Mongol 3.5/5

this is a pretty decent film. It suddenly dawned on me while watching it that I had actually seen it before. Its based on the story of Genghis Kahn and features some really nice direction and photography. It shows the young Khan growing up and facing many harsh times. He sees his father poisoned by another tribe and as his father lies dying, he tells his son that he will now be Khan. However the young boy is soon betrayed by one of his fathers warriors and his camp is to be looted. He is help captive but manages to escape. Here he meets a new friend Jamukha and they soon declare themselves blood brothers.

We see Temujin grow up into manhood and he soon enters into brief happiness with his bride whom he selected while young. the film then focuses on a few things and shows how Temujin and Jamukha eventually become friends again, until rivalries force them to become enemies.

Although I enjoyed this film, it does get quite repetitive and I must say the story is pretty simple really. I have no idea how accurate it is but it seems unlikely that Temujin kept escaping his enemies as it is portrayed in this movie. It feels a little silly at times and far-fetched. The characters are quite 1 dimensional to be honest and it lets the film down a little. However what the film has got going for it is some really lovely photography and nice camera work. The action sequences are pretty good too. However I have to say that this film is quite forgettable, because I forgot I had even seen it. Also when I came to catch up on my weekly reviews, I had forgotten that I watched it. That says a lot really doesn’t it?

 

The Big Gundown 5/5

I have been waiting to see this movie for such a long time. I am so glad I have now seen it because it was even more awesome than people have said. It is now one of my favourite spaghetti westerns of all time. The acting, direction and script are all simply astounding here. Lee Van Cleef is my very favourite spaghetti western star and he is perfect in this role. Starring alongside him is Tomas Milian and he also gives a superb performance as Cuchillo.

The film is shot beautifully with some real breathtaking scenery to behold. This is a stylish director at work here. The plot revolves around Jonathon Corbett who is a bounty hunter and is feared by many a criminal because he is so fast off the draw. He is invited to a party of a wealthy industrialist by the name of Brokston. While at the party he learns that a 12-year-old girl has been raped and murdered by a mexican called Cuchillo. Corbett agrees to go and get Cuchillo and quickly sets off.

However Cuchillo proves to be quite a tricky customer and wont be as easy to catch as Corbett thinks. The two meet on several occasions and have some really interesting scenarios as they each try to outwit each other.The acting is fantastic, it really is. Both these actors are absolutely perfect in their roles and they shine on the screen. All the characters are really multidimensional. The action and set pieces are really crafted with expert care. The music is so beautiful with an amazing theme song in the opening credits. There isn’t one bad thing I can say about this film, it really is a spaghetti western masterpiece for every reason. I am so glad I own the grindhouse realease of this. I will treasure this movie forever. Awesome stuff!

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets 3.5/5

So after the first film, its fair to say that I wasn’t completely impressed by this series. However it had some stuff I did like about it and it seemed to be going somewhere. This is the second in the series and its a little better than the first outing. It starts out a little similar to the first in that Harry is with his child abusing family and is not having a great time (again!) He ends up meeting Dobby, a little elf who warns Harry about returning to Hogwarts and tries to stop him. This encounter leads to Harry getting in a lot of trouble and being literally locked in his room. Things change quickly when Ron, Fred and George Weasley turn up in a flying car to rescue Harry and take him away and prepare him for Hogwarts.

When they all get to Hogwarts there is more that Harry begins to learn about himself as the tale unfolds. There is a lot of trouble happening in  the school as people and animals are being petrified by some dark magic and Harry is hearing voices. There is also the dreaded chamber of secrets itself that apparently can only be opened by the heir of Slytherin. this all leads to lots of plot turns and discoveries. Looking back on this film I have to be impressed by the sheer amount of story that they cover. There is also some well done set pieces. I loved the part with the tree and the spiders.

On the whole this is a better movie than the first, but still has a kind of flat feeling to it. It lacks a certain flair of direction and style. Still an enjoyable movie and I am looking forward to more from the series, just not quite hooked yet.

Frankenstein 4.5/5 (Last film of 2013)

This is my last film of the year. I have been wanting to go right back in history to the beginnings of horror. This is the 1931 version of Frankenstein starring the legendary Boris Karloff. Now I have never seen these classics so this was very new for me. I have to say that this film is so hugely enjoyable and was definitely ahead of its time.

It starts out with Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz the hunchback performing grave robbing. They are collecting body parts for Henry’s experiment, which is to create life. He has a lab situated in a tower where he has constructed all sorts of electronical devices. Henry’s fiancée is worried about him being locked away so long with his experiments so she and her friend Victor go to see Dr Waldman who id Henry’s old medical professor. He tells them what Henry is up to and this leads them all to go up to the tower on the night that he will launch his experiment.

