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Reviews
Infinity Pool (2023)
Nepo child at his finest
I've seen all of his films up to now and I can say with absolute certainty, that Brandon Cronenberg epitomises what a nepo baby looks like in Hollywood. I mean why even try to emulate the genius that is his father? You're already on a hiding to nothing. If any screenwriter/director tried to get this mess made they'd be laughed out of every studio execs office in the industry. It's poorly written, poorly directed, waste of great screen talent. Yes it's gory and offensive but not in a way that drives narrative or character development. This guy purely has a career due to who his father is. It's embarrassing to see when I'm sure there are dozens of far more deserving filmmakers out there that will never get a shot like this guys had. I think this will be my last foray in to his filmography, a truly talentless charlatan if ever there were one.
Repo Man (1984)
Best cult movie ever made!!
Repo Man is the greatest cult film ever made. Easily Alex Cox's best movie by some clear distance. Based on this film you would have thought Cox was well in his way to an incredible career in movies. He probably tries to hard to avoid the mainstream to the detriment of his own career.
Repo Man is zany, weird, insane, with loads of humour!! The acting is second to none with Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez giving some of their best performances of their careers. The story revolves around a disillusioned kid he falls in to the Repo Man world and things just go mental from there. With Aliens, secret government officials and an eclectic bunch of weirdos driving the narrative!!
If you love cult cinema this is film is truly where it begins and ends!!
Boston Strangler (2023)
David Fincher should sue
I'm
Not going to review this film. I'll merely say that David Fincher should consider suing all involved. From the lighting, camerawork even sepia style film stock this Director rips off Fincher's style in embarrassingly large amounts!! I don't think I've ever seen a film that plagiarises another source (Zodiac) so openly. The acting is ok but the it's the technical attributes that runs me the wrong way. Zodiac is one of my favourite films of the noughties and to see this lesser vehicle try to replicate it in every conceivable way shows that the Director has no artistic integrity of his own. If I were him I'd be waiting to be served by Paramounts lawyers very soon!!
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023)
Where's the payoff?!
The story's all start off really well in the main. But unfortunately most of them finish just as we're about to get the payoff. It's very frustrating and brings the entire series down to a low level. Could have been something quite special. Turns out to be mediocre at best!! The animation is good in my opinion and the story's are actually quite frightening in their way. But the endings are just so poorly thought out you can't help but get frustrated with the whole series. This is a case of what could have been. Truly a missed opportunity for all concerned. There are many better anime series airing on Netflix than this one!!
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Existential
An amazing media ration on humanity, existentialism, love and family. Brilliantly written, acted and directed. One of the best films I've seen for quite some time. I'm sure after repeated viewings more ideas will unfold to be picked over. What a ride!!
Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis (2022)
Horrendous realism
This is without a doubt one of the most painfully disturbing documentaries I've ever seen and believe me when I say I've watched a lot over the years.
The filmmakers have done a stellar job of pulling all the key events together, and making a 1hr 30min movie from what must of been over 50+ hours of footage.
If you've ever had an axe to grind with how morally bankrupt the news media is and how inept the police can be this drama is only going to solidify your position further.
I came away from this film in pain for the innocent people involved and pretty wrung out from the intensity of the situation. It has stayed with me and I've thought on it long and hard. One can only imagine how the key news men and women and police must have felt afterwards. I'm surprised if they could ever look themselves in the mirror again without feeling pangs of guilt.
The poor victims of such pointless rage makes the heart bleed. My only gripe is that you don't feel anyone was really taken to task over their poor handling of a very traumatic situation. I think I'll need to do some extra reading to find out what happened to key figures after the dust settled.
This is well worth a watch but beware of the gruelling intensity and the days of analysing you'll undoubtedly feel after viewing!!
3 from Hell (2019)
Rob Zombie's shame from hell
This is Rob Zombies worst film by a country mile. The time of the film is so far removed from the first two films it's not even a distant relative. It's been made with far too much of a gap in time to the Rejects. It's poorly written, directed, acted and scored...! I think Rejects is one of the best modern horror of this century, it's such a shame Zombie had soured the first two movies with this poorly executed sequel. Perhaps the worst part of this tragedy was using Sid Haig again. The man could barely stand, read his lines and act as he is clearly on his death bed in his scenes in this film. His energy has gone and again it sours the character from the previous entries badly. Zombies films have slowly got worse over the years. He seemed to have some talent for direction early on but it's clear he's not in the same league as the greats he tries to emulate, Carpenter, Romero and Craven. I think he needs to give film a rest.
Dracula 3D (2012)
CGI
This film has quite possibly the worst CGI ever committed to film. The acting and direction are all over the shop. I have yet to see Argento's latest work 2022. But at this stage of his illustrious career this is his worst film by some clear distance!!
Outland (1981)
Great entertainment
We've all heard this is High Noon in space and there are undoubted similarities. It's a great piece of entertainment and Connery's performance is stirring especially in his moments of reflective self doubt and communication with his family. He really does get the opportunity to flex his acting talents in this film. Upon revisiting this after many years since seeing it last I found it a quite moving essay of what it is to be a man and follow through with our perceived duties!! Watch and enjoy...!