by Tremors. So what else works with Planet Dune? The desert locations that is supposed to be a planet, is actually not that bad. It kind of feels like a desert planet, wich fit well with the plot. As long as you have a good imagination, you can create most things on a limited budget. So what is the major problem with Planet Dune? I would definetely say that they have missed a big oppurtunity to make an entertaining sci fi film for B movie lovers. If they really wanted to make this film fun, they should have had more effective sand worm attack scenes. When they attack, you don´t see much more than the humans running. I think it would have been a better idea to let the space crew team attack the sand worms even more, instead of doing running scenes. It does not feel like they made an attempt to make these scenes effective, that they just made the scenes to fill out the playing time. And that is such a shame, because this could have been a fun film. Let´s get into something positive for a while. I do think actress Emily Killian as the character Astrid ( one of the most traditional Swedish female names ever, brilliant idea ) is quite fun to watch in this film. She doesn´t seem to care about breaking rules, but clearly will do anything to save other people. I also like the image of Astrid as a woman who does not take shit from anyone, and she´s not afraid to take on challenges. Actres Cherish Holland as cocky Rebecca is exactly what this film needed, with the right kind of attitude. Legendary actress Sean Young ( from classics such as No Way Out with Kevin Costner, and of course Ace Ventura - Pet Detective ) is nice to see here. Other than that, there is not much else positive to say about Planet Dune. What could have been a fun sci fi action B movie, becomes a bit dull to be honest. Directors Glenn Campbell and Tammy Klein have some fun ideas in Planet Dune, but did not work on them as much as they should have. Planet Dune might entertain you if you are in the right mood, otherwise i would suggest to watch The Aylum film Flight 666 instead.

Rating: DD

Knutby

I have always said as long as i can remember, never trust everyone completely. I have learned my mistakes from the past, where i trusted people, who seemed to be good hearted. Unfortunately, some people know how to act so good, that you would never imagine that it was all fake. It is like they are 2 different personalities, who does not want people to know who they really are. Many years ago, i actually knew a youth pastor, who´s job was to try and take care of young men and women, and help them in faith. He fooled me as well, when i thought he seemed to be a nice guy. The truth of the matter is, he turned out to protect a pedophile friend of his. I can´t go into details here because of legal matters, since i am not involved personally in this case. All i can say is that i was shocked how he could do this, while working with young people. I have not seen him for many years now, so i have no idea what happened after i found out the truth, but i hope his friend is in jail. I think we all can agree on that every pedophile needs to be behind bars, and never be let out on the streets. We have heard for many years about church scandals, with everything from catholic churches with sex scandals, abuse, taking money from members and using it in their private lives. I am sure that there are good churches out there, who really help poor people, and do a lot for their community. And it is such a shame that criminals, and bad people in general are destroying the image of churches, when we actually have people who try and do something positive. So i never try and judge all congregations, since i still want to believe there are good people out there. But there is one church scandal here in Sweden, that not only shocked our whole country, but people all over the world as well. And that is the murders in the village of Knutby, where a nanny named Sara Svensson confessed shooting both Daniel Linde and Alexandra Fossmo. Daniel survived but was seriously injured, while Alexandra died. They were all members of a church in Knutby, and it turned out that their pastor Helge Fossmo, was charged for the murder of his former wife Heléne Fossmo. Churches across the country was especially shocked, how one small community church could do such horrific crimes. This was back in January of 2004, and ever since then there have been many documentaries, books, interviews with former members who decided to tell the truth. Just recently a new TV series based on the case of Knutby was released on the TV channel CMore ( also avaible on TV4 Play ), and i decided to sit down and watch the whole series. Is this one of the better TV series from Sweden, or should you skip this one and watch something else?

A young woman named Anna (  Alba August ) moves to the small urban area of Knutby, where she is welcome to the local Penestocal church ( Filadephiaförsamlingen i Knutby ). She feels welcome here by the congregation, especially from the very powerful personality of Eva ( Aliette Opheim ) and their pastor Sindre ( Einar Bredefeldt ). But it becomes very clear after a while, that this congregation are dealing with some very disturbing behavior, and use people for their own advantage, that will lead to a very horrific tragedy.

