Pasha's Film Reviews Etc.

10/10    A traffic jam on a busy LA highway. People stuck in their cars, each locked up in their own little world, waiting patiently (or not) for the opportunity to move forward. A boring everyday scene... until one of the drivers breaks into a song... what happens next has to be seen to be believed.   This is the opening of LA LA LAND, an original musical with catchy tunes and a well written book. It is also well acted. Who would know that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone could sing and dance like that? Their voices may not sound as good on a standalone soundtrack, but they are perfectly natural in a film where characters break into song for no apparent reason and start dancing spontaneously. Bottom line is... if you love musicals you will be absolutely taken by LA LA LAND. If you don't... well, you may just be converted.    LA LA LAND, a love letter to Hollywood classics, is about dreamers, about a journey to a goal. What it gives and what it tak...

8/10   Jyn Erso grew up doubting everyone, including her father, a scientist working for The Empire.  Just as he has completed his deadliest weapon yet Jyn is rescued from The Empire's clutches by the Rebels, in order to help to bring her father down. Reluctantly she agrees. What begins as a simple mission of introducing the Rebels to a family supporter and friend, turns into a fight for survival. Faced with the magnitude of the danger Jyn and her new found friends embark on a suicide mission to steal the plans of Death Star. Serving as a link between the prequel trilogy and the original, ROGUE ONE ends where NEW HOPE begins. And all in between is an unexpectedly original take on the Star Wars universe that generates more suspense than your average sci-fi film. The outcome of the story may be known to all, but what is the fate of the new characters, that are so easy to love? ROGUE builds up to be a traditional STAR WARS movie, both in spirit and action. Until it br...

10/10  Mitsuha is a country girl who is dreaming of big city life. Taki is a boy from Tokyo who one day wakes up... in Mitsuha's body. The same happens to Mitsuha. After this body switching, when they both come around the next morning, they have very little memory of what has occurred... this strange phenomena repeats itself for some unknown reason. As the boy and the girl learn to live with this curious body swapping, they also become curious of each other... is it love? When the phenomena suddenly stops Taki leaves the comfort of his Tokyo home to find the mysterious girl whose life seems to be fused with his own. What he discovers will shake him to the core. Will the two star crossed lovers be able to reunite against all the odds?  In Japan the plot of YOUR NAME could be called a "gender bender", but in truth it is a genre bender, uniting romance, thriller, sci fi and disaster in one very complex movie that is very confident  in its own storytelling.  ...

9/10 World War Two is raging, as a Canadian spy, Max (Brad Pitt) and a French resistance fighter Marianne (Marion Cotillard)  meet in Casablanca to complete a deadly mission. Their relationship builds and grows, and soon they are married and united in London, as real life husband and wife. When Marianne is suspected of being  a German spy, Max has 72 hours to prove she is innocent or to kill her. How far would he go for love? Offering a lengthy prologue in Casablanca (a certain reference without a doubt) ALLIED immediately establishes itself as a modern take of a classic World War Two romance. The movie spends enough time to build the characters and their perfect affair, just to throw it all into turmoil in the second act. The characters are believable, the love, they feel for each other, is genuine and the tension that builds on a premise that one of them is a villain keeps it all tightly paced. The dilemma, "did she or did she not", is a perfect enter...

It’s day thirty-one and the final day of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR works on a simple premise, where-by in the future America, once a year, during 12 hour period called THE PURGE, every crime, including murder, is forgiven. Senator Charlie Roan, whose family had been massacred during one of the purges is now in the race for presidency, her first action if she wins will be to cancel THE PURGE. But in the election year the new rules declare, that no one is immune from THE PURGE. Now as she is being hunted down by her opponent, Charlie is on the run. What will it take to win the election and how far will she be prepared to go? Written and directed by James DeMonaco THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR is the third instalment in the series. DeMonaco had come up with the idea, penned and helmed all three films, and in the ELECTION YEAR the good writing has met ...

It’s day thirty of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. THE ONES BELOW is a stylish Hitchcockian  thriller of a subtle suspense, that is more tense than any straightforward horror movie could be. Kate and Justin who are expecting a baby, befriend a strange neighbours from downstairs. When tragedy strikes, Kate starts to suspect that her neighbours have sinister plans. The movie cleverly plays with expectation, and the attention towards the end becomes almost unbearable. David Farr, a theatre director, who also has an impressive filmography writing for Tv shows Spooks, The Manager Manager and has also penned a few Hollywood film scripts. He has come up with his first directorial  full length feature debut, which is haunting and terrifying. Carefully constructed, the story keeps its cards menacingly open, only to slap you in the face with an ending that you will ...

