Trespass (1992) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on July 4, 2020
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Revisited one of Walter Hill’s lesser known movies 1992’s TRESPASS – made for $14 Million and written by the Back to the Future pair of Gale & Zemeckis – I absolutley loved the film’s pace, it’s raw & gritty premise but most of all I LOVED watching Bill Paxton & William Sadler going to work against the ICE duo of Cube & T – the film is set in a deserted warehouse and is somewhat a treasure hunt mixed with a bit of gang warfare, it’s pretty relentless and a bit of Die Hard reunion with the already mentioned William Sadler (Colonel Stuart in Die Hard 2), De’voreaux White (the Limo driver from the first movie) and the wonderful Art Evans (the air traffic controller in Die Hard’s sequel) all of course contribute highly to the movie’s overall story – So if like me you love Walter Hill and his style of no-nonsense filmmaking or you just want to reminisce in the presence of the great and much missed Bill Paxton then Trespass is for you ★★★★

Ian Holm (1931-2020)

Posted by absolutebadasses on June 19, 2020
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The GREAT actor IAN HOLM has died aged 88 – what a wonderful, versatile performer Ian was – his roles such as Ash in ALIEN, Sam in CHARIOTS OF FIRE and Bilbo Baggins in THE LORD OF THE RINGS are all memorable, some are disturbing but all are pure cinema – he is an incredible actor to watch and truly one of the great actors of our time RIP

Becky (2020) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on June 15, 2020
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A teenager’s weekend at home with her dad takes a turn for the worse when a group of escaped convicts decide to interupt their plans – From the fab duo of Milott & Murnion who in 2014 gave us the insanely good Cooties comes their new horror picture BECKY a home invasion movie that will no doubt upset someone, somewhere at somepoint – There is no question that this film is the darkest of the the duo’s three movies to date, you get a nasty performance by Kevin James who plays a neo-nazi convict, some blood thirsty Home Alone style action scenes that’s not for the faint hearted, a real eye-catching moment during the film’s second half and the star of the show Lulu Wilson who is quite simply wonderful playing Becky this teenage girl who’s loss of her mother has hardened her mentally and given her this moody chip on her shoulder that serves her well in trying to survive – My only criticism is that the film runtime could have been slightly longer to allow a bit more characterization which would have helped explain Becky’s relationship or lack of with her father Jeff played by Joel Mchale BUT nevertheless the film is a credit to Milott & Murnion a real heart-stopper, a violent exciting horror thriller that I will no doubt revisit again and again ★★★★

Da 5 Bloods (2020) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on June 13, 2020
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Four African-American vets return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their friend and fallen Squad Leader and the gold he helped them hide – Back in 2013 after watching the Oldboy remake I honestly thought the great Spike Lee maybe past it, possibly spent as a filmmaker and only to be reveared for past glories…. In 2018 he delivered one of the best movies of that year in BlacKkKlansman and today in his first outing with Netflix Spike Lee has once again rolled back the years…. DA 5 BLOODS is not only an exceptional picture but it’s a timely history lesson that’s high on emotion, tense as a butt cheek in a landmine, a riverting adventure romp and one of Lee’s more violent and ambitious movie Joints to date – Rather than the deaging of actors (like Scorsese did in The Irishman) Spike Lee decided on a different and in my opinion more refreshing approach seeing the old guard play their younger selves in the film’s flashbacks which helped the film’s narrative and was exciting to watch, the music from the grand master Marvin Gaye, the message throughout of Love over Hate and shooting on location in Vietnam gave Da 5 Bloods it’s heartbeat…. and did I mention Delroy “Mother Fucking” Lindo in his fourth collaboration with Lee and in my opinion his best, Lindo’s character Paul is an all kinds of messed up, racist war vet that harbor’s a secret, his performance reminds me of Bogey in Sierra Madre as you watch his character slowly unravel in quite a devistating way – Overall there can be no doubt Spike Lee is back making film’s that connect with it’s audience in an entertaining, shocking yet relevant way ★★★★½