The monster is born and unknowing to everyone has received the wrong brain, due to a mistake by Fritz. At first the creature seems quite docile but when the creature sees fire it goes berserk through fear. Of course they all think the creature is now dangerous and actually misunderstand what is wrong with the creature. All sorts of mishaps happen which eventually lead to the creature being pursued by an angry mob towards the end.

I really enjoyed this movie and one thing I particularly liked is the fact that you can tell this was filmed on a set. You can make out the curtains in the background often but this just adds to the charm of the movie. Its kind of like going to see it on stage at a theatre. I am so glad I have decided to pick these old movies up because if it wasnt for these classics horror wouldnt perhaps be what it is today. I will be watching and reviewing the entire series of these films so look out for these in 2014. 

 

on another note, I will be writing my top 5 films of 2013 tomorrow, all being well. Its been a fantastic year for movie watching for me and I have given out a lot of 5 stars, so it will be a hard decision!

The Exorcist 5/5

Well seeing as it was Halloween the other day I decided to re watch this masterpiece. This is undoubtably one of, if not the best horror films ever made. It is every bit still as powerful as when it was released back in the early 70’s. For all its horror, it actually has amazing depth and great character development. Its got a few storylines going on in it. The main one is obviously the demonic possession of a young girl. But we also have the plot about father Karras who has lost his faith. He also loses his mother in the film prior to being asked to help the possessed Regan.

As Regan is slowing being “taken over” by the demon we see some pretty harsh medical tests that she has to go through. When the doctors come up with nothing they suggest drugs and a psychiatrist. However Regan’s mother Chris knows something deeper and darker is going on here and she is becoming more and more upset.

Things get worse and worse and Regan’s mother is at her wit’s end. When things get extremely supernatural she seeks out Karras who at first is reluctant and thinks that it’s in Regan’s mind. However he is proven wrong pretty soon and goes about organising an exorcism. Father Merrin is experienced with this demon and is brought in to help.

Well seeing as this is an absolute masterpiece there’s not one thing wrong with it. Its got an amazing deep story, fantastic special effects that still hold up to this day. Great direction and lighting and a great soundtrack. Also a fantastic cast who give amazing performances. This is actually Mark Kermodes favourite film of all time and he has seen it over 200 times! It is a stunning piece of work that will leave you shocked and emotionally drained. I love this film and have always loved it, but always feel a little uneasy watching it. That says a lot because I don’t really get that effected by movies. This film does everything it set out to do.

Naked Lunch 3.5/5

This is a very weird movie from Cronenberg. It deals with drug use, writing and hallucinations. William Lee is a bug exterminator who is also using the bug powder to get high. His wife is also using the powder. He comes home one day to find her having sex with one of his friends. He doesn’t seem bothered though as he and his wife play around and try to reenact the William Tell routine. This involves her placing a glass on her head and him trying to shoot the glass. However he accidentally shoots her in the head and kills her.

This leads him to have more and more hallucinations. This leads him to a place called Interzone where he sets about doing what his Clark Nova tells him to do. His typewriter is a big talking bug! I will be honest this is my least favourite Cronenberg movie so far. It’s just so weird that its hard to make head or tail of any of it. It’s probably his weirdest film as well and that is really saying something. I found it quite hard to connect with this one I have to be honest. It’s still really well made though but I just struggled to connect with it. I prefer his older movies I have to say.

Dead Ringers 4/5

This is where David Cronenberg started to move away from science fiction and fantasy quite a bit. This is definitely more of a drama based film. It follows the story of identical twins who go on to become highly successful Gynecologists working at their own practice. Eliot is the more aggressive brother and often seduces women who come to the clinic. He then passes them off to his brother Beverly who pretends to still be Eliot.

Things start to change for them both though when they meet an actress by the name of Claire Niveau. Eliot seduces her and passes her on to Beverly just as they have always done. Only this time it brings complications when Beverly falls in love with her. This causes an interesting tension between the twins and they struggle with this new rift.

This is definitely still a very well made interesting film. I don’t like it quite as much as Cronenbergs earlier efforts though. Having said that it has an amazing performance from Jeremy Irons who plays both twins. Its pretty amazing considering this wa made in the 80’s. A good film, but not a great film. It does deal with drug use and depression really well though and I say again that Irons is great in both roles. You are completely convinced that there are twins on-screen as their different personalities are made very clear. There are times though when you aren’t 100% sure who is on-screen and I have read that this was intentional.

