Reviews

In real life Roy Haylock is a drag queen who goes by the name of Bianca Del Rio. He stars in 'Hurricane Bianca' as Richard Martinez, a homosexual school teacher. When he is taken for a ride and his colleagues and students at the new school are nasty to him, Richard becomes Bianca Del Rio to get revenge.

'Hurricane Bianca' has a simple premise, but I thought it was well executed. Although mostly slapstick, some of the jokes and events in the movie were actually funny. I enjoyed Bianca Leigh as Karma Johnstone, who becomes Richard's mentor in a way. She was also the most fleshed out character with an interesting back story.

I also enjoyed Denton Blane Everett as Coach Chuck, a real stud-muffin who falls for Bianca! The 'romance' interest between Chuck and Bianca allowed for many hilarious - and awkward - moments.

The make-up is really well done, and is almost identical to Roy Haylock's real-life Bianca persona, so I won't be surprised if he did the make-up himself. I also liked the costumes. The film in general was predictable, but it was kinda fun seeing Richard get his revenge.

Trust Guy Ritchie to bring us a completely unique presentation of a serious matter. 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' is based on fact and tells the story of Operation Postmaster - a secret mission - which was carried out in 1942. Many people lost their lives during this operation (which off course is exaggerated in the movie) and yet the film has a lighthearted narration which sees the soldiers cracking jokes whilst killing the enemy. This is indeed a very different approach but it allowed for a highly entertaining movie which is not to be taken too seriously, and that was funny and enjoyable instead of nail-biting suspense.

I absolutely loved Henry Cavill here, in the role of Gus March-Phillips, who leads the operation. In fact, the entire cast was just brilliant and I also thoroughly enjoyed hunky Alan Ritchson as Anders Lassen. This character was so inventive when it came to killing people, he was an absolute delight to watch!

So, Gus March-Phillips is recruited to lead Operation Postmaster - a mission to cut off supplies to the German submarines in Nazi-controlled waters. Gus selects his own team, which consists of Henry, Freddy, and Anders. On their way, they rescue Geoffrey from captivity, and include him in their team.

Then there are agents Marjorie and Heron, who is sent to the island of Fernando Po, so Marjorie can get close to Nazi Commander Heinrich Luhr in order to get information from him.

The film follows the team as they execute their daring and ambitious plans. With every obstacle, they have to devise a new and more daring plan, and it was a lot of fun to watch! There was a bit too much killing for my liking, but the action sequences are fantastic and in general the film is thoroughly entertaining. The cinematography is good, and the Oscar-worthy score is AWESOME!! This was one of the best film scores I've heard in a while.

From an entertainment perspective, 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' delivered!! The film's climax is action all the way! I loved it.

Mike Henry is a delicious specimen. Any Tarzan movie starring this hunk of a man is worth watching, even if just to marvel at that great physique. Together with that soothing voice, he is a gentle giant (similar to Clint Walker). When not dressed in his skimpy jungle attire, Tarzan is a distinguished gentleman. Either way, he is a sight for sore eyes! Mike Henry is also - to my knowledge - the only hairy-chested Tarzan. Oh, and those muscular legs!

But enough of Mike Henry for now. 'Tarzan and the Valley of Gold' is an action adventure that revolves around the legendary city of gold. When a young boy who knows the location of the city is kidnapped by the ruthless criminal Vinero, it is up to Tarzan and his animal compadres to save the boy - and the city.

More often than not Tarzan reminded me of James Bond. His antics were reminiscent of the secret agent, and at times Mike Henry even looked like Sean Connery from his 60's Bond movies. He was not the stereotypical jungle man as we've come to know Tarzan, and he had a wide knowledge of...well, almost everything!

'Tarzan and the Valley of Gold' is not always believable, but from an action adventure perspective, it was very entertaining. This is a good option for a family friendly movie night. Kids will love the animals and the call to adventure.

