[Daemonia]

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Sam Peckinpah directs this surprisingly light-hearted western and it's a cracker. Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) is left stranded in the wilderness of the desert by his two associates whilst on a search for water. After his former associates leave him for dead, he wanders through the desert and finds water! He promptly revives himself and lays claim to the land and starts to make money by charging for the water. He hooks up with a deranged priest Joshua (David Warner) and the unlikely pair make a go of things. There's also a love interest in the form of the lovely Stella Stevens. An absolute corker of a film - see it now!


Clash of the Titans (2010)

Perseus (Sam Worthington) is born of a woman but fathered by the God Zeus. When Zeus is tricked by Hades into unleashing the Kraken upon the city of Argos it's left to Perseus (with a little Godly help) to defeat the Kraken and restore order to the world. It's all CGI action but good fun nonetheless. Not quite in the same class as the 1981 film, but very good all the same. It's a film that needs CGI, so it's acceptable.


The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has hung up his cape and mask and retired form being the batman for 8 years. But trouble is brewing - Bane (Tom Hardy) has been hatching a plan to take Gotham City hostage and ultimately plans to destroy the City with an atomic bomb. Wayne is forced back into action as Batman and it's high octane action all the way. A flawless end to a superb trilogy and director Christopher Nolan should rightfully be proud of his work. Unmissable.


Back to the Future (1985)

Picked up the trilogy on Blu and decided to revisit the first film. It's still highly entertaining and we all know the story, so no need to go over it again. Needless to say the Blu-ray transfer from Universal is absolutely stunning. I enjoyed this again far more than I should, but I thought it was great fun. Would have been interesting to see how differently things would have turned out if Eric Stoltz had won the role of Marty McFly.


The Aggression Scale (2012)

A mobster wants his stolen money back and dispatches a team of killers to hunt down and kill the thieves and to return his money to him. But when they arrive at the home of the Rutledges they discover that their son, Owen, may be even more violently inclined than they are and things start to get messy as the son devises traps and starts picking them off one-by-one. An interesting idea but I found it rather poorly executed. I didn't find Owen all that menacing. Could have been better.


Dances with Wolves (1990)

Lt. John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) is dispatched to a remote fort outpost on the frontier. Alone and vulnerable he decides the best way forward is to befriend the local Indians and he learns their ways and is accepted by them. But white men are coming and he knows his idyllic life won't last. A sweeping epic that looks brilliant in HD but sadly the film doesn't have quite as much substance as it should have. Still, I enjoyed it, especially as I hadn't seen it before. Pretty good but no masterpiece (as some seem to think it is).


The Hunger Games (2012)

In a dystopian future the rich hold the Hunger Games. This is a fight to death between youngsters chosen at random from the 12 dstricts of Panem. When Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take the place of her sister she finds herself caught up in the insane world of the affluent who simply want to watch people fight and die. There's certainly some political points being made here - how the rich exploit the poor being the most obvious - but there's other stuff for those paying attention. I really quite enjoyed this, although I think the ending should have packed more of a punch rather than having the victors enjoying their spoils and ultimately bowing down the system. It should have been more hard hitting. But it's not bad.


Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Perseus (Sam Worthington) is asked by his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) to assist the Gods in defeating the approaching menace of Kronos. Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Ares have conspired to free Kronos from the prison of Tartarus so that he will wreak havoc upon the earth. Ultimately it's up to Perseus to defeat this monstrous God. It's all CGI and nonsense but loads of fun. I really enjoyed this one - probably more than the first one. Also, because it's not a remake, it's free to create its own universe and mythology and not be constrained to follow an old story. Definitely worth a look.


The Thin Man (1934)

Nick, a former private investigator, and his rich wife, Nora, return to New York. It's not long before Nick reconnects with old pals and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation. So he does what he does best, and starts investigating the murders, mostly for fun, so it seems. It's all very good natured and the dialogue between the two leads, William Powell and Myrna Loy, positively crackles and is very witty. Quite enjoyed this vintage crime caper based on Dashiell Hammett's book.


