"Suspiria"

Most film fans, even if they have not seen a Dario Argento film, will almost certainly be familiar with both the Director and his films.
So being aware of his Career, I made the decision to watch this remake, despite knowing absolutely nothing about it.
And although I sat through the whole two and a half hours of the film, I am still no wiser as to what the film was about.

There must have been something about it as the time did not drag, but I just felt that it was completely wasted. The only saving grace is the performance from Tilda Swinton. Or should that be performances??

It is hard to believe that Luca Guadagnino, who directed one of last year's best films, namely "Call Me By Your Name" directed this Argento remake too. 

Almost three hours of my life I will never get again........3 out of 10

"Widows"

Anyone of a certain age, me included, will be more than fully aware of the ITV series that this film is based upon. It aired in the early 1980's and had two follow up series. The events of this new film version are based on that first ground-breaking series.

Harry Rawlins is a tough as nails criminal. He and his gang carry out jobs and they and their families reap the financial rewards, though their families may not be fully aware of how their lavish lifestyles are maintained. Being old school, Harry keeps a journal of each of the jobs he has carried out, not the best of ideas, especially should the Authorities get their hands on it. Mind you it all becomes irrelevant anyway, when Harry and his team are killed in a shoot-out with the Police when carrying their latest job.

The remaining widows form an alliance, this they have to do as a Politician was the target of Harry's Gang, and the money they stole was part of his Campaign funding, and understandably he wants it back, leaving Harry's widow 1 month to pay the $2 million he is owed.
So she gets the widows together to carry out the next job in Harry's journal to clear them of any debt towards the Politician, and also have enough left over to start a new life.

Anyone who has not seen the original series will no doubt really enjoy this reimagining of Lynda La Plante's material. But I felt it did little to bring anything fresh to the Screen. The advantage of the original is that as it was a series, it had far more screen time to fill out the characters. This could have been done with the film had it not looked at the Political side of things, that whole subplot was totally unnecessary.
The cast are all good, with Viola Davis on great form as Harry's widow Veronica, and also worthy of mention is Cynthia Enrivo as 'Belle'.  The likes of Colin Farrell, Liam Neeson and Robert Duvall just seem to go through their paces.

Will there be any eagle eyed viewers out there who spot a wonderful cameo?

Ok but not a patch on a series that is over 35 years old and still packs a punch....5 out of 10

"The Grinch"

As the festive season approaches, we start with one of the first Christmas based films to hit the Cinema, and the classic story of "The Grinch".

We've had the live action version played by Jim Carrey, now almost 20 years later we have a new animated film, with the title character voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.

In the magical Christmas loving town of Whoville, the residents get ready as the festive season draws ever closer. Everyone is getting really excited, all apart from one. A miserly so & so, who looks down upon the festivities. In order to make everyone feel as miserable as he, The Grinch puts a plan in motion to steal their Christmas, everything from the last card and present to every tree and bauble. Will he succeed?

The film is aimed at a young audience, and fans of the original book may think that the Jim Carrey film is rightfully darker, but I have not seen that, only this new animated version, and I loved it. There is something for everyone. It has quite a few laugh out loud moments, the animation, as one would expect, is outstanding, it was just 90 minutes of great fun.

It gets Christmas off to great start....8 out of 10

PS - For Minions fans, there is a short at the beginning, and yes it's very funny lol

"Overlord"

I have never really gotten the whole Zombie thing. I gave up on watching "The Walking Dead" after just five minutes of the first episode, maybe not exactly fair, but I still feel I made the right choice.
So, needless to say, I had very little desire to watch his new release, and the only reason I did was that I wanted to watch a double bill and this was the only other film I could watch.

I'm so glad that it worked out that way.

We start the film as a group of ParaTroopers are on route to a village Church in France, their aim is to destroy a radio transmitter. But not all is as it seems within the walls of the Church.
For the Germans have discovered a liquid, which when injected gives the host renewed strength, even when dead. The Nazis have been experimenting on both the Village locals, and captured Soldiers. The ultimate goal to create a Third Reich that the World will never forget.
Despite one the American troops seeing first hand what is unfolding in the Church, his Commanding officer stays with their mission, and that of destroying the transmitter. It's not until things get a little close to home does the mission change.

The best way I can think of to describe this film is its "Saving Private Ryan" meets "Inglorious Bastards" meets "28 Days Later". I absolutely fricking loved it. Right from the opening frames, it is a delight to watch. It has everything. The cast are all excellent, the Direction is outstanding, and both the visual and special effects plus the make-up are really awesome.
Please note that this film is an 18 certificate, and it is with VERY good reason. It is not for the faint hearted. In fact I think had there been a 21 age certificate, it may have been awarded it.

110 minutes of undead brilliance......8 out of 10