'I, Madman' is not to be confused with 1981's slasher movie 'Madman'.

'I, Madman' happens to be the name of a novel...in the movie, that is. Virginia, who works at a book store, is obsessed with writer Michael Brand's work. In search of his book 'I, Madman' she one day arrives home to find the book in front of her apartment.

Much of the events in the film is the visualization of the story as Virginia reads it. But when people start dying, the villain in the book becomes very real to her and the lines between fact and fiction starts to blur. Virginia's boyfriend is Richard, a cop who investigates the murders. When Virginia tells him she knows when the next murder will take place, he disregards it as her obsession with the novels - especially with her having a habit of scaring herself whilst reading the novels. Virginia believes the killer to be author Michael Brand himself.

The villain is a truly creepy character and looks like an antagonist straight out of your worst nightmare. The make-up is very well done. In general, I rather enjoyed this movie and thought it wasn't half bad.

Kay is an artist whose recent work is being criticized for being too abstract. Her inspiration comes from nightmares she's having about a beast pursuing and attacking her. Together with her husband David, her brother Eric and his wife Brooke, the four of them go on vacation to a secluded island.

Kay is still plagued by nightmares and this causes tension between her and the rest of the party. However, things soon take a horrible turn which sees them fighting for survival.

The early 80's saw the release of dozens of slasher movies. 'The Slayer' might sound like an all-out slasher movie, but the film is unusual in the sense that we never get to see the antagonist. Even when the killings start, we don't see the killer. There are also only four characters in the film, so not really a slasher in the true sense.

Due to the small cast we got to know all the characters better, allowing us to root for them. There were a few nicely done suspenseful moments as well. In general, though, the film might disappoint fans of the genre for lack of gore, and an unseen villain.

I know I'm in the vast minority here - and you can crucify me for saying this - but I hated this movie. Quintin Tarantino's movies require an acquired taste, and I guess I haven't acquired that taste yet. I found this utterly boring and quite annoying, actually.

So, most of the film is set in a warehouse. The Reservoir Dogs are a bunch of thieves. A Heist - which is not shown to the audience - went wrong, and now the thieves are trying to figure out which one of them is the "rat", who alerted the cops. They suspect one of them is an undercover cop, so the film sees the men talking, yelling, swearing, talking, yelling, swearing, talking, yelling, swearing...oh, whatever, I hated this! I swear, almost the entire movie revolved around these men arguing about who the rat is!! Ugh, enough already; this is so not my kind of entertainment!!

I mean, need I say more? There was nothing else happening here, and very little was actually shown to the audience. For most parts, the viewer had to envision what happened. I quickly loose interest in movies with too much dialogue. Add a couple of swear words in every single sentence and I'm tempted to hit the STOP button on my remote.

When they had that 5-minute conversation in the beginning of the movie about tipping in a restaurant, I should have stopped already. I don't normally enjoy neo-noir crime movies. Did I enjoy 'Reservoir Dogs'? Well, the answer to this is obvious: it's a resounding NO!!

If you've been following my blog, you'll know by now I'm no Godzilla fan. Yet, every time there's a new Godzilla movie I find myself watching it - maybe hoping there would finally be one that I enjoy. And such was the case with 'Godzilla Minus One'. I think the biggest reason I enjoyed this blockbuster 'Godzilla' is the fact it was not made by Hollywood. I also enjoyed the fact this movie was not set in modern times. Another reason I enjoyed the movie more than the American versions, was the fact I liked the characters. (Most of the characters in the Hollywood films are bland and one-dimensional).

'Godzilla Minus One' starts in 1945 during World War 2. Koichi Shikishima is a Kamikaze pilot who abandoned his duties and pretended his plane was faulty. When Godzilla attacks a military base and Koichi freezes up when ordered to shoot the creature, Koichi is blamed for the deaths of the soldiers. This, together with the fact he abandoned his initial mission, sees Koichi being branded as a coward.

