Assassins 1995

Ageing hitman Robert Rath wants to retire but coaxed in for some more hits, he is labled the best, when his last hit is compromised he decides to keep his mark alive, computer tech Electra and take out young hit man Miguel Bain.

This is a highly engaging cat and mouse thriller brought on by the two main stars Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas as the two hitman, Banderas wants to live upto the phrase "out with the old, in with the new" senario.

Written by The Wachowski's and directed by Richard Donner, the pace does start off well and gets better with shot outs, explosions and some mind psych playing by Bain which adds to his menacing persona. Julianne Moore portayal as Electra is wonderful to watch as she has no idea what she is involved with and if she can be trusted as she can have the innocent little girl look to picking up a gun. Only downside i felt with the movie was the ending seemed to be a bit rushed but still a good movie. 8 out of 10.

Oculus

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I'd heard a lot of good stuff about this film and seeing as i like Karen Gillan i decided to settle in last night and give this the once over.

i thought this was above average as a modern horror film, because it is pretty well acted and shot, but wasn't as impressed as i expected.

I liked Absentia by the same director when i saw it, and this was enjoyable as it played out but i found myself not that satisfied as the film ended.

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Gillan is good but seems reserved compared to other stuff i'd seen her in, to me this felt because of the American accent she uses in this film, the idea is interesting and it was nice to see "Battlestar G's" Katie Sackhoff as the mother in a meaty role.:cool:

The problem i had was that the past/present blending elements took me out of the story, and although i appreciated that our understanding of events changes the more stuff is revealed over time, i found it a bit forced.

Also the "is this actually happening" aspect made the haunting less threatening somehow.

And the end i saw coming a mile off.

Overall 6.5 / 10 :pop2:

I'm in the same boat as you here. I genuinely did enjoy it, but it definitely didn't live up the hype. It was decent though.

Death Wish

Eli Roth remaking Michael Winner's 70's vigilante flick was never going to be popular. The big question is, is the film as terrible as the online reaction to it suggested. Honestly no. Winner spectacularly missed the point of the novel with his screen adaptation but in spite of that the film worked thanks to the location shoots on the mean and filthy streets of New York give it a memorable tone and Bronson was the right age to play the worn out Paul Kersey. For this new film Roth pretty much ignores both the winner film and the original novel. Instead we have a dead eyed Bruce Willis whose spent the last decade screwing over his legacy by starring in junk. Here this worn out, weary as hell old grouch routine works fine. The film has zero subtlety and suffers from the comparison to the original. However if your able to divorce it from the Bronson flicks its actually reasonably entertaining if not more than a little forgettable. Pretty much the epitome of a 5/10 movie if ever I saw one.

Cargo

Possibly the best Netflix original film. That said its not like its really got any stiff competition. However the film, an odyssey where a polite and ineffectual husband plays by Martin Freeman gets bit by a zombie and must make his way across the Australian outback looking for someone to care for his infant daughter. Its like the Arnie film Maggie but actually good, where the stakes are genuinely high and the world is rapidly disintegrating into chaos. Its not a happy film, in fact its pretty tragic throughout. However if you enjoyed Maggie and the dead, both films that have some similarities its definitely worth a go.

City on fire

Ask a lot of film fans about city on fire the first thing they'll say is "oh that's the film Tarantino ripped off for Reservoir dogs". Clearly indicating that either they've only seen the two clips from the entire 100 minute film that have any similarity whatsoever or they read it somewhere and are just parroting the opinion.
City on fire is a lean, mean and hard boiled crime thriller about undercover cop Chow Yun Fat in over his head as an undercover cop infiltrating a gang of jewel thieves led by HK veteran Danny Lee. Naturally things go south and the gang end up turning on each other in a bloody and tragic climax. Structurally it has nothing in common with Reservoir dogs and feels more like a HK attempt at producing a Michael Mann cops and robbers flick. Reservoir dogs probably has as much in common with Joseph Sargents Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 and A Bande Apart. Hell Leone stole way more for fistful of Dollars as did Carpenter with Assault on precinct 13. Anyways. City on fire has hit Blu-ray courtesy of Fortune star and looks great. Certainly worth picking up.

Solo a star wars story.

Starting off weakly, Solo picks up somewhat as it goes along and by the end is fine. Its held up by some decent cast turns including Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Woody Harrelson as a grizzled thief and Han's mentor. If your looking to take the kids to see something bland but entertaining then you could do worse.

