Film Reviews by HW

Surely one of the most original films in years: a social drama about African-American culture and racial tensions in 1930s Mississippi, with songs and vampires! The first half of the film is cool enough, with gangster twins (both played brilliantly by Robert B. Jordan) setting up a backwoods club, while also delivering different perspectives from black characters on a world set against them. Then it turns out not only is the KKK after them, so are blues-loving vampires (who also start off white). I don’t know if the vampires are meant to be a metaphor for white culture sucking the blood out of black culture. But if you stop trying to over-analyse like I am, this is a superb thriller. When the vampires turn up, it’s genuinely scary - even when they’re playing sweet folk songs. The action that the film builds up to is gory and savage. I also appreciated the sheer amount of prosthetics that were used in this film, including revolutionary reflective lenses for the vampires. Jack O’Connell as the lead vampire is fascinating to watch, like a fanged cult leader. While being a better version of ‘From Dusk til Dawn’, the film is also a celebration of the power of music, black culture and life in general. All its odd elements blend seamlessly together into perhaps the best vampire/black-horror film ever made. 

As a fan of westerns, Australian films and 70s cinema, this ticked a lot of boxes for me. As expected, this is a slightly mad film but that's part of the appeal. This biopic of a historical outlaw feels in places like a demented, hazy drug trip (not that I would know), with exaggerated performances, violence and visuals. You’ve even got young Dennis Hopper in the title role doing an Irish accent (I don’t know if this was during his drug-binging period) and he’s hypnotic as the charming, intense outlaw. Despite being a great example of crazed 70s filmmaking (in the same vein as ‘Clockwork Orange’), this film actually felt more realistic compared to most outlaw films, which tend to glamorise or romanticise their subjects, like the dull ‘Ned Kelly’ film with Mick Jagger. Here, Morgan is both a Robin Hood and a slightly deranged buffoon who gets shot and shoots people ‘accidentally’ while somehow evading the police. You could argue however that the film is also a celebration of the outlaw lifestyle, presenting it as poetic in places. Anyway, if you like ‘Mad Max’ and spaghetti westerns, you might get a kick out of this bizarre and proudly Australian outlaw odyssey. While the film’s quality is inconsistent, the Aussie landscapes look stunning. 

Like a Neo-western version of ‘Lost Boys’, which bizarrely came out the same year. The same story of a young man being initiated into a vampire clan is here, except the vampires are road-tripping outlaws in a blacked-out camper van who are happy to engage in shootouts with the cops. The relationship between the young man and the vampires is interesting, as he swings from seeking their approval to despising them, resisting his own bloodlust while they wreak havoc on a bar in the most memorable scene. I guess the movie could be an extreme metaphor for adolescence, as the young man is torn between his family and hanging out with the cool bloodsucking kids so he can be close to his babe, who made him into a vampire in the first place. He still finds the ethereal, mysterious blond attractive even after she starts draining other men. The coolest thing about this movie is the cast, including three actors from ‘Aliens’! Bill Paxton shines as the most psychotic, leather-jacketed vampire taking maniacal glee in murder. I also wonder if the writer of the ‘Preacher’ comics got some visual inspiration from this movie for his Cassidy character, what with outlaw vampires in pick-ups trying not to burst into flame in the desert sun: by hiding under flimsy blankets. Overall a great example of ‘pulp’ 80s horror. For fans of the 80s, vampire-romance and the Wild West. Stephen King could have written this. 

One of those true-story films that’s actually incredible. If you watch the special features, you’ll see how the director auditioned several children from Aboriginal communities and found three girls who had never acted before but had amazing presence. The girls give somehow stoic but heartbreaking performances as the three ‘half-caste’ children walking thousands of miles to get back to their mother, after being kidnapped by the government. As well as delivering epic drama, this movie also exposes a shameful episode in Australian history, where Aboriginal children were stolen from their communities to be ‘culturally re-educated’. The film certainly made me want to read more on these events. Kenneth Branagh (the biggest name in the cast) does a great job playing the stiff, racist ‘protector’ of the Aborigial people, an epitome of white supremacy who genuinely believes he’s helping these children. As well as a history lesson, I was also impressed with the creative camera shots that swayed and flew over the startling landscapes, as if you too were suffering the heat and the emotional turmoil felt by the children. A beautiful, bold, powerful example of Australian cinema. 

