Change Your Image
nomorefog
The Thing
Network
All the President's Men
Vertigo
Citizen Kane
The Manchurian Candidate
The French Connection
Taxi Driver
The Godfather II
Laura
The Mummy (1932)
The Hills Have Eyes
Sweet Smell of Success
Repulsion
Sunset Boulevarde
Reviews
The Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)
Not Even a Nice Try
Russians in the middle of nowhere who can speak English, obvious similarities to Blair Witch, terrible decision making on behalf of the leader of the group, and a wacky right turn into teleportation about 70 minutes into the film. 5he creatures are purely generic and childish, as if one of the producers thought it would be fun to see what happened to these silly kids before jetting back to the USA to finish their degrees and get married andhave babies.
I've seen better found footage free on You Tube, this is so bad that even I wish someday a decent movie will be made to honor the memories of the Russians who died in this intriguing incident that continues to fascinate, because this certainly isn't it.
The Woman (2011)
Brilliantly Skewers the Happy Family
A man with a gun roams the woods and discovers a feral woman. With a mandate from his family who seem terrified of his presence, he trusses her up in the family garage and proceeds to starve her in an extreme example of how to be civilised. Things just go from bad to worse, the man is exposed in all his glory as a sociopath mentally and physically torturing his wife and daughter in their own home, to beyond their endurance.
There's very little to hold onto for the audience who maybe were expecting something different to what the film is actually about. All the characters bar two are bestial, the man's elder daughter and her teacher wbo mistakenly gets caught up in events she will never understand. But for such an unconfortable film if you watch carefully it says a great deal, without ponderous messaging or coy nods to radical feminism. The violence is wince-inducing, and doesn't let up but its not gratuitious, but its not for everyone. I myself was very much taken with it, the story hones in on the themes straight away like an an arrow to a bullseye and the telling of the story is compelling and not a little tragic. Its difficult to say too much about this without spoiling it and yet its even harder to make the review short. Just take The Woman for what it is, and the provocations it offers about life in an unjust world.
The Devil's Daughter (1973)
Shockingly Entertaining
I really love this old tv movie, it runs 72 minutes and is worth every minute. The cast is excellent, but i wish we saw more Jonathan Frid. I was at school when Dark Shadows was on daytime tv, and this was my first introduction to Jonathan Frid. He's not easy to forget. I recently putchased a 3 disc edition of his work on Dark Shadows and for a daytime soap opera it certainly rocks. The story of The Devils Daughter is interesting and the actors make their characters believable. Its the kind of film that could be laughed at if it isn't done properly, and it does reach an AlARMING crescendo by the end, which you shouldn't miss, but at 72 minutes, what else have you got to do. As I say its entertaining as all get out, and if you aren't a snob about the classics or good television, this is highly recommended.
It Comes at Night (2017)
Tedious Paranoia
I've just watched this for the second time, but found it even less interesting than before.
As a character study its stilted and boring.
As an examination of the human condition its predictable without being illuminating.
The characters are vicious and morose but I suppose this is what the apocalypse does to you if this is what its supposed to be.
I still have no real idea what its about, except maybe a morality tale about how you shouln't talk to strangers.
The ending comes as a relief to the extent if you were contemplating suicide before, there are certainly far worse things in the world, like this movie.
It's a bewildering concoction of Kafkaesque dread and dashed hopes far more amenable to literature than film, but it would still be just as boring.
4 is normally my lowest mark and I can't see any reason to lift it any
further, because I can't think of anything else to say, except that it stinks.
Angel Heart (1987)
Makes You Believe in the Devil
I watched this 2 years ago and couldn't believe it. I watched it again with the audio commentary and still couldn't believe it. I just finished watching it again and have maybe gotten a handle on it. There are so many films out there about the devil that are a good scare, there's plenty of stuff that you can be scared about, but I don't think anything I have come across is as terrifying as this take on a book that must be amazing. I haven't come across it anywhere but would love to get a hold of it.
