söndag 17 mars 2024

40 Years Anniversary Review Of The Terminator

We might thing we know what the future will look like but we never really know the truth. We can speculate and believe we know, but the truth of the matter is we will only have to see what the future really looks like. Does it matter if we have flying cars, or if we have more advanced robots serving our lunches? To be honest im not worried about any of that, i would be more concerned if we will actually get a World War III with nuclear weapons across the planet. If it would happen we may never see humanity return as it once was, or at least it may take a very long time until humans can move on with their lives after all of their loved ones lost their lives and all the destroyed homes that is just a pile of dust. I want to believe we can make a better future and we really should do the best we can for the next generation. This is why it is so important that world leaders have to work together to prevent a World War III from happening, that we can not let some crazy dictator play with human lives just to please himself. There are so many films that have portrayed what the future might look like in classics such as Back To The Future Part 2, Blade Runner, The Running Man, Demolition Man, Total Recall and many others. We could probably dig deeper into the list of titles if we wanted to but i would like to talk about one film that changed movie history in the combination of sci fi action films. And that is the 1984 film known as The Terminator from director James Cameron. I first saw this film in 1987 when i was 10 years old on VHS after i borrowed it from my class mate Nicklas. And i still remember the iconic VHS cover of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the front of The Terminator how a movie poster should look like. At that time i fell in love with this film because it was really good. Since then i have seen this film a lot of times both on TV channels, on DVD and on blu ray as well over the years. I realised this year that in 2024 it will be 40 years since The Terminator came out in cinemas so i thought the timimg would be perfect to make a 40 years anniversary review. Is this still one of the true great action films of the 80´s or have The Terminator aged much more than i expected while i revisited the film?

Los Angeles, 1984. A cyborg known as a Terminator ( Arnold Schwarzenegger ) have been sent back in time originally coming from the year of 2029. He is on a mission to kill waitress Sarah Connor ( Linda Hamilton ) who is the mother of her son John Connor, the leader of the Resistance fighters in the future. Also sent from the future is the Resistance fighter Kyle Reese ( Michael Biehn ) who will do everything to stop the Terminator to make sure Sarah Connor must survive and also save mankind from extinction by Skynet.

When the action scenes of a film made in 1984 looks better than most Marvel superhero films released last year says a lot of lack of quality that modern films have compared to The Terminator. Not only is this a very professional made film considering the budget, this is also a action film with really strong characters, with a very cool futuristic design of how machines have taken over. In some ways you could say that The Terminator is more original than most 80´s action films since this film have a complete different depth than sci fi action films had at that time. There is a serious tone in the story regarding Reese protecting Sarah Connor from the deadly cyborg. There are so many details to be pleased about when it comes to The Terminator. For example the action scenes in the future on the battlefield with the machines attacking humans. The machines looks far more advanced than any spaceship scenes in the Marvel film The Marvels and the Terminator itself looks really cool when we finally see what these cyborgs really looks like. The acting performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator fits him perfectly with no facial expressions, no emotions, just like a robot. To be honest he was the perfect choice for this role and he have proved this in several films in this franchise as well. Speaking of the cast i have to mention Michael Biehn as Resistance fighter Kyle Reese is one of those iconic 80´s action characters that matches so well with the story. Of course we also have a strong female performance here from actress Linda Hamilton as the hunter Sarah O´Connor. I personally feel that The Terminator is one of those films that manage to combine science fiction and action in a very effective way than most films in this genre. The action scenes are hard hitting, violent and on a technical level this film does everything you could wish for. Director James Cameron did not only give us an iconic film with The Terminator he also proved that you don´t need a complicated story to make futuristic action films look cool. There is no doubt in my mind, The Terminator is a must have on physical media in every film collection and still kicks ass after 40 years.

