Hanna (2011)

4 / 5 May '11 
Tagline:  Young. Sweet. Innocent. Deadly
Directed by:  Joe Wright
Written by:  Seth Lochhead, David Farr
Actors include:  Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana
Genre:  Thriller, Action
Length:  111 minutes
Banned:  Nope

 Review:
I hadn't really heard about this film before going to see it, but I sure was glad that i did.  It does echo Leon (The Professional) in subject matter, but stylistically it's quite refreshing and unique.  The story is about a sixteen year old girl named Hanna (shocked aren't you?) who is raised out in the wilderness to be an elite assassin.  We watch her be tested physically, emotionally and intellectually daily in preparation for what is to follow.  It's fascinating as she was raised basically in isolation there are the challenges of modern day and other people to contend with as well as the struggle for survival.  The visuals are very crisp, much of it was filmed in desolate snowy Finland which is quite breathtaking.  It's rather well paced (though a little condensing wouldn't have hurt) as well as decently acted and I really thought it was quite entertaining, definitely recommended.

Availability:  In theatres still

Cruising (1980)

4 / 5 July '10
Tagline: Al Pacino is Cruising for a killer.
Directed by: William Friedkin
Written by: William Friedkin, Gerald Walker
Actors include: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen
Genre: Thriller
Length: 102 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
Wow what a gritty sleazy thriller and I'm a little shocked at how far this one goes, but I like it. Al Pacino is really wonderful as undercover detective Steve Burns who has a rather difficult task ahead of him. He is on assignment to find a serial killer who brutally stabs men to death after picking them up from gay s&m clubs. Steve must blend in with the people and of course ends up in some difficult situations, especially considering he has a girlfriend at home who he has to keep in the dark. It's quite exciting, and flashy and it even has one heck of a dancing sequence with Pacino. It's brutal and violent and well it's probably a bit too much for some. Really my only complaint was the ending, I had something else in mind but I suppose it all made sense and all of that. It's not Friedkin's best, but I think it's an interesting movie so long as the subject matter doesn't put you off.

Availability:  On DVD

Orphan (2009)

3.5 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: Can you keep a secret?
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Written by: David Johnson
Actors include: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 123 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well, having just seen the wretched film Case 39, I was expecting this to be basically the exact same idea. It was, however this one is far superior, it's not as predictable (though it's not exactly surprising) and they actually bothered to explain what was happening which I appreciated. At any rate, a couple who have a deaf little girl and a little boy are having a hard time after a stillborn comes there way. They decide to adopt, so they go to an Orphanage and find Esther, a particularly unusual and bright 9 year old girl sitting off by herself. They fall for her and take her home and adopt her, and at first everything seems perfect. From there it basically goes into a retread of The Bad Seed only there is something different about this tale. It's not the most horrific film ever, in fact yes it's more of a thriller but I have to give it credit, it's over 2 hours long but it held my attention. That being said, in no way did it need to be that long but just the same probably worth a viewing on a rainy day.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Trade (2007)

2 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: You'll pay for this.
Directed by: Marco Kreuzpaintner
Written by: Jose Rivera, Peter Landesman
Actors include: Kevin Kline, Kathleen Gati, Alicja Bachleda
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Length: 120 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
While this actually started well, at first I thought it would be similar in spirit to Hostel seeing as how it was very violent, surprising and dark initially. Soon something changed and it became one of the most stupid contrived ridiculous films ever made. It's about the sex trade industry in Mexico, we meet two young girls who were flown in to Mexico in hopes of modelling work. They are kidnapped from the airport upon arrival pretty much, and also we follow a 13 year old Mexican girl called Adriana who is kidnapped off of her bike. The purpose of kidnapping the girls is to rape them, then sell them to areas in the US for more sex. Her 17 year old brother Jorge goes on a mission to retrieve his sister. Where it gets beyond moronic is brother Jorge goes on this unlikely friendship/getting to know you venture with a Man he randomly meets Ray Sheridan (Kevin Kline). It's overly long, and the downtrodden mood is quickly ruined by this silly buddy nature of it. Yet for all of my complaining I can't even seem to convey how much it sank into the depths of blah and it took so long to do so (the movie is sadly 2 hrs long). Somewhere in here is a good movie, if it had been completely rearranged and huge portions omitted but as is it was really a waste of time.

Availability:  On DVD

Der Amerikanische Freund (1977) aka The American Friend

3.5 / 5  Apr '11
Tagline:  N/A
Directed by:  Wim Wenders
Written by:  Patricia Highsmith, Wim Wenders
Actors include:  Bruno Ganz, Dennis Hopper, Lisa Kreuzer
Genre:  Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Length:  125 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review: 
The cinematography is simply gorgeous and the music within perfectly suited.  Heck I like the cast too and the basic concept, I just felt like something very big was missing from this.  It's definitely more of a character study (which is fine) except a little more "why" info might have helped out significantly.  We meet Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) who is an art forger that is offered an opportunity to become a hit man.  Instead of agreeing to the task he suggests his friend who is a picture framer for the job.  See the picture framer has a deadly disease and a family to support (very Breaking Bad no?) so why wouldn't he jump at the extra chance for income?  Although this is interesting it's too stretched out and some more clarity would have been appreciated.  Still a very interesting '70s German thriller that should at least appeal to most though it wasn't my absolute favorite or anything.

