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Number 30 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister’s death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor : for me PIT AND THE PENDULUM is the best of the eight movies that Vincent Price and Roger Corman worked on together, it’s certainly the most haunting and beautifully filmed by High Noon’s Floyd Crosby : shot in just fifteen days the film is a bonafied 60s classic, a horror that has no doubt been a point of influence for horror filmmaker since, from it’s weird & ghostly flashback scenes, the shots of the waves hitting the rocks, it’s eerie nerve pinching sound, Vincent Price’s trademark expressions and dramatic eye movements to those other impressive cast members including John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone but what really makes Pit and the Pendulum such a fine horror film is it’s chilling suspense, sweeping sets and that devious, evil little twist at it’s end ★★★★½

Number 31 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their new family home out in the country : Since the great John Carpenter gave up the director’s chair and Wes Craven left us for his new home in the sky, it’s my humble opinion that Australian filmmaker James Wan has delivered more consistent scares than most since SAW hit the screens back in 2004 : in typical James Wan style The Conjuring contains no sex scenes and when it came to the film’s rating the movie received an R for pure scare value alone, the film also contains very little violence just pure nerve jangling horror, filmed like a throwback to the 60s and 70s horror gems : Wan shot the movie in 28 days on a budget of just over $20 Million and to this day the film has grossed well over the $300 Million mark : The Conjuring (like most low budget pics) relies heavily on some creative storytelling and superb acting and there’s plenty of this on show with the reliable pair of Wilson & Farmiga along with The Haunting’s Lili Taylor who really does look like she belongs in the Hammer Horror era overpowering the screen with her unique beauty & ability to switch between playing a loving parent to a raving looney in a nano-second, the scene’s where her character is possessed and the demonic spirit won’t let her leave the house is amongst her finest work, I was also impressed by Ron Livingston’s working dad performance, truly believable and adds so much to the film’s ensemble : I really dug the way James Wan gives the viewer a little taste into Ed’s treasure trove of horror at his home including that creepy demonic doll Annabelle and other items taken from cases Ed & Lorraine worked on : overall The Conjuring is one of the creepiest horror movies in the last 20yrs, the camera work especially inside the Perron’s house is quite brilliant (those upside down shots and inside the walls of the bedroom are terrifying), the film made me jump out of my skin on more than one occassion, and if you have a wardrobe in your bedroom it might be an idea to invest in some locks before revisiting this masterpiece ★★★★½

A bridge builder begins the hunt for two lions that start attacking the local construction workers : I may be in the minority with this one but I really enjoy revisiting Stephen Hopkins THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS : the film has a familiar tone to Spielberg’s Jaws accept that the monster is the King of the Jungle and there are two of them killing for pleasure, stalking their prey and wreaking havok to a small African region known as Tsavo : Hopkins movie is based around the the Tsavo Man-Eaters the true story of those Lions dating back to 1898 : not only did I find the film’s story compelling, the Jaws like hunt and then to be hunted arc but I also loved the chemistry between Michael Douglas’s grizzled hunter Remington and Val Kilmer‘s Patterson both seemed to click and feed off each other’s energy & undoubted passion for Hopkins movie (ignore the Razzie nomination, for me it’s a top 5 Kilmer performance for sure) : one of my favorite moments in the movie is when Patterson runs to meet his wife who has arrived at the train station in Tsavo with their new born child, it’s a dream sequence, you see the Lion come out of the long grass to the side of the station savaging both mum & child (by the way the mum is played by a very young Emily Mortimer) it’s a really good scene : the film was shot by Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) around the Songimvelo Game Reserve in South Africa and adds so much to the film’s spectacle, the authenticity of the regions beauty & danger is an overwhelming plus point, also worth mentioning that Bruce Stambler won an Academy Award for Sound Editing : If like me you enjoy revisiting the gems of yester-year then give The Ghost and the Darkness another watch, for me it’s still holds up well as a well acted, thrilling scare ride that will have your nerves a jangling from start to finish ★★★★½

