The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)

aka February

In his directorial debut, Oz Perkins crafts a non-traditional horror film about loss and the evil which lurks within absence. Heavily influenced by the style of David Lynch, scenes are slowly eaten up by uncomfortable pauses and seemingly mundane conversations carpeted by an unsettling score which gets under your skin. As a result, an atmosphere of intrigue is created, yet at times this method instills a lull instead. The editing ensures a cryptic nature to the story. This is one that will make more sense on a second viewing. The three young women spot lit (Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, and Lucy Boynton) give methodical performances which add to the overall unease and lingering impression of the film.

3 heads in a row out of 5

48 Hrs. (1982)

It’s a 'buddy cop' movie with one San Francisco cop and one smart-talking convict who's given a 48 hour get out of jail pass card. The usual precinct clichés are in abundance, shouty Chief, hookers getting booked at desks and officers shuffling around in the background, but elsewhere it’s less formulaic.
I don’t like Murphy’s attention-grabbing screen persona very much, but I’m a fan of director Walter Hill’s ability to put us into the dramatic heart of a scene without overplaying it or making it seem false, so even though I was kept at a distance by the former I was pulled back into the story by the latter.
In short, it’s an entertaining 80s cop drama in an overcrowded genre arena.

3½ crummy days out of 5

Wedlock (1991)

aka Deadlock

At an undefined point ‘in the future’ Rutger Hauer’s luck goes unexpectedly sour. He’s placed in a penal colony where every inmate is fitted with an exploding, electronic collar that triggers if they wander outside of a painted border line. Cross the line = head goes boom.
What unfolds is predicable, light sci-fi stuff. I felt like I’d seen it before even though I hadn't. The prisoners are clichés and the twists and turns are totally transparent. But it’s not terrible and if you enjoy watching Rutger then it’s even enjoyable in places; he gets some caustic lines that raise a chuckle. It’s as if it set out to be average and achieved it.

2½ colourful names out of 5

HORNS [2014]

Director Alexandre Aja adapts Joe Hill's bizarre dark fantasy novel, Horns, for the screen with great ambition.
Daniel Radcliffe plays a young man who begins sprouting devil horns after he's accused of murdering his girlfriend.  Sound pretty weird?  Your assumptions are correct.  Unfortunately the film is a tonal mess of horror, comedy and surrealism that never feels comfortable settling down enough to find a heart.  Radcliffe pulls off his best performance yet as he's surrounded by some beautifully shot scenery but it just isn't enough to make it a memorable film.  Granted it's weird enough to make you wonder just how it's going to play out but once all is said and done it leaves much to be desired.

2½ cherry pies from Annie out of 5

Wild Bill (1995)

WB is a Hickok story that acknowledges the embellishments surrounding the real life character and works them into the plot. I liked that. But the shifting back in time via black and white flashbacks is something that I didn't like. It was distracting and made everything feel disjointed.
What drags it down more than anything else, however, is the casting. Jeff Bridges as the marshal with a gun in each hand would definitely seem a good idea on paper, but it didn't work so well onscreen. Likewise, John Hurt is a fine actor but not a good choice for Bill's close friend Charlie. Jane's role is necessary; it's a shame she's annoyingly melodramatic. The worst of all is David Arquette's piss-weak attempt at being the antagonist.

2½ remedies for the restless spirit out of 5

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

"This is not good."

                                         Johnny Cage

0 balls out of 5

The Warriors (1979)

When you’re far from home and the shit gets real it’s best to have friends you can trust, but there’s always one guy that has to ruin things for everyone else and more often than not someone else has to pay the price.
It's a B-Movie that resembles a John Carpenter film at times, but if you can laugh at its many flaws it has a great deal of fun waiting to be discovered.
The Director’s Cut adds some unnecessary cartoon styled intertitles and an intro that was supposed to have Orson Welles but sadly doesn't.
See it before the inevitable soulless remake comes along.

4 rumbles on the way back to Coney out of 5