Rating: DDDD

torsdag 14 mars 2024

Lift

In the spring of 1993 when i was 15 years old i was about to take on the biggest school project i have ever done at that time, I was going to paint a painting that was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh´s sunflower paintings in art class. Now, i was in no way a professional painter at this age, i still decided to pick this project myself since i really liked the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. I remember my art teacher told me that it is not easy to capture the same style as Van Gogh but she did like my choice. So i started working on this painting and i also stayed longer at the art class painting studio after school, because i really wanted to pull this off as good as i possibly could. When the painting was finally made and we had an exhibition for all art class students, my art teacher was suprised how well i have done my painting. It may not have looked exactly like a Van Gogh sunflower painting but i did manage to capture his style. I was pretty pleased with the result and kept the painting. The painting was one year later given to a friend of mine as a gift, since he really loved my painting. I could have kept it i suppose but this male friend of mine was an even bigger Vincent Van Gogh fan than me, so i felt that the painting would be in good hands. I didn´t really continue any art class after those years simply because i got interested in several other subjects but im happy i tried it and i did learn some interesting styles of art at that time. Since then i have seen paintings in Europe while i travelled to cities such as Amsterdam and London. A lot of films have been inspired by art of many different kinds, where especially heist films have been popular over the years in films such as Entrapment and The Thomas Crown Affair ( 1999 version ). I would also recommend you to check out art inspired Netflix horror thriller Velvet Buzzsaw that is clearly inspied by the art scene of Los Angeles. Speaking of Netflix we did get a new heist film this year released in early 2023 called Lift with comedian actor Kevin Hart. I didn´t really know much about this film at all so i decided to skip any trailers and check it out on Netflix anyway. Is this a surprisingly fun heist film or is Lift just as horrible as Mark Polonia´s B horror film Noah´s Shark that i unfortunately have seen?

Cyrus ( Kevin Hart), a renowned international theif, leads a heist crew that consists of Denton ( Vincent D´Onofrio ), pilot Camilla ( Úrsula Corberó ), hacker Mi-Sun ( Yun Jee Kim ), safecracker Magnus ( Billy Magnussen ), and engineer Luke ( Viveik Kalra ). They undertake two simultaneous thefts, stealing a Van Gogh painting in London while staging the fake kidnapping of renowed NFT artist N8 ( Jacob Batalon ). Cyrus points out that famous paintings rapidly increase in value after being stolen. His team sell the Van Gogh painting on the black markert for 20 milliom dollars to buy N8 NFTs. It turns out that the value of the stolen art raise in value to 89 million U.S. dollars. After being "kidnapped", N8´s NFT balooned in value to 89 million dollars. N8 decides to celebrate with the team after being promised a cut of the money. Interpol agent Abby Gladwell ( Gugu Mbatha-Raw ), a former fling of Cyrus, uncover evidence implicating Denton, in the theft and arrests him. Rather than proceed with charges against the crew, Abby´s superior, Commander Huxley ( Sam Worthington ) have an offer for the team. If they help Interpol with a heist, they will avoid prison and actually do a heist for a good reason. Interpol want to arrest billionare Lars Jorgeson ( Jean Reno ), who intends to take more money by working with the hacking group Leviathan to stage a massive flood in Europe. Cyrus and his team agree to work with Interpol to trick Lars by taking his shipment of gold that´s being taken from his vault in London and flown to Leviathan´s bank in Zurich.

