Merry Xmas all
5 movies/releases I've see recently and my thoughts thereof
Tam Lin - This was the year my top 2 desired blu releases came true (Seconds was the other). Actually this happened in 2012 as well (Island of Lost Souls) but I digress, Tam Lin is no lost Wicker Man, but it's a full on entertaining 60s bad trip with beautiful Scottish Borders scenery, a youthful Ian McShane (fresh from The Pleasure Girls Flipside fans), Ava Gardners final performance, cool Pentangle folk music and a great freak out last 15 minutes. Picture quality immaculate. For all it's longuers this is a solid purchase.
Pacific Rim - if ever a movie shot it's duff in the first 15 minutes this is it. Basic problem - there are no consequences to any of this stuff, it's destruction in a cgi void, yawn.
The Act of Killing - The film of the year hype is true, this is an unbelievable piece of work. Werner Herzog is on the Blu ray commentary - can't wait to hear it (saw this on C4). I've actually been to Medan where this was filmed and can confirm it's an utter hellhole, the most uncomfortable city I've ever visited.
The Uninvited - when Criterion do a horror movie, I jump. This is an old fashioned ghost story - the comic relief and gender stereotyping has obviously dated, but, you know, who cares, it's still gorgeous looking and surprisingly creepy as well as psychologically acute.
Deranged - For me the most underrated horror movie there is. Tom Savinis 'not long dead', putrescent corpses are seriously disturbing, I can't think of another borderline mainstream horror (Nekromantik comes close, but isn't even in the same postcode as mainstream) which distorts reality in such a banal yet profound way as this one. Bravo Arrow, by the way for a stellar year.
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