What Films did You Watch Last Week (25/03 - 31/03) CLOSED

First Time Viewing:

Life (2017) – A pretty capable cast is wasted in a silly and painfully illogical space-horror B-movie. The beginning promised some solid fun, but once we were told the alien organism could survive in outer space I knew the movie was over for me. There is only so much suspension of disbelief I can take. Overall it felt like a subpar Outer Limits episode. - 4/10

After The Dark (2013) – Not very deep and obviously marred by a limited budget. There are also too many characters. It’s impossible to sufficiently introduce 20 people in a 90 minute movie. Nonetheless I enjoyed the first two thirds. Alas the last act really dropped the ball. I was waiting for some crazy twist at the end like the apocalypse happening for real, but the plot just fizzled out as if the writers didn’t have any clue how to finish the story. -6/10

Kill List (2011) – This must be the worst hitman movie I’ve ever seen and pretty much the most overrated (British) movie of the decade. I didn’t mind the last twist, nor the excessive violence, but this was just so poorly made and so painfully boring to watch (your average student film has better cinematography), that I`m thinking that the people who like this must be members of some weird Satanist cult themselves. Perhaps Lucifer has put a spell on them otherwise it’s inexplicable. – 3/10

The List Of Adrian Messenger (1963) – I read the Philip Macdonald book this was based on a while ago and I had been aware of the gimmick with the various stars in disguise. (Although apparently they cheated with some of them only putting on the mask for the last scene.) It’s pretty good. Kirk Douglas is on cracking good form, he clearly enjoyed playing the villain, I just wish there would have been more of a battle of wits between his and George C. Scott’s character. – 7/10

Repeat viewing:

Malice (1993) – Such a weird thriller in that the twist is given away about 20 minutes into the movie. There is one scene that makes it entirely obvious, I still wonder why they shot it this way. It’s still interesting to watch the events unfold though, I didn’t remember the specifics of how Bill Pullman’s character unravelled the conspiracy. Director Harold Becker creates some great atmosphere and is aided by a marvellous Jerry Goldsmith score. The cast is also an embarrassment of riches: You have George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft in supporting roles, Tobin Bell from Saw pops up as a perverted janitor and Gwyneth Paltrow can be seen in one of her first film roles. Alec Baldwin is fantastic and Nicole Kidman has never been sexier. Overall a surprisingly rewatchable Hitchcockian suspense thriller. – 7/10