Bullets 'n' Babes

The Double (2011-USA) *½
Richard Gere stars in below par spy thriller.

grim_tales wrote:is the sniper/killer supposed to be the Zodiac killer?

Inspired by.

A Clockwork Orange (1971): 4/5

Worth watching but not an easy view. I thought Alex was a complete bastard but it's also hard to watch what happens to him later on.

Does Alex go back to his old ways at the end? It seemed like it at first because he no longer felt sick from sex and music, but then he said "I was cured, all right"

Blood Father (2016-USA) **½
A grizzled Mel Gibson returns to action in this uneven thriller.

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990-USA) **
Wildly eccentric, coarse comic thriller; a total mess, but amusing at times.

Wonder Woman (2017-USA-China) ***
Probably the best of the recent batch of superhero movies, with the gorgeous Gal Gadot making for a memorable heroine (she can rescue me with her lasso of truth anytime). Like most, it succumbs to crash, bang, wallop at the end, and we've seen the cumulative fiery CGI standoff umpteen times before, but the anti-war, pro-heroism message is refreshing, heartfelt and genuine. A groundbreaking piece of cinema? No. But I did rather like and admire it.

The Human Factor (1979-UK) **½
Talky, dry adaptation of Graham Greene spy novel; Africa and Communism the topics under discussion as the Secret Service hunt for a leak.
No excitement whatsoever, this is a drama not a thriller, but the largely British cast are interesting to watch.
Of note as Otto Preminger's last film.

The Internecine Project (1974-UK-Germany-USA) ***
Cleverly plotted thriller stars James Coburn as a politician with murder on his mind.

The Puppet Masters (1994-USA) **½
Pulpy, fast-paced nonsense about alien invaders.
Based on a 50s novel, but deemed derivative because of all the 'Body Snatcher' movies we've had in the interim (at least one starring this movie's professor Donald Sutherland).
Supporting cast is mostly good, pretty Julie Warner, Will Patton, Keith David, etc., but Eric Thal in a key role is pretty wooden.

Edge of Honor (1990-USA) **
A pack of boy scouts fall foul of hillbilly arms smugglers.
Picture Toy Soldiers in the wilderness, only nowhere near as good.

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (USA, 1986) [DVD] - 2.5/5
Part 6 tries to pump more "fun" into the series, and occasionally succeeds at it (e.g. the sex scene, a very cool Alice Cooper theme song). Unfortunately the most painful moments tend to be those with humour rather than violence. But it could certainly be worse. Kevin Williamson has admitted the film('s self-aware approach to horror) as major influence for Scream.

Perfect Strangers aka Blind Alley (1984-USA) **
Tacky Larry Cohen thriller in which an assassin muses over whether to kill a toddler who witnessed his hit.

Freddy Vs. Jason (2003-USA-Canada-Italy) **
Disappointing mash up doesn't really work as either an Elm St. or a Friday movie.
It's not bad, but there's too much CGI, and a choppy script (which apparently went thru 16 writers!)

Arena (2011-USA) **
Grieving fireman is kidnapped and forced to participate in web-streamed fights to the death.
Fairly ludicrous actioner revels in the explicit barbarity it purports to condemn.

Jason X (USA, 2001) [DVD] - 1.5/5
Friday the 13th meets Alien with a bit of Star Trek. Jason is the Alien. This actually has a pretty cool first 10 minutes. Gone are the usual teens, replaced by soldiers guarding the captured Jason on a space ship... which made me chuckle all the more when they still found a way to introduce "space teens" a bit later. Unfortunately it's downhill from there on with incredibly irritating characters you wish Jason would kill immediately and turn the film into a short movie. Visually the film looks like a mixture of late 90s low budget sci-fi TV series and a porn film. A couple of cool gore effects save the movie from being a complete waste of time.

And no, I'm not trying to piss Mark off with these reviews.... well, maybe a little bit

I'm used to people hating Jason X.

We all have films on our shelves that we like and most others don't.

Hancock: 3/5

Action comedy with Will Smith muddying his nice-guy persona (a bit) playing a down-on-his-luck, alcoholic superhero is an interesting idea and good fun, the darker stuff at the end feels like a different movie though

CaboBlanco (1979-Mexico-USA) **
Lacklustre attempt to recapture the spirit of Warner's 40s war dramas.

Tank 432 (2015-UK) *½
Sneaky bastards! They stuck the credits at the end again.
That was so I wouldn't know this was another Ben Wheatley endurance test.
Or, an intriguing premise, dull execution, and really shitty, we don't have a fucking clue, ending.

V.I. Warshawski (1991-USA) **½
A tough-talking private detective and a smart mouthed kid... sounds like a Shane Black script, right?
Wrong. V.I. was based on a series of novels by Sara Paretsky (which - and whom - I know nothing about).
Reviled upon its release, this witty actioner actually holds up pretty well, and offers a great role for Kathleen Turner.
Set expectations low-ish and give it a chance.

Penny Gold (1973-UK) **
Glum, pedestrian mystery thriller directed by Jack Cardiff (though you wouldn't know it to look at it).

Hancock: Unrated: 3.5/5

A improvement on the theatrical cut as there's shades of a darker story, and more character development for Hancock.

Cat People (1982-USA) **½
Strange, confusing, arresting psycho-sexual fantasy from Paul Schrader.
Some gore, some nudity; officially a remake, but nothing to do with Val Lewton.

Unhinged (1982-USA) **
Cheap but bearable 'video nasty' in which three nubile young women are stranded (after a car crash) in a house with a crotchety old lady and her put upon daughter. I didn't see the ending coming... which makes a change. The girls were clearly cast for their willingness to show skin.

Brick Mansions (2013-France-Canada) *½
Unnecessary, oddly amateurish remake of District 13 is inferior in every way.

Prince of Darkness (USA, 1987) [DVD] - 4/5
Atmospheric, under-rated John Carpenter film tackles satanic horror thru science. Not quite among his masterworks - the parts with possessed people taking out their victims in slasher fashion feel a bit lame considering Satan himself is lurking behind the corner - but it really is quite a good film.

100 Rifles (1968-USA) **½
Oppressed Yaqui Indians take on a bloodthirsty Mexican Army.
OK western saga, if a bit long.
Burt Reynolds is the charm, Raquel Welch the sex appeal, Jim Brown the brawn.