Movies

Oh wow, Kara (Kou_Indigo)! Sweet love, that is so cool that you like that movie too. I just LOVE Disney movies... animated, live action, the whole bit. I love to dress up like Disney Princess characters a LOT! Especially Alice from Alice in Wonderland, as you well know. I make a super cutesy Wendy from Peter Pan too. Next time we get on the webcam together I'm dressing as Wendy... British Loli for the win! Just the way you like me. Oh hey, I'll even do my high-class Alice-style English accent for you again too! Cuz that really, really seems to turn you on big time. I got a pair of those really nice, high-end elf earrings, you know those ones that make it look like you've got elf ears when you wear them because the tips are pointed! I got those today. I'll wear those too for you, so I'll look like a pretty little elf girl! Be just like old times for us that way. Yeah, I remember back when we were of those ancient Elvish races! I've pretty much memorized your two Kalaborea writings... love them lots. I'll be starting on all your newest works tonight before bed, too. But what were we talking about? Oh yeah, Aladdin! Yeah, I love wearing harem style pants just like Jasmine... the puffier and baggier the better too. Salwar style looks good on me also, and you'd be amazed how many people don't know there is a difference between Salwar and traditional Turkish style harem pants. But there totally is! I love exotic clothes though... they kind me make me feel like I'm playing dress up, like when I was little and had all kinds of costumes. I still have all kinds of costumes actually, but you get what I mean by that. I always had a crazy good imagination! Crazy AND good imagination. Yeah, I can see why you'd think the handmaiden lady was a cutie... she'd got a bit of a vibe to her that is a bit like me. Only she's probably not into the kind of dark stuff we are into, but aside from that I can totally see it. Which makes you, Kara, my genie. And that means... I get to rub you and get three wishes! Because... you don't have a magic lamp, but you do have something else I like rubbing a lot. And watching you rub too! And you also look great in those kinds of pants. That's a bit of a thing we've got in common there. Remember that one time when we got on the cam together and I did that sexy Russian dominatrix lady voice and said to you: "I want you to take your pants off! Pants off. Now! Oh... very nice!" I never saw you blush that much before. That was fun though. Crazy, but fun! By the goddess, I love you so much Kara. Can't wait to hear from you next, sweet love. Keep thinking of me and keep the good times in your mind when going to sleep tonight too. That will help you to have pleasant dreams, where I'll be waiting for you! xoxoxoxoxo

Hello there, Sybil my love! I am so happy to see you on here and delighted beyond words to read your reply. But of course, you are my delight in all things! I think you'll make a fantastic Wendy... it will be an absolute pleasure to whisk you away to Never Never Land. I rather do have a bit of a fondness for pretty Elvish girls like you! I am certain those earrings will look quite becoming indeed in you. In fact, I had at least one ex of mine a very long time ago who said to me: "What is it with you and Elven women anyway?" And the answer is a simple one: like attracts like. And my love, you and I are in oh so many ways two of a kind! Which is wonderful. I do very much like it when you do that accent, you do it so flawlessly after all. And you always sound a bit like Hayley Mills when you do it! I mean that, of course, as the compliment it sounds like. Wow, you actually memorized my two-part Kalaborea writing that I did? That is very impressive! I've had people read my writings before, but never memorized them. You must be very, very into my works! Which I do not mind in the least, of course. It just shows how dedicated you are, which makes me smile very much. You are such a bright girl! You do look very, very good in those kinds of pants I have to say. I also have a fondness for exotic clothing styles, as well as certain goth-inspired looks. You are correct! There is a very big difference between those two types of pants, and I have likewise noticed that a lot of people never seem to notice the difference. You DO have a fantastic imagination I have to say! When we play together, amongst other things, I have noticed you have a rich capacity for creating incredibly detailed fantasy scenarios for us to enjoy. It makes me look forward to each time we get to spend together like that. You always look so amazing to me too! Oh, my sweet little girl you are so much more lovely to me than any silly handmaiden could ever be. As for three wishes? How about I grant you as many as you like! Because your every wish is my command. I am blushing a bit when reading about that whole magic lamp bit... but too true, too true! Oh, my goodness, I totally remember that night you mentioned, to do with that whole sexy Russian dominatrix thing. That was way, way before we met up here on Deep Underground Poetry too! It was back in 2012, if I remember correctly... I probably just never made the connection to that night, to do with you, because you were so very much younger back then. Plus, you were going by a different name too. But now, I can totally see it... and am surprised I hadn't noticed sooner that it was you! You still look so young even now, and every bit as adorable too. It just goes to show, we were always destined to end up together! So that makes two of my old flames I've met up with again here on DUP and had things heat back up with... the other being Camilla. That IS destiny at work! Since a lot of people in such situations often never do end up meeting again. In any case, you were my sweet little darling back then, and you are my sweet little darling still! I love you too, Sybil, and cannot wait to hear from you again also. I will most definitely keep thinking about you, and the good times we have shared together, and will continue to share together, will be dancing through my mind when I do fall asleep later on. I am always happy when my dreams are pleasant, since as a child I was always so very prone to night terrors and nightmares. But your wings of light will be about me tonight! And their warmth will keep me safe. I shall see you in our shared dreams! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :D

