Waitress (2007) Review

Today would’ve been Adrienne Shelly’s 51st birthday so I’m reblogging my review of her clever, quirky & bittersweet film Waitress. This is a favorite of mine and I’d like for more people to be aware of her work. I wish we could have seen more of it…

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Today I’m reviewing Adrienne Shelly’s fantastic film Waitress. This would’ve been Shelly’s 50th birthday so I’ve been reviewing some of her movies this week. I started by reviewing her Hal Hartley films The Unbelievable Truth & Trust (HERE) & yesterday reviewed the films Sleeping With Strangers & Factotum (HERE). I think Waitress is the best of her films that I’ve seen. She did an excellent job as writer, director & co-star and I think she’d have gone on to make many more great films if she’d had the chance. Let’s talk about Waitress!

Waitress (2007)

Directed & Written by Adrienne Shelly

Starring: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Griffith, Adrienne Shelly

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
Jenna is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely…

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Sound City (2013) Review

Yesterday, to celebrate tomorrow’s birthday of the lovely Dave Grohl, I posted a list of My Top Ten Foo Fighters Songs. Today I’m reblogging my review of Grohl’s fascinating documentary about Sound City recording studio. Well worth checking out if you’re a music fan! 🙂

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Sound City (2013)

Directed by Dave Grohl

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
The film tells the story of Sound City Studios from its early days in 1969 until its closing in 2011. It then follows Dave Grohl’s purchase of the studio’s custom analog Neve console, which he moved to his personal studio, Studio 606. Famous musicians who recorded at Sound City reunite at Studio 606 for a jam session and to make an album of “all-new all-original songs, each one composed and recorded exclusively for the film within its own 24-hour session on that console.”

Artists Featured: (also via Wikipedia because I’m lazy today)

The documentary features interviews conducted by Grohl of artists associated with the studio:

Vinny Appice
Frank Black
Lindsey Buckingham
Johnny Cash (archival)
Kurt Cobain (archival)
Kevin Cronin
Rivers Cuomo
Mick Fleetwood
Neil Giraldo
Josh Homme
Alain Johannes
Jim Keltner
Paul McCartney
Barry Manilow
Rupert Neve
Stevie…

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Nocturnal Animals (2016) Review

I’m reblogging my recent review of Nocturnal Animals as I believe it’s now out in America & I still can’t stop thinking about it. A thoroughly disturbing, haunting film…

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Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Directed by Tom Ford

Based on Tony and Susan by Austin Wright

Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
An art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.

My Opinion:

Well! This movie was certainly… interesting? I love Amy Adams but sci-fi is my type of thing so Arrival is the only one I’d planned on going to see (it’s EXCELLENT, by the way – I’m posting my review tomorrow). Hubby saw Nocturnal Animals then was weirdly insistent on me seeing it too while being cryptic as to if it would actually be worth my time. Now I understand: This is one of those movies you want other people to see so…

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Krampus (2015) Review

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! Oh… Wrong holiday? Oops. Well, as this is a Christmas “horror”, I figured I could get away with reblogging it for October Horror Month.

I ended up watching a 2007 horror film last night that for some reason passed me by at time of release. It’s the perfect thing to review on Halloween, so I’ll be reviewing it tomorrow. As it shares the same director & writer as Krampus (Michael Dougherty), I thought it made sense to reblog this one even if it happens to be set at Christmastime.

Merry Halloween Eve, everyone! See you tomorrow for two more reviews: A Michael Dougherty film that’s actually set on Halloween and a Blind Spot review of a 1960 black & white French horror classic. Weird combo, I know. Do I know how to party or WHAT?! 🙂

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Krampus (2015)

Directed by Michael Dougherty

Starring:Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Krista Stadler

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
A boy who has a bad Christmas ends up accidentally summoning a Christmas demon to his family home.

My Opinion:

I was really excited about going to see this one. A Christmas horror comedy with an evil creature??? Oh my god – I thought it could be the next Gremlins! Well, damn – it’s certainly not as good as Gremlins but I did have fun with it.