It’s day twenty-nine of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. In THE DARK STRANGER a comic book artist is fighting depression and the grief of her mother's suicide, while the visions of The Dark Man, a mysterious figure from the Comic book she is creating starts haunting her and becomes a threat to all. Partially animation, partially a coming of age story, THE DARK STRANGER has a few interesting twists and turns, but drives a familiar route of a family in distress and a young and pretty protagonist fighting evil. The character of THE DARK STRANGER symbolises depression, and this message and it is not obscure enough to be effective. It is hard to define the target audience for this little movie: it is definitely not for grown ups and teenagers will find it dull. THE DARK STRANGER has a few original ideas up its sleeve, but it's not enough to pull it through. SCORE OUT ...

It’s day twenty-eight of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. PHANTASM is a film , which shares the pedestal with other horror classics, such as HALLOWEEN, but its multiple sequels do not do justice to the original. PHANTASM RAVAGER is the latest instalment the fans of the franchise held high hopes for. What transpired is overwritten, confusing and an uninteresting ride that should have stayed buried or forgotten on the studio's shelf. You have to give it to the actors from the original, most of them are back for this FINAL fight with evil, and give enthusiastic performances, but the lazy script does not give them much to work with. The visual effects department was also a major let down. The clumsy CGI is barely passable and will look awkward on the big screen. There's nothing positive to say about PHANTASM RAVAGER. It made me feel nostalgic for the time when I sa...

It’s day twenty-seven of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. THE DARKNESS is an American movie from Australian Greg McLean, the creator of Wolf Creek. Once again touching upon the travellers entering an uncharted territory, the movie sets the stage in a typical suburban America, with your "next door neighbours" type of characters in peril. When their autistic son picks up some weird artefacts during their vacation in Grand Canyon, he brings in the demonic presence into their everyday life. THE DARKNESS boasts being based on real life story, but it tries to copy THE CONJURING and INSIDIOUS in a badly unsuspenseful way. The film is a misfire by an otherwise clever director, with a perfect sense of what horror should look like. It's always rewarding to watch Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell, but the script does not give them much to work with. THE DARKNESS is much more ...

It’s day twenty-six of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. THE MIND'S EYE is an 80's stylised piece of cinema, that is hugely inspired by the classic horror SCANNERS. Featuring similar set up it is telling the story of a man and a woman with telekinetic abilities, who has escaped from the secret compound, where they were subjected to gruesome experiments. Pursued by a psychotic doctor, they have to die, or face their attackers head on. Full of piercing needles, flying axes and exploding heads, THE MIND'S EYE is a gore feast, but it also manages to deliver on tension. The electronic soundtrack  will bring out nostalgia, and the practical effects and the make up are awe inspiring. Good bye CGI! If anything negative to be said about THE MIND'S EYE, it's that it is taking itself too seriously, plus the story is a little one dimensional. Nothing original was really...

It’s day twenty-five of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. My challenge will not be complete without a review of a TV show. There are number of fantastic horror shows out there, including American Horror Story, but tonight I will talk about the "underdog". SCREAM is a NETFLIX show (originally produced by MTV) that I love to hate. So far SCREAM TV SHOW has spawned two very uneven seasons, but with the Halloween special movie, it seems to start finally finding its voice. It is not necessary to know any of the SCREAM TV characters to watch this one, but it is beneficial, as a few storylines from TV show get a resolution and it sets up for the next season. At the core of the story is a bunch of teenagers, who had not once, but twice had survived a serial killer massacre; decide to escape their hometown for Halloween and get stuck on an island, and plunge right into the...

It’s day twenty-four of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. Korean movies always put drama on the forefront of any genre film including horror. MANHOLE -  a slasher movie, that takes part almost entirely in the underground of Seoul, is no exception. When her deaf sister suddenly disappears, Yeon-Seo descends into the underground labyrinth, beneath the city to find her. The entire film is a cat and mouse game between the two women and a psychotic serial killer who is out to destroy them. The film is stylishly shot and for the small set up the underground setting provides, no expense is spared. Another famous feature of Korean movies is the high standard of acting. Both leading ladies and the serial killer are believable and very human characters. While evil is never redeemed, it is made understandable. Korean audiences crave horror more than any other country (must hav...

It’s day twenty-three of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. REBIRTH is a story of Kyle,  a middle aged guy stuck in his home-work-home routine, who goes to a spiritual camp weekend recommended by his old pal, he had not seen in ages. To give away anything that transpires would be a spoiler… just to mention its not a comedy we are reviewing after all! REBIRTH is a Netflix commissioned movie and there’s been a row of very successful ones in recent years: art-house movies with descent budgets, that would never have been produced otherwise. Bravo Netflix. The one word to describe REBIRTH would be “intriguing”. It has the same “lunacy” vibe as THE INVITATION, one of my favorite horror of this year. It does not go as far, but it does not have to. We can make up our minds ourselves. In my books, REBIRTH could be a prequel to THE INVITATION also but  it has no connection ...