I just saw The Menu, as delightfully nasty a piece of goods as I’ve seen in a while. Black comedies often wuss out and don’t live up to their premises, but this is one which goes all in on its vicious, bonkers plot. Nicholas Hoult plays a foodie who takes Anna Taylor-Joy to an exclusive restaurant on a private island, where Ralph Fiennes runs a cult-like team of chefs who aim to provide a dining experience like none other. That’s all that I can really say about the plot, beyond that the experience of course turns out to be more than the guests bargained for.

The film reminded me of great short horror stories, where just desserts are served and an amoral, macabre sense of humour prevails. This is a very funny film, if you like dark comedy, and Fiennes is as compelling a lunatic as has graced horror cinema in a while. His performance is nigh on perfect. Where another actor might have gone for winking melodrama, he plays every beat with a deadly seriousness, never overselling a punchline. ‘What school did you go to?’ he asks viciously of one guest when she asks why she’s on his island. He hardly shouts, barely blinks, and never seems even slightly unsure of his own insane designs. He’s ice, all sneering egotism and utter, unstinting, sadistic contempt.

The other guests include a food critic, yuppie bankers, a movie star, and a businessman. One brilliant aspect of the film is how your sympathies end up shifting. A lot of the humour comes from seeing a roomful of fatuous phonies and outright bastards be creatively tormented, psychologically more than physically. (Although violence is ever present.) I’ve not seen a film as amusingly unpredictable as this in a while. It follows a recognisable horror structure, but each twist and turn is a fun surprise, much like each course of a great meal. How the plot is resolved is especially refreshing, relying on a quick-thinking use of psychology.

Fiennes might be a raving psychotic, but it’s hard to take your eyes off him. The story is partly a satire of certain people’s obnoxious obsession with food; imagine Fiennes as a cross between Gordon Ramsay and Hannibal Lecter, right down to the dead-eyed acolytes screaming “yes chef!” Beyond that, it skewers the wealthy’s jaded and entitled pursuit of “experiences”, how they gobble up anything “exclusive” without thought and assume that it’s all been lain out for their critique. How their privilege numbs them. Fiennes’ menu is a rude awakening.

Hoult and Taylor-Joy also give good performances. The cast are all great, leaning into their characters with gusto. As a twist on the old “trapped on an island with a maniac” trope, The Menu is blood rare and satisfying.

Since I already have an Odeon membership and a pair of 3D glasses, I decided I might as well use Avatar 2 as a trip out with my little brother this holiday season. We’re now estranged.

Well, okay, it wasn’t quite that bad. It was about what I was expecting, if not a little more so. Simplistic writing, stereotyped characters, and a story that’s really just a clothesline for the effects. I was kind of impressed by how hard it doubled down on those shortcomings, though. The writing’s not just simplistic, it’s howlingly bad. This is a very giggle-some script, if you find po-faced machismo as funny as I do. Former space marine turned furry Jake Sully narrates such inanities as “a father protects. It gives him meaning”, as if we couldn’t discern the film’s themes just by watching it. It’s like if Al Pacino in The Godfather kept repeating “this is a story... about gangsters”, or Darth Vader in the Star Wars trilogy told Luke several times that “we are... in space. Among stars. During wars. You might say that they are... Star Wars.”

Also, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the first Avatar, but was Jake Sully always this much of an unlikeable, humourless prick? This might just be my own hang-ups talking, but I resented the message of family togetherness and loyalty that this film pushed when he never seemed like an actually loving father so much as just one bent on preserving his patriarchal image of himself. You never see him bonding with his children in a playful or “human” way, he makes them call him “sir” (which is definitely... weird, right?), and clearly favours one son over the other, neglecting and disparaging the younger to a degree that almost feels emotionally abusive. Do Americans really still fall for this father-knows-best/crew-cut/straighten-up-and-fly-right bullshit?