Bank Holiday Round Up
 

Wes Craven presents Mind Ripper. (1995)

A gory tv movie derivative of Alien set in a secret underground lab where scientists are developing a super soldier who obviously breaks loose and goes on a killing spree. Lance Henriksen stars with Giovanni Ribisi as his annoying son (Think Frank from Friends here).

Although it's fast paced it's also deadly dull, it's best scenes usually featuring Henriksen talking, although it almost redeemed itself with a great plane escape finale.

Hands of Steel (1986)

Daniel Greene plays a cyborg assassin who goes on the run when his human side prevails during an assignment.

Again an extremely derivative film but this time from the Italians, namely Sergio Martino. Where this works and Mind Ripper failed is in the characterization. Everyone here is great, Greene as the tortured cyborg, Janet Agren as a watering hole owner and George Eastman and John Saxon as the villains. Several arm wresting sequences (done really well i might add) mean the film is reminiscent of Over the Top (1987) although it clearly doesn't rip it off as this came first, as well as the Terminator films.

Likable characters, fine tension filled direction from Martino, some great Arizona locations and gripping action ensure Hands of Steel is a bit of an eighties gem.

Deadfall (2012)

Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde play brother and sister en route from Michigan to Canada with a bag full of stolen cash. Near the border the car they are in leaves the road, killing the driver, leaving the two stranded in blizzard conditions. Meanwhile Charley Hunnam, a former Olympic boxer, released from prison is headed in the same direction to reconcile with his parents - Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek.

I really enjoyed this snowbound thriller. Basically just a road trip for the first hour before everyone converges on Kristofferson's out of the way retreat including Treat Williams and Kate Mara as the local sheriff and his deputy daughter. Again it's derivative but still nicely written with well thought out characters, the film focusing on family ties as much as crime, culminating in a final half hour of tension packed, gripping viewing.

The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962)

Early Spanish shocker from Jess Franco starring Howard Vernon as Orloff, a sadistic doctor who sends his slave-like, blind henchman, Morpho, to kidnap women in order to repair his disfigured daughters body via skin grafts.

Very Frankenstein like with added nudity and breast groping from Orloff and Morpho. This isn't a bad take from Franco on the classic Gothic horror style. A nicely brooding atmosphere is punctuated with gory violence and sleazy nudity (for the early sixties) all shot in stark black and white. Franco showcases his cinematography skills in shots the likes of Lewton and Whale would be proud of in this prime Gothic run-around.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

I hadn't read any reviews of this prior to watching it (I still haven't read any) and my only information was from the two trailers I'd caught at the cinema, things which left me fairly unimpressed and not exactly in a rush to see the film. So, on a cloudy bank holiday Monday (though one which is now beautifully sunny), I went to a fairly quiet Cineworld to see if the film would live down to expectations or leave me pleasantly surprised.

I suppose the verdict is a bit of both because the pacing is not at all consistent and the film can be very sluggish or quite exciting depending on what is happening and who is on screen, and why. It probably goes without saying that Alden Ehrenreich doesn't have the wit, charisma, or screen presence of Harrison Ford because, let's face it, few actors do. Therefore, it only took about five minutes before I (consciously or unconsciously) decided to treat this as a stand-alone film and not one related to the other Star Wars films, comparing it to films like Serenity, The Fifth Element, and Starship Troopers instead.

It is weaker than all of those and even doesn't stand up with the best films that Ron Howard has helmed over the years. The story is occasionally engaging and the ILM affects are stunning, but the action and 'space chase' sequences are nowhere near as gripping as those in Serenity or even the Guardians of the Galaxy films, probably because I knew the Millennium Falcon was not going to be blasted to bits by Tie fighters or sucked into a fiery black hole during the Kessel Run with Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian in the position to tell anyone they did it in under 12 parsecs rather than any major failings in the direction or editing. That said, Apollo 13 was based on real events and that's much more suspenseful! It's telling that perhaps the most engaging and visually impressive sequence the entire film, a robbery on a moving train was good, but less engaging than a similar one on Firefly; I've no idea whether that's down to the filmmaking or characters.

