Film Reviews by BG

Sarah has split from her husband and takes her son to a new place to start fresh. But after encountering a strange large hole in the ground in a forest, her boy doesn't seem to be the same as he was.... There are shades of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, but this Irish horror is quite subtle and does not rely on jump scares. It requires the viewer to decide what might be happening, and is creepy on a psychological level rather than just hitting you with jolts and gore. If you just want to sit back and be scared, you probably won't enjoy it. Can't give spoilers, but even the opening shot of Sarah's son as a distorted reflection in a Fun House Hall of mirrors has some significance later on. Also you have to question Sarah's own stability. Does her head scar have any significance too?.. etc.....

I wouldn't mind Alita as a girlfriend. She would never get tired, and she would be really handy if I got into a fight in a pub. As she said to Hugo in the film.... I wouldn't want to p*** her off!

Is really 40 years since that puppet popped out of John Hurt's chest? Here's a documentary about one of the biggest and most successful Science Fiction films ever made. I remember reading reviews when it first came out, some which said as a thriller it works, but doesn't do much for the mind. This film attempts to explain how ALIEN was a lot deeper than some people thought, and covers many aspects that reflected the times in the late seventies and still resonate today. Some of the original cast are interviewed, and a lot of time is spent on that famous chest-buster scene, one of the most famous in cinema history along with a certain shower sequence in a Hitchcock film. Some ground has been covered in the extensive DVD extras already, but to celebrate the 40 years of the film, its still good to check this documentary out, which might make you feel wanting more, and deepen your appreciation of a true classic.

As it's 5 decades since the first moon landing, there has been a lot of coverage, including films like First Man, Apollo 11, documentaries on TV, and now Armstrong, which focuses on the man himself. No matter how much I watch about this historic event, I am always filled with a sense of wonder, and in this film I still discovered facts that I didn't know...or had forgotten. It's impossible to capture the true essence of one man's life in 100 minutes, but that doesn't mean that the film fails in giving you interesting facts about one of the most famous men in history.

Kenneth Branagh has acted in many of Shakespeare's plays, now he gets to play the bard himself, looking a bit like Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. I liked the way it didn't focus on his play writing, and showed the tortured side of a man who has retired back home, mourning his dead son and discovering a shocking truth. Written by Ben Elton, who Branagh directed in Much Ado About Nothing, there is some wit but not a lot of comedy. Applaud the bard when he finally hurls abuse at a man who has always snubbed him. There's some nice imagery - - the bard walking in slow motion amongst autumn leaves blowing - - but probably fans of Fast and Furious will not go for it.

While reasonably done, this horror film treads a familiar story of a curse, and has jump scares from an evil female ghost similar to The Woman in Black and The Nun. Water is the recurring element of the haunting here, so when you see a puddle, rain, a pool or a bath, you know it's scary time. You could say that this is a water treading horror that's probably best watched if you're in an undemanding mood. Say a Saturday night with some beers and some girls who love to peer through their fingers and jump at the sudden scares!

I thought I had the ending sussed with a conventional Hollywood ending, but I was wrong. In case you do get to the end, no spoiler. Maybe not enough action for some, but Ben Foster is excellent, and there is an unexpected killing.

If you like offbeat indie films the type director Jim Jarmusch makes, you probably might enjoy this film too. A common theme in Jarmusch's films, is that of the immigrant or foreigner in the US. Most Beautiful Island is similar about a Spanish lady with a tragic past in New York trying to make some money. A friend gives her a chance, but she ends up in a weird Eyes Wide Shut situation. To describe this would be a big spoiler, but a hint is that it involves a contrast between something that looks beautiful against something that is ugly, creepy, and frightening.

This won't appeal to some, but I found it haunted me for a few days.