Pasha's Film Reviews Etc.

9/10 In the modern world mobile phones are the keepers of our most private thoughts. What would happ en if the contents of our mind were exposed for the world to see? During a dinner party seven friends decide to play a game: for the duration of one evening they would give up their mobile phones. Every message and every phone call is no longer private.  They could read each other’s texts and listen to each other’s conversation. Do they have anything to hide? And if they do, how bad would the damage be? We are all used to light hearted Italian farce, but PERFECT STRANGERS delves into dangerous territory  when the humorous brushes with the sad and even the tragic. Set during an eclipse of the moon, this is a night of revelations, that points out exactly what each character is capable of. The snappy, quick-witted dialogue carries the movie forward. It is a w ell-acted, addictive film, that delivers plenty of surprises along the way. PERFECT STRANGER...

8/10 We have seen it all before, a world pandemic, the dead come alive and the characters are struggling to survive in a changing world. But TRAIN TO BUSAN is not just a "zombies on a train" flick,  it provides and delivers an emotional impact that only Korean cinema is capable of. TRAIN TO BUSAN is the follow up to Yeon Sung-Ho's animated feature SEOUL STATION and is his first Live Action film. He is a remarkable filmmaker, whose work always focuses on social injustices in modern South Korea, his main characters being underdogs and social pariahs. Here, however, he steps away from this type of protagonist, introducing a seemingly cold hearted and calculating businessman Seok-Woo, who reluctantly accepts his daughter's birthday wish and takes her to Busan to see her estranged mother. Soon after, the country is in lockdown, a virus outbreak begins and the flesh eating army of zombies emerge. Busan, however, seems to be a safe haven, so the train carries on....

8/10 In the avalanche of each year's TV shows, it is not easy at times to find a hidden gem. Never mind the bad reviews and the rating - AMERICAN GOTHIC may not hold an original premise, but it's one of the best whodunit mysteries TV has to offer this year. At the centre of the story are the Hawthornes, a rich and influential family who get themselves mixed up in a serial murder investigation. A murder weapon, the belt, is found in the structure of the collapsed tunnel that the family has built. The patriarch of the family, Mitch, quickly falls under suspicion. But did he have an accomplice? A prodigal son, Garret, who has returned just when the family gets into turmoil, is the primary suspect. The other possible accomplices are any of the Hawthorne family: a crazed drug addicted artist son Cam,  a ruthless bisexual politician daughter Alison, and a controlling matriarch Madeline. And what about the young and innocent Tessa, who was just a teenager when th...

7/10 A young family, obsessed with heavy metal, moves into a house with a troubled history. It's not long before the previous owner returns and tries to get in. And he would not take "No" for an answer. He likes heavy metal too, only for his own personal reasons - loud music keeps the voices in his head at bay. And it's the voice of Satan that he is hearing. DEVIL'S CANDY is the second feature from the Australian director Sean Byrne, following his still very popular THE LOVED ONES, and this is his first American film.  The premise is not highly original, however what this movie lacks in originality it delivers in tension. A slow burning thriller soon turns dark and violent, culminating in a cleverly made straightforward home invasion scene that will make your skin crawl. But the biggest win for DEVIL'S CANDY is not the scares, but the characters. Byrne has created a tightly knit family with real relationships and real problems. It'...