Heavenly Creatures

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Paul

One of my all time favourite films ever. My favourite Peter Jackson film. I'm so glad I finally got this on bluray.

I just love everything about this film, except some of the score. Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their first film roles are just unstoppable. Jackson goes for broke directing this one, and how can you not be thankful for the creation of Weta Digital? Richard Taylor's awesome prosthetics are on full display here too.

I also love that this true crime story is a great coming of age film, a fast paced drama and a horror thriller. It's also very funny in parts. The film really take you into the minds of these two girls, into their fantasies and their view of reality which inevitably leads to some dark places. Such a brilliantly structured and crafted screenplay. I hear it's well researched too but I'm not so concerned with that as much, but well deserved of its Oscar nomination for original screenplay.

This is a must see!

Carnage

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Yes! Wonderful! Bravo.

Roman Polanski does another play adaptation and with this delightful cast it's just brilliantly handled. Just two couples talking in a room, all played out in real time and lasting just over an hour but it's absolutely captivating and hilarious.

I just love that the film starts off with one couple leaving and they can just never get away. Once they make it to the door, twice they make it all the way to the elevator but slowly and surly this argument keeps drawing them back and things just keep getting more out of hand.

I remember watching Polanski's Death and the Maiden in high school which made me really want to perform the play. But reading the play, all the parts I loved from the film were absent. I don't know how much has been changed from this play but the film at least knows not to overstay its welcome.

You get the point pretty early, well you can probably tell the point from the trailer, but this film manages to bows out at a high where any further escalation would be cartoonish.

Really I just love watching these actors perform. That's reason enough to like it for me.

Also, even though it's only used in the opening and closing credits Alexandre Desplat gave the film a nice little score.

While it might seem a little slight for some, it was just was I was hoping for to end today. Very nice indeed.

The Devil Inside

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

I think the trailer is scarier than the film. It's also more interesting. This film stops dead in it's tracks, the credits start rolling what feels like half way through act 2, completely unsatisfying. Almost infuriating actually.

I had to leave the cinema briefly twice to try and convince the staff the top and bottom of the film was being cut off. unfortunately due to the found footage motif changing ratio all the time and a lot of black frames, the first time they came to check they didn't believe me. But when the film proper started and the quality jumped up a bit it was obviously wrong, name captions in the lower 3rds were being cropped off. they stopped the film for 5 or 6 minutes to fix the issue and then continued it.

I really don't think it made any impact to the film tough, it wasn't really building to anything at that stage. By the time it actually does start doing something it bloody well finishes.

I had heard bad things about the film going in, so I was expecting a train wreck but the start gave me some hope that it wasn't going to be all bad. In fact I didn't mind the main girl at all and during the regular scenes everyone else seemed fine too, but when the spooky stuff starts all credibility just goes out the window. I wanna just put it down to bad acting but I don't know how much of the script was improvised by them or if they were forced to deliver some of those lines. Either way, not good.

Worst of all, it's nothing we haven't seen a dozen times before.

Unless there's a part 2 that resolves everything in an amazing and twisty way there's absolutely no reason to see this.

Blood Diner

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Michael, Alex

Write Up.

What a ridiculous film.

The Ordeal

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First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Michael, Alex

A great little horrorish thriller from Belgium a few years back. A slow build to a very tragic and sick romance. A film that's probably more interested in its villains than its protagonist.

It's a slow moving kind of dread. One of those situations where you're trying to get away but going nowhere and things keep getting worse. I find the situation rather amusing however the way it is executed is certainly not played for laughs. In fact it's pretty darn sick.

There's some real deliverance country stuff going on here behind closed doors. however the way the film is shot it's just ever so slightly more abstracted. I get the feeling that every single person the protagonist encounters wants exactly the same thing from him and the whole film is his journey from unwillingness to give himself over to finally letting go, for whatever reason.

It's tragic, horrifying and also slightly amusing thanks to some great performances. A favourite of mine.

Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Ok, so we suddenly jump 660 sequels to get to part 666, the main feature of which is the return of Isaac from the original. The only actor to be in more than 1 of these films. Nancy Allen is here too, taking over the role of Rachel from the first film and now trying to stop her estranged daughter from returning to the town and fulfilling some prophecy.

The most surprising thing about this film is how visual it was. I did not expect to get to part 6 and admire the cinematography, the lighting, the colours. It all goes towards making a mood that works well for the film, even though it feels so very mid 90's music video. At least you can tell there was an actual director at the helm on this one.

