film stills

Number 23 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : Two American friends on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists : It’s impossible to quantify how much an effect AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON had on me whilst growing up, in love with the genre and especially the early days of Universal’s Horror Movies, such as The Wolf Man from the early 40s : From that opening pub scene when everybody just stops and stares at the two boys like their from another world, the pentagram hanging on the wall of the pub, Jenny Agutter’s Nurse Price (like many I crushed hard and still do) to Rick Baker’s ground breaking special effects An American Werewolf in London is quite simply Horror Perfection : my favorite scene in the movie (apart from when David changes of course) is the London Underground chase scene, it still freaks me out & scares me good & proper, and I do love the moments in the seedy adult cinema where Jack who’s slowly decaying introduces David his victims from the night before…. so good : with a budget of $6 Million An American Werewolf in London Won the Oscar for Best Makeup and became a box office success and has since become a Cult Classic, the film’s script from Landis is outstanding, so funny & cleverly dark at times, the film’s score including three tracks cut perfectly to their respectives scenes are bloody brilliant, these include Van Morrison’s Moondance, Bobby Vinton’s version of Blue Moon and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising : I always revisit this movie around Halloween and each & every time I applaud, scream and laugh my way through this horror gem from director John Landis ★★★★★

Number 26 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : A reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it : Around the end of the 90s and early 2000s the world of horror coming out of Japan was delightfully creepy & truly unforgettable, film’s such as Dark Water, Ju-On: The Grudge, Pulse, One Missed Call and of course RING and it’s sequel Rasen directed by Hideo Nakata shocked the genre, delivered Hollywood some remake material and gave me some sleepless nights in the process : Nakata’s Ring the novel of which was written by Kôji Suzuki is by far the creepiest, most sinister horror movie to come out of Japan, there’s no real violence to speak of, just that unease you feel when something is coming, that slow burning, spine-tingling and altogether unpleasant feeling of all : the beautifully talented duo of Nanako Matsushima & Hiroyuki Sanada are sublime and are both heavily involved in the film’s iconic and scary well scene, that moment when Reiko comes across the corpse and hair down the well is turn away from the screen horrific : I’ve now seen the movie around a dozen times and even during my rewatch I still find the twist to deliver an almighty knockout : if your a serious horror fan and have not seen this the original version of the RING then remedy this immediately, it’s a must watch and it will scare the living daylights out of you ★★★★½

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

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

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

Peter, like most teenagers LOVES his bedroom so when his Grandpa (Robert De Niro) comes to stay he’s kicked to the curb, booted out of his room and moved into the family attic, not happy with this arrangement Peter decides to declare war in an attempt to win his room back : I really like filmmaker Tim Hill he’s has this knack of making me smile and his latest War with Grandpa is arguably his best work (that’s hell of a statement as I’m still a huge fan of Muppets from Space what a classic) : I know some people (boring farts maybe) would say that this type of movie is two a penny & predictable BUT when made well there’s nothing like a good old tug at your heart-strings and laugh till your sides ache family fun movie and War with Grandpa is certainly that : the humor is spot on especially when pitting young versus old, it’s not the story it’s the characters in the movie that win your hearts : the three oldies Robert De Niro’s Grandpa and his two mates Danny & Jerry played gamefully well by Cheech Marin & Christopher Walken are terrific and look in their elements having a good time being friends, kicking about in dodgeball with the kids and looking at young women’s backsides during their walk-about in the park, Walken especially is soooooo funny the faces he pulls is priceless : I also found Uma Thurman & Laura Marano totally awesome and so so watchable, the shenanigans between Mum, Daughter and Russell who plays the boyfriend had me laughing so much throughout : I also found the chemistry between De Niro’s Grandpa and Peter played by the gifted Oakes Fegley who also starred in the wonderful Pete’s Dragon remake back in 2016 to be the backbone of the movie, their screentime was full of hilarity and the lengths they would go to creating havok in their path and get revenge on the other was downright brilliant : also watching Peter’s life in school with his friends was a blast from the past and had me thinking back to my childhood that contained similar senario’s : Overall if your a fan of family comedy with a slice of nostalgia and the chance to watch De Niro & Walken reunite some old magic then WAR WITH GRANDPA is definately for you ★★★★

February 14th : 2019

DARK PHOENIX : Simon Kinberg
Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender & Jennifer Lawrence