I am actually quite surprised over this TV series. It´s actually better than i expected, and maybe it´s because i don´t enjoy a lot of Swedish TV series in general. There are not a lot of them that i feel hold any bigger quality, especially when it comes to acting. But i have to say, Knutby actually have better acting than i expected, and manage to tell the story of this congregation in an effective way. There are some name changes made, and everything may not be in order with what really happened. And i can accept that, since i still feel that they did a good job though with telling the story, in a similar way to the real case. I have to talk about the best part of this TV series, and that is the acting performance of wonderful Swedish actress Aliette Opheim ( who i especially remember from the TV series Kalifat ) as the character Eva ( based on the person known as Kristi Brud / Åsa Waldau. I have seen a lot of Swedish actors over the year, in films and TV series, and to be honest not a lot of them have impressed me. But i am actually quite shocked how good Aliette Opheim is in the role as Eva. This is exactly the kind of acting i wish we could see more of in Swedish film and TV series. You can tell that she really tried to capture the personality of a very disturbed personality, who should not be in control of a congregation. I have no problem saying that she should win the award for Best Female Actor for her performance, no matter if it happens on Gulbaggegalan, or on any other award show in Scandinavia or in Europe. She definetely deserves respect for this fantastic acting performance. I am also quite surprised to see singer, and actress Amy Deasismont as the character Lilian. Not only is she a perfect match for this character, but she feels very natural in the role as Lillian. Especially in a scene where she tries to convince an old lady to join their church, you can feel the brain washing mentality through her performance, that some churches use to get new members. To be able to do that through acting, clearly shows that she knows how to portrait people who have deep faith. Actress Alba August also deliver a solid performance as the new congregation member Anna. So let´s get into the plot, and if it works close to the truth. What about the disturbing things that happened in this congregation, do we get to see that? We do get to see certain events, even if it is only limited. I wish we could have seen more of the violent behavior that Eva ( Kristi Brud / Åsa Waldau ) actually used towards the members of the church, other than that i can´t complain. Knutby is a great TV series that really shows the danger of religious cult leaders, who should not be running any kind of church at all. This might actually be the best Swedish TV series of this year, and that´s coming from me who is not a fan of Swedish TV series. If only they have added some more details about Eva, and how abusive the real Kristi Brud actually was, i would have given this series a higher rating. But it is still good, and definetely worth watching. Director Goran Kapetanovic ( who directed the powerful TV series Kalifat ) have done a great job telling the story of Knutby. We can never change the past, but we must tell the truth. And this is why the story of Knutby needs to be told, so this could never happen again.

Rating: DDD

Spider In The Attic

I have a very dear friend of mine, and his name is Tony, also known as Ali Baba or Mr Montana ( depending on who you ask ). I do know that back in the early 90´s he had the nickname of Jason Donovan´s Wing Man, i am not sure what that means exactly. Either way, it does sound like he hit the jackpot. He is actually one of the few people who had the honor to see Swedish music artist Hans Martin, at a very unique show. I will confess that i am a bit jelaous of him, that he actually got to see this unique concert, at the same time i am happy for him. He is wonderful, in every possible way, except for one thing. He have a very odd book collection, and i have never seen anything like this in my 44 years of being alive ( so far, hopefully i will last another 40 ). If you go to the home of Tony, and enter his office, you will see a very big bookshelf with at least 120 books, and all of the books are about spiders. His fascination of spiders in books is quite incredible. He knows all the spider spieces in the entire world ( at least the ones that we do know exist ), and if you ask him questions about spiders, i guarantee that he can answer every single one of your questions. He even have a couple of tshirts with his favourite spider species, that he loves to wear, especially during Christmas holidays. So as you can see, if you love spiders, i guarantee you will love the office at Tony´s home, it is quite extrodinary. Since we are talking about spiders, i have seen quite a lot of films over the years where spiders are included. One of my personal favourites is the 2012 film known as Big Ass Spider from director Mike Mendez. This is a really fun horror comedy where a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and attack the city of Los Angeles. Big Ass Spider is exactly my kind of B movie, where you have fun characters, a huge spider attacking, and fun dialogue as well. You should pick it up on DVD or Blu Ray, and i guarantee you will have a good time. Speaking of spiders, i have been curious to see a British independent film called Spider In The Attic, and i finally got a chance to watch it on VOD. This is from the same director Scott Jeffrey, who brought us The Curse Of Humpty Dumpty that i reviewed this autumn. Since i enjoy spider horror films, is this one better than i expected, or is Spider In The Attic just as predictable as the latest films of actor Damian Chapa?

