Yep.
So much yep.
Everything wrong with taking the forced, commercially driven, hollow inclusivity clause in Disney's policy is captured in the Aladna sequence.
Which is a shame because Iman Vellani is this film's saving grace.
Like getting a fake Lego set of an Indiana Jones movie set piece where none of the pieces really fit and it is a chore to get through.
Well, this was frustrating.
Grouping this with the deluge of 'trauma is horror' would sell Smile's premise short. The premise that is, not the film. The film makes too many mistakes, but the premise is bloody good and would work really well as a short film...oh hold on...THEY ALREADY DID THAT
Anyways, there's not much to say here really. When it's creepy, it's very good. When it tries to make you uncomfortable with some disturbing imagery, it's very effective. But…
Apart from an original and fun premise, this film is clearly made by people who love and understand the horror genre.
Now, being an old fart, I obviously was not aware of the Phillippou brothers. You lot probably already knew they know their shit. I didn't so that made Talk to Me all the more enjoyable for me.
Most Australian horror is either unbelievably funny or gnarly and disturbing as hell. Talk to Me definitely falls into the latter category…
For all intents and purposes, I should not like the fourth chapter in the John Wick Saga. It is a bloated, uneven and repetitive mess.
And yet, watching the seemingly immortal Keanu Reeves go from level to level (these movies remain the perfect video game adaptations without a video game to actually base it on) has a kind of satisfying involvement to it.
But it is bloody repetitive. There is hardly any plot to speak of (which is fine) and…
Geez, where do I even begin...
I think the word 'perfect' is often used a bit too haphazardly, making it lose meaning. So, trust me when I do not use it lightly when I say that I consider this film to be perfect.
Is this the best movie ever made? Of course not. That's not what perfect means. To me, here, it means that it executes perfectly what it wants to achieve.
On all levels.
The pacing, the plot, the…
I'm a big fan of the first person perspective in storytelling. I love the feeling of being stuck in someone's head, not being able to look away.
Fincher's The Killer does that sublimely. For 2 hours we are trapped in Fassbender's mind. And what an ambiguous, duplicitous and intriguing prison it is.
For all intents and purposes, Fassbender's hitman is a despicable person. God knows how many people he's killed. He is methodical, ruthless and has a code but no…
This is so much more than just a gimmick.
First off, Dever is absolutely amazing. Conveying so much without the benefit of talking is difficult enough as it is, but doing it in a film like this where everything hinges on the believability of the protagonist is just incredible.
Second, deciding to not have anyone talk is a risky choice as it can all quickly just be about that thing. Director Duffield actually manages to integrate it in the story…
This was so much unexpected fun!
Perhaps I'm inclined to rate this a bit higher than it deserves because it does so much with so little.
Deadstream is just this bizarre amalgamation of every half decent found footage film and silly 80s horror pastiche (with Evil Dead sitting front and centre) that somehow works.
Yes, the main character is an obnoxious wankstain, but Winter actually manages to give him enough humanity to stay invested in him and hope he survives.
So all in all, watch this. It's thoroughly enjoyable.
So, wow, this was a very pleasant surprise.
I really feel this film hasn't gotten enough love. And it really deserves buckets full of it.
It's one thing to try to captivate the spirit of the brilliant sci-fi/horror shows and series of the eighties, but it is a whole other thing to embody that spirit as thoroughly and completely as Juel Taylor's film does. It isn't filled with cheap nods and winks, it is engrained in its very essence.
This…