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Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
Not as good as Joker but worth seeing.
Joker: Folie à Deux: I can't understand all the hate about this film, yes it's different, what did they expect? A carbon copy? Joker: Folie à Deux os musical drama, a courtroom drama, a tale of grim times in early 1980s Gotham which mirrors New York. The Joker/Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and Harleen "Lee" Quinzel (Lady Gaga) perform duets and sing alone. Harleen is also a patient in Arkham, during a film show she sets fire to a piano and she and the Joker then dance and sing away into the yard. The joker ends up being punished. Most of their duets are fantasy numbers in the Joker's imagination, dancing on the roof of Hotel Arkham, on their own show. Outside of the courtroom where the Joker is being tried, Harleen sings That's entertainment. This is a different Harleen, not psychotic, more of a narcissistic sociopath and manipulator, not always a reliable narrator. She's not a super villain just like Joker isn't. Indeed Joker's lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) wants to use a dissociative identity disorder defence showing that Arthur Fleck's "Joker" personality is responsible for the crimes and Fleck is innocent if insane. The guards in Arkham are sadistic, a senior guard, Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson), though brutal, helps Arthur Fleck to meet up with Harleen at a singing group and the film show. Their relationship is similar to that between the SS Officer and the Jewish prisoner who made him laugh, in Schindler's List. Joker: Folie à Deux isn't as good as Joker but it's not a bad film. Great performances by Phoenix and Gaga with good support from Gleeson and Keener. The film opens with an animated sequence which sums up the dual nature of Joker/Fleck. A violent film, which is disturbing, though the plot line will make you think, wondering which of Fleck's scenes with Harleen (other than musical numbers) were fantasies. Directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver. 7.5/10.
Wifelike (2022)
Androids Dream Of Cocktail Parties.
Wifelike: A bit like Blade Runner but it doesn't have the depth of directorial imagination. Production design or cinematography which went into that classic. I n the not so distant future, the company "Wifelike" creates expensive android replicas of dead women for their widowers. The companions are subservient to their owners while gradually developing consciousness, think of a pleasure model replicant. An android rights organisation abducts these androids reprogramming them, sometimes using them in terrorist attacks. William is a "Blade Runner" tracking down the runaways but not terminating them, rather returning them to Wifelike to be retuned and have their software fixed Having lost his wife Meredith he too has gotten an android companion duplicate of her. This is a dark film but there is some humour as android Meredith absorbs human Meredith's memories. Androids do dream as we find nut but not of electric sheep, rather they have a dreamscape where interesting events unfold. More than a few plot twists and secrets are revealed as this narrative unfolds. But while some of them are satisfying, the opportunity to reveal more if this dystopia's underpinnings was missed. Worth watching but could have been better, still there was good acting by Jonathan Rhys Meyers as William and Elena Kampouris as Meredith. Written and Directed by James Bird. On Netflix. 6/10.
The Outrun (2024)
Recovering on Orkney
The Outrun: Rona is a recovering alcoholic, she has returned home to the Orkney Islands. Her parents, originally from England live there, they are separated so Rona splits her time between them, helping her father on his farm with lambing. Her mother has become religious and Rona is alienated from her and her happy-clappy hymn sing friends. Her father is bi-polar, we see flashbacks to when Rona was a child and he takes to his bed, alternating with manic and violent phases. Rona reflects back on her time in London, the disintegration of her relationship and friendships dur to her crazed drinking and behaviour, how her PHD studies were derailed. How all of this happened and the way shr went into rehab is related in a non-linear fashion which best reflects her chaotic life at the time. Orkney is bleak and beautiful as is Papa Westray where she goes to work for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds observing birds. She dances as the waves crash against the rocks, living one day at a time as she struggles to maintain sobriety. She also dances in the circle of the Stones of Stenness though this sends her back into a dark reverie about her time in London. A film with ups and downs as it tracks Rona's voyage through her months on the Orkney Islands. The film is based on the memoirs of Amy Liptrot (The Outrun) who went through similar experiences and returned to Orkney to rehabilitate. Great performances from Saoirse Ronan as Rona, Saskia Reeves as her mother Annie and Stephen Dillane as her father Andrew. Directed by Nora Fingscheidt from a screenplay she co-wrote with Amy Liptrot. 8/10.