The Devils 5/5

Yet another of Mark Kermodes top 10. The devil is an extraordinary film that left me speechless. It’s also based on a true story and a strong statement on the union of church and state. Oliver Reed plays Urbain Grandier who is a Roman Catholic priest in the town of Loudon. At the start of the film he is quite Promiscuous as he doesn’t believe in remaining celibate. Elsewhere Cardinal Richelieu is influencing Louis XIII in an attempt to gain further power. He convinces Louis that the fortifications of cities throughout France should be demolished to prevent Protestants from uprising. Louis agrees, but forbids Richelieu from carrying out demolitions in the town of Loudon, having made a promise to its governor not to damage the town.

The deformed sister Jeanne is sexually obsessed with the priest and when she finds out that he has married, she goes nuts at his wife and attacks her. Her jealousy coupled with the cardinal’s plans to tear down Loudon set a horrific scheme in motion that will risk the very life of the priest and the town itself.

This is certainly a very powerful film with a deep religious and political message. It hosts fantastic performances from its actors, superb direction and cinematography. The set pieces designed by Derek Jarman are amazing and give the film a real nice look. I have the BFI recent dvd of this film and I am sad to say that it isn’t the full directors cut that Mark Kermode helped put together. It’s a real shame that you just cant see the film the way it was intended. That being said it’s a fantastic dvd set and includes a nice set of extras. You can blame Warner Bros for not allowing the extra footage back into the film. It is the best dvd available though and doesn’t damage the film too much. You can read a lot of the history of the censorship on Wikipedia.

I absolutely loved this movie, it hits hard and shows a very brutal period of time within religion. I feel that this is a very important film and needs to be seen. I am praying for the full directors cut. Sometimes they show the full version at certain cinemas, I for one would go along. Amazing thought-provoking movie that needs more attention.

The Dead Zone 5/5

Well I think I actually can’t decide which is my favourite Cronenberg film between this movie and The Fly. I had forgotten a lot of this movie from seeing it many years ago. This is a fantastic film with so many sub plots going on to keep you interested. Its based on a Stephen King novel of the same name and brought to the screen by David Cronenberg. Christopher Walken plays Johnny Smith  who suffers a severe car accident which causes him to sink into a 5 year coma. After waking up a lot has changed in his life. Not only has his fiancée moved on without him and built a new life. He also discovers accidentally that he has acquired a psychic ability whenever he touches someone.

This enables him to see someones future or past. This brings him some media attention after he helps save a little girls life who has been caught in a fire. After a while a local sheriff decides to ask Johnny for help solving a murder case. At first Johnny doesn’t want to get involved but eventually comes around to using his new-found gift in a lot of situations.

Theres a lot more going on in this story but I wont say much else for fear of ruining some amazing plot twists. The acting and direction are just superb in this film. Theres a lot of heart and morality to the story, which I really connected with. I liked the characters and could really sympathise with Johnny after he wakes up from his coma.

I know a lot of people feel Stephen Kings stories and movie adaptations have terrible endings, but this is certainly not the case here. This film has an awesome and powerful ending that will leave you thinking for a while. Well there’s not much more to say really, this is a wonderful film and is my equal favourite Cronenberg film so far.

Cronos 5/5

This was a real treat to watch. I had put it on a few years ago but had fallen asleep to it. I must have been seriously tired because this is no boring film. I really have loved all of Guillermo Del Toros movies and this was his first feature-length movie. He just starts his film career of with a masterpiece. This is such an interesting movie. What you have in this film is basically a good old vampire film, done with a difference. It starts off giving you some great back story about a cronos device that was crafted by an alchemist. The device is said to give eternal life to its owner and after a jumping from the year 1536, which is the year it was constructed, we are then shown the alchemist lying dead, after having been staked through the heart in the year 1937. Investigators discovered some gruesome sights in the building where the alchemist was found. These included basins full of blood.

We then jump forward again to the present where we meet an old antique dealer called Jesus Gris. He works at his antique shop and often has his granddaughter at his side. Things go wrong for him when he accidentally finds the Cronos device and it latches on to him and injects him. This is where things get really weird for Jesus. He starts firstly feeling great and seems to be regaining his youth. But he soon developes a hunger for blood and succumbs to it. To add to his problems there is a local rich dying businessman who desperately wants the device to give him eternal life. He sends his thuggish nephew to get the device using bully boy tactics.

This really is a fantastic movie. It takes the vampire mythos and reinvents it in a really interesting way. The acting is solid throughout and the direction is fresh and stylish. It handles some really nice dark humour as well which works just right. Guillermo Del Toro is a hell of a visionary director and would go on to give us his ultimate masterpiece “Pans Labyrinth” which is in my all time top 10 movies.