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Clare in the Community: Series 7 : Complete
Full Cast, Harry Venning, Sally Phillips and David Ramsden
Book
In this seventh series, we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and...
NF
New Fears - Brand New Horror Stories by Masters of the Macabre
Ramsey Campbell, Alison Littlewood, Stephen Gallagher and Chaz Brenchley
Book
Fear comes in many forms, and in this anthology some of the genre's greatest living practitioners...
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Flash Gordon (1980) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
Back in 1980 I sadly didn’t get the chance to see the adventures of Flash Gordon on the big screen, but over the years I watched it so many times in the various formats from VHS to DVD, so now that Cinemas are back open in Wales and it’s the 40th Anniversary of the movie I really didn’t want to miss the chance to see Sam Jones and Brian Blessed on the big screen in the cult 80s movie.
Directed by Mike Hodges and starring Sam J. Jones, Brian Blessed, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow and many more great names of the time, Flash Gordon went through some turbulent times in bringing the character to the big screen, but over the years the film has built a cult following and fans love the film.
Flash Gordon may have its flaws, such as some of the dodgy special effects such as seeing the background through semi-translucent characters but this all adds to the charm of the film, it does for me and although you can certainly see these issues much more on the big screen it doesn’t distract you from the fun and craziness of the film.
Directed by Mike Hodges and starring Sam J. Jones, Brian Blessed, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow and many more great names of the time, Flash Gordon went through some turbulent times in bringing the character to the big screen, but over the years the film has built a cult following and fans love the film.
Flash Gordon may have its flaws, such as some of the dodgy special effects such as seeing the background through semi-translucent characters but this all adds to the charm of the film, it does for me and although you can certainly see these issues much more on the big screen it doesn’t distract you from the fun and craziness of the film.
Martin Lakin (275 KP) rated Bohemian Rhapsody - The Soundtrack by Queen in Music
May 8, 2019
Being a fan of Queen it is very difficult to stay biased while reviewing this soundtrack. Personally I would recommend it to anyone from a novice to a know it all. Highlights for me would be the live tracks that this album includes, especially "Now I'm Here" for me that is the live song that first got me really into Queen so has a special place in my heart. The inclusion of some of the tracks from LiveAid was brilliant as well, however I would have preferred the soundtrack to have the whole Live Aid set. I did like the inclusion of "Doing All Right" by Smile (Brian May and Roger Taylor's band before Queen) adding an insight to their beginnings. Overall it is a brilliant soundtrack and one I recommend to all.
The Voice of the Night: A Spine-Chilling Novel of Heart-Stopping Suspense
Book
The voice of the night can transform childhood fantasy into terrifying reality. If you listen to the...
Dave Mustaine recommended A Night at the Opera by Queen in Music (curated)
Dreamboats & Petticoats - First 60 Years by The Shadows
Album
It was in June 1960 that THE SHADOWS entered Abbey Road Studios to record APACHE, the track that was...
The Master Plan: ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory
Book
An incisive narrative history of the Islamic State, from the 2005 master plan to reestablish the...
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Carriers (2009) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Brian and Danny grew up as two brothers who were relatively close to one another. They cherish the memories they have of Turtle Beach, a beach their family vacationed to every summer. The abandoned motel in Turtle Beach may be their best bet of surviving the highly contagious disease that now plagues the entire country and possibly the world. Not much is known about the virus other than the victims coughing up blood and bleeding from the ears as their condition worsens. Brian actually came up with a few rules that will hopefully get him, his girlfriend Bobby, his brother Danny, and Danny's friend Kate through this disease ridden world to Turtle Beach clean. The rules include avoiding the infected at all costs, disinfecting anything they've touched in the past 24 hours, and that the infected are already dead as there is no cure. You may survive if you stick to the rules, but actually abiding by them is an entirely different story.
Right off the bat, people are probably going to compare Carriers to Zombieland because of the rules. Carriers was released a full month before Zombieland, but Paramount Vantage folded upon its initial release causing its wide release to be an extremely limited one at the last minute (I think it wound up playing at only two theaters in the country). Expectations rise unintentionally in situations such as this. "This is that horror film that was practically shelved earlier this year and is finally being released." The result is a horror film that is well worth watching, but may not be entirely what you're expecting.
