BuffaloVic

Saw this at a film festival in Dublin recently and really enjoyed it. The film is an obvious homage to Peckinpah, right from the opening credits. I thought it was very well shot, the film looks great in widescreen photography. There is a nice ominous atmosphere captured by the director and a real 70's feel to the film. There is also a very good cast, it got me thinking, how did a small Spainsh film attract such good actors? The one complaint I would have is that the script was lacking a bit. The dialogue felt a bit forced, almost as it if was translated from Spanish and then when spoken in English it seemed to be missing something in the translation. It just did not come across as believable at times. On the whole though there were far more positives than negatives and I would recommend this film to fans of genre cinema

There have been some very good genre movies from France over the last few years. Brotherhood of the Wolf, Crimson Rivers and Haute Tension/Switchblade Romance are three I can think of.

I was impressed enough with Saint Ange to add it to this list.

Virginie Ledoyen plays a girl who arrives at a just vacated boarding school to work as a caretaker. She is joined at the school by two other women, a slightly disturbed former pupil and the cook. Of course this being a horror film strange things begin to happen around the house prompting Virginie to try to find out the history of the house and discover its secrets.

This is a film that relies a lot on creating a spooky atmosphere and I think it manages to do this very well. The director, for a first time film-maker does a great job of slowly increasing the tension. The film is shot in widescreen which makes it great to look at and brings across the big house almost as another character in the film.

There have been a lot of negative comments about this film which surprised me at first. However after thinking about it I would imagine the reason a lot of people don't like the film is because it does not offer any easy answers. The events in the film can be read on a few different levels and it's fair to say that it's not a film that you switch your brain off on the way in. I was also impressed with the ending, surprisingly emotional for this hardened cinema go-er!

I saw this film as part of the Dublin French Film festival and was surprised to see it was in English. Virginie Ledoyen who took part in a Q&A after the film said that they filmed the speaking scenes twice, once in French and once in English. This was because she said (tongue in cheek?!) the Americans don't like to read subtitles!

I would recommend this film, not to fans of gory horror, but to somebody who is looking for a more subtle movie.

I had the pleasure to see this film at the Dublin International Film Festival and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This film is NOT a story about Gram Parsons life. It begins as Gram Parsons is found dead and follows his friend Phil Kaufman's attempts to steal the body with the intention of burning it in the desert as per Gram's wishes. Sure this film takes liberties with certain facts and characters but the film makers are trying to tell a story and it certainly is a witty, whimsical and entertaining film that deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

The performances are almost all excellent with Johnny Knoxville giving an understated, almost subdued performance (not at all like his Jackass persona) as a man carrying out his friends final wishes.

At a Q & A after the film the director and producer revealed that Gram Parsons family were shown the film and loved it and so allowed his music to be used on the soundtrack. I can think of no greater compliment of the film to be said than that.

I saw Joy Ride during my visit to Toronto for the International Film Festival. Joy Ride tells the story of two brothers and a friend making their way across America who incur the wrath of a mysterious trucker, who proceeds to chase them along the highway. The film was made by John Dahl, the man responsible for three excellent film noirs (including Red Rock West), then made the weird sci-fi Unforgettable and also the poorly received Rounders. (which I have not seen yet). Joy Ride has a great pace and Dahl never lets the tension abate. Indeed this is a very intense film. The young cast are excellent, most notably Steve Zahn who plays the more wayward of the brothers and whose cruel trick on the trucker sets events in motion. It's good to see John Dahl back on form.

I saw this film at a horror film festival the other day and I've got to admit I really enjoyed it. It's funny, has got a bit of gore, a few shocks and doesn't take itself too seriously. If you enjoyed early eighties films like Evil Dead, Re-animator etc you should like this too. One question though. How come all vampires/demons these days look like the vampires from Buffy? You know, with those furrowed brows and slitty green eyes. One of these guys makes an appearance in The Cell as well...