I have to say that usually im not the biggest fan of every heist film released, simply because so many of them looks almost the same or doesn´t really bring anything interesting. One of the better ones is definetely Ocean´s Eleven from director Steven Soderbergh that was very charming thanks to the amazing cast of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck and many more. It is definetely one of those heist films i would highly recommend. When it comes to the Netflix heist comedy Lift we also get a great cast here other than Kevin Hart. You have legendary actor Vincent D´Onofrio ( who i especially remember from the 2012 psychological horror film Chained ), Jean Reno, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw ( you have to see her in the 2016 drama Free States Of Jones ) and many more. When you have a great cast like this you know at least that there are many talented actors involved. The question is do their characters match well in a heist comedy? I am not going to lie and say this film works just as well as the heist comedy classic Ocean´s Eleven, it´s not even close as good as that film. However, if you just take this film for what it is and don´t compare this film too much with other films in this genre there are details i enjoy about Lift. Let us begin with the heist plot itself and at first it may look like another heist, but there is a twist in this film where the heist is actually much more complicated than just another heist. I think this is the right way to go if you want to do something with this genre, since the plot would be far too predicatble. There is a lot of technology used in this film and Lift manage to stay modern while including classic ingredients as well. I also think that most of the cast does a great job, especially the chemistry between Kevin Hart and actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw. You are never bored with Lift since they keep the energy going on a steady line. Anything negative to say? Perhaps it would be that legendary actor Jean Reno should have had more screen time. I feel like his so called evil character Jorgenson have far too little screen time in this film. Director F. Gary Gray ( who directed one of my personal favourite Gerard Butler films Law Abiding Citizen ) deliver a heist film that´s entertaining for all ages of the family to enjoy. Lift may not do anything groundbreaking but knows what audience it was made for and that´s good enough for me to recommend this film. Oh and if anyone let me fly one of their private jets i would happily do so, i promise not to steal any art, i just want to make a fancy entrance at Starbucks.

Rating: DDD

måndag 11 mars 2024

The Jester

Everyday we run into so many people, no matter if we are heading to work, school, if we need to go grocery shopping or perhaps to the local bakery. We meet new faces along the way and even if we might recognize someone we don´t really think much more about it. Our faces does not only express how we may feel or if we are trying to hide anything personal, our faces may actually reveal something about our personalities. What if you meet someone wearing a mask where you can´t tell who that person is, and you can´t read their facial expressions either? Most of us probably wouldn´t care especially if it was a holiday weekend such as Halloween. Unless we recognize the mask and we instantly feel true fear knowing who is behind the mask. In the case of Halloween weekend there is especially one mask that really define the pure meaning of evil, and that is the mask serial killer Michael Myers is wearing in the Halloween franchise. Halloween is not only one of the most beloved slasher classics in the horror community, it also gave us the iconic horror character Michael Myers with his classic kitchen knife attacks. Ever since the first film came out in the 1978 film Halloween this has been a cult film for fans to watch during this holiday weekend. After the first film was released we have had plenty of sequels and i do appreciate some of them. One of my personal favourite sequels in this franchise is without a doubt Halloween 4 - The Return Of Michael Myers from director Dwight L. Little. What made this film a fun return of Michael Myers was the battle between him and Dr. Sam Loomis ( legendary actor Donald Pleasence ) on a different level that we have seen before. If you want to watch all the Halloween sequels please feel welcome to do so but i highly recommend Halloween 4. Speaking of masked killers i have heard about an independent horror film called The Jester released last year that looked interesting. I decided to pick up a blu ray copy from the UK to check it out. Is this a horror film for true fans of the slasher genre or is this a film that turned out to be much worse than i expected?

A man named John ( Matt Servitto ) is walking along a bridge at night time. He is full of regrets and tries to reach out to someone to talk to regarding his depression. At this bridge he meets a figure dressed with an orange suit and what seems to be some kind of clown mask. This figure is known as The Jester ( Michael Sheffield ) and he is no ordinary human. He makes John hang himself from the bridge by using one of his magic tricks. At the funeral service John´s daughter Emma ( Leila Symington ) appear just to say her last goodbye even though she hated her father. This is where she also see´s John´s other daughter Jocelyn ( Delaney White ) who he had with a new wife and created another family. Jocelyn reach out to Emma to try and talk, just to hang out and talk about their same father. The meeting doesn´t go well and Emma walks off. Outside in the street Emma meets The Jester, who shows up wherever she chooses to go. She have no idea what this figure wants or why it is following her, until she learns that there is a connection to her father.

