The Assassin (2015)

 

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's first feature film in 8 years is a steadily paced martial arts drama, that has a very different feel to the usual martial arts films you see. It is a film of great beauty and elegance requiring patience from the viewer as it calmly unfolds (though it will sure be to slow for some). Despite it's beauty and very steady pacing, the film is actually isn't the easiest to follow and is slightly puzzling, so there were certainly times I felt a little lost, but I still got the jist of everything. The choreography is also commendable, nothing stand out but it fits with the films elegance.

Overall this is a very solid movie but not quite great, it's different from what we usually get from martial arts genre, but it's certainly not for everyone.

***1/2

Dead and Buried (1981)

Now here's an intriguing horror from the early 80's, one that is rather atmospheric, with a mystery at the center of its story. It has a really good opening that starts out almost like a kind of romantic drama before quickly descending into horror, There's also some nice practical effects scatter throughout too. I found the plot pretty easy to work out early on, so I wasn't surprised at its reveals but I still liked the execution quite a bit and  think it's a pretty good horror overall.
***

Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen (2015)

The latest offering from Takeshi Kitano is a solid comedy that is no where near the greatness of some of his earlier work but still quite an entertaining little film. It's about a bunch of old retired Yakuza who decide to make a new family together leading to some very funny moments scattered throughout and some fun performances from it's cast. Now apart from it's plot and some of it's comedy the film actually doesn't feel that distinctively Kitano,  it's overall visual aesthetic is very standard and the film could probably pass as a general comedy directed by someone else. I'm sure it'll disappoint alot of Kitano fans (a current 5.4 imdb score would suggest that), but for me I really quite enjoyed and thought it was still pretty solid, even if it is far from greatness. ***1/2

Ip Man 3

The final installment in Wilson Yip's Ip Man trilogy and possibly Donnie Yen's last martial arts film (according to him). A solid entry that is not as good as the first two films but still a satisfying enough conclusion. Action choreography is really good as expected and the film is worth it for the somewhat dream match of Donnie Yen vs Mike Tyson. The plot is pretty standard stuff but it still has a small emotional core that doesn't hit as hard as it should but still evokes a little sadness.
Still overall its pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as its predecessors. ***

The Revenant (2015)

Iñárritu delivers another great film for the second year in a row. Featuring more of Emmanuelle Lubezki's fantastic cinematography, The Revenant is a beautifully shot, harsh and brutal visceral period epic lead by a great central performance from DiCaprio (the film could even be seen as a metaphor for Leo's Oscar quest) as well as a strong supporting cast (Tom Hardy is top notch as usual). It's plot is very straight forward and simple but that is certainly not a detractor as the film is more about it's execution in depicting it's characters' struggles and it certainly does that with pure excellence. I may not have loved it as much as Birdman but it's still one of 2015's best movies. ****1/2

Room (2015)

One of this year's Oscar contenders, Room is a strong emotional drama filled with tense moments, sad moments, dark moments and happy touching moments. It's solid emotional core made possible through strong central performances from Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, though the rest of the cast also do a good job, with some of it's side characters having very interesting traits that adds to the films overall depth. It also some interesting cinematography especially when trying to show Jacobs point of view on things.
Admittedly some of it's dialogue is a little hokey and it arguably tries a little too hard to pull at your heartstrings but film works and is a genuinely great drama with a big heart. Just remember if a stranger asks you to help with his sick dog...you should probably say no. ****

Friday the 13th Film Series Review

Recently I've been trying to watch popular horror film series' that I've never got around to watching. After completing Hellraiser and Nightmare On Elm Street (which I should have written up but sadly did not) I am now on the Friday the 13th film series. A series that help popularise the slasher genre (the first film being regarded as one of the first true slasher films) and created one of the most famous horror icons Jason Voorhees. Here I shall look at 12 films in the series (including the crossover and remake) and my thoughts on them.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Regarded as one the first true Slasher films, Friday the 13th has all the famous genre cliches (some of which it invented and would be used throughout the entire series) and when looked at in modern times has nothing to make it standout from all the slasher films that followed. It's the basic teenagers at a camp site getting killed off one by one by a mysterious killer who isn't revealed til the very end and is confronted by the final girl. A very simple generic plot but Slasher films have always been more about the kills, suspense, mystery and final confrontation then about interesting deep narratives, characters and stories (that's not to say these  don't exist in some). Also as iconic as he is now, Jason Voorhees is actually hardly in this first movie, having only a bit of screen time as a kid (including a scene which terrified me when I was younger). Instead the focus here is on Jason's mother played by Betsy Palmer who I think does a great job as playing the psycho Mom type.The film itself is actually very entertaining, Tom Saviini does the effects, so you get some nice bloody moments though these may seem alot tamer compared to today's standards, and the final confrontation is enjoyable too. Overall it's a solid start to the series that's well executed. ***1/2




Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

The second film in the franchise sees Jason take center stage as the killer for the first time. Not with his famed hockey mask though, but a sack over his head (which is surprisingly effective and actual scarier than the mask). This literally has the same plot as the first film except with Jason as the killer, with nothing really added and the same kind of structure. So again your typical slasher which is still manages to be quite entertaining considering particularly with the final confrontation. ***

Climates (2006)

Climates is a small Turkish drama about a couples relationship breaking down It is steadily paced with good cinematography that includes lots of long static shots and has strong central performances, as well as featuring one rather uncomfortable scene. It's a solid movie whose rather subdued approach works well but at the same time feels like it needed a little more substance to be something great. Nonetheless what we get is still a very interestingly done drama overall. ***1/2