As Harry Angel discovers who he is and what he is capable of, the grim imagery of the creaky elevator as it transports him down to his fate makes sense of what's gone on before with all the power of a Greek tragedy.
This is a must see for noir lovers, gore hounds, and lovers of horror and mystery. All the perforners are first rate, Robert de Niro doesn't get a lot of time, but he exhibits the kind of manic authority you won't see in his grandpa movies. Mickey Rourke must be in every scene and he does a great job of leading the viewer through the labryinth of a mystery that you can, in a way, see coming, but never could you possibly admit it to yourself without going a little crazy. The plot is a little hard to follow, but Alan Parker makes up for this with the wonderful atmospherics of New York and New Orleans in the 50s where the movie is set.
I now love this movie with all my heart and if you are smart enough to watch this to the end you will know what I mean.
The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
Why why why
Why was her husband killed before the movie starts. Why did she open the door when she was expressly told not to. Why is the backstory treated as though its unimportant when it could have been the backbone of the film. Why the parallel story, and why set it in 1973, did they pick the year out of a hat or what. Blind Harry could have written a better screenplay. And the worst screaming I've ever heard since the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, my neighbours thought I was inside being murdered. I've never bought into the Conjuring universe and think its just a fraud there are so many good horror movies around and this is just a terrible example of what Hollywood does to make a quick buck. The multicultural aspects of story and casting cannot hide the fact that this is a very poor film, and not worth any kind of recommendation.
Ulzana's Raid (1972)
Re-inventing the Invention.
I grew up on seventies cinema, and I go back constantly to that decade to remind myself how provocative it really was. Issues that were pertinent in their day still resonate as movies tackled with controversial issues that frankly today's cinema just wouldn't be intrested in. Movies like All the President's Men and The Conversation were in many ways polemical and challenged the audience to go along with a re-invention of a number of genres, including the western. A number of other westerns along with this one form a small but formidable cannon that appeared to be most influenced by the Vietnam war such as Soldier Blue, The Hired Hand, High Plains Drifter and Chato's Land. The thesis of Frederick Jackson Turner as well to the closure of the frontier is emphasised as opposed to classical westerns of the 30s, 40s and 50s whose cliches of the heroic settlers, dangerous and primitive indians, and open land free for the taking are questioned and then blown out of the water.
Ulzana's Raid is a philosophical western that works like a charm in its casting and writing. Actors Burt Lancaster and Richard Jaeckel are veterans of the genre, but it is by its nature brutal and confronting. To say they don't make 'em like this anymore, is ironic or not depending on your point of view of the western, and how sadly for many its decline in popularity has become.
The Seventh Veil (1945)
A Bit Too Enigmatic For Its Own Good
I'm not ashamed to say I first came across this film on You Tube ten years ago, and have watched it happily time and again without much recourse to my critical faculties. Its just that kind of movie, a classic that resists any kind of negative response that may expose the viewer's own shortcomings, rather than its own. Recently I re-watched it and had a kind of revisionist experience in that the veil was torn so to speak from my own eyes to reveal a not especially good film. Had I been fooling myself all this time I wondered? With the luxury we have today of watching our favourites over again, it can be a trial when we begin to wonder what we actually saw in the film in the first place, and I find myself at that partucular crossroads when it comes to The Seventh Veil.
The movie now seems to me to be a little anachronistic, the kind of film that expects you to believe in its melodramamatics no matter how outrageous and unrealistic they may be. As another reviewer has suggested there is a problem with a relationship that seems dysfunctional at the centre of the film that may have seemed normal in 1945 but is less so today. What baffles me the most about this film now that never bothered me before is its stubborn refusal to explain its characters and why they act the way that they do.
My review of 7 is I suppose only intended for my initial response years ago when I liked The Seventh Veil more than I like it now. It would be mean spiirited for me to put anyone off, so please watch for yourself and don't worry about this review, as you may end up liking the film. If not don't blame me. X.
