My Review of The Addiction (1995)

 

Written by Nicholas St. John

Directed by Abel Ferrara

Kathleen: "To face what we are in the end, we stand before the light and our true nature is revealed. Self-revelation is annihilation of self."

Was I in the mood for a vampire movie that was a long metaphor for drug addiction with a bit of Catholicism thrown into the mix? Funnily enough, I wasn't but for some reason, I decided to watch this movie.

I gotta be honest, prior to watching it, I had no idea this movie even existed. The joys of discovering old movies when going through apps like Plex, huh? Not that I'd say this was a particularly joyful movie to watch in itself.

Lili Taylor might be one of the most underrated actors around. Even when she plays a character that I don't particularly like, I always find her compelling to watch. The character in this movie was a philosophy student named Kathleen Conklin. What's so bad about Kathleen?

At first, she just came across as a fairly jaded student but her encounter with Casanova (Annabella Sciorra) turned Kathleen into a vampire and soon enough, Kathleen was a lot more than a jaded student. She was a woman who went philosophical while finding ways to sate her growing hunger.

This was where characters like Peina (Christopher Walker) and Jean (Edie Falco) came into play. Peina tried to show Kathleen that she could survive as a vampire without killing while Jean tried to be that good friend. Kathleen couldn't beat her addiction and Jean ended up becoming a vampire as a result.

There's a particularly gruesome orgy by the third act that seemed to be the wake up call that Kathleen wanted. By the end of the movie, she had gotten her own complicated sense of closure. It seemed an appropriate enough ending for her.

- Michael Imperioli appeared briefly as a Missionary that resisted Kathleen's charms. Both him and Lili Taylor were a couple at the time of this movie being made.

- Along with the use of Catholicism and drug addiction, allusions to HIV and AIDS were made too.

- Standout music: 

- Chronology: 1990s New York City.

The Addiction was a little bit different for a vampire movie. It's use of drug addiction and Catholicism are far from subtle but they're certainly effective enough. It's also one of the most interesting roles that I've ever seen Lili Taylor in.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Fright Night (2011)

 

Written by Marti Noxon And Tom Holland

Directed by Craig Gillespie 

Charley (re Jerry): "I'm gonna end him. Or he's gonna end me. That's how it's gonna be."

A couple of years ago, I reviewed the 1985 vampire classic, Fright Night and while I'm bypassing the sequel for now (I'll get to it later in the year), I found myself drawn to seeking out thr 2011 remake.

This version took a few different steps but ultimately, it's not too different from the original version. There's a single mother named Jane Brewster (Toni Colette) and her son, Charley (Anton Yelchin). They live in a seemingly normal neighbourhood and then they get a new neighbour.

The neighbour being the mysterious Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell). It's not before Charley and his estranged friend Edward "Evil Ed" Lee (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) realise that Jerry's actually a vampire. It also didn't take long before Ed became one too, having come afoul of the scheming Jerry.

From that point onwards, Charley's attempts to protect his mother as well as girlfriend Amy Peterson (Imogen Poots) were something of a challenge. Charley made a powerful enemy in Jerry and the latter had no problem showing Charley how powerful he truly was.

Fortunately Charley had a reluctant ally of sorts in Las Vegas magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant). Granted, Peter didn't immediately go out of his way to be of use. Things had to happen along with past traumas resurfacing for Peter to step a notch. Oh and then there was Amy being turned into a vampire.

As you can imagine, it played out similar enough with Jerry eventually getting his comeuppance and his victims being restored. For Charley, this meant being reunited with Amy and Peter getting a new perspective.

- Other actors who popped up in this movie included Dave Franco, Will Denton and Dee Bradley Baker to name a few. Chris Sarandon also appeared.

- Peter's parents were former victims of Jerry's. I hated the Russell Brand look for the character.

- Standout music: Brian de Mercia's Blank Sabbath.