The story’s a classic bad sequel in that it’s just a loose and structureless rehash of the first one, bringing back the exact same dynamics and ideas, just in a new setting and with all the narrative tension gutted out. The plot makes little sense. They bring back the villain from the first movie, Sully’s old commander, by means of some nonsense about cloning and stored memories.

So now he wants revenge against Sully, even though he’s really just a clone who outright says at one point that he doesn’t have much emotional attachment to the situation, and for some reason the US military are pouring all their resources into helping him do this... I don’t know, my brother seemed to understand it better than I did.

The humans are also hunting whales on Pandora for goo that stops the ageing process, a plot point that’s revealed in one line of dialogue and treated like filler. You can almost see James Cameron vetoing possible expansion on that point because it’s too interesting.

The visuals were great, and there’s about half an hour to an hour or so of fairly solid entertainment as you take in the spectacle. My favourite bits were the sci-fi stuff with the spaceships, crablike robots, cloning tech, and so on. It reminded me of daffy old military sci-fi, where future armies have all these wonderful toys but only seem to care about killing the Buggers, Predators, and whatnot.

Partly what convinced me to see the film was a 4 star review by a critic I respect, who acknowledged the story’s weaknesses but said that the game-changing AV justified them. I guess I wasn’t bored at all, but until we have actual VR where I can reach out and cop a feel of Free Willy, I’m just never going to be wowed by a film with a screenplay as bad as this one. You don’t have to be William Shakespeare, either. Just a little bit of levity would have been fine. As it is, I can’t recommend ‘Ave a Snore Deux: The Taste of Toilet Water.

Haven't seen either avatar movies, and probably never will.

At the risk of repeating myself Runes, your reviews are pretty much wasted in here. Rarely a review makes me laugh out loud and offers such a savvy critique.

Cool...

The Menu looks really good...

I have been sort of...

Studying movies...

I want to write stories that are convertible to movies...

Perhaps do entire seasons of stuff...

I am currently watching Blood in Blood Out...

Someone criticized me for liking prison and crime movies...

I told them they were projecting...

And...

In my defense...

I had to defend myself...  Successfully, I must say...

Hey...

I wouldn't want you to respect me if I didnt stand up for myself...

Or...

Not for my "self"...  

For what is right...

Blood in Blood out is a classic...

I watched this interview recently with Miklo...

I also saw one of his recent movies...

Was awesome....

But it is interesting to hear actor interviews,
from a movie that preceded the internet...

Also...

I am Mexican and want to contribute
to the narrative of my culture...

OH...

I want to write a series about The Cartels...

But from different angles...

I watched Narcos...

The Mexico one...  

With Diego Luna...

And...

The one about Chapo...

I found them to be very motivational...

And just...

The psychology...  Also...

Like the Roman Sagas...

Really...

There is material there to make a career from...

Like Don Winslow...

His books are banned in the prisons....

Thats another one...

People in prison are getting to a point where they can buy e books...  

BIG MARKET

and they NEED good stories.....

I rather unexpectedly saw Corsage, a German-language film about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, set across a year of her life in 1878. It was a surprisingly moving character piece, remarkably subtle and effective in how it begins with a rather vain and selfish-seeming woman before slowly unravelling her. Without heavy-handedness or cliche, it shows how the life of a kept woman in those times wasn’t necessarily all that and a bag of chips.

Granted, it probably still beat scrubbing floors in a bordello, but as the Emporer says, his wife’s job is just to represent. The role requires a sublimation of personality to a degree that many would find troubling, and I was reminded of a remark made about one of the late Queen’s family (I forget which. Princess Anne, maybe?) that she was really too intelligent and individual for her role in life. It’s not even that the Empress is a great genius who could revolutionise Austria - the film avoids the Captain Marvel trap of making her a one-dimensional audience surrogate - it’s just that she’s a much warmer and more eccentric and infuriating and womanly personality than a corset and a lifetime of politesse allows for.

The introduction of “moving picture” technology is a recurring theme. The Empress is famed for her beauty and 1878 is a pertinent year for the story to be set in because it covers her fortieth birthday. Insecure about her looks (although as her doctor informs her, forty is the average life expectancy of many of her subjects), she comes to resent portraiture and find the cameras of the time freeing. Perhaps the funniest moment in the film is when she asks if it matters what she says so long as she smiles, before the shot cuts to black-and-white rolling footage of her yelling something probably obscene.