Those who truly know me personally know that i have never been a big fan of the Scream franchise, i never really saw Ghostface as terrifying or the films of this franchise to be that scary. The first one is the best in the Scream franchise but i gave up on the franchise after 2 films. The good thing about finding a more interesting slasher is that you can actually appreciate a different approach of a serial killer and that´s exactly what i did with The Jester. The clown mask definetely looks more creepy than Ghostface does and i do enjoy that this masked killer in The Jester is doing different tricks while he shows himself in public, almost as if he came right out of a circus performance. And if i am being completely honest this so called clown masked demonic figure is the strength of this film. As he does magic tricks while taking out each victims, he also does some unexpected things like dancing next to a grave. The Jester played by actor Michael Sheffield shows that you can make a performance work even though the character doesn´t talk verbally. I also think the orange suit matches the mask very well, it is difficult not to appreciate the costume design of The Jester. So what about the other characters? My personal favoruite performance outside of The Jester is actress Leila Symington playing the depressed character Emma. You can feel the anger in her performance as she wishes her childhood would have been much happier. I also appreciate the performance from actress Delaney White who is also dealing with family issues just as Emma. The plot of The Jester is very simple and it´t not hard to get into this film, and the simplicity helps this film become more enjoyable even though the budget is limited. Some of the horror scenes works pretty good except for a scene where a head is decapitated, that scene could have been made much more effective. Otherwise i can´t really complain on anything, The Jester is a charming small horror film that´s made for an audience who loves the circus or an amusement park visit during the Halloween weekend. Director Colin Krawchuk uses simple methods and manage to put together a tasteful horror treat for us who appreciate independent horror films. The Jester is definetely worth picking up on a physical copy, you never know if The Jester might show up at your house to entertain your family.

Rating: DDD


torsdag 7 mars 2024

Suitable Flesh

In my youth i was never really familiar with the work of writer H.P. Lovecraft. I remember seeing books at the local library where his name was mentioned but i never really sat down reading one of his stories, instead i would return to one of my favourite novels at that time which was Stephen King´s novel Misery. A really good book that was also turned into one of my Stephen King favourite films Misery with a brilliant performance by actress Kathy Bates. As i understand H.P. Lovecraft have a very large crowd of fans worldwide who love his stories and even if he passed away back in 1937 his work will definetely live on in many generations into the future. When it comes to the short stories of H.P. Lovecraft you can find several horror films inspired by some of these stories. One of the films i especially remember discovering that was clearly inspired by H.P. Lovecraft is the 2001 horror film known as Dagon. Even though it must have been over 20 years ago since i bought this film on DVD i still rewatch it now and then because it is a personal favourite of mine. Loosely based on his short story Dagon ( 1919 ) and his 1931 novella The Shadow Of Innsmouth, Dagon tells the story of Paul Marsh ( Ezra Godden ) is on vacation in Spain with his girlfriend Barbara ( Raquel Merono ), and their friends Vicki ( Birgit Bofarull ) and Howard ( Brendan Price ). A sudden storm blows their boat against some hidden rocks. Vicki is trapped below deck and Howard stays with her while Paul and Barbara head into land to try and get help. They are about to find out in this fishing village this is a place of pure evil. Dagon is a fun horror film that uses practical special effects and really capture the style of H.P. Lovecraft with the monster designs and the strange symbols found all over the village. If you have not seen this film from director Stuart Gordon i suggest you pick it up on DVD. Last year i was reading online about an upcoming horror film called Suitable Flesh inspired by a story called The Thing On The Doorstep from author H.P. Lovecraft. I was especially interested when i noticed that both actors Heather Graham and Barbrara Crampton was included in the cast. I picked up a physical copy of this film and the question is, does this film work inspired by H.P. Lovecraft or is it a total disaster from start to finish?

In a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Daniella Upton ( Barbara Crampton ) visits the morgue where the mortician is dissecting the body of an unseen figure, the victim of a brutal murder. Daniella visits the murderer, her friend Dr. Elizabeth Derby ( Heather Graham ), who begs Daniella to destroy the brain of the corpse and begins to recount her story to explain why she must do so.

