HCF Review - Time For Revenge

EVANGELINE (2013)

Spooky night shots complete with headlight beams in the mist are usually a sign that a horror story is on the cards. And when when the story is being filmed in the local woods to save money you can predict how things will play out. Most viewers will probably recognise the ‘unseen demon’ point of view from The Evil Dead films roaming through the foliage too. These are all staple elements by now after all. So you’ll be surprised to hear that this isn’t really about any sort of malevolent entity living in the shadows. It’s true that the ancient evil of the forest is going to awaken which the opening narration suggests, but if anything this takes far more from The Crow – so you know how things are going to turn out.

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HCF Review - Caribbean Blues

 CARGO (2017)

Cargo may be an apt title for a story in which people are changed from human beings into a commodity, but it’s certainly not a snappy name that makes this release stand out from the crowd. This isn’t the story about zombies or the film about a man inside a shipping container. It’s not about a fishery or a spaceship either. Instead this is a tale of personal tragedy and the way any sense of reality in a struggle can be warped when money is involved. It might be set in the Bahamas but this isn’t a travelogue film and instead focuses on small scale drama as a fisherman decides to take a darker path. But do these elements make it stand out amongst a sea of similarly name films? It’s hard to say for sure.

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Martial Arts Mix - Attack the Block

THE RAID (2011) 

It's been a long time since it was released and the sequel has now of course come and gone. Which is better? It's debatable. But I wanted to take a fresh look at what was touted by some as the 'best action movie of the last ten years' on its release, having never given it a proper write up. While this hyperbolic quote remains a little absurd and there have been many great examples of martial arts cinema in this time period from the likes of Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen, it does sum up the kind of impact it might have had on general audiences. Many films like Warrior King (aka The Protector) and Ip Man had been released before this so a new addition in the genre was never going to blow me away, but it has to be said this is a solid piece of work that should sate all but the most sadistic action fans.

 

Scorecard

AUGUST

FILM OF THE MONTH: Mad Max 2  ☆☆☆☆

Synth Cinema's World Tour

PART ONE: A GOLDEN HARVEST

In this series I'll be looking at the root cause of all this obsessive compulsive behaviour, which is to say all of this movie madness. It will be more an examination of a now more than two decades old interest in international cinema and how it came to be, as opposed to the usual review format. Is this a bad idea? Yes, probably. But along the way it will of course have to include a few glances and the best choices from any given category or region and a few retrospective moments. How many parts of this will there be? It's hard to be certain. It will probably be a trilogy of four knowing how these things go; usually one that tests everyone's patience before the end. To begin let's take a cursory glance at the hair-raising world of Hong Kong action movies.