- Chronology: Present day Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fright Night (2011) might not hit the same way as it's 1985 version but it's one of the better horror remakes from the 2010s. Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and David Tennant are on particularly good form.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Matthias And Maxime (2019)

 

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan 

Matthias: "Max, it'll be weird not having you around but you'll come back a different person. So, to Max."

About a month ago, I hadn't seen any of Xavier Dolan's movies and now, I'm reviewing the last one that he's directed for now. It's been an interesting few weeks venturing into this filmmaker.

This movie focused on two men - Matthias Rivas (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas) and his friend, Maxime Leduc (Xavier Dolan). They're friends but the movie somewhat hinted at their relationship being deeper than that. There's a longing between both men going beyond a simple friendship.

Matthias has a nice girlfriend named Sarah (Marilyn Castonguay) and was a successful businessman. Maxime on the other hand worked as a bartender and had an alcoholic mother that he fought with. Then there's the kiss between both men.

This was a topic brought up when their wealthy friend, Rivette (Pier-Luc Funk) had his pushy sister Erika (Camille Felton) got both Matthias and Maxime to kiss for a film project she was doing after her actors had dropped out for it. Needless to say that stirred some awkwardness between the pair.

Then there was the bigger issue. Maxime was leaving for Australia for work and Matthias didn't want him to go. Matthias ruined Maxime's leaving do and then made things even weirder with a confusing sexual encounter between the pair.

Throw in a rather offbeat appearance from Harris Dickinson as Kevin McAfee, a client of Matthias and there's a last minute ditch attempt for our title characters to rekindle their romance. 

- Anne Dorval appeared in the movie as Manon. Maxime had a facial scarring that Matthias brought up in one awkward scene.

- Xavier Dolan dedicated this movie to Eliza Hittman, Francis Lee, Joel Edgerton and Luca Guadagnino. They directed coming of age gay themed movies.

- Standout music: Britney Spears Work Bitch, Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind and Alex Cameron's Stranger's Kiss.

- Chronology: 2019 in Montreal. Both characters left for Australia at the last minute.

Matthias And Maxime was a nice look into a complicated friendship between the title characters. Once again, there's strong performances from the leads and strong chemistry from both Xavier Dolan and Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan (2018)

 

Written by Xavier Dolan And Jacob Tierney 

Directed by Xavier Dolan

Audrey: "This last letter suggests he was full of hope..."

Rupert: "Which is why I am sure you will understand that, for obvious reasons, that is the version that I chose to believe."

After having watching six movies in French and predominantly set in Canada, I was interested to see what Xavier Dolan would be like out of his comfort zone. This movie felt like it was an adaptation but it's actually an original idea, co-written with Heated Rivalry creator/executive producer Jacob Tierney.

Focusing on an interview with Times journalist Audrey Newhouse (Thandiwe Newton) and an actor turned author named Rupert Turner (Ben Schnetzer), this film would also focus on the titular John F. Donovan (Kit Harington). In particular, the relationship between John and Rupert, which certainly impacted both of them.

In his younger years, Rupert (Jacob Tremblay) was enamoured with John's role in a show called Hellsome High. It's an undeniably cheesy show and it made Rupert the source of ridicule from his more mean spirited classmates. I got my own secondary school flashbacks when I was obsessed with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and I remember reading a similar essay about the show itself, so a certain scene made me want the ground to swallow me up. I hadn't thought about that in a very long time.

Anyways, while Rupert had a sympathetic teacher in Miss Kureshi (Amara Karan), he had a more turbulent relationship with his mother, Sam (Natalie Portman). Sam was furious about Rupert's writing to John and her resentment over her acting dreams never taking off was something she projected onto Rupert. However both mother and son did make amends and Sam encouraged Rupert's acting aspirations.

Going back to John - although it did hurt Rupert's feelings, it's not hard to see why he chose to deny the correspondence between them. John was a closeted gay man that the press were constantly trying to out. His relationships with his wife Amy (Emily Hampshire), mother Grace (Susan Sarandon), agent Barbara (Kathy Bates) and lover Will (Chris Zylka) all suffered for it as did John's career.