And one of the strangest love scenes I've seen in a horror film.

A big step up from the last entry. Better actors, a story that's still pretty tenuous but at least the effort is there. And while there's not much gore this one goes for mood and succeeds pretty admirably.

Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

OK things are getting really bad now. This time we have a young Eva Mendes in her first film, but at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Naomi Watts in part 4, Mendes shows she was never a good actress in the first place.

Fred Williamson and David Carradine show up in bit parts and I'm pretty sure that was Kane Hodder sans Jason hokey mask.

There's really nothing here much else here. Once again the evil little kid gets more to do than anyone else and the series has just become a showcase of little Shakespearian actors sprouting religious mumbo jumbo coupled with some corn related death. I'm not holding out much hope for the rest of these. The series burnt out at number 3.

Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

So this is the one starring Naomi Watts. Man she sells this crap like it's oscar bait. It truly is amazing and the only reason to watch. Karen Black shows up too and that little girl from Dante's Peak.

This one feels more like a viral outbreak zombie movie. It's far more serious than the last offering but also less gory (I'm thinking nothing is going to top that ridiculous climax in number 3). It pretty much ignores the events from the last films and is its own thing. However even the connective tissue within the film is tenuous at best.

Project X

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Yet another found footage movie, this time tackling an r-rated comedy about teens throwing a party.

Despite marginal efforts to the contrary there is little else in the way of plot and character. Just barely enough to string the events together and for what the film is trying to accomplish it's arguable that they needed any more than that anyway. It's really just about the experience of going to the most out of control party ever filmed.

I absolutely hated the main characters. I wanted more than anything to see them get their comeuppance but that never happens. Instead the film rewards them for their bad behaviour, much like producer Todd Phillips' Hangover movies, and leaves me feeling morally corrupted, which I guess is the idea. I have a fundamental dislike of loud crowded parties and drunk people so to see all this being glamorised really pissed me off. The objectification of girls in this movie is on another level.

But hey, what do I know, the audience seemed into it. If you love the trailer you can pay to get that stretched out over an hour and a half.

Right At Your Door

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Before getting pick to handle the much bigger budget and very silly The Darkest Hour, Chris Gorak made this great inventive thriller about a huge event but done cleverly on a small indie scale.

It's pretty effective too and also manages to get some great imagery. While the action is localised to a single house for the most part the few glimpses of outside L.A. exploding or covered in toxic ash is great.

The first half of the film is surprisingly tense and effective. Then of course this becomes about the character drama which is well done but the twisty ending, while fine and serving of a purpose does feel a little cheap compared to the rest of the film.

Still I think it's a brilliant example of doing a large scale high concept film on a small budget and pulling it off effectively, so it's no wonder Hollywoods been scouting Gorak for his talent.

The Grey

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan, Alex

Write Up.

Such a beautiful film. Dour but beautiful. I had concerns that seeing it in a smaller cinema, the sound wouldn't be as effective but if anything it was even louder and more intense than before. Man there are some big jump scares in this film. And that plane crash is just as intense the 2nd time.

This time I made sure to stay through the credits to see the post credit action I missed the first time through. It's just a brief and slightly vague shot but still keeps the open ending which I like.

So great.

Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Well that's more like it. I mean I don't really like the way they are dumbing down the mystery but at least they do it with an awesome climax with a giant corn monster and a children massacre that is by far the goriest and most fun of the series.

Gone is the eeriness, it's been replaced with camp and gore. And they just transplant the action to a city which manages to make the film even more dated and hilarious.

And that was totally Charlize Theron as one of the random teenagers in the many cut aways.

Huge step up from the last one but things are getting fx heavy and silly now. And I'm not even half way through the series!

Apt Pupil

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

Write Up.

While I had this out, I figured I should show it off for friends. So great.

Memento

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

Such a great film. Been a while too so good to catch up.

We have a series of slightly overlapping scenes, ordered backwards and a single sequence that creates the beginning, shot in black and white, split between the backwards scenes until they meet up at the end. And some flashbacks too. And yet it's all pretty straight forward to comprehend. Probably what gave Christopher Nolan the ambition to do something like Inception. Should probably get around to watching that again too.

Guy Pearce is great, I really like Carrie-Anne Moss in this role and even though her time is brief Jorja Fox gives a heartbreaking performance.

Beyond being a great concept this is a fantastically crafted script, translated into a fantastic film. It's a different headspace it pulls you into. A classic.

Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Oh boy, regretting my decision already hahahaha.

Great early 90's hair.

Man it's rather terrible though. Despite some of the kids best efforts. That whole thing with the native american is just horrible.

Children of the Corn

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

My Stephen King viewing continues. I don't know how much this follows the short story but I do know King wasn't very pleased with the adaptation.

Well I don't think it's that bad. I quite enjoy a lot of it. Fun to see a young Linda Hamilton. Some of the kids are really good too. There's a kind of Midwich Cuckoos or Who Can Kill A Child? vibe to it with the added King religious frantic stuff.

It just so happens I got my hands on the whole collection of all the sequels, none of which I've ever seen, nor do I hold much hopes for, but still it might be fun to go through like I did with Friday the 13th's, Nightmare on Elm St's, Halloween's and Hellraiser's a few years ago.

For this first one at least, it actually holds up better than I thought. So we're off to a good start.

Vertigo

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Decided to watch this after the Oscars last night. So many arbitrary films nominated this year, none of my favourites made the grade and only one or two that I thought were worthy of any kind of award. Alfred Hitchcock never won though so what do they know?

Some very cool Saul Bass designs for the credits. And an awesome total trip out dream half way through the film. Very cool.

I forgot how slowly the film moves. Everything is methodically told to the audience. You'd never get away that today. But it does allow long periods of no dialogue where Bernard Herrmann gets to show of his music. This is a far more melodramatic score that I'm used to from him but it's till great. They used it in The Artist, which is probably what made me want to watch it again tonight.

Without that music we're just watching James Stewart tailing Kim Novak for an hour. But the music gives a sense of mystery and dread to the whole affair.

Now I'll be honest I've never been a big James Stewart fan. I know he's had some cool roles but I don't get him as an actor. I know him more as a funny voice impression than anything else. Kim Novak's pretty great though.

This whole film has such an eerie feeling. But despite the slow pace is always riveting. Good stuff!

May

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan

Lucky McKee's breakthrough film is just delightful due in no small part to a wonderful lead performance by Angela Bettis. They two have collaborated on pretty much everything since and their latest film together, The Woman, was one I really enjoyed too.

This film is basically a quirky late 90's indie romantic comedy and it's easy to fall in love with May, the central character. Things get kinda dark towards the end but as horror-ish as it gets, it never looses that sweetness. I probably also helps tat I love Jeremy Sisto too.

This is a great film to see cold, without knowing about where it ends up. The journey there is wonderful and although everything is very clearly set up people usually don't realise it until it's too late.

This really is just the sweetest little horror film ever made. Adorable and always a pleasure to watch again.

Contraband

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

I somehow managed to avoid ever seeing a trailer for this film so going in all a knew about it was Mark Wahlberg has some money strapped to his abs, from the poster in the lobby.

So imagine my delight when I see Lukas Haas, Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Foster's names come up in the opening credits. Damn solid supporting cast there. Also noted that it's a remake of some foreign film (Iceland's 2010 Oscar entry Reykjavik-Rotterdam, which oddly enough stars the guy who ended up directing the remake) which gave me some hope as to the story being worthwhile enough to consider remaking. I should probably track down the original now.

Indeed the plot flows well for what you would think to be an uncinematic heist. They layer on some ransom kidnapping drug dealers and squeeze in an armoured car robbery too.

The morals in this story are a little grey though, apparently crime doesn't pay, unless you're a nice guy like Mark Wahlberg. The film has so many moments where it's completely obvious the plan is going to fall apart that it almost made me uncomfortable. But I guess that means it's working.

Kaboom

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

This plays out like a slightly more intentionally comical episode of Dante's Cove. If you've never heard of that reference, chances are you wouldn't be interested anyway. But it's like someone tried to smooch together a very sexually charged teen coming of age comedy and a lovecraftian end of the world cult mystery and once they figured out how to get them to work together didn't bother to finish either of them.

But it's kinda funny the way it ends. I dunno, I think i'm still trying to process this.

The only Gregg Araki film I've seen before is Mysterious Skin and that is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from this film. That was a deadly serious character double hander but this movie has more funky transitions than an Amanda Bynes film. It's a much more pop aesthetic and has gloriously bright saturated colours.

The supernatural mystery dream stuff never works as well as the teen character relationship stuff. It's a really odd mix and hard to tell how straight a face they are telling the story with. Judging by the end, they seem in on the joke, I just don't think I found it that funny.