Category: Uncategorized

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968, dir. Sergio Leone)

A revenger, a robber baron, a bandit, and a mail-order bride coincide on the same remote farmhouse. Genius Western, distilling the last three decades of genre filmmaking into a single movie. Elegaic, definitive, and unmissable. Recommended,

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation [AKA The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre] (1994, dir. Kim Henkel)

Four students leave their senior prom and get lost in the woods, happening across the Sawyer clan. Again, there’s interesting stuff among the scream and chase stuff, not least an odd wider story, and some smart production design. Patchy, though.

The Crazies (2010, dir. Breck Eisner)

A viral outbreak in a small Iowa town leads to a zombie-like infection and a military lockdown. Effective and well-sustained remake of the 1973 George Romero flick of the same name. Cynical, paranoid and subversive within its now-familiar genre framework.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017, dir. Patrick Hughes)

A down-on-his-luck bodyguard has to escort his former nemesis to a court hearing. Passable road movie / action comedy with a game cast doing its best with average material. Some fun bickering and fighting though, and a weird sense of UK geography.

The Post (2017, dir. Steven Spielberg)

The Washington Post battles to source and then publish revelations about the Vietnam War. Effective journalistic thriller, which works as a prequel to All The President’s Men and as a contemporary allegory. Good performances all round, especially from Streep.

Eat Locals (2017, dir. Jason Flemyng)

A vampire gathering is interrupted by an army/cleric hit squad. Slightly ramshackle low budget comedy-horror with a clear debt to Dog Soldiers, this just about gets by on its game cast of familiar faces, plus plenty of ideas, not all of which get a fair shake.