Amityville II: The Possession (1982)
Histrionics at a Minimum
Horror films about the Church and the ritual of exorcism have become a sub-genre by themselves, and really, there is a lot to come to terms with in this movie in relation to haunted houses, the supernatural and the ancient teachings of the Catbolic church. The movie takes itself very seriously, but that's not a bad thing. There are a number of very good performances and one excellent one from James Olson as a sympathetic priest. The story of the Amityville haunting is something of a combined tale of fiction and non-fiction, and every movie based upon it extricates different things out of the story for the sake of a scary yarn.
In this particular interpretation, the story dumps all context about the original happenings in the house that made it so impossible to live in. The strange things start happening straight away which saves the audiences time and kickstarts the narrative in a good way. Also the long episode in the original film set in the boathouse has been completely deleted, and I guess its just one of those things. If you haven't seen the original then I dob't suppose you will miss it. Having said that the movie is probably too long and there is a disturbing subplot about incest which doesn't go anywhere or add much to the story. I would assume that the makers decided that this subject might be a little much and decided to get rid of most of it in the final draft.
I cannot iimagine that there were actors knocking out their agents to get a part in this film. It doesn't look expensive, and it is a combination of sequel and remake. However the actors who were cast do well with characters you really wouldn't want to know in real life. The mother and father seem like basket cases from the start. You hardly see the younger children but the elder brother and sister get the most attention. Jack Manger and Diane Franklin work very well together, she is an innocent but becomes tainted by her brother. The last 12 minutes of the film work well with some spooky makeup effects, and an outstanding performance from James Olsen. He is subtle and moving,and very unlike the kind of priest who seems to end up in these kinds of movies, who are so twitchy, and overwrought at the thought of conjuring up the devil.
I was happily surprised by Amityville 2 and think its very good horror that audiences can enjoy and not think about too much when its finished.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Gruesome Beyond Belief
I guess this just wasn't made for me, but for the gorehounds out there who just love gore for its own sake.
After the first two characters get killed, I had the sense to get hold of my remote control and navigate through the chapters until the blood-letting had come to an at-least temporary conclusion. I love the original and always have, and don't even mind the 2003 version at all. But all this murder and mayhem was a bit too much for me.
The opening was interesting enough, with a storyline that brought the Vietnam war to the table, but it didn't amount to anything, just more gore.
One particular male character gets a very hard time from a cannibalistic cracker who thinks he can he toughen him up a little, but for all the beating and torture he receives, he still manages to walk around for a while until obviously, it becomes impossible.
This is hardly an advert for Texas as a tourist destination, and it makes you wonder if any place could be this bad.
The 5 is for the excellent cinematography reminiscent of the original and a few very creepy looking houses. Otherwise take a sick bag with you into the living room, you may need it.
Session 9 (2001)
When Do We Get To See The Shark.
The answer to that above question is that, in this particular instance, we never do. Session 9 is not so much a tease, as an indeterminate attempt to give the audience as little information as possible so as to scare the living daylights right out of them. Well, in my case it was successful and after a 3rd viewing I'm not any the wiser about what is going on than when I watched it the first time. This kind of approach is not for everyone, and veering into the supernatural is also not for everyone. But the scenario becomes so bizarre, spooky and discomfiting, that any solution, even the supernatural is a straw that the audience will be willing to clutch for the sake of their very lives.
All I can say about the plot is that it will have you squirming in your seat. True, there are some red herrings, but its the journey this film takes you through, and not the destination. Many more perspacious viewers than I have compared this to The Shining and I wouldn't contradict them, because its what you don't see that becomes more important than what you do see in this quietly horrifying movie.
It's a small cast of dedicated thespians such as David Caruso and Peter Mullen that keep it afloat, but Mullen mumbles a little, and even this particular detail could be a spoiler after you've watched and thought about it a little.