Shirley & The Last Days of American Crime (2020) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on June 11, 2020
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A famous writer finds inspiration for her next piece of work after she and her husband take in a young couple – Josephine Decker’s latest movie SHIRLEY is a riverting slice of hazy dreamlike filmmaking that I will need to rewatch several times as it’s that bloody good – the film’s atmospheric sound, it’s gorgeous closeups and facinating story by Susan Merrell makes this picture top notch viewing – the scenes between Michael Stuhlbarg & Elisabeth Moss are captivating & seem quite effortless but I have to say the star of SHIRLEY is Odessa Young who’s quite brilliant as Rose, those moments shared with Moss and Lerman set the tone of the story and it’s easily her best performance to date ★★★★

In the future and as a final response to crime the United States government plan to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts – Oliver Megaton’s THE LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME is one cool, relevant and fucked up action movie led from the front by “ice for veins” Edgar Ramirez, “looney tune & totally unhinged” Michael Pitt and the “wired for sound kickass” Anna Brewster – at times the story is a little messy, but if your a fan of this French filmmaker and his stylized action movies then boy this one’s for you, it’s quite relentless, bonkers at times and it sure is an almighty fun way to spend 2hrs – leave your brain in isolation and enjoy the ride ★★★★

Capone (2020) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on May 13, 2020
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After serving time in prison a 47-year old Al Capone starts suffering from dementia and is haunted by his violent past – Blurring his past with the present comes a facinating character study into one of the most evil gangsters of all time – Josh Trank’s CAPONE is an absorbing watch, with flashes of violence & brilliance that shows once again the might of Tom Hardy and the formidable work of Linda Cardellini – along with the film’s injection of black humor such as Capone’s fishing meltdown alongside Matt Dillon and the brilliant Tommy Gun scene you also get to feel quite sad for this monster as you watch his final moments decend into lunacy, incontinence and utter mayhem – My only criticism is that CAPONE felt 30mins too short, Trank could have delved further into Capone’s fascinating backstory, more carnage and maybe let the viewer discover a little more about his wife and best friend Mae Coughlin (maybe a prequel Josh?) but that being said the film is outstanding, well written and almost Kubrick in style and I for one can’t wait to revisit Capone many more times ★★★★½

The Kelly Gang (2020) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on February 9, 2020
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Based on Peter Carey’s novel about the story of Australian Outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang of misfits as they tangle with the local fuzz during the 1870s – TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG is Justin Kurzel’s 4th feature film and from start to finish the film is harrowing stuff with it’s violence, harshness of the times depicted in brutal fashion by the Aussie filmmaker who broke onto the scene with his raw yet brilliant debut Snowtown back in 2011 – George MacKay, Russell Crowe and Orlando Schwerdt are terrific in the movie as is Charlie Hunnam and Nicholas Hoult both adding some menace to proceedings, and is there a better Aussie actress than Essie Davis at the moment? a totally committed, ballsey actress that has such a screen presense as she commits to her role 120% – Some of the movie was shot in the Winton Wetlands which I found such a perfect location lending to the movies haunting, barren yet majestic landscape – Kurzel’s movie is certainly not everybody’s cup of tea but it was mine and I would recommend the True History of The Kelly Gang to anyone who loves movies, I just hope it gets the exposure it deserves ★★★★

Spiral (2020) – Movie Trailer

Posted by absolutebadasses on February 5, 2020
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I’m a sucker for these type of movies and this looks BRILLIANT – the premise looks fresh, dark & truly twisted and has a small hint of Fincher’s Seven blended with the bloody terrifying franchise we love so much !! Spiral (aka: Spiral: From The Book of Saw) is the ninth installment in the Saw franchise. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman who brought us Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV, and starring Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, and Marisol Nichols

