Horror Double Bill

Thursday 7th March (7:30 pm) at the Manchester Dancehouse Theatre 

Win the Maniac Quad Poster
First 40 Pre-Booked tickets will receive the poster

        

Living in the North West I strongly urge you to get down to the Dancehouse on the 7th of March and see this great double bill.

I can give Maniac a solid thumbs up, I saw it last year at the Film4 Frightfest and for me it was my 2nd favourite film of the festival. Not only is it one of the best remakes since Dawn of the Dead, it's violent, unnerving and relentless, everything a great horror should be. It caused a mass walk out when it played at Cannes, isn't that enough of a reason to see it?

I will be attending this double bill - I haven't seen 247F but having been to quite a few of the double bills I know you will have a good time. The Grimm Up North team also have a superb line up for the future, including the ABC's of Death, another I am very much looking forward to seeing.

For more details and to order tickets for this must see event click below.

          Take me to the Grimm Up North Site.

The event is sponsored by Appliances Online

2012 at the the Cinema

A Review of 2012 at the Cinema

To be honest this has been my favourite year in watching films, not the amount, but the quality of the films I’ve watched. I really don’t see myself as over-critical, I go into every film with the firm believe I will enjoy it or at least something about it. In the end only a handful of films have scored under 5 (2.5) and considering I’ve seen over 200 films that’s a lot of films I’ve liked!

 So here is my review of 2012 a year where not only did I see a lot of films, but managed to see 4 films at 4 different cinemas in 1 day – 100 miles. Sounds easy but we nearly failed twice! But we had a great laugh doing it.

Finding and using Letterboxd has opened my eyes to the amount of films I’ve never seen or even heard off! It’s a great site and along with twitter and even Facebook I’ve used the Social networks to enhance my film experience. It helps to get advice and feedback from people who love films.

The year in numbers

Total Films on any format : 325

Unlimited Films : 193

Total films seen in a cinema : 228

Watched on Blu Ray : 39   on DVD : 54   and on the TV : 4.

My Top Ten Twenty films

This was a nightmare to compile! I thought about having a critical list and I loved it list, but in the end I just made a top 20!

1)      Skyfall – My favourite Bond, my favourite Bond film, now the biggest Bond film ever. Just superb.

2)      Avengers – Was number 1 for so long but in the end just couldn’t hold on.

3)      Untouchable – Wonderful performances in a heart-felt story of true friendship.

4)      Amour – Wonderful performances in a heart-felt story of love and death!

5)      Silver Linings Playbook – Stella performances form Lawrence and Cooper in a film about people with mental problems finding true love.

6)      Looper – Fantastic Sci-Fi thriller packed full of emotion and time-travel.

7)      Argo – Edge of the seat drama nothing like I’ve seen for a long time – Affleck is proving to be a super Director.

8)      Rust & Bone – The French keep them coming, stunning performances from Cotillard and Schoenaerts in a film about courage and love.

9)      The Raid – Fuels my action junkie needs and then some. Just Awesome!

10)   The Cabin In the Woods – How can I not fail to love this film, I love horror! This spins it on its head! The ending is fantastic!

11)   The Amazing Spiderman – Any normal year this would have been in my top 5! Garfield is so good, the CGI is superb; just love it – all of it!

12)   Sinister – My favourite true horror film, I was expecting a typical Hollywood horror, got so much more – one of the creepiest demons for a long time!

13)   Ruby Sparks – Brilliant of the wall drama, I have a theory it’s not magic just clever film making – loved it and one of my favourite soundtracks.

14)   Shame – Powerful performance from Fassbender in a powerful film about an addiction that’s not usually covered in film! Wonderful direction from Steve Mcqueen.

15)   End of Watch – Didn’t want to see this because of the shaky cam, but everybody on twitter kept telling me I had to see it – Motion Sickness Tablets got me through it and I am glad they did – it was brilliant!

16)   The Perks of A Wallflower – Brilliant casting and an emotionally drama filled with great performances.

17)   Headhunters – Off the wall thriller which just so good!

18)   Killer Joe – One of the best performances of the year – McConaughey nails it!

19)   Killing Them Softly – Brilliant ensemble cast for me, in a tight little thriller. Get direction includes one of my favourite scenes of the year!

20)   Life of Pi –Again in any other year this would have made my top 10! Visually breathtaking, the Tiger is just amazing.... beautiful film to watch!

Here a few more films which could have made it into this list.

Anna Karenina, Wild Bill, The Imposter, A Royal Affair, 21 Jump Street, Martha Marcy May Marlene,  The Hunger Games,  Dredd, The Grey, Lawless, Chronicle, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Young Adult, Ill Manors and The Sapphires.

But where there is good there is also bad – here are my top 5 worst films of the year.

