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Voices (1973)

Don't Look Now + The Others interrupted by a BBC drama

An unsual film. Good first act. Great last act. The middle act, shot on videotape, is essentially one long scene of the two characters arguing, apologizing, and arguing again. It feels very much like a BBC adaption of a stage play, and is relatable but reptetive.

However, stick with it; the scenes of what may be either ghosts or hallucinations become increasingly frightening, leading up to a shocking climax where we find out exactly which they are.

Gayle Hunnicutt's does wonders with her haunted gaze, and the fog-shrouded country house location has a nicely ynderstated atmosphere of isolation and dread.

Comparisons to Don't Look Now are apt; there are also similarities to 2001's The Others.

Tron: Legacy (2010)

The greatest music video ever made

I consider Tron Legacy the best music video ever. Daft Punk, fantastic visuals, Jeff Bridges as creator of an über cool neon digital universe, and Olivia Wilde looking both hot and weird.

Even Michael Sheen's cameo is more like an actor cameoing in a music video than a proper film role.

Whilst the CGI version of the younger Jeff Bridges doesn't compare to modern standards (how could it?), it works perfectly in the context of the story, as the character exists inside a computer programme.

If you want to follow a solid story, you'll be disappointed (although thematically it's quite rich).

I was lucky enough to see it at the cinema in 3D, and it was amazing.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Interesting adaption of Robin from the comic

It's interesting the way Dick Grayson is written in Batman & Robin. At least from a comic fan's POV.

Dick has evolved since the previous movie, he doesn't want to be the sidekick anymore, he wants to be an equal partner (which happened in the comics). Which is understandable because Batman is controlling and essentially babysits him (which seems to come from the way Batman overprotected Tim Drake in the comics early on).

So that's why Dick's costume is closer to Batman's design than the Robin costume of the previous movie. And then Robin does actually ditch Batman and go solo. There was even a line cut from the script where Robin declares he's called Nightwing now. So broadly following the evolution of Dick Grayson in the comic.

However, in the movie, Dick goes solo because he's arrogant and hotheaded, and immedietley gets into trouble. He realises he needs Batman's help, and Batman in turn realises that he's can't control everything and to trust Dick.

So essentially the writers allow Dick to evolve as a hero but then curtail it, suggesting it's right he stay with Batman rather than actually become Nightwing.

It seems an obvious different ending would be to have allowed Dick his independence and new superhero identity, working with Batman finally on equal terms, and have Batgirl bcome the new sidekick.

It's similar to how Batman Forever altered Batman's orgin by having misplaced guilt be the hidden driving force behind Batman, rather than vengeance. Although most of it is in the deleted scenes. Once Bruce comes to terms with it, he's essentially cured and is Batman no longer because he has to be, but because he chooses to be. Which explains why he's no longer a brooding presence in Batman & Robin.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Intriguing, topical slowburner

Interesting new apocalyptic thriller on Netflix, starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke.

It's essentially a slowburner, offering only glimses of some kind of undefined doomsday hitting the US from the eyes of two isolated families. It's kind of M Night Shayamalan-esque, but also has similarities to the class satire Parasite, Die Hard 4.0 and the Nicolas Cage thriller Knowing.

Also it speaks very much to the uncertain political future of the US (the upcoming thriller Civil War looks to be much more on-the-nose). I wouldn't go so far as to call it Invasion of the Bodysnatchers for the 2020s, but it manages to capture some of that same sense of paranoia as the tide slowly turns against the increasingly helpless characters.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2022)

Hugely fun burst of action and comedy

Wonderfully animated, with vibrant characters and spectacular action sequences. The first act is loaded with laughs, but the tone becomes more serious as the epic nature of the world-ending threat is revealed.

While the storyline may be very familiar - mixing elements of the first Avengers movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past, some very Lovecraftian alien invaders and a memorable moment from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Best of Both Worlds - Rise of... tells it with huge charm, energy and enthusiasm.

Even the story arc of lead character Leonardo suceeds - despite the viewer knowing exactly where it will lead from the getgo.

It deserves a physical release.*

*By physical release, I mean it should come out on DVD/blu-ray, rather than...you know...something disgusting.

Significant Other (2022)

Like three films put together

Or to be more accurate, one film with three directors; the first act seems like it's going to be a standard lost-in-the-wilderness thriller, with the characters having to 'man-up' to survive etc etc - but that's not what this movie is. No sir.

The second act is akin to Natalie Portman's Annihilation - a disquietning, brooding sci-fi movie providing more questions than answers. But again, the rug is pulled from us.

The third act is a simple monster chase, revealing the movie to be a less-than-subtle metaphor for getting trapped a marriage gone wrong: the lead character's fear throughout. Indeed, the metaphor is so strong you could almost say it's the actual plot, albeit told in abstract from.

There are some good twists and reveals - at one clever moment you realise what's happening is the complete opposit of what you thought. However the tonal jarring, such as Jack Lacy's character inexplicably becoming comedic when the film is trying to be thrilling, make for a jarring viewing experience.

Dr. Strange (1978)

One of the best early Marvel movies

You've seen Doctor Strange as a huge budget special effects-filled actioner. Here it is as an occult drama made for television in the 70s - and - ya know what? - it works. Here's why:

• Peter Hooten makes a suave, charming Dr Strange, looking like he came right out of the comics.