When Enola Holmes Sherlock’s teen sister discovers her mother has gone missing, she sets off on her own adventure to not only find her but unravel a conspiracy around a mysterious young Lord : A DELIGHT FROM START TO FINISH Enola Holmes is fresh, inventive and SO MUCH FUN : the films energy is straight from the get-go as we watch Millie Bobby Brown’s Enola cycling through the English Country Side speaking into the camera ala Frank Underwood, narrating the story as she goes : first impressions IT’S WONDERFUL, from the bright colours, the costumes & the humor everything is so ALIVE : I loved the gorgeous sets (especially London), the encounters between Enola & the evil Linthorn are superb with sharp choreography, Burn Gorman doesn’t go easy on our heroine : the casting too is splendid with a few of my favourite actors delivering fun work such as Fiona Shaw’s Miss Harrison the boarding school head mistress (who’s utterly terrifying), Helena Bonham Carter’s mummy Holmes (is all sweet & cuddly) and Sam Claflin’s tough older brother Mycroft (boooooo), but without question the movie ultimately belongs to Millie who’s bright as a button humor & deliverance is terrific, her cheeky narration and glancing at the camera with those big eyes is MAGNIFICENT : I loved the way we see flashbacks of Enola’s times spent with her mother, growing up and learning martial arts and her clever deduction using scrabble pieces, her interation with Tewkesbury & Edith and of course the small screen time she shares with her older brother Sherlock played by Henry Cavill which is a delight but kept to a minimum (after all the story is about Enola and not Mr Holmes) : Enola Holmes is one of the BEST franchise builders for many a year, a real breath of fresh air with it’s star Millie Bobby Brown delivering a smart young detective for the 21st Century : the film’s a perfect blend of action, humor & romance that is brilliantly directed by Fleabag & Killing Eve’s Harry Bradbeer ★★★★½

Antonio Campos continues on from his 2016 movie Christine with another miserable, downbeat yet compelling piece of filmmaking : taking center stage in The Devil All the Time is the bible belt of West Virginia and some of it’s unsavory characters that all merge together over a time span of 15 years or more to create the backbone of the story the novel of which is written by Donald Ray Pollock who also in a rather poetic and wonderful way narrates the movie : it’s story is full of deluded, nasty characters and we get to meet some of them on our journey from Bill Skarsgard’s war torn, emotion driven father (that dog scene is heartbreaking), Pattison’s creepy peverted preacher (the crazy good speech after he receives the welcome food is haunting), the husband & wife serial killing team played by Jason Clarke & Riley Keogh to Harry Melling’s frightening turn as a preacher who’s bitten by a spider to crazy consequences : The Devil All the Time is not pretty, it’s over 2hrs of dark & bleak imagery but along with it’s sublime acting from it’s outstanding cast & great material it’s filmmaker Antonio Campos manages to grip you early doors and it’s utterly fascinating with how each & every character in the stories arc fit’s together like a jigsaw each of them slotting into place ready for it’s dramatic finale : so if you liked Winter’s Bone or The Place Beyond the Pines then The Devil All the Time is a must watch ★★★★½

Antebellum (2020) : Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on September 22, 2020

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: ANTEBELLUM, ANTEBELLUM movie, antebellum review, Christopher Renz, film, film geek, film night, Gerard Bush, horror film, Janelle Monae, Jena Malone, Kiersey Clemons, movie blog, movie website, pedro luque, plantation, slaves, slice of horror, vod. Leave a comment

Film trailers have a way of misleading the viewer and I for one think on occassion that’s a good thing, it’s quite refreshing to be surprised whether that be in a good or bad way and Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz directorial debut was certainly a surprise and not what I expected at all : ANTEBELLUM is set in Louisiana during the American Civil War, the base for the story is set around a plantation (that looks like the one used in Tarantino’s Django) which is run by the Confederate Army and the land around it is worked by Slaves including Janelle Monáe’s character Eden, the slaves are treated in barbaric fashion and as the film progresses Eden slowly discovers all is not what it seems : if this makes any sense at all Antebellum is one of those movies that I enjoyed but I also felt a little empty at it’s end : the film is thought provoking, it’s relevant, has some fabulous photography by the Uruguayan Pedro Luque & is well acted by the likes of Janelle Monáe & Kiersey Clemons yet it’s story should have offered more, maybe focussing on other members of the group being held, how they got to the plantation and not just focussing on Monae’s character and her attempt at freedom? everybody loves a good villain and I felt Jena Malone was wasted, such a talent at your disposal (use it) : overall Antebellum is not a bad movie, i’ve seen far worse and the duo of Bush & Renz have cleverly used their original story telling to not only entertain but also more importantly to continue the message that hatred still exists in society and it must be stamped out, yes the film or it’s deliverance may not work to everybody’s satisfaction but that’s life, movies are all about opinions and I have to say I enjoyed this provocative slice of horror ★★★½

Alive (2020) : Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on September 19, 2020

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: actors, actress, alive, cinema, comedy, film website, filmmaking, horror, Jo Il-Hyeong, korean cinema, korean movies, korean zombie film, korean zombie movie, love cinema, love films, movie blog, netflix movie, netflix movie alive, new movies, Park Shin-hye, Won-ho Son, Yoo Ah-in, zombie. Leave a comment

