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Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985)
Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985)
1985 | Horror
5
6.5 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
One of my favourite parts is the bit where the creepy dude looks straight into the camera and say "Schnitzeeeel".
Honestly not sure if Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (Stirba, Werewolf Bitch in some corners of the world) is a 5 star film, or a 1 star film.

I always have time for Christopher Lee, and here is no different, and Sybil Danning is a bonafide B-Movie icon, but everyone else is hamming it up to the max (not necessarily in a good way), spouting the terrible screenplay and making silly growling noises constantly.
The werewolf costumes look terrible (a bit of googling told me that the production was sent monkey suits by mistake, and they just had to roll with it) and the movie constantly attempts to force it's theme tune down your throat - I lost count of how many times it plays throughout the runtime, but it starts off well enough, but by the end of the film it's grating as fuck.

It's certainly a far cry from the genuinely good first movie but for all it's faults, I actually really enjoyed it.
The last review I wrote on here was for Species IV, where I commented on how it was so awful, and had no charm to it at all, which was in stark contrast to a lot of bad horror movies, especially a bunch from the 80s. Howling II is one of those movies.
It rarely gets boring, it's has some decent practical gore effects, and the terrible script is often so ludicrous, it ends up being unintentional comedy gold.
Not to mention that it's has the most unnecessarily gratuitous end credits roll I've ever seen - in fact, if you can't be bothered to watch the whole thing, just find the end credits and you'll get the vibe of this whole glorious mess of a film.

So yeah, is it a 1 star movie or 5 star movie? I still don't know but I know I low key love it, so 2 and a half stars with a love heart seems fair. I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch though, just to experience the sheer cheesy absurdity.
  
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
2019 | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Alita the character, actress Rosa Salazar's performance, the visual effects, the fight choreography and film cinematography as well. Mahershala Ali was also very charismatic. (0 more)
If you are a fan of the original anime (OVA), it fails to live up to it in certain aspects. The plot kinda fell through to the end and things were condensed and happened too fast. (0 more)
A Phenomenal Anime Adaptation - 8/10
Alita: Battle Angel is a sci-fi/action movie based on the manga/anime by Yukito Kishiro, written by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Set to officially release on February 14th, it stars Rosa Salazar, Christolph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, and Mahershala Ali. This movie was phenomenal and does a great job of transporting the viewer and immersing them into the world that is Iron City.


Dr. Ido (Christolph Waltz) searches the scrap pile junkyard of the metropolis known as Iron City for parts to repair patients at the clinic he owns and operates. He finds a badly damaged female cyborg (Rosa Salazar) that is still alive and chooses to repair her. When she awakens, she has no memory of her past, her name, or who she is. Dr. Ido allows her to live with him and names her Alita but doesn't permit her to venture out at night into the treacherous and dangerous streets of Iron City. However Alita has a wide-eyed view of looking at the world and with the help of a young boy named Hugo (Keean Johnson) she begins her quest to remember anything about her past and who she is.


Looks like Hollywood finally got an anime movie right. If you have any doubt you need to see this film for yourself. Definitely recommended if you like sci-fi and action movies but the heart and soul of the film is Alita herself. Her journey and transformation and her personality steal the show and make this movie great. The visual effects were awesome as well as the fight choreography and film cinematography. I'll admit that somethings plot wise fell through with the storyline towards the very end but this movie had a lot of emotion (heart and soul). I give this movie an 8/10.
  
The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
1974 | Action, Family, Sci-Fi
6
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Professor Ivarsson is an expert on culture and language, he is almost forced into going on this expedition, where he gets to show off all the skills he has, while being wowed by the new location they find. Sir Anthony Ross has put together the expedition in hopes of finding his son, who has been missing for two years. He has always used his position of power and money to get what he wants and must learn to let his son live his own life. Captain Brieux is the captain of the zeppelin, he might have his own style which does clash with Anthony’s but he will take the risks others would consider. Oomiak is a local guide that is known as the most fearless in the land, he is the generic local figure that understands weak English.

Performances – The performances for the most part do feel very British, while that might be what the film was targeting, it does have a lot of, the idea that these people are better than anyone else, Donald Sinden is the highlight of this because he will get laughs from just how over the top he actually is in the performance. David Hartman doesn’t show that much charisma which might have made his character more interesting. Jacques Marin get laughs with his role, while Mako gets the laughs, he is capable of something much more entertaining.

Story – The story here follows four explorers that go in search of a mysterious island in the Artic, this will take people from different backgrounds to an unknown location with an unknown threat which they must survive. The story does feel like it is just another version of ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ or ‘The Lost World’ which can be entertaining to watch, but they aren’t the most challenging of films to watch once you have seen a few. This story does feel tamer, while trying to bring a more realistic balance with the threat being Vikings, which could work with the number of tribes around the world that don’t want human contact. The story does rely on how the visuals of the settings look with most of the running scenes which just takes more away from the story’s impact on us.

Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-Fi – The adventure side of the film is searching for a new world, this is always going to be appealing and once we see the new world, we are left with our jaw dropped at how beautiful it is. The fantasy sci-fi elements mix together as they show how a community of people could have survived in an isolated location away from the world for so long.

Settings – The film does rely heavily on the settings which do look wonderful, we have the open ice location before we hit the land which is a thing of beauty, even if certain parts involving peril could have looked even more threatening.


Scene of the Movie – The escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The dated special effects.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the most British attempts at a brand-new adventure idea, it is filled with stunning locations which only end up leaving us feeling like we have seen this all before.

 

Overall: The Brits will lead the way.