You, Me & Marley

Set in belfast in 1992 during the troubles, 5 Catolic friends go about stealing cars and joyriding and are shaped by the violence that surrounds them.

CAST

Marc O'Shea as Sean
Bronagh Gallagher as Frances
Michael Liebmann as Marley
Michael Gregory as Hugh
Emma Moylan as Mary
Marie Jones as Sarah
Catherine Brennan as Rosaleen
Frank Grimes as Mr. Hagan
Lorcan Cranitch as Father Tom
James Greene as Father Peter
Ian McElhinney as Reggie Devine

Run time : 84 mins

this film is an entertaining film about the 5 friends who rob and joyride cars especially sean and marley. when marley is caught by the vigilantes, his fingers are broken by a bassball bat by the ira commander. this was my favorite scene, it brought so much tension before he swings the bat and breaks his fingers. the after beating is worse when the beat everypart of his body.
it has a great soundtrack like the original track 'injected with a poisin'

overall the film was farily good and i enjoyed it.

DIRECTOR: SPENCE, RICHARD

Brian

Eden Lake 2008

Eden Lake is a 2008 British horror and thriller written and directed by James Watkins and starring Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender and Jack O' Connel.

We're finishing up the blog today so I said I'd post about another film I enjoyed recently.

I really enjoyed this movie. It wasn't terrifying as the poster says, but it was definitely thrilling. Fassbender (now a big hollywood star after Inglorious Basterds) is ok in this but it's not his best role to date.

The plot is about a young couple who take a trip to Eden Lake. A place where Steve (Fassbender) went as a young child, but is now closed to the public and inhabitted by youths. As tension grows between the couple and the youths, things turn violent and a game of cat and mouse insues.

I think the idea behind the story was to show what young kids in Britain are like today and how their parents are neglecting them. The breakdown of civil life in Britain. You almost believe this could happen to you and it is plausible that there are kids out there like that shown in this movie. It's almost a gaurantee these days. There are gruesome parts in the movie and you do get emotionally involved with Jenny as she tries to get away.

You have to ask yourself why they would stay and put up with the youths but I guess if I think about it I wouldn't let some kids ruin my holiday either. That's a running theme throughout though. Stubborness and hopelessness. Even when they do stand up to the kids and fight back in the end it's hopeless. All of this stems from lack of parenting and that's the feeling we're left with in the end. That this could all happen again.

I think it's a timely movie but is never going to make enough of an impact that the writer, I'm sure, wanted. It is scary though and is full of twists and turns to keep the story exciting. The ending is a great twist too. Check it out.

Anyway that's me done with this blogging craic so signing off,

Gerry.

This is my Father

This Is My Father is a 1998 Irish-American film directed by Paul Quinn.

I watched this a long time ago and only recently saw it again. The plot for this film is brilliant and the ending is pretty heartbreaking. There are of course a few terrible irish stereotypes thrown in for a modern day (1998) Ireland, but I think the flashbacks which makes up most of the movie are probably pretty accurate for the time.

The story centers around a relationship between a 17 year old middle class girl named Fiona and a shy labourer named Kieran in late 1930's Ireland.

One of the things this movie shows is how much influence the church had and how different Ireland was then compared to now.

Aidan Quinn is brilliant in this and pulls off a very believable and powerful performance.

Like I said it is a very sad film and shows a part of our history that though not particularly easy to talk about, is definitely true.

A great movie and one of my favourites.

By Gerry

BARAKA

BARAKA 1992 Directed by Ron Fricke. Baraka is an ancient sufi word which can be translated as a blessing. Baraka is not conventional movie as it has no structure. It is but a masterpiece of modern day photography. The film was filmed in 152 locations in 24 different countries. The film has no dialogue, no story or plot but instead uses themes to present new perspectives and evoke emotion purely through cinema. Fricke writes about his work "Both technically and philosophically I am ready to delve even deeper into my favorite theme: humanity's relationship to the eternal".
Posted by Will

Margot at the Wedding

"Margot at the Wedding" is a 2007 comedy-drama written and directed by Noah Baumbach. It stars Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It tells the story of a neurotic writer, Margot, who goes to visit her engaged sister Pauline along with her son Claude.

Conflicts begin to take place because of Margot's anger and her disapproval of Pauline's fiancé. The wedding becomes in danger of not taking place. Family drama takes place.

A secret is revealed by Pauline to Margot, which Margot then tells Claude.

I really enjoyed this movie. The story is simple and reliable and yet the acting is intense. The movie has a great combination of being serious and funny. It can amuse, it can shock, and it can emote.

This is one of those movies that I would look forward to seeing again. Here's hoping that you are also looking forward to seeing it now.

Mattias

Cruel Intentions

Cruel Intentions (1999)
Director:Roger Kumble
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Ryan Phillipe , Sarah Michelle Gellar

Cruel Intentions is one of my favourite films of all time and to any-one who has not seen it they should its Gossip Girl meets Dangerous Liaisons. Katherine(Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian ( Ryan Phillipe) are spoilt upper east side New York teens and are also step brother and sister. Sebastian gets his kicks from bedding as many girls as possible while Katherine plays the good girl but behind closed doors things are completely different. Sebastian and Katherine place a bet that Sebastian will not be able to sleep with Annette Hardgrove( Reese Witherspoon) the new principles daughter. Sebastian rises to the challenge and wages his Jaguar on it while Katherine wages her body. With many twists and turns Sebastian actually falls in love with Annette discovering a different side to himself but his step sister gets jealous and makes him feel ashamed of what he feels leading to a very horrible and fatal outcome. (I am not going to ruin the ending just watch it!!!!!)

