What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[ShaKwon]

Game of Thrones. Admittedly, I've been quite happy with the fight choreography. The fight between the Red Viper and the Mountain was pretty awesome!

[Secret Executioner]

Under The Skin (UK, 2014)

A science-fiction film set in Scotland in early 2014 dealing with a being from another planet posing as a woman to capture men that are used for... something not clearly explained, but I'd say they are either processed into food or used as some source of energy.

Actually, this summary only covers the first half of the movie. In the second half, the alien tries to fit in in the human world and it doesn't go very well.

IMO, the first half is better and more interesting - it has a great spooky atmosphere with an eerie soundtrack (I really enjoyed the tune that plays whenever the alien takes the guys to her house and they sink into some black goo while following her as she undresses) and strange looking parts. Next to nothing is known about the aliens, like where they come from, why they need people or what they look like (don't expect this to be a sort of Alien 5 where you'd have gore and alien monsters feasting on humans) - they seem obviously intelligent enough to have travelled to Earth and to use human-made devices like cars, motorbikes and others, yet seem not to know man very well (Johanson has a constant bugged out look on her face, she seems as surprised by the humans she encounters as we are by her and her species). All we know of them is that they sent someone to capture people and what they do with people as each killing reveals a bit more on what happens to the victims - leading us to believe they're monsters I guess (if you're not distracted by the nudity on Johansson's part that also increases - is it really that cruel that the last thing those guys saw was a nearly nude brunette Scarlett Johansson ?). It also seems there's at least one other alien, masquerading as a guy. And let me just say that the aliens don't pose as humans by using morphing abilities like the Martians from DC Comics.

For the record, it appears some scenes (such as this) were filmed on location with hidden cameras (from the truck or following Johansson on foot) and you see regular people passing a brunette Scarlett Johansson not recognizing her - which I found somehow gives weight to the glasses thing in the Superman mythos.

The second half however shows the humans as the monsters as each attempt of our heroin (I'm assuming the alien is a female too for some reason) to be "human" fails or has terrible outcomes. This part is quieter, less eerie and disturbing as the first one, and I found it weaker. I'd have enjoyed an elaboration on the aliens, though I guess the way this "person" tries to fit in and survive in a dark, gritty and violent world (OUR world) makes for a sad and downbeat ending, as well as a very pessimistic outlook on mankind. However, this part gives more sense to the title.

Anyway, the cinematography is brilliant with great camera work, some impressive special effects, very strong visuals and an eerie soundtrack. The dialogues are very basic and simple (essentially consisting in the people talking of their situations or making random remarks), there are long parts without dialogue or music (the first dialogue must come in after 10 minutes and there's next to no exposition, the music is used in a few scenes and there's no opening theme). The movie is based on a novel and I wonder if the novel is as confusing or if it's easier to follow (with stuff left unexplained in the movie explained ?). Another element I love is the poster - man it's beautiful and haunting. Gutted the theater I saw it at didn't have extra copies of it, cause I'd have picked one. Guess I'll be sure to check whenever they clean up their archives and give away the old posters they have.

The plot of aliens killing humans or posing as humans could easily have led to some cheesy B-movie (I've seen this film compared to the likes of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and the plot reminded me of Species for the "female alien seducing men" stuff...), but the very elaborate cinematography and the mystery surrounding those aliens make this one of the best science-fiction movies I've ever seen and one of the very best movies of 2014.

Not sure which could be my absolute favorite between this, Xavier Dolan's Mommy or The Raid 2, as each has an element I dig in a movie: this film is strange, kinda philosophical with a dark vision of mankind (an element also found in many Stanley Kubrick movies and my exam in a cinema class a few years ago was actually writing an essay on this aspect in Kubrick's cinema) and has great cinematography, Mommy had great loveable characters, some funny bits, some really moving moments (some parts are pretty harsh to sit through also) and the cinematography was very solid too (the music, the scope changes), and The Raid 2 has insane violence and crazy action with interesting and memorable characters.

Hangman's Knot - Early 1950s Western starring Randolph Scott about a band of Confederate soldiers who raid a transport of Union gold in the West, not knowing that the Civil War ended but a month earlier. They are quickly pursued by the law and a band of robbers posing as deputies. They hole up at a stagecoach station with some hostages and the robbers waiting outside. Things quickly get tense. Very suspenseful film with characters who are more complex than usual and some nice action sequences. Lee Marvin is great as a hard boiled soldier whose true nature manifests itself as the film goes on. Richard Denning is the same sort of greedy a**hole that he was in Creature from the Black Lagoon, which he was rather good at. Western fans should find a lot to like here.

