tequila101

I have watched this film twice already this year and I must say that it never fails to disappoint. A Snow climax which sets in isolation and peril, dark and gloomy cinematography and an all-round cast including Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde and Charlie Hunnam who deliver tenacious and overall spectacular performances which engage and lure the audience into a fine little thriller which gives all the good anyone is expecting in a film like this.

I just thought that the cast for this film was a good choose because I never expected to see Eric Bana (from films such as "Chopper" and "Hulk" and Charlie Hunnam "Sons of Anarchy) together in a slick thriller/drama which seems to bring much tension whilst keeps the action flowing nicely from scene to scene. The story that creators thought of is something that has been done countless times to date, yet "Deadfall" seems to take the concepts and ideas of these situations and makes it a different type of roller coaster ride which has you wondering and pondering suspense of how, who, what and when certain scenarios and characters will act upon the viewer as well as each other. Not to mention I thought Sissy Spacek (strongly known for the original 70's shocker "Carrie") and Olivia Wilde (who I haven't seen in many films) were both excellent elements and actresses for their parts as well as their ways of acting as the roles they were given.

But most notably, Eric Bana & Charlie Hunnam; they both knocked their roles right out of the wind this time round! Eric Bana brings a more sadistic yet manipulative and charming persona to his character of Addison whom murders and violates people before wanting them to die. I love how Bana portrays a very vicious and vile tone which seems to cause much tension between him and other characters. Such as the scenario where he back tracks in the woods where he "seems" to look after the little girl as well as the final dinner table sequence.

Charlie Hunnam is very much at his prime in this role as he is a petty crook who just happens to be released from prison, and now; wants to get his life back on track. I really loved how he brings a smart, sneaky and yet kind-hearted persona to his character. Even though he has done the immoral, we see visually understand that he wants to try and make peace with his family and to get a girlfriend (in which it's Eliza) as well as to stop running away from trouble.

Overall, a very slick and excellent film I believe shouldn't be missed. I could ramble on about this film for ages since it's so fantastically well made. A very strong structured film which I didn't expect to even grasp my attention so much, as with myself I usually am not fond of many of the film being released these days as many have lost substance or use too much style to present glamorous textures instead of story.

"Deadfall" seems to pick up and balance the two elements of substance and style generally well which I now believe it was the possibly the best film to be released in 2012. I don't know how I didn't pick up on this two years ago! My Verdict: See It, it garnishes a 9.5/10 from me.

When I first saw the trailer for this straight-to-DVD release, I did not even think to believe that this film was to be any better than the previous which had come. I thought this film was going to be cheesy and just not exciting. Again, I anticipated what was not...

"Curse of Chucky" may have had it's flaws (which it has some), but for me it was a kill-joy ride into seeing the crazy, sadistic doll we know and love since 1988. Now 25 years later, he's come back with a big slash to a victim's backside! Before I properly start writing what I liked/disliked about the film, I would first like to say that Don Mancini, the cast and crew did an excellent job of bringing Chucky back to his horror roots, and attempting to make the concepts and elements of the story and doll creepy/suspenseful. I would say this it's an improvement over both "Bride and Seed of Chucky", though I still didn't find this film too scary for the most part. I also knew that this film was not going to match up to the ambient suspense of the original 1988 horror flick which I still cherish today. I also didn't find this one to be better than "Child's Play 2" or "3".

So firstly the bad sides of this film (I'd rather get this done first):

1: The aspect I noticed most is that Chucky is not remotely scary or frightening. He sometimes appears as a game model while at other times his head's the size of a turnip. His clean look doesn't look to great, where its too plush and playful. His clean look needs to play off the themes that he can be a frightening vision. The stitched look was a slight improvement. Brad Dourif's excellent voice talents for the doll are the only thing that keep Chucky going.

2: The only other small problem I would have to state about the film, was that when the filmmakers were working on production, there was note that the film was to be set after "Child's Play 3" and to be a prequel to Bride. And then there was info flying around that it was just set after Seed. So the film at times made it a little unclear whether it was set in the mid 90's or if it was the 2000's but then again, when I saw cell phones and laptops it quickly striked me that it was set in 2013. Weird hey....

On to the positives for this film: 1: Firstly, the film's soundtrack score now composed by Joseph LoDoca is just magically listen-able. It's one of the best soundtrack scores I've heard in a while and especially for a Chucky lover like myself, I was having high expectations on the soundtrack score. The last Chucky film to have good to decent music was probably the 3rd one, then again the last really good time was the 2nd one. He does an excellent job of creating a creepy atmosphere with the soundtrack score, whilst adding various elements I found which include; ambiance, circus, creepy, bouncy kind of stuff, and even a bit of funky rock with chimes. There were many elements of the music which made it a joy to listen to. My favorite parts of the music especially are the 9th and 19th tracks of the album. I found it to be very Danny Elfman like.

