cannibal apocalypse (1980)

aka Apocalypse Domani. Invasion of the Flesh Hunters.
"I had this urge to bite her."
Its 1980 and Norman Hooper (John Saxon) is still living with the trauma of Vietnam, especially when he led a rescue of some American POW's. When found they had resorted to cannibalism, and one then bit Norman. Then one of the rescued vets (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) goes on a rampage and chows down on a woman's neck, before killing a couple of people. What no one realises at the time is that his bite contains a contagious virus that turns people into cannibals, and soon Norman is joining his mate in supplementing his diet with raw meat.
Marcheriti tries to cash in on two popular genre's at the time in one, the Vietnam based drama, and the cannibal flick. A promising mix that fails to make good on its promise. Italian, Cannibal, Antonio Margheriti,

the watch (2012)

aka Alien Busters. Surveillance.
"That was really stressful."
Evan (Ben Stiller) thinks he has a perfect life as a Costco store manager in Glenview, Ohio. That is until his night security guard is gruesomely murdered. With a police force that seems less than interested in finding the perpetrator he decides to set up a neighborhood watch and investigate. But only three people show for his first meeting, Franklin (Jonah Hill), Bob (Vince Vaughn) and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade), each with their own problems...which pale into insignificance when they find out an alien is stalking the neighborhood.
Comedy about male bonding, which feels it has to provide a journey for its cast, rather than just making a funny film. It has its moments, but is ultimately a disappointment considering the talent involved.

sherlock holmes: a game of shadows (2011)

"They are dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle."
Sherlock and Dr Watson (Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law) come up against their most cunning and deadly foe, Moriarty (Jared Harris). A man who is determined to start WWI in order to make a profit.
Fast, flashy and knowing take on the famous detective.

those magnificent men in their flying machines or how i flew from london to paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965)

"The trouble with these international affairs is they attract foreigners."
It's 1910 and a British newspaper organises an air race, from London to Paris. Pilots arrive from around the world, each with different reasons, and different ways, to win. From the German military, an English cad, through to a broke American barnstormer, and many more. Causing trouble is the suffragette daughter of the newspaper owner Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles), who is being romanced by Richard Mays (James Fox), but American Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) has caught her eye.
Packed through with all the stars it could cram into the flick, this is a mainstream comedy, that could ave easily crash landed, but manages to maintain a level flight and entertainment, with plenty of slapstick, villains (Terry Thomas, and Eric Sykes), and racial stereotypes, (pompous German's, hot-headed Italians, womanising French, and caddish Englishmen).

battle of the worlds (1961)

aka Il pianeta degli uomini spenti.
"One would say, ladies and gentlemen, that you are disappointed to learn that the end of the world has been postponed!"
Astronomer Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini) spots a stray planet on a collision course with Earth, but inexplicably it goes into orbit around earth. The what seemed a dead piece of rock suddenly launches a fleet of flying saucers which start to attack. Only the grumpy scientist Prof. Benson (Claude Rains) seems to know what to do.
A low budget sci-fi, that throws in a name actor and some nifty special effects (for its budget), but still manages to fail to hold my attention.

kill list (2011)

"You've got to get back on the horse again."
Contract killer, Jay (Neil Maskell), hasn't worked for eight months, following a disastrous job in Kiev. Money troubles press on him and is wife (MyAnna Buring), and she, and his old partner Gal (Michael Smiley) pressure him into taking a new assignment, but is Jay mentally and physically prepared enough to take on this new contract?
What starts out as a psychological thriller, suddenly twists into supernatural horror, in this eminently watchable film. Just watch out for the gruesome torture along the way.

god bless america (2011)

"why have a civilization anymore if we no longer are interested in being civilized?"
Frank (Joel Murray) is divorced with one kid, who doesn't want to know him, with a bad job. That is until he's sacked and finds out he's terminally ill. So he comes to a decision, instead of suicide he decides to rid society of its most repellent citizens, the whiny, celebrity obsessed, self entitled morons who populate and make reality TV. and Fox News. Along the way he finds an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr).
Extremely black comedy, that lashes out at the narcissistic, self absorbed, and down right rude world that Bobcat has seen America become. In this it preaches to the converted, or you'll walk away. Me I'm one of the converted.

the perfume of the lady in black (1974)

aka Il profumo della signora in nero.
"Only Silvia is good."
Troubled industrial chemist Silvia (Mimsy Farmer), suffers hallucinations featuring a woman in black. Is it from a trauma as a child, or is she being driven mad for reasons of industrial espionage.
A beautiful, stylish and subtle psychological thriller, that takes some time to get going, but rewards concentration.

the devil's rain (1975)

aka Hell Rain.
"Give Corbis what belongs to him."
When Mark Preston (William Shatner) sees his dad melt before him, pleading that Mark hand over a book to Satanist John Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), he sets off to confront the coven, rather than give them the book. Later Tom Preston (Tom Skerritt) finds out his whole family are missing, and sets out to find out what has happened to them, getting mixed up in a Satanist pact that goes back centuries.
An all star cast, including Ida Lupino, and John Travolta (in his feature debut), ham it up in this inconsequential horror.

elephant (1989)

"What's it got to do with you?"
A number of men go on unrelated killing sprees. The shootings are all unexplained and out of any context, with the camera then lingering on the victim, before we move onto the next attack.
This drama Influenced Gus Van Sant's take on the Columbine Massacre, (visually at least), but is much more powerful, gritty and visceral. This was Clarke's response to the ongoing problem of Northern Ireland. The lack of context for the murders is disturbing, giving a pointlessness to the violence, which is at first unsettling, but then through shear repetitiveness, becomes mundane, and you become desensitised to it all. Alan Clarke, Drama, British,

elephant (2003)

"Hey, you going to the concert tonight."
We follow the mundane everyday life of several high school students, on a typical day. Everything is chronicled via long steady-cam takes, from photography, through bulimia and gym class. Meanwhile two students are planning some retribution on the school and its students.
Van Sant's reaction to the Columbine massacre, when 13 people were killed by two high school students in 1999. Rather than concentrating on the story of the perpetrators, he also follows some of the students on their everyday routine on the morning when the tragedy unfolds. The film looks to open the debate about such events, but without asking any questions.