Monthly Archives: October 2023

The Exorcist: Believer – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a stunningly tense affair that gets closer to the original than I think people expected.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Katherine walks down the ailse of a church covered in communion wine.

The Exorcist: Believer Review –

One of the jobs I set for myself this year was to explore the world of horror more. It was an area that was a bit of a blind spot for me, and I needed to engage with it a bit more. While I am not sure if I have been as successful with that as I would have liked. However, M3GAN, Outpost, and Evil Dead Rise have helped. But I am not sure that anything will prepare me for The Exorcist.

So to set the scene, one morning, Katherine (Olivia Marcum) and Angela (Lidya Jewett) go to school, and they disappear, vanishing until they are found walking in the forest disorientated. The girls think they have been gone for hours but have been missing for three days. Their parents are just happy to have them home, that is, until they start acting odd, dangerously odd. For you see, it might not have been just the girls who returned home that evening, and traditional medicine might not have the answer.

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating literary turducken that captivates you.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

A writers writing room.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Review –

In the last week, we have looked at first The Rat Catcherand thenPoison, two fascinating adaptations of Roald Dahl’s short stories by Wes Anderson. It was at this point that I discovered that they were from a group of four that were released, and I had missed the first two. Well, that can not do, so we got back to the start with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which may have given some critical context for the ones that followed.

So to set the scene, we open with ‘a writer’ (Ralph Fiennes) explaining their process of getting ready to write when he introduces us to Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch). Henry is a rich man and one of the many useless rich people floating around like seaweed in the world. But Henry liked to bet. So, on one wet and dreary day, he drifted through a grand house till he came across a peculiar book in the library, A Report on Imdad Khan: The Man Who Sees Without His Eyes by Dr. Z.Z. Chatterjee, dated December 1935, Calcutta. Henry was immediately engrossed with the tale.  

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The Continental (The Continental: From the World of John Wick): Loyalty to the Master – TV Review

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TL;DR – Continued floundering makes those moments when it tries to do something feel lacklustre.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

Staring at a cremation urn.

The Continental Review –

Well, hmmm, I have enjoyed everything we have gotten from the John Wick universe so far. However, last week’s opening, Brothers in Arms, fell flat in many ways. Now, this is only a miniseries, and the first episode was primarily set-up, which means it may take off from this week.

So to set the scene, it was The Bronx in 1955, and two young boys throw a Molotov cocktail through a window under orders, only to find there were people in there. In the present, Winston (Colin Woodell) manages to get in to see his dead brother Frankie’s (Ben Robson) corpse to say goodbye and collect his personal items before it is cremated. It is a focusing moment for Winston, and a plan is formed: it is time to kill Cormac (Mel Gibson). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A profound exploration of a deep plutonic friendship that lasts through the ages.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The Sun rising over a mountain top.

The Eight Mountains Review –

Cinema has a long history of being able to chart romantic or sexual relationships. Indeed, we have entire genres dedicated to their exploration. But what we don’t see engaged with as often is close platonic relationships. Which is odd because everyone has them, but rarely do they become the focus of a film. Well, today, we explore a film that cuts to the heart of just such a relationship as two wayward souls crash into each other and spin apart.

So to set the scene, Pietro’s (Lupo Barbiero) family decided to get out of the clawing bustle of Turin in the summer and escape into the mountains. They picked a town almost abandoned by people leaving to find work to rent a house, which is where he meets Bruno (Cristiano Sassella). It would have been hard for them to miss each other as Bruno was the last child left in the village, but they soon became inseparable. But Pietro is just there for the summer, and Bruno is there for life, which sets them on two very different paths.

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