20/04/2012: Rushmore [1998]

Wes  Anderson is a name I have only recently discovered, although I had already seen The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums. So after realizing who he was I decided to check out his second feature film and earlier work, Rushmore.

18/04/2012: Braindead (Dead Alive) [1992]

Most people call it the goriest film of all time, and I tend to agree, however Braindead is undoubtedly one of the funniest and most memorable horror splatter comedies of all time. But few have heard of this cult favourite, even though it comes from one of the most famous directors of the last 10 years, Peter Jackson.

16/04/2012: The Divide [2011]

The Divide is a dark and disturbing story of a group of apartment dwellers in New York City struggle to survive in a basement after a nuclear attack on the city. The move is brutal and relentless as it explores the psychological effects that these conditions would put on the group of strangers, as time passes and supplies dwindle.

14/04/2012: Re-Animator [1985]

Horror comedies come in an interesting number of flavours as they all draw their humour from different sources. Some give us jokes and hilarious situations while others simply enjoy being so outrageous and ridiculous that we find it funny. Re-Animator takes itself completely seriously, but it's so over the top and laced with black humour you can't help but find it funny.

14/04/2012: Leslie, My Name Is Evil [2009]

There is nothing quite as confusing as a movie that couldn't decide on its own name, even changing its title in the opening sequence and the end credits. So, perhaps you've seen Leslie, My Name Is Evil, or Manson Girl, My Name is Evil, or even Manson My Name Is Evil, and if you have, let me assure you they are all the same movie.

Action Heroes You Grew Up Watching And Never Realized It

It may never occur to some just how many important people are involved behind the scenes of all of our favourite movies. There's director's and writers who get credit were it is due, and there is producers who put their names all over everything. But there is also, special effects teams, composers, make-up, wardrobe and countless others who work to make everyone on screen look good. However, there are also those you have seen on screen many a time, and just never realized it. Stuntmen, and stunt doubles, who take the punches, and risk their lives where most actors won't in order to give us the amazing action scenes we love to see. Below is a shortlist of some of the most famous of these on-screen heroes.

13/04/2012: The Matador [2005]

A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar... the punchline to this jokes is the entirety of the movie itself. The Matador, is a surprisingly funny movie about an aging hitman who encounters a salesman while both are on business in Mexico City.




 

09/04/2012: A Good Old Fashioned Orgy [2011]

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is definitely a movie that a lot of people misunderstood going into it, and as such, the reviews were all over the board. This comedy uses the orgy simply as a device with which to create a story about a group of friends and there relationship.

15/04/2012: The Cabin in the Woods [2012]

I wrote this review just after coming back from seeing it in the theatre. I have since seen it a second time in theatre and anxiously await the DVD release. At that time I claimed: “It is the most defining milestone in the horror genre in easily the last I don't know how many years, refreshingly original and yet a true homage to all the horror movies we already love.” In case you were wondering several months later, I still stand by that claim.

07/04/212: L.A. Confidential [1997]

I finally got around to watch L.A. Confidential, which ranks at #75 in IMDB's Top 250 movies list, and I've seen it on countless others as well. After watching it I have no problem saying it has earned that spot, and while it's not my absolute favourite, it definitely set a bar in filmmaking back in 1997.

14/04/2012: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [1974]

 With the air of Friday the 13th still hanging around I decided to follow up with another couple of horror movies. While Jason may be the patron saint of that day, Leatherface is without a doubt his equal in the realm of horror and is one of the landmarks in the history of horror movies.

13/04/2012: Nightbreed [1990]

On Friday the 13th I of course had to watch a horror movie, as such I watched one from one of the best minds in horror, Clive Barker's Nightbreed. While the movie may not be all it could have been, anyone watching it can still see it's potential and realize what it could have been.

09/04/2012: Unknown [2011]

I think it was the combination of having seen another movie called Unknown, and Liam Neeson's other action thriller Taken, that always made me think I had actually seen Liam Neeson's 2011 outing, Unknown. On top of that the movie had clearly not struck me as anything significant and so I passed happily by it, not knowing what I was missing.

06/04/2012: Take Shelter [2011]

Take Shelter was one of the big award winners of last year and after my disastrous attempt to watch a similar movie, The Tree of Life I was a little hesitant. However I was able to watch Take Shelter and I'm glad I did. That was one powerful movie masterpiece, and deserves all the awards it got.

05/04/2012: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind [2002]

Chuck Barris was a well known television producer in the 1960's and 70's. Creator of numerous game shows, such as The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show, Barris was big in the industry. However in 1984, Chuck Barris published his autobiography, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind in which he claimed to be an assassin for the CIA as well as a television producer. George Clooney, taking his first shot at directing, leaves it up to you to decide, as did Chuck Barris himself.

31/03/2012: Our Man Flint [1966]

Like a long lost Bond film, Our Man Flint gives us Derek Flint, the original man of mystery. Our Man Flint is the American counterpart of James Bond, and among the first to parody his style. Flint however does it quite well, and make for one hell of a secret agent.

30/03/2012: Natural Born Killers [1994]

The Entertainment Weekly's list of the Top 25 most controversial list is an interesting one. One of it's most surprising factors is the number of big name directors and well known movie on the list. From Martin Scorsese, to Stanley Kubric, from Oliver Stone to Mel Gibson the list is filled with well known films. Sitting at number 8 is Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, the only director to hold two spots on the list.

29/03/2012: The Three Musketeers [2011]

All for money and nothing for anything else. That is unfortunately how I feel after watching this action movie with the name of the Three Musketeers on it. I am unfortunately unable to think of any redeeming qualities this movie may have possessed and what follows will just be a rant of what I hated about it. You've been warned.

Three Vampire Movies That Won't Admit It

After just finishing Cronos I realized that I had seen a couple of unconventional and very unique vampire movies recently. I decided that, I would see if I could compile a list of the more unique, re-inventions of the typical vampire movie, things that verged on minor obscurity and a none of them even mention the word vampire. The three I could think of were Cronos, The Wisdom of Crocodiles and Near Dark.