Part of what I liked about the film was the historical detail, such as when the Empress visits a lunatic asylum to hand out candied violets, and meets an adulteress kept in a cold bath. (“She looks harmless, your majesty. But she’s a real hussy.”) Or when the Empress’ doctor prescribes her heroin.

The role-of-women angle is all the more powerful for its relative subtlety. Ironically, it’s likely that the qualities that attracted the Emporer are exactly what make her unfit to be an Empress. For me, possibly the most upsetting scene was when she auditions her husband’s mistress. The woman has already been seen chatting flirtatiously with his majesty, but she seems so young, and already has a husband with whom she seems satisfied. Suddenly one conversation (maybe) has led to her having to prostitute herself, to betray her marriage vows and keep the most powerful man in her country happy. The Empress asks her if she likes the Emporer, and takes her affirmative response as consent. What else could she have said?

Watching Taurus...

Outside the box...

I am a Taurus also...

Digging the vibe...

Taurus (2022) = Must See TV

This movie has me rollin...

The part where he flips out on the assistant...

And then her reaction...

I dont laugh very often sometimes...  

Makes me happy...

:)))

I just saw Babylon and it was solid. You could weight your papers with it. It wasn’t much more than that, though. The film that it reminded me the most of was Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, which also starred Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as movie people whose lives intersect, but where that film keeps you engaged and gives you a sense of depth in spite of being light on plot and heavy on movie arcana, this one… not so much. It may just be that that film had the looming threat of the Manson family murders and the relevant suspense-building scenes sprinkled in throughout, where Babylon only introduces any kind of antagonist or substantial threat towards the end of the third act.

Another problem, though, is the relative lack of depth or colour to the personalities. This is very much a film where the story is just a vehicle for the theme, where the substance is only there to serve the style, which to a degree is fine, a lot of great movies have been more about world-building than complex characterisation. But the people of Babylon don’t really progress beyond types, and the film asks us to invest in the story at certain points, unspooling it over more than three hours. At the centre of it is a tragic love story about a wild girl and a more sensible man lured by her charm, but when the dramatic beats of this were playing it never felt like more than a caricature of a love story, like the script never got past a certain point.

The queen of chick-lit Jacqueline Susann used to write her first draft on cheap white paper before working out things like characterisation on different coloured paper. Babylon feels like it never got past the cheap stuff. What possibly doesn’t help is a rather inconsistent tone, vacillating between jokes about fetishes and bodily fluids and even outright nihilism at times, like a funny but powerfully bad taste gag about a girl committing suicide over Valentino’s death and Brad Pitt’s character’s marriage, and treacly tragedy near the end.

The story just doesn’t sell the characters enough for you to care about their fate, and doesn’t commit to the seedier aspects of its world to a degree that would make it work as a black comedy or expose. It alludes to elements of 1920s Hollywood like racism and labour laws so lax that people die on set, but it’s too content with its surface-level approach to really say anything other than “yeah, LA’s a crazy place, but aren’t movies cool?”

The blasé approach is an odd watch in the post-Me Too era, as well. What are we supposed to feel when a Jewish man is racially abused on set, for example? Is it meant to be funny (the scene as a whole is played for laughs)? Does the film have any opinion about it? Maybe I’m way off here, but it almost seemed to be saying that racism is a price worth paying for cinema.

The acting’s all good and there are lots of fun comedic set pieces, though. The detail on what a pain in the arse it was to shoot movies with 1920s equipment was great. And Tobey Maguire as the third-act villain was legitimately the best part of the movie from a story perspective. He plays his character as a camp, giggling, hedonistic, de Sadean dope-pusher and gangster, like a mincing Scarface-cum-Caligula with his own dungeon of amusements in the California desert, and at this point in the movie, when it’s 90% done or thereabouts, it feels like there are some stakes. He’s great, and while it’s not often that I demand more Maguire, this movie really needed him.

So, yeah. In the genre of movies about entertainment media, Babylon falls below Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood for characterisation, Hail Caesar! by the Cohen brothers for comedic consistency, and Radio Days by Woody Allen for warmth and charm. It needed to be half the length and more substantial. But it is a fitfully funny, visually arresting, lumbering folly of a film that’s worth a watch.

