(HORROR) The Den - 2013 ****

A young woman studying social sciences tries to get a grant to study the habits of the people on an online chat room. At first she is disappointed because there doesn't seem to be anything worthwhile in her findings, that is until she uncovers what she believes to be a horrendous murder taking place before her very eyes that someone has posted. Desperate to find out more, she ends up putting herself and others in mortal danger.
I was surprised at this, and liked the way it built itself up to a horrific crescendo.
For a 'found footage' movie, it was pretty good, quite unique, and kept me interested the whole time.

Breach - 2007 ****

Another surprisingly good political thriller, the kind that really gets under your skin. Added to which, the fact it's based on true events gives it even more of a kick. 

Ryan Phillippe is a junior employee of the Washington Bureau named Eric who is assigned to keep an eye on an intelligence agent named Hanssen who has been reassigned to the FBI headquarters. At first Eric believes he is doing nothing other than checking out Hanssen in case he displays sexual perversions, but soon finds out that Hanssen is a lot more dangerous to the FBI than he first imagined.  

Well crafted and enjoyable, although could've been a bit shorter in length. 

Maternal Obsession - 2008 ***

 Gripping movie about a young woman named Lily who tries to live a normal life whilst being slowly smothered by her mother at home. The mother cannot stand the idea of her daughter having any sort of life, especially if it involves a man.
When Lily starts a relationship with a man from work her mother will do anything to stop it happening, whatever the costs.
Worth a watch.

Rogue - 2007 ****

Genuinely scary creature feature about a group of tourists experiencing a boat tour in Australia and becoming stranded after a terrifyingly giant crocodile knocks their vessel to shore. They then have to try and manoeuvre themselves to safety on the other side of the river without going anywhere near the water. I was surprised and impressed with this (except for the reactions of the tourists when their loved ones are ripped to bits which was pretty bad).

The Babysitter's Seduction - 1994 ***

This was rather a good movie, and Keri Russell was at her most beautiful and bubbly. She stars as an 18 year old babysitter who becomes attracted and infatuated by her boss after his wife is mysteriously murdered. It's quite a gripping story, but quite obvious who the culprit is almost immediately.

Disconnect - 2012 *****

This is one of the best movies I have seen in the last few months. Utterly powerful and wonderfully acted by all main characters. Cleverly based around what happens when using the internet goes wrong and the various events that happen as a result of this. Definitely worth a watch.

Last Passenger - 2013 ***

One of my pet peeves with films is having a good storyline that comes to the end with no resolution whatsoever. This is sort of what happened here. I'm not sure if the film was loosely based upon the awful accident at Moorgate Tube Station over 30 years ago but it certainly leans in that direction. