Possum (2018)

Minimalist horror at its best. A disgraced puppeteer returns home after years and attempts to get rid of a mysterious spider-like marionette that he keeps in a duffel bag, but it keeps finding its way back to him. A slow burn experience that will leave you chilled to the bone. This is one of those movies where not a lot happens and yet you'll never forget it. Can't sum it up better than that.

3 locked rooms out of 5

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

The 6th installment of Mission: Impossible is also somehow the best (tying it with Ghost Protocol), mostly because it pays off some longstanding story issues and further develops the character past the two-dimensional archetype with indestructible plot armor. This time the threat of nuclear war is at stake, but don't worry, Ethan Hunt is on the case and no mission is too impossible.

It features the typical extravagant action set pieces fans have come to expect (Tom Cruise actually broke his ankle during one of the stunts) and maximizes its mileage for the duration of its exhausting two-and-a-half hour runtime.

This was also the film where they decided Henry Cavill having a real mustache was more important than shaving it off for Superman, resulting in some costly reshoots for Justice League and meme-worthy CGI hare-lip screen grabs.

3½ fake news out of 5

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION [2015]

Usually by the fifth film in a franchise movie-goers are groaning "another one?" but due to being an immensely entertaining series, director Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is more than welcome.
This time around, while being hunted down by the CIA, Ethan & co. are determined to take down an international crime orginization, known as The Syndicate (olde tyme TV series fans will be giggling with glee).
Little Man Cruise proves he's a believable action star once again, while the rest of the cast back him up quite nicely, especially Rebecca Ferguson as an ass-kicking agent who may or may not be a friend.  Unfortunately Sean Harris (who I quite like) isn't given a whole lot to chew on as the villain and that hurts the threat of danger a bit.
There's enough going on here that proves it's got at least one more good film to go before it tires itself out.

3½ record store visits out of 5

DELIVER US FROM EVIL [2014]

Deliver Us From Evil is a mystery/horror about a  troubled cop who finds himself in the middle of a demon possession circle of gruesome crimes.
Director Scott Derrickson constantly proves to us that he can suffocate us with his knack for conjuring up some uber-creepsome atmosphere but, like the title of the film, he always seems to fall into conventional plotting and old hat scare tactics.  While the supporting cast are all quite wonderful it's the leading man, Eric Bana that is the most uninteresting of the bunch and that hurts the film quite a bit too.
If you've never seen an exorcism film before, from under that rock you've been under, then this might be pretty effective...but if not, then you have a legion of better ones to choose from.

2½ scary ass owl plushies out of 5

CREEP [2004]

I've come to know Christopher Smith films to pretty much do their own thing without a care in the world.

So when it came to Smith's feature length debut, Creep I found it to be unbelievably disappointing as it offered nothing original or thoughtful to give a rat's ass about.  Besides the interesting setting, which could have been put to great use and never really is, Creep falls flat on it's boring face and never gets back up.

1 CGI moustaches out of 5

PROMETHEUS [2012]

Ridley Scott's first visit back to the Alien-verse since 1979, Prometheus, is a bit of a questionable one.

While it's nice to see a sci-fi film using physical sets and animatronics instead of 99.9% CGI, there's just too many elements missing to make it a bit disappointing.  The characters are bland and dumb as fuck, there's an extreme lack of menace and you can't help but feel that it went through rewrite hell.  However there are some great set-pieces and some VERY memorable scenes that will haunt me forever.

As a popcorn film it's an entertaining ride...as an Alien film, it's a colossal disappointment.

2½ Peter O'Toole's out of 5

HARRY BROWN [2009]

Harry Brown is an intense, gritty British revenge film carried by Michael Caine in the title role.  Plot-wise, it's fairly predictable and offers no real surprises, however it's everything else in the film that captivates you from the very beginning.  The tension gets heavier and heavier, barely leaving the viewer any room to breathe, while Caine's subtly brilliant performance is complimented with an astonishing well-rounded out cast.  As dark and violent as the film gets, it packs an emotional punch that most revenge films seem to lack.  

4 Elephant & Castle's out of 5