The Irishman (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 30, 2019
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A mob hitman tells the story of his possible involvement with the hit on Jimmy Hoffa – THE IRISHMAN is Martin Scorsese’s 25th feature film and is now on Netflix (and showing at limited cinema’s throughout the country) – the movie starts in beautiful, typical Scorsese fashion, with the camera creeping effortlessly along some corridors and into a small room where Robert De Niro’s character Frank aka: The Irishman who looks old and life beaten starts to tell his story….. due to the quality of storytelling the film’s 209min run-time flies by, you get so engrossed by it all, I mean this is one of cinema’s greatest directors with a bunch of actors who are LEGENDS of the screen in a gangster movie no less what’s not to piss your movie loving pants over – THE IRISHMAN is a towering movie experience that shows more restraint, is more personal & certainly more tragic than Scorsese’s recent films – the de-aging of it’s cast is sublime and actually mind blowing if you’ve followed these actors since their early days, De Niro, Pacino and Pesci roll back the years giving outstanding performances with the likes of Stephen Graham & Ray Romano joining the big boys league in fine fashion, Graham’s character Tony Pro has some riveting and funny exchanges with Pacino’s Hoffa that are certainly amongst the film’s highlights – Overall The Irishman may not be Scorsese’s best work but a love letter to the genre & a tribute to Four Giants of the screen it most certainly is ★★★★½

Ford V Ferrari (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 26, 2019
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Cop Land, 3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine, Logan and now FORD v FERRARI James Mangold’s thrill ride, a 7,000 RPM adrenaline fueled, pulsating ENERGY packed racing movie that sees Matt Damon deliver a career best, Christian Bale in infectious form, Caitriona Balfe delivering one of the film’s best moments and the race scenes WOW their pure dynamite – for me 2019 is the best year of the decade for cinematic treasures and this film continues the trend in leaving me speechless and rather emotional as I left my seat at the big screen – obviously the Le Mans track has changed through the years since the 60s so how on earth did James Mangold and his team recreate the movies focal point? it’s just mind boggling, the camera work by the Greek cinematographer Phedon Papamichael is sublime, his work in creating that claustrophobic yet thrilling car racing scenes is pure brilliance but for me the main reason this movie succeeds is it’s cast who are simply magnetic – what a movie and a ride you don’t wana miss on the big screen ★★★★★

Cosmos (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 14, 2019
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Three astronomers intercept what they believe to be a signal from a distant alien civilization, but the truth is even more incredible than any of them could have imagined – COSMOS is one of those rare breed of movies that I knew very little about, I had not even seen a trailer, poster or movie still for this movie so to say I was blown away was putting it mildly – the film is fascinating as the main bulk of Cosmos is set mainly inside a car and some creepy woods that surround the area, with this in mind the three actors (Tom England, Arjun Singh Panam & Joshua Ford) do an immense job in keeping you invested in the movies story line as the atmosphere slowly builds to a frenetic crescendo – the friendship between Roy & Harry and their backstory was well written and integral to their overall story arc and a few of my favorite bits in the movie included the Jaws like sing-along moment, Mike falling asleep and then waking up to find the car empty and those moments when the guys are out in the woods attempting to triangulate the signal (genuine edge of the bloody seat moment) – Elliot & Zander Weaver have crafted a tense and incredibly entertaining movie that captivates you from minute one – the film’s score is dramatic and quite sublime, the writing is top notch and it’s cast are pure quality – I can’t think of a better Indie Movie this year so if you get the chance watch COSMOS it’s brilliant ★★★★½

Doctor Sleep (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 2, 2019
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So last week I was luck enough to revisit one of my favorite horror movies of all time Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece The Shining on the big screen and today I visited my local cinema to watch Doctor Sleep and let me tell you something IT is nothing short of EXCEPTIONAL !! This is director Mike Flanagan’s love letter to the Torrance family & all things that shine, how he managed to recreate such iconic sets such as the spine chilling blood from the elevator scene, Danny exploring the hotel on his tricycle, the room to room interior of the Overlook, those scary twins and of course the overheard camera following Danny’s car up towards the Overlook accompanied by that haunting score God Only Knows – Ewan McGregor is terrific as Danny Torrence, Rebecca Ferguson’s Rose the Hat & her power draining cult known as the True Knot are so bloody scary, reminding me slightly of the roaming blood suckers in Bigelow’s Near Dark – some of their scenes especially the one that involved No.19 the young baseball player scared the hell out of me whilst the incredible Alex Essoe literally sent shivers down my spine with her remarkable performance as Wendy Torrence – Overall Doctor Sleep is a cinematic triumph that pays homage to it’s predecessor whilst creating a creepy atmosphere & super scary horror of it’s own !! ★★★★★