Joeblade

Short reviews

  1. The Fly (1986)

    A grotesque, horrifying warning to us all about the perils of skipping the peer review process.

  2. Frankenstein (1931)

    An adaptation that unavoidably feels a bit slight now, but it’s about as perfect as it could be, all things considered.

  3. The Faculty

    It’s an unashamed Body Snatchers rip-off but it’s so much fun I can’t fault it. A great, weird cast as well.

  4. The Frighteners

    Terrific from start to finish. Michael J. Fox is brilliant, Jeffrey Combs utterly batshit. Even the effects have aged well.

  5. Doctor Strange

    Looks and sounds great, shame about the seen-it-all-before story.

  6. My Name is Bruce

    While Bruce Campbell is always enjoyable to watch, the rest of this film is abysmal. Racist, sexist, and not even funny.

  7. The Invisible Man (1933)

    Taken as a dark comedy rather than a horror, this holds up well. Stupid fun, and the effects aren’t bad either.

  8. Matinee

    Not one of Joe Dante’s best, with a slew of forgettable teen leads. John Goodman and Robert Picardo always fun to watch though.

  9. Candyman

    More thoughtful and introspective than your typical slasher horror, but still with enough gore and scare to suffice. Good stuff.

  10. Green Room

    Brutal, terrifying, exhausting. Patrick Stewart at his most nightmarish. Anton Yelchin superb; will be sadly missed.

  11. Frankenstein (2015)

    Decent lo-fi adaptation by Bernard Rose. Strong casting — Carrie-Anne Moss, Danny Huston — make this worth seeking out.

  12. When Animals Dream

    Slow & sleepy Danish werewolf film. Doesn’t do much that’s new with the idea, but what it does, it does solidly enough.

  13. Lifeforce

    Utterly brilliant-awful schlock. Great sets, effects, soundtrack, some scenery-chewing performances. I never tire of it.

  14. Mad Max

    I love it, but now feels oddly like a fairly sedate prequel to the series rather than simply the first film. Still great though.

  15. The Artist

    Fashionable now to sneer at this, but I love it. Goes to some unnecessarily dark places at times but otherwise is funny & sweet.

  16. Millennium Actress

    Fantastic anime that documents the fictional life of a retired acting legend. A gripping story, inventively presented.

  17. Agora

    Obscure historical drama with Rachel Weisz and Oscar Isaac. Low on accuracy, high on stereotyping, but generally polished and solid.

  18. Evolution

    Beautiful, sinister, surreal and French. Not entirely clear to me what happened, but I loved it all the same.

  19. Long Weekend

    A great Australian flick and my favourite exploitation genre: horrible couple goes on holiday, terrible things happen to them.

  20. Deep Rising

    Fine but forgettable. A bit like if Tremors was set on a boat, and none of the characters were worth rooting for.

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