I didn't like this at all.

The Maltese Falcon (again!)

Basically one of finest films ever made, Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade, the hard-boiled detective that set the standard for all that followed. A hunt for the mysterious falcon, lots of twists, double-crosses and maguffins, the script and pace are amazing, Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre work perfectly together.
There were earlier film noirs, THIS showed film makers how to do it PERFECTLY.

Every time I put it on, I intend to watch the extras but can't resist just watching the movie again, it's effortless viewing.

10/10

This I do want to like as Joel Edgerton is a actor I like

The Witches. 2020.

A young boy and his grandmother run in to a coven of witches while on holiday.

Remake of the Roald Dahl's 1990 book, this is closer to the source novel starring Anne Hathaway as the supreme witch, Octavia Spencer as the sweet granny who takes care of her orphaned grandson. Chris Rock provides way too much voice over that slowly becomes annoying and this film relies way to much on CGI effects, why do films nowadays rely on it when they can really screw a movie over.

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The Irishman

Story documenting how a man (Robert De Niro) was able to rise from Mob member, to Hitman, to Union Leader under the wings of Joe Pesci and Al Pacino. Over 3 hours long, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it but it is long (Luckily I was able to stop it and take a break) however, I would be restless at The Cinema. Could it have been better as a 3 part Mini-Series?

Follow Me

A Social Media Influencer and his friends go to Russia to take on a Escape Room but ends up being a more twisted version of The Crystal Maze. This was a pleasant surprise, I found it to be tense and has some nice gore. Worth a watch, it's like one of those Torture Porn Movies from the early to mid 2000's.

Trashcans Of Terror (1985, Chuck Handy)

Wow. This is a hard one to write as I can't really recommend this one really, as I don't want to be cancelled :pound: ahem.
I think I've just seen my first flick with a negative budget :lol:
Alien bins are sent to track a pouch containing something very important, which has secreted itself inside a lass, turning her silver.
Beat that then me hearties!! :laugh:


PS I really liked It Comes At Night and look forward to perusing it again.
:behindsofa:

Killer Crocodile 2. 1990.

The Caribbean swamps are to be turned into a holiday resort, a journalist goes to investigate about the toxic dumping and realises another giant crocodile is loose in the swamps.

Special effects creator Giannetto De Rossi takes the helm as director that seems to use stock footage from the first film with the way the crocodile dies. Anthony Crenna returns as the man sent to help Debra Karr sort out the barrels of toxic and the crocodile. Filmed back to back with the first and seems to have the same low budget and nearly same score as Jaws, not spectacular but enjoyable enough to keep me quiet.

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Kolobos. 1999.

A group pf 20 somethings are invited to take part in a big brother scenario unaware there is a killer on the loose with them.

I'm not gonna lie, this was seriously messed up, as it starts off with a girl being found mentioning the word "Kolobos" then back two days later. The acting wasn't particularly great but acceptable in some cases, the death scenes aren't really original but done decently with the blood splatter, was the makers trying to make the replica of the killer from Antropophagus? Was the ending trying to make someone suffer split personality disorder??

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The Black Cat (1934) ★★★★★

Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff became icons of the horror genre with their performances as Dracula and Frankenstein's monster respectively. In the following years they made dozens of horror films, mostly for Universal, appearing together no fewer than eight times, but never straying far from the roles in which they made their names.

Universal were responsible for some of the most influential and respected horror movies in the 1930s and '40s: 'Dracula', 'Frankenstein' (and 'Bride of...'), 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon', 'The Invisible Man' and 'The Wolf Man' – the list goes on. They also used their contract players Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff to star in more psychological horrors that didn't use monsters to have the audience squirming in their seats. 'The Black Cat' and 'The Raven' used the gothic terror of Poe – more his whole work than just the stories from which these titles were taken – to create atmospheric and unsettling films.

Newly-weds Peter and Joan Alison are travelling to their hotel whilst on honeymoon in Hungary, when their bus crashes. They had been joined on their journey by Dr Werdegast (Lugosi), who takes them to the home of Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff) under the guise of giving Joan medical attention, but with an ulterior motive. The rest of the plot for this film is outlined very well above, so I won't elaborate and run the risk of spoilers.

Famed for playing largely mute, lumbering monsters, Boris Karloff actually had a fine speaking voice and one that is used to good effect here, as a well-spoken aristocrat who built his house on the bodies of 4,000 people and is involved in Satanism – Hjalmar Poelzig was apparently based on Aleister Crowley, the author of The Satanic Bible. Dr Werdegast's quest for revenge leads to a fascinating and macabre battle between the two men, with Peter and Joan Alison caught in the crossfire.

Lugosi and Karloff delivered fine performance throughout their careers, but few better than here. Superbly written and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, the tension slowly increases throughout the film, as the two men play out their deadly game of cat and mouse, before the shocking and unforgettable climax.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys early horror films.

The Raven (1935) ★★★★

Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff became icons of the horror genre with their performances as Dracula and Frankenstein's monster respectively. In the following years they made dozens of horror films, mostly for Universal, appearing together no fewer than eight times, but never straying far from the roles in which they made their names.

Universal were responsible for some of the most influential and respected horror movies in the 1930s and '40s: Dracula, Frankenstein (and Bride of...), The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man – the list goes on. They also used their contract players Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff to star in more psychological horrors that didn't use monsters to have the audience squirming in their seats. The Black Cat and The Raven used the gothic terror of Poe – more his whole work than just the stories from which these titles were taken – to create atmospheric and unsettling films.

Released the year after The Black Cat, Lugosi and Karloff played opposite each other again and again they were excellent. As Dr. Frankenstein's creation, Karloff was able to evoke sympathy from the audience whilst playing a dangerous monster. Here he also plays a dangerous character – a man who turned an oxyacetylene torch on someone's face because they raised the alarm in a bank robbery, and yet, when he encounters Lugosi's Dr. Vollin, your sympathy turns to Karloff's Edmond Bateman because of the sadistic treatment meted out to him by Dr. Vollin.

Using Poe-inspired torture devices, particularly the pendulum, Lew Landers is able to create nightmarish scenarios of the kind now found in the 'Hostel' and 'Saw' films, though more scary due to implication and suggestion.