Sounds like something I could dig. Is it hard to find on DVD ?

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Hollywood Party (1934: no directors credited):

This is a weird curio. It is a pre-code musical, comedy, sketch hybrid that literally was thrown together and had several uncredited directors. You can find a variety of star-studded movies in that era like MGM’s The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (I have not seen it though it looks like Hollywood Party was patterned after this) and Paramount’s much better International House (1931.)

While this is very uneven with undeveloped plot points (the romantic relationship with Eddie Quillan and June Clyde; almost everything else in the film) and while it has a very uneven first half it has a hilarious second half. The plot is basically meaningless, but it revolves around Jimmy Durante trying to obtain some real lions, while throwing a party (hence the title) to improve his image character Schnarzan (parodying Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan.) I am not the biggest Jimmy Durante fan especially when he is the lead and some of his scenes grated somewhat on me. So I tended to like when he was not on the screen more and with good reason. The Laurel and Hardy skit with “you cannot wear that outfit on the screen in a few months” (not joking, the Hays Code would not along her to wear that outfit as it is quite skimpy) Lupe Velez is done quite well. It is an old standard with them and has been done a variety of ways in several movies of theirs, but still very funny. You also get a surprise appearance from Mickey Mouse (actually working well with Durante; always interesting to see early mixture of live action and animation) and a two-strip Technicolor Disney short. Throw in Ted Healy and The Three Stooges (they would not be as famous until they lost Healy and starred in the Columbia shorts) and you have some very interesting moments.

If you look at the life of Lupe Velez you find it is tragic. Though of interesting note she was once married to Johnny Weissmuller. And of another interesting coincidence I had been watching the films of Max Linder who had also had a tragic end similar to Velez.

[Takuma]

Gone Girl (USA, 2014) [DCP] - 4.5/5

Probably my favourite movie of 2014. The atmosphere was really great. Someone described it as "silent horror", and that actually makes a lot of sense if you've seen the movie...

Boyhood (USA, 2014) [DCP] - 4/5

Very good film, altough the Texas grandpa scenes gave me some allergic reactions. No offence to anyone from Texas, but that culture is just so, so far from my personal preferences. I once had a nightmare it was trapped in a bar in Texas. It was full of men in cowboy hats and Dolly Parton was there

Oh, and I was a bit distracted with the boy reading women's underwear catalogue at the age of 6 or 7. From my experience, that comes when you're 9 or 10 When you're 7 you should still be in the "Ew! Girls, Disgusting!" stage

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938: James Tinling):

The script for this film was originally written for Warner Oland and was titled at one point Charlie Chan at the Ringside. Oland was having both mental and physical difficulties (there is a nice extra on this disc which explains the whole situation) and after several attempts at filming the production was canceled. With a few rewrites (only a few), it was later recast as a Mr. Moto movie – the third in the series.

This is a hybrid of a Mr. Moto movies and Charlie Chan. If you had seen any of the other Moto series the character is a lot less Moto-like and, of course, more Chan like with several aphorisms (sometimes called Chanisms) throughout the film. I feel Peter Lorre makes it work well, though I can see why some have disliked this film because of the different feel to this (Moto is less vicious, more cerebral, though you do get a couple spots of his celebrated jiu-jitsu/judo throws in it).

The plot is a bit convoluted and revolves around gambling in the boxing world. A title contending match ends up killing one of the contestants and the other is arrested for the crime. Meanwhile many bets in different states knew the exact outcome – of course pointing to an inside job. The ending is particularly frustrating because logically it leaves a lot of loose ends while trying to be surprising. But the journey, for Chan and possibly Moto fans, makes this a worthwhile watch. I also tend to like early use of martial arts as well as boxing in film.

I am a Key Luke fan. He has an impeccable sartorial style which often outshines everyone else in the films he is in. These suits and combinations would still look splendiferous today. This was his last Lee Chan role for a while as, I believe, he choose not to work the role with Sidney Toler – the next Charlie Chan out of respect to Oland.