1)      Alex Cross  - I really could find nothing to like, from the poor script, the even worse acting and   terrible direction (some of the worst fight scenes I’ve ever seen!) – This was just poor from start to finish!

2)      Silent Hill 2 – I love horror but I hate this Hollywood drivel – this isn’t horror. One of the creepiest computer games ever and they come up this! I liked one, but they really missed the mark on this one.

3)      Resident Evil Retribution – Oh dear, on the whole I had liked the previous instalments to some degree. This one is the worst one yet!

4)      Haywire – A film which had so much potential was let down with a poor script and a poor casting choice – Carano wasn’t good enough to lead this film!

5)      The Darkest Hour – Oh no – Alien invasion with a cool concept, ruined by a poor script, bad acting and no tension.

So 3 horror films, I’ll class Darkest Hour as a Sci-Fi horror! And people wonder why the horror genre struggles!

Well the general release horror titles may be rubbish but some of the films at this year’s Frightfest were not rubbish.

Frightfest 2012

1)      Sinister – Nothing more to say – class!

2)      Maniac – Brilliant remake and love the fact most of it is from the killers POV.

3)      Sleep Tight – An intense and creepy film from Spain about a building warden doing a little more than his job!

4)      American Mary – Different and with a superb central performance from Katherine Isabelle, makes for a great horror/thriller about body modification.

5)      Tower Block – Nice little UK thriller written by Frightfest’s own James Moran. Well acted and with a fair amount of tension.

A few other notable films from the festival

Chained, Grabbers, Cockneys Vs Zombies, the Seasoning House, Stitches.

The worst film of the festival for me was Tulpa. Wow! The acting in this was so terrible! In-fact this is worse than Alex Cross!

So that was my year at the cinema – in 2013 I plan to do something different with my films – The Film Project 2013.

6 Months of Films!

Oh dear, so much for keeping my blog up to date! Nothing since February, I blame twitter, Facebook and now Letterboxd. No it's my fault really - just lazy!

So half way through the year, and so far what a year it has been. My 2nd "Big Movie Year" is going extremely well, 96 films so far at the cinema. No I'm not going to list them all! I'll give you some highlights and low lights though. A friend is also pushing his total through the roof, while my daughter is on a roll, and has nearly seen more films than she did in the whole of last year. Another friend seems to be struggling keeping up!

The highlight of the first half of the year is The Avengers without doubt, Joss Whedon nailed this for me. Everything about it was just great, the cast is a joy to watch, the action superb, the only issue is the main alien army isn't that great. But thats a small niggle in an otherwise stunning film.
Another film I had high expectations for was The Raid, this didn't disappoint either, being an action junkie, and a Eastern film lover as well, this was always going to play well for me. And it did, one niggle a couple of fights seemed overlong, but again something I can live with.
My third film is Cabin in the Woods, another film Whedon is involved in. This is pushing for my favourite horror film ever! The premise of the film didn't actually hit me to a couple of days later and I was thinking about it, and I got it! Once I got it, I had to see it again. It's well written, acted and has loads of gore in it. Great Stuff!

The biggest let down for me has to be Prometheus, it's not a bad film, technically stunning, it's visuals are amazing. Where it goes wrong is the story, the script and the way the cast are used or not used as the case may be. The only standout performance was Fassbender, he was stunning as the android David. Rapace did well and that was about it. But I didn't like the characters, no back story's!
Maybe its a film I need to see again, but for me not one that lived up to the hype.
The only other film I expected to be very good was Haywire. However  Gino Carano just couldn't carry this film, for me her acting just wasn't good enough. The rest of the film was fine, and maybe a better lead would have made the difference.

I'm not saying all the films have been great, the Pact is pretty poor, The Darkest hour bad, but these are films I wasn't expecting that much from.

But one film worthy of a mention, is Jaws, the new transfer is stunning, the new audio track amazing. And a film I had forgotten how good it actually was. Great direction, cast and script, an all-time classic.

So onto the 2nd half of the year! Here come the BIG ONES!

Diversity is what you need!

     Over the years watching more and more films, plus getting older I have realised that diversity is what makes me enjoy movies more than I ever did. When I was younger, I'm talking before 20, a long long time ago, horror or genre films were my thing, and horror my main thing! I wasn't into the SCI-FI films as much, so not really a fanboy like you see at comic-con. I never got into the films that way, didn't learn all the best lines or dress up like my favourite character, that's not why I watch films. I just wanted to watch horror movies!

      But now I'm older and wiser I just want to watch films, at the cinema, on DVD and Blu Ray, with my wife, with the kids, with friends or just on my own, so if I get the chance, then I'll watch a film!
      What appeals to me now is the diversity of films I see, or what I want to see or even what I collect on DVD and Blu Ray. I can sit and watch Mary Poppins or Jungle Book with the kids, to Troll Hunter with my eldest or The notebook with my wife, and enjoy them all. A musical to extreme horror and everything that goes in between, I will watch it.
      No I don't like everything, I will try to watch most things but there are some films I do draw the line at. I'm not keen on spoof films, or made for TV true life movies, these I can miss without regret. But give me Inception, which I've just finished watching or Drive or even Hatchet and I'm in my element.

