Proxy (Zack Parker, 2013)
I found myself engrossed in this psychological thriller despite some rather glaring flaws. It's about twenty five minutes too long with a protracted second act murder scene so heavy handed as to be unintentionally ridiculous. It's also refreshingly original and unpredictable, with three fascinating female lead characters. A rough diamond to be sure.
Let Us Pray (Brian O'Malley, 2014)
I had high hopes for this good looking Scottish horror, mainly because I like Liam Cunningham and Pollyanna McIntosh. Unfortunately I found the central premise stupidly contrived - that nearly everyone in a remote Scottish police station is a heinous serial killer there to be judged by Cunningham's angel of vengeance - and despite solid acting and decent low budget production values it never recovered for me.
Damici does what a blind-werewolf-battling-Vietnam-veteran's gotta do in Bogliano's fun but flawed horror Late Phases.
Late Phases (Adrián García Bogliano, 2014)
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Another week another 80's throwback horror. Really enjoyed this off-beat werewolf flick thanks to solid characterisation (namely Nick Damici's blind protagonist, but also Tom Noonan's creepy priest) and the low key tone. Unfortunately the makeups are so goofy looking they undermine some otherwise tense sequences and render the movie too uneven to be a complete success.
Los últimos días/The Last Days (David Pastor, Ŕlex Pastor, 2013)
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Up until the last twenty minutes this Spanish thriller was one of the best post apocalyptic films I've ever seen. I loved the satirical idea of agoraphobia as a fatal disease that prevents people from going outside, and thought the Pastor's treatment was virtually faultless in it's emotional believability and white knuckle action sequences. Then the whole thing sinks into this sickly-mawkish-sentimentality that's so out of character with the rest of the film it just ruined what was initially an essential purchase for my collection.
The lovely Pooneh Hajimohammadi looks like she just got back from an electroclash club in James's too-cool-for-school The Machine.
The Machine (Caradog W. James, 2013)
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Didn't expect much but was more than pleasantly surprised by this super atmospheric Brit sci-fi offering. Yet another retro throwback (the authentically miserable synth score sounds like something Norman J. Warren might have used for one of his exploiters) this makes a good double bill with Alex Garland's glossier, but no more satisfying
Ex Machina. Another cerebral musing on the perils of AI technology, it's packed with stylish ideas and looks great for the price, but I found Caity Lotz's titular performance a little overbearing and silly. Plus the film's lapse into standard action tropes felt like a cop out. Still a decent little sleeper though.
The Signal (William Eubank, 2014)
Easily the worst thing I've seen recently this ambitious and exceptionally good looking indie sci-fi just felt so annoyingly obtuse. Worse still it ultimately amounts to nothing more than a lazy Alex Proyas rip off with a crap revelatory ending straight out of the
Dark City school of derivative cliches. This does have some cool cinematography but the package is empty and Lawrence Fishburne completely wasted.
Rima Te Wiata (pictured right) is great fun in nostalgic horror Housebound.
Housebound (Gerard Johnstone, 2014)
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Really enjoyed this twisty Kiwi horror comedy that cleverly subverts the haunted house formula before emerging as an homage to stuff like Wes Craven's
The People Under the Stairs and the cult TV flick
Bad Ronald - admittedly a little too much. Loads of funny performances in here though, particulalry Rima Te Wiata as the kooky deadpan mother to Morgana O'Reilly's chip-on -her-shoulder heroine, but also Cameron Rhodes (who reminds me of that other Craven icon Robert Englund) as a deceptively wussy social worker. Fun watch.
Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (Kiah Roache-Turner, 2014)
I feel so jaded by zombie movies nowadays that this energetic Ozploitation take was going to have to be exceptional to re-spark my interest in a, dare I say it...dead genre. To be fair Turner gives the film a grainy early Sam Raimi feel with lots of dynamic camera work that also evokes loud-kinetic stuff like Ryűhei Kitamura's
Versus. It's flamboyantly gory with the sort of posturing-gun-porn a-go-go-humour that would have felt fresh fifteen years ago, but in today's saturated market is barely distinguishable from the rest of the undead hoard. It wasn't bad though.
