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RavagerP.jpg Phantasm Ravager Ok,well i like the Phantasm series but they don't make a lot of sense most of the time, but are usually a entertaining mix of bizarre imagery, spooky stuff and kick assery. This ones no different, even though it may be potentially the last in the series it still refuses to pander to audience expectation and just kinda does it's own thing,I guess you gotta respect that in this era of by the numbers filmmaking. There's a lot of opinion going about that the effects are shit, but i found them adequate and didn't detract too much from the story, hey i've seen a lot worse. Storywise,well the usual with Reggie left to shoot stuff and act like a 70's drop out acid head, but the difference is he really seems to try to give it his all this time. The Tallman is used sparingly due to the obvious onset of illness in Angus, but this time the world is pretty much taken over by the spheres,which leads to some nifty new Phantasmagorical imagery. This is offset by another reality where Reggie is grounded in the modern world in a nursing home and this part i found quite moving at times and thoughtful. Does it tie up all the lose ends and explain everything, does it ****, i'm not even sure that the Don himself knows. But i found it entertaining and enjoyable and thought i was more interesting than parts 3 and 4 at least. A decent 7 from me.
__________________ MIKE: I've got it! Peter Cushing! We've got to drive a stake through his heart! VYVYAN: Great! I'll get the car! NEIL: I'll get a cushion. |
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curseofchucky.jpg I have to admit i'm not a fan of the Childs play films, i've tried to like the original but always feel a bit meh afterwards, the only one i found entertaining was Bride of Chucky. Well this one in my opinion is a totally different kettle of fish. Atmospheric and well acted, and seemed a lot more claustrophobic due to the housebound setting, i also thought the new CGI enhanced version of Chucky was a lot more creepily effective and an improvement. Brad Douriff still voices the little tyke and the main actress is his daughter, who does well with the material and is quite sexy. There's even a would be arty scene with symbolic sunflowers. So all in all a good updating with some striking scenes and a fair amount of tension. The only downside was that the ending seemed a little rushed. But for me the best Chucky film and well worth a watch. 8/10.
__________________ MIKE: I've got it! Peter Cushing! We've got to drive a stake through his heart! VYVYAN: Great! I'll get the car! NEIL: I'll get a cushion. |
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The Frightened City (1961) Classic British Noir starring Sean Connery as a low level criminal who becomes embroiled in a dangerous racketeering syndicate formed by the six most ruthless mobsters in London in order to control the city. A year before he took on a certain role, Connery is all action in this, indeed both his look and fighting style owe quite a bit to a certain British agent. He broods about, smokes and drinks heavily all the while looking cool as a cucumber in sharp suits whilst romancing sexy nightclub singer Yvonne Romain on the side. Filmed in stark black and white the film is both stylish and tough and hard bitten, there's even a few uses of 'bastard' in the dialogue which was quite rare even in 1961. The film directed by John Lemont, who made the abysmal Konga the very same year, certainly nods towards American classic Noir and even German Krimi films with Herbert Lom in one of the lead roles. Having said that, The Frightened City is a little on the slow side. There's a lot of talk and not an awful lot of violence until the final ten minutes, but on the whole the dialogue is well written and handled nicely by a strong cast. Whilst The Frightened City isn't classic British Noir it's still well worth owning for any fan of the genre or of British film itself. |
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T0D5SmZjt.jpg The Greasy Strangler What the **** did i just watch?? A twisted depraved, grim and slippery headf*** of the highest order, like John Waters meets Henenlotter, totally random, totally sick with some of the worst fashions ever committed to film. I thought it was hilarious. A plot that hardly exists, set around a dysfunctional home with a balding sad loser who lives with his greasy food and disco obsessed dad ( who comes across as a bizarre clone of Peter Stringfellow with a giant cock that always seems to be dangling around and out.) The son is a bit pathetic and follows his dad round, he doesn't seem to have had much of a life and is quite a sympathetic character at times as he begins to have a relationship with a woman he meets, causing friction in the family home. The father/son relationship largely consists of insults and calling each other a "bullshit artist". Also on the loose is the Greasy strangler a guy covered head to toe in grease, who is offing the locals. That's about it, but the offbeat surreal yet comic nature of the film,the twisted characters and bizarrely good/bad acting all lend it a charm that i found hard to resist and i really enjoyed it. Hard to recommend due to it being a love/hate type of film, but for me i really enjoyed it. 8/10
__________________ MIKE: I've got it! Peter Cushing! We've got to drive a stake through his heart! VYVYAN: Great! I'll get the car! NEIL: I'll get a cushion. |
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