In Search Of Darkness 40 - #25
From my previous experience, Luigi Cozzi is not a director to go to for coherence or consistency. No, Cozzi is the guy to go to for vivid, lurid imagery. In the case that I'm mistaken, and simply haven't seen the right Cozzi movies, I pre-emptively apologise, but that said, despite my thoughts on the 'quality' of the work, I do very much like Cozzi, even if so far, the only film I'd say I…
Remarkably stylised and unrelenting, Oliver Stone presents an exploration of the extent to which the media’s fascination with violent true life stories constitute complicity. It is an assault on the senses, a remarkable achievement, and at times a challenge to watch.
Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis are excellent here, presenting characters that are gleefully unhinged and demonstrably a product of their environment. Stone’s message is relatively straightforward, but effective, and we are presented with the difficulty of considering how much…
A sturdy enough piece of pulpy dark fantasy, but unfortunately never becomes anything special. There’s nothing wrong with Solomon Kane per se, but I do feel that the concept had the potential to become an even more entertaining piece.
Purefoy is moody enough in the lead role, and shows good fire when required, but given Kane’s changing personality throughout the film, the character is tough to get a handle on. I’d have liked to see more of Kane in his final…
This is one of those times when I feel out of step with common judgement. Whilst it's clearly not critically acclaimed, I felt that Machete was simply a hell of a lot of fun.
A great ensemble cast, a perfect role for Trejo in the lead, who doesn't need to do an awful lot more than his standard supporting role shtick. It was fun to see De Niro in this, especially alongside Steven Seagal, whose bizarre performance could only work…
Hooptoper Neun (2022) - Film #22
Society is a pretty weird flick. It’s also pretty slow, at least until the end. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, and there’s an unsettling feeling running throughout. I’m not sure that for most of the runtime I’d consider the film a horror in a traditional sense, but it is creepy and off-putting; icky, if you will. The way the film is shot is very strange at times, and it feels intended to confuse,…
Hooptober X (2023) - Film #26
M3GAN is certainly a fun film, but, for a movie about a murderous robot child, it’s remarkably anodyne. I understand that producers need their products to reach as wide an audience as possible, but unfortunately that means that M3GAN’s potential is never reached.
M3GAN herself is very entertaining, with some great dialogue, but her intimidation factor is diminished by the fact that a lot of the damage she does is off-screen or portrayed in some bizarrely bloodless way.
Entertaining, but misses the opportunity to be even more so.
