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Awix (3310 KP) rated Hellraiser (1987) in Movies

May 20, 2020 (Updated May 21, 2020)

Hellraiser (1987)

1987 | Horror

7.9

(58 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Iconic horror; progenitor of many mostly lousy sequels. An unscrupulous adventurer attempts to escape the clutches of sado-masochistic entities by recruiting his adulterous sister-in-law to provide the raw meat for his renewal (it was the 80s, everyone behaved like that under Thatcher).

Not quite the film an unsuspecting viewer might expect: the focus is mainly on the screwed-up Cotton family, especially nasty Uncle Frank; Pinhead, for all that he is on the poster, is in a very minor role (billed as 'Lead Cenobite'). Visually striking and with some interesting ideas, but the low budget is obvious and this is equally obviously a British movie desperately trying to appeal to an American audience. Where the film falls down is in its lack of focus and the fact that its central metaphor or argument is unclear (beyond the fact that the Cottons are a very dysfunctional bunch). Still, there have been worse debuts from writer-directors; it's just that not many of them go on to have nine sequels.

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Devil’s Star (Harry Hole #5) (Oslo Sequence #3) in Books

May 28, 2020

A great crime thriller

I'm not a huge fan of crime thrillers, especially not series related ones. Mostly because they're two a penny and the majority of them are fairly second rate. However there's something about the Harry Hole series that really draws me in.

Maybe it's Harry Hole himself. A beyond flawed and almost irredeemable reckless and crazy character, yet one you really can't help but love. Or maybe it's because Nesbo really knows how to write a crime story. He keeps you guessing to the very end and the plot in this story is particularly interesting - an intriguing serial killer mixed in with Harry's vendetta to bring down a corrupt cop. The story in this is just right. The right amount of detail and twists to be thrilling and entertaining yet still plausible.

This isn't my favourite Harry Hole book, the accolade for that probably goes to The Snowman (how they turned such a good book into a terrible film I'll never understand). But this is definitely one of the better books in the Hole series and worth a read.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Warcraft (2016) in Movies

Jun 3, 2020

Warcraft (2016)

2016 | Action, Fantasy

6.3

(42 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Joyless and gruelling fantasy action movie, made in the bad old style. Orcs from another dimension invade Generic Fantasyland; people ride about, waving swords and hammers, spectacular mystical events occur, the CGI bill rockets upward at supersonic speed, and - I suspect - two days later you won't remember more than the most basic elements of the plot. (Most of the Orc characters are played by human actors in greenface makeup; I can't understand why there hasn't been more fuss about this.)

Half-decent score and I suppose the art direction is okay, if not exactly subtle, but this is the worst kind of fantasy film, as characters, places and concepts feel like they've been arbitrarily created to suit the story - 'cheating at cards to win paper money', as one novelist once described this kind of narrative. No depth, no resonance, no involvement - but then I've never played the game and have no awarenes of the Warcraft franchise beyond this film. (No doubt if they ever get around to doing a Euro Trucker 2 movie the boot will be on the other foot.)

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Enter the Dragon (1973) in Movies

May 6, 2020

Irresistible slice of 70s schlock. Bruce Lee goes off to the island of the drug dealing white slaver who's a renegade from his temple and whose men killed his sister (he's certainly not short of motivation) to take part in a martial arts tournament and bring the bad guy to justice. The plot is as rudimentary as that: there's a good guy, a bad guy, and a hell of a lot of fighting.

You do sense the American producers didn't quite understand what they were dealing with in Lee, for it's obvious he had a range and charisma far beyond what's required here. He's also partnered with John Saxon, who's an able leading man but really supernumerary (Saxon may have been a black belt in real life but his fight scenes have a whiff of dressage about them). Sleazy to the point of tackiness in places, and not much more than a live-action comic book, but tremendous action and some iconic sequences (the fight in the mirror-maze, for instance). Terrific entertainment if you're in the right mood.