So with giddy excitment I’m pleased to say that the X-Men will return to the big screen early next year in what promises to be a mind blowing start to a new trilogy of films starting with Dark Phoenix the compelling story of Jean Grey played by the Games of Thrones actress Sophie Turner and judging by this trailer I have now watched several times Kinberg’s movie could eclipse all the X-Men movies that have come before it……

This is Simon Kinberg’s directorial debut with his storyline centered around “The Dark Phoenix Saga” written by Cockrum, Byrne & Claremont and not only does Dark Phoenix look dark, gritty and packed full of emotion but the casting of Jean Grey look spot on with Turner looking made for this role – There’s a storm approaching where friendships will fall, trust will be broken and team X-Men will be tested like never before – Dark Phoenix is already high on my list of most anticipated movies of 2019 and this trailer excites me to the point of wanting to watch all previous movies featuring these cool as hell mutants – Hope you enjoy the trailer and three new stills below !!

January First Timer’s

Posted by absolutebadasses on January 31, 2018

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: australia day, australian movie, Ben Foster, blog, bryan brown, christian bale, cinema, film, film nerd, film stills, hostiles, Kriv Stenders, like, love movies, movie, movie geek, movie site, movies that i have watched, photos, rosamund pike, scott cooper, screen australia, shari sebbens, thriller, western. Leave a comment

AUSTRALIA DAY : Kriv Stenders
Bryan Brown, Shari Sebbens, Sean Keenan, Daniel Webber

I really ENJOYED Kriv Stenders edge of the seat Crash-style thriller Australia Day – along with Bryan Brown & Shari Sebbens who is bloody brilliant by the way, it’s young cast really does excell & allows the films story to roll at a break neck pace and feel downright authentic – there’s so much running in the movie that at times I felt out of breath watching it all go down – the film brings to light a whole lot of issues such as race and underage prostitution and although there’s nothing new about it’s narrative filmmaker Kriv Stenders handles it well and delivers a movie that balances between a high octain thriller and one that also makes one think of the choices & consequences in one’s life – overall Australia Day is well worth the watch and yet another Aussie Gem ★★★★

HOSTILES : Scott Cooper
Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Rosamund Pike

from it’s gritty storyline, Takayanagi’s haunting at times beautiful camera work, Bale & Pike’s ability to suck you into Cooper’s narrative and Max Richter’s soul searching score Hostiles is one of the Best Western since Eastwood’s Unforgiven, it’s dark & brutal just like the times, it’s uncomplicated and I can’t remember Christian Bale ever giving a better performance – this is one to watch on the big screen, it’s a visual treat and by the way it’s by no means the Bale & Pike show there’s a whole bunch of stone cold, gritty performances from the tigerish Rory Cochrane as Metz, Jesse Plemons (yep him again) as Kidder & Jonathan Majors as Woodsen – Scott Cooper’s Hostiles is such an awesome ride LOVED IT !! ★★★★½

The Beguiled adapted by film maker Sofia Coppola from Thomas Cullinan’s novel of the same name – the story unfolds in a girls’ school in the state of Virginia in 1864. As the Civil War rages, The Miss Martha Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies has been sheltered from the outside world— until the day a wounded Union soldier is discovered nearby and taken in

WOW that trailer gives me the goosebumps – and now you can see why I named this movie in My Top 10 to get psyched over in 2017 – with such a mouth watering cast including Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Kirsten Dunst and Angourie Rice, a film-maker and writer in Sofia Coppola that excites and seduces with each sumptuous picture she directs, I’m confident that THE BEGUILED this summer will be another slice of cinema magic that I can not wait for….

No.10 : Transformers: The Last Knight
Directed: by Michael Bay and Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Isabela Moner
Why the Excitement?: If you can’t get jumped up for a big screen action movie directed by one of cinema’s finest visual directors then all is lost – Michael Bay is the master of entertaining and regardless of it’s acting and narrative his movies have always given me that slice of escapism and shit loads of fun and this fifth in the franchise looks the most explosive of the bunch !!

No.9 : Baby Driver
Directed: by Edgar Wright and Stars: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jamie Foxx
Why the Excitement?: Well if you’ve seen Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim then you can understand why this bad boy makes my Top 10 Baby Driver looks all sorts of fun, expect the Edgar Wright Stamp that will include a delirious soundtrack with a side dose of side splitting action scenes and a fair amount of talented actors making appearances throughout

No.8 : The Dark Tower
Directed: by Nikolaj Arcel and Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba
Why the Excitement?: Having read the books by Stephen King I’m intrigued to see how this adapts to the big screen – the movie will be more of a new take on the series that follows frontiersman Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) on a quest to reach The Dark Tower – licking my lips with excitement !!