Returning home, he finds the city in ruins, having been bombed. He meets Noriko, who found a baby and now cares for it, and reluctantly allows her to stay with him because she has nowhere to go. Koichi finds a job disposing of landmines that were planted in the sea during the war.

Although a monster movie, the film also concentrates on character development and human drama. This allowed me to root for the characters in their fight against Godzilla. Godzilla is a giant, ugly sea monster and the film showed no mercy when it came to destruction and human casualties - just as it ought to be when a giant prehistoric creature attacks a city.

After causing unimaginable destruction, the authorities must now devise a plan to kill the monster. While the film's first half was pretty much character driven, the second half delivers more action as the fight against Godzilla ensued. I absolutely loved the film's toned down score (as opposed to the loud and bombarding score of most of the Hollywood blockbuster movies). In fact, the score was absolutely stunning. The visual effects are also incredibly good!

The film is also a display of heroism in the face of disaster, and an enemy almost impossible to defeat. I must be honest, I did find Godzilla's ability to produce heat rays causing atomic bomb like destruction maybe a bit too much, but that's just my opinion and it was still all good. This is a very entertaining movie.

'Night School' might give the wrong impression the film is set at a night school. It is not; neither are the murders committed at the school. As it turns out, most of the victims are all from Wendell College, the night school.

I'm surprised by how good this 80's slasher actually was. It has style and substance and made for an interesting whodunit murder mystery.

The film starts with a young teacher being beheaded at school after everyone had gone home already. Lt. Austin (Leonard Mann) is called to the scene. As he investigates, more murders take place - the one more bizarre than the other. They all have one thing in common, though: each victim's head is found submerged in water.

We meet Professor Vincent Millett (Drew Snyder), who has a personal interest in the girls at the college. Eleanor (Rachel Ward) is one of his affairs. Thought to be Vincent's only love, she is insanely jealous of him. Their relationship is taken to the next level when she announces she is pregnant.

Wendell College administrator Helene Griffin also has an interest in the girls (erm, make that a personal interest, as well), and then there's the somewhat mysterious Gary, a peeping tom with mental issues, who works at a restaurant.

The suspense is well crafted. All the characters in the film served a purpose, and were not merely added to become victims. Most of the characters were well fleshed out, and I rooted for them. Although it might seem obvious at times who the killer might be, there are interesting reveals during the final act. 'Night School' is actually a darn good movie that I somehow missed back in the day.

By the time the film ends, it feels like a good movie. I however can't deny the fact that 'American History X' was mostly an unpleasant viewing experience. With all the racist remarks and foul language, it really was not a pleasure to watch. I've said this so many times before but can't stress it enough: I hate any kind of racist depiction in movies. In this day and age I don't want to be reminded of racial issues. We are - or should be - all equal.

What I admire about the film, though, is its good script, good character development, good photography, and good performances by the entire cast. Edward Norton, especially, was fantastic, and he owned every scene he was in.

Edward Norton stars as Derek, an arrogant neo-Nazi who was jailed for cold-bloodedly shooting hijackers. Derek's younger brother Danny is a kid with an attitude, and is quickly following in the Derek's footsteps.

When Danny's history teacher asks him to write a paper on Derek - called American History X - Derek's life is told through backflashes (shown in black and white) as Danny writes the paper. With Derek now being released from prison, he is a changed man. His girlfriends and friends are still part of a gang destined to 'set things right' in America.

'American History X' deals with many different issues - mostly racism - and due to its subject matter, I did not really enjoy the movie. This is not my kind of entertainment. As mentioned, the ending almost made me believe this was a good movie in its entirety, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) has been a slave since the age of thirteen. He is among a handful of slaves selected by the Roman Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov) to be trained as gladiators. (I absolutely loved Peter Ustinov in the role of Batiatus; he was fabulous!)