This was an odd one. I like “odd” but what I mean is that it was a bit all over the place as it didn’t seem sure of what it wanted to be. It’s certainly much more a comedy than a horror so anyone going to this expecting a violent, gory horror…

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The Descent (2005) Review for Halloween Horror Fest

Here’s reblog number two of my “Mini-Neil Marshall Weekend”. I reblogged his film Dog Soldiers yesterday, which was okay, but The Descent is easily one of the better horror films from recent years & made my list that I posted on Thursday of My Top Ten Horror Movies Of The 21st Century.

See you in a while for a last-minute reblog related to a last-minute horror film that I watched last night. As the movie is the perfect thing for Halloween, I’ll be posting a review of it tomorrow along with another Blind Spot horror review that I’d originally planned to end on for October Horror Month. Happy Halloween Eve, everyone! 🙂

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The Descent (2005)

Directed by Neil Marshall

Starring:
Shauna Macdonald
Natalie Mendoza
Alex Reid
Saskia Mulder
MyAnna Buring
Nora Jane Noone

Running time: 99 minutes

Plot Synopsis:
A year after tragedy strikes for Sarah, one of a group of adventurous female friends, the women decide to reunite for a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. When part of the cave collapses, trapping them inside, the group of friends must find another way out. They soon find themselves fighting for survival when they realize that they aren’t the only ones in the caves.

My Opinion:

This is my third review for Halloween Horror Fest (and I have a lot more to go!). I first reviewed From Beyond followed by ParaNorman. I’d always wanted to see The Descent and was finally convinced to check it out after reading Kim’s very positive review of it at…

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Dog Soldiers (2002) Review for Halloween Horror Fest

Welcome to the final weekend of October Horror Month! This weekend I’m reblogging my reviews of two Neil Marshall films. This one, Dog Soldiers, isn’t one I was crazy about. In retrospect, however, I think I was too harsh on it in my short, rushed review. Maybe I should re-watch it someday. It was an okay film but I definitely preferred the one I’ll be reblogging tomorrow… 🙂

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Dog Soldiers (2002)

Directed by Neil Marshall

Starring:
Kevin McKidd
Sean Pertwee
Emma Cleasby
Liam Cunningham
Darren Morfitt
Chris Robson
Leslie Simpson
Thomas Lockyer

Running time: 105 minutes

Plot Synopsis:

Werewolves.

My Opinion:

This is another film I watched for my Halloween Horror Fest. See a great review of it from vinnieh HERE.

The above review is much better than mine will be. It’s now Halloween and I have to crank out three reviews still. Oops! Dog Soldiers, Berberian Sound Studio, and Grabbers. I really liked Grabbers so will spend a bit more time on that one but I don’t have a clue what to say about the other two!

As I watched The Descent for the first time for this horror fest and I liked it a lot, it was worth also checking out the same director’s (Neil Marshall) first effort with Dog Soldiers. Unfortunately, I didn’t…

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Oculus (2013) Review

I’ll be reviewing movies from director & writer Mike Flanagan for the next three days (Absentia, Hush & hopefully new release Ouija: Origin Of Evil if I manage to get to it). So today I’m reblogging my review of his film Oculus. Let’s hope I liked his other movies more than this one… 🙂

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Oculus (2013)

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Starring:
Karen Gillan
Brenton Thwaites
Rory Cochrane
Katee Sackhoff

Running time: 103 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Oculus is a 2013 American psychological horror film starring Karen Gillan as a young woman who is convinced that an antique mirror is responsible for the death and misfortune her family has suffered. The film is based upon an earlier short film by Flanagan, Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan.

My Opinion:

I’ll keep this review short: I was disappointed with Oculus. Then again, I’ve been disappointed with the majority of horror films since about 1988 to present day (I literally just looked up Nightmare On Elm Street 3 to see what year it was. 1987 – that movie rules). Horror isn’t my favorite genre but I really enjoy it when they actually get one right. Unfortunately, Oculus doesn’t “get…

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Dead Of Night (1945) Review

To finish Creepy Dolls Week I’m reblogging my review of Dead Of Night, a great 1945 British horror anthology with a disturbing ventriloquist’s dummy. Man, I hate those things!

