Review Roundup - Super Punch Out

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016)

Oh boy. Where to even begin here? Right away there's the weird title which looks like something from the Castlevania series (maybe Dawn of Sorrow would be a better fit, or Curse of Darkness). So let's step back for a second. Man of Steel came and went, to mixed reviews. It was underwritten and had a lot of tonal problems, but overall it was kind of average. I could just look at it as a sci-fi spectacle movie and, at least at the time, wonder what was next for the character. I certainly didn't predict anything like this which takes all the worst parts and amplifies them. The result is a bewildering mess.

Review Roundup - A Tale of the Christ

HAIL, CAESAR (2016)

There will always be a certain rose tinted view of the past when it comes to the movie industry, and with a film set during the so called Golden Age of Hollywood this is certainly the case. But rather than focus simply on the production of grand scale epics and musicals, this is another oddball Coen Brothers picture so it's also full of behind the scenes in-fighting, gossip column writers and potential career wrecking political scandals. But with all this material to cover as well as a large amount of detail to be included to recreate the size of film shoots and the number of people involved, it's probably no surprises that there's a certain lack of focus. Can the studio system which produced the phrase a cast of thousands be easily viewed through the perspective of one character?

Review Roundup - A Series of Unfortunate Events

THE REVENANT (2015)

While the term Oscar-bait gets thrown around a lot with something like this or Alejandro G. Iñárritu's last feature Birdman, it raises a lot of questions about the intent of the production and whether there is actually any kind of pretence of self importance or visions of grandeur involved. The sort of questions I generally have to avoid. Whether Leo pushed himself to physical extremes or gagged on real animal blood is irrelevant to what's on screen which is mostly complete artifice. This is a spectacle movie in many ways after all, so I have to judge its content on the merit of what is actually presented and avoid awards season politics. So with this discussion of people squabbling over prizes out of the way, let's get into the film itself where people argue about the value of an entirely different kind of trophy.

HCF Review - Come Get Some

ASH VS EVIL DEAD (2015)
TV Review - Season One

In a strange turn of events, Evil Dead – that’s the remake not Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead – didn’t get a sequel. Or at least it hasn’t at the time of writing. Which is kind of strange in the world of low budget horror movies that get churned out all the time. Not that I’m complaining. While bloodthirsty fans of splatter were sure to have been sated, for me it lacked personality and was filled with characters who were so thinly written for the sake of plot convenience that it was laughable at times. That’s not to say this is a series about deep and interesting people of course, don’t get me wrong. But they were more like puzzle pieces that fit into their designated roles instead of just a fun ensemble. Even the original with its nastiest moments had some level of charm. Remember kids; toothless, dumbed down action and horror is bad... but X ratings do not make a movie. However the real twist was yet to come.

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Scorecard

JUNE

FILM OF THE MONTH: Deep Red ☆☆☆☆
Aliens ☆☆☆☆
Tenebrae ☆☆☆☆
The Hateful Eight ☆☆☆☆
Manhattan ☆☆☆☆
Lady in a Cage ☆☆☆☆
10 Cloverfield Lane ☆☆☆☆
The Pirates! ☆☆☆☆
The Wolf of Wall Street ☆☆☆☆
Raising Arizona ☆☆☆☆