A city is infected by a mysterious virus, which causes it’s people to spiral out of control. Two survivers struggle to survive in an isolated apartment complex from those infected with the virus : Jo Il-Hyeong’s Korean thriller ALIVE is everything you’d like from a new movie in the Zombie genre, utilising the digital age in a smart, inventive way and has a whole shit load of savy special effects that make your eye’s twitch with nervous excitement : Yoo Ah-in is bloody brilliant as the gamer kid Joon-Woo who lives for his technology but fails to converse much with the outside world, that is until one day he has too, his dopey appearance & care free attitude endears himself to the viewer and his tag team partner Park Shin-hye’s Yoo-bin is my type of girl, fighting off the undead with everything from an axe, gun and home made killing trolley and oh yeah did I say that these zombie’s are not slow either but more like the hyperactive speed demons from World War Z, Won-ho Son’s work in capturing these delightful creatures rampaging through the apartment blocks is glorious & a sight to behold : ALIVE is SMART, INSANE and FLESH EATING FUN ★★★★

It was tough but here it goes : Christopher Nolan’s Top 8 Movies in order : (1) MEMENTO : 2000 : Nolan’s least pretentious movie, was shot for $9 million in less than a month, it’s story is exciting, fresh & edge of the seat and to this day it’s the filmmaker’s finest achievment with great turns by Guy Pearce & Joe Pantoliano : (2) THE PRESTIGE : 2006 : a hidden gem that I like to annually revisit & then think about for days after : Christian Bale & Hugh Jackman are immense as is Rebecca Hall who gives a stella turn playing Borden’s wife, from the sets, sound & story the film’s pure magic : (3) INCEPTION : 2010 : It’s been 10yrs and I still find myself marvelling at the effects, the rotating sets & Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s gravity fight scene which is so awesome to watch : breathtaking cinema built around a beautiful love story : (4) INTERSTELLAR : 2014 : Nolan’s ambitious scifi thriller blew me away whilst tugging at my heart strings from start to finish, the scene of Coops as he watches the clips from back home are tough, that enthralling docking sequence & the enormity of the tidal wave scenes are stunning : Hoytema’s work on this is quite simply wow : (5) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES : 2012 : Darkness rains down on Gotham & I for one loved the chaos & the ride Nolan brings to this trilogy ending masterpiece : in Tom Hardy’s Bane Batman has met his most demented nemesis & that delicious Talia twist in it’s finale gave the franchise the explosive ending it deserved : (6) INSOMNIA : 2002 : showcases the masterclass that is Al Pacino, his performance captures every essence of Will Dormer and it’s up there amongst the actors best work : Of course Wally Pfister’s DP and his canvas of British Columbia doesn’t help either – a tense, character driven remake that still holds up well today : (7) BATMAN BEGINS : 2005 : has sheer depth, towering action scenes, Liam Neeson & Cillian Murphy’s villainous pair, Michael BLOODY Caine, a cameo by Lucy Russell & of course Nolan’s ace in the pack Christian Bale who’s easily the “best actor” that’s played our Caped Crusader : (8) THE DARK KNIGHT : 2008 : Heath Ledger’s Joker waddling out of the hospital dressed in nurse atire as it explodes is one of many highlights from Nolan’s stupendous action packed sequel : lots of love here for Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent & Batman’s custom made bike is craaazy good too !! (also worth mentioning that I really enjoyed Dunkirk, Following and of course Nolan’s latest Tenet)

Exit (2019) : Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on September 18, 2020

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: cinema, Eksiteu, Eksiteu Korean Movie, Eksiteu movie, exit 2019, exit film, exit movie, film stills, film website, films, gas, Im Yoon-ah, Jo Jung-suk, korean cinema, movie fan, movie geek, posters, rock climber, Sang Geun Lee, seoul south korea. Leave a comment

A rock climber tries to save the day when a mysterious white gas envelops an entire district in Seoul, South Korea : EXIT (Eksiteu) is the directorial debut of Sang Geun Lee and having just watched it I can hardly wait for his next one : If like me you love Korean Cinema then this slice of movie heaven will make you laugh uncontrollably at it’s witty Korean humor whilst giving you heart palpitations watching some of the most fabulous, heart in the mouth action scenes around : the lead characters in the movie played by Jo Jung-suk and Im Yoon-ah are infectious and the story & special effects are stupendous : my favourite moment in the movie (and there are many) is watching Yong-nam smash through a hotel lobby window and go all Tom Cruise by diving out in crazy fashion in hope of reaching the rooftop of the hotel : It’s easy to see why EXIT topped the Korean Box Office, the film is really good at doing what the Korean’s do like no other and that’s insanely ENTERTAIN and by god Sang Geun Lee’s movie does this and more….. LOVED IT ★★★★½