Slaves are treated like animals, and those in power have no feelings for them whatsoever. They would have slaves kill each other purely for entertainment. Spartacus makes friends with the slaves, and when an opportunity arises, they overpower the guards and manage to escape. Now, the slaves are building their own army in revolt against the Romans.

Laurence Olivier stars as Crassus, a wealthy Roman senator and the film's main protagonist. Jean Simmons stars as Varinia, also a slave and the love interest of Spartacus. I enjoyed the developing romance between Spartacus and Varinia. The film follows Spartacus as he builds his army and plans to avenge the Romans, even if it seems impossible to fight against such a mighty power.

From all the costumes to the magnificent sets and thousands of extras, 'Spartacus' is an incredible production. In a time before CGI, the scale of the production is jaw-dropping! The film apparently had a cast of 10,500 members (with all the extras). Today the extras would simply be added with CGI in post-production. And this is why I enjoy older movies so much; it was real film making. On every level, 'Spartacus' is a film of epic proportions. It's hard to believe this film was made more than six decades ago!!

If I had to compare 'Spartacus' to more recent films, movies like 'Gladiator', '300', and the TV series 'Rome' comes to mind.

There really is one character here that matters, and that's taxi driver Travis Bickle (very well portrayed by Robert de Niro). From a character study point of view, this is an effective film, but if it's an entertaining movie you're looking for, 'Taxi Driver' is not a good option. I'm sorry, but I was not entertained by this slow (yes, and boring) movie, no matter how high the acclaim.

26-year old Travis gets a job as taxi driver. He works long hours - mostly at night when the "filth" (as he calls it) roam the streets. When he notices a woman one day that seems 'different' to the rest of the people he quite literally stalks her, and finally asks her out. This is Betsy (with a rather annoying portrayal by Cybill Shepherd). When she agrees to go out with him (not that it took much convincing) he takes her to a theatre that shows porn movies! Needless to say, that date did not go well!

I must be honest, I never really rooted for Travis. I found him pushy and arrogant; even obnoxious. He is a hypocrite and a liar and he never really had good intentions. Then again, I suppose this behaviour added to the character study. He clearly is disturbed, and in that regard the character is well set-up. As the viewer, we have to understand this guy does not think or reason the way normal people do. (In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with taking a girl to a porn movie on their first date!)

The film does take its time before anything of significance happens, though, and I yawned several times. I kept wondering when something exciting was going to happen. I almost stopped watching at the 30-minute mark, but decided to sit it through. Around the 1-hour mark there's promise of something eventful happening, but alas, I would have to wait unit the final act before the action arrived. Even then, I did not agree with Travis' methods, and definitely never rooted for the guy.

'Taxi Driver' is another example of a highly acclaimed, multi-award winning movie I believe will loose its appeal with the new generation. Its just too slow, and not even all that interesting...

The Nuns at the Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg are not convinced free-spirited Maria (Julie Andrews) is ready to be a nun. The Reverand Mother then sends Maria to naval officer Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) - whose wife recently died - to look after his seven children.

The children are between the ages of five and sixteen. With Georg running the house as if he is on one of his ships, the children are subjected to a very strict upbringing and not even allowed to play. At first, it seems like its going to be a daunting task for our inexperienced young heroin, but as she gets to know the children - and they her - a strong bond forms between them.

When Georg goes away to visit Baroness Elsa Schraeder (Eleanor Parker) - whom he intends to marry - Maria and the children get a chance to be adventurous. In the process she becomes a mother figure to them. I enjoyed Maria being a free-spirited yet strong character who never allowed Georg to intimidate her, and she always voiced her opinion.

The love story was predictable, I suppose, but it is a beautiful and romantic story and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I must say, for a three-hour long movie, it was surprisingly fast-moving and I was never bored. On the contrary, I enjoyed every moment very much. The film took a very different direction during the third act, which I never expected, and it was wonderful.

'The Sound of Music' boasts fantastic sets and production design, beautiful costumes, good cinematography, good and funny dialogue, and superb performances. I absolutely love this delightful movie!

'The Survivor' is not to be confused with 1984's 'Sole Survivor', which is also about a plane crash leaving only one survivor.

I'll start by saying 'The Survivor' had the potential to be so much better, but no thanks to the director's vision of the film and choppy editing, I found the film difficult to follow at times. There literally were moments in the film where I had no idea what the hell was going on. To add to this, many scenes were so dark that one could hardly follow the action.

After a confusing start of various images edited together, a plane crashes, killing everyone on board except pilot David Keller (Robert Powerll). Not being able to remember anything since taking off, David is trying to find out what happened.

Clairvoyant Hobbs (Jenny Agutter) - a rather strange character in her own right - seems to have some sort of connection with the victims, and contacts David. She feels she was somehow involved with the accident. I didn't fully understand this character, nor their quest for answers. At times the film seemed to have a supernatural edge, but when the reveal came it had nothing to do with supernatural powers. Speaking of which, I can't say I agree with the twist ending.

'The Survivor' has a confusing premise and I won't be surprised if I forget this in an instant.

12-Year old Jamie has no friends. He has trouble getting to know anyone. Some even refer to him as a nutcase. His best friend is Teddy, his teddy bear.

When Jamie's parents go away for a while, 24-year old babysitter/housekeeper Sandy stays with Jamie. At the age where Jamie is reaching puberty, he has magazines of nude girls. He also soon develops a crush on Sandy, despite her being much older than him. He even gets jealous of her boyfriend.

Much of the film revolves around the friendship (I'm being careful not to use the term relationship here) between Jamie and Sandy and in a way this set-up proves there to be something seriously wrong with Jamie. Jamie has a secret, which he feels confident enough to share with Sandy: he discovered a big hole (or pit) in the ground in the woods. At the bottom of this pit lives Trogs (or small Trolls), which he feeds raw meat.

When he has no more money to buy meat, Teddy suggests he feeds the Trogs all the people who are nasty to him (Jamie). It is never clear whether the teddy bear actually has a life of its own, or whether it is just voices in Jamie's head, and pretending to be Teddy talking to him.

With very little horror elements shown to the audience (except for one scene), the film is mostly a psychological horror about a young boy with tendencies to harm people. I suppose one could view this as a character study.

Unfortunately, when the killings started towards the end, the film looked cheap. The creature effects were not so well done. The film then also has an anti-climax ending. I did like the film's final moment, though.

Director Dave McKean dared to be different with this most unusual film. With visuals unlike anything I've ever seen in a film, this certainly was a unique viewing experience. Many viewers might hate the film for being so different, though.

How does one even begin to explain this film? Think of your most fantastical, magical dream. Now give it a bit of a weird edge, and 'Mirrormask' would be a visualization of that dream. Truly unique is an under-statement.

But what is the movie about? Well, that's just as difficult to explain as the visuals. I must admit, this is not always the easiest film to follow. Helena is a young circus performer who works at her family circus. Helena hates performing and during an argument with her mother Joanne, Helena wishes her mother would die. Just before her next performance, Joanne collapses and is hospitalized, and Helena blames herself.

One night she wakes from a dream, and walking down the street encounters three performers. But nothing is ordinary or what it seems anymore and she enters an alternate universe filled with weird and wonderful characters. This world is gradually being taken over by shadows. Being mistaken for a Princess, Helena must find a charm to wake the sleeping White Queen. This might seem like a fairytale, but believe me, this is definitely more nightmare than fairytale!

'Mirrormask' is guaranteed to be beyond your wildest imagination as we follow Helena on her quest. The visuals are remarkable and the mind baffles as to how they accomplished this. The film also takes many interesting and unexpected turns. Give it a go; even if just for the visuals.

The film reminded me of films like 'What dreams may come' (1998), 'Imaginaerum' (2012), and 'Moon Garden' (2022).

I love animated movies, but I remember watching 'Kung Fu Panda' many years ago and thinking it was definitely more suitable for a young demographic. With the release of 'Kung Fu Panda 4' I decided to watch the original again to see if I'd had a change of opinion, but - as it turns out - I don't. I still believe it is a cartoon for kids. (I also haven't seen any of the sequels).

Po, an overweight Panda Bear, has dreams of being a kung fu warrior, and his heroes are kung fu masters The Famous Five. His Dad, a goose, runs a noodle restaurant and has hopes of Po taking over the restaurant. (Interestingly, the film never explains how the goose came to be a Panda's dad. I would have liked a back story on this.)

At a ceremony for choosing the next Dragon Warrior, Po accidentally ends up being chosen. Now, he is being trained by Shifu, a red Panda. Meanwhile, the real Dragon Warrior, Tai Lung - a Snow Leapord - escapes from a maximum security prison. There's a back story telling us Shifu took in Tai Lung when he was little, and trained him, as well.

Action and adventure - and kung fu fighting - ensues, but I once again couldn't really get into the movie. I found it a bit too cartoonish; like a big budget kids cartoon. My opinion aside, 'Kung Fu Panda' is a film families can enjoy together. Kids, especially, will have a good time with the movie and fall in love with the characters. It is a story of good versus evil, with a message of believing in yourself - no matter what.

Fate is an interesting thing. It has its own plan for every individual, whether for the better...or not.

Trivial events lead to Emma and her daughter Mathilde taking the train instead of the car. When mathematician Otto gave up his seat on the train for Emma, fate was in his favour, but sadly not for Emma, and she was killed in what appeared to be a freak accident.

Otto believes nothing happens by chance, and he finds evidence that proves the accident was no accident. It turns out a key witness in a gang-related case and his lawyer were also on the train. Eliminating the witness, meant the gang members would go free. The gang in question: The Riders of Justice.

When Otto approaches Emma's husband, Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) with his findings, Markus is skeptical at first, but when irrefutable evidence indicates it was indeed no accident, Markus vows to avenge Emma's death and take out the gang members. With the help of Otto and his friends Lennart and Emmenthaler, they track down the Riders of Justice. Hungry for revenge and justice, Markus - a hardened soldier - is about to unleash his fury.

'Riders of Justice' is miles better than vengeance movies like 'John Wick' (ugh, hate that franchise!). It has more substance and character development than any John Wick film could ever wish to have. 'Riders of Justice' also has emotional depth, and fantastic performances all round. I also loved the subtle humour.

'Riders of Justice' takes us on a wild ride in a movie full of surprises. In a way, the film reminded me of films like 'Rendel' and 'Nobody'. I loved it!

'Hotel Rwanda' is based on the Rwandan genocide which - according to Rwanda - killed around one million people during the 100-day war in 1994. Most of the victims were from the Tutsi ethnic group.

Don Cheadle stars as Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of the four-star Hôtel des Mille Collines in Rwanda. He is of the Hutu ethnic group, while is wife Tatiana is Tutsi. When the President - being Huto - was killed by Tutsi extremists, this resulted in the start of the genocide the very next day. In an instant, Paul's life was turned into a nightmare. With Tutsis being killed, Paul had to do everything in his power to save his family.

With the hotel guests having been evacuated, Paul soon had his hands full with Tutsi civilians looking for refuge at the hotel. The rest of the film sees Paul pleading for help from the United Nations, the Red Cross, and military officials. Fearing time is running out before all hell breaks out at the hotel, the film also becomes a nail-biting race against time.

Don Cheadle delivered a fantastic performance as Paul. 'Hotel Rwanda' is a very well made film, but it can be depressing - even more depressing because this is based on fact, and so many innocent people lost their lives in such a short space of time.

TV presenter Jack Delroy went from humble beginnings to hosting one of the highest rated night shows, Night Owls. All went well until his wife died from cancer. After shunning the public and disappearing from the public eye, Jack surprised everyone by returning just a month later.

