Film Reviews by HW

Decent adaptation of the novel, with great performances (especially from Jeff and Hailee). Grateful to watch it with subtitles as I couldn’t follow all the dialogue in the cinema! Scenery, action and costumes all good for a western. Still not sure if I prefer John Wayne’s fun performance, but this is a closer adaptation of the novel, including its darker scenes. I liked seeing the Coen brothers doing a proper period western, but I think I prefer their more imaginative work on ‘Ballad of Buster Scruggs’. 

I’m surprisingly enjoying modern horror at the moment. This might be the best, most savagely original horror film to come out in years. Yes, it’s stealing imagery from a LOT of classic horror films but it dissects (literally) a very relevant topic with the timeless message of ‘be careful what you wish for’. A very extreme criticism of beauty standards, feminine expectations and obsessing with perfection, paying tribute to gruesome 80s body-horror prosthetics with spectacular transformation and body warps. While you couldn’t call this subtle, it does deliver some truly unnerving and (dare I say) MOVING scenes and performances amidst the mayhem. A great concept, just not a great date movie. 

I watched this because I read the crazy Stephen King ‘novella’ (except it was over 200 pages so practically a novel). The film is a slightly more toned down, subtle version of the more gross, violent book, but still harrowing. The biting satire of a golden American boy admiring a Nazi war criminal is not lost. The boy playing the sick adolescent was captivating, but Sir Ian McKellen was incredibly and disgustingly compelling as the sly, murderous Dussander. A lot of the key events and dialogue were kept from the book, with some intriguing changes. Crazy to see David Schwimmer co-starring in such a dark movie, and to think that the director would go on to do ‘X-Men’ next. Sometimes evil is just around the corner…. 

Viggo’s love for the western really comes through in his Labour of love. This feels both like a traditional, sweeping romance with enough stark, original twists to make it stand out from other cowboy films, like a non-linear narrative. Thanks to Viggo’s direction, this film looks and sounds beautiful (especially since he composed the melancholic score). The story and performances are both touching and raw. I also like how Viggo tried to portray America as a land of emigrants rather than rootin-tootin cowpokes. This is more of a lyrical period drama than your average action western, but the violence is still brutal and shocking for the community, like in ‘Unforgiven’. Nice one, Viggo. 

‘Castaway’ for the 21st century. It was fascinating to see what travelling to and living on Mars could be like. The science behind everything felt intricate and believable too (although I wouldn't mind hearing an actual scientist’s take on this, as I’ve read a few online comments poking holes in this film). Matt Damon gives a captivating performance, although his character’s cockiness does get annoying at times. However, in that situation you would need an insane amount of self-belief to get through everything and stay sane. Ridley Scott doesn’t skimp on his talent for visuals either, delivering a convincing Mars landscape. Impressive supporting cast too. So not a complicated sci-fi but very watchable and gripping. Gives you faith in humanity, when so many people work together to bring one man back… believable? 

A surprising delight. Not only is this the most faithful adaptation to the plot of a Hellboy comic but it’s also the scariest Hellboy movie so far. Brian Taylor proved to Neil Marshall (director of the last Hellboy movie) that you don’t make Hellboy adult and edgy with a load of swearing and gore. This film genuinely packs a dread, creeping atmosphere and the effects are horribly impressive. The actor playing Hellboy is great too, playing him as gruff with a sardonic sense of humour. The rest of the cast also successfully bring Mignola’s characters to life. Anyone who likes Hellboy, horror and comic book movies should enjoy this impressive indie effort. 

As a western fan, I always like seeing western plot lines and conventions placed in other settings. This story of a warrior seeking redemption on a long journey could easily be transported to the Wild West. The setting and style of the film also reminds me of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, with plenty of quiet, suspenseful desert scenes (where characters stare rather than speak) and a steady pace punctuated by sudden violence. But instead of the Wild West, we get the unique setting of ancient India, beautifully and convincingly recreated. A truly original, poignant and remarkable film. 

A fairly decent horror film in comparison to the other Saw films. Jigsaw is actually portrayed as a sympathetic antihero: first when he’s conned by an unscrupulous doctor and then when it turns out there are people even more sadistic than him, because of course Jigsaw has a ‘moral code’; even when he’s enacting an overly elaborate brutal series of vengeful torture devices where people disfigure themselves in order to redeem themselves. Hey you’ve cut off your own leg so you can be a better person! 