Vincent Price has the time of his life as a Shakespearean supervillain: an actor returned from his humiliating Hamlet-quoting suicide, enacting excessively theatrical revenge killings on the circle of critics who snubbed him. What a fantastic concept for a horror. This movie is a surprisingly thrilling blend of gleeful gory goofiness and highbrow literary references. You even feel sorry for old Lionheart during his more passionate soliloquies. For such a silly B movie, there’s real flair with the camerawork and set designs too. And of course, this is a brilliant tribute to the famous words of the Bard and a reminder of how fun his work could be! 

There’s not a wasted minute in this tightly-paced, increasingly tense western-noir-mystery-thriller from the director of ‘Magnificent Seven’. As soon as the mysterious stranger Macreedy steps off the train in a tiny desert town, the locals greet him with suspicious hostility which only increases until you fear he’s never going to make it out alive. The fact that Macreedy’s asking about the disappearance of a local Japanese farmer means the film tackles issues of post-war racism, while delivering a masterclass of gripping tension. Combatting Spencer Tracy’s heroic performance is an incredible gallery of Wild West rogues - Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Walter Brennan. If you like westerns and film noirs, this is a classic that still packs a punch. 

The director should have stuck to making pure horror movies rather than increasingly bad action-horrors, because he’s good at the horror! The quality of this haunted-house-in-space took me by surprise. Like ‘Alien’ (which this movie was a massive tribute to), you’ve got a building dread atmosphere and the terror of the unknown. I suspected that when a state-of-the-art ship returned from another dimension after being lost for seven yesrs, the outcome wasn’t going to be good. The last thing Laurence Fishburne’s crew surely wanted to do was get on Event Horizon, a hypothesis proven by the fact that events get more sinister and disastrous as the story unfolds.

 The cast were great, especially Sam Neill in the most unsettling role I’ve ever seen him in. He plays the designer of the dimension-crossing Event Horizon who starts off with good intentions but gradually grows more disturbingly protective of his baby ship. 

What I liked about this horror was the blending of advanced sci-fi ideas and technology with a good old-fashioned, Biblical concept of Hell; complete with flashes of outrageously horrific imagery. As well as similarities to ‘Alien’, there’s nods to ‘2001’ with the hi-tech ship that becomes more sentient and defensive. Obviously there is some dodgy space science, like how long characters can resist being sucked out into space as soon as a window is broken. 

Overall an impressively dark and thought-provoking sci-fi horror with a thrilling, straight-forward plot which pulled off its main objective: making you scared of going into space, messing with science and crossing dimensions. Who knows what’s out there? 

If somebody asked ‘what’s a classic adventure movie from the first half of the 20th century’, this is it. As expected, the goodies and baddies are very clear cut. You’ve got handsome Errol Flynn as the Robin Hood who can do no wrong. He somehow manages to pull off being a dashing and romantically charming action hero despite wearing that ridiculous green costume. Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone are classic smarmy evil villains.

What makes this swashbuckler stand out from the pack is its gloriously dazzling technicolour, which makes it feel like a 1950s film. There’s also very impressive sets and armies of extras, and Sherwood Forest is depicted here as an English Eden. The speeded-up sword fighting and stunts remain thrilling. What I didn’t expect was Robin being portrayed as a freedom fighter, leading the poor Saxons against their decadent, oppressive Norman overlords (although historically speaking, I’m not sure if Saxons and Normans were even relevant terms by Robin Hood’s supposed era. The costumes certainly don’t look 11th century). There’s also some references to rather gruesome violence of ear lopping and blinding that somehow got past the Hollywood code and Olivia de Havilland is quite a fiery and certainly not useless damsel. Personally, I liked how the movie paid close tribute to the original Robin stories with its slightly episodic narrative. 

Overall, if you don’t mind old-fashioned movies, this is still a thoroughly enjoyable romp, whose influence I now see on many movies that came after, like ‘Princess Bride’. 

I enjoyed the twisted concept of this story, and Nicholas Hoult was utterly captivating as the tortured family man torn between saving his own life or the life of the man whose guilt he’s supposed to be deciding. Yes, there were many scenes that felt like a remake of ‘12 Angry Men’, but this time the one juror standing against the others has ulterior motives. I’m impressed Eastwood can still direct such gripping thrillers in his 90s. As well as being entertaining (watching a man stuck in a completely unenvious position is morbidly fascinating), this complex drama also asks some probing questions about the integrity of the US justice system. Every character who’s supposed to have an unbiased judgment during the trial has their own agenda going on. 

