28th Jul2017

‘Annabelle: Creation’ Review

by Nik Holman

Stars: Stephanie Signman, Miranda Otto, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, Lulu Wilson, Grace Fulton, Philippa Coulthard, Tayler Buck | Written by Gary Dauberman | Directed by David F. Sandberg Annabelle: Creation begins on an isolated patch of California somewhere in the 1950’s. The beginning shots walk us through a doll makers’ trade. Unsettling close-ups of paint […]

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27th Jul2017

‘The Ice Cream Truck’ Review

by Nik Holman

Stars: Deanna Russo, Emil Johnsen, John Redlinger, Sam Schweikert, Hilary Barraford, Bailey Anne Borders, Dan Sutter, Dana Gaier | Written and Directed by Megan Freels Johnston A struggling writer, Mary moves back to the quiet, suburban neighborhood where she grew up. Hoping that some isolation and a fresh change of scenery will unclog her writers’ […]

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26th Jul2017

‘A Touch of Genie’ Blu-ray Review (Vinegar Syndrome)

by Mondo Squallido

Stars: Chris Jordan, Douglas Stone, Tina Russell, Harry Reems, Marc Stevens, Ultramax, Herding Harrison, Levi Richards, Eric Edwards | Written and Directed by Joseph W. Sarno Melvin (Douglas Stone) has decided to drop out of his education as an accountant and run himself an antiques store. Frustrated with where his life is headed and becoming […]

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26th Jul2017

‘The Big Sick’ Review

by Rupert Harvey

Stars: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, Holly Hunter, Anupam Kher | Written by Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani | Directed by Michael Showalter Michael Showalter, best known as an actor and writer on the Wet Hot American Summer TV series, directs this gentle culture clash comedy, based on the real-life experiences of (screenwriters) Emily […]

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26th Jul2017

‘Karate Kill’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Hayate, Asami, Kirk Geiger, Mana Sakura, Noriaki Kamata, Katrina Leigh Waters, David Sakurai | Written and Directed by Kurando Mitsutake Kurando Mitsutake is not a name that will spring to mind of many an action movie fan, yet he has helmed a number of films that not only push the envelope of action but […]

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25th Jul2017

‘Stalker’ Blu-ray Review (Criterion)

by Rupert Harvey

Stars: Alexander Kaidanovsky, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Alisa Freindlich | Written by Boris Strugatsky, Arkadi Strugatsky | Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Based on Boris and Arkadi Strugatsky’s novel Roadside Picnic (not to mention the inspiration behind a famous video game series), this 1979 epic is a typically challenging work from Russian auteur Andrei Tarkovsky, but […]

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24th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Poor Agnes’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Lora Burke, Robert Notman, Will Conlon | Written by J. Gordon Ross | Directed by Navin Ramaswaran Sometimes, just sometimes, you sit down to watch a horror film and you wonder whether the people behind the film are as twisted as the film they’ve created. Poor Agnes is a perfect example of that. How […]

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22nd Jul2017

‘Dunkirk’ Review

by Rupert Harvey

Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Tom Glynn-Carney, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard | Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan On paper, Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to Interstellar couldn’t be more different to the puzzle boxes which have defined his movies to date. Here’s a real historic event portrayed in well under two hours, […]

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21st Jul2017

‘Another Mother’s Son’ DVD Review

by Paul Metcalf

Stars: Jenny Seagrove, John Hannah, Amanda Abbington, Ronan Keating, Julian Kostov | Written by Jenny Lecoat | Directed by Christopher Menaul When we see World War 2 movies based on the British experience, normally we witness the events of the Blitz and see the hardship people went through. Another Mother’s Son takes us to Nazi […]

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21st Jul2017

‘Hear The Silence’ Review

by Nik Holman

Stars: Lars Doppler, Vera Stadler, Antonia Langenohl, Maja Jotten, Simon Hangartner, Andreas Zahn, Dominik Fenster, Clarissa Molocher, Marina Koch, Andreas Er | Written and Directed by Ed Ehrenberg October 1941, some where in the Ukraine, a squad of young German soldiers stumble upon a small village 200 kilometers behind Russian lines. Freezing, hungry, and wounded, […]

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21st Jul2017

‘Eurocrime!’ DVD Review

by Phil Wheat

Featuring: John Saxon, Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Ottaviano Dell’Acqua, Leonard Mann, Richard Harrison | Written and Directed by Mike Malloy Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s, to give the film it’s full title, is a welcome and affectionate look at the Italian poliziotteschi films of the 1970s, films such as […]

