The Survivor (1981)

Director: David Hemmings

Starring: Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, Joseph Cotten

When an airline pilot survives a crash that kills all 300 passengers, he works with a psychic and a priest to find the culprit behind the incident and pacify the souls of the victims.

‘The Survivor’ is not to be confused with 1984’s ‘Sole Survivor’, which is also about a plane crash leaving only one survivor.

I’ll start by saying ‘The Survivor’ had the potential to be so much better, but no thanks to the director’s vision of the film and choppy editing, I found the film difficult to follow at times. There literally were moments in the film where I had no idea what the hell was going on. To add to this, many scenes were so dark that one could hardly follow the action.

After a confusing start of various images edited together, a plane crashes, killing everyone on board except pilot David Keller (Robert Powerll). Not being able to remember anything since taking off, David is trying to find out what happened.

Clairvoyant Hobbs (Jenny Agutter) – a rather strange character in her own right – seems to have some sort of connection with the victims, and contacts David. She feels she was somehow involved with the accident. I didn’t fully understand this character, nor their quest for answers. At times the film seemed to have a supernatural edge, but when the reveal came it had nothing to do with supernatural powers. Speaking of which, I can’t say I agree with the twist ending.

‘The Survivor’ has a confusing premise and I won’t be surprised if I forget this in an instant.

Surprisingly, the film won an award for Best Screenplay. It also received award nominations for Best Lead Actress, Best Achievement in Sound, Best Achievement in Production Design, and Best Achievement in Cinematography. I think I must have missed something here…

‘The Survivor’ might be classified as a horror, but there’s no horror here. Thriller at best.

Would I watch it again? No.

Mirrormask (2005)

Director: Dave McKean

Starring: Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon

In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a fifteen-year-old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.

Director Dave McKean dared to be different with this most unusual film. With visuals unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a film, this certainly was a unique viewing experience. Many viewers might hate the film for being so different, though.

How does one even begin to explain this film? Think of your most fantastical, magical dream. Now give it a bit of a weird edge, and ‘Mirrormask’ would be a visualization of that dream. Truly unique is an under-statement.

But what is the movie about? Well, that’s just as difficult to explain as the visuals. I must admit, this is not always the easiest film to follow. Helena is a young circus performer who works at her family circus. Helena hates performing and during an argument with her mother Joanne, Helena wishes her mother would die. Just before her next performance, Joanne collapses and is hospitalized, and Helena blames herself.

One night she wakes from a dream, and walking down the street encounters three performers. But nothing is ordinary or what it seems anymore and she enters an alternate universe filled with weird and wonderful characters. This world is gradually being taken over by shadows. Being mistaken for a Princess, Helena must find a charm to wake the sleeping White Queen. This might seem like a fairytale, but believe me, this is definitely more nightmare than fairytale!

‘Mirrormask’ is guaranteed to be beyond your wildest imagination as we follow Helena on her quest. The visuals are remarkable and the mind baffles as to how they accomplished this. The film also takes many interesting and unexpected turns. Give it a go; even if just for the visuals.

The film reminded me of films like ‘What dreams may come’ (1998), ‘Imaginaerum’ (2012), and ‘Moon Garden’ (2022).

‘Mirrormask’ won awards for Best Art Direction, Best Make-up, Best Feature Debut, and Best Narrative Feature.

Would I watch it again? Maybe.

Aladdin (1992)

Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker

A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.

Ah, the tale of Aladdin and the genie in the lamp. Believe it or not, I saw Disney’s live action adaptation long before this animated classic. And I’m using the term “classic” here simply because it is perceived as one, although not by me.

‘Aladdin’ is a wonderful story and there are many life lessons disguised behind a façade of cute characters a young audience will love. They, off course, won’t understand the deeper meaning of what is presented here. They will laugh, fall in love with the characters, and have a good time.

Our hero, Aladdin, is a young thief with a pet monkey, Abu. Our heroin, Jasmine, is a princess. Interestingly, Aladdin is much happier than Jasmine, even though he owns nothing and doesn’t have a place to stay. He is a free spirit. Jasmine on the other hand has all the wealth she can dream of, but she feels trapped and wants to escape from it all.

When these two characters meet, it opens the door wide for character development, while the viewer starts searching his soul. There’s so much to learn from this bright, colourful, and lively animated movie. The antagonist is Jafar, along with his equally evil parrot Iago. Jafar tricks Aladdin into finding a lamp, which houses a genie that can grant the owner three wishes. Needless to say, Jafar has no good intentions and wants to use the wishes for his personal and selfish gain.