This movie could have been made this century and still be relevant. As a western fan, I loved the Mexican landscapes, the shootouts and the horses. However this film offers more than your average shoot ‘em up. This dark anti-materialistic morality fable is actually hard to classify, which makes it all the more impressive that it was made and released in the restrictive environment of 1940s Hollywood. Bogart of course rules the roost with his genuinely unpleasant and frightening depiction of a drifter becoming more and more overcome by greed and paranoia on a gold-dig with some well-acted acquaintances. The director’s father playing the old gold prospector was the most charming performance. A well-acted, well-scripted action-adventure with deeper, darker themes that’s possibly ahead of its time. Steinbeck could have written this. 

This movie is a freaky, freaky ride all the way through. For most of the runtime, it’s a confusing mystery but also an intriguing satire of rich teen LA life. The teen stuff takes a dark turn when our young hero Billy overhears a super dodgy recording of his family at an exclusive party, made by his sister’s stalker. Suffice to say, it’s not the kind of audio you want to hear your sister and parents partaking in. More weird, unexplainable things happen until Billy winds up at one of these parties. 

The finale or last twenty minutes is all you really need to see, as it’s a triumph of gross, gooey 80s prosthetics and make-up; a body-horror orgy with surreal fleshy distortions bordering on art. Nevertheless, under the outrageous crassness, there is a relevant, chilling subtext of the rich feeding on the poor. Definitely not a family or date movie - if you want the date to go well that is. The theme song will linger. 

To his credit, Ken Russel took a weak horror novella, took out the confusing, tedious and frankly racist aspects, and turned it into a genuinely fun if bizarre piece of horror cinema. With such a flimsy inspiration and a low budget, it’s impressive actually how fun and thrilling this British horror is. While removing the negatives, Russel amped up and added the sexual and monstrous aspects. There are fantastic (if hilarious) serpentine prosthetics and make-up. There are thrilling action scenes and sets as we watch the young British cast run around, chasing and being chased by serpentine monsters and vampires (even if their acting and delivery feels a bit forced). Amanda Donahue gives the best performance by throwing herself into the role of the sinister but sexy Lady Sylvia. The erotic scenes are bold and shocking. Overall this feels like a tounge-in-cheek tribute to Hammer horrors, with a great folk-punk theme song! 

A thoroughly enjoyable, old-fashioned historical epic that you could imagine taking up a lazy weekend afternoon. Richard Harris gives a passionate performance as Cromwell, warring with both King and Parliament with his enraged speeches. Sir Alec Guinness gives a noble, sympathetic if crafty and stubborn Charles I. As with most historical films, there are inaccuracies. Cromwell is depicted here as a reluctant people’s hero, whereas from what I’ve read he seemed more motivated by religion than people’s rights and the Irish atrocities he oversaw are conveniently left out. The depictions of the battles at Edgehill and Naseby, while thrilling, were incorrect. Nevertheless the script has an impressive amount of quotes and references to history and to be honest, tells the overall series of volatile events as they happened mostly correctly and very dramatically. 

A gripping depiction of a fascinating true event. Great British cast, especially Timothy Spall depicting Irving the holocaust denier as a smug, unpleasant man. As well as delivering good plot and tension, this film makes you think about history and people’s different views on history, as well as the impact that horrific atrocities like the Holocaust continue to have on culture. 

For a TV movie, this is such an incredible and original addition to the western genre. For western fans, this is a real treat with all the classic generic elements done well. There’s magnificent natural scenery, beautiful horses, an epic depiction of a horse drive and natural cowboy performances from a rather grim Thomas Haden Church and the loveable Robert Duvall. When the cowpokes come across five Chinese women being taken across the prairie to be sold into prostitution, the films become unique for exploring the plight of both women and Asian immigrants in 1800s America. While the films could be accused of enforcing a white saviour plot line, it’s still sweet to see a group of mixed characters overcoming barriers and differences to work and thrive together on the trail. You’ll like this if you liked ‘Lonesome Dove’, ‘Open Range’ and ‘The Homesman’.