Beautiful people, great clothes , New york and a lot of sex in Cruel Intentions makes it attractive all round for audiences. The story line is flowing all the way through and the acting is second to none already you get to see years previous how Reese Witherspoon earned her Oscar. Sarah Michelle Gellar (also known better as Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stands out and portrays the immoral nasty IT girl Katherine to perfection getting her out of pesky type casting that so many actors who have starred in series like Buffy have fallen into. Ryan Phillipe also gives a stellar performance that makes you sympathise with the harsh realities of been a teenager.

The sharp and biting dialogue in the movie is great with the ever underlying sexual tension with the characters which is one of the main things Kumble wanted to convey.In saying that there are so cheap one liners that take away from the Upper est side feel of the movie. Sebastian's realisation that he was falling in love made for a moving scene when he breaks up with Annette as he cries 'I'm fucked up' the tears streaming down both characters faces is enough to make any one cry.

Although there are also many faults in the film it really makes for good watching. It is an indulgence to good to pass up.With such strong acting from the 3 main leads , darkly funny script and dolloped in Hollywood late 90's movie goodness!!!!!

Until next time
Dawn :)

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

A Perfect Getaway is a 2009 American psychological thriller written and directed by David Twohy, and stars Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Marley Shelton and Chris Hemsworth. The film was shot in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and was released on August 7, 2009 in the US, and on August 12 in the UK. The film received mixed to positive critical reaction and was a minor financial success.

The idea for this movie seems fairly believable at first read. A young newlywed couple are on their honeymoon trekking in Hawaii when another couple is murdered on the island. Along their way they meet two other strange couples. A pair of hippy hitchhikers and an ex-marine and his girlfriend.

The story from there is kind of a who-dunnit? I don't know if it's because I watch too many movies or what, but I guessed who was the killers very early in. The reason for this was probably that there were not enough suspects and the ones who were supposedly suspects seemed a little too obvious.

There is of course your twist at the end but for me it came too early and again wasn't very shocking to the audience. I would have liked to see more fore-shadowing too. Instead of doing this they "catch up" the audience with flash backs which doesn't really work for me.

Steve Zahn was good in this and I am a fan of his but his was limited by the script. This idea had potential because the scenery is great and as a location its original. The script needed a lot of work before they went to production though. More characters, plot twists and a later reveal would have made this movie great. It's still good, but not great.

By Gerry

Laputa Castle in the sky.

Okay I don't know what happened but Youtube said the video upload failed.

I'm not sitting here all night to try it again. So I'll have the review up Asap.

Down in the Valley

This is a movie starring Edward Norton.

A girl called Tobe invites a gas station attendant to come to the beach with her and her friends. They have a great time but he is more than twice her age and her father does not want her to spend time with him. He gets angry. She rebels. The guy plans to get Tobe away from her father.

I liked this movie but I don't think it is one that I will remember for a long time or anything. You may though, so you may as well give it a watch.

Mattias

Valentine

Valentine (2001)
Director Jamie Blanks (also directed Urban Legend)
Starring David Boreanaz (Adam) , Jessica Chapsaw (Dorothy) and Denise Richards (Paige)

This week I went back to watching my favourite type of film genre which is Horror also with a bit of Thriller thrown in for good measure. Four young girls are being stalked on Valentines day by a cherub masked killer.

The film begins 13 years previous at a junior high school dance where Jeremy a nerdy kid asks each girl to dance. Each of them tease and upset him in some way. 13 years on and the girls are still friends. There is Paige , Dorothy , Shelley and Kate. Dorothy was always the ugly duckling of the group but her gorgeous boyfriend Adam changed all that. One by one the girls and the men in their lives get killed off one by one in the most bloody and horrific ways by a Cupid masked murderer. Most of the killing takes place at Dorothy's Valentines Day party. Could it be Jeremy back for revenge or is it some one else?

Ok so one of the main reasons I like this film is that David Boreanaz has a major part in it (for any one who is not from this planet he is Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) The film does not lack beautiful people but after all that makes the perfect recipe for a traditional horror. It also is slightly reminiscent of the film Scream. It is visually pleasing and most of the stalking scenes with the build up to the killing are fantastic as no music is used to give that extra tension to the crescendo of the actual murder. Jamie Blanks is a great horror director who took this script which on paper I'd say looked far from amazing and made it into a watchable slasher film. The scene in the hot tub where Paige is murdered is gruesome but very well shot with subtle lighting which keeps you enthralled throughout. The ending is excellent with two twists!Although the killer Cupid is so obvious throughout you can't help but be shocked at the reveal.

Valentine is your run of the mill slasher film with very cheesy acting making you want killer Cupid to finish them all off! I would recommend it especially for February 14th when your sick of flowers, chocs and teddy's a good gore fest called Valentine is a must have- oh and did I mention David Boreanaz is in it!!!!!

Until next week Dawn:)

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

This is a biographical movie based on the life of Chuck Barris, a game show creator. It stars Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts. Chuck also works for the CIA.

The movie shows different times of Chuck's life, including his successes and failures with his game shows and his relationships. It does this with a combination of humour and seriousness.

It is an interesting movie to watch as it is quite unique and different, but there are times when it bored me just a tad. I would not say 'no' to watching it a third time however.

The acting is good and I especially enjoy watching Drew Barrymore.

Mattias

The Time Traveller's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
Director : Robert Schwentke
Producer: Brad Pitt
Starring :Eric Bana (Henry) and Rachel Mc Adams (Clare)

This week I opted out of my usual blood and gore film and watched The Time Traveler's Wife.I went into it thinking it was going to be your usual soppy love story even though I had read the book and spoken to the author Audrey Niffenegger who told me quite definitely that she had no imput in the film. It was very enjoyable , some times emotional and magical.