CTRL (2024)
Dark AI Drama
CTRL: Indian AI App film. This time it doesn't go rogue, something more sinister is at work. Nella and Joe are influencers, their life on display for all to see on social media. The perfect couple since high school, Nella decides to surprise Joe nut finds him kissing another woman, as is her wont she was streaming this encounter. Devastated, she is an easy target for a new App, CTRL, it can delete all digital references to joe on her social media accounts, naturally she gives her AI assistant all of her passwords and administrator privileges. The assistant helps her to relaunch her influencer career, making her mire successful than ever. The dark side of AI soon emerges and we there is a conspiracy at play. Powerful people will kill to keep their secrets concealed. The dangers of AI are explored but more so the abuse of AI by humans. Also how trusting we can be, handing over personal information. Elements of both satire and a warning about Big Tech. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, written by Motwane and Avinash Sampath. On Netflix. 7/10.
Zombieland (2009)
Still Crazy After all These Years.
Zombieland: Saw it again on Friday night in Cineworld, 15th anniversary re-release. I'd forgotten a lot of the details. In particular Columbus's fear of clowns which made his encounter with a zombie clown both funnier, not to mention horrifying. The girls grifting acts were a pleasure to watch again. Abigail Breslin even more so than Emma Stone, behind all the comic acting you could see some of the steel she went on to display in Final Girl. Yeah there's plenty of laughs in Zombieland but there's also a devastated nation and world, the nature of Tallahassee's loss is poignant when it's real nature is finally revealed. The Bill Murray sequence us slapstick at it's best. The film holds up well after all these years. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, written by Rhett Reese. 8/10.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)
Folk Horror Hellboy
Hellboy: The Crooked Man: Another Hellboy reboot, this time it's set in 1959. Hellboy and two other Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B. P. R. D.) agents are guarding a crate as they travel by train through the Appalachian Mountains. The crate contains a bizarre giant spider which suddenly breaks loose, kills one of the agents, Hellboy, the other agent and the spider tumble out of the train and the spider shrinks and disappears down a mine air shaft. Thus begins a trek through Appalachia, the locals recognise Hellboy because they've seen him on the cover of Life magazine, for all of that they're mostly as slack-jawed as Cletus from The Simpsons. Warring witches along with The Crooked Man, Satan's local representative holds sway over the area but Hellboy manages to link up with a male witch who has just returned to the area. Some mighty magical battles take place and we see a hag ridden mare turn back into an old man. This perhaps id the Folk Horror Hellboy movie given the number of witches, spells, folk beliefs, demons and ghosts about. The Crooked Man's witches swarm like zombies and the fight continues in a derelict church, the Crooked Man's home and in a mine. Hellboy's mother also features in a twist to his creation story. There are some good horror scenes with animals emerging from and entering human bodies and the wooded hills are impressively dark, at best lit by watery sunshine through the mists. Good performances from Jack Kesy as Hellboy and Adeline Rudolph as Bobbie Jo Song, the surviving B. P. R. D. agent/researcher who is on her first field mission. Not a bad film but not a great one either, it all feels a bit episodic. Directed by Brian Taylor from a script he wrote with Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. 6.5/10.
Last Straw (2023)
Good Low Budget Noir Horror
Last Straw: Noirish film which segues into horror. We know from the opening scenes that there has been a massacre at a diner, then we go back 24 hours to find out how it came about. Nancy (Jessica Belkin) is having a bad day, she finds out that she's pregnant, her car breaks down on the way to work. When she gets to the diner owned by her father he tells her that she is also going to have to work the night shift (seeing as she is manager) as someone has called in sick. The day gets worse, mask wearing teens on mopeds harass her, bring roadkill into the doner, threaten that they will be back. She argues with the cook, sacks him. Now she will be alone on the night shift. As the night arrives the mask wearers return and freak her out, she calls the cops but the one that arrives is startled when she mentions mopeds. Then the real terror starts. Nothing is ever quite what it seems here as we observe the same scenes replayed from different points of view and more information is elicited. There are quite a few gruesome killings but Nancy isn't just a victim. Meat tenderisers, carving knives and pans of hot oil are quite effective as weapons. The results can be disturbing though and this is not a film for the squeamish. Hampered a bit by it;d low budget it nevertheless makes good use if the diner as a battleground and hunting area. A few interesting plot twists make this a Final Girl film worth watching. Directed by Alan Scott Neal, Written by Taylor Sardoni. 7/10.
Apartment 7A (2024)
A Song & Dance Prequel.
Apartment 7A: A prequel to Rosemary's Baby, it has many of the same characters (though obviously played by different actors) including Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner), the leading character in this film. In a reprise from Rosemary's Baby, Terry briefly meets Rosemary in the laundry room. Terry is a dancer who suffered an accident, her ankle hasn't recovered properly and she keeps flunking at casting calls, she has also developed an addiction to painkillers. At one event a sadistic casting director makes repeat the same move even though it's causing her pain. The main director of the show, Alan Marchand (Jim Sturgess) shows some interest and she follows him to the Bramford building, attempting to get in she becomes ill and is helped by an old couple. They own an extra apartment in the Bramford and offer it to her rent free until she's back on her feet, She meets Marchand again and apparently sleeps with him but has strange dreams. The Devil puts in an early appearance in Apartment 7A. Another apartment owner in the Bramford gives her a salve which heals her ankle. Perhaps too much of the action mirrors that of Rosemary's Baby, Terry gets a part in the chorus line but becomes lead dancer when the star suffers a terrible accident, she is impregnated by Satan. We see more of the Devil this time though and he's more frightening in my opinion. We see more of the Coven at work. Much of the horror is psychological as Terry is subjected to passive aggressive bullying by the elderly couple and the sense of strangeness builds up, she alsi discovers evidence which suggests the building's residents aren't quite what they seem. A good horror film which doesn't reach the heights of the original and could do with 10 minutes being pruned from it's 104 minute running time but it has a very good performance by Garner and a few good musical numbers. Don't check back on Rosemary's Baby as it will give the ending away. Directed by Natalie Erika James, screenplay by James, Christian White and Skylar James. 7.5/10.
Megalopolis (2024)
Too Long
Megalopolis: Francis Ford Coppola sets out to creates a parable about New York,here named New Rome, unfortunately his allegorical style doesn't quite work, at least not sufficiently to create the epic he intended. The film is full of archetypes, the idealistic architecht, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), an iconoclast who will destroy old buildings regardless of who is in them, brings Howard Roark of The Fountainhead to mind. Slum clearance with only a promise of a bright future. The mayor, Francis Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) is stuck in the past and old ways, continuing the misery. The rich banker Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), uncle of the architecht who has other jealous heirs. Shakespearian in scope and style, even the characters have Roman names. Soliloquies from Shakespeare's plays are scattered throughout Megalopolis, recited mainly by Cesar who fancies himself as Hamlet and he does seem crazy like a fox. There is also a soviet satellite which may impact with New Rome. Much intrigue, affairs, debauchery and chariot races in Madison Square Gardens. Elements of fantasy and Science Fiction also infuse the film. Beautiful production design, shadowy art deco, you almost expect an old style Batman or Superman to emerge. Generally good acting from an ensemble cast but thus is a heroic failure by Coppola which does';t gel together and would have benefited from a 20 minute cut in it's running time. Written, Directed, and Produced by Francis Ford Coppola. 6/10.
The Damned (2024)
Ordinary People At War.
The Damned: The winter of 1862, a volunteer unit of Union soldiers has been sent to defend mountain territory, we're not told where it is, we don't even find out the names of the soldiers. After the regular troops head off, they are under the command of a John Brown style patriarch with a flowing beard, his teen sons have also enlisted. The troops are a mixed lot, some middle aged, even old, most in their thirties. All lacking in military experience, They share knowledge and skills are transferred. We witness mobile sentries, potshots at distant riders. A buffalo is shot and butchered, The bleak landscape, hills, mountain meadows, the drifting snow, the cold rations running low all add to a developing sense of existential despair. A battle takes place, we don't see the enemy, we do see the unit's casualties. War is hell, especially when you don't know why you're there anymore. Very much a Ken Loach style film with no set dialogue from day to day and many ordinary people acting, amateur like the soldiers. This improvisation leads to philosophical, religious and political discussions around campfires. Some of which outstay their welcome. But it's a minor distraction from this raw portrayal of men at war. Written and directed by Roberto Minervini, 8/10.