Here’s a recap of what I posted this week:

– My Top Ten Creepy Dolls In Movies & Television

Reviews of:
– The Boy (2016)
– Magic (1978)
– Dolls (1987)
– Annabelle (2014)
– Finders Keepers (2014)
– Goosebumps (2015)
– Dead Of Night (1945)

Starting tomorrow I’ll be doing four days of reviews of films directed by Mike Flanagan…. 🙂

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Dead Of Night (1945)

Directed by Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden & Robert Hamer

Written by H.G. Wells, E.F. Benson, John Baines & Angus MacPhail

Starring: Michael Redgrave, Mervyn Johns, Frederick Valk, Roland Culver

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
An architect senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales.

My Opinion:

I’d been wanting to see this for a long time as I knew there was a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy in it. Not many things actually give me the creeps in horror movies but those things do!!! *shiver* So I’m happy that I finally saw this but I had no idea beforehand that it was actually a collection of several strange & eerie stories and that the dummy was only one part of those. That was…

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The Boy (2016) Review

Welcome to the start of CREEPY DOLLS WEEK! I’ll be doing new reviews starting tomorrow with 1978’s Magic, starring Anthony Hopkins & a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy. Today I’m reblogging my review of this year’s The Boy, which I must admit that I really enjoyed. The story was predictable but that porcelain doll face gave me the heebie jeebies & the film had a great 70s/80s vibe & would have fit in perfectly in those decades. It was a bit of simple “creepy doll” fun & I’d happily watch this movie again someday. 🙂

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The Boy (2016)

Directed by William Brent Bell

Starring: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
An American nanny is shocked that her new English family’s boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.

My Opinion:

I was very much in the mood for a “light & predictable psychological horror movie without lots of gore” this weekend. Yay! That’s exactly what I got with The Boy! Is it some groundbreaking horror film? No. Did I know exactly where the story was going? Yes. Is it full of all the usual horror tropes? Oh god yes. Did I enjoy it, though? Yes – I thought it was perfectly fine for its genre.

I admit that I’m a sucker for any “creepy doll” horror movie and…

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The Innkeepers (2011) Review for Halloween Horror Fest

I’ve reviewed a Ti West film every October since starting this blog and realized that I don’t have one to review this year. I’m aware of a new one coming out on the 21st called In A Valley Of Violence starring Ethan Hawke (yay!) and, um, John Travolta (nay!). But as West’s films aren’t exactly mainstream, I doubt I’ll be seeing it until it pops up on Netflix or something. So, maybe you’ll see a review for that next October! In the meantime, I’m reblogging my review of West’s The Innkeepers, which I thought was pretty good. Not quite as good as The House Of The Devil but better than The Sacrament… 🙂

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The Innkeepers (2011)

Directed by Ti West

Starring:
Sara Paxton
Pat Healy
Kelly McGillis
Alison Bartlett
Jake Ryan
Lena Dunham
George Riddle
Brenda Cooney
John Speredakos

Running time: 101 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) are two young employees at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, a once-grand hotel that is about to close. Claire and Luke are the only employees working during its final weekend of operation. Both are ghost hunting enthusiasts and are fascinated by the hotel’s supposedly haunted history, which includes the legend of Madeline O’Malley, a bride who hung herself in the 1800s when her husband abandoned her on their honeymoon, and whose body was supposedly hidden in the basement by the hotel owners.

As I’m so far behind on my reviews for Halloween Horror Fest, I’ll keep this one short. I say that a lot but I mean it…

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What We Do In The Shadows (2014) Review

Welcome to Day 1 of my Three Day Event of “Horror Comedies From New Zealand!”. There are actually a lot of these but, yeah, I’m only doing three. Today I’m reblogging my review of What We Do In The Shadows, which I’ll already tell you that I enjoyed much more than the ones I’ll review over the next two days…

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What We Do In The Shadows (2014)

Directed & Written by Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement

Starring: Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Rhys Darby, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are finding that modern life has them struggling with the mundane – like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

My Opinion:

Finally! I finally saw this! I remember contemplating going into London to watch this last year as nowhere local to me was playing it. I hate that. Was it worth the wait? Yeah, it’s pretty damn funny. I liked it! Would it have been worth a journey into London just to watch it? Hmm… Not really.

