Quick Reviews

Director: Stephen Frears
Certification: PG
Reviewed: 14/01/06

With an all star cast, this drama is set during the time of the cold war. Mistakenly due to a malfunction a number of American nuclear armed aircraft are instructed by computer to bomb Moscow. Resolutely the military and the U.S. President try to recall their errant planes, with edge-of-your-seat results.

I got this out on DVD, thinking to myself "well this could be interesting" I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it turned out though. This was really a very good movie, all the more amazing as it was originally aired live on American TV. It would be great to see live TV of this calibre more often.

Director: Joel Coen
Certification: 18
Reviewed: 02/02/05

Jerry Lundegaard is up to his neck in debt therefore hires two luckless lowlifes to kidnap his wife thinking that his rich father-in-law will pay the ransom and then be able to split it between the kidnappers and himself. Things go wrong and people start dying so pregnant police officer Marge Gunderson is called in to investigate the murders. William H. Macy and Frances McDormand star in the Coen brother's wonderful violent black comedy. Oh ya!

Director: David Fincher
Certification: 18
Reviewed: 12/02/05

Edward Norton and Brad Pitt star in a thinking man's slugfest with razor sharp social commentary that pulls no punches. David Fincher's uncompromising portrayal based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk is disturbing as it hits all the right spots in a bewildered society. Although very brutal in parts this is an excellent, not to be missed, satire and black comedy.

Director: James Wong
Certification: 15
Reviewed: 19/02/06

A party of teenagers board a plane, they are excitedly looking forward to their school trip to a France not realising what fate has in store for them except that is, for one boy. He has a premonition that the plane is going to explode, but his panic-stricken warnings go unheeded, serving only in getting a few of his friends, a teacher and himself thrown off the plane. The plane takes off without them but soon after disaster strikes and all onboard perish. This small group have just had a lucky escape and cheated death, or have they?

Director: Kevin Connor
Certification: 15
Reviewed: 16/12/06 (Updated)
Also Known As: The Undead, Creatures from Beyond the Grave, Creatures (USA), Tales from Beyond the Grave, Tales from the Beyond

Amicus made several horror anthologies in their time. This one consists of four stories all of which are centred around an antique dealer (Peter Cushing) whose customers suffer horrific incidents after they obtain an antique from his shop, Temptations Ltd.

• The Gatecrasher - A malevolent spirit who resides within a mirror is awakened when a group of friends hold a séance. The spirit needs to be 'fed' by the act of killing to be set free from the mirror.
• An Act of Kindness - A henpecked businessman befriends an ex-serviceman street peddler and his strange daughter after lying about having been awarded a medal during the war.
• The Elemental - Madame Orloff, clairvoyant extraordinaire accosts a gentleman on a train and informs him that there is a nasty elemental on his shoulder that needs getting rid of or there will be disastrous consequences.
• The Door - A young man purchases a door from the antique shop, once installed the door has the power to open onto a 17th century room where a devil worshiper inhabits to cheat death.

The movie is stylish and imaginative with some tongue-in-cheek humour that helps keep the movie fun as well as chilling. Based on short stories by the prolific writer R. Chetwynd Hayes, From Beyond the Grave is very much like delving into a Pan Book of Horror Stories, and very good it is too. Also stars Donald Pleasence, Ian Bannen, Diana Dors, Ian Carmichael, Ian Ogilvy, Margaret Leighton and Nyree Dawn Porter.