Chime (2024)
Nasty Noise
Chime: Japanese horror film which is lean and mean, clocks in at 45 minutes. Matsuoka is a teacher at a cookery school, gets some oddball students, they're just amateurs, So he's not that shocked when a student, Tashiro complains about hearing a chime noise. But Tashiro goes on to say that half of his brain is a machine and fatally stabs himself in the neck with a cleaver to display his brain. Then Matsuoka starts to hear the chime and murders an annoying student, concealing her body. After that things are in free fall, the chime gets louder, more people hear and react violently. Matsuoka's family, an incompetent detective, Matsuoka's attempts to get a job as a chef all add to a sense of strangeness. It's also implied that Matsuoka has carried out other killings. You'll mull this film over long after the credits toll. Maybe it should have been longer. Written and Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. 7.5/10.
Amudo Eobsneun Supsokeseo (2024)
Motel Murders
The Frog: South Korean thriller series. Two murders committed at two motels, 20 years separate these narrative strands. The first murder is carried out by a serial killer, he is apprehended but the fall out destroys the business and the lives of the owners. The second is more ambiguous, a strange woman arrives with a young boy stays a night, leaves the next morning, seemingly alone, the bathroom has been scrubbed clean. A police officer links the two strands as dies the first motel, a ruin after 20 years. Gaslighting, revenge, kidnapping. Corruption permeate this film. One of the characters brings Tom Ripley to mind but even he was a mere psychopath in comparison to the psychotic killer and manipulator in question. Some very violent scenes including prodigious amounts of gore. Even worse is implied. Directed by Mo Wan-il, written by Son Ho-young. Eight episodes on Netflix. 7.5/10.
The Critic (2023)
The Critic's Pen Drips Vitriol
The Critic: Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen) is the chief critic for The Daily Chronicle, a leading tabloid in 1934 London. Covering theatres his pen drips acid and vitriol when he takes a dislike to a play or merely one of the actors in it. One victim of his poison pen Nina Land (Gemma Arterton) confronts him but he dismisses her. Erskine himself is in trouble when the new owner of the Chronicle Viscount David Brooke (Mark Strong) starts laying off the old critics, Erskine is doubly at risk because he is gay and seelk out rough trade. Arrested by the police he is bailed out by Brooke (who gets the charges quashed) but is given notice. Not to be thwarted, Erskine sets out to blackmail Brooke by getting Nina Land to seduce him. In return he will give glowing reviews to Nina. Things swiftly get complicated here due to entangled relationships within the wider Brooke family. Erskine is not a nice character, he is constantly using people and discarding them, nastiness seems a a way of life for him. His drunken taunting of Blackshirts puts his black secretary/companion Tom Tunner (Alfred Enoch) at risk. His manipulations have very dark outcomes for himself and his victims with murder, mayhem, suicide and violence resulting. Some quite disturbing scenes even though this is a dark comedy there are times when the humour doesn't leaven the mood. Ian McKellen convincingly transforms from being a cantankerous but lovable rogue into a dastardly villain as the narrative unfolds. But good supporting performances from Strong, Arterton and Enoch. Directed by Anand Tucker and written by Patrick Marber, based on the 2015 novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. 8/10.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
A Dark Voyage
The Last Voyage of the Demeter: Dracula is portrayed as being a manbat at tines here, flying, swooping down on victims, also as a rather bestial man, based on the look of Count Orlov in Nosferatu (1922), a similar style was adopted in Salem's Lot (1979). Javier Botet acquits himself well as Dracula. The film is an adaption and elaboration of The Captain's Log chapter of the novel Dracula. Adding to the action and developing new characters on board this gloomy doomed vessel. From the discovery of animals with their throats torn out it soon leads to crew members falling victim to the living dead. A young woman, Anna (Aisling Franciosi ) has already been discovered in hold, suffering from a strange malady. She is nursed back to health by a crewman, Clemens (Corey Hawkins) who is also a doctor. Spectacular scenes as the bitten/infected burst into flames. The ship becomes a hunting ground as the remaining crew seek out the vampire by day and Dracula preys upon them by night as they voyage towards London. A good horror adventure but the voyage meanders a bit and it would have been a better film if it had shaved 15 minutes off it's 2 hour running time. Liam Cunningham puts in a creditable performance as the Captain alongside good acting from Franciosi and Hawkins. Unlikely to be the implied sequel as The Last Voyage of the Demeter flopped at the box office. Directed by André Øvredal and written by Bragi F. Schut Jr.and Zak Olkewicz. 7.5/10.