It wasn't so shocking to learn that John's life went down the pan and that he died shortly after being fired from the show that made his career. It's tragic and there's a gorgeously written scene between John and an elderly man (Michael Gambon) that was easily the best part of the movie. There's a lot of great scenes in a partly uneven movie.

Audrey started the film being scornful over the idea of having to interview Rupert and the latter seemed to take a delight in challenging her snobbery. By the end of the movie, I got the impression that maybe a friendship between the two had developed. 

- Rupert did turn out to be gay. He even had a boyfriend played by Gijs Blom. The latter popped up briefly at the end.

- Jessica Chastain had a role as an antagonistic journalist but her scenes were cut.

- Standout music: Adele's Rolling In The Deep, Lifehouse's Hanging By A Moment and Green Day's Jesus Of Suburbia.

- Chronology: Set in 2017 in Prague. Flashbacks in mid 2000s England and America.

The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan isn't Xavier Dolan's strongest movie and there's a few scenes that I did find a little cringe (and one that gave me secondary school flashbacks). Saying that, there's strong performances throughout.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Blue Film (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Elliot Tuttle

Aaron (to Hank): "Maybe I'm a pervert too but at least I'm not criminally horny."

I've been wanting to see this film for quite some time. I was aware it was a movie that had a very grim subject matter and I was curious to see how exactly the topic at hand would be handled.

This movie should also be a test in just how good people's media literacy skills are because if you're one of those who thinks that a certain character's actions are condoned, I don't know what to say to you. I do actually - go back and watch the film again.

The movie opened with a webcam guy named Aaron Eagle (Kieron Moore) doing a live show and taking delight in draining his paypigs. If you're aware of findom, let's just say this felt a little too well researched. It's accuracy on another level. Let's also just say that opening scene didn't feel like a parody or half assed.

Anyways, Aaron's story involved him making a house call for $50,000 to a mystery man (Reed Birney) wearing a balaclava. The mystery man was keen on getting to know Aaron, which annoyed the latter. Then there was the big reveal itself and that's where this movie began to take a darker turn.

The mystery man was a former teacher of Aaron's named, Hank Grant and getting to the grim subject matter itself, Hank had a history of inappropriate behaviour towards boys. There's repeated talk of Hank being sent to prison for attempting to assault a former classmate of Aaron's and Hank admitted that he had an attraction to a younger Aaron.

While Hank definitely tried to provide context for the way he was as well as expressing some awareness into his depravity, that didn't stop him from acting out one of his fantasies with Aaron. It's one of the most disturbing scenes in the entire film and one of several moments that also shook Aaron's own bravado.

There's frank discussions on Aaron's sexuality and whether or not being into findom empowered or weakened him. Aaron claimed it didn't weaken him while also opening up to Hank about a past lover he regretted losing. Hank also talked about renewing his faith in religion, which Aaron did seem sceptical about.

The morning after everything that transpired in the movie served a cold light on both men. Is someone like Hank capable of keeping himself in check? I doubt it. Did that night change Aaron for the better or for the worst? I think him singing in the shower was meant to show some sort of catharsis.

- Aaron's real name was Alex McConnell. He lied to Hank about his aunt being inappropriate towards him. Raphael was the guy he let slip away.

- Hank mentioned having his grandfather's name, being an abuse victim of his grandfather with his mother sacrificing him to protect Hank's siblings.

- Aaron smoked, drank, did pot but also labelled himself "California Sober". Hank had given up drinking but chugged beers when told to. Both men ate pizza.

- Hank gave Aaron the $50,000 as well as school photos of both himself and Aaron. Hank originally intended to record their encounter but changed his mind. He also talked about pederasts.

- Standout music: Isaac Eiger did a great score as well as that song Aaron was singing at the end in the shower.

