Movie reviews of Evan Popplestone

The Third Wife is a tough but informative watch. Well worth a look for any fan of world cinema.

While the presence of now well-worn tropes mean that High Noon doesn’t quite have the impact it once did, it’s still a satisfying, well-made piece of entertainment.

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a must-see if you can take its uncompromising brutality.

While New York City might be a far safer place nowadays than it was back then, The Incident still packs a considerable punch as a pure urban nightmare.

It’s basically an illogical and nonsensical collection of scenes vaguely inspired by far (far, far) superior films such as The Evil Dead and The Shining. The acting is mediocre at best.

Alien was something of a slow-burner which took great pains to establish its setting, scenario and characters in immaculate, believable detail. This one, on the other hand, more or less hurls itself straight into the thick of it and just piles on the action, blood and sadism like there’s no tomorrow. The camerawork is energetic and Judy Geeson turns in a suitably committed performance as the afflicted main antagonist.

However, while the acting is average at best and the storyline mainly a thin excuse to bring all of the grisly mayhem together (something that Warren himself has freely admitted), it’s still a reasonably entertaining watch.

As with Satan’s Slave, Warren makes a good deal of atmospheric capital out of the exuberant country house setting. Otherwise, his direction is pretty perfunctory. There’s also an incredibly overdone slow-motion drowning scene which seems to go on forever. Still, whatever its rough edges, Prey is an unexpected minor gem.

It’s a film that, while not exactly great, at least manages to be entertaining and competently made.

The Legacy is a load of old tosh but at least it’s relatively diverting tosh.

Used Cars is an immensely easy film to just sit back and enjoy simply because it throws so much at the viewer and a surprisingly large amount of it sticks.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a fine tale, laced with a mixture of sadness and pure childlike hope.

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean might enchant a small niche of viewers. Unfortunately, I’m definitely not one of them. For major Altman buffs only.

While fans of combat scenes may be disappointed, those looking for an intense drama will be well rewarded.

While, on balance, Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a definite step up from Hand of Death, it’s not without its flaws either.

It’s not that Hand of Death is bad for what it is - it’s just that it’s fairly unremarkable considering the calibre of those involved.

While not bereft of style, Double Face is surprisingly dull.

Black Joy is a gritty but entertaining slice-of-life tale which definitely deserves to be better known.

While Volcano’s tone may seem frankly absurd, it also possesses an underlying humanity just waiting to burst out.

The film is persuasive enough to pull it off in the end despite being so obviously cash-strapped.

The only redeeming feature of Bittersweet Symphony is that some of the cast members themselves are evidently talented.

It’s some achievement that, despite Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles featuring such stomach-churning content, it still manages to be entertaining through its imagination, vividly-observed characters and even some occasional flashes of well-placed humour.

If there’s one thing that you can say about The Wind, it’s that it is impressively potent from a visual standpoint. Unfortunately, director Emma Tammi fares markedly less well when it comes to handling narrative and characters.

Ever After is a film of striking contrasts: violence and tranquility, beauty and ugliness, warmth and brutality. It really should be seen by any horror fan who seeks something a little more contemplative and artistic than the usual fare.