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Red Sparrow (2018)
Red Sparrow (2018)
2018 | Mystery, Thriller
Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to 'Sparrow School,' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her first mission, targeting a C.I.A. agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.

It surprises me a little bit that this film is only rated 15. There's violence, sex, torture, nudity... so many things that make this one classic fodder for an 18 rating.

Red Sparrow was a good spy flick, gripping throughout but a little bit predictable at times. The more I think about this one the more I'm tempted to give it only two stars. While I found the story line interesting, there isn't much that made me enthusiastic.

People ask me what I've seen recently and this is the only one I can never remember. I don't think it's going to be one of this year's must see movies.
  
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
1965 | Classics, Horror, Sci-Fi
8
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Peter Cushing (2 more)
Christopher Lee
Donald Sutherland
House of Horrors
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors is a excellent british anthology film that stars two horror icons Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. It also has Donald Sutherland in it, so thats a plus.

It was the first in a series of anthology films from Amicus and was followed by Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Asylum (1972), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973) and From Beyond the Grave (1974).

The movies was made with a budget of £105,000 and Donald Sutherland was paid £1,000 ($10,153.31 in 2018 dollars) for his performance.

The Plot: Five chilling stories are linked by the character of a strange fortune-telling doctor who predicts the bizarre deaths of five fellow passengers on a train using a pack of tarot cards.

Its a excellent anthology film.
  
    Bad Blood

    Bad Blood

    Arne Dahl

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Detective Paul Hjelm and his team receive an urgent call from the FBI. A murderer whose methods bear...

Blood Moon
Blood Moon
John David Bethel | 2016 | Crime, Thriller
7
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
When businessman Recidio Suarez is kidnapped it is the start of a brutal ordeal of beatings and torture as the gang try to steal as many of his assets as they can, and once they have done so it is clear they will kill him.

The police fail to investigate and it is up to Suarez' lawyer Nolan Stevens to track down the gang and try to stop them before they strike again. He races against time to put the evidence together that he needs, but will his efforts be enough?

Based on a true story, there are two distinct phases of this story. Firstly the kidnapping, torture and theft carried out by the gang. The second that of the attempt to capture them. The first part manage to convey the plight Suarez finds himself in well, the panic, the desperation, the pain and the realisation that he is unlikely to get out of this alive.

But it is with the investigation that this novel really steps up a gear. Stevens is a great foil, using the law to his advantage but also carefully breaking it when he needs to. As he tracks the gang down, piecing together their identities, actions and motivations bit by bit the reader is drawn along too, wanting him to succeed.

Everything is described well, from the sticky heat Suarez has to endure in captivity to the indifference of the police and the planning of the gang and the violence of their crimes. I also couldn't help but chuckle as Stevens find time to settle an old score at the same time.

As crime thrillers go this is a good one. Not a 'whodunnit' as that is revealed very early on, but more showing not only how far some people will go for money but also how guile, wit and tenacity will often produce results in the end.
  
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Leigh J (71 KP) rated Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) in Movies

Nov 10, 2019 (Updated Nov 10, 2019)  
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
1975 | Drama, Horror, War
Does Salo stand for Boring?!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Salo, based on the book called "100 Days of Sodom" by Marquis de Sade, is about 4 men in positions of power (The Duke, The Bishop, The Masgistrate and The President) who kidnap a large group of girls and boys and subject them to severe abuse, torture and even murder; just to, well, get their deviant rocks off basically. The cruel and sadistic abuse soon builds to a cresendo of sickening torture and murder.
I went into Salo VERY nervous; I'd read the Book so had a good idea of what was coming, and especially so as this Movie is always on those "sickest Movies ever" lists, and is almost always very near the #1 spot. Rarely does it ever take the crown though, and after seeing Salo, I understand why. It's so boring!! It's very diagloue heavy, which if done right makes a Movie engaging and compelling. If done wrong, as is the case with Salo, it becomes a tedious chore. Unfortunately for Salo, I was so bored with the pointless drivel that when it eventually did get to the shocking parts, I was over it and not as shocked as I really should have been. I mean, it was bad (two words: poop banquet) but I was left thinking "all that hype and waffle... for this?!" Definitely overrated. The small saving grace of this Movie was a bunch of Prostitutes, ironically. They were telling stories of their own deviancies; I found their stories shocking and they made me sit up and pay attention, some stories being more shocking than what we were seeing. I found those Women disgustingly wonderful and able to actually make something out of the literal crap-show that was Salo. I would only recommend Salo to the die hard "Sick Movie" fans (and that's for the sole purpose of ticking it off your list) and Cinema buffs because the Cinematography is quite nice. Other than that, it would make a fantastic sleep aid!