- Chronology: Present day Los Angeles. Both Aaron and Hank were from Bedford. Hank now worked at the Stop N Save.

Blue Film (2025) easily will terrify more than any horror film you'll watch this year. It's easily one of the most unsettling movies I've ever watched and it's grim subject matter didn't make for easy viewing. Saying that, there needs be a conversation about Kieron Moore and Reed Birney because both men give the most compelling performances I've seen this year. They should be getting included into awards conversation but I do think the subject matter will likely derail that. This movie will definitely stay in your mind.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Blue (1993)

 

Written And Directed by Derek Jarman

Derek Jarman: "Hell on Earth is a waiting room."

I'm hoping to watch all of Jarman's filmography before this year ends but for Pride, I thought I'd take a look into his final film. Well, it's more or a documentary and a rather unconventional one to boot.

Towards the end of his life, Derek Jarman had HIV and passed away from it. This film meets documentary was a Frank discussion of the very topic of HIV and AIDS. There's a bold description of Jarman losing his sight, which also explained the chosen format for this movie.

Blue wasn't just the title of the movie. It was a character within the film itself. It's a character that fights with other colours like yellow for example. It's both character and colour throughout the movie.

It's also a look into Jarman's life (naturally) as it depicted how he would talk about the war in Sarajevo with friends while coming to grips with being a gay man living with AIDS in 1990s London. There's talk of the amount of tablets he needed to take per day and the taste of them. It's very frank in it's handling of the subject matter. Unapologetically so.

A recurring factor in the film was Jarman's discussion of certain men - David. Howard. Graham. Terry. Paul. They're friends and former lovers and men who profoundly impacted Jarman, hence the fact that they're mentioned so frequently throughout proceedings.

- Derek Jarman narrated this film but there was also narration from Tilda Swinton, John Quentin and Nigel Terry.

- The movie's entirely a blue screen. At this point, Jarman was physically and visually impaired.

- Standout music: The use of Tibetan bells are frequent but effective.

- Chronology: 1990s London of course.

Blue (1993) made for a poignant final film from Derek Jarman. It's shorter than some of his previous efforts and the use of a blue screen throughout certainly had the desire effect. It's frank take on the director's ending days definitely struck a chord. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Lizzie (2018)

 

Written by Bryce Kass

Directed by Craig William Macneill

Lizzie: "Men don't have to know things, Bridget. Women do."

Later on this year, I intend to cover Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story but before I do such a thing, I thought I'd cover this movie. Funnily enough, two of Ryan Murphy's alumni are in this one.

First up would be Chloë Sevigny herself. She got to play Lizzie Borden herself and it's a take that's relatively sympathetic to the infamous axe murderer. Prior to the murders themselves, time was spent getting to know Lizzie as a person.

As a person, Lizzie was something of a social oddity. Her father, Andrew (Jamey Sheridan) saw her as nothing more than an embarrassment and the two of them had an openly combative relationship. Andrew didn't exactly endear himself by killing her pigeons and serving them as dinner either.

Lizzie's relationships with other family members weren't as great either. Lizzie might have been more cordial with her older sister, Emma (Kim Dickens) but she was openly hostile to stepmother, Abby (Fiona Shaw). There was also a rather venomous hatred between Lizzie and her uncle John Morse (Denis O'Hare). The latter in particular was rather misogynistic towards Lizzie.

As for the most complicated relationship of the piece - there was Lizzie's relationship with Irish maid Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart). The movie did explore a romance between the two that eventually devolved in light of events. 

The movie depicted both Lizzie and Bridget being responsible for the deaths of Abby and Andrew. The latter had also been abusing Bridget, which did give her a motive to assist Lizzie. Of course both women got away with the crime before going their separate ways.

- The movie made it clear that Emma suspected Lizzie and Bridget of the crime but that she didn't want her sister punished. John was also considered a suspect.

- The photograph of Lizzie's mother, Sarah was actually a photo of the real life person. 