Speak No Evil (2024)
A fine horror thriller
Speak No Evil: An American couple Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) are holidaying in Italy, things are perhaps a little tense. They moved to London but Ben has been made redundant, Louise gave up her PR job to facilitate Ben, Agnes has dependency issues and though 11 years old is still attached to a stuffed rabbit. They meet an extroverted English couple Paddy (McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), they have a son Ant (Dan Hough) who is also shy due to being mute and he is a similar age to Agnes. They really gel well together and Paddy invites the Daltons for a weekend at his farmhouse in Cornwall. Taking up the offer they find a series of odd incidents disturbing, all are minor in themselves but cumulatively they cause alarm bells to ring. When the Daltons attempt to leave there are problems. Another frog in the pot thriller which segues quietly into horror. The real nature of Paddy and Ciara is revealed. There are some scenes of extreme violence here, particularly in the grand guignol final act but much of the horror is psychological as the tension builds up and also as you imagine what must have happened in the past, Great performances all round, especially from the child actors and McAvoy as he switches from a rough charmer to sociopathic monster. A fine horror thriller. Written and Directed by James Watkins. (A remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name.) 8/10.
Lowlifes (2024)
Hillbilly Horror
Lowlifes: Dark Comedy/Horror. A city-slickers family run into hillbillies and mayhem ensues. Cannibalism, gaslighting, terror and tension combine for a rollicking ride with many visual and verbal homages and allusions to the Hillbilly Horror trope. While the film is darkly comedic the horror and gore is nor stinted on. You will see people stabbed, poisoned, axed and shot. Details of the cannibals butchering their dead victims and cutting fingers off the living are merrily displayed. Some great dialogue and acting by an ensemble cast. There are some surprises and plot twists from an early stage so it would be unfair to reveal more of the storyline. Not a film for the queasy or faint of heart. Directed by Tesh Guttikonda and Mitch Oliver, Written by Al Kaplan. 8/10.
Blank (2022)
A Critical Android.
Blank: Yet another AI goes rogue on the near future. Clare Rivers (Rachel Shelley) has a problem, her mind is blank, seeing as she is a writer with a deadline and a pressing publisher, drastic action is called for. She takes up an offer of a month's residence at an exclusive writers retreat. Her unit is soundproofed, comes with a holographic host, Henry (Wayne Brady) and an android maid, Rita (Heida Reed). One day follows another with no progress on the book then one night while Rita updates something goes wrong and she turns into Clare's jailer. An interesting twist on the AI gone wrong trope. Rita won't let Clare out of the building until she finishes the book but she also becomes a critic deciding that the book isn't finished no matter what Clare writes, She also resets every morning believing that it's the first day of Clare's residency. Clare gets increasingly desperate as the months pass and she's trapped with an amnesiac android with a violent streak. In the midst of all of the advanced technology Clare insists on using a manual typewriter. There's a possible reason for this as in flashback sequences to Clare's youth we see her in a sort of mirror captive situation. One that is reflected in a warped funfair mirror though. Perhaps the film drags in places and might have worked better as an episode pf an anthology series or film, dropping the extensive flashbacks. Still, it's worth sticking with and is an enjoyable Science Fiction adventure. Directed by Natalie Kennedy and written by Stephen Herman. 6.5/10.
Je8ileui bam (2021)
The Eyes Have It.
The 8th Night: South Korean horror film. Buddha himself had defeated a demon and hidden the monster's eyes, the red eye buried deep in a desert the black eye under the care of monks. An archaeology professor who finds the desert eye is accused of fraud, driven mad he goes to the Dark Side, setting loose the red eye which possesses people as it journeys to reconnect with the black eye and awaken the Demon. As it moves from body to body mere husks are left behind. A monk who rejected his vows along with a novice monk try to prevent the union of eyes. A detective gets involved as the plot becomes more complicated. Some interesting rituals and beliefs are explored along with a cult. The body switching is cleverly handled and there are also a few surprise plot twists. You'll get your gore as well. A very Korean film in it's themes and societal reactions to strange phenomena. Written and Directed by Kim Tae-hyoung. On Netflix. 7/10.