Perhaps the quality of this movie is hard to argue for in this day and age, especially when there are many scenes of red-coated white men gunning down hundreds of black men. But honestly, this film didn’t feel as patriotic or jingoist as I expected it to. There are some excellent performances (Caine included) of the British soldiers as ordinary men caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, simply doing their duty: ‘Why us?’ ‘Because we’re here.’ Arguably they wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for colonialism and empire-building. There is no sense of pride in the empire or war. By the end, the Brits are left shaken, even ashamed to be alive: a realistic portrayal of the psychological effects of warfare. I don’t know how accurate this depiction of this extraordinary event is but it’s arguably the most epic siege film, with suspenseful, emotional build-up to fierce action scenes and spectacular scenery. You can see how this inspired ‘Two Towers’. I also thought the Zulus were depicted decently as noble warriors. A tour-de-force of emotion and the horrors of colonial conflict. 

I was apprehensive about seeing this, as the many voices of the internet denounced this as a weak adaptation of the excellent John Williams novel. I was glad to discover that the internet was once again wrong - or at least, I thought this was an epic, faithful adaptation that does justice to the message and spirit of the book. The cast are like the characters brought to life: even Nic Cage, who thankfully didn’t turn on his trademark overacting for this role but played buffalo hunter Miller with chilling stoicism. The cinematography was also spectacular and an atmosphere of building unease was maintained throughout, as the characters find their gruelling lives living outdoors (at the mercy of nature) growing more and more brutal and cruel. Watch this if you want an epic, survivalist western adventure with deep bleakness. 

The ‘Saw’ franchise was always trying to convince us that these were detective movies, and no more so then here. If I’m honest, I did enjoy that more thought was given to the story and characters rather than excessive torture scenes (although the games we do see are brutal). Chris Rock gives a surprisingly non-comic performance as an outcast detective hunting down a seemingly copycat Jigsaw targeting corrupt cops. If you didn’t really like the Saw films, you might like this one for being slightly different to the others. 

Sometimes I need to stop listening to the internet. I had doubts about the new ‘Nosferatu’ film because of online negativity and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was uncertain about this one, as it was described as a weak rip-off of ‘Silence of the Lambs’. Yes, it is about a young FBI agent hunting down a really creepy serial killer in the 90s who’s good at sewing. However, I feel this setup is a trick to mess with the audience’s expectations. Because say what you like about this movie, it’s unpredictable. Enjoy it for the weirdness (helped by everything nearly being shot with a fish-eye lens) the exaggerations, the sinister atmosphere. Also it’s genuinely unsettling, even frightening. Partly because of the use of jarring editing and music but also Nicholas Cage’s absolutely unhinged performance, which disturbs you from the opening scene. You know an actor’s doing right in a horror when you want them to keep the hell away from you. 

So no, maybe it doesn’t always make sense. Yes, it’s weird. But maybe if you stop being critical, you’ll just enjoy it (even while you feel steadily more traumatised as you watch) and start to think there might be hope for the horror genre yet. 

This is a very faithful but concise adaptation of the awesome novel. It helps that King himself wrote the screenplay, so the creeping atmosphere and the explorations of death and grief are still present. The main actor is a little wooden until he convincingly slips into grief-stricken madness by the end. The actor playing Jud Crandall is wonderful, as are the child actors and the cat! The film may not pack the emotional punch or horrible impact of the book and it may not be up there with Kubrick’s ‘Shining’, but it does feature a Ramones song at the end. Overall, a decent 80s/90s horror that feels reassuringly American and does a good job of creeping you out. Also features the King himself in a surprise Biblical role! 

You just can’t keep down a horror franchise. To be fair, this movie does an acceptable job of resurrecting a killer who was supposed to have been put to sleep, and there are enough twists to mess with your head. And to give it credit, while there is certainly squeamish nastiness, this sequel goes more for mounting terror rather than outright gore during Jigsaw’s games. 

Just to be clear, my title is completely sarcastic. Director Howard Hawks could be rightfully accused of lifting characters and plot lines from his 1959 classic ‘Rio Bravo’ for this movie, and you know what? It doesn’t matter, because while ‘El Dorado’ doesn’t quite have the same magic or focussed, consistent quality as ‘Rio’, it’s still really fun for western fans. There’s plenty of action and humour, and the cast is great. John Wayne is… John Wayne. Robert Mitchum gets our sympathy playing the regretful drunk this time, even if he can be compared to a sad, howling dog in some scenes. A young James Caan is likeable as a chirpy, Poe-quoting sidekick. It’s quite nice to see that even in the late 60s, when the western belonged to Italy, that classic-style American westerns could still be fun. One other thing I like is how Mitchum and Wayne’s two old heroes get more injured and crippled as the action progresses: a nice realistic touch in an otherwise silly film. But you can’t keep ‘em down: they keep on fighting their enemies and each other to the end. Good to watch back-to-back with ‘Rio Bravo’ for an entertaining marathon. Ride, boldly ride.