- Standout music: Alfredo Catalani's Ebben? Ne Andrò Lontana From 'La Wally', Act I.

- Chronology: Six months beforehand and then the murder itself on August 4th 1892. Lizzie died at the age of 66.

Lizzie (2018) turned out to be a decent portrayal of the infamous axe murderer. Solid script, direction and performances overall helped with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "Into The New World"

 

Written by Serena Wu

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Superman (to Bizarro): "Your choice will change the future in ways you and I can't imagine."

It's been two years since the second season finale and with the possibility that the show might not get a fourth season, this opening episode certainly kicked off a bit of a mission statement.

First of all, we've got a really lovely Core Four with Superman, Supergirl, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. I mean we had that since last season but it's very apparent in this opening episode and it was a nice way of freshening up the show's dynamic. 

Throw in a nice Halloween subplot and the return of Sam Lane, the crux of this episode focused on Project Calliban. It brought our Core Four together to investigate and it also introduced us to Bizarro. 

As a character, Bizarro has been tackled a lot in recent years with each version going for the sympathetic route. This show will be no different in that regard with Superman and Bizarro even teaming up against other baddies during the big scuffle.

Now what about Lex Luthor? Last time he threw his lot in with Amanda Waller and Slade Wilson. During the final scene of this episode we were getting the origin of Cyborg Superman as Lex found a use for the badly wounded and barely alive Hank Henshaw.

- Supergirl got taunted by Brainiac over her new perspective and there was the use of Dr George Otto Binder who raised Brainiac with love.

- Both Jimmy and Kara dressed as characters from Challengers Of The Unknown. Clark really liked Halloween.

- Both Superman and Supergirl got costume upgraded and the opening credits were also upgraded.

- Chronology: A while since the events of the second season.

Into The New World was a good opening episode. The Core Four dynamic worked very well and I really liked the use of Bizarro and set up for Cyborg Superman.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of It's Only The End Of The World (2016)

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan 

Martine (to Louis): "I don't understand you. But I love you. I love you. No one will take that away from me."

Six movies into this director and I've encountered one that didn't quite click as it should've. It's a bit of a shame but I guess it was inevitable. On paper, the idea was good. The execution just didn't come together as well as previous efforts have done.

Focusing on a playwright named Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), we got to see him return home to his family after twelve years and it's a very tension filled reunion. Along with the distance of time since last seeing them, Louis's also hiding the fact that he's got a terminal illness.

Louis's family included his mother, Martine (Nathalie Baye), younger sister Suzanne (Léa Seydoux) as well as older brother, Antoine (Vincent Cassel) and thd latter's wife, Catherine (Marion Cotillard). Louis got to have moments where he would have individual conversations with each of them.

Catherine made the effort to try and fill Louis in on her family life with Antoine but the latter was convinced that Louis had no interest in their lives. Throughout the entire, Antoine was completely hostile towards his younger brother.

There's fraught moments with Suzanne and Martine as Louis tried to reconcile with both of them. An entire family lunch started off well but descended into chaos. Wanting to see an old family home brought up a lot of bad feelings for everyone.

The last few moments are brutal and frustrating. Louis never came clean to his family about having a terminal illness and his last memory of them was Antoine trying to physically assault him. It's a very nihilistic ending to the movie that didn't sit well with me.

- The movie's based on the 1990 play by Jean-Luc Lagarce. It had a French only cast this time around. Louis had a lover named Pierre, who had died.

- Since the movie's release, both Gaspard Ulliel and Nathalie Baye have sadly passed away.

- Standout music: Camille's Home Is Where It Hurts.

- Chronology: Takes place known only as "Somewhere" but was filmed where Dolan films his movies in general.

It's Only The End Of The World had a great idea and I'll credit Xavier Dolan for trying to adapt a complex play. It's just his weakest film so far, in spite of a great lead performance from Gaspard Ulliel.

Rating: 6 out of 10