Linda Bruxton ( Nicola Wright ) is in trouble. Unless she comes up with something different to her radio show, she might have to end the show for good. While looking for suggestions on criminal cases to talk about the radio show, her daughter Lucy Braxton ( Sarah Alexandra Marks ) tell her about the mystery of Dr. George Zizerman ( Chris Cordell ). Apparently, he was fired after they found out he was doing experients on animals, as he was fascinated by the nazis. Linda convince the radio show owners that she needs to do a report on this mysterious case, and they approve. With a group of people, they travel to the home of Dr. George to interview him, but find out he is dead. But he did not die naturally, it is all connected to the experiements that he did, in his house.

Spider In The Attic reminded me a little bit of the first Puppet Master film. Instead of puppets running around killing people, here we have spiders crawling around, bringing fear into people´s lives. Since we have seen a lot of different spider films released over the years, it is hard to make a film that does not borrow too many ideas from similar films. The one thing that makes Spider In The Attic stand out a little bit, is that this film takes place in the English countryside. And that is actually a good idea, since the traditional countryside is of course a perfect location for spiders, especially in an old English house´s attic. The plot itself is pretty simple, but actually have a surprising twist. The fact that these spiders were created by a scientist who created genetically enginered animals, is definetely different than the traditional spider films. We also find out that he was inspired by nazi research, wich makes this plot interesting. The idea that the main character Linda Buxton ( played by wonderful actress ) travelled to this house to save her radio show, is actually not a bad idea. If you want higher ratings on your radio show, you need something different, right? And i do like the attempt that they tried to capture their last attempt to save the show, before it is cancelled. Lead actress Nicola Wright ( who i enjoyed in the British independent horror film The Curse Of Humpty Dumpty ) deliver once more an acting performance that match well with her character. I don´t know what it is about her, but her screen presence feels natural. It feels like she can portrait all kinds of characters, and make them feel believable. The rest of the cast that´s actually with mostly women, all contribute something to their character. The best part of this film is to see the mystery surrounding this house, and what experiments really took place here. We don´t get a lot of answers unfortunately, but the small details that are revealed are interesting. The spiders may be CGI effects, but are quite fun to watch ( if you can accept that this film have a limited budget ). Spider In The Attic ( or Spider From The Attic, depending on where you look for the title ) is not a classic in spider horror films, and is not as good as The Curse Of Humpty Dumpty from a horror perspective, but i do think director Sott Jeffrey did make this film enjoyable for actually bringing in nazi experiements into the spider genre. If you enjoy independent animal horror films, i think you should give this film a chance. After all, if Tony loves spiders more than anything, i have a feeling you will as well, after seeing Spider In The Attic.

Rating: DDD

Bingo Hell

When i get old, i only have one plan. 

Lying on a beach in Spain with my favourite Christmas card collection? Visiting the wonderful castle Gibb in Leeds? Reading all novels from romantic author Loretta Chase? 

