Pasha's Film Reviews Etc.

8/10 Young couple goes on a trip to an isolated beach and discover that they are not alone. Someone else had put up a tent there and then abandoned it. As time passes by and the owners of the tent do not return, the newcomers start to suspect the worse. Then all hell breaks loose…  If you are a horror fan like myself you'd know the premise of KILLING GROUND. It all had been done before. What makes this movie stand out is its extreme realism and "no holds barred" attitude. It is at times a hard, edge of the seat viewing, but a rewarding one in the end. KILLING GROUND shows how good a survival movie could be if it is well scripted, acted and doesn't try to cash in on cheap tricks. The story moves back and forwards, explaining bit by bit what happened to the first family and adding a sense of danger to the present. The villains are despicable, but down to earth real, which makes them even more terrifying. The performance of Aaron Glenane is particula...

1/5 A family is exiled, after a scandal, into a small outback Australian town, just to face even more horrific ordeal - the disappearance of their two children. How to survive the uncertainty, when with every second passing by finding the kids becomes a more desperate task? Old wounds are open and lives shuttered, as time is gradually running out. STRANGERLAND have a few good things going for it - Nicole Kidman as desperate mother and Hugo Weaving as focused but sensitive cop have great dynamic, building up the characters well beyond what the script had to offer. The cinematography is great and the many areal shots enriched film with an atmosphere of mystery and even dread. Locations for the film were also carefully chosen and beautifully photographed - there’s a lot of eye candy without CGI on offer. Unfortunately, it is not enough to have great cast and access to a helicopter to make a good film. STRANGERLAND fails terribly to deliver the goods and the script is to...

4/5 It has been four years since Gallipoli battle and an Australian farmer Conner ventures into Turkey to find the three sons he lost to the war and bring their bodies home. On his way he meets new friends, faces new foes and discovers hope he did not think existed. The trailer to THE WATER DIVINER revealed one of the major plot twists, however I will not mention in my review as I consider it a spoiler. I guess it is very hard to promote a movie about a father who had lost everything without a glimmer of hope. Talking about hope - it is a common thread going through the movie and THE WATER DIVINER was released in Turkey under the name of LAST HOPE. It may be a better name. THE WATER DEVINER is a very sentimental movie. The romantic relationship of Connor with a Turkish single mother is one of the main plot features. Olga Kurylenko shines as a single mother and a widow who is determined not to succumb to the fate of the women of her status. Kurylenko is beaming with cha...

* * * * It's hard to be a single mom, especially if your husband died on the night your son was born. Especially if your only son is violent and seeing monsters everywhere. When a blood-red book appears on her son's bedroom Amelia doesn't think too much of it. It is a creepy book however and as her son Samuel continues to insist Mr. Babadook is real, she has to show what's the proper parenting is about. Borrowing heavily from THE SHINING and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, BABADOOK has it's own evil heart at its core. It introduces its own kind of monster. It is called grief. And the longer you deny it the stronger it gets. Babadook is not free of horror cliches: we get squeaky stairs, dark closets and insects infested kitchen, but this does not take away it's impact. The scene of Babadook appearance in Amelia's bedroom is probably the scariest sequence on screen since The Conjuring. BABADOOK would have never felt so real if not for a f...