^ See. Taking this away from the context of a web site. This is a proper and intelligent art review. Referencing, comparing and contrasting. Recently encountered a review of leading Welsh poet Robert Minhinnick and the paid (?! cheek of it) author had clearly never read his previous collections and had no feeling of contemporary Welsh poetry scene. Sham. Also makes one wish to seek out the film.

Strangeways_Rob said:^ See. Taking this away from the context of a web site. This is a proper and intelligent art review. Referencing, comparing and contrasting. Recently encountered a review of leading Welsh poet Robert Minhinnick and the paid (?! cheek of it) author had clearly never read his previous collections and had no feeling of contemporary Welsh poetry scene. Sham. Also makes one wish to seek out the film.

Few things are more annoying than a paid critic whose indignance clearly outstrips their actual awareness lol.

Every year around Halloween I have a horror film marathon. It usually starts in September and runs clean on to January....time passes differently for us loners. Now most of the major big budget stuff is covered here, so I'm going to focus on some gems that may have flown under your radar, broken down into thematic groups....

They Live AGAIN:

"They Remain" (2018) - You might stack this one up to Midsommar...maybe. I was going to say it's a "poor man's Midommar" but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. A pair of scientists investigate the grounds of a thrill kill hippy cult (in the style of the CIA-influenced Laurel Canyon flower power types) at the behest of a mysterious corporation (reminiscent of Umbrella Corp in Resident Evil). This film is short on plot and heavy on atmosphere with exceptional performances. William Jackson Harper in particular portrays a protagonist role I appreciate and can identify with on some levels, which is quite rare in any type of film for me. They Remain will leave you with more questions than answers, so don't expect any neat conclusions. Of course, I'm a big fan of things like that in film. "The decline of civilization continues apace....", indeed.

"They Look Like People" (2015) - Oh wow! I'm going to have to go watch this again! Maybe the cream of the crop out of my viewings for the entire 2022 scare season. I don't want talk too much about it and spoil something...let's just say this fascinating little project might be
just as much about the power of friendship as it is about demonic possession. You have to see it to know what I mean...like before, don't expect any quick, easy answers or any cliche jumpscares, but stick with it 'til the end. This is how it's done....and because of that,
this film gets my highest possible recommendation.

Zombocalypse Now!:

"The Night Eats the World" (2018) - French zombie film that doesn't revolutionize anything, but I found to be effectively entertaining. If you're looking for a non-offensive (that is to say "not stupid or typical") zombie flick with some realistic tension, then this might just scratch that itch. The zombies are rather fast & quiet, ratcheting up the suspense in my opinion. I liked the lead actor's performance, a solid depiction of madness induced by an extended isolation (something I'm quite familiar with in real life.) Worth your time.

"Pontypool" (2008) - A little bit of an older film but I think it stands out among zombie flicks. The always reliable Stephen McHattie plays a radio DJ during a zombie outbreak...a very different kind of zombie outbreak. I'm totally impressed with how the concept is turned on its head in this movie. It's difficult to describe without spoilers. Possibly a scathing critique on groupthink and social dynamics of fitting in, I thought the cause of the zombification was truly unique. Highly recommended.

Found footage fetish:

(okay, FF is a guilty pleasure for me personally, so burn me at the stake already)

"The Andy Baker Tape" (2021) - I think I saw this one on Shudder. It's got the usual FF tropes, that is to say 'unlikeable main characters', but I've always chalked this cliche down to a technique to make the performances to feel a little more real, in keeping with the intention behind FF horror to begin with. Our hapless protagonist, an internet influencer food critic making YT vids about the restaraunts he visits, doesn't exactly win anyone over with his misdirected charisma, and his little brother Andy as a tagalong for a road trip video
on some local eateries, is sufficiently creepy from the point of slight annoyance straight through to outright threatening by the end. This is no major budget feature with expensive special effects, so I thought it was done well on its obvious shoestring budget and limited production space (due to the pandemic of 2020) and I actually remembered watching this one. Like I've said, lot of times I watch these movies and forget everything about them a day later, but this one stuck with me. Just remember to mentally prepare for some incredibly frustrating characters if you decide to give it a go.

"Willow Creek" (2013) - This one's been around for a while and you may have already seen it. I mention it here because its build-up and ending really stood out to me. The protagonists aren't completely hopeless but not so magnetic as to make the viewer feel overly traumatized by their inevitable FF-horror-film-fate. This one's a slow burn, with some solid exposition & foreshadowing that leads up to a very climactic final 20 minutes for a highly effective payoff. (You'll find I like minimalism and economic filmmaking...i.e. "doing a lot with little"...not too big into torture porn or traditional jump-scares.)

