Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
The fourth entry in the series and somewhat notorious for being abandoned by its original director, Kevin Yagher, and ended up being credited to that infamous fella Alan Smithee. However, there's some good ideas in there and the concept is intriguing, if clumsily executed. Doug Bradley returns to the role of Pinhead, though he's given very little to do this time around. The main focus is on the Merchant family bloodline that is troubled by its creation of the Lament Configuration Box. Still, I don't mind it all that much - but the series goes into rapid decline from this point onwards. The Blu from Echo Bridge/Miramax looks very nice but still isn't quite enough to save the film. It's undoubtedly a muddled mess and it would have been much better, in all probabilty, if Yagher had actually finished what he'd started. I won't pick up any of the films on Blu past this point though, they're simply not good enough to warrant another viewing - not even in Hi-Def.
The Bodyguard (1992)
How did I end up watching this? Anyway, it's the usual Hollywood fluff with Kevin Costner assigned to protect Whitney Windbags and they end up becoming intimate and then there's something about a stalker and an assassin. I dunno, really, lost interest well before this point. Still, the Blu looks nice and the good lady enjoyed it. I'm going have to recalibrate my brain now and watch something decent.
I suppose if you approach the film as a Hollywood-lite action thriller from the early 90's it's alright but nothing special.
The Great Silence (1968)
Jean-Louis Trintignant is Silence, a mute gun-for-hire who has a unique method to dispatch those he's hired to kil - he provokes them into drawing on him and he's legally entitled to defend himself. However, when Pauline (the lovely Vonetta McGee, better known from Blacula) hires him to kill her husband's murderer, Loco (Klaus Kinski), Silence knows he's met his match. Loco has twigged to how Silence does business and refuses to be provoked into drawing his gun. There's some great scenery, Kinski and Trintignant on top form - and a totally unexpected and thoroughly bleak ending. Unmissable Spag Western this one - and it really needs a good release and properly remastered. Recommended.
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Picked this up on Blu as a double feature with Last Man Standing. Willis is washed-up detective Joe Hallenbeck who takes on a case involving the protection of a young exotic dancer (Halle Berry). When she is brutally gunned down in the street, Willis finds himself paired up with her boyfriend, Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans), and they begin to uncover a conspiracy to introduce sports gambling that would benefit a few powerful men. There's corrupt politicians, crooked cops, bad gangsters and lots of bombs and gunfights. It's all good early 90's action fun. And directed by the late Tony Scott. Guess he won't be making a sequel then.
'Just once, I'd like to hear you scream.'
'Play some rap music.' Anamorph (2007)
Stan Aubray (Willem Dafoe) is a Detective who recently solved a serial killer case. However, when bodies start turning up again with the same MO, it's up to Stan to unravel the puzzles the killer leaves behind and to stop him. It sounds better than it is and I found it all a bit dull and slow moving. There's some gruesomeness, but it's not really enough to save the film. Dafoe is good, but he deserves to be in better films than this. It's all a bit forgettable.
The Social Network (2010)
The true story of how Mark Zuckerberg (played here by Jesse Eisenberg) created Facebook and turned it into a global phenomenon and made him a cool few billion dollars in the process. However, it also pulls no punches in showing his dysfunctionality and how he'll cross and double-cross anyone who gets in his way, no matter who they are. This results in many pissed off people, all of whom want to sue him. It's a quirky and entertaining film and I enjoyed it.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Johnny Depp is Raoul Duke (aka Hunter S. Thompson) who is assigned to cover a racing event in the sands of the Nevada desert. However, Raoul and his psychotic sidekick, Dr Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), take the opportunity to embark on a series of outrageous drug-fuelled adventures.
It's all pulled off brilliantly between Del Toro, Depp and Gilliam. Really enjoyed revisiting one again on Blu-ray, which looks stunning.
Insidious (2010)
A young family move into a new home but things are not as they seem and the wife soon comes to believe the house is haunted and that something malevolent is after their son. So they move home again quickly, but the haunting continues. They come to suspect that it is in fact their son who is the root of the manifestations.
It's nice to see the guys behind Saw doing something at the other end of the scale - there's no buckets of gore here. Instead what we have is a finely crafted ghost story which relies more on atmosphere and creepiness, which is very effective for the most part. Not bad at all.