Man From Reno (Dave Boyle, 2014)
Decent cross cultural noir proved a bit of a departure for me, not to mention deliberately (considering the genre) convoluted with far too much expositional dialogue. Still, it's certainly original enough with an appealing cast (I really liked Pepe Serna as the grizzled old sheriff) and the kind of unexpected twists and satisfyingly downbeat ending that I like. It's also the kind of film that demands a second viewing to appreciate all the little details; I'm just not sure I want to sit through this slow burner again.
The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012)
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After only recently watching
Take Shelter and instantly becoming a Michael Shannon fan I was really looking forward to this gangster movie. Sadly it's muddily photographed standard fare that runs the gamut of mob movie cliches as if Vromen's ticking off a list of hackneyed prerequisites. Shannon is of course excellent as the unnervingly quiet hit man, and there's a supporting cast to die for (great to see Robert Davi again, and Winona is still goregous), but literally everything else has been done before and done much better. Shame.
Isaac and Chastain make a great team in A Most Violent Year.
A Most Violent Year (J.C. Chandor, 2014)
Another low key (sort of) gangster movie felt very Lumet-esque (a la
Serpico and
Prince of the City) to me in that it focuses on a man trying to do the right thing within a system that seemingly thrives on corruption. Oscar Isaac is great as Abel Morales; a by the book immigrant businessman trying to protect and ultimately save his burgeoning empire in the face of financial austerity, and mob intimidation. Isaac imbues Morales with a captivating intensity and righteous drive whilst Jessica Chastain is equally convincing as his ruthless wife who's more than prepared to bend the rules to protect their family interests. This is real character driven stuff and the scenes between the two are electric even if the film feels a little sparse everywhere else.
Other stuff I watched...
Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015)
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Finally Bond feels like Bond again (at least to me). Loved the helicopter opening sequence and the henchman train fight (I really wanted Bautista to get up and dust himself off afterwards like Jaws). On the downside the balance between a modern desire for the believable and the nostalgic lust for silliness doesn't sit as well here as it did in
Skyfall. This is especially apparent when Bond easily guns his way out of Blofeld's desert lair. I still like this one better though. Is that wrong?
The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
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I know this is being hailed as a modern horror classic, and the likes of Mark Kermode may well be right, but I just didn't enjoy it. Yes the use of spooky artwork is original and effective, it's well acted (though Noah Wiseman grated on me as Samuel), plus there's some social commentary in there to give the whole thing some depth. I just found the whole thing so grey and depressing (I guess that's the point), and the ending felt awfully muddled and vague - like much of the movie. Perhaps I'll watch it again some day and see the light, but as my ratings are based mainly on enjoyment I can only give this a generous three right now.
Swinton provides easily my favourite scene in Snowpeircer
Snowpiercer (Joon Ho Bong, 2013)
I just couldn't get my head around the daft premise of this one even if the whole thing is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. If it wasn't for Tilda Swinton's hilarious turn as the dastardly Mason (think an evil Deirdre Barlow or a sadistic Daphne Moon) I think I may have turned it off. Some good action and the expected glossy production values, but I felt it should have taken it'self even
less seriously to really work.
The November Man (Roger Donaldson, 2014)
Pierce Brozza' Brosnan does his loose-cannon-clenched teeth-tough guy best in this very derivative and ultimately forgettable spy actioner. I really don't know what else to say because I only watched it to placate my Bond (ex or otherwise) obsessed wife and have forgotten most of the details already. Uninspired is my prevailing memory, but I like Pierce and he was definitely the best thing about this.
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I've still to see The Babadook and I suspect I'm going to feel similarly, though I hope not. I'm pleased to see you talking well of Housebound, too. Morgana is, sadly now ex, Neighbours alumni, so I'm looking forward to it.
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