CRIMSON PEAK [2015]

Visual director Guillermo del Toro creeps over familiar territory with his Gothic romance/thriller Crimson Peak.
After a tragic event in her life, a young American woman moves to England with her new husband to a spooky old mansion that quite obviously has some bloody secrets buried beneath it.
Before, del Toro's non-English films were noticeably more mature than his North American films but here he seems to have finally found a way to lie between that border and revisit some of the themes, visuals and ideas he brought up in The Devil's Backbone.  It's a beautiful homage to the Hammer films with it's bright reds only representing death, the suffocating shadows and melodramatic music.  It's beautifully detailed atmosphere, well-spaced camerawork and extravagant set & costume designs almost make you forget the story is a little weak and offers no real surprises but if you're a fan of the director's previous films than this shouldn't present much of a problem.

3½ delicate butterflies out of 5

PACIFIC RIM [2013]

After being unable to get several projects off the ground, film-maker Guillermo Del Toro makes a triumphant return with the Saturday Morning Cartoon-esque sci-fi flick Pacific Rim.
Del Toro who usually makes his films dark and broody, wisely opted for a colorful and adventurous feel this time around making for the perfect type of popcorn film.  It's pretty light on substance but Del Toro's knack for great film-making is still firmly intact as he channels some more than obvious influences to create a damned great couple of hours of brainless fun.  It's ridiculous, loud, ballsy and probably as good as gets with this year's run of summer blockbusters.

3½ sons of anarchy out of 5

DEADFALL [2012]

From The Counterfeiters director, Stefan Ruzowitzky comes the quiet and finely crafted crime drama, Deadfall.

It's a complex character study that's filled with depth, strong emotional conflict and plot threads that threatens to spiral out of control but all meets up in the end.  The plot is nothing too special but everything is strengthened by superb acting, beautifully cold photography and wonderful pacing.  The writing is so good and deeply layered, you actually find yourself caring about the murderers & criminals in the film but in a different way than Quentin Tarantino's glamorization of the crime life.  

3½ barbed wire fences out of 5