If you want to watch a thought provoking - yet incredibly violent - film in which a director reflects on the provocative and extreme content of their previous films, using allegory - and establishing a directorial surrogate - to make you question the boundary between art and artist... just watch Dargio Argento's Tenebrae. It (mostly) … Continue reading The House that Jack Built (Review)
Tag: opinion
Knife+Heart (Review)
It's been a great year for giallo throwbacks (with Piercing, In Fabric and now this). This, by itself, is a wonderful thing. For the uninitiated, giallo is a genre of Italian cult-films (primarily from the 70s), named after the yellow paper of detective novels and defined by their luscious aesthetic (full of 70s kitsch, gloves … Continue reading Knife+Heart (Review)
Midsommar (Review)
When the premise of a film involves a group of American college students attending a pagan festival in an undocumented commune in Sweden, you know what’s going to happen. To an extent, this is very true of Midsommar. The film spends a long time putting all of its pieces on the board just so that … Continue reading Midsommar (Review)
In Fabric (Review)
We'll never know what it would look like if Dario Argento made an episode of Inside No. 9 but, it might turn out like In Fabric. I say might because, though Peter Strickland's latest has a clear stylistic link to the extreme and transgressive European cult cinema of the 70s (an era of cinema I … Continue reading In Fabric (Review)
Toy Story 4 (Review)
Does Toy Story 4 need to exist? No. But it does and it's actually pretty good. In fact, the necessity of existence is an idea toyed with by the film itself, primarily through the introduction of Forky - a collection of rubbish anthropomorphised into a toy by Bonnie (the new child protagonist now that Andy's … Continue reading Toy Story 4 (Review)
Climax (Review)
You should probably be suspicious of people who tell you they like Gaspar Noé's Climax. However, few will be able to deny it is at least a very impressive piece of work - as it combines extremely long single shots with extensive improvisation and avant-garde camera work, while still managing to remain internally coherent (I … Continue reading Climax (Review)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (Review)
Towards the beginning of Dark Phoenix, the film plays with the idea that the villain is the patriarchy. This thematic push isn't well handled but, at this point, I at least gave the film some credit for trying something. Unfortunately, Dark Phoenix drops this (sadly) contemporary take on society and decides the the real evil … Continue reading X-Men: Dark Phoenix (Review)
Thunder Road (Review)
In 2016, Jim Cummings wrote, directed and starred in the award winning short, Thunder Road. The twelve minute film was made up of single take in which police officer Jim Arnaud breaks down giving a speech at his mother's funeral. It's a masterclass in tragi-comedy and the same is true of its feature length adaptation … Continue reading Thunder Road (Review)
NastyPALs Episode 10: The Last House on the Left
A supposed classic. A famously controversial movie banned for years and censored in the UK until the early 21st century. So, does it hold up? Is it still shocking? Join us, with a special guest, as we dissect Wes Craven's debut feature and explore its impact and legacy. https://soundcloud.com/user-782108692/10-the-last-house-on-the-left
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (Review)
If you have spent any time outside of a cave in the last twenty-three years, you'll be at least passingly familiar with Pokemon - and its adorable poster-child, Pikachu. Detective Pikachu certainly takes this familiarity for granted but is accessible enough to appeal to the uninitiated - or uninterested. It's a film stuffed with referential … Continue reading Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (Review)
Assorted Opinions 