- Alien (1979)
-
I saw this on DVD for the first time, finally, thanks to my new
Alien Quadrilogy boxed set. I had forgotten what a good movie it
is. Some of the model shots and creature effects look a little
hokey these days, but the movie still gets my heart pounding like
no other. It’s hard to believe this was only Ridley Scott’s second
feature film (and he followed it with Blade Runner).
- Evil Dead II (1987)
-
I’m watching the Evil Dead movies in reverse order, thanks to
Felicity (who remedied my inexcusable lack of having seen
Army of Darkness, thus sending me into paroxysms of
Raimi/Campbell-induced joy). I was a little worried, because
low budget horror movies are among my least favorite things
ever, but Evil Dead 2 is great. It’s outlandish, hilarious,
stylish, and displays Sam Raimi’s incredible talent for pacing as
well as Bruce Campbell’s unmatchable talent for hamming. I was
really impressed by the quality of the production as well. This one’s
definitely worth watching.
- May (2002)
-
Easily the creepiest movie I’ve ever seen, bar none. Imagine
Edward Scissorhands if Tim Burton had been less Disney
and more H.R. Giger, with a lesborific Anna Faris instead of
Winona Ryder and a Grimm Brothers ending instead of cookies and snow
sculptures and happy children. Then, once you’ve imagined all
of that, imagine something even darker and more twisted with
a lazy eye and a sewing hobby. That’s May. What a great movie.
- Sexy Beast (2000)
-
There’s a real glut of British gangster movies, some of them good,
most of them terrible. This one is somewhere in between. It’s another
one of those movies that I liked while I was watching it, but which
doesn’t really amount to anything in the end. I didn’t mind it,
but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it again. It’s worth noting,
though, that Ben Kingsley is a bad motherfucker.