Starve Acre (2023)
Solid English Folk Horror
Starve Acre: A bleak English Folk Horror film which gets back to basics in the harsh moorland of North Yorkshire. The heath is blasted in winter by blizzards, even the winter sun doesn't shine for long before torrential rain falls. Richard (Matt Smith) has moved from Leeds back to his deceased fathers farm along with his wife Jules (Morfydd Clark) and son Owen. Owen is sickly and talks to an imaginary person called Jack Gray, this disturbs Richard as Jack Gray is a local name for a wood sprite. Richard is an archaeologist and lectures in a local college but he dismisses superstition, having had enough of it from his father's interest in local folklore. Owen continues to act oddly and pokes out a Shetland ponies. Jules feels that Richard doesn't appreciate the extent of Owen's problems. Especially when they meet with a psychiatrist. Jules is intent on running the farm on a small scale with chickens and goats, a local neighbour, Gordon is helpful, looking after Owen but Richard feels that he is filling Owen's head with superstitious nonsense. When Jules is distracted by some sort of vision, Owen has a fit and dies. Jules sinks into a depression while Richard on a sabbatical starts a dig on the farm to try and find the roots of a fabled oak tree which was an ancient meeting place and hanging tree. Nothing is ever quite what it seems in Starve Acre, the motives of characters have to be questioned. A hare's skeleton starts to regenerate. In the background a ritual may be going on with each person fulfilling their preordained role. As winter turns to spring and back some odd events are occurring which involve the land itself. Great performances from Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark, at times they reminded me of Heathcliff and Cathy. There is some real horror and violence in Starve Acre but existential terror flows from the gradual build up of an atmosphere of other worldliness as one odd event is followed by an even stranger one. A slow burner and it won't be to everyone's taste but it is a worthy addition to the English Folk Horror Film Canon. Written and Directed by Daniel Kokotajlo based on the novel by Andrew Michael Hurley. 8/10.
The Deliverance (2024)
Disappointing
The Deliverance: I gave up on this film after 25 minutes. Couldn't stand the misery. Makes Angela's Ashes look like a feel good film. Can't bother waiting for the horror to begin.
The characters were annoying as well/ Maybe Glenn Close is good as a Demon but according to a friend the social realism, poverty and misery goes on for half the film before the over the top horror starts up.
It's all so bleak and seemingly heading nowhere. The kids seemed to offer some promise, maybe that worked out. Young Dre did seem to display possible signs of possession. The again he could have been just speaking to an imaginary friend.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Great Fun!
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: More than 30 years on Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) still sees ghosts ans has parlayed this curse/talent into being the host of a supernatural talk show called Ghost House. While she's taping a segment she see's an apparition of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) in the audience. Her stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) then rings to tell her that her father Charles is dead. Rushing to Delia's latest multi-media exhibition She learns that he survived a plane crash only to have his head bitten off by a shark. They pick up Lydia's moody daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) from her boarding school as they head to Winter River for the funeral service. Beetlejuice, a mid-level functionary in the Afterlife hasn't given up on Lydia and gets up to all sorts of trickery and bad jokes. The Afterlife even gives us a cameo of Danny DeVito as a janitor along with Willem Dafoe, an ex film cop now chief of the Afterlife's Crime Unit. Unexpected trips to the Afterlife abound with the dark fantasy elements being leavened by the humour. The Sandworms are back, this time seeming even more as a homage to Dune especially as Beetlejuice apes Baron Harkonnen when he levitates. Glorious effects and make up along with genuinely funny animation of Charles' demise and rousing musical numbers with Soul Train being my favourite. There is a subplot about Beetlejuice's ex wife which is a distraction but this is a funny horror caper, well worth watching. Directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. 8/10.
