Watched a bunch of stuff over the past couple of weeks…
The Shape Of Water
I know that a lot of people didn’t really go for this but I thought it was great. Manages to combine its Amelie type whimsy with a great B move/cold war setting to make something quite lovely. Michael Shannon is reliably entertaining in this, though he might want to be careful that his edgy schtick doesn’t get him type cast. Sally Hawkins is pretty great in this - although as a repeat Paddington viewer, blimey Mrs Brown, get some clothes on 
The visual aesthetic and creature design is classic del Toro – for me, this is easily his best film since Pan’s Labyrinth. 9/10
Brawl In Cell Block 99
Vince Vaughn in watchable performance shocker. He plays a convincingly nails hard drug dealer in this – he’s always been a tall guy but he has really filled out for this (plus shaved his head). The prison based violence is unflinching throughout (anyone remember his embarrassing Queensbury Rules style fight from True Detective 2 – this is not that) with some genuinely wince inducing moments. That said there are moments of black comedy throughout. Good support from Jennifer Carpenter and a nicely sleazy Don Johnson. Pleasing pay off too. This is a classic exploitation flick, and it ticks almost all the right boxes bar one major failing – it is just too damn long. No one wants to watch just shy of two and a quarter hours or prison violence really. Shame, as with 45 minutes chopped off this could have been a lo-fi classic. 6/10
10 Cloverfield Lane
Watched this when it came out without knowing anything about it and was both surprised and pleased that it wasn’t another creature feature like the first one. Think I enjoyed it more second time around purely on its own merits. The largely single scene setting with minimal cast works brilliantly for tension. All three leads are excellent which helps, although John Goodman largely steals the show unsurprisingly. I feel that the weakest part of the film is actually the creature section, where it gets a bit Scooby Doo, but nonetheless this remains about 100 times better than The Cloverfield Paradox. 8/10
Annihilation
Was excited about and had deliberately tried to avoid reading too much about it. Need not have worried, it’s fairly hard to describe/characterise anyway. It looks AMAZING – really visually original. The story, such as it is, is almost incidental to the general vibe of the film (the score is also great). Nathalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Oscar Isaac are all really good in this. I think I know what the ending is about, but then again, who knows. Has anyone read the books? Intrigued by the idea of the continuing story. 8/10
Get Out
Was slightly underwhelmed by this the first time I saw it, but the TV was keen to see it so was happy enough for a re-watch. Think that without the hype, it’s actually a really good film. The social commentary has obviously been discussed extensively, but as a horror film this has some genuinely unsettling moments. That said, it also has some nice moments of comic relief. Exciting to see what both Jordan Peele and Daniel Kaluuya do next. 8/10
A Quiet Place
This has obviously ridden to huge commercial success on a wave of hype, and if that means more horror films get made then so much the better. Overall though, was a bit disappointing for me. The set up and idea is fine and original, but the execution feels as though it’s been done before. Most of the scenes of peril, aside from an excellent early shocking character death, play out fairly predictably. Emily Blunt is always great in stuff, and the sign language element is very refreshing, but then the ending feels as though it just peters out (or is gunning for a sequel - that said, this feel as though it already exists in the Cloverfield universe). 6/10
From Dusk ‘Til Dawn
Been a long time since I watched this. So long in fact that George Clooney has gone from up and coming to the biggest film star in the world. He definitely doesn’t make films like this anymore, which is a shame as he is great as the threatening low life kidnapper in this. Even Quentin Tarantino puts in a decent acting performance for once as his brother. Total two parter this, with the first half being a genuinely tense kidnap thriller and the second being just bat shit mental vampires. The dialogue is tight throughout, and the creature design and kills are entertaining. Don’t think I’ll bother with the two sequels or TV series mind. 7/10
Sleepaway Camp
Watched on Sloame‘s recommendation. This is 80s as fuck and pleasingly hokey as a result. Lacking any real menace, or indeed any characters you really care about getting rubbed out, this is a campy cult classic throughout. The deaths are by and large laugh out loud funny (intentional or not) and every stereotype of teen summer camp films is out in force. Has a neat twist ending where the killer is exactly who you thought it was all the way through. Interesting to note that after making her screen debut in this, Felissa Rose has gone on to be a career scream queen. 7/10