The Genie is wonderfully voiced by Robin Williams and by far my favourite character. I also rather enjoyed the Genie’s story of a ‘man’ wanting to be free. The film takes us on a magical and action-packed adventure in a fight between good and evil – told in a kid’s cartoon style. Good ending.

‘Aladdin’ was a massive success, earning $504 million on a budget of $28 million. (And the producers are laughing all the way to the bank…). The film also received 57 award nominations, winning 35 including Oscars for Best Original Song, and Best Original Score. It also received Oscar nominations for Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing.

Would I watch it again? I doubt it.

Starship Troopers (1997)

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Starring: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer

Humans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.

I remember seeing ‘Starship Troopers’ many years ago and disliking it. Watching it now as an adult, I found too much time taken up by young love issues, which felt immature and like they belonged in a daily soap opera and not a big budget movie. ‘Starship Troopers’ felt like an ‘Aliens’ movie made for the teenage and young demographic, whereas ‘Aliens’ is obviously much more mature.

The acting also looked more like soapie performances. Our protagonist is Johnny Rico (Casper van Dien) who joins the Federal Services together with his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards) and friend Carl (Neil Patrick Harris). All three quickly move their way up the ranks.

When Buenos Aires is destroyed by a bug meteorite, the Federal declares war against the Arachnids, and go to their planet to annihilate them. There’s plenty of blood, guts, and alien juices flowing in the clash against Man and Arachnid.

The film’s third act was by far the most exciting and entertaining – once all the petty love issues were out of the way, and it was non-stop action and fighting. The visual effects are excellent for its time, and actually still holds well by today’s standards. The action sequences are well done – visually and physically. There’s big character development and an amazing climax.

‘Starship Troopers’ received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Would I watch it again? I think so, yes… I’ll just skip the first few minutes.

Just Before Dawn (1981)

Director: Jeff Lieberman

Starring: George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, Chris Lemmon

Five young people venture into the backwoods of Oregon to claim a property, and find themselves being stalked by a hulking, machete-wielding psychopath.

‘Just Before Dawn’ is an 80’s slasher featuring a machete wielding lunatic. I must be honest, I didn’t really view the killer as a worthy or original antagonist. He looked more like a weak version of Jason Voorhees, and was in fact more funny than scary.

In typical 80’s slasher style, we have a bunch of youngsters ready for the chop. They head up the mountains to go camping, and as they start having fun, the guessing game starts as to who will be the first victim, and who will survive. This is what we like about slashers, ain’t it?

Unlike many genre films of the same era, ‘Just Before Dawn’ takes it’s time before the first kill (after the initial killing in the beginning, off course, which sets the mood and prepare us for what’s to come). I do like the 80’s movies, being shot on location with natural surroundings as opposed to being shot in a studio with effects added in post-production. The acting just felt more realistic that way.

Being shot at the Silver Lakes State Park, this allows for beautiful scenery and spectacular waterfalls. From an adventure point of view, I really enjoyed this movie. When the killing starts, it’s an adrenaline rush to the climax. Oh, and then that climax. There is a twist as well, which I won’t reveal, but hell, the ending was a bit strange. The moment I’m referring to is that moment victim and killer fights to the death – I mean what the hell? Couldn’t they have found a better way? Considering the size of the killer I didn’t find this believable, which is a pity, because this is actually a really good film. Even the performances were surprisingly good, and I liked the characters.

Regardless of the strange confrontation they opted for, ‘Just Before Dawn’ in general was an entertaining watch, and not a bad addition to the slasher genre.

Would I watch it again? Probably not.

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Starring: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus

Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.

At first glance the Höss family looks like an ordinary family. They have a nice, cozy home with a beautiful garden, a few kids, and a dog. They have family conversations and they crack jokes. Even when they distribute clothes (belonging to Jews) among them, it seems like a natural thing to do given the time period and realizing the film is set during war.

We soon realize there is something far more disturbing than meets the eye. We hear gun shots and screams close by and see smoke coming from nearby chimneys. We notice a watch tower next to the house, and then realize their quint little home is right next to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp. Yet, the Höss family talk about trivial things, and Mrs Höss boasts about how beautiful her garden is.