In the near future, Cyrus a charismatic leader summons the street gangs of the Big Apple in a bid to rule. When he is killed, The Warriors are blamed and now must fight their way home while every other gang in the city are hunting them down : Based on the novel by Sol Yurick The Warriors hit the screens back in 1979 and was directed by Walter Hill : It’s one of my favourite movies of Hill’s with it’s incredible photography by First Blood’s Andrew Laszlo, the shoot takes place in the night in New York City and when you rewatch the movie as many times as I have you realise how incredible Laszlo made the city look for the screen and so perfect for Hill’s vision in creating this movie, from it’s deserted subway stations decorated with grafitti, the wet floors that illuminated the shadows to the cities dark grimy street’s lowly lit to enhance the mood, Laszlo really deserves more credit for the way The Warriors came to life on screen : I also loved it’s cast including James Remar’s Ajax, David Patrick Kelly’s slimy Luther but especially Michael Beck who plays Swan the strong and respected leader of The Warriors & the film debut of Deborah Van Valkenburgh who is astonishing as the sexy, confident & tough Mercy who rolls with the Orphans a weaker gang in the city led by Sully : I can’t praise both actors enought for their deliverance of two strong characters, similar in many ways, leaning on each other in adversity, for me Swan & Mercy are amongst my favourite film characters in movie history : one of my favourite moments in the movie is where we are introduced to some of the rival gangs preparing to chase down The Warriors and over the radio blasts Nowhere To Run by the wonderful Arnold McCuller now this is truly and utterly ICONIC, a film scene I can watch on rerun all day long, I also found The DJ played by Lynne Thigpen and voiced by Pat Floyd to be a fabulous addition to the film, the DJ giving regular updates on The Warriors chase down referring to the city’s gangs as “boppers” : The Warriors was the third movie from Walter Hill and armed with a budget of $6 Million the film hit No.1 at the box office on it’s release and has since gone on to become a cult classic : the film is nothing short of SENSATIONAL “Can You Dig It?” ★★★★★

Armed with only one word, Tenet, a secret agent known as The Protagonist is sent on a mission to stop the end of the world : Having just revisited the Christopher Nolan back catalogue I was intrigued to catch TENET in the cinema and on IMAX as the film itself was shot by Hoyte van Hoytema, the DP on this movie using both 70 mm film and IMAX : As an overall film experience Tenet is thrilling from start to finish, from it’s breathtaking european locations (you’d never guess that Nolan is a big fan of 007) and heart pounding score from the Black Panther maestro Ludwig Goransson to it’s cast including the likes of John David Washington, Robert Patterson & Elizabeth Debicki who are all mightly impressive, especially Patterson who in my opinion is the star of the movie : my favourite moments include the astonishing car chase, the opera scene which is chaotic but brilliantly shot and all the screen time Elizabeth Debicki & Kenneth Brannagh share, with Brannagh playing a Russian villain with a complex insanity that terrifies Debicki and in turn motors the heart of Nolan’s story : there were reports on my social media timeline that the sound/dialogue was poor, but in my experience it was the opposite, totally clear and incredible allround : IMAX showcases Nolan’s latest in a dazzling way, an intriguing mind melt with spectacular action blended with an exciting, facinating narrative, however I do feel that the film could have been 20mins longer, it seems some of the early exchanges could have benefited with it’s story being fleshed out a bit more : that being said If your a fan of Christopher Nolan’s movies then TENET is a must on the big screen, take your mask and enjoy the experience it’s truly worth it ★★★★

The Babysitter: Killer Queen is the sequel to McG’s horror comedy The Babysitter and follows Cole Johnson a junior in high school being tormented by a whole bunch of demonic crazies : Why shouldn’t I be surprised that once again a McG directed movie had me by the balls, laughing and squirming all the way through it’s comic and blood soaked tone : I absolutley loved the first movie back in 2017 and to be honest I had low expectations going into Killer Queen but WOW that was fun : Judah Lewis returns once more as Cole the teenage victim to these hell demonic bullies, I like him as an actor and he plays the weird and confused school kid superbly well : I love the way McG keep things fresh, allowing returning characters to develop and newbies to the franchise are clevely intwined into Cole’s messed up life : It’s also great to see that the writing team also paid attention to Wes Craven’s Scream in that the sequel has rules baby…. 1. The body count is always bigger & 2. The sequel needs to be more elaborate, with more blood and gore : McG’s Killer Queen can only be described as a guilty-pleasure ride that’s sexy, bloody and totally insane all spliced together to rip roaring effect, a sequel that has some hilarious inventive death scenes, clever dialogue and certainly lives up to the first movie in terms of sheer entertainment ★★★★

