The actor Sam Neill passed away last week, leaving a legacy of great movies and television for the world to enjoy. He also owned a vineyard, had a great many animals he would name after friends and colleagues in the acting world, and was active in environmental causes. I’ve been a fan for many years,…
“Murder by Decree” is a mystery thriller with an all-star cast. Christopher Plummer stars as Sherlock Holmes, investigating the real life mystery of the Jack the Ripper murders. The story involves a high-level conspiracy and cover up which is extremely far-fetched and a world away from the probable solution to the Whitechapel murders, but it…
“Frankenstein” is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, it stars Oscar Isaac as Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature. It is not a particularly faithful adaptation, but the majority of adaptations of this story have not been faithful to the source material. Del…
“Witchfinder General” is the third and final movie directed by Michael Reeves, who would pass away unexpectedly the following year. It involves the witch hunts that took place in many parts of Europe from the late fifteenth to the late eighteenth centuries. This particular story takes place during the English Civil War, which ran from…
“The Sorcerers” is the second of three films directed by Michael Reeves, who died shortly after making the third (“Witchfinder General”). This film stars Boris Karloff, Ian Ogilvy, and Catherine Lacey, and involves an elderly hypnotist who develops a device allowing remote control of another person’s mind, controlling that person’s actions even from a distance.…
“Hammer House of Horror” can be seen as the last offering from Hammer Studios, at least in their classic period. It ran for one season of thirteen episodes, each one telling a different horror tale. While none of the episodes were bad, there was some variety in quality as there is with any television. In…
“Seconds” is a thriller and science-fiction (of sorts), directed by John Frankenheimer (known for “The Manchurian Candidate”, “Birdman of Alcatraz”, and “Ronin”) and starring Rock Hudson. It tells the story of an older man in a life he doesn’t like, having a mid-life crisis. He is approached by a mysterious company that offers him a…
“The Machinist” is a psychological thriller directed by Brad Anderson and starring Christian Bale. The main character Trevor (Bale) is a machinist who at the start of the film is clearly unwell. He is severely underweight and does not seem to sleep. The movie follows him through his working day, his evening visits to a…
I have to say, I am rather fond of found footage movies. You need to go into these with the presumption that all characters you are about to see are going to die (there are exceptions to this rule, but they’re rare) but they can be fun and creepy to watch. There is always the…
“The Outrage” is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon”, as a western. It follows the original story reasonably closely, and while it is not as good as “Rashomon” it does have a lot to recommend it. The story involves a crime, where a woman is raped and her husband killed. Difficulties arise at the trial,…
Eclectic Assemblage 