Piglet

Let us for a moment travel back in time to the magical year of 2003. This was the year when Welsh rock band Stereophonics released their third studio album You Gotta Go There To Come Back ( that incudes their huge hit single Maybe Tomorrow ) and American rock metal band Limp Bizkit released their third album Results May Vary, an album that´s very different from their previous records ( perhaps a reason why this album have divided a lot of fans ). 2003 was also the year when iconic action actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugated as Governor of California while one of the biggest movie releases this year was without a doubt director Peter Jackson´s film The Lords Of The Rings: The Return Of The King ( an epic final chapter in The Lords Of The Rings trilogy ). 2003 was my 4th year working in health care and i had already managed to try many different jobs at different health care homes. I can´t talk about the patients themselves but i remember going with a patient to a film he really wanted to see and that was the animated Disneytoon studios film Piglet´s Big Movie. At that time i didn´t really watch a lot of animated movies in my pesonal life, unless it was MANGA films or something similar. So for me to see an animated film in cinema such as Piglet´s Big Movie was definetely unusual. I have seen animated cartoons of Winnie The Pooh as a child so i was familiar with the character known as Piglet. So how was this film you might ask? For an animated family movie i would say it´s watchable, there are some positive details i feel this film manage to capture both the imagination of the world of Winnie The Pooh while also teaching some important things for children. I have not watched this film since i saw it in cinema back in 2003 but i have come across the Winnie The Pooh universe ever since they created the low budget slasher films Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey ( where the sequel is so far the best ). It seems that this has become a trend in modern days to make horror films of well known children book characters. I don´t mind films such as this as long as they make fun horror films. So here we are with a film called Piglet, clearly inspired by the pig character from Winnie The Pooh and thrown into a slasher film. Is this far better than i expected or is Piglet a perfect example why some low budget horror films shouldn´t be made at all?

On Kate´s ( Alina Desmond ) 21st birthday camping trip, her friends encounter Piglet ( Alexander Butler ), a monstrous human-pig hybrid who brutally murders one of them. They uncover Piglet´s origin and Kate must confront her past to survive the relentless killer.

I understand what the low budget slasher Piglet was trying to do, spin the Winnie The Pooh universe around and put focus on the character of Piglet into a horror tale. It could have been a fun idea if they actually made an effort to make the idea work. Unfortunately, this film is a perfect example when you are not creative enough and basically make a film just to make money from a well known character. Right from an early start in this film i could feel how little effort they made to make this a fun slasher film. Remember last year when i reviewed a low budget slasher film called The Mouse Trap and mentioned how awful that film was? Piglet is not as awful as that particular film but this is still a really bad slasher film. Just the fact that they didn´t even try and make a cooler looking killer mask than the mask we see in this film of Piglet just shows that they are only interested cashing in on the product. Ok so i will mention two positive details compared to The Mouse Trap, in this film you at least get to see some bloody kills so that´s at least positive. If you are going to make a slasher film at least show some bloody body attacks if you are going to make me happy, so we do get some scenes of this in Piglet. I also find the home of Piglet to be kind of fun, it looks like a Redneck nest that´s never been cleaned for a thousand years. But that´s where the positive ends for me regarding the positive details of the film Piglet. What we are left with is in the end is a slasher film that doesn´t have anything interesting to bring to the table in this genre. The acting in general is terrible, the plot is not something you really care about and the character of Piglet is in my opinion wasted in this film, they really should have tried to do an interesting background story of him. Director Andrea M. Catinella ( director of the low budget horror film Island Of The Dolls 2 ) should have put in a lot more effort to make Piglet a fun slasher film, because there is a fun idea incuding Piglet as a killer. It´s such a shame he didn´t do much more to make this a B movie gem and now we are only left with a slasher film that will most likely be forgotten. If you want to watch a more fun slasher film watch Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey 2, that film actually did entertain me compared to Piglet.