‘The Zone of Interest’ somehow reminded me of ‘The Boy in the striped Pajamas’. The young boy with his naïve nature believed the prisoners to be farmers. Here, the Höss family appear to be oblivious to their surroundings, but by choice. They know only too well of the horrors next to them, but choose to carry on their privileged existence. (I think the film’s poster illustrates this so well. The blackness indicates – to them – there is nothing on the other side of the wall.)

It was disturbing how the Nazis were discussing building a new crematorium and referring to people as “the load”. They were planning mass execution of up to 500 people at a time as if they were doing business deals, with no emotion or remorse.

‘The Zone of Interest’ is a thought-provoking film, and an interesting character study. There are no twists here and no complex story. It is a simple, easy to follow film depicting the true horrors of war: human morality.

‘The Zone of Interest’ received 212 award nominations thus far, winning 57 including Oscars for Best International Feature Film, and Best Sound.

In German.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.

Wild Tales (2014)

Director: Damián Szifron

Starring: Darío Grandinetti, María Marull, Mónica Villa

Six short stories that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in distress.

Seldom do I watch an anthology film where I enjoy every segment. Such was the case with ‘Wild Tales’. Although some segments have thriller or horror elements, the black comedy ensures they never quite cross that threshold, allowing you to crack a smile and be thoroughly entertained.

The first and shortest segment takes place on a plane. When chatting to a fellow passenger, a model is surprised to find he knows her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Paternak. Another passenger was his music teacher, and also doesn’t have anything positive to say about him. In fact, it turns out everybody on the plane knows Gabriel, and everyone had a bad experience with him…

The second story is about a waitress. On a dark and stormy night, a man that caused her family grief comes into the restaurant. Telling the cook her story, the cook then insists on poisoning the man. But things get much worse…

The third story sees a bit of an arrogant guy, Diego, in a fancy new car overtaking a guy, Mario, in a crappy car after Mario spitefully tried to prevent him from overtaking. Diego insults Mario, but when he later gets stuck with a flat tire and and Mario arrives, the two men get in more than just a heated argument over what happened.

The fourth segment is the story of a man who loses everything just because he parked in a non-parking bay to buy a cake for his daughters birthday. Trying not to pay the fine and get an apology, he gets into a hell of a lot of trouble! This is actually the only story that ends on a happy note.

The fifth story is about Santiago, accused of hit and run after he struck a pregnant woman. When the woman and her unborn baby dies on the way to hospital, Santiago’s dad pays a family friend, José, a large sum of money to take the blame, assuring him he’d be out of jail after a year and a half. But then the dad’s lawyer and a prosecutor also come up with plans, and now it clearly becomes a matter of greed…

The final story is the wedding of Romina and Ariel, but this ain’t no fairytale wedding. When Romina finds out Ariel slept with another woman, things get wild between bride and groom, and this is putting it mildly! I actually so enjoyed the ending to this one!

In fact, I enjoyed every segment very much, making this a highly entertaining black comedy thriller!

‘Wild Tales’ was a huge commercial success, becoming the most-seen Argentine film of all time, and earning its budget ten-fold at the box office. It received 107 award nominations, winning 49 including Best Latin-American Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best New Actor, Best Music, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Original Screenplay, among others. It also received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

Lost Bullet (2020)

Director: Guillaume Pierret

Starring: Alban Lenoir, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Ramzy Bedia

A small time delinquent, turned police mechanic for a go fast task force, is forced to defend his innocence when his mentor is killed by dirty cops.

Having made an impression on me in his latest film ‘The Wages of Fear’, I’m fast becoming a big fan of Alban Lenoir and his work as an action star. The more I see of him, the more I want to see (erm, his films, I mean…).

Alban Lenoir stars as Lino, a thief who is jailed after a daring but failed robbery attempt. Lino’s passion is making cars faster and stronger. Because of this talent, he becomes the only man for a job, and police detective Charas gets him released from jail to engineer police vehicles. Just when things are looking up for Lino, rogue cops Areski and Marco kill Charas.

Having witnessed the killing, Lino is now being pursued by Areski and Marco. Desperate to prove his innocence and bring the rogue cops to justice, Lino reaches out to officer Julia, Areski’s ex-girlfriend. Julia finds herself caught in the middle between the rogue cops and Lino and is not sure who to believe.

The film features excellent fight choreography and Alban Lenoir is once again fantastic! There’s more than enough action to please action junkies and some incredible crash scenes. I actually didn’t expect the film to also have such emotional depth. I rooted for Lino all the way. ‘Lost Bullet’ is a thoroughly entertaining, high octane action film!