I felt the cast did very well with the material they had, with Ehrenreich as a decent leading man, Emilia Clarke showing she is as comfortable on the big screen as on HBO, Donald Glover is a charming and engaging version of Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson decent enough as Tobias Beckett, the grizzled space pirate who gives Han a chance, and Paul Bettany evil enough as the crime lord and main antagonist. However, I never thought the writing was strong enough, whether in world building or dialogue, and that's a major downfall in the film like this with so much mythology and information to draw on and put into the locations, characters, and events.

Overall, it's a solid, but largely underwhelming film which could, and should, have been so much better.

Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt 2004

19th centuary Spain, a spate of killings is happening which seems to be blamed by wild animals but is it, is a man able to transform into a werewolf of is it just a serial killer who thinks he is a wolf.

Based on the real life story of travelling vendor Miguel Romasanta decendant of the royal family who was tried for 13 killings, i read about him before watching this film, i was expecting it to be a low budget, crap effects movie, i was wrong about that.

This was a decent movie thats close to the historical fact surrounding the story of Romasanta. Julian Sands plays the lead character, that keeps you guessing wether he is a wolf or just a Hannibal Lector type personality, Im still wondering if its a horror movie or just a psychological thriller with added twists and turns mixed with some dark gothic scenario, well worth at watch 8 out of 10.

Sounds...er interesting.

Something like this i imagine.

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fooking el dafto, Meant Julian Sands but changed it to Clary, blame my missus she mentioned Julian Clary while i was typing

I can imagine what she said to you -

"You're not going out looking like Julian Clary again are you?"

;)

Told her thats my new saturday night wear :lol:

Ready
Player
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Did anyone else have a little tear in their eye at the start of the Overlook bit then?? Cough. Just me then. Pantwettingly simplistic paternalistic putrescence. Willy Wonka. The fricking Goonies. For all that I was cheering them on. Bad Adults!! Nice Kong I conceed... (3 plus points for Marvin The Marian :pound:)

NEXT!!!

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Socialite Jen is raped and then pushed off a desert cliff face by her secret lover and his friends.
Managing to free herself after being impaled through the side by a tree, Jen hides from the three men who have discovered her body is missing from the bottom of the cliff and hunt for her. Jen then seizes her chance at revenge when she spots a rifle left unattended..

Beautifully shot in desert locations, this revenge flick looks great.
Some nice bloody mayhem as a filthy and bloody Jen in her underwear no less, gives it to the guys full blast!

Well worth checking out :nod:

On the plus side i overheard some kids leaving the theatre asking their parents if they could watch the shining.

Don't get me wrong. I know it seems like I hate everything I don't highly recommend :lol::rolleyes: ... these are just overall impressions. Impressionistic as some of them are ... they are mostly declarations of love. I look forward to watching it again. In fact, it inspired me to finally peruse Minority Report :laugh:.

Just wait til you see what I think of that ... :pound:


And I meant Marvin the MARTIAN :behindsofa:

The Incredible Hulk. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is on the run, not just trying to control the beast within but also to stop a corrupt General (William Hurt) getting his hands on the formula that could create other Hulks for military use. Never seen this 2008 version of the story before, but it's pretty good (as is Norton) and surprisingly enjoyable. There are some nice nods to the tv series too, in dialogue, music and a TV clip from Bill Bixby in a different show.:nod:

I like Minority report up until the point it should stop but keeps going. It rips off a key scene from LA confidential then stumbles along to an awful Spielberg ending.

:laugh:

That saves me a job :lol:

Seriously ... am rereading the story before I post. It's that bad :pound:. So, light your slippers and stoke the brandy for that one ;)

Night!!

The Man with the Iron Heart (2017)

In 1942, the Czech resistance in London sends two young recruits to Prague to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the ruthless Nazi leader and head of the SS who devised The Final Solution.

The story of Heydrich also known as The Butcher of Prague isn't a story i was particularly familiar with. This French film is a fairly graphic depiction of the atrocities he dealt out to the Czech civilians as well as the Poles and German Jews.

Then around the half way point we leave Heydrich and join up with Jack O' Connell and Jack Reynor as the Czech assassins in their plot to kill Heydrich. It really was a film of two halves, the first being a biopic with the second feeling like a WWII movie with an edge of the seat finale.

It's a well made film with good production design and performances that get under the skin of the viewer and although Jason Clarke is no Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List) when it comes to the acting stakes he still portrayed this despicable person with real malevolence.

I really enjoyed this, if enjoyed is indeed the right word.

Endured?
Like I endured Minority Report :laugh:

It's coming ....