No.7 : Alien: Covenant
Directed: by Ridley Scott and Stars: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride
Why the Excitement?: I was not a fan of Prometheus but believe, I have too right? that the Ridley Scott of Alien and Blade Runner fame will turn this franchise on it’s head and return to former glories – the trailer looks incredibly creepy and with the cast including Fassbender and Waterston I have high hopes

No.6 : Star Wars: Episode VIII
Directed: by Rian Johnson and Stars: Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega
Why the Excitement?: Are you kidding right now? Star Wars? I love these movies and this latest directed by Rian Looper Johnson will be much different to Abrams in tone and style and maybe just maybe we will get to see more of Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker involved too?

No.5 : Okja
Directed: by Joon-Ho Bong and Stars: Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lilly Collins
Why the Excitement?: I’m a huge fan of this South Korean Filmmaker and his unique, exciting style of bold movie making – 2006’s The Host, 2009’s Mother and 2013’s Snow Piercer all blew me away – the cast is exceptional and it’s story by Bong and Jon Ronson (Frank) looks delightfully quirky and wildly entertaining !!

No.4 : The Beguiled
Directed: by Sofia Coppola and Stars: Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst
Why the Excitement?: Loved the 1971 Clint Eastwood version and boy what an impressive cast !! Pretty big fan of Coppola The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette are three impressive, well written & beautifully shot movies so I think The Beguiled will continue this trend – might even read the novel A Painted Devil by Thomas P. Cullinan in preperation

No.3 : Hostiles
Directed: by Scott Cooper and Stars: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Ben Foster
Why the Excitement?: Reuniting Cooper and Bale after their epic Out of the Furnace this promises to be all sorts of dark, violent shit – love it’s premise reminds me slightly of Peckinpah’s Major Dundee and I do enjoy a good western

No.2 : Wonder Woman
Directed: by Patty Jenkins and Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen
Why the Excitement?: Big comic film geek, love Wonder Woman as a character and Gal Gadot is sensational in pretty much everything she appears in – and Wonder Woman’s film trailer was easily the Best of 2016 – excited HELL YEAH !!

No.1 : Blade Runner 2049
Directed: by Denis Villeneuve and Stars: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto
Why the Excitement?: two reasons: the first it’s original movie the 1982 Ridley Scott master piece sits comfortably in My Top 10 of all time so being able to revisit these characters and world excites the holy hell out of me and second it’s director Denis Villeneuve is easily the most exciting filmmaker since Tarantino, with films such as Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario and Arrival who could argue?

I enjoyed Gavin O’Connor’s 2008 crime thriller Pride and Glory but was totally blown away by his 2011 movie Warrior a boxing gem that is hard hitting, well acted and as tense as Tom Hardy’s biceps but then something unusual happened O’Connor sort of disappeared from the big screen limelight, he spent a few years directing a couple of TV movies and the odd episode of a TV show only to return four years later to helm the problematic western Jane Got a Gun that was not only a huge disappointment considering it’s fabulous cast but a big shame as it could and should have been a pretty decent western – maybe on reflection O’Connor wishes he had left this mess that somebody else had started well alone and stayed out of the limelight for that little bit longer…..

But luckily for us we didn’t have to wait long for filmmaker Gavin O’Connor to get back to doing what he does best and that is a gritty, well written and interesting take on the action thriller and with The Accountant it’s safe to say that he has delivered the goods – Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff the autistic genius who makes his living uncooking the books for dangerous criminal organizations is coolness sublime, his mannerism’s and terminator style action scenes are a thing of beauty, explosive yet done with style, Affleck looks to be having a blast playing this tough, clever yet struggling to socialize anti-hero and some of his off the cuff one liner’s are delivered with a serious deadpan look that makes the moment even more fun to watch – Affleck nails his character’s disorder so well, the scene’s where Wolff sits in his bedroom beating his leg with the stereo blasting shows his vulnerability, his complexity and he is totally compelling to watch, your invested in this character and regardless of his past you end up rooting for him to succeed and have some sort of happy conclusion at it’s end – the infectious Anna Kendrick is yet again a delight to watch and her role alongside Affleck’s Wolffe makes for an unlikely teaming but it so works – I would have liked to have seen J.K Simmons in a more prominent role but nevertheless he’s solid, The Punisher’s Jon Bernthal gives yet another eye catching performance as a paid mercenary who’s protecting someone of interest to Wolff, I really enjoy watching Bernthal tackle the action scenes, it seems so effortless – Overall: Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant is one of my favorite movies of the year, it’s a bloody good thriller with a message on autism that’s handled superbly by it’s lead star & writing team – I can’t wait for a second viewing and maybe just maybe director and star could be tempted to return for a sequel? let’s hope so….