So if you don't mind a big chunk of suspense and using your imagination to fill in the gaps, Session 9 should grab you by the lapels and give you a good scary shake the same as it did me.
Milk (2008)
A Side of Sean Penn That You Rarely See
I recently purchased Milk at my local Thrift store, and would like to say a few words about the movie. I had no idea that Sean Penn won the Oscar for his performance, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found out. Milk stands out as a film that would never be made today, rather it's an archival window into a different time when the left wing in America had latched onto the concept of hope in regards to the future of the country, (say around 2008.) The Democrats nominated Barack Obama to face the Republicans and he won the Presidency. He then had the temerity to do it again in 2012 and it seemed to many onlookers that a more compassionate agenda was on its way. Whether and how factually true this assumption is, Milk is I believe an irreplaceable film that shows us still in the Trump era, how hope is not just an electoral commodity pounced upon by cynical politicians, but a viable method of captivating an electorate worn out by promises of money and more interested in decent and honest governance and inclusion of all its citizens.
Since I have recently been banned from Twitter, and You Tube I'm taking this opportunity to remind anyone reading this how galvanising Milk is as a film, especially if like many of us outside the US, are unaware of his contribution to the progress of the left in America. As of December 2021 it strikes me (but not to ruin the plot for anybody else), how prescient this movie really is. I love Milk for its portrayal of a progressive peoples' movement that shows its audience the evil of bigotry as opposed to the alternative, which embraces difference and tolerance.
As a more polemical thinker, I like to bring hope into the equation, as it has the power to instigate change in a way nothing else can, or does. Without hope, we are all living in a jungle more interested in making a buck than helping our fellow men. Without reason we all cling together to each other in a morass of fear and confusion, fearful of others who don't seem to be like us, conforming to a status quo that demonises every one else but ourselves, as the rich and powerful pit us against each other as they become even more venal and apathetic to the world's problems.
The current prescience of this movie is just this: The powerful who seek to keep the citizenry of the world in subjugation are not the majority any longer. Antivaxxers for example who try to convince that Covid-19 is a conspiracy theory have been relegated to the extreme edges of discussion about the current pandemic . Reasonably enlightened people may listen to them out of a misplaced so-called 'mutual' respect, but they don't believe them. The problem of the right is this: with the tide going against them, how can anyone ignore science and the hope for a better future. The right have become the alternative, that is a small fractious mob with little power and even less influence but this is not what the right have in mind. They believe themselves to be the divine lawgivers of the world, but its not going to turn out that way.. When the revolution comes, the people will prevail, and the powerful will be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Having said that, Sean Penn gives a great performance, and I suppose this review isn't about him, but I'm too lazy to change the title.
Sinister (2012)
Its not a good idea to be making this stuff up as you go along.
Sinister has a fair amount going for it, like some interesting drama, a creepy soundtrack and kids that may not be terribly interesting, but don't get in the way of the story. I just wish the script had been written a little differently, which I suppose is not useful criticism, so here goes.
The plot feels as though it was written by somebody very shy. It keeps you guessing to the point that you can find it difficult to know what is really going on. That's not suspense, just lazy writing. The main characters who are married seem terribly unconcerned about what's happening to their children, despite a lot of talk to the contrary. The mother seems dysfunctional and unable to cope after her son falls out of a cardboard box for no particular reason. The father is meant to be keeping it together but he's one of those careerist types trying to relive his past success as a writer on the NYT's bestseller list. They just aren't very nice people. As the story progresses, the audience is teased into thinking that this is a serial killer movie, and for a while its a very believable one. But then, it changes its mind and becomes a supernatural thriller. Tying together a genre and sub genre is interesting, but it left me a little confused about where the film was going. Having said all of this the film does make up for a lot in its mood which is very downbeat, and not explaining everything to the point of other genres like the police procedural that are rooted in a more reallistic context. This clash of genres stops me from givng this a higher rating, but if you don't mind waiting for the (supernatural) denouement, its probably worth your time.