But in ze meanwhile ... a little light relief with the Argento Dawn Of The Dead.
What with Goblin pushing the action on like a freight train, and Dario being less concerned with sociology, it's ideal for a sunny night in fact (which is just as well ;)).
:nod:

The Mountain of the Cannibal God

Sergio Martino’s infamous cannibal movie begins with an intertitle explaining how, perhaps in an effort to begin proceedings with an air of authenticity, all events are set in an area of the world in which cannibalism is still practised. In today’s world of the Internet and travel documentaries where there are barely any areas of the world which carry such mystery, such a plot device would be an instant failure, but in 1978, I guess some people would happily leave such nonsense. Anyway, the action begins with (of all things) a plane from Pakistan International Airlines landing (maybe it was an unusual US-Pakistan-Papua New Guinea flight) and introducing us to Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) and her step brother, Arthur, whose brother, Henry, has gone missing

The unlikely duo team up with local explorer Dr. Edward Foster (Stacey Keach) who agrees to help them. As Martino happily admits in the accompanying Raro Video featurette ‘Cannibal Nightmare’, it’s a film of two halves: the first sees people wandering around a jungle and encountering all manner of exotic horrors, though thankfully not most of the footage of the monitor lizard being stabbed and gutted, nor the monkey being eaten alive, before we find the truth about Dr. Foster, where they are going and what has likely happened to Arthur Stephenson.

This doesn’t have the narrative audacity of Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust, nor the outright repugnance of Umberto Lenzi’s Cannibal Ferox, films that remain interesting because they because of their structure and gratuitous violence, though Lenzi’s film isn’t as structurally challenging as Deodato’s film. Compared to them, it’s fairly tame in terms of its violence, both that inflicted on humans and animals, but the locations and characters make it compelling enough for a watch with fairly modern and jaded eyes, particularly ones which were glad not to see the worst excesses of the animal violence. However, it was particularly strange to sit through ‘Cannibal Nightmare’ and see scene in which the lizard is butchered in its entirety, a sequence significantly trimmed for the main feature.

The Shameless release looks and sounds superb thanks to the 2K remaster and the inclusion of the 46 minute featurette, part of which comprises the brief Sergio Martino on Animal Cruelty feature, in which he describes how the monkey met its unfortunate demise, something he profoundly regrets. If you have any interest in the jungle-set cannibal films, whether it’s a genuine liking of them, or morbid curiosity, this is a reasonable entry and a fine package of the film.

Watching the Cronenberg commentary on Existenz, fascinating, literate & as good as the film itself. Will be getting my other Cronenberg commentaries out for a listen, and there are 2 more on the Existenz blu to go through.

Up next....Avengers Assemble to bring phase one to a close!

Martin Mcdonagh? Start with his short Six Shooter then .... enjoy the rest. I have. :nod:

Bloodbath at the House of Death (1983)

Scientists Kenny Everett and Pamela Stephenson along with several others stay at the secluded mansion, Headstone Manor, where 18 people were killed one night some years before by a satanic cult.

I've always been up in the air about Bloodbath at the House of Death and last night was no different. Some of it is sublime - death by can opener, having Vincent Price cussing, Cleo Rocos and the mole, Pamela Stephenson in general and the various movie pastiches - "I guess i'll never see you again", yet i've never felt the story in general offers enough to be involving.

Price and his satanic cult seems barely an afterthought, no tension is built up to their arrival and it's all a bit flat in the horror aspects a few grizzly murders aside so it's lucky the comedy and subtle one liners make up for it.

Having said all that i do get the feeling it grows in stature with each viewing as i much preferred it last night than the other two airings it's had.

Minority Report (Steven Spielberg)

I finally processed it. You all can't wait can you? :rolleyes:
... (draws breathe) The Cruiser is a cog in das machinen. Life there seems like HELL. Being watched for something you might do ... would produce the mindset for murder eventually surely. Like with me when Farrell turns up:laugh:.
But, begorrah he's actually involved in the most violent death that I've witnessed in a 12 in all my icebox.
This is the apex of this review.
Dick is hard to translate to the screen purely because it is about the human condition that has evolved alongside with technology, and not just a load of old flashback tripe you've stolen anyway Stevie!! Really made me angry. I love my Dick. Hands off Hollywood!!!




Did I get away with it then??

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)

A documentary tells the factual story of the disastrous attempts to make a 1990's film version of H.G. Wells's "The Island of Dr. Moreau", in which the films original director, Richard Stanley, was eventually fired from.

