Reviews

Blu-ray & DVD: Sweet Country (2017) Thematically similar to both the recently reviewed The Tracker and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Sweet Country once again highlights the mental and physical abuse of indigenous Australians at the hands of white oppressors with their over-inflated sense of self importance and egos so big that it’s no wonder […]

DVD: Plebs (2013 – ) Plebs was first broadcast on ITV2 from March 2013, and COMPLETELY passed us by at 60MW Towers. I’d seen the odd advert for it, but just never seemed to catch it when it was on. Normally when we get offered full series of TV shows I am quite hesitant, as unless I’ve […]

Blu-ray: Modern Romance (1981) “You’ve never heard of an unwinnable situation? Vietnam? This?” It is unsurprising in a post Generation X world filled with modern anxieties that sardonic, dry wit is an expected reaction to the world around us. Laughing in a sarcastic tone at our daily misfortunes is how many of us fool ourselves […]

Alan Bleasdale is an English screenwriter who has written for radio, stage and screen. Born in Liverpool, his social commentary focuses on the underprivileged working class within society, and often showing a gritty, realistic depiction of what it is like to survive from day to day. Simply Media have released 5 of Bleasdale’s Channel 4 […]

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 […]