Gallows humor:

"The Woman" (2011) - Another older offering that I had just recently discovered. Walking Dead's Pollyanna McIntosh stars as the titular woman, a feral woman eventually captured in the wild and brought home to be "civilized" by a very dysfunctional family. It may sound bizarre...I kind of saw this one as a combination of American Beauty and a House of 1,000 Corpses. Apologies in advance for recommending this twisted, incredibly dark film...it's a tad more violent than I usually go for in films that end up sticking with me. Over-violence is not always a deal breaker, it just needs to make sense and not be overly gratuitous....speaking of which....

"Mandy" (2018) - ...if I may make another "movie compared with another movie to make this movie" reference...Mandy looks like the offspring of Mad Max and the first 2 Evil Dead films. Plus, crazy ol' Nick Cage. Need I say anything more? It's hilarious. Watch it.

"Torn Hearts" (2022) - I've loved Katie Sagal for years and when I saw this on Amazon I watched it almost immediately. I was hoping for some savage satire on the state of modern day pop country music and this one doesn't disappoint on that front. Sagal, as always, is a blast here and seems to be having a fun time as an aging country music legend who is now a recluse after traumatic events. Feels a bit like an extended "Tales from the Crypt" episode towards the end but I thought it was funny & worthwhile.

Lore hounds unite:

"Vivarium" (2019) - Another combination by comparison: imagine a Black Mirror episode combined with "The Dunwich Horror" by HP Lovecraft, and you'll get a good sense of my feelings for this film. Mightily recommended. Difficult to describe. Just watch it, please.

"Under the Silver Lake" (2018) - More noir than horror, yet strange & original enough for me to include it here. It's layered with a labyrinthian plot, and if you're aware of that kind of thing you'll find a lot to like here. Forget Spider Man....this is Andrew Garfield's best role by far, leading us down the rabbit hole of something between The Great Gatsby and 21st century conspiracy culture.

"Bad Times at the El Royale" (2018) - Again, not really a 'horror' film per se, but with enough dark elements for me to include it in my recommendations. Bad Times reads like a Tarantino film from the 90's, its ensemble cast utilized well, the players booking rooms at an old hotel on the California-Nevada border that has seen better days. Rich in conspiracy lore and subversively paced, Forget Thor....this is Chris Hemsworth's best role by far, eating up the scenery as the charismatic leader of (yet another) Laurel Canyon-inspired hippy flower power thrill kill cult.

(to be continued)

Not really 'horror films' but horrific enough to qualify:

"Capone" (2020) - I was interested in this film for a number of reasons. Right off, Tom Hardy is always a draw, and I was genuinely interested in how he'd approach such a role. I think this movie got razzed on by critics but if you watch it with the right mindset, you might see it as sort of a statement on the process of madness caused by untreated disease. I was doubly curious when I read that Matt Dillon would play infamous mafia legend Johnny Torrio in the film, which piqued my interest as I'd never imagined Torrio as being even remotely a Matt Dillon-type. If you know your mob history you'll be initially confused by the turn, as Torrio was Capone's mentor and significantly older than Capone. Like I mentioned earlier, if you watch this film as it is intended, this odd historical idiosyncrasy will make more sense by the end of the film. Let's just say that syphilis is every bit the horror movie monster.

"All Quiet on the Western Front" (2022) - Speaking of horror movie monsters, can you think of a better monster than the First World War? This is quite the visual, visceral feast. I thought it made Saving Private Ryan look quite tame in many areas. It's cast with actors largely unknown to American audiences yet I found myself cheering for this group of mates to make it to the other side and was genuinely saddened by the deaths of certain characters. The fight scenes are horrifyingly realistic & the action truly harrowing. This war film is relentless...some of the scenes seem to never let up. You'll find yourself empathizing with these poor, naive lads signing up for action....it's like watching a slow motion car wreck as they unknowingly march toward the meat grinder on the front lines. This is an antiwar film that does not disappoint.

Well, there's all the horror film recommendations I am able to make off the top of my head for the moment. I have a few more queued up and waiting for my perusal. I fall asleep during most of them. Horror films are difficult to make. The films on this list are the recently viewed ones that stand out in my immediate memory. Enjoy!