This documentary is highly entertaining, with some larger than life anecdotes about the antics of Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer and Richard Stanley, among other things, from some of the cast and crew involved in its making.

I highly recommend this. 8/10

Nomads (1986)

Leslie Anne Down stars as a nurse bitten by a raving dying patient (Pierce Brosnan) and is haunted by psychic images of the man's past showing him moving into a new LA home that was frequented by Nomads - evil spirits in human form who wander the deserts of the earth.

The feature debut of director John McTiernan is an enigmatic film that cross cuts between Brosnan's persecution and hunt for the spirits and Down's psychic breakdown. The spirits lead by Adam Ant take the form of a motorcycle gang that wreak havoc and kill during the dark Californian nights.

It's all rather gripping and mysterious stuff, lacking gore or anything particularly horrific it all plays out with a weird atmosphere of dread under the LA lights. Brosnan is excellent, even his French accent isn't too distracting and the non-linear story never becomes confusing and works very well to create a nicely effective film.

Nomads is a film i've seen a few times now and it never bores. Would make a terrific double bill with Wolfen (1981)

The Void (2016)

Second watch for this well reviewed horror from 2016. Listing Lovecraft, Carpenter & Romero as well as Fulci amongst it's influences, I wanted to love this but it's just a mess, incoherant, lots of strobe lighting. Sometimes unexplained horror is the best, here it's just a muddled fusion of The Mist, In the Mouth of Madness & some other random stuff.

Good gore, atmosphere is present & correct, may watch it again in 3 years so never say never.

3/10

Insidious: The Last Key. 2018

Psychic Elise goes back to her childhood home to confront the evils of her past with her team, Specs and Tucker.

This is a direct sequel to part 3, and this was enjoyable as the previous movies with some twists and blink and miss it moments added in extras.

The plot centres on Elise in a small flashback to her childhood and then back to the present, some films that have done that in the past have been confusing but this one thankfully doesn't have those bits that leaves you scratching your head.

Only downside to this is the deleted scenes, they would help the film play out a bit longer and be more suspenseful. If you are going to watch these films back to back play them in this order, part 3, part 4, part 1, part 2, and watch in the dark. 7 out of 10.

The Friends Of Eddie Coyle - Probably one of my top ten films of all time with arguably one of Robert Mitchum’s greatest performances (and boy is there some competition). Mitchum plays the titular character, a down on his luck figure on the fringes of the Boston Irish mob who is looking at a stretch inside and is working his hardest to provide some cash for his working class family and perhaps avoid his sentence. Peter Boyle also pops up as a character in a similar position, although his head is slightly more above water. Cracking stuff. 9/10

ExistenZ - While I’ve always considered ExistenZ a minor work from Cronenberg, it’s a film I’ve always enjoyed... until last night. For some reason it really irked me. I found the dialogue clunky and too on the nose and the performances range from poor to adequate. Still, thematically it’s interesting and there’s still enough there to keep you interested. It hasn’t aged well though which is odd as most of Cronenberg’s work has aged like fine wine. 5/10

The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

To me The Evil of Frankenstein is more of a curiosity than a genuine entry in the Hammer Frankenstein series. Co-produced by Universal Studios, this ignores the first two Hammer Frankenstein films (Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) ) and gives itself a re-boot with a newly created history in flashback that borrows much from Universal's own Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1945).

Given Universal's interference the monster utilised aspects of Jack Pierce's original Karloff monster design but it all looks so clunky and cardboardy. The ever excellent Peter Cushing gives a spirited performance as the Baron as does Peter Woodthorpe as Zoltan, a hypnotist who gains control of the Baron's creation to carry out his own nefarious deeds.

All in all, The Evil of Frankenstein isn't a bad film, yet it isn't wonderful either. The monster doesn't appear properly until the last half hour and the re-boot flashback structure of the film's opening half hour slows things down to a snails pace. There are plot contrivances in order to win over a new Universal Horror audience but these make the film's storyline and especially the dialogue appear quite clumsy and poorly written.

A more detailed review appears here. https://www.cult-labs.com/forums/mem...tml#post577375

Hysteria Lives commentary for Rawhead Rex, this is my third viewing of Rawhead in two weeks, very happy with all of the extras, I'm trying to go through everything before filing away as I have a ton of discs with unwatched extras (including loads of Hysteria Lives comms) sitting in the loft.

