DVD: Filmworker (2017) “An abusive relationship? No, I was quite willing”, so says Stanley Kubrick’s assistant Leon Vitali after the release of Filmworker, and it’s a telling quote as at times, this 2017 American documentary film directed by Tony Zierra about Vitali, can be a hard watch. After being hand picked to play the part of Lord Bullingdon […]
Blu-ray: Xtro (1982) Written and directed by Harry Bromley Davenport (a man whose 12 IMDB directorial credits are 25% the Xtro trilogy) Xtro is a low budget, yet strangely addictive sci-fi movie that narrowly avoided prosecution on the original ‘video nasties’ list. Sam Phillips (Philip Sayer) is playing with his family in the back garden of […]
Blu-ray: Re-Animator (1985) Volume 1 of Umbrella Entertainment’s new ‘Beyond Genres’ series of releases arrived in the mail room here at 60MW Towers, and an audible squeal of delight was emitted as I saw it was one of my favourite movies of all time: Re-Animator. The packaging is wonderful, with striking artwork adorning its cover […]
DVD: Romper Stomper (2018) 26 years after the movie of the same name, Romper Stomper returns as a six part television series, concentrating on the neo-Nazi culture which unfortunately is still a part of global society. Original writer/director Geoffrey Wright has created a new world in and around Melbourne, where right-wing extremists, anti-facist revolutionaries and […]
DVD: It Came from the Desert (2017) Inspired by the self-titled 1980’s Cinemaware videogame, and with nods to the cinematic ‘creature features’ (especially Them!) of the 1950’s, It Came from the Desert is a fun, tongue in cheek, adventure romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The synopsis can be covered by one short sentence: […]
DVD: The Lodgers (2017) It’s 1920 and twins Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) live in their decaying family mansion in Ireland. They live a strange existence enforced by 3 rules: They must be in bed by midnight. They may not permit an outsider past the property threshold. If one of them attempts to […]
Blu-ray & DVD: No Way Out (1950) In No Way Out (his first film), Sidney Poitier plays Dr Luther Brooks, and from the beginning you can see this 23 year old actor was already something special. It’s the story of a young black doctor intern’s struggle against the racial prejudice he meets in his life and […]
Blu-ray: My Generation (2017) ‘We decided that we aint gonna be Mickey Mouse anymore’ As the 1960’s dawned, Maurice Micklewhite was struggling. A working class Cockney trying to cut it as an actor, his 30’s approached he was still in Rep and scrapping for bit parts on TV. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion […]
DVD: Pacific Banana (1981) Imagine the lovechild of two 1970’s cinematic stalwarts of British comedy; ‘Carry On Pacific’ gets fruity with ‘Confessions of an Airline Pilot’. The result of this naughty tryst would be Pacific Banana. The story is a simple one: Martin (Graeme Blundell) loses his erection every time that he sneezes. A condition […]
Blu-ray & DVD: The Defiant Ones (1958) I have tried, in vain, to find some contemporary reactions or reviews for The Defiant Ones, but so far I haven’t come across anything, as I’m quite intrigued by the sanitised ‘anti-racism’ story of this film. We see a small argument between 2 prisoners being transported in a […]