Whenever you enter a film that is inspired by a story of author H.P. Lovecraft you know there is a chance that the film can be quite different from the usual horror release. And honestly i have to say that Suitable Flesh definetely stands out from other horror releases for a number of reasons. This is a so called body horror film where a different personality jumps into different bodies, so once you figure out who is inside a specific body you understand what is going on. I would also say that Suitable Flesh is very influenced by the Lovecraftian classic Re-Animator from 1985 as well as the cult film From Beyond, something we don´t see very often in modern films these days. I definetely feel that Suitable Flesh does make sure to present us with characters that we actually are interested in, instead of just focusing on a main character and forget about everyone else. Regarding the body horror events i do feel that this is one of the details where Suitable Flesh becomes interesting, where different individuals have some kind of seizure on a completely different level than we are used to see. For being a horror film that surrounds itself on therapy sessions i feel that the film does a great job switching the plot just at the right time, without forgetting what the main story tried to tell us. The acting in general is actually pretty good and i have to say actress Heather Graham as Dr. Elizabeth ( who can forget her in Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me ) does not only look fantastic i also feel that her performance matches her character really well. Legendary actress Barbara Crampton knows exactly how to make her scenes magical with her screen presence and she looks incredible as always. One preformancethat surprised me is actor Johnathon Schaech (who i especially remember from the 2011 war action film 5 Days Of War directed by Renny Harlin ) as Dr. Elizabeths husband Edward. His performance in this film is definetely a great match to the character. The horror influences surrounding Suitable Flesh works pretty good for the most part, the one thing i do feel they should have done is being more brutal than holding back the violence. Other than that i had a good time with Suitable Flesh and this is a great Lovecraftian film from director Joe Lynch ( director of Wrong Turn 2, my personal favourite film in the Wrong Turn franchise ). If you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft you should definetely pick up Suitable Flesh on a physical copy. Suitable Flesh proves that there is still hope for quality horror films to see the lighht of day, let´shope we see Barbara Crampton return in a future Lovecraftian film.

Rating: DDD

måndag 4 mars 2024

The Marvels

I still have some very special memories from the local comic book store in my hometown back in the 80´s. Me and my school friends used to go on our bicycles down there to read comic books, buy some of them while talking to the owner about different superheroes. I especially remember that the owner loved to collect Spider-Man comic books and he had a lot of them. Some of the very early numbers could be found as well, unfortunately i can´t remember which his oldest comic book numbers was but i do remember seeing a couple comic books from the early 1970´s. The owner already knew i was a big fan of The Hulk at that time so he would tell me when he was getting new The Hulk comics coming out. This was usually where i bought my The Hulk comics and i would bring them with me to school to show my friends. Either way, hanging a local comic book shop like this in the 80´s was a great place to be as a kid. We stayed away from drugs and we also met smiliar people who liked comic books as well. He did even sell certain films on VHS if you were lucky but his store was basically focused on comic books. Sometimes we would talk about films made based on comic book characters and i especially remember in 1990 after we all have seen the 1989 action film Batman with Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger where we all were really hyped up over what we all have experienced. This was a really fun comic book adaptation of the classic superhero Batman from director Tim Burton and we all especially loved legendary actor Jack Nicholson as The Joker. I remember the owner did buy a poster of the film and put it on his wall above a comic book section where Batman comic books could be found. Speaking of superhero movies we have had a lot of films over the years especially from Marvel Studios with everything from Thor, The Avengers, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians Of The Galaxy and many more. I actually really enjoyed the film Captain Marvel even though i know some people were divided on this film. Well, Captain Marvel is actually back in the film known as The Marvels with other comic book characters. A film that did really bad at the box office and proved that the audience wasn´t interested in superhero films anymore. I decided to give the film The Marvels a chance on Disney + to give you my own opinion. Is this actually better than i expected or should Marvel Studios stop making superhero movies in the future?

Carol Danvers ( Brie Larson ) destroys the Supreme Intelligence, the artificial intelligence thhat leads the Kree empire. This leads to a civil war on Planet Hala, the Kree home world, rendering the planet barren as losen its air, water, and sunlight over the next 30 years. The Kree´s new leader Dar-Benn ( Zawe Ashton ) discovers one of the two legendary Quantum Bands. She uses the Band to forcibly open a new jump point that connects to the network. Captain Monica Rambeau ( Teyonah Parris ) discovers that Kamala Khan ( Iman Vellani ) is the one who have the second Quantum Band. Nick Fury ( Samuel L Jackson ) and Rambeau visit Kamala on Earth. Rambeau surmises that their light-based powers are linked through quantum entanglement. With their combined powers they are forced to use them facing pure evil.

I have not seen every single Marvel Studios film so far simply because i felt that they have been making too many Marvel films in the last 10 years. I might watch some of them at some point but the biggest reason why i watched The Marvels was to see actress Brie Larson back as Captain Marvel to be honest. Ok, so i do have some issues with this film but let me be clear, i am all for strong female characters in films as long as they are done in a positive, inspiring way. I have no problem with female superheroes at all because there are some good ones out there ( i am especially thinking about actress Gal Galdot as Wonder Woman ) that works really good on screen. One of the biggest issues with The Marvels is that these so called female superheroes are not as cool as we would have liked them to be. With all their super powers and their attitudes you might think that the action scenes are quite enjoyable, but it all turns out to be way too predictable and don´t leave many surprises at all. In fact in some action scenes it just feels like they created those scenes just to fill in content but without any bigger reason. If you are going to make superheroes fight against evil at least make the story telling effective, and also make an effort to make the action scenes powerful. There are moments in The Marvels where i wonder if they really worked that hard on this film to make it look good, but instead it feels like we are left with an unfinished product that could have been enjoyable. Regarding the female actors i will say that actress Brie Larson is not all terrible, it´s just that she doesn´t do as good as she did in Captain Marvel where her performance was stronger. Even Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury have done stronger performances in the past as this character, and he is actually one of the few highlights in The Marvels so that clearly shows this film is struggling with several issues. So anything positive about to say about The Marvels? There might be a few scenes where i at least found some smaller enjoyable moments, but other than that i am not that impressed with this film. Oh, and the scenes that´s supposed to be funny falls flat to the ground. Director Nia DaCosta have proved in the past she is a good director with Little Woods and the Candyman remake ( a film i actually enjoyed ). Unfortunately it doesn´t feel like she put that much effort into The Marvels to make it a solid superhero film and i am honestly quite bored most of the time. Not as bad as director Albert Pyun´s 1990 version of Captain America, but i am not sure if many people will remember The Marvels in the future.

Rating: DD

fredag 1 mars 2024

It´s A Wonderful Slice

There are so many different kinds of horror fans all over the world. You have the ones who prefer horror films with monsters, or perhaps a simple slasher horror film while others enjoy watching a vampire horror film. I can pretty much watch all categories in horror since i appreciate all kinds of stories, but there is one category i actually appreciate especially when it comes to horror films and that is the genre known as anthology horror. A film told with different stories and different characters, where all stories are usually connected somehow. Not in all cases of course because it depends on what each director had in mind for their story. Either way i do feel that anthology horror is actually a fresh breath of air sometimes when we get a lot of horror releases that remind me of so many similar films. The anthology horror film can actually be more creative and try different paths compared to a traditional horror film. There are so many great anthology horror films out there that it´s difficult to know which ones you should check out. But if you are going to watch one that´s connected to the holiday weekend known as Halloween i would recommend that you pick up a physical copy of the 2020 anthology horror film Bad Candy directed by Scott B. Hansen and Desiree Connell. A film that tells different stories connected with each other where we find actors such as Zach Galligan ( Gremlins ), Kevin Wayne ( Last Seen In Ohio  ) and Corey Taylor ( lead singer of American metal band Slipknot ). What i liked about Bad Candy is that they managed to connect each story in a effective way regarding Halloween weekend by using simple ideas that matched both the characters and the stories. And i have to mention actor Corey Taylor as a radio host is definetely a highlight, you definetely feel that he fits right in there with his charming personality. So if you enjoy Halloween themed films and want to see a good one in the anthology horror category i think Bad Candy is a great choice. Not that long ago i was given an oppurtunity to watch a new anthology Christmas horror film called It´s A Wonderful Slice. To make it more exciting i didn´t watch any trailer or read about the film in general, just to go in knowing as little as possible. Is this a film that will please anthology horror fans or is it not as good as i was hoping it would be?

