Review Roundup - Red vs Blue

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)

The Marvel mega franchise is in a strange place coming off titles like Ant-Man, Age of Ultron and The Winter Soldier. Can you make a sequel to the latter and include elements of all the others without it falling to pieces? After all the tone of each isn't exactly a great fit, it's the challenge they face making this latest instalment. With the release line up they have scheduled the problem is only going to grow from what I can see. But with returning film makers at the helm I expected a certain sense of continuity. There are interesting conflicts to be explored and a wealth of returning characters to choose from, so they also have the issue of bloated running times and convoluted screenplays to consider. Have the Russo Brothers managed to pull all this together successfully or is this a potential sign that things are coming apart at the seams?

Review Roundup - Reanimator

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN (2015)

Mary Shelly's eponymous doctor seems to have been cropping up a lot lately in my personal excursions into the Hammer back catalogue, so I suppose it was only inevitable that a look at Paul McGuigan's latest version of the story would have to be done sooner or later. It must be a problematic affair for anyone trying to consider what kind of fresh meat could possibly be brought to the table. Modern attempts have hardly been successful from the appearance of the creature in Stephen Sommers' Van Helsing or the Aaron Eckhart version in I, Frankenstein. These kinds of releases should really serve as some kind of warning that this should all be left alone, much like the message of the original novel with it's warning about meddling with science and parental responsibility. But with such obvious templates of what not do to in recent memory has anyone taken note of the pitfalls to try and avoid? Or is this another film that will simply conjure up more jokes about ill fitting parts being haphazardly stitched together?

Horror Bites - Brain Damage (Part 2)

HAMMER FRANK-O-THON

 

Another October season, another unplanned marathon. The connections between each story are often tenuous, but it's still fun to try and connect the pieces. So taking a look at their second story, The Revenge of Frankenstein and the later spin-off Frankenstein Created Woman, let's see if the fun levels hold up, and if there are any details which have been shared as things go on. Or whether, much like the Hammer Dracula series, the film titles get better and quality of movies themselves starts to dwindle.

 

SCORECARD

APRIL

FILM OF THE MONTH: Mr. Vampire ☆☆☆☆
The Godfather ☆☆☆☆
The Ladykillers ☆☆☆☆
Mad Max: Fury Road ☆☆☆☆
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night ☆☆☆☆
A Shot in the Dark ☆☆☆☆
Total Recall ☆☆☆☆
Wall-E ☆☆☆☆
Casino ☆☆☆☆
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ☆☆☆☆
Interstellar ☆☆☆☆
King Kong (2005) ☆☆☆☆
Quatermass and the Pit ☆☆☆☆
Star Trek IV ☆☆☆☆
Sunshine ☆☆☆☆