I don’t have a lot to say about this one, to be honest. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy…

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The Host (2006) Review

Today I’m reblogging a couple of reviews I did for two good South Korean horror films. I realized I’ve not watched any foreign language horrors this year but I’ve found that many of them have been much better than a lot of English language horrors in recent years. I really like the sound of a South Korean zombie film called Train To Busan, which is currently showing in parts of England (but not near me, unfortunately). Has anyone seen this?

Here’s my review of South Korean horror/comedy/drama/monster movie The Host, which will be followed by three New Zealand horror comedies over the next three days…

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The Host (2006) (Goemul)

Directed by Bong Joon-ho

Starring:
Song Kang-ho
Byun Hee-bong
Park Hae-il
Bae Doona
Go Ah-sung

Running time: 119 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film. The movie concerns a monster kidnapping a man’s daughter, and his attempts to rescue her. According to the director, his inspiration came from a local article about a deformed fish with an S-shaped spine caught in Han River.

My Opinion:

I watched this a while back but hadn’t reviewed it as I wasn’t sure what to say about it. I’d been wanting to see it for ages as I thought it looked really good and it’s had a lot of positive reviews. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it although I know it’s quite a “good” film. I definitely preferred A Tale Of Two Sisters, another South Korean horror movie I…

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A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) Review

Today I’ll be reblogging a couple of reviews I did for two good South Korean horror films. I realized I’ve not watched any foreign language horrors this year but I’ve found that many of them have been much better than a lot of English language horrors in recent years. I really like the sound of a South Korean zombie film called Train To Busan, which is currently showing in parts of England (but not near me, unfortunately). Has anyone seen this?

Here’s my review of South Korean psychological horror film A Tale Of Two Sisters (Remade in America as The Uninvited. Watch this one first)…

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A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) (Janghwa, Hongryeon)

Directed by Kim Jee-woon

Starring:
Im Soo-jung
Moon Geun-young
Yeom Jeong-ah
Kim Kap-soo

Running time: 115 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
A Tale of Two Sisters is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale entitled “Janghwa Hongryeon jeon”, which has been adapted to film several times. The plot focuses on two sisters who, after returning home from a psychiatric hospital, experience increasingly disturbing events involving both them and their stepmother.

My Opinion:

Happy October! Time to kick off a month of horror reviews… 🙂

I’d been wanting to see this movie ever since I first saw that great bloody poster up there and read what the movie was about. Then, several years later, I ended up watching The Uninvited without realizing that it was the American remake of…

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Lights Out (2016) Review

Welcome to my October Horror Month! I’ll be posting only horror movie reviews & horror top tens this month. At the weekends I’ll be reblogging previous horror reviews I’ve posted so I figured I’d start with a very current film. Here’s my review of Lights Out…

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Lights Out (2016)

Directed by David F. Sandberg

Based on Lights Out by David F. Sandberg

Starring: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Billy Burke, Maria Bello, Lotta Losten

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
When her little brother, Martin, experiences the same events that once tested her sanity, Rebecca works to unlock the truth behind the terror, which brings her face to face with an entity that has an attachment to their mother, Sophie.

My Opinion:

So, this was a great little short film on YouTube (link HERE). Watch it! It’s only a few minutes long. I was really surprised when I found out that this short film would be made into a long film (well, not really – it’s only 1 hour & 21 minutes!). I was expecting this to possibly be awful but then it got very positive reviews so I got excited since it’s difficult to…

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Miracle Mile (1988) Review

I noticed that Anthony Edwards turns 54 today. Happy Birthday, Goose! And Mark Greene! (Remember the good days of ER??). Well, I figured I might as well reblog my review of his little-known film Miracle Mile. I really liked this one & was shocked to get a big response from fellow bloggers who are also fond of this apocalyptic movie from 1988 (that I’d never even heard of before watching it last year). 🙂

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Miracle Mile (1988)

Directed by Steve De Jarnatt

Starring:
Anthony Edwards
Mare Winningham
Denise Crosby
Mykelti Williamson
Kurt Fuller

Music by Tangerine Dream

Running time: 87 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
A young man hears a chance phone call telling him that a nuclear war has started and missiles will hit his city in 70 minutes.

My Opinion:

What’s this? An apocalyptic movie from my beloved 1980s with a Tangerine Dream score yet I’d not even HEARD of it let alone ever seen it?! How is this possible?!?! Well, I think UK Netflix is finally getting better as they’re starting to stick some slightly obscure 80s films on there, which is exactly what I want! I’m always on the lookout for lesser known movies from the 80s (and 70s) and Netflix has surprised me twice in the past month with this and then with one I…

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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Review

As part of my IMDB Top 250 Challenge, I’m reblogging this review I did of Mad Max: Fury Road as it (deservedly!) is up for a Best Picture Oscar this weekend. I loved this movie! Fury Road is currently at number 169 out of 250…

If you’d like to do a guest review, these movies are still available:

Cool Hand Luke 1967
The Wrestler 2008
The Graduate 1967
The Lives of Others 2006
The Sting 1973
Die Hard 1988
Léon 1994
The Hobbit 2012
Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
Rain Man 1988
The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
Before Sunrise 1995
Before Sunset 2004
Life Is Beautiful 1997

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***SPOILER FREE REVIEW***

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Directed by George Miller

Starring:
Tom Hardy
Charlize Theron
Nicholas Hoult
Hugh Keays-Byrne
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Riley Keough
Zoë Kravitz
Abbey Lee
Courtney Eaton

Running time: 120 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.

My Opinion:

YES! This is what movies are meant to be like! I’ve been moaning for years that they can’t make a decent action blockbuster anymore. It’s all CGI bullshit now with shitty scripts and crappy characters. Oh how I’ve longed for the days of The Terminator & Alien/Aliens. Well, I’m happy to say that Mad Max: Fury Road is a return…

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Steve Jobs (2015) Review

As the super sexy Michael Fassbender is up for an Oscar this next weekend, I’m reblogging this review I did of Steve Jobs. I mainly talk about the slightly less Oscar-worthy Road House instead but I promise that I do discuss the Steve Jobs film as well. 😉

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Steve Jobs (2015)

Directed by Danny Boyle

Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.

My Opinion:

My husband dragged me to this movie. Are any fun movies going to come out at any point? I hate this time of year! They always drag out all the “worthy” films at this sort of time. I need braindead veg-out movies for the crazy holiday season. Like… Road House! I wrapped some presents last night while watching Road House for the first time. Holy shit that movie is f*%king hilarious. Why did no…

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The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) Review

As part of my IMDB Top 250 Challenge, I’m reblogging this review I did of The Wolf Of Wall Street since the Oscars are coming up and Leonardo DiCaprio is of course up for an Oscar for The Revenant. I really wanted Leo to win for this one but hopefully this will finally be his year. I recently did a list of My Top Ten Leonardo DiCaprio Movies (and this one was very high on my list). The Wolf Of Wall Street is currently at number 146 out of 250…

If you’d like to do a guest review, these movies are still available:

Cool Hand Luke 1967
The Wrestler 2008
The Graduate 1967
The Lives of Others 2006
The Sting 1973
Die Hard 1988
Léon 1994
The Hobbit 2012
Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
Rain Man 1988
The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
Before Sunrise 1995
Before Sunset 2004
The Help 2011
Life Is Beautiful 1997

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The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Based on The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort

Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jonah Hill
Margot Robbie
Matthew McConaughey
Kyle Chandler
Rob Reiner
Jon Bernthal
Jon Favreau
Jean Dujardin
Joanna Lumley
Cristin Milioti
Christine Ebersole
Shea Whigham
Katarina Čas
P. J. Byrne
Kenneth Choi
Brian Sacca
Henry Zebrowski
Ethan Suplee
Barry Rothbart
Jake Hoffman
Spike Jonze

Running time: 179 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 American black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort, a New York stockbroker who runs a firm that engages in securities fraud and corruption on Wall Street in the 1990s.