He is determined to pick up his career and aim to become the highest rated night TV show. He decides to interview - and give a demonstration - of a young possessed girl, Lily. His other guests are psychic Christou, former magician Carmichael Haig who wants to prove Christou is a fake, and parapsychologist author June Ross-Mitchell, who assists Lily.

The entire movie takes place on the set of the program. (Scenes when the cameras stopped rolling, were in black and white.) The film felt so authentic, it was almost as if I was actually watching a late night show - until things started going very wrong, off course. The performances were very good, and the visuals were also good - especially during the climax. There's also a twist ending that'll make you wonder whether you missed something during the course of the movie...

'Late Night with the Devil' was not entirely what I expected, but it was still a good viewing experience.

On invitation from Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte), Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) joins a convent in Italy . With the opening scene already having set the tone for the rest of the film, the audience already knows there is something terribly wrong at the convent.

Cecilia is welcomed by the not-so-friendly and somewhat mysterious Sister Isabelle, who also becomes Cecilia's mentor. Cecilia befriends Gwen, who apparently does not have faith but joined the convent for a place to stay, food, and to live a descent life.

Cecilia soon starts having nightmares and is plagued by creepy visions. Beware: Jump scares ahead!! The jump scares come without warning and they are guaranteed to make you jolt in your seat! Despite all the (effective) jump scares, 'Immaculate' is still a slow burn horror.

Here's where there might be spoilers, so if you don't want to know, stop reading! Without having had sexual intercourse, Cecilia discovers she is pregnant. This is viewed by the other Sisters as a miracle, and some even refer to her as Mary. However, her being pregnant is no miracle, as we discover, and under the façade of faith and devotion lies a sinister plan. Father Tedeschi is also not who he appears to be...

Hell, this film takes a turn I never saw coming!! The third act is fantastic, and it does become much gorier than I expected. Sydney Sweeney delivers a powerful performance and proves she has what it takes to become a vengeful protagonist. What an incredible finale!

9-Year old Ida seems to have a nasty streak for wanting to hurt people. Although it appears to be innocent fun for a kid, we sense something almost sinister about her. Anna, her older sister, has autism and doesn't speak. She only makes sounds, and also can't feel pain.

Ida befriends Ben, who soon shows her that he is able to move small object via telekinesis. Ben appears to have cruel intentions, with seemingly no conscience. They befriend Aisha, who is able to communicate via telepathy. Ida decides to introduce them to Anna, and together the four kids slowly discover their powers. It turns out Anna is the only one with supernatural powers.

When Ben starts getting out of control, the others must stop him, and there's enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat! The child actors are absolutely fantastic. Alva Brynsmo Ramstad was incredible in a very demanding role as Anna, while Rakel Lenora Petersen Fløttum was able to convey so much emotion with a simple glance, or stare.

'The Innocents' is a highly effective, slow burn psychological horror film. The innocents are not all that innocent after all...

The film reminded me of 2012's 'Chronicle', with four teenagers discovering powers, and one of them slowly but surely getting out of control.

Long before Roland Emmerich brought us the modern-day disaster movies, director Rudolph Maté gave us 'When Worlds Collide'. Back in 1951 the visual effects were groundbreaking and the film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Off course the visuals are no match for today's films, but teleport yourself back in time more than seven decades, and you can imagine how good the effects must have been.

Pilot David Randall (Richard Derr) is hired to deliver a black box to Dr Cole Hendron (Larry Keating). Inside the mysterious box are predictions of impending doom: a new planet and a giant star are on a collision course with Earth.

Now, the scientists must build a modern-day Noah's Ark (in the form of a space rocket) to save a handful of people and ensure the survival of humanity. They plan on landing on the new planet, named Zyra. With a deadline looming before impact, the film is a race against time to complete the mission while there is being decided who the 44 occupants of the rocket will be.