PENINSULA is Sang-ho Yeon’s sequel to his 2016 Zombie hit Train to Busan : Like most I really enjoyed Train to Busan and it’s animated prequel Seoul Station so diving straight back in to watch Yeon’s latest in Zombie mayhem was quite easy and deliciously excitable : Peninsula has a runtime of just under 2hrs and starts with a car heading for the harbour to catch a ship out of the chaos of the city, the car is carrying a Marine Captain Jung-seok, his sister and her child. When they reach and board the ship we discover that somebody on the lower deck has the infection and very quickly all hell breaks loose….. Sang-ho then jumps the story by four years and we find ourselves watching a tired, guilty looking Jung-seok living in Hong Kong drinking his way into trouble or an early grave : he then stumbles upon someone who offers him a way out of all this mess, a way of starting a new life by taking a team of soldiers back into the infected city to retrieve a truck full of money : Now although Peninsula is not quite as good as Train to Busan it’s still a blood good sequel with some real heart in the mouth action scenes, let’s face it the South Korean’s have mastered the action in movies better than most and the chase scenes once the team reach the city full of zombie’s and dispicable humans alike are quite spectacular : we also have a whole bunch of interesting new characters, the best of which are Joon and her younger sister Yu-jin who come to the rescue of Jung-seok whilst in the city, I also couldn’t stop screaming at the insanity of the prison scene Jung-seok’s friend finds himself in, it’s execution and the thought behind it terrifies me : Sang-ho Yeon’s sequel has plenty of violence and a jaw dropping finale and if like me you enjoyed the destruction laid out in Train to Busan then his latest Peninsula will make you weep with joy, the film has a pace to match a zombie’s stride and will have you baying for more by the time those end credits rise ★★★★

Ana Lily Amirpour’s A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT follows a lonely vampire going about her business in the Iranian ghost town of Bad City – I have now watched this movie 12 times (maybe more) and for me it sits comfortably in the bracket of essential viewing : from it’s mesmerising black & white style that sucks you in to the movie’s narrative, hypnotising and seducing you until it’s final scene, with it’s atmospheric backdrop’s of Oil Derrick’s, the deserted streets, the buildings and the Girl’s bedroom decked out with posters of pops stars of yesteryear, with Lyle Vincent’s photography descibed in two words “utterly stunning” : I also CRAVE the film’s soundtrack, it’s the GOAT with tracks from Federale, Radio Tehran, Bei Ru, White Lies and more…. that scene where White Lies “Death” is playing is one of the film’s coolest moments, I felt it had a really 80s tinge during that scene and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise like a python : Amirpour’s casting of Sheila Vand as the Girl was a masterstroke, Vand is like a magnet, her eye’s and demeanour engulf you allowing you to feel her character’s sadness but also her power, Arash Marandi’s performance as the guy who falls hard for the Girl is superb, the scene’s he shares with his onscreen dad are excellent and Mozhan Marnò gives a vulnerable & touching turn as Atti, the local prostitute : A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is one of them movies that you just have to see, it’s an acquired taste and not your conventional Vampire movie but it’s full of interesting themes, shot in gorgeous black & white, has subtitles for it’s Persian dialogue and includes a side portion of weird : Overall it’s one of them movies that I would certainly place high on my list of favourite vampire pics and would advise any film fan to BUY & WATCH this GEM on rewatch for 2,191 days : ps….. (if you like this pic then check out 2016’s The Bad Batch by the same director….. it’s sooooo goood) ★★★★½

Cody is a young, aspiring comic book artist who one day is given a pen which changes reality, as he draws one of his creations Santa Jaws it come to life and bends Cody’s wishes to be alone at Christmas by killing off his family and friends : I must confess I’ve never heard of filmmaker Misty Talley but thanks to her outrageous, family horror movie SANTA JAWS I do now : the film has a neat little story and a fab cast led by the very capable Reid Miller who plays Cody, the shark effects are sooooo cool, humor spot on and it’s location in Louisiana really gave the movie some authenticity : these movie are not for everybody, and are usually reserved for the likes of me, an insane cinephile who devours B-Movie trash for breakfast, I’m grew up in the 80s so these movies are my Holy Grail and Misty Talley’s Santa Jaws is gold standard, a farcical, absurdly fun, low budget shark ride that I really enjoyed ★★★★