Bullets 'n' Babes

Strangers on a Train - Preview/British version: 4/5

As per earlier review, not much changed that I can see but I think the 'Final Release' (Hollywood) version has a better ending.

Blade Runner (Final Cut) (USA, 1982/2007) [BD] - 5/5
Not my preferred version of the film (DC is), but it doesn't change the fact that this is one of the 10 best films ever made. Still visually stunning and psychologically fascinating. The ending is perhaps my favourite of all time. I originally discovered the film back in the late 90s when I was a 1st year junior high student, and watched it at least 10 back then. Still dreaming of seeing it (either DC or FC) in 35mm some day...

Showdown (1993-USA) **
Billy Blanks' janitor teaches the new kid in school how to fend off the big bad bully.
Virtual rip-off The Karate Kid with meatier fights.

Swelter (2013-USA) **
Jean-Claude Van Damme takes a supporting role (no idea why?) in this modern western pastiche.
At times threatens to become a decent movie, but the filmmakers just aren't up to the task.

A Stranger Is Watching (1981-USA) **
Minor kidnap suspenser from the makers of Friday the 13th (trims look to have been made to the more grisly moments).

The Cassandra Crossing (1976-Italy-Germany-UK) **½
Typically bleak disaster thriller, in which a man-made virus makes its way onto a train in Eastern Europe, putting a starry cast in peril.
Longish, but generates some thrills in final third, and Richard Harris is usually worth watching.

Bells aka Murder By Phone (1981-Canada) **½
Richard Chamberlain makes for an engaging protagonist in this little known, but suspenseful thriller.
The premise is far-fetched - a loon executes his victims over the phone - but nicely handled.

Into the Night (1985-USA) **½
John Landis' more mainstream alternative to After Hours.
Surprisingly light on laughs, and with some tonal issues, but Goldblum and Pfeiffer are a likeable enough pair of protagonists.

Blade Runner 2049 (USA, 2016) [DCP] - 4/5
Ambitious sequel is better than it has any right to be. Here's a film that refuses to cater to mass audiences, with limited action, beautifully patient pacing that allows shots to breathe, and a soft R-rating that is there just to support mature storytelling (it's less violent than the original). The challenging storyline also refuses to recycle the original movie, and there lies a bit of a problem as well. While Scott's film had a rich, existential world entwined around a tight plot taking place in very few locations, the sequel expands the world to so many distinctive places that it ends up having a weaker identity. It is grander, but less intimate and more plot driven. It also lacks some of the peculiarities of the original, such as the magical Vangelis score, an unforgettable villain, and the odd ways people were being hurt (sticking your fingers into an opponent's nose?), replaced by a Hollywood score and a one dimensional villain underling throwing standard martial arts moves. None of that makes the film bad; it simply prevents it from reaching the level of its amazing predecessor. It is, in fact, an excellent film and comes with some fantastic new ideas, such as a holographic girlfriend who seemingly develops real emotions, but is unable to express physical love since she lacks a body - a fascinating idea that gives birth to the film's very best scene.

What Have You Done to Solange? (Italy, 1972) [BD] - 4/5
Excellent, moody giallo with a beautiful Morricone score, strong storyline and good characters. I'm not especially a giallo super fan, and I was concerned about this film leaning too much towards drama, but those fears turned out to be unwarranted as the film is terrific.

The Ghoul (2016-UK) **
Yet another Brit indie psychological 'thriller' that believes that showing off its cleverness is more important than telling a coherent story.
Endings? Who needs them? Sure, this fits in with the narrative, but it doesn't make the 'loop' any more satisfying. When I saw Ben Wheatley's name in the credits I should've taken the warning.

Cult of Chucky (2017-USA) **½
Maybe I'm going soft, but I actually thought this was an improvement on CURSE.
Probably best not to try and makes sense of it all, but I had a bit of fun with the bloody mayhem.
Fiona Dourif continues to prove herself a valuable asset to the series.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (USA, 1984) [VoD] - 2.5/5
One of the most popular films in the series, this is indeed quite watchable with passable characters, mostly decent pacing and plentiful nudity. The final act goes on a bit too long with Jason just walking around and killing people, though there are a couple effective moments.

Nixon - Dir's Cut (1995-USA) ***
Not the hatchet job one might have expected from arch-liberal Oliver Stone, but rather a complex portrait of a complex president.
Anthony Hopkins inhabits the role to the full, with solid support from the likes of James Woods, J.T. Walsh, and Powers Boothe.
Unlike JFK, this film doesn't justify its extreme length - at least in this version.
I could've done with a lot less of the repetitive childhood flashbacks and more disciplined editing.
The political intrigue is generally engrossing.

Flash Gordon (1980): 3/5

Camp and extravagant sci-fi romp is good fun but feels like a product of it's time, the 'low budget' (or it felt like it to me - but in fact it cost $35m which was a lot of money at the time), and colourful and excessive sets adds to its' charm somehow.
Ornella Muti is way hotter than Melody Anderson, imo.
Brain Blessed is hilarious in it The theme music by Queen is unforgettable.

Doc Hollywood (1991-USA) ***
Amiable comedy about big city doc Michael J. Fox stuck doing community service in small southern town.
Light and whimsical, a pleasant way to pass the time.

Markgway wrote:Doc Hollywood (1991-USA) ***
Amiable comedy about big city doc Michael J. Fox stuck doing community service in small southern town.
Light and whimsical, a pleasant will to pass the time.

I loved this film when I was a kid. Haven't seen it since then. All I can remember is the scene with the old lady who had "lost" her eyesight

You remember the old lady who lost her eyesight...

I remembered THIS...

I'm a little embarrased about my memory now. In my defence, old ladies lacking eyesight were probably less common in Finnish TV than topless young ones back when I was a child. I remember we had this shampoo commercial with a topless girl bathing in the sea which aired daytime.

When I was a teenager I used to come out from school and watch afternoon German TV on cable because they always had tits in shampoo adverts.

We don't get those channels anymore.

It's possible we had some of those same ads on Finnish TV. I've been looking for that ad I mentioned for years, to no avail. But it might be an ad for "Fa"... we certainly had those on TV and my family even used their products.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57wDL5ESepc
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__ZqJ-eAzPs

Jacob's Ladder (1990, USA): 4/5

Nightmarish, twisty thriller in which we can never be quite sure what's real - very well acted.
Is Jacob actually, in fact, dead this whole time? Was he given drugs in Vietnam that caused him to imagine his whole life beyond that?
I think the part when he goes 'upstairs' with his son and we see a white light is like him going into the afterlife

Elizabeth Pena =

Prevenge (2016-UK) **
Original, but unsatisfying black comedy horror, in which a pregnant woman receives orders of vengeance from her unborn daughter.
Needed more laughs, more satire to fully work, and more creativity in the kills (all rather standard, brutal slashes, save the odd testicle liberation)
Writer-director-star Alice Lowe was actually very pregnant whilst making this (taking method acting too far perhaps?)
If you're less critical of contemporary Brit-horror than I you may feel differently.

The Night Visitor (1970-Sweden-USA) **½
Max Von Sydow escapes from a mental hospital to wreck revenge on the family members who put him there.
Occasionally wooden thriller improves when Von Sydow and Trevor Howard (as a police detective) take centre stage.

Freeway (1988-USA) **
A deranged ex-priest targets L.A. drivers for biblical vengeance.
Undernourished pot-boiler doesn't make most of chilling premise; not unwatchable though.

Dirty Harry (1971): 4/5

Excellent cop thriller, great performance from Clint - is the sniper/killer supposed to be the Zodiac killer?