The dialogue is sub-standard by today's standards, but remember this film was made well before space travel became a reality. (The space race only achieved success over a decade after the release of 'When Worlds Collide'). With little to no knowledge of space travel, the universe and rockets, this film was ahead of its time in that regard.

Off course the film offers a romance interest as well. Hendron's daugter, Joyce (Barbara Rush) - who is engaged to be married to Dr Tony Drake - develops feelings for David, and in the process ensures his selection to board the rocket.

The final act delivers plenty of action and excitement. Yes, it is dated, but it was nevertheless still an entertaining disaster movie.

I'm beginning to think there's something wrong with the way I view (older) films. 'The Sting' is yet another highly rated movie I found slow and boring. Maybe its just that older movies were generally slower moving than most of today's films; I don't know. I suppose films were more about character development back then, and that we - as the newer generation - prefer films to move along at a faster pace. So, yeah, maybe the problem does lie with me. I simply did not find this movie entertaining - or interesting enough - for my liking.

The moment the film started with that instantly recognizable theme music that put a smile on my face, I honestly believed I was going to love this movie. Turns out the best thing about the movie (for me) was just that theme music. Had the film been about 25 to 30 minutes shorter, I might even have enjoyed it more.

The film is about con artist Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) who attaches no value to money. He spends it just as fast as he steals it. Easy come, easy go. When his partner Luther is killed by crime boss Lonnie Donnegan's men, Johnny teams up with another con artist, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), to take down Lonnie. Corrupt police lieutenant William Snyder (Charles Durning) is also after Lonnie, and Johnny.

Together with a handful of con artists, Johnny and Henry certainly went to quite an elaborate set-up to get to Lonnie. It seemed a bit excessive for them to go to such great lengths when they had more than enough opportunity to capture him - without all their mumbo jumbo make-believe efforts. I just didn't buy it.

Halfway into the movie I became bored and started watching the clock. This might be a high-rated, multi-award winning movie, but it is so not my kind of movie. I couldn't get into its premise or the characters. Being con artists, I didn't really root for them and never viewed them as protagonists.

'The Sting' won 7 Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Original Score. Interestingly, I seem to agree with these nominations, but as a whole I did not enjoy the movie.

'Amores Perros' tells three stories that interconnect. The first story is called 'Octavio and Susana'. Susana is married to Ramiro, who works at a supermarket. To provide for them he robs stores. Ramiro's brother, Octavio, lives with them. When Susana accidentally lets Ramiro's dog Cofi out, Cofi kills Poncho - a fighter dog owned by Jarocho. Realizing Cofi's capabilities, Octavio starts dog fighting with Cofi. (Many of these scenes will be too sensitive for dog lovers, as it was for me, even if shown merely for a few seconds). Octavio is secretly in love with Susana and - with Susana being ill-treated by Ramiro - Octavio asks Susana to run away with him. There are a few unexpected twists, though.

The second story is called 'Daniel and Valeria'. Caught in a loveless marriage, Daniel is having an affair with model Valeria. When he eventually leaves his wife and buys an apartment for him and Valeria so they can finally be together, a car accident leaves Valeria seriously injured, causing her sponsors to cancel her modelling contract. With tension rising between them - being aggravated by Valeria's dog being stuck under the floor boards! - their newfound freedom proves to be anything but the happy life they were hoping for.

The third story is 'El Chivo and Maru'. El Chivo might look like a hobo - with a love for dogs - but there is more to him than meets the eye. We discover him and his wife separated years ago, telling their daughter, Maru, he was dead, but now El Chivo is trying to make contact with Maru again. As it turns out, El Chivo is a hitman, and pursuing his next target.

All these stories and characters interlink throughout the film. Prepare yourself, though, this is no feel-good movie. On the contrary, it is quite depressing, but it is a good film. Each story takes unexpected turns, and the film captured my attention from beginning to end.