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20th Jul2017

‘Nurse Sherri’ Blu-ray Review (Vinegar Syndrome)

by Mondo Squallido

Stars: Geoffrey Land, Jill Jacobson, Marilyn Joi, Katherine Pass, Prentiss Moulden, Bill Roy, Erwin Fuller, J.C. Wells, Clay Foster, Caryl Briscoe | Written by Michael Bockman, Greg Tittinger | Directed by Al Adamson Deep in the L.A. Desert, a gullible cult lead by the influential and ever, ever so slightly mad and deluded preacher – […]

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20th Jul2017

‘Darker Shades of Elise’ DVD Review

by Philip Rogers

Stars: Becca Hirani, Tommy Vilés, Arron Blake, Darcie Lincoln, David Royal, Tara MacGowran, Kate Lush, Charlene Cooper, Tony Manders, Tessa Hart | Written by Shannon Holiday | Directed by Jamie Weston Having given up a career as a model and actress to start a family, Elise (Becca Hirani) suffers a miscarriage. Struggling to deal with […]

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20th Jul2017

‘Frantz’ Blu-ray Review

by Rupert Harvey

Stars: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Anton von Lucke | Written by François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo | Directed by François Ozon A remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 film Broken Lullaby, itself based on a stage play, Frantz is the latest character-based drama from prolific French director François Ozon. Deeply melancholy and very […]

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19th Jul2017

‘Personal Shopper’ DVD Review

by Paul Metcalf

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid Bouaziz, Anders Danielsen Lie, Ty Olwin, Hammou Graïa, Nora von Waldstätten, Benjamin Biolay, Audrey Bonnet, Pascal Rambert | Written and Directed by Olivier Assayas Maureen (Kristen Stewart) is a Personal Shopper by day and a ghost hunter by night. Trying to find proof her brother is communicating with her from […]

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18th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Sequence Break’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Chase Williamson, Lyle Kanouse, Fabianne Therese, Audrey Wasilewski, Johnny Dinan | Written and Directed by Graham Skipper Oz (Williamson) is an antisocial loner who only finds solace in his love for ’80s arcade games, refurbishing and restoring them to their former glory. That is, until he meets Tess (Therese). The two quickly become romantically […]

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18th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Replace’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Rebecca Forsythe, Barbara Crampton, Lucie Aron, Sean Knopp, Adnan Maral, J. David Hinze | Written by Norbert Keil, Richard Stanley | Directed by Norbert Keil Following in the footsteps of the likes of David Cronenberg, German filmmaker Norbert Keil unleashes his own brand of body-horror on unsuspecting audiences with Replace – a Bathoryesque tale of a […]

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17th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Savage Dog’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Juju Chan, Cung Le, Keith David, Vladimir Kulich, Matthew Marsden, Charles Fathy | Written and Directed by Jesse V. Johnson OK, let’s all just say it together. Scott Adkins is the saviour of DTV action movies. Charismatic, skilled and just a downright badass (and likeable) actor, whatever Adkins seemingly touches […]

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17th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Game of Death’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Erniel Baez D, Victoria Diamond, Sam Earle, Emelia Hellman, Catherine Saindon, Nick Serino, Thomas Vallieres | Written by Edouard Bond, Philip Kalin-Hajdu, Sebastien Landry, Laurence Baz Morais | Directed by Sebastien Landry, Laurence Baz Morais A hard-partying pack of teens come across a mysterious vintage game and can’t resist giving it a try. They […]

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17th Jul2017

‘Devil’s Domain’ VOD Review

by Nik Holman

Stars: Madi Vodane, Kelly Decker, Michael Madsen, Linda Bella | Written and Directed by Jared Cohn A bullied teen cozies up the Devil in order to enact vengeance on the mean girls at her high school… Devil’s Domain sounds like a promising, if well worn, premise; a supernatural, revenge fantasy about the dangers of cyber-bullying […]

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17th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘The Honor Farm’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Olivia Applegate, Katie Folger, Dora Madison, Will Brittain, Louis Hunter, Jonny Mars, Liam Aiken, Mackenzie Astin, Josephine McAdam, Christina Parrish, Michael Eric Reid | Written by Karen Skloss, Jasmine Skloss Harrison, Jay Tonne, Jr. | Directed by Karen Skloss The gown, the hairstyling, the limousine, the prom date – all the familiar details that […]

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14th Jul2017

‘End of a Gun’ DVD Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Steven Seagal, Jade Ewen, Florin Piersic Jr., Jacob Grodnik, Jonathan Rosenthal, Ovidiu Niculescu, Claudiu Bleont, Troy Miller, Alexandre Nguyen, Andrei Ciopec | Written by Chuck Hustmyre, Keoni Waxman | Directed by Keoni Waxman When Decker (Seagal), a highly skilled ex-DEA agent, crosses paths with Lisa (Jade Ewen), she approaches him with a seductive proposition: help […]

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