Henry and Clare are deeply in love unfortunately Henry has a genetic problem which causes him to disappear and pop back up at different times some-times older knowing what the future holds and some-times younger not knowing Clare at all. It begins with Henry as a young boy with his mother singing they crash and as it happens Henry begins to disappear then an older Henry appears to comfort himself as he watches his mother perish and although he says later in the film he always tries to save her he never can.

A quick flash and Henry is working in a library where he meets Clare who already knows him and believes they are destined to be together. Henry goes back and forth with his lifespan having no control on it and he and Clare never know when they will be separated or back together. With a lot of touching scenes going back to how they first met when Clare was six in the meadow and how Henry visited her up until she was eighteen. Although she knows their love is doomed Clare tries to build a life around her one true love.

After many attempts they have a daughter Alba who is also a time traveller but she can control it by singing. The ending has an emotional twist and although different from the book it caused a very large lump in my throat!

Although the first half is difficult to follow with time lines once you concentrate you really can get into it. Apart from a few continuity problems the time travel scenes were pulled of well.Rachel Mc Adams and Eric Bana both have the same star quality and pull of the roles to perfection in a believable manner. This film was like a mixture of The Light House (which I love) , Doctor Who and Benjamin Button all with the same type of character a handsome man in love who can go back and forth in time but yet can't change or control it.
So get the tissues out and get watching this 108 minute tear jerker :)
Until next time............

Dawn :)

Dancer in the Dark

This is a 2000 musical drama directed by Lars von Trier and starring singer Björk as Selma and Catherine Deneuve as "Cvalda". It is set in the 60's and talks about a woman with a hereditary eye disease which will make her go blind. Her 10-year-old son also has the disease and will suffer the same fate of going blind unless he can get an operation to save his sight. Selma and her son moved to the United States from Czechoslovakia where this operation is possible.

In order to get the money together for her son's eye operation, Selma works, rather clumsily, at a factory. There, she daydreams about musical scenes that begin with sounds of the factory machines. She does this in other places, as well. After Selma breaks a machine, she is let go from the job.

Selma's landlords, Bill and Linda, have financial difficulties. Bill decides to steal the money Selma had been saving up. Selma discovers this and goes to get the money back. In an extremely gut-wrenching scene, Bill asks Selma to take his life. This is the only way for her to get her money back. It can be very uneasy to watch Selma kill Bill.

I do not want to give everything away, but I can say that unfortunately, this movie does not have a happy ending, apart from some hope about Selma's son's sight.

This is one of the most captivating movies I have ever watched. It has a definite depressing quality, but you cannot help but feel for Selma. The musical sequences are absolutely fantastic. Björk herself wrote the music of the soundtrack, but not the lyrics.

Love it or hate it, this movie will be extremely hard to forget.

Mattias

Se7en

Despite earlier problems with Youtube maintenance video is now up.

My Review of Se7en.

-Dane

Lolita (1997 version)

This is a novel-based drama directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain.

The movie tells the story of a man who becomes obsessed with a teenage girl who he sees in a house in which he rents a room. He marries the girl's mother so he can see the girl, who he nicknames Lolita. The lady dies and the girl blames the man for her death ('murder me like you murdered my mother!'), because she died shortly after she found out about the guy's attraction to the girl.

The two develop a relationship, but does it last?

I really enjoyed the way this movie was shot. Also, there is quite a lot of intensity and romance in it, which made it captivating.

Mattias

LEON

Léon (also known as The Professional and Léon: The Professional) is a French English -language 1994 action film written and directed by French director Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and a young Natalie Portman in her feature film debut.

"Professional assassin Leon reluctantly takes care of 12-year-old Mathilda, a neighbor whose parents are killed, and teaches her his trade."

I love this movie. I had seen it a while back and had forgot about it and happened to see it again on TV recently.

Reno is a brilliant actor and plays the role perfectly. I had fogotten Portman was in this too. This movie launched her career, and rightfully so. For such a young age she pulls off an amazing, believable performance.

Adding to the powerful perfomance is the always good Gary Oldman.

That is the strength of this movie. On paper the plot seems a bit far fetched but it's the actors who make this movie great. I would credit the director for a lot of that and visually everything flows very well.

As a rental choice this is great for anybody who enjoys good acting. You won't be bored and you'll see a great movie.

By Gerry.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

http://www.myreviews101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/the-curious-case-of


- It took me 3 nights to watch this film -

so yeah, it's very long...

BUT also very good.

- Although it felt like I was watching 3 films in 1 film I must say the makers did a great job in
portaying the life of a man that ages backwards.

The film flashes back and forth from an old lady in a hospital in New Orleans, during the tragic
time of hurricane Katrina, to the life of Benjamin Button.
The link being that the old lady is the woman Benjamin Button spent a great part of his life in
love with. She (Daisy) is spending her last days in hospital with her daughter by her side.
Determined to tell her story, Daisy gives her daughter Benjamin's diary which explains
everything.

The story in itself is quite fascinating. Something I've never seen done before, a man ageing
backwards. The make up for Benjamin's face is extraordinary and the acting by Brad Pitt (BB)
and Cate Blanchett (Daisy) can't be faulted. I would definitely recommend this film for anyone
who wants a good night in and has a lot of time!

Vinny

The Hole

This week I watched The Hole (2001)

Directed by Nick Hamm

Starring Keira Knightly (Frankie) and Thora Birch (Liz) - the little girl in Hocus Pocus all grown up! Desmond Harrington (Mike) and Laurence Fox (Geoff).

