Crimes of the Future 2022 ★★★★★

Cronenberg is back, and how.

How can a movie at the same time be both gracefully beautiful and utterly repulsive?

Both mistifying and and fascinating?

The detached and sometimes callous feel has hints of Von Trier and at times even Blade Runner - the scene where Mortensen kisses Kristen Stewart - but again, it also is typical Cronenberg.

And of course, there is the exquisite beauty of the gore.

Brilliant stuff.

Diary of the Dead 2007 ★★½

In itself, the idea of a found footage zombie flick makes sense.

The idea is overall worked out not too bad and it has good, original kills.

Sadly, it gets too silly at times and the social commentary is too on the nose. The subtlety from Dawn is far away.

Overall entertaining(ish), but it could have been a lot better.

Wake up and Die 2011 ★★★½

When I started watching this, I was expecting something torture porn-like. To my surprise, it never really veered into that territory. At best just a tad.

This is more about the relation and the tension between the two main/only characters. After a one night stand, a man and a woman end up in a story that reminds me of Source Code, where the main character only has a short time span in order to avoid a horrible fate.

A risky move and maybe it did not work out perfectly well 100 percent of the time. But there is a lot to like about this one. For one, it takes guts to go down this risky road. And the film does a few things very well.

The story does a very good job as it unveils, drip feeding us bits of info that later become relevant. The two characters thus become like onions, with each reiteration of the same scene peeling off another layer.

The actress does a great job at conveying the terror she is overwhelmed with at the start and you can clearly tell and appreciate the arc her character goes through. While the male character has a few nice nods to Psycho weaved in, the male character is not all that memorable. It's easy to imagine actors who did better psychopaths (Bale, Hauer, Hopkins,...), but this is solid for what it is. No more, no less.

A fun ride, though. Three and three quarter stars. Check it out.

How to Make a Monster 2001 ★★

We follow a group of nerds trying to get a computer game together. There's the manager, the cool black guy and the scrawny nerd.

And hardcore (yes, that's a real name here)? Meh... still like him better than Triple H. I mean Steinbrenner. I mean shave those sideburns!

It's a noughties horror with lame kills and hardly any real gore. The build is up is dull and the reveal is lame. Clea DuVall as a good final girl earns the second star. But barely.

Villains 2019 ★★★½

I really liked Villains as a whole, so I want to give it four stars. But I cannot for the life of me make up my mind on what this movie wants to be. And that falling between two chairs (instead of making a clear choice) keeps me from doing so.

Does it want to be horror? Well, it certainly has bits of that. A bit of that vibe of how seemingly perfect people can be completely messed up underneath. And you do care for Mickey and Jules. Which is mostly due to Maika Monroe delivering a great performance as the lively, resourceful Jules. The most memorable thing about Bill Skarsgaard's performance is him rocking a Buscemi stache and mister Pink-ish look. The passage with the police officer has you at the edge of your seat and the dinner scene and the bit with the doll are too dark to be "just" a comedy.

Does it want to be a comedy? That certainly works. From the gawky, clumsy robbery scene over the weird bit with the tongue stud (which for some reason reminded me of the goofy action in films like Romancing The Stone) to the bit channeling Di Caprio on qualudes.

The couple fall somewhere in between. Jeffrey Donovan is funny with his ascott, his posh demeanor and his Southern-ish accent. And Kyra Sedgwick does a good job being both scary and sad at the same time. Both are damaged and dangerous at the same time.

For people who like their films a bit on the oddball side.

Swallowed, 2022. 7/10

Director: Carter Smith

https://www.scifinow.co.uk/wp-conten...-1-616x370.jpg


Huesera: The Bone Woman, 2022. 7/10

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera.

https://horrorbrains.com/wp-content/...-Poster-2..jpg

Unwelcome, 2022. 6,5/10

Director: Jon Wright

SMOKE AND MIRRORS: THE STORY OF TOM SAVINI (2015) . A pretty good biography on Tom Savini, the famed Make-Up Artist (as well as an Actor, Stuntman, Director, author), focusing on his early years up to the present.

I became a fan after FRIDAY, THE 13th and especially DAWN OF THE DEAD. And reading interviews with him (mostly in FANGORIA), He seemed like such a fun upbeat cool kind of guy. So a little disappointed when I met him at some cons . Certainly polite, but seemed almost as if He didn't want to be there. I got an understanding of what may have caused his behavior after watching this. This is worth seeing and can be found on SHUDDER>. ***1/2

Nocebo, 2022. 7/10

Directed by Lorcan Finnegan








The Winter Witch, 2022. 5/10

Directed by Richard John Taylor

COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES (2012). Two bumbling Brothers, a Cousin, an inept friend and a seriously anti-social acquaintance plan a bank robbery to help save their Grandfathers Rest Home, which is in danger of being demolished. Naturally, things go FUBAR and it doesn't help that a zombie epidemic has broken out in London.

Although this has a SHAUN OF THE DEAD vibe, it's not bad and I found most of the humor comes from the Seniors defending themselves, especially Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore herself in her last film) and Alan Ford, who was probably born snarling and contentious. ***

Luther: The Fallen Sun {2023} 7.5/10

Directed by Jamie Payne

So what now?

https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/po...op.764.430.jpg

IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW: A FILM ABOUT LYNYRD SKYNYRD (2018). Very good documentary of what I feel to be the definitive Southern Rock band. A lot of history, old interviews and performance footage (including the 1976 Knebworth Festival when they went on the Vanity ramp that was meant solely for The Rolling Stones) and of course (and sadly) the site of the October 1977 plane crash that truly ended it all. Obviously more for fans, but a good history, although I wish they had more focus on the aftermath (such as Rossington-Collins Band) other than the endless tour with replacement members. ****

[IMG]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/bf8a672e-d718-4e3f-b526-165f1c977184/d74oydj-531370da-f340-46c3-a383-9dea900b39cf.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV

I just saw this with a buddy of mine. He was a big fan of Luther's first season largely because of the role of the serial killing anti-hero. I was impressed with it too.

This Luther film, I thought was ok. Has some fine scene sequences. Overall, I found the story and ending a bit conventional, run-of-the-mill. Also had one or more, mostly inconsequential, plot holes... like who does/doesn't survive in icy water.

Also, it's development of Luther, or lack thereof, really crippled the film. What he does defines him, no doubt, but it's very much an 'looking from the outside' affair. There's no hint he's changed in any way as a result of his experiences in the film.

The writer's of Luther would have done well to bring-back the red-headed helper; and introduced Luther deeply working through the controversial oversteps in his police-work.

I'd give Luther a 6.5, or perhaps a 7 for being competent.