In French.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

The Wages of Fear (2024)

Director: Julien Leclercq

Starring: Franck Gastambide, Alban Lenoir, Sofiane Zermani, Bakary Diombera

In order to prevent a deadly explosion, an illicit crack team has 24 hours to drive two truckloads of nitroglycerine across a desert laden with danger.

1953 saw the release of the French film ‘The Wages of Fear’. It was a good, suspenseful film – best viewed by skipping the first boring and confusing 40 minutes. The film was remade by America in 1977, titled ‘Sorcerer’. This film was good and suspenseful – best viewed by skipping the first boring and confusing 40 minutes (again!).

‘The Wages of Fear’ has been remade again – once again in French. This film has been adapted for the new generation and is faster paced with more action (we all know the new generation does not have a good attention span, so enhancing the action is crucial).

Whereas the original ‘The Wages of Fear’ had a simple premise, there’s more back stories and intrigue in this new version. The beginning introduces us to Fred and Carla being pursued by gunmen. The film then goes back 9 months and tells us more about Fred. When one of Fred’s wealthy clients was executed in a deal gone wrong, Fred approached his brother Alex – who is an explosives expert – to help in stealing money from the safe. However, things did not go according to plan and Alex was captured and imprisoned.

Fred now works on the oil fields. When a gas pocket at a well was hit causing an explosion, the only way to extinguish the fire, is with 100 kilos of nitroglycerin. Fred is made an offer he can’t refuse to drive the truck load 500 miles from a power plant to the well. Oil executive Anne Marchand arranges for Alex to be released from prison, as they require his services. They only have 24 hours before a second gas pocket explodes, which risks destroying the entire village.

And so the nail-biting adventure begins as Fred, Alex, Carla and a few of their friends start the journey of transporting the dangerous cargo – all the while being pursued by gangs. With tension between the two brothers – with Alex blaming Fred for his fate – and time running out, this made for a thrilling viewing experience.

Many viewers will compare this film to the original and rate accordingly. Yes, I did think the original film was better in a way (considering when it was made), as long as you skip the first 40 minutes, as mentioned. This remake, however, is faster paced with more action. It’s not quite as suspenseful, but this was actually a fantastic film in its own right.

‘The Wages of Fear’ also has a good score and excellent aerial photography and cinematography. What I also like about cheaper, non-Hollywood films is the fact they use less CGI and shoot on location, resulting in films that look more realistic. I really enjoyed this film.

In French.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Director: Gil Kenan

Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard

When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.

1984’s ‘Ghostbusters’ is an excellent example of proper film making. Made 40 years ago, the original ‘Ghostbusters’ still looks amazing today. Considering how far CGI developed, and made on a budget of $100 million (!!!!), I’m sorry to say ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ looks awful!! I guess most of the budget went towards paying the actors. What happened to Hollywood?

Speaking of actors, there are way too many characters in this movie! I mean hell, there were so many that I found it hard keeping track of all of them. There simply was not enough room in one movie for all of these characters. There’s plenty of nostalgia here with the return of Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Annie Potts all reprising their original roles. And even Slimer is back! Unfortunately all of them looked out of place in this movie and in my opinion was added simply to pay homage to the original film.

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is a prime example of lazy film making. Some movies look amazing with CGI, but this film truly looks horrible. There are also hardly any practical effects here; everything is CGI. It looks as if the film was shot in a studio with everything being added in post-production. The acting didn’t look convincing, the characters were bland and so annoying cracking their silly one-liners, and the premise was…what was it about again…? Enough said!

The film is about an orb containing an ancient evil that lands in the possession of the ghostbusters. The orb belonged to Nadeem Razmaadi, whose family owns various artifacts. This character was so obviously based on the Louis Tully character from the original ‘Ghostbusters’, portrayed by Rick Moranis. Unfortunately, the Nadeem character was not as effective and this shameless copy/paste character was another example of lazy film making/lazy script writing.

And then there’s 15-year old Phoebe who is banished from being a ghostbuster because she is a minor. She befriends a ghost and this was were they attempted emotional depth, but alas, there was no room for emotion in an often slapstick-filled fantasy comedy.

The lion statues coming to life are back, the library ghost is back, oh and look, they’re trying to make minions out of mini marshmallow men! Ugh, enough already! By now you’ve probably already gathered I did not like this movie. In fact, the ONLY film in the ‘Ghostbusters’ franchise I enjoyed was the original. I also found ‘Frozen Empire’ utterly forgettable.

Would I watch it again? Enough said!