Another gorey horror / thriller which by now from previous reviews you know what my favorite film genre is! The film opens with the image of a bloodied girl staggering along a country lane.The lane is covered in bouquets of flowers and missing posters with some of the girls face on them.We quickly find out that she and three other teenagers have been missing for weeks. Liz is in a private English school with an infatuation with Mike the school jock from America. Liz tells her friend a geeky boy called Martin and the two come up with a plan so that Mike will notice Liz. There is an upcoming field trip that no one wants to go on including Mike , Frankie ( the cool girl) and Geoff Frankie's boyfriend who is also Mikes best friend. Martin proposes a plan to Liz that she and the other three stay in an underground bunker until the field trip is over. Stocked with booze , food and bedding Liz , Frankie , Geoff and Mike go in the bunker and Martin locks them in. The three days pass and there is no sign of Martin to let them out. Leaving you think that Martin is spying on them.

Until he is found by the Police and brought in for questioning.This is when the cracks begin to show in Liz's story as there is a twist to the whole plot we have seen so far. Turning it that Liz was also a 'Cool Girl' was best friend with Frankie but like the previous storey had a crush on Mike. With the crush so uncontrollable she locks them into the bunker as each teen dies one by one due to Liz's infatuation.

With superb acting from the four main characters especially Thora Birch which is hard to believe she all grown up since the last time I seen her as a little girl in Hocus Pocus. The film really makes you question the sanity of both main characters and with so many twists even your own! The horror stems from human emotion with each teenager apart from Liz meeting a very nasty bloodied end. The sound is fantastic and very atmospheric especially when one of the bodies in covered in swarming flies.
Watch it , Watch it , Watch it!!!!!!
Until next time Dawn:)

Cabin Fever

This week I have watched Cabin Fever (2002) which I shamefully admit for the 10th time.Its is yet another so bad but yet so good horror film. Directed by Eli Roth who also produced and wrote Cabin Fever.

Starring Jeff (Joey Kern) ,Marcy (Cerina Vincent) , Paul (Rider Strong) and Karen (Jordan Ladd).

Again five unsuspecting teens take of for a weekend in a cabin in the forest unbeknown to them that there is a rotting corpse in the water. Jeff and Marcy are lovers with Paul pining after Marcy it leaves their old friend Bert alone to shoot squirrels. On his shooting trip he meets a tramp who is covered in a rash and appears to have some thing like the Ebola virus instead of helping the tramp Bert shoots at him.Later in the night the tramp appears at the door asking for help and the teens set him on fire sending him into the water reservoir and to his death.

Creepy visitors materialize out of the woods. Another camper, Justin accompanied by a vicious dog he calls Dr. Mambo, offers them marijuana. The dog later returns to the group, who fend him off with gunshots. Then there is Winston , a leering young sheriff's deputy obsessed with partying.

The first teenager to fall ill is Karen, whom the others immediately quarantine by locking her in a shack. The disease eats its victims rapidly from inside out. Lesions are quickly followed by massive hemorrhaging. As one camper after another develops symptoms, the five friends panic and turn on each other.

TRUE horror fans, get this tasty,bloody bit and enjoy!You get gore,guts,a bad dog,a nasty flesh-eating bacteria,hysteria,and even.. pancakes! Don't drink the water people! Although it looks like most of the budget went on the blood it is a very entertaining and enjoyable 90 minutes .

And the good news is there is a part 2 out this summer!!!!!

Until next time

Dawn:)

Rear Window

My review of Rear Window.
Sorry for weeks Absence.

-Dane

My Summer of Love

This is a 2004 British film about two young women who develop a romantic relationship with each other. It stars Emily Blunt and Natalie Press. The two girls are very different from each other and come from different backgrounds and yet they develop a connection. Together they get in trouble as their relationship develops.

One of the girls wants to make her life seem more interesting so she lies about the death of a brother. The other girl finds out about the lie, though I won't ruin the movie and say what happens with that.

I quite enjoyed this movie. It's only about 86 minutes long so I recommend it if you are looking for some movie entertainment for a short while. I would definitely like to watch this movie again sometime. This movie may not change your life but how many really do?

Mattias

Ondine

This is an irish film written and directed Neil Jordan. It's a nice film. It looks nice. The acting is also really good. Where this movie doesn't totally deliver though is in story. It's a bit boring and predictable and when new characters are introduced they don't have a big enough impact to move the story along.

When Vladic comes into the picture you are expecting a huge impact but it never really delivers. I was expecting much more action and drama here. Instead he kind of just fizzles out.

I also don't think the whole lighthouse scene was needed. I think that they could have revealed Ondine's history with a bit more of an impact and played more on Syracuse's drinking demons.

I did enjoy this though. I enjoyed it even though I was only 1 of four people in the whole cinema on it's debut night watching this and they had to restart the movie after 20 minutes because of sound problems. I think I mostly enjoyed it though because it's an irish film and the location looked great. I don't ever see this being a huge film but it's directed well and would make for a pretty safe rental. If anything it shows off Castletownbere as a beautiful coastel irish town, which shows Ireland really has some great locations for movies.

By Gerry.

Adventureland

A 2009 film by the same director as Superbad, Greg Mottola. In the leading roles we see Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Martin Starr and Ryan Reynolds.

This film brings us back to the 80's and into the life of James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg). He has just finished school and has BIG plans for the summer. eg: going to Europe. However his plans are put on hold as his dad, who was originally going to support his trip financially, is demoted and can no longer pay for his son's holiday. James is forced to find a job. After much search he finally lands a job as a games person at the local Adventureland theme park. He makes friends quickly with the likes of Jools (Martin Starr) and Emily (Kristen Stewart), whom he instantly falls for. They start a romance but their individual secrets come out and they are forced to be apart. I'll leave the ending open because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Lets just say, it's kind of predictable.

