What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Markgway]

I Love Trouble (1994-USA) **½
Engaging, if overlong screwball comedy-thriller succeeds in spite of two leads (Nick Nolte, Julia Roberts) that couldn't stand each other.

[Markgway]

Redbelt (2007-USA) **½
You wouldn't expect David Mamet to be the writer-director of a martial arts drama, but here it is...
Mamet tries to impose his authorial style on cliched material; it works up to a point, but the con game is confused and lacking, and the grappling combat unlikely to satisfy genre fans. An oddity.

[Markgway]

Staggered (1994-UK) **½
TV sitcom actor Martin Clunes stars in and directs this not too bad comedy about a groom stranded on a Scottish Isle after sabotage by his best man who wants the bride (and her inheritance) for himself. I rather enjoyed Anna Chancellor's oddball, but sexy pathologist.

[grim_tales]

I remember seeing this years ago and rather enjoyed it

[Markgway]

Cheap Thrills (2012-USA) **½
Jet black satire asks us how far poor people will go for money?
To the extreme is the uncomfortable answer.
Well acted, but too nasty to be funny.

[HungFist]

Cheap Thrills (2012-USA) **½
Jet black satire asks us how far poor people will go for money?
To the extreme is the uncomfortable answer.
Well acted, but too nasty to be funny.

I thought the film was alright, acting was fine like you say, but I was a little frustrated with the way the story plays out. Once you realize what direction it's heading, nothing really manages to surprise you.

[Markgway]

100 Bloody Acres (2012-Australia) **
Gory black comedy in the contemporary vein.

[Markgway]

Roadflower (1993-USA) **
Family are terrorised by gang of weirdos on America's highways.
Christopher Lambert heads interesting cast, but the loony villains are a pretty tiresome bunch.

[Markgway]

Zero Tolerance (1994-USA) **
Robert Patrick (and obvious stunt double) hunts down the drug syndicate responsible for his family's slaughter.
Action-packed, but strictly DTV level fodder.

[Markgway]

The Imitation Game (2014-UK-USA) ***½
Very good drama/biopic of Alan Turing, the man responsible for cracking the Enigma code.
Gripping and touching in all the right places; Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent.

[AVWFG]

Doctor Strange (2016, USA) ****1/2
Great adaptation of the Marvel character with Benedict Cumberbatch perfectly cast as a New York neurosurgeon who loses the use of his hands in a car accident and seeks the means to heal and gets more than what he bargains for upon going to Tibet to meet The Ancient One. Great effects, great cast, including Tilda Swinton's Ancient One, which originally sparked controversy. Mads Mikkelsen was a great villain in Kaecilius and look for Scott Adkins in a pivotal role as one of Kaecilius' Zealots. The surrealism is reminiscent of Inception and is done nicely. Definitely a Marvel film worth seeing!

[saltysam]

The Purge 2/5

In the near future for one night a year all crime in the USA is legal. Ethan Hawke is a security specialist who's home is supposedly watertight against invaders...starts off well and the lead baddie is quite creepy but the film gets increasingly far fetched as it reaches it's climax. not bad though.

The Purge:Anarchy 2.5/5
After the home invasion theme of the first one this sequel takes the narrative onto the streets and it works better.Superior sequel.

Carrie 4/5
Classic De Palma horror looks great in this new Scream Factory release.Still one of the greatest climaxes to a horror movie ever.

Rambo:First Blood Part 2 3/5
Jingoistic but entertaining action sequel never lets up.Some corny dialogue but that's the nature of these films.

Halloween 4.5/5
Classic Carpenter movie still holds up well today.Little gore but lots of suspense.How great is Donald Pleasance as Loomis?

Don't Breathe 2/5
Three burglars,one female break into the home of a blind and disabled war veteran after hearing he has 300k stashed away somewhere.USA summer box office hit is ok but not the classic i'd heard about.

[Markgway]

The Last Seduction (1993-UK) **½
Linda Fiorentino essays one of the 90s more memorable femme fatales in John Dahl's sexy neo-noir, but alas the film left me cold, with no one to root for (Peter Berg's victim is such a dope).

[grim_tales]

A Streetcat Named Bob (2016): 3.5/5

Touching and ultimately triumphant comedy-drama, based on a true story of a recovering addict street busker, and his unlikely friendship with a stray cat named Bob, who follows him at first but then sticks with him, which helps him turn his life around. Some nice performances, especially the main lead, James, and the New-Age girl he bonds with.

[Markgway]

Bob for Best Supporting Actor?

Dead Man Down (2012-USA) ***
Good, thoughtful revenge thriller, well-acted, and with a nice amount of character development.

[Markgway]

I, the Jury (1981-USA) **
Armand Assante is hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer in a sleazy 80s update that plays up the sex and violence, but can't overcome Larry Cohen's ridiculously convoluted script.

[Markgway]

The Sitter (2011-USA) *½
Tasteless, laughless, no-one-asked-for-it update of Adventures in Babysitting.

Mars Attacks! (1996-USA) **
Tim Burton's wacky, star-studded 50s sci-fi parody is extremely uneven. Ack!

[HungFist]

Zodiac (USA, 2007) [BD] - 4/5
I somehow managed to avoid seeing this until now. A very well made murder mystery that begins as crime film, but later turns into a character study. Also does great job capturing the era. I have a feeling I might rate this even higher the next time a I see it.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (USA, 2015) [VoD] - 4/5
Ace casting, decent pace and plenty of 'on the edge of your seat' action. Christopher McQuarrie seems to know how to helm action without going overboard with style and CGI. The last 10 minutes and the main villain are slightly underwhelming, but no big deal. The best in the series.

[Markgway]

The Anomaly (2014-UK) *½
Futuristic actioner serves up an intriguing time warp/mind fuck concept, but is amateurishly executed by director-star Noel Clarke (whose lead performance is woefully lacking in charisma). The only bright spot is Alexis Knapp; no idea if she can act, but she's hot as sin.

[Markgway]

They Might Be Giants (1972-USA) **
Curious slice of whimsy in which rich eccentric George C. Scott believes he's Sherlock Holmes.
Doesn't add up or go anywhere... but it's harmless.

[Markgway]

Ghostbusters (2016-USA-Australia) **½
Hardly the megabomb social media had predicted (and wished for); inoffensive (unless you count the reverse sexism) reboot boasts terrific, colourful special effects and good HD cinematography (two things I rarely praise these days). The cast deliver uneven performances, the comedy feels too often forced and silly. Given my LOW expectations I was pleasantly surprised.

[Markgway]

The Nice Guys (2016-USA) **½
Rent-a-thug Russell Crowe and (gormless) alcoholic detective Ryan Gosling team up to track down a missing porn star.
Very Shane Black, which is generally a good thing, though it's overall a notch below Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

[Markgway]

Malone (1987-USA) **½
Enjoyable Burt Reynolds vehicle.

[Markgway]

Central Intelligence (2016-USA) **½
Buddy action comedy is a notch or two above the usual Hollywood dross.

[HungFist]

31 (USA, 2016) [DCP] - 3/5
I have a soft spot for Rob Zombie movies - which is kind of odd considering I see nightmares of being trapped in a Texas pub full men in cowboy hats and Dolly Parton performing live. Or perhaps that's exactly why. In any case, this is another solid white trash horror film. It promises torture porn, but actually isn't quite that, which is positively surprising. The film suffers from one terrible part that cuts back and forth between two scenes, one of them full of migraine inducing flashing lights and the other edited in a way that it's hard to tell what's happening (probably to please MPAA). Not Zombie's finest movie by any means, and not terrible original, but pretty good for what it is. Obviously for Zombie fans only.