Look for an early supporting roles from Lon Chaney Jr. (a few years from being a star) and a youngish and in-shape Ward Bond as the Heavyweight champ who you get the feeling could flatten the challenger at any moment when he is fighting.

[SamSeed]

Just watched Marty. Lovely film, a proper classic. Great dialogue and Ernest Borgnine is a fantastic actor.

[DragonClaws]

I'm currently re-watching Season One of The Vikings. Recently watched the superb Year Of The Dragon directed by Michael Cimino & starring Mickey Rouke, John Lone.

[AlbertV]

Cold War (Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, 2012)

http://albertvfilm.blogspot.com/2015/01/cold-war-2012.html

[Secret Executioner]

Asterix And Cleopatra (1968)

Got my new avatar from this - Obelix spots a strange-looking character drawn on the wall while visiting a pyramid. (too bad the picture is cropped on that release, the movie is supposed to be in fullscreen and not in widescreen)

[Secret Executioner]

Soylent Green (USA, 1973)

A classic science-fiction movie starring Charlton Heston that may make people shiver nowadays, not because of the ending twist (which has lost pretty much all of its power due to being spoofed everywhere - I wish I could have erased all memory of this before watching the movie, as I'm convinced the big reveal in the last couple of minutes must have come off like a punch in the stomach to the unsuspecting mid-1970s audience), but because of its prophetic tone on so many levels:

- overpopulation: check, the world population is growing at an alarming rate

- pollution: definitely check

- food issues: check, stuff you eat is full of strange chemicals and many kinds of food are getting more and more expensive these days

- rotten politicians and businessmen: definitely check, but I suppose it must have been true before the movie came out

- widening of the gap between the rich and the poor: definitely check

A lot of sci-fi movies have pessimistic depictions of the future, but this one could well be one of the most relevant and most accurate depictions of what is our near future as the movie is set in 2022 according to the tagline.

On a sidenote, I'm a bit surprised now that the artworks depict the scoops of riot control in action when they are in the movie for a very short time. Hell, the summary on my DVD (French Warner release) makes a big deal of the riots when really they are just a very small part of the movie.

[Gwai LO]

Just watched Ernest scared stupid and man did it bring back some awesome memories

[AlbertV]

Saw Wolves, David Hayter's directorial debut Saturday night...as a werewolf film fan who is sick of CGI wolves, I was excited to see that the CGI was only used for transformation but the wolves themselves was done with excellent make up effects. Jason Momoa was one badass werewolf villain but Lucas Till really did well IMO as the newbie werewolf who learns his real identity and finds himself in a "war" between packs. I will post a review on my other film blog later today.

[Keung]

– Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Probably my new favourite film.

[Secret Executioner]

H. G. Wells' The Time Machine (1960)

A GREAT science-fiction film based on a classic English novel about a Victorian Englishman visiting time all the way to a very far future where mankind branched out into two different species.

For the time, the FX are spectacular - I thought it was rather a late 1960s/early 1970s production like many great classics of the genre (Planet Of The Apes, 2001...) and I'm not surprised it won an Oscar for Best effects and special effects in 1961.

The vision of the 20th Century and of what was to be the future (London nuked in the late 20th Century) shows a certain pessimism concerning what was in store for mankind, but in the days of the Cold War I can understand the fear of a nuclear holocaust... Still, the far future is pretty mean and kinda realistic (people blindly following with no thoughts or will to understand or to rebel... Sounds any familiar ?).

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

More like tv stuff, Mash,Magnum P.I, Miami Vice, China Beach, Mama's Family, Maude,WKRP in Cincinnati, Batman 1966 series in HD,Murphy Brown, Perfect Strangers,

[teako170]

H. G. Wells' The Time Machine (1960)

Yes, a great film. I actually enjoyed the remake but the original is still a favorite.

Finished this one up last night. I have all 5 of the Anthony Mann / James Stewart Westerns. All highly enjoyable films that I find myself rewatching.

?v=tJ8zbSrEEQQ

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Yes, a great film. I actually enjoyed the remake but the original is still a favorite.

Finished this one up last night. I have all 5 of the Anthony Mann / James Stewart Westerns. All highly enjoyable films that I find myself rewatching.

I've watched the original Time Machine countless times. Always a favorite of mine over the years. For fun I read the book a couple of years ago to see what the differences were. One of the few instances where I prefer the movie over the book.

