Flavours of the Month: August 2014...

Dark conspiracies, comedic priests, talking dogs, sardonic comedians, hard-boiled cops, and underground zombies ... just a few of the things that have been flavouring my August 2014 ... read on to see what else.

Click "READ MORE" below for the looks, sounds, vibes & flavours of the past four weeks...

Triple Bill Mini Musings: Fisticuffs, Thunder, and Grue...

The Raid 2:
What's it about?
Grandiose sequel to the smash-hit Indonesian action film in which Rama is convinced to go undercover and infiltrate a criminal gang to help bring down the underworld that they control.
Who would I recognise in it?
Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Gareth Evans ups the ante in every single regard with his astonishing follow-up. The action is bigger, bolder, more complex, and on a far larger scale - here the chaos and the beautifully choreographed violence spreads across an entire city. The one criticism of the first movie was that the plot wasn't exactly deep, and Evans makes up for it this time around. It's not earth-shattering, but it's played out with strong conviction and motivation, with Uwais afforded the opportunity to pull the audience in via his character's inner turmoil as well as his flying fists. Visually and aurally the film is stunning, and it even boasts a memorable supporting cast (e.g. Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man, who are screaming out for their own spin-off movie). From the outside the two-and-a-half-hour run time seems excessive, but as the film develops - becoming evermore breathless and tense with each passing minute - its final trick is illustrating just how you make an epic that keeps the audience hooked. Great.

Click "READ MORE" below for gods and viruses...

Super Bitch (Massimo Dallamano, 1973) DVD Review

Find more DVD reviews here.

“We've got a job that needs a specialist.” The 1970s were a dangerous time in Italy. Sometimes dubbed 'the Years of Lead', and rocked by the likes of the Red Brigade, tough criminal actions begot tough police responses. It was from this raging inferno that the 'poliziotteschi' genre was born, featuring hard-boiled coppers akin to Dirty Harry and his ilk, but with a uniquely Italian swagger to them and their violent actions. These Euro cop flicks thrived alongside the scintillating violence of the more enduring gialli movement, with thrills and excesses to match. Massimo Dallamano finely crafted a superb giallo in the form of What Have You Done To Solange? and mixed the trappings of those gory murder mysteries with the poliziotteschi in What Have They Done To Your Daughters?, but with Super Bitch – aka Blue Movie Blackmail – it was all about crooked cops and drug smuggling.

Click “READ MORE” below to continue the review and see more screenshots…

"Sleb" is now available in paperback print format!

In the words of Professor Farnsworth - "Good news everyone!"

My debut novel "Sleb" is now available to purchase worldwide via Amazon in Paperback Print format (in addition to the already available eBook version).

392 pages of darkly humorous celebrity-based thrills and spills in the lavishly chaotic life of besieged starlet Roxie Black. I've seen the proof copy first-hand and it looks fantastic - glossy cover, clean white pages, and sharp print make it a lovely looking book indeed. The dimensions are the traditional paperback 5x8 inches.

Click "READ MORE" below to continue...

Triple Bill Mini Musings: Cretins and Coppers...

Return to Nuke Em High Volume 1:
What's it about?
The latest 'Tromasterpiece' from director Lloyd Kaufman which returns to the titular high school where these days it's genetically modified food, rather than nuclear waste, that's turning goody-two-shoes students into punked-out cretins.
Who would I recognise in it?
Lloyd Kaufman and some other familiar faces from the Troma entourage.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The main problem with Volume 1 is just that - it's half a movie - there is no real three act arc over the duration of the first film, and so it all cuts off just as things are really beginning to escalate. We'll have to wait until Volume 2 to see the chaos unfold and for the story to be resolved, but for now it's frustrating to just get what is essentially half of a three hour movie. On the plus side, recent Troma flicks have boasted higher production values while maintaining their over-the-top independent spirit and style. Not for the faint-hearted or easily offended, it's a screaming-mad, dial-up-to-eleven, full-frontal assault of bad taste, nudity, gore, and Kevin The Wonder Duck. Not their best - mostly due to cutting us off half-way-through - but far, far, far from their worst. An enjoyably tasteless Troma romp. Good.

Click "READ MORE" below for coppers both dead and alive...