The Raven (2012)
John Cusack is Edgar Allan Poe - he has a drink problem and he can't write. He's also very broke. But then bodies start piling up, all murdered in the fashion as detailed in Poe's stories. The police draft in Poe to help with the case and when his lover is abducted by the killer, Poe finds himself in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the killer. It's nicely done and I really enjoyed it. The only thing that annoyed me was when the newspapers had the headline 'Serial Killer'. The term wasn't used until at least 1966, so this would never have appeared in print back in the 1800's. That pedantic note aside, it's a really good film.
Last Man Standing (1996)
Director Walter Hill takes Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars (the latter a remake of the former) and mixes it up to create a strange western/gangster hybrid. Bruce Willis is John Smith who arrives in the deserted border town of Jericho where two warring gangster clans fight for the monopoly of the bootlegging business they're both involved in. Smith starts playing them off against each other until all hell breaks loosse.
The last time I saw this was on a VHS release when it first came out and I didn't think much of it. So, having it on Blu paired with Last Boy Scout, I thought I'd give it another go. This time around I loved it. You can almost feel the heat and dust coming off the screen and Hill directs with flair and confidence. The gunfights are great with people literally flying across the screen when they're shot. Yeah, I really enjoyed this and had a new appreciation of the film. Recommended.
The Phantom Ship (1936)
A captain shangais a crew to work his ship to carry him his and his bride-to-be. The ship is the ill-fated Mary Celeste and we all know what happened there! Anyway, it's a decent vintage mystery shot on an obvious shoestring budget, but Lugosi is always fun to watch.
Demons (1985)
A mysterious masked man hands out tickets to a free showing of a film at a nearby cinema. Once there the patrons are subject to a gory horror film, not realising that what's playing on screen is starting to happen in their midst. It's all good gory fun and the Blu from Arrow is a stunner. It looks amazing.
Demons 2 (1987)
This time it's an apartment block and the demons are possessing all its occupants until it's all madness and mayhem. Not as good as the first one, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Bobby Rhodes returns with such profound dialogue as 'Move it! Move it! Move it!' A step up from 'Smash everything! Smash everything! SMASH EVERYTHING!' from the first Demons I suppose.
Again, a stunning Blu from Arrow.
Lockout (2012)
This Luc Besson inspired sci-fi actioner revolves around Snow (Guy Pearce) accused of a crime he didn't commit. But when the space station prison he's due to be sent to is taken over by the criminals, Snow is assigned to go in and get back the president's daughter, who is being held hostage.
It's all noise and fluff, but I really quite enjoyed this. Some nice action set pieces and Pearce gives a nice performance as the disaffected Snow. Worth a look.
Child's Play (1988)
Chris Sarandon is the cop who kills murderer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) in a toy store. Ray manages to transfer his spirit to a Good Guys doll. This doll finds its way to young Andy Barclay, but no-one is aware of the evil lurking within...
I've always had a soft spot for the film and I enjoyed seeing it again in HD - the BD transfer is astonishingly good and priced at £6.99 you can't go wrong. Tom Holland was a great director - whatever happened to him?
The Raid (2011)
A police team is assigned the dangerous job of entering a tower block that's owned and run by criminal gangs and to extract their notorious leader. But things are more tricky than they imagined and soon the bullets and fists are flying in a wildly delerious cinematic ride. Really enjoyed this. The film hardly takes a breath and moves at a breakneck pace - no time to get bored here!
Embodiment of Evil (1988)
Coffin Joe (Jose Majica Marins) returns to conclude his trilogy 40 years later. Josefel/Coffin Joe has spent 40 years incarcerated and the state finally decides to release him. However, he hasn't changed at all and is soon back to his old tricks. He wants to finally accomplish the 'continuity of blood' by fathering a child with the perfect woman. But this proves more difficult then he thought. It's all nicely done and although the film lurches all over the place, it all makes a weird kind of sense. There's also a string streak of black humour running throughout. Some of the dialogue as translated by the subs is hilarious though, my favourite being:
'When you find the bastard, shout out "Here's the bastard!"' Badlands (1973)
Kit Carruthers (Martin Sheen) kills father Warren Oates and makes off with his daughter, Holly (Sissy Spacek), and set off on a random killing spree across the Badlands of Montana. Based on the true life serial killing exploits of Charles Starkweather and his young cohort Carol-Ann Fugate, director Terrence Malick tells the story dispassionately and without judgement or morality. It's powerful, potent stuff and really shows the utter pointlessness of violence - that there's no real reason or logic to it. An absolute classic and brilliently done in every way. Recommended if you've never seen it.
What really struck me, though, is how much of this film Tarantino ripped off for both Natural Born Killers and True Romance. I'm guessing this film was a big influence on the young Tarantino.