Actually, no. My only plan right now is to visit every Bingo Hall in the UK. So why visit every Bingo Hall over there, and not in Sweden? It is pretty easy, because this would be my chance to experience the greatest pop band of all time known as Five ( let´s be honest, no pop band can ever beat Five in hit singles ). So why seeing Five in a Bingo Hall, instead of a concert arena? If you think about it, there is no better combination than playing bingo, and seeing Five live. It´s like the best combination that this world have ever seen. Five have performed in bingo halls before, so you know they always get booked at the best places. So now you know my plan when im older, and i must say, it might be the best retirement plan i have ever heard. Speaking of playing bingo. i have tried playing some different kinds of bingo games. You have the traditional Swedish game known as Bingolotto, where you can win cars, big gift cards, or a lot of money. In modern days we do have a different kind of bingo competition. If you prefer a little bit more wilder bingo playing, you should probably try playing bingo in the UK at Bongo´s Bingo. Imagine a combination of a rave party with no limits, combined with a bingo competition, and you can probably imagine what this bingo night looks like. Just head over to their homepage Bongo´s Bingo, and i guarantee your grandparents wants to go right away. I did play a bingo game on a cruise ship to Denmark, that was also quite different. You started playing bingo after breakfast, with a vodka drink. That vodka drink was included in the morning bingo game, and i have never seen this before. I was actually lucky that day and won a gift card for massage, so not bad at all. Speaking of bingo halls, you barely ever see them in films anymore. I have no idea why, because let´s be honest, more films should have bingo halls included. I actually had a look online if we have films that includes the game bingo, and there are not a lot of titles out there. Well, now we have a film that actually digs deep into the bingo hall tradition in a horror comedy called Bingo Hell. I am a big fan of horror comedies, especially Shaun Of The Dead from 2004. So the question is, is this bingo inspired film more fun than i expected, or is Bingo Hell not worth waisting your time on?

Lupita ( Adriana Barraza ) lives in the community of Oak Springs. She have lived here for a long time, and have a group of close friends. But Oak Springs is going through some changes, business are closing, and new trends are taking over coffee shops. Lupita is happy though that their local bingo hall is still going, where they gather money for local hair salon owner Yolanda ( Bertila Damas ), to be able to run her business. But the bingo hall owner Mario ( David Jensen ) have been missing for days, as they decide to run the bingo hall on their own. Until one day, when an odd car park infront of the bingo hall, everything is about to change. A new bingo hall is about to open, and nothing will ever be the same on Oak Springs.

The one thing that Bingo Hell actually prove, is that when you are older, it is important to feel a part of society. Just because you age does not mean that you should be alone, that you find someone to do things with, or a group of people. Social life matters a lot, if you want to enjoy life. It helps you stay sharp, and updated with the future. And to see the old folks gathering at the local bingo hall, in the community of Oak Springs, is actually nice to see. They gather to help each other, support the community, and have a good time. When this film switches over, to become a horror comedy, this is where the fun really begins. To combine playing bingo with horror elements is actually a quite clever idea. How far would you go to win that big prize? Are you willing to take the consequences, even if it means loosing your life? You can clearly see that there are a lot of unhappy souls in Oak Springs. Business are shutting down, properties are for sale, so to have an evil man such as Mr. Big ( really well played by legendary actor Richard Brake ) using vulnerable souls, is of course a perfect place for him to feed on their need for money. The scenes where you see Mr. Big begin the bingo game, is such a perfect match, that he has to be the perfect bingo host that i have ever seen. Richard Brake have absolutely no problem getting into his character, and i had a really good time watching him in this film. When it comes to the rest of the cast, i have to say that pretty much all the characters match well with this film. Especially lead actress Adriana Barrazza ( who i remember from Sam Raimi´s horror film Drag Me To Hell ) as the lead character Lupita. She is a very determined lady, who does not take shit from anynone. And she also have a big passion for the community of Oak Springs, and you can tell that when she clearly does not like changes. Adrianna manage to capture the personality of Lupity in a way, that we can actually feel sorry for her. She seems stuck in the past, and i can imagine that a lot of older people can easily look from the same perspective as her. When it comes to the combination of horror and comedy combined, they actually work well in this film. Not all the time, but there are several scenes where they manage to balance these genres in a positive way. It is actually quite refreshing to see something different in the horror comedy section, and Bingo Hell definetely stands out from the crowd. Director Gigi Saul Guerrero deliver a film that will definetely entertain the specific audience, that appreciate horror comedies with a bit of satire thrown into the plot. Bingo Hell may not strike big all the time, but this film will definetely inspire more people to visit bingo halls in the future. Definetely worth checking out on Amazon Prime. Anyone want to join me on a bingo night? I promise, it will be the best night of your life.....

Rating: DDD