Futureworld (1976)

This follow up to the minor 70's classic Westworld very much lacks the dynamics of that film. This time around Peter Fonda and a young female reporter head out to Delos to find out what's going on. Well, something sinister is afoot, but it's all very unbelievable. They also cheekily sneak in Yul Brynner into a cringeworthy dream sequence. There's a good idea in the film somewhere, but it's all a bit of a failure. Still, it does have a nice 70's sci-fi paranoia vibe to it, which I liked. Nothing special though, I'm afraid.


Total Recall (2012)

Remake fever continues unabated and here's another one. This time Colin Farrell steps into the role of Doug Quaid. Quaid is having dreams of an alternate life and they're beginning to disturb him and he feels something is missing from his life. Then he spots an advert for Rekall, a service that gives you a memory of a different life, so he goes in to try it out. From the options offered, he opts for the Spy memory. However, once hooked up the Rekall start to scan his memories and realise he really is a spy! Quaid suddenly finds himself on a rollercoaster ride as he reconnects with his real former life, which he starts to remember and joins with the rebels to bring down the corrupt system run by Coohagen.

I really enjoyed this - far more than I thought i would. I also liked how they discarded the whole mars thing from Verhoeven's film and set it entirely in a dystopian future earth. Really rather nicely done. I also thought that visually it was more akin to Blade Runner than Verhoeven's film - and I thought it had shades of the style of Underworld, especially with Kate Beckinsale and Bill Nighy in the cast, then I realised why at the end, when Len Wisman's directorial credit came up on screen.

Not bad, definitely worth a look.


Knights Templar (aka Night of the Templar) (2012)

What the **** was this all about? Paul Sampson, stars in and directs, writes and produces this film. It seems like it was a bit of a vanity project for him, especially as I've never heard of him. Yet as the film rolled, here comes Udo Kier, then David Carradine, then Norman Reedus. Oh, and look, there's Billy Drago....in drag. I( was baffled - why were these reasonably big name stars in this piece of inchorent shit? Is it a joke? Am I missing something here?

Basically, an ancient Templar Knight is betrayed by his brethren who turn on him and kill him. He vows revenge and that he would come back 700 years later to get revenge. Cue 700 years late and Jake (Paul Sampson) welcomes some guests at his chateau, though we don't know why they've come there and all they do is lounge about with Jake occasionally hinting that there will be some kind of training....or something; it's unclear. Then he starts dressing up as a Templar and killing them - and as he kills them they seem to transform into his ancient enemies. Why this is, is never fully expalined. Are they desecndants or just ciphers for his intended revenge? It's a real mish mash and barely makes sense. I must admit it had me laughing because it's so bad - was this the intention? Well....whatever. If I ever see the name Paul Sampson again I will be avoiding it like the plague - and so should any actor who has any self respect. I can't say I'd recommend this, but it really does need to be seen to be believed.


Jackie Brown (1997)

Tarantino's third film is a more mature film than his first two and shows he is capable of scripting a serious and intelligent drama rather than just a string of homages, as Pulp Fiction was.

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a courier of money for an arms dealer, but attracts the attention of the police who want to use her to get to Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson), the arms dealer in question. When Ordell enlists Bail Bondsman, Max Cherry (Robert Forster), to bail out Brown, Brown and Cherry strike up a friendship and hatch a plan to both rob Ordell and fool the police.

It's nicely done with some top notch acting from De Niro, Jackson, Keaton, Grier and Forster. There's a funky 70's blaxploitation soundtrack, plenty of snappy dialogue, but not overdone. And I wonder how many twigged that the line Bridget Fonda says to De Niro saying that it's good to cough, it opens up the lungs, is the the exact same line her father peter Fonda says to Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider.

The Blu-ray looks very nice and is a considerable upgrade on the DVD. So if you're a fan, it's worth picking up. definitely one of QT's best films to date.