I'm a huge Anthony Mann and James Stewart fan so I've rewatched all those westerns several times. I've even seen the other collaborations like Thunder Bay and The Glenn Miller Story as well. But check out how many times Mann ends a scene with a battle up on a hill top. I also like how he can humanize many of the "bad guy" characters or quasi-bad guys like Arthur Kennedy in The Man From Laramie. Both Hitchcock and Mann used Stewart so well that for many who haven't seen these performances they think that Stewart does not have as much nuance (for any of those who watch the Epic Rap Battles, there was a recent one with directors and it had an idiotic line about Stewart only using two faces in his acting.)

Of course I also like the non-Stewart westerns from Mann as well including Man of the West, The Furies (get the Criterion release) and The Tin Star. Its interesting to watch the early Mann film noirs as well. You can almost split Mann into three phases: film noir, westerns and then the epics.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Watched last night. I know the reviews of it haven't been great, but I thought it was ok. Not as good as the first one, but it got a few laughs from me.

I'll have to share my mostly positive review of the film:

Dumb and Dumber To (2014: Bobby & Peter Farrelly)

I went to see Intersteller and ending up seeing this. It was a simple reason – there were technical difficulties with Intersteller. The good aspect of this was that I ended up seeing this for free. Like rewatching Ghostbusters on its thirtieth anniversary in the theater, I saw the original Dumb and Dumber twenty years ago in the theater. Jim Carrey was fresh off the success of Ace Ventura and The Mask (it would be his third 100 million dollar movie of 1994) and could pretty much do no wrong in the public’s eye. So going to see this sequel did feel right – at least monetarily free.

The issues with this film are similar to the ones in Farrelly’s last full film The Three Stooges. The gags are there, I liked the performances and there are certainly some funny spots, but the plot needs work and it leads to a less than satisfying final act (though still better than The Three Stooges taking too much from Fletch and The Blues Brothers – though the “killing off the spouse” routine is in this film and probably should have been avoided.) But two-thirds of the film is hilarious. The pretend twenty year coma which starts off the film (and you can see in the trailer) and its related scenes still makes me laugh – yes it is stupid but it is sagacious stupid humor I appreciate dammit. So I think I like it (I’m giving it a ***/**** which is a passing grade, but warning mileage may vary with their style of humor, in fact if you do not like the first film, overtly stupid comedy or the Farrelly’s then stay away from this like a vegan to Burger King.)

I do expect the third film to come out in 2034 if everyone is alive. It could take a Bubba Ho-Tep type of plot. Jim Carrey has not aged that much in two decades, though Jeff Daniels has (and Kathleen Turner has aged the most, it took me a while to recognize her, I loved the smiley face gag though.) Bill Murray has one of the more hidden cameos of all-time. I did not know it was him until I saw his name in the credits. I wonder if he got paid?

Now this film does lead me to question who is more stupid: Harry or Lloyd? Is it easier to wax existentialist about the esoteric quandaries of quantum mechanics or to figure out just how many psychiatrists it takes to change a light bulb? *

Yes, there is an after-the-credits sequence. It was funny that no one stayed for that except for me. I had that feeling it was going to be there (chances are increased if it is a comedy, it is now an almost certainly for a comic-book film, still waiting for one for a serious drama based off of William Shakespeare or Jane Austin.)

* One, but the light bulb must want to change.

[DrNgor]

Ivanhoe - I had loathed, loathed, LOATHED the novel, so I was curious as to how the movie was. Turns out that this is another one of those cases where the film is better than the source material. Most importantly, the titular character actually gets to do heroic things, as opposed to the book, where spent about 350 pages recovering from a jousting wound. The castle set piece was really fun and the final duel (axe vs. war flail) was exciting. I find it interesting that Robin Hood is never referred to as such in the film (they just call him Sir Locksley). Elizabeth Taylor wasn't quite as bad-a** as Rebecca as the book version was, but I'll let that slide. Fun movie.

[Secret Executioner]

Watched some animated movies recently:

Asterix versus Caesar (1985)

The 4th Asterix animated movie. It sees a young girl named Panacea and her boyfriend Tragicomix (two recurring characters from the series) be captured by Romans from one of the Roman camps surrounding the village. They end sent to Africa as part of the Roman army (because the Centurion was unhappy with soldiers capturing Gauls, thus sending them away) before escaping and ending in Rome as slaves and later prisoners to be thrown to the lions during a show as part of a festival celebrating Caesar. This leads to Asterix and Obelix going on a mission to rescue them, first in Africa then in Rome.