     So back to diversity, this weekend alone I saw 4 very different films and only disliked one - immensely!
First I saw Star Wars Episode 1, no need to tell anyone what this is about, except I wasn't impressed with the 3D presentation, just pointless!
In the same day I saw Extremely Loud & Incredibly close, a touching film based around the 911 disaster and a boys attempt to make sense of losing his father in that event.
The day after I saw the 3D comic anti-hero Ghost Rider, while not the best film, infact pretty average, I liked it. Some of the action sequences are great and the camera work is brilliant, but I'd class it as one of my guilty pleasures!
      The following day I saw the extremely good, A Dangerous Method with Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightly. A little high brow for me at times, and some of the pyschoanalysis went right over my head, but it was well acted and the musical score was excellent.

      So a diverse weekend of films, but at the cinema you don't that choice, these strange combinations of films present themselves on a regular basis and you've just got to go with it, one day it's the Muppets followed by Woman in Black, followed by Carnage. But that's the reason I never get bored of the cinema, the diversity of it all!

A week of Films!

Another week of films at home and at the Cinema, with the kids, friends but mainly with my eldest daughter. She is becoming a right film geek! Even wanting to watch the BAFTA's with us. One of her favourite actors was nominated in the Rising Star Category, he didn't win, much to her and even my disgust!

So our first film at the cinema was Hammer's The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds. Having not read the book (which I did start last night), not seen the TV version or the play, I wasn't aware of the story. After the film I hope the book is better! I wasn't that impressed at all, first I didn't find it scary, it had a couple of creepy moments, but Radciffe's failure to convey any fear didn't help. Also it lacked any tension,  and why was every "jump" moment accompanied with loud music! It didn't need it! It's not all bad, the production values of the film were superb, Hammer got that right, just a shame about the horror!
However my daughter liked it, but this was her first real ghost story! Maybe too many years of horror films and novels have taken their toll on me and things just don't scare me anymore!

Next was the BAFTA's and I've not much to complain about here, The Artist was always going to do well I thought and it did. The Best Actor category was a close one to call, and really the award could have gone to any of them, I would have give it to Clooney. Best Actress was obvious as well and for me a Streep was a worthy winner.
The only one which seemed off the mark was Rising Star Award, and I suppose this is what happens when you let the public vote, but Deacon? I thought Hiddleston here, 3 films, Thor, Warhorse and Midnight in Paris, great in all of them, a true rising star. Or even Redmayne, I thought he was terrific in My week with Marilyn. But Deacon? 150 films at the cinema and I didn't see him in any of them!

Monday we were back at the cinema, to see the lost footage film, Chronicle, I really liked this, thought they could have expanded the "getting used to our super powers" section, but apart from that it was very very good. And my motion sickness didn't kick in - thank god!

Next day I had all my kids at the cinema to see the Muppets, which I enjoyed, but then again I did watch the Muppets when I was a kid. My eldest liked it, my son liked it, my other daughter said it was boring!
Having got back in from the Muppets, I sat down and watched Crazy, Stupid love on DVD with my eldest, she wanted to see what all the fuss was about Ryan Gosling. She got the point!
I do like this film a lot, and I think Steve Carell is superb, he owns this film. Plus it has the fabulous Emma Stone in as well!

Wednesday - I thought I'd then introduce my daughter to one of my favourite ghost stories, no NOT A tale of two Sisters, don't think she would sleep for a week after that! The Orphanage. The blu ray is stunning, the picture is amazing, the sound is brilliant, just adds to a great film! It's creepy, but it's sad, so sad, it's been a while since I've seen it, but it haunts me for days after. My wife doesn't want to watch it again! My daughter thought it was excellent, she would watch it again.

Next day was a monster douoble bill, me and the kids watched Super 8 on Blu Ray, they loved this one, however I wasn't impressed with the sound on the Blu Ray. Thought my Surround Sound was playing up, after Troll Hunter I know it's not!
Back to Super 8, still a fantastic film, my film of 2011. Loved watching it again.

Next came Troll Hunter, now my daughter thought this was Epic! Have to say the blu ray is Epic! Norway looks amazing, the trolls are fantastic, this is a film I could put on again and again. And I didn't feel that sick after it, you know my motion sickness thing!

Then this morning, I was supposed to take the twins and my eldest to see Phantom Menace in 3D. My youngest daughter dropped out, she doesn't like it! Fair enough I can see her point. But I wanted to see it on the big screen. First the 3D is pointless! 2nd this film is rubbish! Actually I think this is the first time I've seen it all the way through! The pod race and Darth Maul's fight sequence are the only decent moments! The rest is just terrible!