Rating: D

Werewolves

On my several journeys to Scotland i have some really lovely memories. Not only of the wonderful hospitality the Scottish people welcomed me to their homes but the amazing Scottish highlands especially how beautiful it was to experience the incredible landscape. I remember on my second journey to Scotland i woke up one night at the Bed And Breakfast hotel we stayed at up near the Scottish highlands and i stepped outside to get some fresh air. It must have been around 3 a.m. and the moon was shining bright. It was while i was standing there i looked over to the other side of the road where a local pub was closed. I couldn´t see the pub sign letters completely but it was clearly a very old fashioned sign. It reminded me of a pub sign in legendary director John Landis 1981 classic horror comedy film An American Werewolf In London, when the American men visits a pub called The Slaughtered Lamb. Not that it was called something similar but the shape of the sign was similar and was made out of wood. Standing there with such a bright moon i instantly thought about werewolves, how could i not after seeing that pub sign up in the Scottish highlands? Most horror fans know the classic horror comedy An American Werewolf In London and there are other werewolf classics such as Dog Soldiers ( you should own a blu ray release of this film from distribution company Second Sight Films ). When it comes to werewolf films there is both some good releases worth checking out, but there are some terrible werewolves films as well. Who remember the awful 1995 film Howling: New Moon Rising ( the 7th film in this franchise ) ?. One specific title i can recommend though that is worth watching in the werewolf category is the 2014 horror film Late Phases from director Adrian Garcia Bogliano. A blind war veteran is forced to survive against a werewolf while he is prepared to kill the beast. Late Phases is a simple werewolf film but have an interesting plot and the fact that the main character is blind makes this film more interesting. Worth renting on VOD or picking up on a physical copy. Speaking of werewolves late last year was the release of the horror action film known as Werewolves that looked like a fun tribute to B movies of my childhood. I decided to rent the film on VOD since i am a fan of action actor Frank Grillo and i was curious to see him in a horror film. Is this a must see this spring or is Werewolves more terrible than i ever would have imagined?

One year ago, during the supermoon, humans transformed into werewolves who came in contact with moonlight. In response, humans are preparing for another supermoon event, barricading their homes with weapons and self-defense traps. Whatever you do, make sure you are locked inside and do not come in contact with the moonlight.

I might as well be honest and say that Werewolves is a film that is clearly made for B movie lovers, and if you are not a fan of B movies then this is definetely not for you. However, if you love old school monster films we used to get on VHS back in the day at rental stores then you are going to have fun with this fim. This is basically like a mixed combination of The Purge and the Underworld franchise, where werewolves is the main enemy. There are several details to appreciate about Werewolves so let´s start talking about what i appreciate most. The fact that anyone can turn into a werewolf just looking at the full moon is a pretty cool concept, since this is supposed to be a supermoon that only comes out one specific night. I also like the idea that society prepare themselves like this is something similar to a purge night, and try to block doors and windows not to get the moonlight shining in and keep the werewolves outside. When it comes to the characters we have a mixed bag here but the main character Wesley ( played by action actor Frank Grillo ) is a great lead character for this film. He is tough, not afraid to risk his own life while he is worried about his dead brother´s wife and their daughter. Frank Grillo proves once more that he knows exactly how to handle action scenes and it´s fun watching him battling werewolves with actress Katrina Law as the character Dr. Amy. Nice to see legendary actor Lou Diamond Phillips in here even though i wish he had more screen time. The action scenes may not be the greatest i have seen but i think Werewolves manage to balance both horror and action together in a positive way. The werewolves look cool enough to enjoy if you are a werewolf fan. On the negative side i would probably say that this film could have been more brutal, with more brutal body attacks where bodies are ripped apart. Other than that i had fun with Werewolves for being a throwback to action horror films of the 80´s and 90´s. Director Steven C. Miller ( director of the great 2012 Christmas horror film Silent Night ) clearly had fun making Werewolves and he show that by giving us a tasteful B movie treat filled with tasty details. If you want a pizza night with cold beer at home and don´t know what to watch, Werewolves should be the perfect choice for a VOD rental evening.

