Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's (Blake Edwards - 1961)

Mega charming! I choose to see this on account of following reasons 1) Blake Edward’s skills as a filmmaker 2) I had seen stills of Audrey Hepburn 3) Score by Henry Mancini 4) New York 5) I seemed to recall that Truman Capote had something to do with it and finally 6) The film seems to be one of those iconic movies.

Full score on all six reasons and an added bonus; the cutest little red-haired cat. A tip to Hollywood; put some animals in every film. That will make your output more enjoyable to watch. 

Viewed on a Scandinavian DVD release from Paramount Home Entertainment Norway

Don't Go in the House

Don't Go inthe House (Joseph Ellison - 1980)

Don't Go in the House is another take on a Psycho-like story. Mothers around the world surely have much to answer for.  

I was expecting the routine horror/slasher and pleasantly surprised. This film has an artistic vision and the craftsmanship to maintain a unique mood throughout the entire movie. The acting is somewhat “expressionistic” but plays well in the context. The main character really seems tormented and deranged and the film is creepy as hell despite the limited amount of gore.

Viewed on a DVD release from Arrow Films featuring a 1.85:1 AR x 16:9 image.

S.W.A.T.: Firefight

S.W.A.T.:Firefight (Benny Boom - 2011)

This was the last film to watch on Saturday evening. I really didn’t have big expectations for this one. I just wanted something noisy and simple to keep me awake another two hours. The film was a positive surprise though, featuring solid action scenes, decent acting and cinematography. 

The plot was conventional, but efficient and with a twist. It measures well with much of the nonsense that makes it to the big screen. I’d choose this one over Iron Man 2 any day.

Viewed on a Scandinavian DVD release.

Bloody Birthday

BloodyBirthday (Ed Hunt - 1981)

Three children are born at the height of a total eclipse and naturally they turn out to become preteen homicidal maniacs. A couple of minutes into the feature I remember that I had seen it before, but it’s a charming little thing and I am more than happy to revisit the terrorized suburbia. 

When it comes to horror and slashers I have a particular affection for the early 80thies when the aesthetics of the 70 still lingers on, but the cheesiness of the 80ties is beginning to make an impact.

Viewed on a 16:9 enhanced DVD from VCI Entertainment. The cover claims the aspect ratio to be 1.78:1. There is a British Anchor Bay release with pretty much identical picture quality, but with the benefits of the superior PAL standard.

Rampage

Rampage (Uwe Boll - 2009)

The film is about a guy on a killing spree. A frustrated youngster walks around in a city with machine guns and kills so many he can.  The body count is comparable to the massacre in Norway last year, but this guy is no Anders Behring Breivik. The killer has no ideology and neither has the film. There is a general feeling that society is “fucked up”, but that doesn’t go deep.

The film has an art-house/realism style of “just showing events without narrating”. This reference to quality cinema can give the impression that the film is more significant than it is. For me the whole thing seemed a bit superficial. 

Viewed on a Scandinavian DVD release  

Switchblade Romance

Haute tension (Alexandre Aja - 2003)  

Suspense and brutality. Good looking film with decent acting and a twist ending.  

You have seen it all before, but it still is a terror/slasher film with moderate to high entertainment value.

Viewed on a Scandinavian DVD release from SF Norge AS

Drive in Double Feature - Search and Destroy / The Glove

Search and Destroy (William Fruet - 1979)
The Glove (Ross Hagen - 1979) 

Search and Destroy is tough shit. It’s supposedly one of the first "post Vietnam vet" movies. It’s reckless and hard-hitting in a manner that only 70ties movies can get away with.

The Glove featuring John Saxon as a modern-day bounty hunter in Los Angeles promised much, but turned out to be a softer film than Search and Destroy. There is an effort to make a more complex movie with a likable villain and addressing racial issues. The whole thing comes across as somewhat underdeveloped, but it still has decent entertainment value.

Both films are presented in their original 1.85 : 1. aspect ratio