What Films did You Watch Last Week (29/11 - 05/12)

First Time Viewing:

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017; Chad Stahelski) - You can tell they had more money than on the first film, but they didn't always use it wisely. Lots of action, but compared to the crazily inventive 3rd instalment this feels somewhat flat and the villains are boring.
5.5/10

The Haunted Palace (1963; Roger Corman) - Advertised as an E. A. Poe adaptation this has more in commong with the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Vincent Price has some fun in a double role and the sets are nice, otherwise it's mostly by-the-numbers gothic horror stuff.
5.5/10

TV

Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics (1994; Robert Markowitz) - Why did they even bother with this? Two previously unfilmed scripts intended for the original Twilight Zone get the 90s TV treatment. Not only are the stories not very good, instead of the elegant black&white photography of the original series we get cheap-looking colour film.
4/10

Repeat Viewing:

The Arrival (1996; David Twohy) - For a B-movie this is tremendous fun. Charlie Sheen plays a radio astronomer who one night discovers a signal sent from Aliens, but when he goes to his superiors they try to hush it up, which leads to him investigating on his own and discovering a worldwide conspiracy. This has some nice twists and solid effects (aside from the cheap-looking CGI aliens). I have to say, I prefer this to the Villeneuve movie.
7.5/10

Die Hard (1988; John McTiernan) - Still the smartest and best Christmas-set action movie.
9/10

High Plains Drifter (1973; Clint Eastwood) - A great supernatural revenge western with some poignant moments of black comedy.
8/10