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Richard Matheson is the Legend
The material is fine, while the film itself is a little slowly paced. There are so many noisy, and not very good apocalyptic films out there. The Last Man on Earth is instead a compelling narrative about a depressing subject that lacks the action, blood and gore of the futuristic films we see today. Which is not to say they are inferior to this, only that its a different approach and for me a much more interesting one.
To make a quick comparison between Last Man, Omega Man and I Am Legend, Omega Man is my favourite, the sense of despair in Heston's predicament is so palpable. The empty streets of LA at dawn surely must have influenced John Carpenter to make Escape From New York. Last Man has the advantage of Vincent Price in a modulated mood, more interested in the philosophical aspects of the script without the need for hamming things up. I found I Am Legend terribly disappointing, and the tacked on happy ending kind of intolerable. That said, Last Man despite its shortcomings of a small budget, is still one of the more believable outings into the end of the world.
Columbo (1971)
Iconic Seasons 1 to 5 Television Classics
Having purchased a box set of all episodes of Columbo, I can't say enough good things about the scripts and acting which made the series mandatory viewing on network tv and can still be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates intelligent and stimulating entertainment.
I was under the impression that the series had concluded by the end of the 5th Season, so imagine my surprise when years later I discovered that Peter Falk and company had returned to make another five Seasons of one of my favourite 70s shows. Everything about Columbo worked for me, even as a bright kid who normally would rather read a book instead of watching television.
What struck me most about the show, although I only realised this later, was Columbo's adherence to honesty and fair play in all the episodes. No matter who the perpetrators were, (or who they thought they were ), Columbo always caught them fair and square and was not impressed by their status or bank balance. In other words, Columbo seemed to me to be on the side of the underdog, who always caught these well heeled dopes who thought they could get away with it. Almost every episode seemed predicated on this idea of bringing the guilty to justice, which reached its apotheois if you will, in the episode A Friend Indeed, where Columbo's superior is openly portrayed as a murderer and liar obstructing the course of justice.
As obvious as it is how much I appreciate lthe original series, I was a little disappointed by the return of the show in 1989. All I can say is that only a few of these episodes come close to the original series in terms of quality. Columbo himself seems to have turned into an irritating old man, acting in ways he never would before. The writing has also been reduced to a pedestrian kind of mystery whodunnit with no suspense and even less interest. Anyway, the iconic seasons are brilliant, and and I guess not everything is perfect,.
My 8 goes to the original series wth 2 marks off for the less impressive later episodes.
Prophecy (1979)
Director's Revenge
John Frankenheimer is one of the great Hollywood directors. We all know his films, and maybe he is considered a maverick by some. But I would argue after watching this film, that he was in many ways tethered by the studio system in that the majority of his films whilst having crazy plots, (for example) are nonetheless, buttoned-down products of a time when respectable entertainment had certain assumptions and rules that couldn't be broken even by the most talented of directors.
Prophecy in all its glory, illustrates Frankenheimer letting it rip, by making a monster movie, hardly something in such an acclaimed director's bucket list, I mean who would have thought it. The film is wacky, but serious, unbelievable but compelling, repulsive but beautiful, in other words a b horror film made by à serious director that is seriously entertaining.
As difficult as it is to put his serious work aside for a moment, I dare anyone not to find Propecy a worthwhile trip into the horror genre by a director who rose above all the genres.
The Last Exorcism (2010)
It's a Tease
I was looking forward to this after waiting about 8 weeks for my order to arrive from Fishpond but after watching it I did feel little let down.
The scares are what I would call, 'muted' in that they seem all build up but a letdown once they happen. I get the feeling a lot was cut out of the movie in the editing stage. I wanted to see more of just about everything from the truncated introduction to the main character to the last 15 minutes of the film. The last 15 minutes are totally anarchic and while the sequence doesn't explain everything that's gone on before, it is a good excuse to keep watching till the end.