Rating: DDD

Take Cover

Sometimes when i just want to have a good time, i simply unplug my brain cells and just watch lots of bullets fly in the air, explosions and fights i turn towards 90´s action films produced by the legendary American distribution company known as PM Entertainment Group Inc. They produced a hell of a lot of low budget action films in the 90´s with action stars like Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Lorenzo Lamas, Jeff Wincott, Jack Scalia, Gary Daniels, Jeff Wincott, Jeff Fahey and many others. Back in the 90´s i used to rent several action films released by PM Entertainment because not only did the VHS covers look cool, you knew that most of these films would be a fun watch. It didn´t matter if none of these films had any plots as long as they had plenty of action and terrible dialouge. There are several films i could easily recommend if you enjoy action films in general but let´s stick to one specific title for a moment. Let´s talk about the 1995 action film Rage from legendary action director Joseph Mehi ( who have directed classics such as Final Impact and Maximum Force ). This film star none other than action actor Gary Daniels as the California teacher Alex Gainer who is chosen by the army to be a prime specimen to clone for the army. If you want lots of action, violence and gun battles then you are going to have fun with this film. Especially towards the end at the shopping mall scenes, they are some of the most violent gun battle scenes i have seen inside a shopping mall where stores get completely destroyed. What i love about scenes such as this is that you don´t need a reason to explain anything, just kick a lot of ass and shoot down as many as possible. I do wonder if this film was inspired by the 1992 action classic Universal Soldier, because the military use people in a similar way but for cloning instead. Either way this is a fun B movie action film that smells 90´s from the start to the cheesy ending. If you look around online you should be able to find a DVD copy of Rage, it´s worth checking out if you want classic Gary Daniels action. Speaking of action stars we do have some still working in the movie industry today and one of the greatest ones is of course Scott Adkins. With several really good titles such as Ninja, Undisputed III: Redemption, The Expendables 2, Accident Man, Avengement, there are many titles worth checking out. I have always been a fan of Scott and really appreciate he does his own fight scenes as well as action scenes in general. Early this year i bought a physical DVD copy from the UK of his film Take Cover to add to my Scott Adkins physical collection and to see if this would be another action gem. Is this one of his better releases in recent years or is Take Cover not worth your precious time at all?

Professional sniper hitman Sam Lorde ( Scott Adkins ) is on a mission with his sniper partner Ken ( Jack Parr ). They end up killing the target but one other target is killed that wasn´t planned. Sam have doubts about himself and his sniper career and decides he will do one last mission before he ends being a hitman. Ken is not happy but accept his friend Sam´s choice, so they will celebrate one last night together at a luxuary hotel having the best most exclusive room. What starts of like a promising evening is about to turn into a nightmare.

You might think that Take Cover is just another action release that looks exactly the same as some of the previous Scott Adkins releases. The good news is that this film actually have a bit more complicated plot than his action films in recent years. Imagine if you would be inside a luxuary hotel room with wide windows where snipers suddenly try to take you out? You can´t reach the elevator because you might get shot, so what do you do to survive and find a way out? This is where this film turn more interesting than the generic start that looks very similar to other snipers films. I would say that even if the film starts off pretty dull it actually gets better as the film takes place at the hotel. When it comes to the characters there is a great chemistry between the main characters Sam ( Scott Adkins ) and Ken ( Jack Parr ). It´s like two brothers arguing about anything while they work together and still get along. Even though this is not the most powerful acting performance i have seen Scott Adkins do ( perhaps his best acting performance is in the film Avengement ) i still feel he pulls off a solid enough performance that matches the character. I do like actress Alice Eve ( who i enjoyed in the 2023 horror film Haunting Of The Queen Mary, worth checking out ) as the character Tamara. What is especially nice about her character is that you think she is a certain way from the beginning, and she completely changes showing her true identity. The action scenes looks good as they usually do in a Scott Adkins film and i especially enjoy the martial art fighting scenes. So is there any detail that could have been changed? There are a few dialogue scenes that didn´t feel like they were needed to be included, especially regarding Amsterdam. Overall i still feel that Take Cover is worth a watch if you are an old school action fan. Director Nick McKinless ( stuntman on films such as Zack Snyder´s Justice League ) knows how to deliver classic action entertainment and with Take Cover he makes sure to let Scott Adkins look good on the big screen. Worth a rent on VOD or pay for a physical DVD copy so we can keep this genre alive.

