Blu-ray: The Buddy Holly Story (1978)Made just 19 years after Holly’s tragic death aged 22 in a freak crash along with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, The Buddy Holly Story is a surprise, and perhaps one of the best music biography’s I’ve seen. This is largely due to an Oscar-nominated lead performance by Gary Busey, and […]
DVD & Blu-ray: Van Helsing (2004)When Van Helsing came out, despite it starring Hugh “gorgeous” Jackman, I thought ‘Nah, there’s only ONE Van Helsing, and that’s Peter Cushing’. So this was a first watch for me.Directed by the King of ‘those sort’ of films; Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, GI Joe), you know, those bonkers CG […]
Digital HD, Blu-ray & DVD: Possessor (2020)Possessor, directed and written by Brandon Cronenberg (yes, David’s son), is set in an ‘alternative reality’ of 2008, starring Andrea Riseborough as Tasya Vos; a sort of hitman for hire, Christopher Abbott as the man she ‘possesses’, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.How can I explain the premise without ruining the story? […]
DVD & Blu-ray: 8 Mile (2002)8 Mile passed me by back in the day, and not being a rap fan I didn’t seek it out despite its director, Curtis Hanson being on my radar from The Wonder Boys and the amazing LA Confidential.Starring Eminem in his film debut, alongside Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Shannon, Anthony Mackie, and Kim Basinger, the […]
Blu-ray: The Valachi Papers (1972) Starring Charles Bronson (as Valachi) and directed by Terence Young, The Valachi Papers tells the true story of Joseph Valachi; a bag man for the New York Mob who first made the term “Cosa Nostra” known. In the early 1960s he testified to court that there was such a thing as […]
Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD: Relic (2020) This debut feature from writer-director Natalie Erika James is a hard watch, and although it comes under the banner of ‘Horror’, it’s not so much a horror film than an allegory for the real horror of Alzheimer’s disease. When Kay’s (Emily Mortimer) mum Edna (Robyn Nevin) goes missing, […]
There are few ‘rock’ biographies I’d be interested to read, mainly because the author tends NOT to include the gritty, dirty, sex and drugs bits. Okay Motley Crue are an exception, but they couldn’t exactly get away with NOT telling the truth, likewise with Metal God, Rob Halford. However, he could have taken the easy […]
Blu-ray: Erik the Viking (1989)Loosely based on Terry Jones book for his son Bill, Erik the Viking is a sort of childrens film with a lot of grown up themes, like… rape and death.Originally released in 1989 it had a running time of 107 minutes, but being unhappy with the film’s slow pacing, director Jones cut it […]
DVD & Blu-ray: Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)Curse of the Golden Flower was China’s most expensive film to date (2006) at $45 million. And you can tell. To say its opulent is an understatement.On first getting this for review I have to admit I didn’t want to watch it, as I thought it was […]
Blu-ray: A Soldier’s Story (1984)A Soldier’s Story is an odd film. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway production of the same name, it features a largely black cast and tells the story of the murder of Vernon Waters, a master sergeant in charge of a company of black soldiers in southern America in 1944.A black military officer who is […]