Avengers Asssemble (2012)

This is the film all the others have been leading up to and it's a cracker. When the tesseract is stolen by Loki, who intends to bring an army to earth to conquer it, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. calls together is superteam of David Banner/Hulk, Black Widow, Tony Stark/Iron Man and Steve Rogers/Captain America. It's all gung ho action and marvellous spectacle. It's probably short on substance but fabulous to look at and I found it involving and entertaining. I was a bit dubious whether director Joss Whedon was up to the job, as he produced my most hated TV series of the 90's in the form of Buffy, but I needen't have worried - he does a first rate job here. Definitely recommended. Big budget nonsense, and I like that sometimes.


Puppet Master II (1991)

I picked this up on Blu as for some reason I quite like those trashy Full Moon films, for reasons I can't quite articulate. In this one a bunch of paranormal investigators and psychics return to cliff top hotel of the original to look into what happened there. The mad living puppets have reanimated their master, Andre Toulon, and he is instructing his creations to hunt down the researchers and get their brain fuid which he needs for reanimation. It's completely silly but I quite enjoyed it. The Blu is a significant upgrade on previous home video versions, which never served these films well.


Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge (1991)

This is an origins story and probably the best of the entire series. Toulon is a puppeteer in Nazi occupied Europe. But he soon comes to the attention of the Gestapo when they suspect that he has the secret of reanimation - which they want to use on dead Nazi soldiers. Toulon is an unwilling accomplice to this and makes his escape and goes into hiding - and exacts his revenge on those responsible for murdering his wife. Richard Lynch puts in a good turn as the Nazi officer and Guy Rolfe is good value as Toulon. Overall it's a pretty good film - not something you can say about many Full Moon features. Again, the Blu is a massive upgrade on previous releases.


Hickey and Boggs (1972)

Hickey and Boggs (Bill Cosby and Robert Culp respectively) are two down on their luck private eyes who are hired by a lawyer to find his missing girlfriend. It turns out the 'girlfriend' is actually a surviving member of a criminal gang who did a bank robbery and she has the money. When they start finding their leads turning up dead, they lawyer fires them. However, there's a $25,000 reward up for grabs, so Hickey and Boggs decide to continue the search in the hope of claiming the reward. But they soon find themselves in deep and when Hickey's girlfriend is murdered, the hunt becomes personal.

An absolute gem from the wonderful 70's. They don't make crime films like this anymore. Downbeat and gritty with believable, natural dialogue and great locations around a city on the ege of total decay, it's an absolute must-see. Culp and Cosby really surprise, too, as they light up the screen and their chemistry is magic. Brilliant.


One Good Cop (1991)

A typical buddy-cop movie of the type that proliferated througout the 80's and 90's. Michael Keaton is cop Artie Lewis who ends up becoming the guardian of his partners three kids when he gets killed in the line of duty. Artie then embarks on a mission to bring down the man he feels is responsible - drug baron Beniamino (Tony Plana) - who has been flooding the city with a drug called Ice. This was the drug his partner's murderer was high on at the time. Artie also steals their drug money so he can buy a house for his wife and his newly acquired kids. But hey, that seems perfectly acceptable! LOL!

Not bad overall and I enjoyed revisiting this again some 20 years later. The Blu is quite nice and can be had for peanuts and is paired with another feature, A Stranger Among Us.


Dredd (2010)

Dredd (Karl Urban) is sent out to assess rookie Anderson, who also has psychic powers. They set off to investigate three murders in Mega-Block Peach Trees. One there, they apprehend a suspect, but Ma-Ma, the real brains of the criminal gang puts the block in lockdown mode and Dredd and Anderson find themselves alone and fighting off hordes of criminal gangs in their struggle for survival. It's all futuristic action and all guns blazing. Although I can see the similarities to The Raid, this is much, much better. More like this please! And not once does Dredd remove his helmet - so there's no Stallone-style posturing here. Stallone couldn't wait to get his helmet off so everyone could see who it was. No such silliness here.