Rating: DDD

Anora

In the late 90´s i became very close friend to a working collegue of mine named Robert during my first year working in health care. Not only were we both huge fans of Martin Scorsese films as well as Quentin Tarantino films, we both loved British rock music such as Stereophonics, Oasis and Monaco ( the solo project with Peter Hook basist player from New Order ). During this time he told me that he liked going to a strip club in the Swedish city of Gothernburgh known as Wandas. Of course i knew there were strip clubs in the bigger cities across Sweden but never visited one. So in 1999 i did my first visit with Robert and he would show me around the whole strip club. It was actually quite big with 2 floors. The first floor was of course the strip dance scene itself with a bar and leather sofas. If you wanted to watch the ordinary strip show you could just order a drink and sit in the leather sofas. They also had private rooms if you wanted a bit more private show. On the second floor you found a long hallway with different video rooms ( if you wanted to jerk off to adult films basically ). There was also a sofa infront of a huge TV playing some adult film further down the hallway where an older man in a suit was enjoying himself. Me and Robert basically stayed on the first floor watching the dance shows, and at some occations some of the female strippers would sit down in the sofa we were sitting in just to have converastions. Since that time i returned to visit Wandas with Robert and got to know some of the strippers a little bit better, because they knew we were respectful to the women. Speaking of strippers there have been films made in the past regarding the striptease scene such as the 1996 black comedy Stiptease with Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds and Robert Patrick. I know some people don´t like this film but i have no bigger issues with it, i would say it´s entertaining enough thanks to the great cast. And seeing actress Demi Moore on the strip scene is of course something you don´t turn down. Worth a watch on DVD or VOD if you just want to be entertained by a 90´s classic. Last year i was hearing some really positive reviews from a film called Anora, a film that´s connected to the strip club scene. What really made me curious of this film is the director known as Sean Baker, being a fan of films he have directed in the past. I finally got a chance to sit down and enjoy this film on a physical copy. Is this one of the films you need to experience this spring or is this a film that´s not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Anora "Ani" Mikheeva is a 23-year-old stripper living in Brighton Beach, a Russian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn. Her boss introduce her to Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov ( Mark Ejdelstejn ), the young son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, Nikolai Zakharov (  Aleksei Serebyakov ). Vanya is in the United States to study, but prefers to party and play video games in his family´s Brooklyn mansion. Vanya hires Ani for several sexual encounters and pay her 15.000 U.S. dollars to stay with him for a week. Vanya and his entourage fly to Las Vegas, where Anya ask Ani to marry him so that he can obtain a green card instead of returning to Russia to work for his father. Even though Ani is skeptical at first, she aproves his wish because she have geniune feelings for Vanya. This will turn out to be a huge mistake, not only for Ani but especially for Vanya.

If you remember the insane 2012 film known as Spring Breakers and how wild that film was, imagine something similar to that but takes place during strip club scenes and Las Vegas as well and you have a pretty good image of how this film Anora looks like a big part of the runtime. The film changes tone after a while but right from the start it´s a wild ride of nude bodies, sex, alcohol and drugs. So if you are a sensitive person then this is definetely not a film for you. There are several details i feel that this film does right. The portrait of a strip club business feels realistic and how the business works. You get a sense how the female strippers learn how to treat customers just in case they might get a big tip, and if they paid good enough they might be able to cross boundaries of regular rules. The main character of Anora ( played really powerful by actress Mikey Madison, most of you probably recognize from the TV series Better Things ) is a woman who basically lives day by day just to get enough money to survive. Mikey Madison really go all in to portrait the woman of Anora as a lost soul who still have a small dose of dignity left buried deep inside of her. I personally feel this is her strongerst acting performance so far in her career. Regarding the relationship that Anora develop with Russian bad boy Vanya ( played well by actor Mark Ejdelstejn ) you can feel quite early that this is not going to end well. Even when you have all the money to spend, you don´t have to take responsibilities as ordinary young people, at some poing the house of cards will fall down. And that exactly what this film tries to show as well as how destructive relationships might destroy lives. I have to mention the crazy performance of actor Karren Karagulian as Toros, he is not the person you want to upset. There are actually some funny scenes as well when a group go out looking for missing Vanya where i found myself laughing. Anora is a film that really show that happiness isn´t always about money but having real people in your life matters more than any luxuary lifestyle. A very tragic but also funny film as well that show life can be one hell of a roller coaster. Director Sean Baker ( who directed one of my personal favourite films of 2017 known as The Florida Project ) proves once more why he is such a brilliant director capturing a realistic view of the dark sides of humanity while also showing a beautiful portrait of the struggles of a young woman. Anora is definetely a must see if you want to experience something different than most Hollywood films.