(But DiCaprio’s character is a lot more fun to watch than Gordon Gekko and the acting is A BIT better than Daryl…

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Whiplash (2014) Review

As part of my IMDB Top 250 Challenge, I’m reblogging this review I did of Whiplash since the Oscars are coming up soon and this of course won an Oscar for J.K. Simmons last year. Also, I’m lazy. I’ve watched a bunch of new Top 250 films but am not in a reviewing-mood lately. Anyone feel free to send me a guest review to post! 😉 The films available for guest reviews are listed below. (Whiplash is currently at number 44 out of 250, blah blah blah)

Cool Hand Luke 1967
The Wrestler 2008
The Graduate 1967
The Lives of Others 2006
The Sting 1973
Die Hard 1988
Léon 1994
The Hobbit 2012
Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
All About Eve 1950
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Rain Man 1988
The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
Before Sunrise 1995
Before Sunset 2004
The Help 2011
Catch Me If You Can 2002

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Whiplash (2014)

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Starring:
Miles Teller
J. K. Simmons
Paul Reiser
Melissa Benoist

Running time: 106 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential.

My Opinion:

This is another one of those “Oscar Season” movies where the performances are a bit better than the movie itself. Well, the performance from J. K. Simmons is, at least. However, I did at least enjoy this movie which wasn’t so much the case with Foxcatcher or especially Birdman.

J. K. Simmons is great as the music instructor who goes too far in pushing his students to be the best. He’s SUCH an amazing prick! He’s like R Lee Ermey’s Sergeant Hartman shouting horribly inappropriate insults at the soldiers in

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Prisoners (2013) Review

As part of my IMDB Top 250 Challenge, I’m reblogging this review I did of Prisoners (I didn’t love it). This movie entered the Top 250 after I started my little project. It is currently at number 229 out of 250.

There’s a big list of new Top 250 films available for guest reviews. Let me know if you’d like to sign up for any of the films listed below. 🙂

Cool Hand Luke 1967
The Wrestler 2008
The Graduate 1967
The Lives of Others 2006
The Sting 1973
Die Hard 1988
Léon 1994
The Hobbit 2012
Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
All About Eve 1950
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Rain Man 1988
The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
Before Sunrise 1995
Before Sunset 2004
The Help 2011
Catch Me If You Can 2002

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Prisoners (2013)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Starring:
Hugh Jackman
Jake Gyllenhaal
Viola Davis
Maria Bello
Terrence Howard
Melissa Leo
Paul Dano

Running time: 153 minutes

Plot Synopsis:
When two young girls go missing, the father of one of the girls (Hugh Jackman) feels he must take matters into his own hands while the police investigate but seem unable to find out what happened to his daughter & her friend.

My Opinion:

This will be a quickie. I’ve been a terrible movie blogger lately! I’ve been busy so have done very few reviews & when looking at the list of films I’ve watched this year, I see I’ve not reviewed 24 of them. Pathetic! So I’ll try to crank out some short ones over the next few weeks. I’m too wordy anyway!

The Story:

Prisoners is very highly rated & recommended but I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by…

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Django Unchained (2012) Review

As part of my IMDB Top 250 Challenge and with The Hateful Eight having just come out this past weekend in the UK, I’m reblogging this review I did of Django Unchained. This movie entered the Top 250 after I started my little project. It is currently at number 58 out of 250.

There’s a big list of new Top 250 films available for guest reviews HERE (and also listed below). Let me know if you’d like to sign up. 🙂

Taxi Driver 1976
Cool Hand Luke 1967
The Wrestler 2008
The Graduate 1967
Gone with the Wind 1939
The Lives of Others 2006
The Sting 1973
Die Hard 1988
Léon 1994
The Hobbit 2012
Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
All About Eve 1950
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Rain Man 1988
The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
Before Sunrise 1995
Before Sunset 2004
The Help 2011
Catch Me If You Can 2002

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Django Unchained

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Starring:
Jamie Foxx
Christoph Waltz
Leonardo DiCaprio
Kerry Washington
Samuel L. Jackson
Walton Goggins
Dennis Christopher
James Remar
Michael Parks
Don Johnson

Running time: 165 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)

Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave (Foxx) who treks across the United States with a bounty hunter (Waltz) on a mission to rescue his wife (Washington) from a cruel plantation owner (DiCaprio).