During the Christmas holiday, a collection of stories are told with different meanings of Santa, Krampus and even an elf. What seemed to be an ordinary Christmas is about to become a celebration on a whole new level.

If you enjoy watching different stories that´s connected to Christmas then this might be what you are looking for. It´s A Wonderful Slice is an anthology horror film that definetely tries to go in so many directions that you never really know what is going to happen. And i actually appreciate that since we don´t want a film to be too predictable and leave some surprises for the audience to enjoy. In some ways you could say that It´s A Wonderful Slice even throw in some Grindhouse vibes, especially where one segment seems to take place in the 70´s and i really enjoy the look of this film in that specific story. The beginning of this film is actually how i would like my Christmas weekend to be, a masked Santa Claus walking around with a machete carrying a cut off head while strolling on the streets to a joyful song. That´s the perfect way to start of an anthology horror film to make sure you capture the true meaning of Christmas, nothing fits the holidays better than carrying around a chopped off head. When it comes to the segments themselves one of my personal favourites is called A Slay To Remember. You get a sense that this segment is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock´s Psycho in some ways where a man known as Alex Waters rents out a house, and he turns out to be some psycho almost like Norman Bates. Of course it´s not on the same level of acting as legendary actor Anthony Perkins but i still find the segment of A Slay To Remember interesting from a psychological perspective. One of the stories that started off pretty good but ended pretty poorly is the segment called Here Wolfie Wolf. If they would have used a werewolf instead of a masked killer this segment could have been much more fun. The next segment helps this film come back on track with the fantastic title Santa´s Got An Axe To Grind where Alex returns from the segment A Slay To Remember. Basically a fun slasher moment with charming dialogue. Overall i would say this is an anthology horror film with enough of enjoyable stories that will most likely be appreciated if you are a fan of this genre. Director Michael Moutsatsos clearly had a good time making this film. You can sense that by the tone of this film, nothing is taken very seriously and he puts these stories together in a simple but effective way. It´s A Wonderful Slice is the film that all of you Meg Ryan fans of her film French Kiss have been waiting for, the only difference is that It´s A Wonerful Slice is far more romantic than you might have expected.