Tried watching the huge doc on Arrow's Night of the Hunter but got bored after 30 mins as not engrossing.
Started the equally mammoth Kong doc (2 hours 38 mins) on the Premium release, this one is engrossing & well worth a watch!
I have all my Cronnenberg discs down to go through the extras & have 2 left to go on Existenz alone. Also brought down Re Animator as I wanted to justify buying the Umbrella release....but I can't. Second sight's release of the first & Arrow's release of Bride are pretty much the last word on those 2, and the interviews on Arrow's release of Beyond Re Animator pretty much cover everything.
Will be getting Dagon, although it's missing the Gordon commentary from the r1 dvd.

Watched the purge films for the first time this is how i rate them

Purge 6.5/10
Purge anarchy 7.5/10
Purge election year 7/10


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCoDf44oCE

Great prequel too planet of the apes while it might not be quite the classic the first film is it's superior to the sequels. Sadly it and its sequels are dismissed by some , which is a shame as they are good films, which is largely thanks to Andy Serkis amazing performance as Caesar who portrays such depth and emotion in Caesar. 8.5/10

Now watching independence day.

Really like this film. Bit of a bladder basher, as you say, but pretty unique.

A couple of French language films from NOW TV before the cinema subscription runs out:

The Brand New Testament

In this absurdist Belgian comedy, God is a complete bastard. He is a hard drinking, heavy smoking cruel and indicative man who lives in Brussels, takes delight in the fact his son was stupid enough to get caught and executed, verbally abuses his wife and beats his 10-year-old daughter, Ea. He created human kind because he was bored and chickens and giraffes weren't interesting enough, making such rules as the optimum amount of sleep is always 10 minutes more, a slice of bread and jam will always land jam side down, and the next queue always moves faster than the one you're in for his own entertainment.

After a consultation with her brother, Ea decides to sabotage his computer and escape their tiny apartment so she can recruit six apostles (to make 18 in total, the same number as on a baseball team, something which will make her mother happy) to write a new book and improve the world. Before escaping, she sends out a message to everyone on earth informing them how much time they have left before they die, something which has both hilarious and tragic results.

The premise sounded interesting and I did worry that the film wouldn't live up to its promise, but fortunately it does and the apostles, plus the man, Victor, she convinces to write the book, Ea recruits are interesting and funny characters with a degree of tragedy and comedy to their situations. If you have Sky Cinema this is well worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsh_wFI0uMU

Raw

Another film in the world cinema section, and one which stood out because of its premise: Justine is a staunch vegetarian enrols at a prestigious veterinarian school (joining her sister and following in the footsteps of both parents). Along with the other rookies, she is faced with a series of initiation tasks, one of which is to eat a raw rabbit's liver. Because of our upbringing, this decision is not an easy one, but what happens has far reaching consequences. It's probably not too much of a spoiler to say that unlocks a previously hidden appetite, and one that extends well beyond bunnies!

I didn't realise this when I began watching it, but it's a film that critics, particularly Mark Kermode, have championed, with Kermode giving it five stars in his Observer review and considering it one of the best films of last year. It's easy to see why because the writing and directing by Julia Ducournau has echoes of Brian DePalma (another initiation ritual evokes Carrie), David Cronenberg in its body horror, and even Gaspar Noé in terms of the colour and disorientating camera angles and movement.

Garance Marillier is superb in the lead role, definitely an actor to watch out for, because she is able to convey incredible vulnerability, strength, menace, loneliness and savagery with ease, all of these are blended together to make Justine such a compelling character and her journey such a fascinating watch.

Like The Brand New Testament, this is something to watch if you have the Sky Cinema package, but is also good enough that a blind buy would not be a foolish move – it's easy to see why it is so critically acclaimed and was very successful on the European festival circuit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKYFH0hRpD0

The Full Treatment (1960).

Another great suspense thriller in the superb Hammer Vol 2 Blu-ray set from Indicator. Renowned racing driver Alan Colby, is involved in a major crash shortly after getting married. His wife Denise, played by Diane Cilento, from The Wicker Man, escapes unscathed. Alan, however, has serious head injuries.
After eventually recovering, he finds that he has murderous impulses towards his wife. Eventually, he reluctantly seeks help from a psychiatrist, who he and his wife meet whilst on vacation in the south of France. But is all that what it seems?
Although it felt a bit dragged out at times, it's nevertheless an excellent, well made film. And a great addition to any Hammer fan's collection. 7/10.

