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The Lords of Salem 2013
Rob Zombie's attempt at euro art house horror is an unmitigated disaster. Clearly Zombie's watched a lot of Eurohorror, but he doesn't seem to have understood any of it, he just spews out the imagery from The Devils, Black Sunday and Possession in a random film that doesn't mean anything. Every performance is terrible except for the dog. Features possibly the worst Google exposition scene ever. Worst of all, it's really boring.
Full review on ScreenJabber bit.ly/10D8TOi
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X-Men: First Class 2011
Decent if overlong comic book movie with terrific performances by McEvoy and Fassbender.
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Evil Dead 2013
About as good as a remake of Raimi's classic could be. It lacks the pop and fizz of Raimi and co's invention and exuberance, but it's enjoyable relentless and full on gory.
Full review on Screenjabber bit.ly/YCuOqZ
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Post Tenebras Lux 2013
Possibly the most obscure film I have ever seen.
If you want to know more, you will have to read my review here issuu.com/veritefilmmagazine/docs/issue1
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For Ellen 2012
Terrific performance by Paul Dano on a low key indie drama about a feckless rock singer trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Less generic than it sounds, this is the sort of film that spends most of its time observing details. Dano was a certain type of inarticulate, emotional stunted masculinity down pat.
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Reign of Assassins 2010
Reign of Assassins is a lavish wuxia style martial arts adventure, a genre that has receded back into the Eastern action movie niche in the west since the high box office watermarks of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Hero (2002). In many ways this is a perfect example of why this is, as later films have been esoteric and difficult to parse due to over complex plots and indifferent characterisation.
For obvious reasons co-director John Woo is prominently featured…
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Sparkle 2012
What's the blandest thing you can imagine? Well Sparkle is a double helping of that with a side order of banal.
Full review up on Chris and Phil bit.ly/XjzWzQ
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Margin Call 2011
Excellent film about the market crash still affecting us now. Superb cast and performances especially from Spacey, Irons and Tucci.
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Side by Side 2012
Essential viewing for anyone with more than a passing interest in cinema, it's past, it's present, and it's future.
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Love Bite 2012
Godawful teen werewolf horror comedy that is (of course) neither scary or remotely funny.
Full savaging up on Chris and Phil bit.ly/15DDXBY
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The ABCs of Death 2013
26 short films by different directors, no linking device, each clip showcasing a cause of death.
The quality of this anthology is wildly variable, but I ended up liking more of it than expected. Kudos to Ti West for producing the worst film out of 26, quite an achievement. There are a handful of genuine standouts. I especially liked Marcel Sarmiento's D, Timo Tjahjanto's jaw dropping L, Brino Forzani and Helene Cattet's O, Xavier Gen's X, and Jason Eisener's Y.
Full review on ScreenJabber bit.ly/13zTjUn
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Auschwitz 2011
Auschwitz (70 mins, Germany, cert 15) *
Directed by Uwe Boll
Written by Uwe Boll
Cast: Aved Birnbaum, Nik Goldman, Maximilian Gartner, Uwe Bol, Harold Levy
Available on DVD, 11th July, from High Flyers Films.
When it was announced earlier this year that German director Uwe Boll (most commonly associated with cheap genre films based on video game properties) was to make a film about Auschwitz, the most notorious Nazi death camp, there was outrage. The negative reaction was stoked…