I have a few films planned this weekend and then a week of DVD's and Blu Rays!

The Start of 2012

So well into the February and my new mission to see as many films as I can is working out pretty well. Tonight, The Woman in Black was my 37th film, with 24 of them at the cinema, so I am pleased with my progress. This isn't just notching up the totals this is about watching films!

And in that I have seen some terrific ones so far. Young Adult, Martha Macy May Marlene, J Edgar, Shame, Warhorse, The Lady, The Descendants and The Artist. Plus the rest and really seemed to have missed the bad ones, Haywire and the Darkest Hour being the only two I did see.

Then we had the Ryan Gosling week, well 3 days, Crazy, Stupid Love, the stunning Drive and then the Notebook. I am impressed with Gosling, he's a very good actor. Drive is my favourite of the 3, and since watching the soundtrack has been played to death! It's on in the car, the house, the mp3 players - it's never off! (And it's not even me playing it!)

My daughter and I then had a couple alien invasion films, War of the Worlds on Blu ray and ID4. Then last week we watched Burning Bright, she loved it!

I'm getting my daughter to blog, she is a much better writer than I am, and I'm looking forward to seeing her take on the films she watches!

2011, my best year of films ever!

It has been a bumper year of cinema, DVD and Blu Ray for me. Overall 234 films with 51 on one of the home formats and 183 visits to the cinema, which of course includes the Frightfest festival and 150 visits to a Cineworld complex with my unlimited card. My current unlimited year has 3 months left to go, but I have already passed last year’s total by 5 films!

So having set myself some serious numbers to try and beat this year, what about the quality of films I saw last year. Have to say for me they were extremely good, I hardly left a screening feeling disappointed. On the other hand I can’t really say I’ve wasted my money due to my card, so I tend to be more tolerant of the films I see, it has to be really bad for me to dislike it!

So while I am talking about bad films, which films for did disappoint me?

1) Shark night 3D, I really knew this was going to be bad, I was hoping it would have enough in it to make it a guilty pleasure film. It didn’t, they held back on the gore, the T&A and what could have been last year’s Piranha, ended up being my worst film of the year!
2) Dream House, another I could sense was going to be poor, and it was! From the bad script and acting to the setup and execution of the film, just plain horrible.
3) The Wicker Tree, a Frightfest feature, wasn’t very good, it wasn’t scary it was just dull. I never liked the first film either!
4) The Roommate, standard American obsession film this time with college roommates, good cast let down by an average script and a below average story!
5) Abduction, Taylor Lautner’s action flick, aimed at the Twilight market, poor acting, poor script, but it did have a couple of good action sequences. Again I didn’t really expect anything else!

Now for a film which is down at the bottom of my list, Tree of Life! I know it’s in most people’s top 10 and I have no problem with that, it’s a visually treat at times, but I just didn’t like it as a film. The story of the boys life is the best part of it, but even that gets bogged down in long meaningful shots. And the ending was just way over my head! But by that time I’d lost the film and just wanted to go home! (I had also watched the last part of Harry Potter just before this, no wonder I was flagging!!)

Now this is where I am in trouble, I do have a favourite film of the year, but then there are so many excellent films I just don’t know where to start after that!

So my film of the year is Super 8. I just loved it, the kids, the look of the film, the music. The plot (even though that’s the weakest point), the script and the direction, just brilliant! I don’t know where it stands in my overall top 10, I need to ponder that list!

Now, I can’t really name a 2nd or 3rd film because I have so many I thought were fantastic, True Grit, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Captain America, Tinker Tailor, Kings Speech, Ides of March, Warrior, Tyrannosaur, We need to talk about Kevin.

Then we have Fast Five, Tangled, Harry Potter, The Help, 50/50, Kill List, The Guard, Tintin, Hugo, Moneyball, My week with Marilyn. Also the Skin I live in, The Conspirator, The Innkeepers, Midnight Son, The Woman, The Divide, Take Shelter, 127 Hours, Immortals, Snowtown, Stake Land, Limitless, Source Code and Trollhunter!

And that’s not even half of it! The list of films is just too long!
As my daughter says it’s been Epic!

The cinema experience of the year was Mission Impossible 4 at the Imax with the Dark Knight intro. Just amazing, both of them and worth the money!

So what will 2012 bring, hopefully another feast of films, looking at the release schedule and reading Empires preview this could be a great year! The films I’m looking forward too are the Dark Knight, Spiderman, Avengers, the hunger games and Bond and so many more! Again another list which could go on and on and on!

I also want to watch more DVD’s and Blu Rays, I have a large number of “never” seen films in my collection which is growing and I’m not doing anything about it! This year I will!