It’s day twenty-two of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. In ABATTOIR a young journalist loses her sister's family to a terrible crime, only to find out that the the house where the murder was committed had been sold and the murder room had been ripped out of it. She shortly finds out similar incidents all over the country, and discovers that a mysterious collector is harvesting the crime scenes and building one very special house... Originally created as a comic book by director Darryl Lynn Bousman (a director of  some SAW sequels) ABATTOIR is an indie film with great potential, its only minus could be the limited budget. You could only imagine what this idea could really look like on a bigger scale! It is rare to find such an original premise in an independent horror film, but to have top notch cinematography and suspense is a real rarity. ABATTOIR'S main achieve...

It’s day twenty one of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. This time it's another 80s horror, called THE ZERO BOYS. It's must have been a pioneer of the survival horror, with unusually and unsettling for the time snuff movie references and very human villains. The story revolves around a team of young survival game champions, who suddenly find themselves hunted by a group of psychopaths. Are they as good at survival game for real?  This time the prize is their lives. My thirteen year old self would love THE ZERO BOYS, because it is full of booby traps, explosions and some very well executed suspense. But looking at it through the eyes of a modern viewer it is obvious that the characters are badly developed, the acting is weak and behaviour is illogical. It is also hard to like anyone, and the boys who play with guns too much are just asking for the arrow through their ...

It’s day twenty of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. I am told I am not watching enough 80's horror films, so tonight I am reviewing CHOPPING MALL, a horror film from the 80's I had missed as a teenager and have discovered it's existence just recently, stumbling on a poster. God, I wish they made similar posters these days!  A perfect marketing tool! The plot is simple, but effective. A lightening strike causes the safety guard robots to go mad at a large shopping mall, just when a group of young people decides to have a sneaky party after hours. The exits are locked, and the victims are stuck with the homicidal machines overnight. The film has a dumb dialogue, lots of topless girls, is filled with neon laser beams and has plenty of explosive gore - everything 80's is famous for. There is barely a boring moment, as the kids don't take long to fight back...

It’s day nineteen of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. NIGHT FARE is a French horror movie directed by Julien Seri, who normally specialises in action films, and it is visible in this 2015 horror effort. The premise is intriguing enough: during their reunion in Paris, two friends skip the taxi fare, only to be stalked by the relentless taxi driver with a mania to kill.  What should be a straightforward formula thriller is not what it seems, and the last 20 minutes shift the gear into a different direction, showing what happened in a different light... and not in a great way. NIGHT FARE is basically one relentless chase thorough the seedy Parisian suburbs, and is entertaining enough. The cinematography resembles carefully constructed music video and the suspense, unfortunately, is never really there. The love triangle aspect of the story, however, is a terrible cliche. I...

It’s day eighteen of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. Officially WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is an American re-make of a very good Mexican film of the same name. But I would rather call it re-imagining, as after the familiar set up, the movie takes a completely different direction from the original. Parkers is a small town family who had just experienced a tragedy - Emma Parker, the mother of three children had passed away. But for Parker's family, apart from the feeling of grief and loss, her death presents a very practical problem - they will have nothing to eat. And mom had provided them with a very special type of food... WE ARE WHAT WE ARE stands out for its very human portrayal of monsters, to the point that you can almost feel sympathy towards them. Two innocent girls, the small boy and the maddened with grief father, all seem vulnerable and desperate. As hunger overta...

It’s day seventeen of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. In the Danish movie WHEN ANIMALS DREAM, a young girl Marie discovers strange changes in her body. Realising that her family is not what it seems, she makes a decision that no one will dictate to her how to deal with her future. WHEN ANIMALS DREAM Is a coming of age story with a twist. Using the Werewolf legend as a basis for Marie's transformations, the movie is more concerned about drama than the straightforward horror, focusing on frustrations of being young and facing inevitable decisions about the future. The movie is dark, elegant and stylish, with performances to match, Sonia Suhl as Marie being a particular revelation. The film is short, less than 90 minutes, and this allows it to tell this small story at the right pace and finish at the right time. WHEN ANIMALS DREAM toured the world festivals a few years a...

It’s day sixteen of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one. Once in a while watching a lot of independent films your stumble on a hidden gem, such a gem is JACK GOES HOME, from a first time director Thomas Dekker. Just like the title suggest, a young man Jack returns home from LA for his father's funeral, to discover some shocking truths about his early childhood and his parents. With his mother being alive, she is the only one he can ask questions. How far will he go to get the answers, and how far would his mother go to cover up the terrible truth? JACK GOES HOME is best described as "intriguing". Just like the protagonist, we want to know the answers to the secrets, and we get them eventually, but the ending will make us question ourselves. What was true? Was anything? JACK GOES HOME is a kind of a movie that give you all the answers. But at the same time offers ...