Carriers is more about establishing an atmosphere than anything else. Everything is abandoned and rightfully so as most people were picked off handfuls at a time by this pandemic. The entire film is more like the first half hour of 28 Days Later where Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital and realizes how empty the streets of London are. There aren't masses of the infected running around lusting for brains or wanting to tear humans apart in Carriers. The story follows these four friends as they journey across the country to this supposed sanctuary where they hope to tough it out until this disease runs its course. Carriers is more of a slow burn as things turn from bad to worse very slowly and snowball as the film goes on.
Chris Pine is really the drawing factor of the film. His role as Brian is kind of like a more intense version of his role as Kirk in Star Trek from earlier this year. Brian comes off as an inconsiderate prick the first half of the film and seems to only do things that benefit himself. The second half is where his character gets interesting though. The speech he gives Danny about their parents and telling Danny that he only told him what he wanted to hear is the turning point for Brian. Chris Pine shines as things begin to roll downhill for Brian as his emotions take center stage and his true demeanor is revealed.
Everything else in the film pretty much feels like routine manuevers when it comes to films revolving around viral outbreaks as some main characters contract the disease, they resort to drastic measures to survive, and begin to question their humanity along the way. The most disappointing part of the film is the ending as things just seem to kind of stop without much of a resolution. It seems like films like this either end this way or have a really depressing ending and that's its biggest flaw. Movie buffs who have seen films concerning pandemics already have a rough idea of how the film is going to end and it's about time to mix that up a bit. There's got to be a decent way to end the film that offers something a bit different that could wrap everything up until that point, but also leave enough room open for a sequel if need be.
Carriers may be a bit slow at first and doesn't really offer anything you probably haven't seen before in a film like this, but is still worth seeing for Chris Pine's performance. It's kind of a more serious take on Zombieland without actual zombies running or stumbling around with an atmosphere similar to the one established in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. If you're a fan of films involving a virus that has wiped out most of the human population, then this is still worth a watch.
Right off the bat, people are probably going to compare Carriers to Zombieland because of the rules. Carriers was released a full month before Zombieland, but Paramount Vantage folded upon its initial release causing its wide release to be an extremely limited one at the last minute (I think it wound up playing at only two theaters in the country). Expectations rise unintentionally in situations such as this. "This is that horror film that was practically shelved earlier this year and is finally being released." The result is a horror film that is well worth watching, but may not be entirely what you're expecting.
Carriers is more about establishing an atmosphere than anything else. Everything is abandoned and rightfully so as most people were picked off handfuls at a time by this pandemic. The entire film is more like the first half hour of 28 Days Later where Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital and realizes how empty the streets of London are. There aren't masses of the infected running around lusting for brains or wanting to tear humans apart in Carriers. The story follows these four friends as they journey across the country to this supposed sanctuary where they hope to tough it out until this disease runs its course. Carriers is more of a slow burn as things turn from bad to worse very slowly and snowball as the film goes on.
Chris Pine is really the drawing factor of the film. His role as Brian is kind of like a more intense version of his role as Kirk in Star Trek from earlier this year. Brian comes off as an inconsiderate prick the first half of the film and seems to only do things that benefit himself. The second half is where his character gets interesting though. The speech he gives Danny about their parents and telling Danny that he only told him what he wanted to hear is the turning point for Brian. Chris Pine shines as things begin to roll downhill for Brian as his emotions take center stage and his true demeanor is revealed.
Everything else in the film pretty much feels like routine manuevers when it comes to films revolving around viral outbreaks as some main characters contract the disease, they resort to drastic measures to survive, and begin to question their humanity along the way. The most disappointing part of the film is the ending as things just seem to kind of stop without much of a resolution. It seems like films like this either end this way or have a really depressing ending and that's its biggest flaw. Movie buffs who have seen films concerning pandemics already have a rough idea of how the film is going to end and it's about time to mix that up a bit. There's got to be a decent way to end the film that offers something a bit different that could wrap everything up until that point, but also leave enough room open for a sequel if need be.
Carriers may be a bit slow at first and doesn't really offer anything you probably haven't seen before in a film like this, but is still worth seeing for Chris Pine's performance. It's kind of a more serious take on Zombieland without actual zombies running or stumbling around with an atmosphere similar to the one established in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. If you're a fan of films involving a virus that has wiped out most of the human population, then this is still worth a watch.
The Lodgers (2017)
6.9
Rate It
Movie Watch
1920, rural Ireland. Anglo Irish twins Rachel and Edward share a strange existence in their...
horror