The film actually mixes two storylines from the comics:

- Asterix and Obelix going on a rescue mission all the way to Rome and becoming gladiators (encountering the same lanista) to free kidnapped villagers (Cacofonix in the comic, Panacea and Tragicomix in the film) from the Circus comes from Asterix The Gladiator (4th volume of the series)

- Asterix and Obelix joining the Roman army (along with a colorful bunch of people from various areas) to free a Gaul (Tragicomix in both cases, though Panacea is taken along in the film while she's safe and sound in the village in the comic) forced to join and sent to Africa comes from Asterix The Legionary (10th volume of the series)

The film is overall enjoyable, with some really funny stuff happening and it contains many nods to the comics I hadn't spotted before (the Roman who gets Panacea and Tragicomix is based on an over-zealous soldier from a different story, two slave merchants seen in Rome are based on characters appearing in the comics...). Also, the theme song - called "Astérix est là" - is sung by Belgian singer Plastic Bertrand (the guy who made Ça plane pour moi in 1977).

Pinocchio (1940)

The second full-length animated feature by Disney after Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. Based on the classic Italian story by Carlo Collodi, I found (now knowing a lot of the original) that it was heavily altered: the setting and Pinocchio's costume look more like the mountains in Switzerland or Bavaria than Italy, Stromboli becomes an eventual villain instead of being the very kind guy he is in the original (IIRC he even gives money to Pinocchio and lets him go home after the show - not sure what happens afterwards, like how Pinocchio loses the money and stuff), the sea monster that swallows Geppetto is not a whale (a sperm whale to be precise) but a giant shark called The Terrible Dogfish... Some stuff is toned down, like Pinocchio trying to kill the Cricket or what actually happens to the kids in the island (the donkeys are used in mines notably - I also read of a donkey pulling the coach trying to warn Pinocchio, but I don't remember whether this was in the Collodi story or in a deleted scene from the Disney film).

Anyway, in spite of me being too overly critical on the book comparison (it's much closer to its source material than stuff like The Jungle Book - and Pinocchio is toned down he isn't a brat here, but more a naive character who wants to be good but ends badly because of his lack of judgement and his cheer innocence), I still enjoyed this film. First, for personal reasons: it was my first exposure to Pinocchio back when I was a little kid and I always liked the movie, though some parts are quite dark and twisted - Stromboli, the kids turning into donkeys... The last two thirds are very dark in spite of the happy ending, but I never had problems with that actually.

Also, the film has its own obvious merits: the story is well-told, the characters are memorable and well-developped, the songs are classic and the animation is spectacular, especially the sea part - the movements of the whale, the waves, really nicely done. I also like that vintage feel it has, it seems that the film could be set in the same world than Snow White considering how similar the two films look in terms of design and animation.

[SamSeed]

Funny Bones

Fantastic film. A tad surreal but the performances are spot on. It's nice to be genuinely surprised by a film.

Freeze Frame

Low budget British film about a paradiod man who films himself round the clock to prevent himself from ever being connected to a crime. A crime is committed and of course the one tape that proves his innocence goes missing. I really enjoyed it.

Now, both of these films happen to star Lee Evans (who as I'm sure we're all aware starred in the, ahem, perennial favourite round these parts The Medallion...). However, with these he really shows his skills as a serious and actually rather good actor. So whatever your opinion of him in The Medallion, a film which I can't help but enjoy, despite its many, many flaws, give these a try.

[Secret Executioner]

Raise The Titanic (USA, 1980)

Okay, I've often stated one of my favorite OTT movie titles was Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave. And only one movie actually tops this: the 1980 thriller Raise The Titanic.

Based on a 1976 novel by Clive Cussler, this film sees the USA and the USSR in a race for a newly discovered radioactive mineral called Byzanium. It's very hard to find except for a few remote areas of the world, but some has been located down at the bottom of the Atlantic - namely, in the wreck of the Titanic. Thus Americans and Soviets get in a race to be the first to get this cargo from the long sunken cruise liner.