A Man Called Sledge (1970)

James Garner is Sledge, an outlaw in the wild west and highly wanted by the authorities. But when he learns of a huge cache of gold he hatches a plan to steal it. The gold, on part of its journey, is housed within a prison. Sledge manages to get himself inside and suddenly it's all bullets and action as he endeavours to get his hands on the gold.

It's a bit of a weird one, this western. Directed and written by Vic Morrow with a mostly American cast, it's ostensibly an American western emulating the spaghetti western tradition and it all comes off a bit strange. I have to admit, though, the strangeness just added to its charm. Well worth a look and Garner is a real treat as the grizzled Sledge.


Blade (1998)

Saw this going cheap on Blu so picked it up. Blade (Wesley Snipes) is half-human, half vampire and spends his nights hunting down vampires and killing them. But then there's a new face in town, Deacon Frost {Stephen Dorff) who wants to unleash the Blood God. It's all snazzy FX and fast and furious action and I don't mind it one bit. The Blu looks fantastic too.


Event Horizon (1998)

A group of space travellers are sent to investigate the re-appearance of long lost ship the Event Horizon. When they go aboard they find it deserted, but the ship is harbouring a dark secret. The ship was built with a special 'core' trhat can fold time - literally create a black hole and instantaneously travel to a remote part of the universe. But it could just be that the Event Horizon travelled to a dark and hellish place and has brought something back...

It's not a bad little sci-fi horror, just a shame it was butchered by Paramount before general release. You can just tell there's a far nastier film trying to get out. Still, as it stands, it's not too bad and quite enjoyable. It looks amazing on Blu as well, I'm surprised that Paramount even bothered with making an HD master, they've never seemed to like the film. It's okay, nothing special, but I don't mind it.


Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

An odd little film in which Gilderoy (Toby Jones) is hired to assist with the sound production of an Italian horror film. But things start getting a bit weird. Is this the film Gilderoy is watching, or is he in the film we are watching? Is he in the film or 'in' the film? Is art becoming real?

It's a thoroughly strange viewing experience but I found it compelling viewing. There's not much in the way of plot, but the way the film slowly immerses you in its madness makes for an interesting experience. I don't think everyone will like this, but I did. As such, I'd recommend it, but on the proviso that you may not like it. An acquired taste, but having an interest in sound engineering and understanding how mixing desks etc are used, I found it fascinating. And I want that copicat! You'll be luckyto find one these days in the digital age.


Looper (2012)

Loopers are contract killers - in the past. 30 years in the future time travel will be invented, but will be immediately made illegal. Organised crime syndicates, however, have access to this technology. So when they want someone bumped off, they send them back in time to be instantly executed by a Looper. Hence the person disappears from the future and in the past no-one is looking for them. However, there is a new player in town and he wants to close all the loops - which means sending back all the future Loopers to the past to be executed by themselves. They are then given wealth and the freedom to live as they choose for the next 30 years, until the day of their execution. However, when Joe's future self is sent back, he escapes from him and so begins a hunt where everything is not as it seems.

I really quite enjoyed this one, it's a bit short on logic, but big on ideas and has a decent budget to accommodate it. Not bad.


The Last Hard Men (1976)

Zach Provo (James Coburn) escapes the chain gang and with a motley group of convicts heads out for revenge on the man who sent him to jail, Sam Burgade (Charlton Heston). When they arrive in Sam's home town they cause a diversion and instead of heading for Sam directly, they make off with Sam's daughter, Susan (Barbara Hershey) and take her as prisoner to be used as bait.

Set at the beginning of the 20th Century, it's a latter day Western and you can see the intrusion of technology into the wild west, which is always a curious thing. Everyone involved turn in great performances and I found myself highly entertained throughout. A little seen film, but well worth seeking out.