OK first up I never wanted to see this movie made and not because of this nonsense “all female” thing either, I just love the original films, like many they’re part of my upbringing since the original was released back in the mid 80s I must have seen the film 100 times or more Aykroyd, Ramis and Murray are three of my film heroes so discovering that they were doing another film remake and this time it was my beloved Ghostbusters I was at first mad as hell, I wanted to scream the social media house down, I guess I never wanted a movie more than this one to fail miserably but luckily for me like most things I calmed down and accepted that even without my blessing this reboot was going to happen one way or the other – Paul Feig happens to be one of my favourite modern comedy directors, films such as Bridesmaids, The Heat and Spy have all made me cry with laughter so taking the mantle for this remake was a big thing for him and I just prayed, kept my fingers crossed that he was up to the task…..

OK so now I have seen Ghostbusters the 2016 version and I want to share my views with you film fans out there – firstly it has to be said Feig goes above and beyond in respecting the original 1984 classic, he uses the old theme tune, gives cameo’s to the old cast and even dedicates the movie to Harold Ramis at the end credits (a nice touch I thought) – his young cast comprising of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Chris Hemsworth are all fabulous, McKinnon and Jones for me steal the show but in general Feig has managed to cast well all actors adding something to this reboot, Hemsworth is at times hilarious playing the dopey good looking secretary for the team, he actually wears glasses without the glass and keeps tripping over himself & that dancing at the end credits is worth staying around for – I love also the fact that the legend that is Andy Garcia plays the New York Mayor such a great actor and fabulous to see him back on the big screen – the films opening at the haunted mansion was a riot, Kristen Wigg’s character getting slimed is worth the ticket value in itself and them scenes involving Jone’s character in the subway and also the possessed dummy are so much fun, McCarthy being possessed and getting slapped by Jones was hilarious and then of course you have McKinnon just oozing style playing the oddball engineer who creates the teams Ghost busting weapons & looks equally at ease firing them bad boys – Overall: put aside (if you have any) your disagreement for this movie and go and have some fun – Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters is an amusing, entertaining picture, the cast rock & I promise you this movie will bring a smile to your face, my only small criticism is that the last 15minutes could have been handled better, a little OTT but that’s me being picky – Ghostbusters is a real blast !! ★★★½

“A righteous, no nonsense Sheriff, his old loyal Deputy, a crippled cowboy & a mysterious Outlaw ride across country on a rescue mission, to save a women from some rather gruesome, cave dwelling cannibalistic Indians”Leaning on the likes of John Ford’s Classic The Searchers for inspiration Zahler’s exciting take on the western burns like a stick of dynamite, it’s purposely slow to start leading to an enthralling, nerve jangling explosion in its finale – it’s content is dark & its pockets of violence graphic, but there is no question of its genre, this is no horror cowboy mash up its quite simply a hard hitting Western that relies heavily on its engaging story line, captivating photography and a bunch of cool, unflinching characters that are nailed to perfection by its terrific cast that includes Russell, Jenkins, Fox and Wilson

Maybe it’s the influence of Kurt “Cool” Russell or maybe it’s S. Craig Zahler’s gritty, peculiar and at times humorous script ? either way BONE TOMAHAWK is absolute badass, the film has some sort of aurora surrounding it, just like a great Tarantino picture no matter how ugly things get you cant help but smile & enjoy the show !! ★★★★½

Ted 2 (2015) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on July 12, 2015

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: big screen, blog, comedies, film blog, film fan, film geek, film stills, films, funny movies, liam nesson, like, love comedy, love films, Mark Wahlberg, movie fan, movie thoughts, movies, new movies, photos, planet movies in 30 characters, series, seth macfarlane, ted 2, trailers, tv. Leave a comment

James Horner (1953-2015)

Posted by absolutebadasses on June 23, 2015

Posted in: Views. Tagged: aliens, avatar, braveheart, cinema, field of dreams, film blog, film composer, film fan, film stills, films, james horner, james horner RIP, love movies, movie blog, movie scores, movie soundtracks, movie website, rocketeer, scifi movies, titanic. Leave a comment

RIP James Horner who has died in a plane crash aged 61 – your unforgettable, heart wrenching movie scores always enriched the movie going experience and made the great films even greater