The film left me with mixed feelings. I was pleased to see the newcomer Jesse Eisenberg play the leading role but I felt like he tried too hard to be another Michael Cera type character. Martin Starr delivered an excellent performance as the intelectual, weed smoking ,nerd friend and will definitily look out for him in other films. I have little praise for the Twilight star Kristen Stewart though. I felt like she jumped straight from Twilight into this film. Like it was Bella's summer vacation. I feel that she is a one character only type of actress and that doesn't impress me.

If I had to rate it, I'd give it a 6/10.

Vinny

Thirteen

This week I went for a classic cult rebellious teen film Thirteen (2003) directed by Catherine Hardwicke (who directed Twilight!) Starring and co-scripted by Nikki Reed (Evie)- who also is Twilight's Rosalie) , Evan Rachel Wood ( Tracey) and Holly Hunter ( Tracey's Mom Melanie).

Tracey moves to Los Anglos with her mother Melanie and brother Mason.
Tracey is a straight A student and writes deep dark poetry. Melanie is a recovering cocaine addict who works as a hairdresser to make ends meat.

Tracey gets teased at school by Evie and her friends about her clothes. Evie gives Tracey a fake phone number as a mean joke. Upset Tracey takes the bus to Melrose place and steals a purse meeting Evie and her friends they spend the stolen money on clothes and shoes. This is when Tracey begins to fall into the wrong company with Evie.

Throughout the film Tracey becomes more and more detached from her mother as she cannot deal with her parents divorce or the fact that her mother has taken back her drug addict ex boyfriend this leads to her cutting herself on numerous occasions. Although Tracey has new found popularity in school due to hanging out with Evie, taking drugs , stealing and sleeping with boys. Although none of this makes her happy. All the time Melanie has no idea what an impact Evie is having on Tracey. Eventually Melanie begins to see the cracks and tries to get Tracey to live with her father but he does not want her sending Tracey deeper and deeper into a depression.

Melanie decides to keep her daughter away from Evie but not before Evie plants drugs all over their house framing Tracey . At school Tracey is not popular any more and is failing 7th grade. She goes home and begins cutting herself , Melanie sees the cuts and begins kissing them holding her daughter as she sobs. It then ends with Tracey on her own in the park spinning around screaming.

This is a very grim film showing all aspects of teen angst. Nikki Reed used it as a sort of autobiography when co writing with Catherine Hardwicke even saying it was just how life was for her when she was 13. It was written in 6 days which I find pretty impressive considering all the detail and content in it. Evan Rachel Wood is believable and incredible in her role as Tracey for some-one of such a young age to be able to convey such emotions which for teenagers nowadays they could relate easily to the pain , frustration and confusion. No longer a kid, not yet an adult. This movie explains it well. Being a teenager isn't all what it's cracked up to be!

Until next time........
**Dawn **

Pictures

A Clockwork Orange

My Review Of Stanley Kubrics A Clockwork Orange.

Enjoy. Dane :]

Ginger Snaps

"Ginger Snaps" is a 2000 Canadian horror movie with the theme of werewolves. It stars Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins as two teenage sisters, Ginger and Brigitte. One of the girls, Ginger, gets bitten by a werewolf, causing her to also become one, slowly but surely. She gets huge scars, starts growing hair and a tail.

Brigitte hears that a silver ring may cure Ginger from becoming a werewolf. She gives her sister a piercing, but it does not work.

Another scene has a girl coming over to the girls' house, accusing Ginger of kidnapping her dog, which she did, and she dies due to a fall during a fight between the girl and Ginger. The girls hide the body. The mother finds the body, however, and says that a new beginning is needed for the family and they have to try to forget about this.

Ginger infects a guy. Brigitte makes another cure with a guy in the hope that Ginger will not infect anyone else and will no longer be a werewolf.

I enjoyed watching this movie, but it is definitely cringe-worthy at times. I recommend it for anyone who wants to get into a relatively simple horror movie.

Mattias


Trailer:

The Number 23

This is a 2007 suspense thriller starring Jim Carrey.

It is about a man who reads a book in which a suicidal blonde calculates things together and comes up with the number 23 constantly. This had caused her to murder her boyfriend and commit suicide. The man also becomes obsessed with the number, making him paranoid.

The man finds about another murder that happened which was almost identical to the murder in the book. These connections he experiences between his life and the book confuse him and almost drive him insane.

This movie captivated me because it is such an interesting idea and it has the potential to really make the viewer wonder. I recommend this movie for an exciting, almost peculiar viewing.

-Mattias

Simon Says

For Blood , Gore and comedy I watched Simon Says (2006) this week.

Directed by William Dear Starring Crispin Glover ( Simon/Stanley) and Margo Harshman ( Margo) and it even has a snippet of Gossip Girls -Blake Lively!Showing on Zone Horror once or twice a week it is a must see if you like good old fashioned gore.

Starting of with 5 unsuspecting students who set out on a camping trip each one stereo typical- a leading lady , a jock who gets his top off a lot, a stoner , a slutty blond and a neurotic Asian girl.Heading to a secluded forest that just spells disaster.They stop at a gas station where we meet the villain of the film Stanley who a decade before killed his twin brother Simon with a rock.Stanley is some what simple but takes an automatic shine to Margo who he calls dream girl.
From there the teens get killed one by one by Stanley who lurks in the forest with lots of weapons such as daggers axes and chainsaws.Following his dream girl who he eventually captures after many chasing scenes through the forest he reveals how he lived in the shadows of Simon and killed his parents because of it.Margo escapes and lands an axe she happened to have handy in Stanley's head but being a horror she look away and when she looks back hes gone!

