Friday 31 August 2012

25/08/2012: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 [2003]

The Quentin Tarantino Blogathon rages on, with this month's movie being Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Once again, Tarantino chose another genre of movies to inspire him, this time drawing from the martial arts movies of the 70's, with a revenge story straight out of one. The Bride, after awakening from a coma realizes the baby she carried is gone, killed when Bill and and the four other members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad tried to gun her down at her wedding rehearsal. The Bride then sets out to seek revenge and Kill Bill.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

09/08/2012: Young Frankenstein [1974]

Yong Frankenstein is a classic comedy that never gets old. Gracing Top 10, 50 and 100 lists for the comedy genre for 38 years now, Young Frankenstein isn't just scraping by at the bottom. While those lists are filled with almost all of Mel Brooks works, Young Frankenstein is by far my favourite of his, as he spoofs classic horror movies.


Monday 27 August 2012

07/08/2012: Slither [2006]

Once in a while a horror movie comes along that is made for horror movie fans. It may not contain anything overly new or original with which to entice new fans, but it has every element a horror fan is looking for and will undoubtedly be a fun ride. While I may have let Slither slither by for almost 6 years, I finally saw it and got so much more than I expected.


Saturday 25 August 2012

05/08/2012: Death Proof [2007]


I think it is clear that I am a huge Quintin Tarantino fan, and with last night’s viewing of Death Proof I can now safely say that I have seen all of his work. I’m a little ahead of the Tarantino Blogathon, as Death Proof doesn’t come up for a while, but I thought it was about time I watched the second half of the Grindhouse double feature. While Death Proof may not be the most fascinating and masterfully crafted story Tarantino has ever made, it once again cements his status as a man who knows a lot about movies, in this homage to the Grindhouse B-movies of the 60’s and 70’s.

Thursday 23 August 2012

27/07/2012: Snow White and the Huntsmen [2012]


This was one of those movies I was really on the fence about seeing. On the one hand it’s trailer promised an impressive visual feast and an interesting retelling of the childhood story. On the other hand, it feature a teenage girl's dream team of Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth. But it was playing locally for cheap, so I dug out all my change and met up with a friend. In the end, I could have waited a couple of years or so to watch this on a rainy day on my television and I would have been better off.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

26/07/2012: Hellboy [2004]


Hellboy is one of those movies that may have its flaws, but still has so many cool ideas that I love it despite of any shortcomings. Guillermo del Toro brought yet another comic book to the big screen but not just your well known superhero. While I’m not sure where Hellboy sits on the hero/anti-hero scale I do know that he kicks some ass, and his world of supernatural monstrosities and oddities is something special. I decided to rewatch Hellboy again after Ron Pearlman’s charitable deed and the new rumours of the third movie, and I think I liked it even more the second time.


Sunday 19 August 2012

25/07/2012: Highlander 2: The Quickening [1991]


Over half a year ago now, I watched Highlander expecting some kind of cheesy sci-fi movie. Instead I got an extremely well done story of an immortal Scottish swordsmen, and knowledge as to the origin of “There can only be one.” Now, I have finally brought myself to watch its sequel, The Quickening with no idea as to how successful it was. But hey, Highlander spawned five sequels and a T.V. series, it must have been good. Well, after watching The Quickening, I am only glad to hear that the entire thing was disowned by everyone involved and stricken from the rest of the series.                                        It really was that bad.


Friday 17 August 2012

24/07/2012: Blazing Saddles [1974]


It’s been a slow week after The Dark Knight Rises, but that trilogy was a lot of movie to digest. My movie loving friend had recently suggested that I check out Blazing Saddles, and was so adamant they went and dug out their copy for me a few days later. By then, I had pretty much forgotten why I was supposed to watch it or what it was about. Turns out that Blazing Saddles is a Mel Brooks spoof western, which many argue is better than Spaceballs. I say that after watching it, there is little wonder it makes it onto so many top comedic movie ever lists.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

15/07/2012: [REC] ² [2009]


I finally watched [REC] just the other night, and I was of course cautious of the sequel. Quarantine’s sequel had been a huge flop, as many horror sequels have a tendency to do.  [REC]2 however is how a sequel should be made, keeping the ideas that made the first one great and elaborating on some of it’s mysteries. While I can understand that some people might not have liked the new concepts and explanations introduced in this sequel, I for one can’t wait for [REC] 3: Genesis.

Monday 13 August 2012

14/07/2012: Big Trouble In Little China [1986]


After watching John Carpenter and Kurt Russell team up for 1982’s The Thing last night, I thought I’d continue with the pairs works with Big Trouble In Little China. Big Trouble in Little China is one of Carpenter’s forays out of horror, like Escape From New York, which also starred Kurt Russell. I was always curious as to why Big Trouble seemed to have such a cult following, however small it was, as it was definitely a strange piece of work. Then again all cult favourites are a little quirky and that is why they are cult favourites.

Saturday 11 August 2012

14/07/2012: Salon Kitty [1976]


Last night I decided it was time to dive back into the world of Naziploitation once again with Salon Kitty. As always, any naziploitation film is rife with controversy but this one is actually grounded on some interesting historical facts. While sure all the excess of sex, nudity and Nazism is bound to ruffle some feathers, it is interesting to see a film that doesn’t exactly draw to many lines, and is in fact an Italian production. Overall, for a film I can’t compare with anything else, I would say Salon Kitty is quite an interesting watch.

Thursday 9 August 2012

10/07/2012: Constantine [2005]


Constantine is one of my guilty pleasure movies. Sure it wasn’t a box office hit nor has it unfortunately spawned a number of sequels, but I’ve spent almost a year thinking about rewatching it. Well, memory served right, and while I had forgotten much, it only served to make Constantine better the second time. With the perfect mix of some of my favourite themes and styles I can only hope that a sequel is still to come.

Tuesday 7 August 2012

03/02/2012: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior [1981]


So I wasn’t overjoyed after watching Mad Max, but regardless I was still drawn to watch the sequel. There is something about Mad Max’s cult popularity that lead me to believe that Mad Max must be some hidden cult gem. So, after going almost 6 days without watching a movie, the first one I chose to check out was The Road Warrior.

Saturday 4 August 2012

06/07/2012: Catch .44 [2011]


Sometimes when I watch a movie it will just scream the name of another movie at me. I don’t know if I’m picking up on some underlying similarities or if just one thing will set it off, but throughout the entirety of Catch .44, my mind silently, and quite belligerently yelled Reservoir Dogs at me. But does Catch .44 bare more similarities to one of Tarantino’s masterpieces than just an interesting and irrelevant dinner conversation for an opening scene?

Thursday 2 August 2012

24/06/2012: Mad Max [1979]

Mad Max: The Road Warrior. The beginning of the rise to fame of Mel Gibson, like many an actor he got his start in a cult classic. However, I'm going to honestly say I just don't "get it." That's not to say I didn't like it per say, but I have a strong feeling it is not Mad Max that everyone is a fan of, but its sequel, The Road Warrior.