Love (2015)

Gaspar Noe's latest film is a 3D drama about sex and love, and honestly it was rather dissapointing. The film is undoubtly well shot, full of beautiful long static and slow moving shots with the usual Noe colour palette featuring lots of red. However the rest of the film itself is only slightly interesting, it follows some guy called  Murphy as he remembers his past with his former girlfriend  whilst being stuck in the present depressed with an accidental kid. It's full of the expected explicit unsimulated sex scenes, but it all just feels a bit lackluster and stagnant, lacking the real kick it needs to make it truly good, which is the problem when the main focus of Noe's seemed be filming the real sex rather than anything else.The film still isn't bad though and is decent overall, it's just disappointing that it doesn't live up to the same strength of his previous work. ***

Slow West (2015)

Slow West is an entertaining little action Western film from last year starring Kodi Smit-Mcphee and Michael Fassbender. It's really well shot and has an off-beat tone that definitely has a Coen Brothers type feel to it. Performances are also pretty good and there's a really nice shootout in it. It's short 84 minute run time, flys by fast and overall this is a very enjoyable solid western (particularly for a directorial debut) that's certainly worth checking out.
***1/2

The Hateful Eight (2015)

I had the absolute pleasure of watching this in its true format, Ultra Panavision 70mm and it was beautiful. The movie was pretty darn good too, a visually stunning western with a fantastic musical score, Tarantino's usual great written dialogue and lots bloody moments. I actually enjoyed this more than Django and think it might be one of my favourites of his (though that might be the Ultra Pan 70mm talking).  Everyone is on top form acting wise too leading to some engaging and at times very funny performances. It's dark, twisted, funny, a tad too long in it's first half but ultimately a thoroughly entertaining love letter to the western genre with classic genre elements meeting Tarantino's usual stylistic flair.
****

Creed (2015)

Rocky returns but this time to train Apollo Creed's son in a surprisingly solid boxing flick that is one of the best films in the Rocky franchise. It has good dramatic weight with strong performances all around even from Stallone who is on form for the first time in a while. The film is also really well shot including a boxing match that is done in one 'continuous' take. It's nothing new or stand out plot wise but the execution is strong leading to a very enjoyable movie.
Overall a very good boxing film that fits nicely into the Rocky franchise,
***1/2

Dilwale (2015)

This is the first actual Bollywood film I've ever watched let alone in the cinema, I've always known about how excessive they are meant to be and this action romantic comedy didn't dissappoint. A fun 154 minute ride filled with melodrama, romance, comedy, action with the odd musical number thrown in for good measure. Also don't forget the countless slo-mo shots and music cue. It's overwritten, ridiculous and tonally all over the place, but it was alot of fun to watch.
An overall good time, if you're not super picky about how films are made.
***

The Danish Girl (2015)

The Danish Girl is the latest offering from Tom Hooper which is based of the Novel that is loosely inspired by the lives of Lili Erbe and Gerda Wegener. Now my thoughts on this film are the exact same ones I had about King's Speech, it's beautifully shot (although much more beautiful then King's speech), it's incredibly well acted and there are some great scenes, however most of it is only kind of interesting so the movie never feels as good as it could have been. It's a case of the themes and overall effect being what's interesting, rather than the actual story which has been padded with very paint my numbers drama. So the content ends up not being strong enough to match it's themes.
Overall this is still a well made and decent movie with beautiful cinematography and great acting, it's other areas just should have been stronger.

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

There's certainly been an oversaturation of zombies in films and TV in recent years, but this little Australian Indie action horror is definitely one the funnest zombie films I've seen in a while. Full of good action,a good amount of gore and decent special effects, and a fair amount of creativity to help it stand out (using zombies to fuel cars etc). Though the film has that usual indie colour grade that never seems to look nice, there's still some interesting camerawork used throughout it and overall, this was just a really fun time, that I recommend checking out. ***1/2

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)

Describing itself as the 'The First Iranian vampire western' A Girl Walk Home Alone At Night is a beautiful film that is steadily paced, with a great haunting atmosphere and stunning black and white cinematography. The central performances are also strong and very engaging and overall, this was just a really great film. I have nothing more to say.
****

We Are Still Here (2015)

When 'We Are Still Here' starts it looks as though it'll be your run-of-the-mill tormented spirits haunting a house supernatural horror, but it isn't. The film gradually becomes a lot more interesting than that, leading to a thoroughly enjoyable bloody climax.
Well acted, with a good a mount of tension and well done visual and gore effects, 'We Are Still Here' is definitely one of the better supernatural horror films in recent years It doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table but it's a nice change of pace from the usual stuff we get and is overall a very solid indie horror.
***1/2

Top 10 Albums of 2015

I did my top 10 albums last year so thought, I'd post my favourite ones from this year too, as usual alot of metal here. Also the actual order of the top ten isn't definitive except for the top 2 and I'll include links to a song from each album.

Honourable Mentions
Finsterforst - Mach Dich Frei
Ensiferum - One Man Army
Enforcer - From Beyond
Symphony X - Underworld

10. Blind Guardian - Beyond The Red Mirror

 Blind Guardian release their first album in 5 years, delivering a great dose of their bombastic symphonic power metal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdxRHtNw940

9. Iron Maiden - Book Of Souls

 Maiden's best album in years, 2 CD's of really solid songs (aside the bland speed of light) and ending with fantastic 18 minute epic 'Empire of the Clouds'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbAhn7iKLPc