HCF Review - Countdown

RUNNING OUT OF TIME (1999)

Everyone loves a good ticking clock, after all it’s the rhythm of time… and life. Except of course those who are given a set number of days left to live after their blood tests come in. But as various movies of the past have explored, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe having only four weeks left to live, at least in a fictional setting, could push someone to new extremes they never thought were possible. Johnnie To certainly thinks it could get a criminal genius and a master of disguise to put one last plan into action. But the director is also clearly a fan of adding buddy comedy elements and offbeat humour to the storyline. With the clock running down can he maintain a cool and slick tone as the cops try to solve a series of crimes? Or will he be unable to resist throwing in a few gags along the way?

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Review Roundup - Annual Thing

2022 CATCH UP - PART ONE

How does the old expression go? Something old, something new, something borrowed... let's be real for a moment there's not much new out there. Most of what is being borrowed has been circulating for aeons which means when it's old, it's really old. Big superhero flicks and franchises are starting to become so stale that they're practically dessicated at this stage. Yet another Predator movie? Beavis and Butt-Head are back again? A film starring Chip 'n Dale? Good grief. Maybe there's something wrong with the universe and we've all become trapped in a cinematic hell of our own making. Though for the record those first two are worth seeing, the third not so much. Still, perhaps there's some human imagination at work out there somewhere...

Review Roundup - Hunting Grounds

PREY (2022)

Oh Predator, you ugly old rascal. It was once a straightforward idea in which two disparate genres, action and horror, collided suddenly. The burliest '80s heroes stumble their way into a monster movie without realising, that's it. And yet this concept was apparently too simple to follow up in a franchise that has seen some real lows, last gracing us with a mystifyingly bad Shane Black effort. But since nothing can be left alone when brands need to exploited forever we're back in familiar territory, and so is the mandible faced killer. The hideously mutated appendages of that prior instalment have been cut away. But are the results a real return to form or is this simply a competent thrill ride after so many disasters?

 

Scorecard

JULY

FILM OF THE MONTH: Jurassic Park ☆☆☆☆