My Opinion:

Django Unchained got second place after Stoker when I asked all of you which film I should review next. Sorry it’s still taking me a bit of time to get around to these reviews.

I should maybe re-watch this one as I saw it in the cinema back in January but I remember it well anyway. I still consider it my favorite film of 2013 (UK…

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My Top Ten David Bowie Songs

Today I’m reblogging one of my Top Ten lists from the very early days of my blog: My Top Ten David Bowie Songs

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In order starting with my favorite:

1. Ziggy Stardust
2. Heroes
3. Life On Mars?
4. Space Oddity
5. Moonage Daydream
6. Ashes To Ashes
7. Starman
8. Golden Years
9. Changes
10. Magic Dance

Honorable Mentions:

Andy Warhol
Fame
I’m Afraid Of Americans
Under Pressure

And…
All The Young Dudes (he wrote it)
The Laughing Gnome (I’m sorry but I kind of like it…) 😉

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The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) Review

I’ve mentioned David Bowie a lot in various posts on this blog but haven’t written about much of his work. I’ve watched his most well known movies but know I need to finally get around to watching the rest. Today I’m reblogging my review of the one movie of his that I watched for the very first time since starting this blog: The Man Who Fell To Earth

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The Man Who Fell To Earth

Directed by Nicolas Roeg

Starring

David Bowie
Rip Torn
Candy Clark
Buck Henry
Bernie Casey

Plot Synopsis (via Wikipedia):

Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth from a distant planet on a mission to bring water back to his home planet, which is experiencing a catastrophic drought.

Newton uses the advanced technology of his home planet to patent many inventions on Earth, and acquires incredible wealth as the head of a technology-based conglomerate, World Enterprises Corporation, aided by leading patent attorney Oliver Farnsworth. His wealth is needed to construct his own space vehicle with the intention of shipping water back to his planet.

My Opinion:

I’d been wanting to see this movie for a very long time and finally got the opportunity when it was on TV a couple of weeks ago. I’m a huge David Bowie fan. Okay…

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Review

I said I’d do a follow-up post with more of my thoughts on The Force Awakens as I was still letting it all sink in as I wrote my review at 3am last Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

I’ve now seen the film a second time. I knew after the first viewing that I thought it was very good & that I loved the new characters but I wanted to be sure I still felt that way several days later.

So I’m reblogging my original review but this time I’ve updated my summary at the end and, finally, given the movie my rating out of ten. 🙂

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***SPOILER-FREE REVIEW***

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Directed by J. J. Abrams

Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow, Gwendoline Christie

Music by John Williams

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
A continuation of the saga created by George Lucas and set thirty years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983).

A Note Before I Start The Review:

I saw this movie at midnight last night and I don’t normally like to review movies so soon after seeing them since I like to give things some thought first and to search my feelings. Naturally, I’m going to be on a massive high immediately after seeing a new STAR WARS movie! But when I think back to The Phantom Menace, it’s likely that…

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The Babadook (2014) Review

Happy Halloween tomorrow, everyone! 🙂

As I said earlier in the week, I had family visiting so only managed to write a few new posts for this week. Today I figured I’d just reblog my review of my absolute favorite horror film of, oh, probably the last ten years? (Since the Dawn Of The Dead remake was 11 years ago – nothing else since the year 2000 beats that one. Love it!). So here’s my review of the fantastic psychological horror film The Babadook…

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The Babadook (2014)

Directed by Jennifer Kent

Starring:
Essie Davis
Noah Wiseman
Daniel Henshall
Hayley McElhinney
Barbara West
Ben Winspear

Running time: 94 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.

My Opinion:

Last year I was pretty positive in my review of The Conjuring mostly, I think, because I was SO desperate for a good horror movie to ever actually be made again and that one was about the closest we’ve had to a decent American horror movie in years. It wasn’t perfect but at least it was almost a return to the good ‘ol days of horror movies that didn’t rely solely on cheap jump scares and/or excessive gore. Well, The Babadook is more the sort…

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