Rating: DDDD

Monster Summer

There was something special about being a kid in the 80´s. We didn´t have cellphones, we had computers but we could basically just play video games on them and we actually spent time together at pizza restaurants, VHS stores playing arcade games and renting VHS tapes, at our local comic book store and at the beach. If we wanted to meet somewhere we either used our home phone or phone booths downtown. This was when we still had phone books to find phone numbers to the right adress. I remember me, Robert and Henrik during summer time going on our bicycles to the lake of Bjursjön in 1988 where we used hang out together. If we were lucky they had a café open at Bjursjö stugan during summertime ( a cabin that was connected to the lake ) so we could get ice cream or sodas. This was where we would also meet girls our age ( we were 11 years old at that time ) and just hang out together. When i have been to different lakes and the ocean as well in modern days you can tell things have changed, People don´t talk together like we did in the 80´s, a lot of people are too busy with social media and i see children not being very social like we used to be. Of course times changes you can´t escape that, but the social part have changed a lot and i think it´s great for children to be social outside social media. Speaking of the 80´s there were so many great teenage / children films released back then such as The Neverending Story, The Goonies, Stand By Me and i think we might have to include the horror film Stephen King´s IT from 1990 as well. There are some attempts to try and bring back the 80´s in films such as the 2011 sci fi teenage thriller Super 8 from director J.J. Abrams. A very well made film regarding a group of teenagers who witness aliens invading their small town. This film have so much nostalgic feelings all around it with capturing the time period really well as well as the characters match really good. One of director J.J. Abrams best films in my opinion and a true love letter to the 80´s. I highly recommend you to watch Super 8 if you want a real popcorn evening at home. Speaking of films bringing back nostalgic feelings last year a film called Monster Summer was released that is supposed to take place one summer of 1997. Im always open minded to films trying to capture different time periods, especially during the 80´s and 90´s. I noticed that the trailer reminded me of teenage films of the 80´s so that got me curious. Is this a film for fans such as the classic film The Goonies or did the film Monster Summer not deliver that much fun at all?

Noah Reed ( Mason Thames ) is an ordinary school kid just hangin out with his friends Eugene Wexler ( Julian Lerner ) and Sammy Devers ( Abby James Witherspoon ) as they visit the suspicious older man Gene Carruthers ( Mel Gibson ) property out of curiosity. Noah forget his backpack at Gene´s home who later on return it to him. It turns out that Gene is just an ordinary man, but something strange seems to be happning in town where young people suddenly disappear and return behaving very odd. Noah begins to investigate why people are suddenly being taken away as he gets help from Gene who is also suspicious about this mystery

I may as well start by saying that Monster Summer is not a future classic by any means nowhere near The Neverending Story or The Goonies. Those films can never be replaced by any modern films no matter how hard anyone tried. However, i will say that i do appreciate the effort of Monster Summer where they actually tried to capture some of that cinema magic that we used to get from teenage films from the 80´s and 90´s. This film actally understand what kind of audience it is made for and the best part of it all is that it leans heavy on nostalgic factors of the 90´s. The teenagers dress like the 90´s and they talk like we did in the 90´s. Details like these are important if you want to capture the time period right. There are other details that i feel makes this film work as well as it does and i feel that the characters match well with the plot. It feels like this could be teenagers hanging out during the summer in the 90´s just chillin inside the lead character Noha´s ( played by actor Mason Thames ) treehouse. Now i have to be honest and say the most positive surprise is how good legendary actor Mel Gibson is in this film as the character Gene. I have always been a fan of Mel but in the last 5 years there have been a few films i had issues with. But it feels like in this film he really steps up and deliver a solid performance. The mystery surrounding the witch in this film is done simple but effective and the special effects are done nicely without getting too complicated. The make up effects of the witch ( when it´s revealed who it really is ) looks like something similar to the witch in the 2014 film Into The Woods where Meryl Streep played a witch, and it actually works. So anything that could have been improved? Honestly there is not much to compain about because this is a good family movie. Monster Summer may not be a future familly movie classic but this film proves why we need to go back to more simple days in the 90´s. Director David Henrie shoud continue making films inspired by my youth because he is clearly good at making a film in this genre. If you want a nostalgic trip back to the 90´s then Monster Summer should please you, worth checking out on VOD or streaming.