• Jessica Walter makes a suitably sinister Morgan Le Fey - the Arthurian witch who is the first Marvel Comics villain to reach live action.

• Want a Ben Kenobi mentor figure to your hero - and a veteran British actor to make fantastical exposition seem believable? Can't do much better than the great John Mills, here playing an urbane version of Merlin (or Lindmer as he calls himself).

• The proto-Chris Nolan 'let's be sensible about this' approach.

• The John-Carpenter-with-a-touch-of-Goblin soundtrack.

• Lovely special effects include energy blasts, trees that grab people and a particularly creepy moment when a cat turns into a woman - I had to rewind it to watch it again.

• Oh, and the big bad is a stop-motion animated demon who lives in some kind of misty netherworld that looks like a stage set from Wagner's Ring cycle. This, remember, in a movie made for television.

Legion of Super-Heroes (2023)

Supergirl goes to school...in the 31st century

Basically Supergirl travels into the future to train with the heroes of the title. There's kind of a Young Adult vibe, multiple romantic interests, Wolverine-like superhero Timberwolf, some interesting stuff about the Brainiac dynasty...and it begins with yet another depiction of the destruction of Krypton, although it's from Kara's POV.

Nice animation, good voice work, more instances of the needless gore that stops these movies being suitable for younger viewers...it's a decent enough entry, but there's not much to it.

It has similarities with the previous animated movie Batman/Superman: Apocalypse, which also featured an unhappy, fish-out-of-water Supergirl leaving Metropolis to train with a bunch of super beings - in that case, Wonder Woman's island of amazons.

The two most notable things are that the plot actually builds on a seemingly disposable moment from Justice Society - World War II; and the post-credit sequence, which nicely sets up a bigger story ahead.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023)

The caped crusader journeys into the word of nightmarish horror

The Doom That Came to Gotham is almost a companion piece to Gotham by Gaslight (2018). Here we have a turn-of-the-century Dark Knight investigating a cult who may be trying to summon up ancient forces of evil (spoiler: they are). Forbidden books, vast tentacled monstrosities and madness abound.

Lots of the usual Bat cast are thrown in - some given horrific make-overs, some don't make it to the final credits - and the voice work and animation are all above average. David Giuntuli is a terrifically fierce but impassioned, human Batman - he might be one of the best of the many voice actors in the role. This is a truly dark night for the Dark Knight, who at one point just stands in the Batcave and announces Gotham is doomed over and over again. To the wall.

As much as the movie uses such classic tropes and conventions from HP Lovecraft's stories, the biggest one - the overwhelming sense of unknowable dread - is something that just can't be conjured in a 90 minute animated action adventure. Slow-building tension and increasing unease are something it just doesn't have time for - also the problem with the first Hellboy movie, which Doom That Came to Gotham is very similar to.

However, as an atmospheric period superhero adventure, tinged with nightmarish horror, this is a winner.

Matriarch (2022)

Sinister and intriguing folk horror

Very interesting tale of a binge-drinking, cocaine-snorting city type on the verge of a breakdown, visiting her rural-dwelling mother for a very difficult reunion. There's the spectre of a mysteriously deceased father, mentions of the Olde Ways, and the obligatory not-as-harmless-as-they-seem villagers. The first and third acts could be from completely different films, yet it just about works, as both mother/daughter drama and countryside weirdness are dark and intriguing.

Matriarch also largely avoids sudden shocks for the slowly emerging realisation of terror, whilst mixing in unsettling visuals and details which only become clear later on. The central performances are great; Jemima Rooper bravely makes her character spiteful and unlikeable yet still somehow sympathetic, whilst Kate Dickie as her mum is subtly yet unmistakably wrong from the outset, and it just escalates from there. Wonderfully bleak scenery as well; frosty churchyards and desolate roads that don't seem to lead to anywhere.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

One of the best comicbook adaptions ever

I'll never not be impressed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

No, it's not a masterpiece. But it is an elevation of the source material by a huge amount. The comics it's based on - which I love - are quite simplistic. The cartoon is a variation of them for a younger audience. And yet the movie, almost perversely, takes it seriously, and tries to create a realistic version of it. It does this by taking advantage of it's low budget to use real New York locations, with a gritty, gloomy, urban look. Dingy warehouses. Shadowy sewers and rooftops. All distinctly unglamorous. A lot of it could be documentary footage. This gives it a real world feel that very few superhero movies achieve.

On top of that, the Turtles, whilst comedic plenty of the time, are also given traits of real teenagers. They squabble, they lark around, they storm off in a huff. Raphael has real anger issues, and it's not sugar-coated or happily resolved. Then you have the Foot Clan. Robots in the cartoon, here they are disaffected, lost kids who are promised a purpose and a place to fit in by manipulative adults. It's all surprisingly emotionally genuine. It asks over and over, what constitutes a family? What connection do you need?

I don't even need to comment on the wonderfully expressive Jim Henson costumes, yet to be bettered even with top rate CGI, or the authentic martial arts battles, performed by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest stunt team. The best animatronic company in the business, and real kung fu performers. It's all you could ever ask for with regards to the Turtles.

Finally - it's far better than it needed to be. In 1990, any Turtles movie would have been huge - as evidenced by the watered-down sequel which came out less than 12 months later. But director Steve Baron and co avoided the simple cash-in route, and made the best movie they could. And it's even better than the source material it's based on. It's the best Ninja Turtles thing there is.