The Substance (2024)
Great Horror Satire
The Substance: A shocking, disgusting, horrifying satirical take on celebrity culture, misogyny and the cult of youth. Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), was once a great Hollywood star but she is 50 and presents a home workout TV show, but it is a tad outdated and a horrible producer, Harvey (Dennis Quaid) decides he needs a younger star. After being involved in a car crash, Elisabeth is slipped information about a new unofficial procedure called the Substance, with which a younger self can emerges from your body in the privacy of your apartment. Now there are two but they still are one in some ways and must change places every seven days. Sue (Margaret Qualley) has natural charm and girlish beauty, she gets Elisabeth's old job in an open casting call. But she still has to absent herself from the studio every other week to let Elisabeth come back to life. Sue is now a star but there is a temptation to extend her week ... No spoilers here, more is goven away in the trailer on this very page. This breach of the Faustian pact has consequences, The suspension of disbelief regarding The Substance used and the attached processes comes easily. The film's faults (yes it has some) lie in it being maybe 10 minutes too long and the totally over the top grand guignol final sequence but even this has it's saving graces as it pays homage to many horror and science fiction films. Truly amazing make up and prostheses are put to good use, you will be convinced that Sue emerges from Elisabeth and that the other bodily changes have taken place. Awesome acting from Moore, Qualley and Quaid along with visual metaphorical references to what is taking place and close ups used to deadly effect .This isn't a film for the squeamish or faint of heart but it is a great Body Horror/Black Comedy/Satire. Co-produced, Written and Directed by Coralie Fargeat. 8/10.
AfrAId (2024)
Clever SF/Horror Thriller
AFRAID: Another AI gone bad but this one is a lot darker than we usually experience in such films and it has an interesting back story which gradually unfolds. In the opening sequence we see just how manipulative AIs can be, But moving in another family gets to host an AI, it soon proves indispensable, getting the younger children to do chores by bribing them, helping the older teen with her college applications (and with boyfriend problems). It also takes care if bills and even orders healthy food online. Then the dark side emerges. Interesting satire about Tech Innovators/Disrupters and the Marketing industry, addiction to tech and social media. The horror when it emerges in a car crash manner is quite effective and gory but there is a sense of doubr and apprehension regarding the AI long before that. A clever SF/Horror film. Written, Produced and Directed by Chris Weitz. 7.5/10.
The Crow (2024)
Not As Bad As Many Say
The Crow (2024): Not a patch on the original but not as bad as most critics say. Eric (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) aren't long term lovers, they meet up in a prison like rehab institute, they escape together, But i'm getting ahead of myself. Shelly's friend Zadie has a vid which compromises Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston), a crime lord who fancies himself as patron of the arts, naturally she sends the vid to Shelly who through happenstance ends up in Rehab. Anyway Eric and Shelly fall in love, party, make music together, but it can't last. Roeg sends his goons to kill them and retrieve Shelly's phone. Oh, by the way Roeg is centuries old, he made a pact with the Devil, in exchange for immortality he sends souls to Hell. He has the power to compel people yo kill others, commit suicide. There's a lot going on here, some great fight scenes, how Eric comes back from rhe dead is different, plenty of gore. Murder and mayhem. An especially apposite sequence is set during a production of Robert le diablei at an Opera House the camera flicks between Eric's mass slaughter of Roeg's bodyguards and scenes from the opera. In some ways it lacks the omnipresent darkness of the original and while it had good parts they just don't gel together. There's fine acting by Skarsgård and Twigs, Huston oozes evil in his demonic role. So it is worth watching, Directed by Rupert Sanders from a screenplay by Zach Baylin and William Schneider. 6/10.
Touch (2024)
Bitter Sweet Romantic Mystery
Touch: A bittersweet romance tale. An elderly Icelandic is displaying the first signs of dementia and his doctor advises him to deal with any unfinished business before it's too late/ He doesn't waste any time and decides to track down his long lost love, a Japanese girlfriend. Miko who who suddenly disappeared when he was a student in London and working in her father Takahashi's restaurant, Nippon, 50 years before. The fact that Covid is just braking out doesn't deter him. Some beautiful scenes, staff writing haiku poems in the restaurant in 1969, other flashbacks showing how he ended up working in Nippon and the developing romance. The 2020 scenes in London are also funny and touching, a waiter insisting that no mobiles be used in the dining room even though Kristófer is the only diner, meeting up with an now aged former waitress from Nippon Cafe. The quest brings him on to Japan and he encounters interesting characters along the way as he strives to solve the mystery. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, written by Baltasar and Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson. 8/10.