Rating: DDD

Devil´s Knight

There was a time in my youth when i used to travel to the capital city of Stockholm quite alot since i visited my cousins living there. We celebrated Christmas weekends together while doing other events together as well, and one other thing we did that i can still remember was our museum visits at different locations around the city. One of the museums in Stockholm i found really interesting was the Medieval museum and the artifacts they have found from this time period. It was like stepping back in time where you would get a sense how life used to be back then, while you learned about certain people who made a very big impact in Sweden during the medieval years. I noticed in a newspaper here in Sweden not that long ago that the Medieval museum have moved to another location so i think i will visit again, not only to see what other artifacts they have found over the years but also to see their new location. I personally feel it is good to learn about history since we can learn a lot from the past, but we may also understand more regarding our ancestors. So no matter where you live on this planet, if you are able to visit a museum that have medieval artifacts and teach history i would highly recommend you to go. Speaking of medieval times there are plenty of movies that bring up this time period in history. One of my very first films in this catgory i remember seeing back in 1987 on VHS, was the mystery thriller drama The Name Of The Rose with legendary actor Sean Connery and a very young Christian Slater. This film also have a very unique performance by Ron Perlman as the hunchback Salvatore. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud this film takes place during the early 14th century where William of Baskerville ( Sean Connery ) investigate mysterious murders taking place at Benedictine in Northern Italy. If you love murder mysteries and strong acting performances then this might be something for you. If you pick up the physical release of The Name Of The Rose there are some great special features included, i highly recommend listening to the commentary track. I do enjoy watching more modern films taking place during medieval times so whenever i see a film that takes place during this time period i always try to check each title out. I had an oppuertunity to watch a medieval horror film called Devil´s Knight, produced by the very well known brothers Sonny Mahal and Michael Mahal who have produced several quality films over the years. Is this a great choice for horror fans in general or is Devil´s Knight not as solid as i was hoping it would be?

In the medieval world of Veloka, monsters and demons alike roam and terrorize humankind. The Bone Devil has plagued the Kingdom of Remeny for years. After a group of trackers fails to kill the creatur, King Samuel ( Kevin Hager ) decides to bring in an elite group of monster hunters to destroy this ancient evil and bring hope to the people of Veloka. 

One of the first things that came to my mind while watching Devil´s Knight was how this film reminded me of another medievel horror film called Season Of The Witch with Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman ( a film i have always been a fan of ). Both films takes place during the medievel times but have completely different plots. The one detail that is similar in these films is that they gather a team who are chosen to do a mission in the name of goodness. I do appreciate the fact that Devil´s Knight have such a high ambiton to try and look like old school films of medieval stories with sword fighting knights, but what especially stand out in this film is the demonic creatue that suddenly appear at certain locations. The design of this demonic creature as well as the monsters are actually quite impressive and i feel they blend in very well with the plot of this film. The sword fighting scenes between the knights, monsters and the demonic creature are much more gory than i expected so that was a positive surprise.  There are a lot of characters in this film where have several well known actors such as Eric Roberts, Kevin Sorbo, Daniel Baldwin and many others. There are especially two characters i feel make a certain impact and that is actor Kevin Hager ( who you can see in the apocakyptic vampire film Bloodthirst ) as King Samuel and actress Sarah Nicklin as Princess Sabine. Both of their acting performances especially feel powerful in this film. I am surprised over the performance of Kevin Sorbo´s character Guard Captain Baldur, this might be one of his better acting performances in recent years. There are some other characters who also make a positive impact but i have to mention the knights costume design, i really appreciate that they do look like medieval soldiers and the helmets are especially cool. There is one smaller detail i feel could have been improved and that is the attempt to tell jokes in this film. It could be me who just didn´t get the jokes good enough, either way that was just something i picked up along the way. Devil´s Knight is a medieval film filled with plenty of treats for both horror fans and medieval fans in general as well and i have to say the horror elements works more effective than i expected in this combination. Director Adam Werth ( director of Bermuda Island, a film worth checking out ) bring back life into a genre that needed a solid medieval film like Devil´s Knight.