The obviously authentic Louisiana locations are an advantage, but I think that maybe it was made in a hurry and with more attention paid to the story, could have been far more scarier than it turned out to be.
.
Silent Hill (2006)
2 Films for the price of one.
The first hour is good, even as I was unaware I was watching a film based on a video game. But the second hour lost me in a way I have never been lost before. It appeared to be a completely differrent movie, and I totally lost interest.
The child actress was annoying from the start and this bizarre cliche of children with supernatural talents of some kind who have to be destroyed, has by 2021 become completely redundant. The Girl with all the Gifts probably does it better than most of the others, and there are a lot of them out there.
The satire involving Christianity as interpreted by some bizarre religious cult stuck in the Middle ages is kind of goofy and only likely to attract an audience who wants to believe in this kind of fantastic claptrap.
There is no humour in the film, which is a shame, as it would have made it seem shorter, than it is at such a long running time of two hours.
Aside from the schizophrenic nature of the structure as I already mentioned and other things I don't like about this movie, it's obvious how Silent Hill just fell upon deaf ears in my particular case.
All in all,
There appears to be no humour in the film and the seriousness of some fr.
The Ring (2002)
Naomi Watts gets scared.
Then she gets scared again. Then she gets more scared.
It lost me from the start, and at 1 hour and 4o minutes is way too long.
I thought the original was over-rated but this is even worse.
V/H/S (2012)
A Lot of Investment, But the Payback Isnt Hefty
Released in 2012, VHS is what I would call the penultimate of found footage horror. Since the genre was kickstarted by the Blair Witch Project some time before, we are looking as of 2021, a 20 year timeframe of the genre, that is, movies made for a generation who no longer go to the movies any longer.
I bought VHS on spec on ebay for the princely sum of five bucks because I do like the genre I have to say. After a hiatus of 80s B horror movies and brainless blockbuster sci-fi, found footage became for me a shot in the arm that gave hope the horror genre had not yet died the death from a dearth of ideas and no finance. The movies that first got me in were on You Tube, and some were exceptionally good, like Rorschach, Remnants, Evidence, and The Ghost Footage parts 1 and 2 just to name a few.
So, I bought a player and collected some discs, some good, others not so much. What I think about VHS is that maybe it tries a little bit too hard. It takes a lot of concentration to make sense of all of the content. Maybe thats the point and I come from a different generation. It is an anthology, but like a great anthlogy film like Dead of Night it has a larger story that is meant to somehow connect the others. These smaller stories vary wildly in quality of writing and directing. Unfortunately, the technical aspects that define found footage like the shaky camera, blurred vision, overlapping images and other tricks to disorient the viewer become a bit too much. The effects detract from the disturbing storyline, they are overdone and get in the way.
So, I found myself watching VHS twice to figure out what I really thought of it. If you like all the effects I just mentioned you will love this movie more than I did, you won't think like me that they're overdone. The jumpscares are phoned in with a few exceptions and what the viewer has left is a lot of exposition that really doesn't explain much at all.
Having said that, VHS is still unbearably creepy. The suspense if you could call it that makes your head swim, with all kinds of explanations that may or may not, define what you are actually seeing. So in that respect, its worth your time, but do not ruminate over it too much, its just a horror film.
The Village (2004)
A piece of medieval mumbo-jumbo
Terribly brainless, with no sense of understandsble plotting. It's timing had me looking at my watch every 10 minutes to see whether it was over yet.
The plot twist added some interest but by that time the movie was over.
Inexplicable events like a man wounded in the stomach with a knife who manages to survive without any medical assistance really nailed this for me. But nooo, lurve got him through it. The Village had me tearng my hair out, so I could be a bald friend of William Hurt's.
Do not waste your time its a terrible load of claptrap.