Rating: DDD 

onsdag 28 februari 2024

Killers Of The Flower Moon

I have been a big cinema visitor since i was a young boy in the late 80´s. Back in those days i used to go to the big screen after i made my money selling morning newspapers, and if i had made some extra money i would spend it on another film. Back in those days a film could cost about 50 Swedish kronor compared to 140 Swedish kronor that a ticket cost today so it was easier to see more than one film. I remember when i was 14 years old back in 1990 and i got my ticket to Martin Scorseses latest film Godfellas, a mobster film that critics were calling one of the best films of that year. I wasn´t allowed to go see this film since you had to be 15 years old to get into the screening but since i knew the cinema worker Michael he knew how much i loved director Martin Scorsese and he let me in. That was one of those magical moments i will never forget from one of the greatest cinema experiences i have ever had. Godfellas was truly an amazing film with a perfect cast. No matter if we are talking about the acting performances of Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and many other actors this really is one of the true iconic motion pictures from legendary director Martin Scorsese. After Godfellas i actually went to see every single motion picture that Martin Scorsese released in cinema. Interesting enough i would say that ever film i have seen him direct have been fascinating for different reasons. One of my personal favourite 90´s films from director Martin Scorsese ( not as good as Godfellas but still a classic ) is the 1995 crime drama Casino that reunited Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the difference was of course that this film focused on a plot regarding a famous casino in Las Vegas. Here we find sports handicapper and Mafia associate Sam "Ace" Rothstein ( Robert De Niro ) who is sent by the Chicago Outfit to Las Vegas to run the Tangiers Casino, with frontman Philip Green ( Kevin Pollack ). Sam soon doubles the casino´s profits, so to make sure Sam is safe Chicago boss Remo Gaggi ( Pasquale Cajano ) Sam´s childhood friend and mob enforcer Nicky Santoro ( Joe Pesci ) to protect Sam. Casino is not only one of the greatest casino films ever made but this is a very powerful mobster drama as well with really good acting performances. A film you definetely need to watch on streaming or on a physical copy. Speaking of Martin Scorsese he released his latest film Killers Of The Flower Moon last year, a film i have really been looking forward to see. Especially since it was going to tell a story that includes the lives of indigenous people. Is the film Killers Of The Flower Moon another proof of why director Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, or is it not as powerful as i was hoping it would be?

In 1919, Ernest Burkhart ( Leonardo Di Caprio ) returns from World War I to live with his brother Byron Burkhart ( Scott Shepherd ) and uncle William King Hale ( Robert De Niro ) on Hale´s large reservation ranch. Ernest soon meets Mollie Kyle ( Lily Gladstone ), an Osage whose family owns oil headrights. They decide to get married in an Osage ceremony and over the next years have 3 wonderful children together. Hale secretely orders the contract killings of multiple wealthy Osage. He explains that Ernest inherit more headrights if more of Mollie´s family dies. Mollie is suffering with diabetes while her mother Lizzie Q ( Tantoo Cardinal ) is ill. More Osage people end up being killed just so Hale´s plan will be successfull, but will it work if the truth is revealed?

If you are a true fan of director Martin Scorsese just like myself i can guarantee that you will enjoy Killers Of The Flower Moon. Even if this is in many ways a different film from what he have done in the past, you can still feel that Scorsese knows exactly what he is doing. I am especially talking about his unique way to direct his films where you can actually sense that this feels like it´s taking place in the year of 1919 and other years following. The costume design looks really good and as always you can trust that director Martin Scorsese have made sure that the characters are interesting. The biggest power that Killers Of The Flower Moon is the quality of acting that we get in this film. Especially from legendary actor Robert De Niro and Leonard Di Caprio in their scenes together. These two actors are the perfect example of how you want professional actors to perform on screen. Their dialogue is smooth, powerful and will definetely make a strong impact on you. I would especially say that Leonardo Di Caprio as Ernest is one of those characters i think a lot of people could feel a connection to. On one hand he is a family father who cares for his family but hes also struggling with personal issues, while he may not be the most smartest individual. One of the strongest acting performances comes from actress Lily Gladstone playing the Osage woman Mollie. There are several scenes where you can feel her pain as she see her people being murdered and no one seems to care. One of the issues i have with this film is that i think director Martin Scorsese should have shown even more of the brutality, how indigenous people have been brutally murdered, and experienced a lot of racism hate over so many years. He does show some scenes of some murders but i think in a film that´s 3 hours and 20 minutes that could have been done much more graphical. If you are going to show reality of indigenous people i think you should do it properly as truthful as possible. Otherwise i still feel that this is a very interesting drama that´s not only interesting from a historical perspective, but i also feel that people should be aware that racism have always been a part of society. Director Martin Scorsese may not have done his best film with Killers Of The Flower Moon but it is definetely a film you will enjoy if you like his previous work. If you can sit through 3 hours and 25 minutes this is a film that have a lot of important issues to talk about. I wouldn´t be susprised if Killers Of The Flower Moon bring home at least two Oscar statues this year, there is a lot to appreciate about the qualities of this film. A must see if you are a true Martin Scorsese fan.

Rating: DDDD