Some decent special FX (the ship is pretty well reconstituted, though the wreck looks essentially like a rusted version - the part where she's finally raised is quite impressive though) but the movie itself is really not that interesting. It feels very passé, maybe because the plot is way out-dated by now. Hell, even for 1980 the Cold War/USA vs USSR based plot must have seemed old already. Of course, the depiction of the wreck is very wrong compared to what it actually looks like, but one has to remember that the wreck of the Titanic was finally discovered only 5 years later.

The movie eventually bombed at the box-office, bringing in 7 millions when it costed 36. If only a certain other piece of shit movie based on this ship and released 17 years later could have bombed as such... But I digress, I just have a genuine hatred towards James Cameron's Titanic.

[Secret Executioner]

The Return Of Jafar (USA, 1994)

DTV sequel to Disney's classic Aladdin in which Jafar's parrot Iago escapes from the lamp (following the ending of the first movie where Jafar became a Genie and ended trapped in his own lamp having taken Iago with him) and becomes friends with Aladdin (though Jasmine, the sultan and Abu don't trust him). Jafar's lamp is later found by a bumbling thief named Abis Mal who ends releasing him and accepts helping him in his quest for revenge against Aladdin.

In spite of having animation of lesser quality compared to the original, this film is still a really good Disney film - especially considering it's one of those DTV sequels. There's some stuff that may seem off if one looks closer (like a Genie supposedly can't kill, yet Jafar is able to generate fire, lightning and lava...) and there are plotholes/lucky turns at times, but it's still an enjoyable film with a very threatening villain (forget the humble and dignified Jafar struggling to keep in control from the first film, he switched to full psychopath here), nice visuals and some catchy songs. I'd say the protagonists are a bit bland and Iago gets annoying at times (he is the one getting the most focus I'd say), but some comedy (incompetent greedy Abis Mal is a much lighter villain by contrast with Jafar, and the Genie still offers some comedy and nice one-liners, though he is no longer voiced by Robin Williams but by Dan "Homer Simpson" Castellaneta).

Not one of my absolute Disney films ever (I still need to work on my fav' Disney movies list BTW), but still a nice romp worth a watch.

Titanic (USA, 1953)

A Jean Negulesco movie starring Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Wagner that focuses on a couple whose marriage is falling apart (lots of witty remarks and divorce talk in the film) as they travel on the Titanic for its first and only voyage accross the Atlantic.

I first saw this film on VHS about two years after seeing the (horrible) James Cameron one and I instantly liked it more - granted I was like 10 or 11 back then, but still... Re-watching it, I realize the characters are more fleshed out than the very fairy tale-like couple from the 1997 movie and the film is better written overall. When the ship hits the iceberg and starts sinking, they realize what's coming and forget their disputes to reconcile before the wife leaves in a lifeboat, there's no bullshit about wanting to stay together or whatnot.

Actually, there's a whole thread on the IMDb forum about how the 1953 film is superior to the 1997 one and for once, I agree with the Internet.

Naturally, as far as historical accuracy goes, the 1997 film is head and shoulders above, but one has to remember that back in 1953 there was next to no real record on what happened that fateful night - there were only a few testimonies from 1912, no book had published (one would lead to a film adaptation in 1958), there had been a handful of movies made on the subject (notably a 1943 film commissionned by Goebbels for anti-British and antisemitic propaganda - the movie). So the 1953 movie uses the little there is on the story and offers us a colorful revision, having the ship sinking in less than an hour (23:35-0:22), she doesn't break in two (it would be known only in 1985 after the wreck is found - from what I know, no witness mentionned the ship breaking) and explosions occuring.

For those interested in taking a look, it's available on youtube, though it seems a bit sped up:

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[DiP]

Rocky (1976) - 10/10

Rocky II (1979) - 7.5/10

Rocky III (1982) - 9/10

Rocky IV - 9/10

Rocky V (1990) - 5/10

Rocky Balboa (2006) - 9.5/10

[Keung]

– Blood Simple (1984)

Intriguing, clever, highly suspenseful, and oddly humorous – this edgy, neo-noir thriller is delivered in a way that never feels too complex to make you frustrated, but enough to keep you guessing.

No doubt when people come to research the Coen Brothers' they will look at their early work and be astounded by Blood Simple, that on such a low budget and limited resources, they created a wonderfully dark and satirical picture.