Captain Underpants

Looking back on it, this is firmly in the same category as Bee Movie and Enchanted, two films I had no intention of watching at the cinema but ended up doing so and really enjoyed when I did so. I love Enchanted, Bee Movie not as much. With Captain Underpants, I thought it was the film aimed at primary school aged children (not even Mark Kermode tweeting about paying to watch it, including viewing after the press screening, convinced me otherwise) so, unlike the two previously mentioned films, I didn’t avoid it at home viewing, but just didn’t bother with it until my brother told me it was good fun.

The film follows two young friends, George and Harold, next door neighbours who are virtually inseparable – even at school – and basically have two loves in life: pulling pranks on teachers and their comic book creation: Captain Underpants. When an attempted prank involving tampering with toilets and a new invention is foiled by the school nurse, the school principal, Mr Krupp is about to sign a bit of paper putting them in separate classes when George hypnotises him with a ring from a cereal box.

After a brief test to see the hypnosis is real, the two have a brainwave: tell Mr Krupp he is Captain Underpants. This is intense but problematic and hilarious because there is a certain gravitas expected from a school principal, one that is severely undermined when he was nothing but large Y fronts and a red cape. Fortunately, they find the process is reversible but, when the classroom separation paper re-appears, back to hypnosis and its Captain Underpants time again!

I think even if I hadn’t been expecting something childish and basically written, I would have loved this in the same way I did with the SpongeBob SquarePants films as they work on two levels because of jokes aimed at different audiences from different generations and cultures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDm_2m-Hg6c

Street Trash

Directed by Michael Muro as part of one of Roy Frumkes’ class projects, Street Trash is a tough film to describe as it occupies a special place in cinema, between absolute schlock and student film. With a low budget and featuring people who had never previously acted or worked on a film set before (including one Bryan Singer!), it is tagged as ‘The Ultimate Melt Movie’ and revolves around a case of dangerous Tenafly Viper.

The film follows a group of derelicts who either sleep rough on the streets or, for the most part, in the junkyard owned by the grotesquely overweight Frank Schnizer, a behemoth who lusts over Wendy, one of his employees, and tries in vain to get rid of the hobos who take up residence amongst the rusting vehicles and also try their luck with her. Two of these are brothers Fred and Kevin, one older and more streetwise and the other young (about 14 years old) and dependant on others for food.

Fred finds the local liquor store selling Viper for a dollar a bottle and, with this just within his budget, buys one only to have it nicked by another bum. Furious about having his fix stolen, Fred doesn’t realise that the thief has taken a swig and dissolved on a fire escape! With other street trash discovering the cheap hooch, various members of the homeless community meet grizzly deaths,

It’s not just the Viper they have to worry about as Bronson, a deranged Vietnam vet with a dagger carved from a human femur, his very dangerous and protective of his girlfriend, Winette.

When a gangster’s wife goes missing after drunkenly wandering into the junkyard with Fred, the police become involved and Bill, a tough street cop looking into the dead tramps, finds himself investigating a murder and a case of necrophilia.

Street Trash is a prime example of a cult film with a sizeable following and it’s easy to see why as the film is such fun with grungy effects which are far from convincing, bizarre humour and a sense of energy and ambition. Any movie that features a game of ‘catch’ with a hobo’s severed penis (obviously a dildo) gets a vote from me because it demonstrates everything about the tone and content.

Roy Frumkes is probably best known for his terrific Document of the Dead documentary which was made over several years about Dawn of the Dead and I had no idea that he was a teacher (now professor) at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and used his students to help him move house and fulfil his filmmaking ambitions. After writing Street Trash, the production was undertaken by members of his class with Frumkes as producer.

It reminded me a great deal of films like Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case, Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste and Braindead and Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead with the audacious effects, puppets and larger-than-life characters. Street Trash is directed and acted with real wit and energy and the acting is surprisingly accomplished, from Mike Lackey’s Fred to R.L. Ryan’s grotesque Frank and Tony Darrow’s excellent turn as the mobbed up Nick.

The film is a whole lot of fun and I think I have four copies across different formats, including the Synapse and 88 Films Blu-ray releases; it's something I can watch almost any time and find a scene, line, or practical effects to enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryg9KYXXq0U

Excellent reviews, Nos. :clap: