Letterboxd — Your life in film

What a derivative film. Literally two whole scene are pretty much ripped straight from The Ring. The worst part is, that there are glimmers of a promising, downbeat supernatural movie in here. If the script hadn't been a mess and the execution not so boring, I could see a talented writer/director taking the idea at the foundation of this movie somewhere interesting. But... nope.

Watched this one after hearing the news of Tony Scott today. Remains one of the most watchable and entertaining slices of cheese-ball 80s action that just happened to have been made in '91. Yes it's dated -- and insanely overstuffed with glorious one-liners --but for those reasons, this will forever be my hungover-pop-a-vhs-in-on-saturday-morning flicks. "Fast forward eats the tape!"

Another movie that I took far too long to see, and as such I am left without many words to say that haven't already been said. A very calculated, superbly acted 70s thriller. Like many of the era, the pace rolls out very deliberately and the picture is all the better for it.

Reviewed for the SYNWPC podcast. Went into this expecting it to either be a huge chore to sit through, or a massive misfire, and got something a little bit in-between. Not the worst I've been forced to sit through but pretty bland and boring with moments of over-dramatic unintentional laughs. I'm sure it'll fare just fine with its intended audience of older-children and parents though. Someone definitely needs to re-cut the reveal of Timothy to have horror-music though, for sure.

A bit late on this one, but I finally got around to seeing it. Solid and well-acted familial drama-comedy. Maybe it was the shared cast, but I was reminded a little of Lymelife.

Saw this a long time ago, but had a re-watch for a review I'm doing. I think the main issue with Surf Nazis Must Die, is that most of the shoddily paced running time is spent with the titular gang as opposed to making it an actual revenge film. When it finally becomes the film it promises from the synopsis -- about 15 minutes before it ends -- it's too little, too late.

Solid comedy that offers up some pretty big laughs, and that's all there really is to it.

William Friedkin returns to form (I wasn't a fan of BUG) with Killer Joe -- a sleazy, violent and sexually charged country-noir with plenty of laughs that go from enjoyable to uncomfortable at the drop of a hat. I went in with high expectations having heard this was one of the best films of the year, and Killer Joe kept matching them. The performances are all top notch -- especially Thomas Haden Church, Juno Temple and Matthew McConaughey -- and the script is as tight as can be. Highly recommended.

Brighton Rock is a stylish, bleak British noir that updates the original book from the 30s to the Mods vs Rockers era of the 60s. It has some great performances -- despite a few overly-dramatic moments -- but is well worth checking out if you're in the mood for it.

Threw this on because I was in the mood for some trash, and boy did it not disappoint. This was was some golden garbage, that's for sure. I laughed like a maniac straight through it, and could watch that dog TYPE ON A COMPUTER with a pencil -- or identify Abraham Lincoln via barks -- ALL DAMN DAY. And let's not forget the great, always over-the-top Michael Ironside. Oh yeah, and there's some monster running around killing people too, but whatever.

One for the remake pile, for sure. Say what you want about Alien Nation, but its commitment to the idea here is admirable -- we're introduced to the idea that aliens have landed and live among us and the film just goes about with a buddy cop plot as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, I would have liked to see there be more dramatic weight placed upon their "secret", or seen more social/political undertones. A good diversion, as it stands.

Cold Weather is a likable, well-performed low-key indie piece that mixes some light Mystery between four characters and their post-college -- or drop-out -- ennui. I quite liked it, though I am known to gravitate towards these kind of films. I thought the suspense played very well against the realistic drama of their day-to-day lives.