The one and only time Blake Lively is in the film even though shes mentioned as one of the main cast members (good marketing ploy) is when another group of teens pull up at the gas station and there is Stanley minus the axe!He goes inside the garage when the camping party pull away and removes his cap while looking in the mirror to reveal a long scar in his head and taps on it as we hear a metal sound making you aware that Stanley and Simon are the same person!The gruesome end is the horrific image of Margo 'Dream girl' sitting in filth under the floor boards with twin babies.

Sometimes crappy horror movies can be fun, in a guilty-pleasure, so-bad-it's-good sort of way.And so this is my guilty pleasure I would watch over and over again.Due to the great acting of Crispin Glover who does homicidal maniac so well and maybe with a different director , lighting , different cast members and different editor Stanley's character would have been very interesting rather then just a country hick that enjoys killing. The twist at the end was good which I found gave a sick twist to the fairytale endings of Boy gets girl instead it was Homicidal maniac gets girl.
until next time
Dawn :)

Black Cat White Cat

Black Cat, White Cat is the whacky and bizarre 1998 Yugoslavian film from Emir Kustrica. A romantic comedy it tells the story of Matko a small time hustler and his 17 year old son Zare. After a failed business deal he owes money to the much more successful gangster Dadan. Dadan has a sister, Afrodita, that he desperately wants to see get married so they strike a deal: Zare is to marry her. But none of the two care much for an arranged marriage: Zare is in love with Ida, Afrodita is waiting for the man of her dreams.

So kick back and relax and witness this hilarious run of events from start to finish in this devouring comedy. Unlike anything you've ever seen you wont be dissapointed

Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights is a 2004 drama film based on the coach and players of a 1988 high school football team. The film was based on a book but apparently the film is completly different. Billy Bob Thornton (played as santa in 'bad santa') plays the roll of the coach Gary Gains.

the film has the theme of racism poverty, segregation and social conflicts. Theres alot of people who talk about the the film and how it ruins the story in which the book wrote. Complaints about numbers on the players are supposed to be all wrong, but that didnt bother me I just watched and enjoyed.

If your a fan off american football this is the film for you. I watched the film and enjoyed it. I recommend it to football fans. but if you have no interest , stay away.

Brian

The Informant

The Informant! is a 2009 political dark comedy film directed by Stephen Soderbergh. It depicts Mark Whitacre's involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine price fixing conspiracy of the mid-1990s, as described in the 2000 non fiction book, The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald The script was written by Scott Z. Burns and the film stars Matt Damon, Richard Steven Horvitz, Scott Bakula, Joel Mchale and Melanie Lynskey.

I tried to enjoy this movie but just couldn't get into it. I guess it's just not my kind of humour. The monologues from Damon are well thought out and funny but I think the story itself wasn't funny enough. I think Damon acted really well and it was a good idea for a movie but, for me, it didn't work. I came away from the film without any stong feelings about the story. It was just something I watched when I was bored and probably because he was in it. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody looking for a real sidesplitter feel good movie. It's an acquired taste and not really for the masses.

By Gerry.

Battle Royale

Battle Royale is a 2000 Japanese film based on the novel of the same name and directed by Kinji Fukasaku, and stars Takeshi Kitanu and Tatsuya Fujuwara.

This film tells the story of a secondary school class that is being kidnapped and left on an island.
If that isn't horrible enough, they're also forced to fight each other to the death because there can only be one "winner" who will be allowed to get off the island and go home. Each student is given a survival pack along with a weapon (knives, guns, swords etc). To make sure they can't escape the island they have to wear electronic collars that can track them wherever they go. These collars are not removable!
We see the class mates fight for their lives, not sure who to trust and whether to team up with people or go alone. who will survive?

Vinny.

The Orphanage

Well this week I managed to watch many Films due to the flu one I happened to stumble across was The Orphanage (2007) Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Produced by Guillermo del Toro
This is a Spanish film starring Belen Rueda as Laura and Fernando Cayo as Carlos neither of these actors I have come across before.

Laura returns to an Orphanage she grew up in with her husband Carlos and adopted son Simon who is HIV positive. At the start there are some flashbacks of Laura in Orphanage playing a game. The Orphanage is being renovated into their home and also a retreat for special needs children.Simon has imaginary friend and Laura thinks having some real children will help him to get rid of the imaginary ones. Out playing on the beach Simon finds a new imaginary friend whom he brings home.A very sinister social worker also turns up at the house.Simon goes missing after he fights with Laura she cannot move on believing he is still alive. A very creepy boy in a sack bag mask haunts Laura which is nearly comical at times.

Laura begins to search for her son finding it hard to to believe what is in her imagination and what is real.A lot of the crawling camera work is similar to Del Toros Pans Labyrinth although unfortunately this film is not a patch on Pan's Labyrinth. As Laura unravels deep secrets in the house she regresses back into childhood pushing her husband further and further away.When a medium comes to the house more creepy and seat gripping moments occur but this is not long lived as the film drags out and I found myself nearly screaming at the TV to get to the point. Like Laura I found my my mind was beginning to play tricks on me. In 2008 this film was nominated for a foreign language Oscar.

Although the storey line was nothing new to all the other horrors it had the occasional scary moment thanks to the actors.The only slight letdown is a false ending, which proves to be much more in keeping with the rest of the action’s tension and tone than the one that actually wraps up the film. Where Laura finds out that she herself has killed her son by locking him accidentally in the basement ( explaining the banging noises).She then commits suicide placing here with her son again and all the other children that had died in the Orphanage. All in all if you like foreign films and have the patience to endure all the subtle spookiness I'd recommend it.
Til Next time Dawn :)

The Bucket List

"The Bucket List" is a 2007 film written by Justin Zackham, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It tells the story of 2 men with cancer who make friends with each other in hospital and head to an adventure in which they do the things they have wanted to do before they die, written down as "the bucket list".