2: The actors were a well-rounded cast and did good at what they did. Their death scenes were also funny (not so scary) to watch as Chucky seemed to have pick up a thing for hurting people's eyes. But overall I just think that Mancini worked well around the characters to develop them to the full extent that they needed to be at, in order for us to do the typical thing that many horror fans do. Love or hate certain personalities and root for certain characters to do hideous and horrifying things to our conscious expectations. I especially loved Fiona Dourif's character as I felt I was able to connect closely with the way she was feeling about her mother's death, as well as what she thought about Chucky and her well out of whack sister.

3: The location was a well picked choice and quite a wise one at that. Very spooky and creepy house, just standing on it's own where elevators, attics, bedrooms, wide hallways and open spaces is all the necessities of a building a suspenseful atmosphere and putting the victims in danger. It was great to see this because there also hadn't been a great location for a Chucky film in a while since "Child's Play 2". They just kept it simple which I found nice this time.

Overall, that is all I can say about this well made, and quite rich sequel which unexpectedly hit audiences with many surprises. I once read an article that someone had stated "that it was the best direct-to-DVD film they had seen, and it was saying a lot". I tend to agree with the person who wrote that very much because it's also the best of straight-to-DVD horrors I have seen. For example, the "Wrong Turn" films (3-5) all sucked hard. I also find it hard to believe that "Curse of Chucky" would not get a cinema release, but instead "TCM 3D" would hit the cinemas??? That film was terrible where it had no depth at all.

But anyways, "Curse of Chucky" deserves a 7/10. It's not an award-winning flick and certainly isn't the best or the brightest of the bunch of horror films (as well as in it's own franchise), but it is a step up from most recent horrors I've seen. Give it a try... You may be surprised what pops out of the box.

In my honest opinion, many films are released over every year where they all try to achieve many art forms and film techniques which include acting, cinematography, lighting, sound, camera angles, story and meaning. For me, the majority of films I've seen come out throughout the last two or so years have only had minor success in some of these areas, where they don't achieve the full potential they can. However, when I saw the epic trailer for "Out of the Furnace", I thought to myself that this film will be potentially good but nothing overall special. Boy was I wrong.

"Out of the Furnace" was not only one of those masterpieces to end the year of 2013 in a successful way, but it was also one of the most well round housed flicks I have seen in a very, very long time. I mean I honestly cannot say that this film was going to be as excellent as it was. It really threw me and blew me away. The elements that I just mentioned in the previous paragraph (film techniques) is what "Out of the Furnace" achieves. Within the first five minutes, I knew that I was in for a good ride when the beating had occurred, the symphonic and gentle music started to rise in the opening titles, and then we finally see Christian Bale doing what he obviously does best. The film in my opinion achieved all art forms, and why? I'll tell you why now.

The cast is just a powerhouse of knock out performances and overall just a strong binding cast which I believe had worked through and through, and had formed together to try and give the best of their talents to us film viewers. I thoroughly enjoyed Christian Bale's performance the most as he was a life character that I could relate to and love and conform with. Sort of speak to in a way, that is why I liked his performance so much. The cinematography was a nice, powerful contrast between de-saturation and darkness with a whole meal mix of warm, vibrant brightness which I believe has an expression of it's own, where whatever the scene was portraying and presenting, the cinematography would slowly integrate and intertwine with what the film, characters and plot were communicating to us.

Even though the story may not be the most original thing in film story-telling, I thoroughly believe that the way the film's scenes and scenarios were paced, and also the direction of where the director wanted to take the film's characters made the plot ever so enjoyable to watch. The situation with the father, Woody Harsen and even Bale's ex-girlfriend were excellent sources of sub-plot points which contrast so well into the story. I believe the plot-line that grabbed me the most was when Bale's character had to look after his brother as he was merrily in a mental state after he had been at war. I think that the story was key success here.

Overall, I believe that "Out of the Furnace" was a grand way to close the films of 2013, despite two or so films being released out of it, I still think that it was not only one of the best to conclude 2013 but also just one of the most powerful pieces of cinema I have seen in a long time coming. It's expression-ant, it's well acted and overall well told from various perspectives. Not to mention that musical score has a mind of it's own. It is easily now one of my favorite films in my books.

10/10