Rating: DDD

Wineville

I remember summer of 1993 while celebrating Kräftskiva in Värmland ( Kräftskiva is a tradition meal where Swedish people eat crayfish in the month of August ) with my grandparents. This was during my 16 years birthday and my grandfather wanted to celebrate this day for his grandson properly, so he had loaded up with alcohol and different kinds of wine bottles. During this meal we all had lots of crayfish, fresh bread, even some Västerbottenpaj ( it´s like a pie made with spiced cheese, it´s really good and considered to be a Swedish classic among pies ) and my grandfather gave me all kinds of stuff to drink to the meal. One moment i was having beer, then spiced alcohol called brännvin and then wine as well. By the end of the evening i had too much to drink and especially wine towards the end that i ended up in a ditch puking like hell. Of course it was one hell of a hangover the next day but my grandfather had a good laugh about it and said:- You will be fine just have some breakfast. This was actually my first time turning 16 where i was this drunk, and i actually didn´t drink wine for some time after that night. I did continue with the beer and brännvin instead, perhaps because i liked the taste of them better. To be honest im not a huge wine lover in general and i would rather have whiskey, rum, vodka or other kinds of alcohol if i have to choose. I can enjoy a glass of white wine to a fish meal or while eating crayfish, in the end i would probably choose beer instead. I do think you can make a good hotpot with red wine, it will give the hotpot some really good flavors combined with spices and veil bouillon. Speaking of wine i do have a really good recommendation for a film that talks about wine and enjoying life in general in the 2004 comedy-drama film Sideways from director Alexander Payne ( director of the brilliant Jack Nicholson film About Schmidt, a must see ). Sideways is a very well made film about 2 good friends Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti ) and Jack Cole ( Thomas Haden Church ) who decides to travel together before Jack´s upcoming wedding. They will taste different wine bottles, enjoy good food and have a joyful vacation. During the trip some things happen that will change everything and completely turn their vacation plan around. Sideways is a very charming, well acted film that really digs into male friendship as well as dealing with life in general. If you enjoy light hearted films that give realistic performances then you should watch Sideways. The acting performances in this film is really good so if you want strong performances, this is the film to choose. And by the way if you pick up the DVD or blu ray listen to the commentary track, we find out some very interesting details in there regarding the making of this film. Speaking of wine i heard last year there was a grindhouse inspired horror film called Wineville that was getting some positive reviews. My plan was to watch this film during Christmas weekend but plans changed so i decided to finally sit down and give this film a chance. Since im a big fan of grindhouse horror in general, is this a horror film that you need to experience or is Wineville unfortunately not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Tess Lott ( Brande Roderick ) travels back to her family home with her only son Walter Lott ( Keaton Roderick Cadrez ) after her father passed away to figure out what to do about the farm and the vinery that the family have worked on for many years. Tess have a very bad past with her abusive father and do not like coming back to home, but decides to do the best out of the situation. While staying there she finds out people have gone missing from this area. What Tess doesn´t know is that her family members carry even darker secrets than she ever would have imagined.

I have always appreciated independent horror films that tries to bring back the feeling of old school grindhouse 70´s horror and that´s exactly what Wineville manage to do. If you have seen grindhouse cinema classics and appreciate practical make up effects ( there is actually some really gory scenes in this film ) then i promise this is a film that will please you. In a sense you can say that Wineville is a film that tries to bring back a time period where you had great characters, and it´s not just about the brutal killings of people that matters. This is one detail i feel is important since sometimes certain horror films forget about making good characters, that you will remember for different reasons. Im actually suprised that for a low budget horror film like this i can´t say any of the actors does a terrible performance, they perform better than i expected. So let´s dive into the characters a bit and talk about some of them. You have of course main actress Brande Roderick ( who not only look fantastic but is of course a Baywatch legend ) as the character Tess Lott. What i especially like about Tess as a character is that shes a very natural mature mother, it feels like you would enjoy spending time with her just being a simple woman and shes quite charming as well. Child actor Keaton Roderick Cadrez as the character Walter proved to me that this young man have acting skills that could take him far, and i really appreciate the work he put into this role. General Hospital actress Carolyn Hennesy as the crazy character Aunt Margaret feels like the redneck cousin of Annie Wilkes ( fantastic performace by Kathy Bates ) in the Stephen King film adaptation of Misery and i feel that Carolyn really capture that dangerous personality that this film needed to become more effective, from a psychological level. This is the first time i have seen actor Casey King and i have to say, he did a really powerful impact with his character Joe. The horror elements in Wineville are simple and the plot is easily constructed but that actually helps the film work more effectively, with great characters and the brutal murders the combination simply feel more natural. The locations of this film at an old vineyard matches well with the plot. There are a few smaller details that could have been improved but overall im surprised of how much i appreciate Wineville for trying to bring back 70´s grindhosuse cinema and manage to do this well. Director Brande Roderick have not only made a solid horror film but the film looks great as well. If you want raw brutal old school horror then Wineville hits all the right spots, definetely worth picking up on physical media.

Rating: DDD