This movie entertains the viewers as the men go to an around-the-world vacation. They ride motorcycles, go skidiving and get tattoos, among other things.

One of the men reunites with his daughter and meets his granddaughter for the first time, after things get more sad with the death of the other, as a result of the cancer getting worse.

I recommend this movie!

Mattias

Dan In Real Life

Drama/comedy film starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche. Steve Carell takes a step away from his usual comedy film acting and delivers a moving drama, with of course the occasional laughs.

In this film we follow the story of Dan, a newspaper journalist. Every year during the holiday season he visits his parents in the country, along with all the extended family that are invited there as well. After the death of his wife he his left with 3 young girls to raise and this takes its toll on Dan's social life and mental health and he is not too happy with himself. During the family get together he decides to take off and go down to the village to clear his head. In a random little bookstore he is approached by Marie (Juliette Binoche) who mistakes him as an employee. After making some small talk they agree to get some breakfast together. Marie tells Dan she has a boyfriend. Dan happily returns to the family home to announce that he has met someone new only to find Marie standing there with Dan's brother Mitch.

From here on we see the love between Dan and Marie develop and the situation gets tenser as Marie cannot leave Mitch for Dan because she is afraid of hurting Mitch. Can they work it out?

I recommend this film for anyone who'd like to see Steve Carell play one of his best roles to date. And just anyone who wants to see a good film :)

peace!

Vinny.

The Warriors

A 1979 movie about New York Gang warfare.
Well kinda.

-Dane

Night Train 2009

Night Train is a 2009 action/thriller film produced by Rifkin-Eberts Productions and stars LeeLee Sobieski, Steve Zahn, and Danny Glover.

Two Passengers and the conductor discover that a person has passed away on their Night Train cabin. They come across valuable diamonds on his person, that they wish to keep for themselves. So, to make it look like the man never boarded the train, they conspire to dump his body in a river that the train passes. Their scheme to get rid of the corpse escalates to the point where they have to chop up his body just to fit him into a small trunk. They then become paranoid, as they might turn on each other.

Surprisingly this was a very gripping film and quite enjoyable to watch. They actors are all very good and the story is well written. This is a much better film than the highly publicized 'The Box", which I didn't enjoy at all. I won't give away too much about the plot but basically there is a massive twist which I really didn't see coming about the diamonds.

This would be a great rental choice and there is something in this movie for everyone. It's clever and entertaining and a lot better than most things in cinemas at the moment.

Check it out!

by Gerry.

Love in the time of Cholera

Love in the time of Cholera (2007) is a film I watched over Valentines as it is just like Romeo & Juliet but with a third act!An adaptation of the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Directed by Mike Newall and led by two great actors Javier Bardem (Florentino) and Fermina (Giovanna Mezzogiorno).
Florentino sets his heart on Fermina and for five decades obsesses over her.Although with many advances through the years Fermina marries Dr. Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt).The doctor is a renowned Cholera curer and falls in love with Fermina as he constantly competes in the love triangle that is between himself , Fermina and the ever persistent Florentino. After the marriage between them Florentino fills his bed and diary with many women to try and forget his lost love even Shakira has a small acting role as one of his many conquests!After many years and many meetings Florentino and Fermina finally get together in there late 70's for this scene a lot of prosthetics were used on the actors to change them personally I did not like this as older actors should have been used instead of too much make up and prosthetics , it just didn't work!Having sat through Love in the time of Cholera without the benefit of having read the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel that inspired the film, I’m left feeling lost and a little empty.Because we’re shown a glimpse of the story’s final act in the films first few minutes, there’s nothing to look forward to and wonder about as the plot moves sluggishly forward. There's also a problem with continuity in that Fermina and the good doctor are shown as the proud parents of a newborn. Said child then disappears for the length of the film, only to reappear - along with a batch of siblings - toward the end of the movie.
All in all I found it more of a comedy and some of the scenes continuity was completely of.
But if your like me and an old romantic at heart it's an enjoyable few hours of faith bringing two people together , Florentino's stalker traits and the question 'How long would you wait for Love?'
Dawn :)

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring

"Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring" ("Fall" instead of "Autumn" in some countries) is a 2003 South Korean movie directed by Kim Ki-duk and starring Su Oh-yeong and Kim Young-min.

The settings of the movie make for a rather peaceful movie, and yet it has a serious theme.

The movie is about a young Buddhist apprentice, under the guidance of an old monk. They live a calm life full of prayer and meditation. However, one day the apprentice tortures an innocent fish, snake and frog, for fun and out of curiosity. His master wants to teach the boy a lesson and he ties the boy together with a rock, making it difficult for him to move. The boy seems to learn his lesson, but this does not remain the only time he does something terrible.

The boy becomes a man and marries. He kills his wife for having an affair and attemps suicide until the master sees his old apprentice again and convinces him that he cannot kill himself as easily as he did his wife.

The old apprentice becomes a master by the end.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It is rather unlike any movie I have seen.

Mattias.

 So last week I was roaming around HMV browsing the films in the world cinema section. So far I've reviewed an English and an American film so I thought It'd be interesting to go to a different part of the world this time. Tsotsi, an African film, caught my attention and so I bought it and watched it and got blown away. What a fantastic film. I had never heard of this film before but was definitely not surprised to find out in my research that it had won an academy award for best foreign film. 

Tsotsi takes us through 6 days in the life of a young african gangster named Tsotsi.  He spends his days roaming around the Soweto slum and at night he heads into the city with his gang to rob innocent people off their cash, sometimes at a heavy price for the victim. 