Communion (1989)
7 Minutes Missing
I would like to point out that I did own Communion on ex-rental videotape, but could not keep it for reasons of space. When I purchased the DVD later, I noticed there was part of one sequence that was cut. I was a little taken aback because it was one of my favourite parts of the film. Where Whitley (Christopher Walken) parks his car by the side of the road for one more visitation with the aliens, he dances with them as if showing relief that he knows he's not crazy. He returns to his wife and the film ends. There's a bit of hand-slapping that's been kept in this new version, but the protracted dance sequenceI'm referring to is not on the DVD. On the cover of the DVD I own the length of the film says approx 101 minutes. On IMDB the length is quoted as 1 hour 47 mins. So you figure it out.
Whatever, it's an enjoyable and thought provoking film and I just wish this sequence hadn't been removed.
The Betsy (1978)
The Betsy is a Bomb
As a fan of bad movies I finally found a copy of The Betsy on DVD, and I have to say I totally agree for once about the rating it has on IMDB at the moment. I have a failing for large casts of has-beens and never-weres together in forgotten and forgettable films that cost a fortune to make but didn't get an audience running to see them as maybe they should have, but then none of us is perfect.
To start with, the script is atrocious, when you consider the film was based on a novel, maybe not a very good one but you would think it made the writers job a little easier. I don't have the patience of a saint and found this intergenerational story impossible to follow. For most of the movies running time for example I was mystified as to the role Katherine Ross is supposed to be playing. There's nothing wrong with her performance but with generations of this rich family running around doing not much of anything but talk, it definitely gets confusing about who is supposed to be who.
What also mystified me was the lack of thought behind giving so many interesting performers such small parts, and the leading roles to youngsters who were so bland and uninteresting. I refer to Tommy Lee Jones and Kathleen Beller who have a romance of sorts but share zero charisma when they are actually together. Joseph Wiseman is not a household name perhaps, but his part is miniscule, while Laurence Olivier gives a hammy performance, maybe out of shame that he ever got involved in a project so obviously beneath him.
Apart from the obvious camp appeal of The Betsy, it never made any waves of significance and really should consider itself lucky to be remembered at all by fans like me and other fools for big talented wasted casts, overinflated budgets and dud writing.
The Last Run (1971)
George C Scott Owns This
I was surprised by this film, as I went into it blind, didn't think of George C Scott much one way or the other and have no particular interest in cars or machinery. Straight action films, also don't interest me much. But despite these reservations I like The Last Run for its thoughtful characterisations and straightforward story of three people who make a dash for the cash, and have to live and die with the consequences.
George C Scott is more subdued, and much easier to like here than in his better known movies such as Patton, or The Hustler. His gruff demeanour does not indicate a heart of gold, but still it seems obvious he is a decent person. As an older man his character seems confounded by his fate, the realisation that he's running out of time. He's wonderful to watch and gives a superb performance.
The cinematography and musical scores are first rate, and the ensemble cast make their presence felt, but it's Mr Scott's movie, and I can't help but like him.
Cube (1997)
Claustrophobic
I hoped to get something out of Cube, since it was made in 1997, and has become, within the fullness of time a cult classic that supposedly everybody should take notice of. Unfortunately I am one of those viewers who can only register their negative response, but first a little encouragement. As an experiment its laudable enough, the low budget is obvious but doesn't detract, the players do their best with a talky script but that's as far as it goes. As a horror movie, it doesn't work because it didn't scare me.
The philosophical issues Cube presumes to address can be found in any quality 20th century book, from the writings of Dostoyevsky, to Franz Kafka, to Albert Camus in regards to the meaning of life or it's lack thereof. In which case frankly, I can see little point in watching this movie.
I found similarities to The Poseidon Adventure, Cabin in the Woods and Einstein's theories which sounds pretty interesting on paper, when actually the results on film are definitely not that.
Don't waste your time, I like genre films to stick to the rules. If I want intellectual stimulation I can always re-read my old Penguin paperbacks, they are elegantly written, and make far more sense than this pretentious malarkey.