NOTE: Here is my review from Soda & Telepaths that was posted back on June 1, 2021
Nightmare Alley (2022) – A Dark Dream
Released: 20th January
Seen: 19th March
In 1946, William Lindsay Gresham wrote the novel Nightmare Alley. The novel was popular enough to be adapted into the 1947 film of the same name. Even though that film didn’t do that well at the box office it’s since been reevaluated as a classic of the film noir genre… honestly, that kind of means it makes perfect sense for Guillermo del Toro to have a go at doing it since the story matches his sensibilities and his films have enough of a timeless quality to them that all you would need to do it put a black and white filter over one of his films and you could probably pass it off as something from the 40s, which they apparently did for a special release of his version of Nightmare Alley which is just goddamn fascinating.
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Almost 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection (2002) Should’ve Stayed Dead
NOTE: Here is my review from Soda & Telepaths that was posted back on March 31, 2021
The Retreat (2022) – Bloody Interesting
Seen as part of the Mardi Gras Film Festival
When it comes to queer horror stories, it’s sad to say there aren’t as many as there probably should be. What ones there are either have queer subtext without actual gay characters (Hi Nightmare on Elm Street 2), are problematic as hell (Hi Sleepaway Camp) or actually feature gay characters in a gay storyline (Hi Hellbent). That last one is a lot rarer but can be interesting if done right. Enter The Retreat, a film that uses the horrors of homophobia to tell a story that works on occasion, but also really fumbles the great idea it has.
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No Time to Die (2021) – Timeless
Released: 11th November 2021
Seen: 24th February 2022
Since his first appearance in film in 1962, James Bond has been a staple of cinema. Over 25 outings he has been the first image we think of when we think of spies, with his gadgets and his Bond Girls and his dry martini that’s shaken but not stirred. He’s an icon who has been so powerful that he has somehow survived through a half-dozen different actors playing him over his long film career. The most recent actor to drive the legendary Aston Martin, Daniel Craig, decided that the latest film No Time To Die would be his final time playing the legend with the license to kill and god damn is he going down swinging.
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) – This Blade Is Dull
Released: 18th February
Seen: 20th February
There has been a trend in horror films lately where a classic slasher franchise will do a sequel starring the original cast set about 40 years after the original film that ignores every other sequel that came before it. This trend has given us absolutely brilliant films like the 2018 Halloween and it’s given us reasons to despise the very concept of cinema with things like I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu. It’s a high risk-high reward concept because it will pull in fans who want a heavy hit of pure nostalgia but you then have to give them a film that somehow honours the original while also being something new and fun. Texas Chainsaw Massacre does none of that, it just exists in a boring way that makes me wonder why this franchise keeps on going.
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The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2022) – The Scottish Film
Released: 14th January
Seen: 19th February
If one were to take a wild guess at who was the most frequently performed and adapted writer in history, chances are good your first guess would be Shakespeare and you would more than likely be right. His work is incredibly malleable and easy to adapt into anything you want. His works can be turned into cartoons about a pride of lions (Lion King = Hamlet), it can be a fun 90s romcom (10 Things I Hate About You = Taming Of The Shrew) or it can be a classic Hollywood musical (West Side Story = Romeo & Juliet).
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The Night (2021) – A Blatant ‘The Shining’ Double
NOTE: Here is my review from Soda & Telepaths that was posted back on February 2nd, 2020
Driving home from a night with some friends, Babak (Shahab Hosseini) and Neda (Niousha Noor) become too tired to finish the trip home and so, with their young infant in tow, the couple decides to take a room at the Hotel Normandie for the night so they can sleep off the exhaustion and alcohol. However, the Hotel Normandie is not as peaceful as they would hope and soon their night becomes overrun by assorted strange things that seek to drive them apart and force them to reveal the dark secrets that have caused a rift in their relationship to begin with.
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Minor Premise (2020) – Extremely Slow in the Payoff
NOTE: Here is my review from Soda & Telepaths that was posted back on December 10th, 2020
I’m sure we’ve all seen a few science fiction films before that have used the same old trope. A scientist has a great invention, they can’t get anyone else to be the test subject so they test it out on themselves and the ensuing chaos is caused by the experiment going horribly horribly wrong. It’s a trope for a reason, it works and it often leads to an interesting character in the form of the scientist and can also lead to a devastatingly emotional ending (think of The Fly remake for a prime example of this). I love a good story of a scientist being put through the wringer because of their own hubris and Minor Premise presents an interesting version of this story, albeit one that’s a little more heady than most.
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Pig (2021) – Some Pig
Released:16th September
Seen: 14th December
When one thinks of a Nicolas Cage performance, they tend to think of something big and crazy where Cage is going at 150% the entire time. You think of things like him screaming “Arrgh, not the bees”, you think of his wide crazy eyes, you think of someone who is unafraid to be completely committed to the most insane things he’s asked to do in any given film. Sometimes this leads to maddeningly strange performances like The Wicker Man, sometimes this leads to people using his skills perfectly for films like Mandy or Willy’s Wonderland that almost worked around Cage’s eccentricities as a performer.
Pig is a glorious reminder of the raw talent that the man has, there’s a reason he’s an Oscar winner and Pig probably should be the reason he gets a second but you know the Academy will never do anything that interesting.
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