After getting into a fight with his alcoholic best friend he runs away for the night into the big city. This would change his life forever as on an impulse he steals a car with the engine still running and flees the scene. What he doesn't know is that there is a baby in the backseat and so when he eventually finds out, he freaks and crashes the car. He does not know what to do or where to go as he doesn't want to keep the baby but can't bring himself to leave it there, so he decides to bring him home.

From here on we see Tsotsi slowly changing from a cold blooded thug into a loving father-like figure to the young child. I wont give away the ending for those who haven't seen it but for a film that cost $5- million it will leave you very impressed.

enjoy!

Vinny.

Antichrist

The antichrist is about a couple who after the death of there child retreat to a cabin in the woods where their growing insanity becomes manifest in strange visions and increased vilence and sexual behaviour.

The film is supposed to be a horror film, but i didn't think so after I watched it!

the first hour has to be the most boring thing I have ever watched in my life and the last hour is hard to watch and made me feel a little bit sick.

Willem Dafoe (acted as the green goblen in spiderman) was 1 of the 2 only cast in the film, himself and Charlotte Gainsberg.

The film sort of made sense to me untill a random fox in the forest turns away from eating itself and says to Willem Dafoe 'Caos Rains'. Random I tought, but I guess there where both strange people so seeing a talking fox and weird sexual and vilent behaviour became normal.

I think the film was shocking bad and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Its a waste of 2 hours of your life. Well it was for me anyway.

Brian

Clerks. If Carlsberg did movies.. this would be Dutch Gold.

-Dane

EXILS

Exiles as it known in English is the impressive 2004 French film from Tony Gatlif starring Lubna Azabal and the excellent Roman Duris. After making love in their crampy Paris apartment Zano (Duris) and Naimi (Azabal) make a spontaneous decision to travel to Algeria where both their parents were once exiled from.

Join our characters in this gripping story of self discovery and culture awareness as they adventure through France, Spain and finally into Algeria. With its impeccable soundtrack Exiles succeeds in delivering emotians of intensity, joyfullness, moral ethic and. A rollercoaster steeped in culture this movie is not to be missed


By Billy

Das Experiment

"Das Experiment" is a 2001 German movie directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It is based on the events of the Stanford prison experiment.

The movie tells the story of an experiment carried out in which 20 volunteers act as prisoners and prison guards while being observed by scientists. The point is to see how people act when they are given the opportunity to rule over others or to be ruled by others.

In this movie, we see the "prison guards" becoming increasingly obsessed with control as they break the boundaries of what can or should be done. They begin to humiliate the men who are acting as prisoners, making the scientists wonder about aborting the experiment. By the end, there are several injuries and even deaths, resulting from the violence carried out by the men pretending to be prison guards.

I recommend this movie as it is interesting, but it may be too much for the more sensitive viewers, especially those under 18. The fact that it is based on a true story adds to the movie and makes it very captivating.

So? How long would you last?


Mattias.

Fur : An imaginary portrait of Diana Arbus

This week I decided to tell every-one about the film
Fur: An imaginary portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) directed by Steven Shainberg who also directed The Secretary.An adaptation of the book by Patricia Bosworth.

Starring two great stars Nicole Kidman (Diane Arbus) and Robert Downey Jnr ( Lionel Sweeney-the furry one!). The movie is based on the legendary photographer Diane Arbus set in 1958. Diane is working as an assistant for her fashion photographer husband Alan. Diane is unhappy with her life as a house wife with two young daughters and also with living in the shadows of her husband and grows a lust for some-thing different leading her to an obsession with the mysterious masked man named Lionel that lives in the same apartment block as her.Diane decides she wants to meet Lionel and take his picture and so each night she goes up the stairs to his apartment but never takes a picture of him.Lionel is covered in hair but this does not frighten or amuse Diane and so they forge a great friendship.He introduces her to all his friends including a dwarf and a woman with no arms.The closer Diane gets to Lionel the further she moves away from her own family.This leads her husband to even go as far as growing a beard to compete with Lionel.The relationship between Lionel and Diane intensifies and she admits that she is in love with him , sadly Lionel is dying.In a very strange and sad scene Diane shaves Lionel completely revealing the man behind the fur and the passion between them takes over.He then begs her to take him to the sea which reluctantly he does bidding each other a tearful good bye Lionel leaves her with a fur coat made from his own hair and also an empty photo album. This was a brilliant film a great adaptation of the book and had a sort of beauty and the beast feel of it!There are a few scenes that will stay with you long after watching the film.Nicole Kidman is great as ever portraying a fragile house wife who evolves into a confident woman. The Gorgeous Robert Downey Jnr. is equally as good as Lionel. What else can I say? Well I will never look at my fur coat in the same way but like most things I enjoy it is definitely worth a second look or a third...................................

Dawn :)

Set in belfast in 1992 during the troubles, 5 Catolic friends go about stealing cars and joyriding and are shaped by the violence that surrounds them.
CAST
Marc O'Shea as Sean Bronagh Gallagher as Frances Michael Liebmann as Marley Michael Gregory as Hugh Emma Moylan as Mary Marie Jones as Sarah Catherine Brennan as Rosaleen Frank Grimes as Mr. Hagan Lorcan Cranitch as Father Tom James Greene as Father Peter Ian McElhinney as Reggie Devine

Run time : 84 mins

this film is an entertaining film about the 5 friends who rob and joyride cars especially sean and marley. when marley is caught by the vigilantes, his fingers are broken by a bassball bat by the ira commander. this was my favorite scene, it brought so much tension before he swings the bat and breaks his fingers. the after beating is worse when the beat everypart of his body. it has a great soundtrack like the original track 'injected with a poisin'
overall the film was farily good and i enjoyed it.

DIRECTOR: SPENCE, RICHARD

Brian