Availabilty:  On DVD

Antichrist (2009)

3.5 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: When nature turns evil, true terror awaits.
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Actors include: Willem DaFoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Length: 105 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
For me this was a rather hit and miss film, the ending I quite enjoyed...okay well maybe "enjoyed" isn't the word...it made me uncomfortable. The beginning I found to be rather dry and up it's own ass (although very well acted) it was rather boring. It begins with the death of a couple's infant while they are having sex (I was shocked at how much we see here honestly), from there it's a downward spiral of guilt, shame and despair. It's a depressing film, and some of the creepy imagery is quite well created (especially the woods and dead animals). The ending was surprisingly demented and entertaining though people watching this as an art film will be disappointed, I thought it had good payoff. It does "cross the line" a few times into silly territory...I mean a talking fox? What was up with that? Oh well it's a strange hybrid of art film, disturbing gross out fest and well acted drama....it was worth watching but not something I'd probably watch again.

Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

4.5 / 5
Tagline:  "We're in the Nazi killin' business and cousin, business is a-boomin'."
Directed by:  Quentin Tarantino
Written by:  Quentin Tarantino
Actors include:  Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth
Genre:  Drama, War, Action
Length:  153 minutes
Banned:  Nope
Country:  USA/Germany

Review: 

To be honest I wasn't too sure about watching this as I have barely any interest towards new movies and well Brad Pitt isn't my favorite.  Still seeing as how this is a Quentin Tarantino venture I gave it a try, and I actually thought it was very good.  Consider the fact that this is over two and a half hours long it's very exciting and crams a lot in so it doesn't feel very long at all.  It's segmented into chapters, the first being about  "The Jew Hunter" coming to find a family of missing jews at the home of a diary farmer.  The second chapter being about the group of Nazi killers called the Inglourious Basterds which is led by Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt).  Now this part is extremely bloody and gratuitous which I liked but it may but some weaker stomached folks off.  The third chapter is about a young woman who runs a cinema in Paris who is asked to hold a Nazi film premiere.  The fourth chapter has all sorts of drama leading up to the film festival including the Besterds plotting to attack the premiere.  Lastly of course is everything coming to a-head during the Premiere.  Now of course I've left out many important details and everything winds together in a neat little blood soaked manner.  It's such a well put together picture and every detail counts, it's no wonder so many hail this to be one of the best!  I guess it all depends on what you are looking for, but if you want an interesting war time revenge epic this should have everything one could hope to find.  It even has many nods to various famous filmmakers that film buffs should enjoy.  If you are looking for typical predictable Hollywood fare, then you will probably want to look elsewhere.  I'm very curious how much of the plot of this film is taken from the original but hopefully I'll watch that very soon.  Definitely a really fun venture that I liked, perhaps there is hope in modern cinema afterall?

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Enigma Rosso (1978) aka Virgin Killer aka Red Rings Of Fear aka Rings Of Fear

2.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: Sweet sixteen ... they'll lose more than just their lives.
Directed by: Alberto Negrin
Written by: Peter Berling, Marcello Coscia
Actors include: Fabio Testi, Christine Kaufmann, Ivan Desny
Genre: Giallo, Horror, Thriler
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Apparently this is the third part of the "schoolgirls" trilogy, the first two parts being Cosa avete fatto a Solange? [What Have They Done to Solange?], and La polizia chiede aiuto [The Police Want Help] both had the same director, and this one has a different fellow in charge. That may be why this film is way inferior to the other two. The muddy giallo plot involves the murder of a young girl (killed by a big dick). They start questioning her friends (they were quite a clique) and of course anyone else who might have done something so terrible. There are red herrings, and unnecessary nudity left right and center. What it is missing is violence, and gratuity and satisfying plot conclusion. By the time they actually got to the ending I couldn't have cared less (though I suppose they tried a little bit). It just lacked whatever character the first two had, it's very bland and forgettable really, heck I only saw this two days ago and I'm having trouble remembering it. Not a must see but it's okay I guess if you are a gialli addict.

Availability:  On DVD

Rambo (2008)

3.5 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: Heroes never die.... They just reload.
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Written by: Sylvester Stallone, Art Monterastelli
Actors include: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden
Genre: Action, Thriller
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
If you want to see a movie with an insanely high body count and little else, then this is your film. I applaud it for being fast paced, and for jumping right in to the cruelty and violence. The thing is, one doesn't watch a Rambo movie for plot (I'd hope), so most who came to this expecting an action killathon will be satisfied. The plot has Rambo working as a snake capturer when he is recruited to drive a boat to war torn Burma by some religious do-gooders. He reluctantly agrees, but 10 days later when nobody has heard from the religious folks he meets some mercenaries assigned to bring back the missing folks. He wants to help, they don't want to let him help so he helps anyways. Big "plot" huh....but any how there are so many exploded people and carnage that any action lover should be pleased. At least Rambo hasn't gone soft after all these years...in fact this has to be one of the bloodiest movies ever!

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray