Reviews of films and television formats. Short or long.
Shocking Dark (1989) (orig. Terminator 2) – Director: Bruno Mattei – 1/10 (atrocious)The feature would have come out way more agreeable had it not set out to unabashedly copy Aliens and The Terminator in the first place, paying subtle homage to Cameron’s films instead; the flick goes so far as […]
The Witches Mountain (1973) (orig. El monte de las brujas) – Director: Raúl Artigot – 3/10 (very mediocre/bad)Though the work apparently undertakes to set up the right mood by introducing multiple longueurs and by applying certain ellyptical gambits, evidently essaying to emphasize the supernatural nature of its tale, the said […]
Danger Route (1967) – Director: Seth Holt – 6/10 (good)The motion picture represents more of a John Le Carre style spy thriller, eschewing the jubilant, playful disposition of the James Bond rip-offs of the era and thereby, opting for the more cynical approach instead. The film is executed in a […]
Star Odyssey (1979) (orig. Sette uomini d’oro nello spazio) – Director: Alfonso Brescia – 2/10 (very bad)The movie conceivably could have worked providing that it had moved at a tolerable pace and displayed its psychotronic qualities more imaginatively; predictably enough though, the motion picture begins to stagnate and decompose about […]
The Deep (1977) – Director: Peter Yates – 8/10 (excellent) This is old-school filmmaking at its finest: not only is it most likely one of the most successful straight treasure hunt adventures to have been put on celluloid, but also an astounding technical feat with some of the most impressive […]
Intimidation (1960) – Director: Koreyoshi Kurahara – 7/10 (very good)Kurahara’s grip on the narrative is quite impressive and it is pretty astonishing he manages to wedge as much material as he does into the frugal, barely-over-60-minute-long Nikkatsu framework. The director outfits the taut, suspenseful film noir with the highly acerbic […]
Dimension 5 (1966) – Director: Franklin Adreon – 4/10 (passable/mediocre)The movie essentially constitutes a third-rate spy flick equipped with absurd time-travel gadgetry, threadbare innuendos and hammy acting, though to be fair, it is not so charmless in that some of its defects actually redound to its benefit. The work predominantly […]
The Dreaming (1988) – Director: Mario Andreacchio – 5/10 (okay/decent) Though the motion picture opts for the right tone and primarily focuses on atmosphere as opposed to senseless jump scares or gore, the overall composition feels somewhat paroxysmic in that every second or third scene features the titular ‘dreaming’ which […]
21 Hours at Munich (1976) – Director: William A. Graham – 6/10 (good)The movie succeeds in virtue of following the events in a fairly straightforward manner and owing to the satisfying performances given by William Holden and Franco Nero. Perhaps its biggest differentiating feature constitutes the emphasis put on delineating […]
Target Eagle (1982) (aka Fire Mission, orig. Jugando con la muerte) – 6/10 (good)I am not much of an actioner aficionado, though I must confess I have taken to this somewhat obtuse, but nonetheless charming piece of Eurotrash nonsense. Firstly, its primary strength seems to lie in its excellent variety […]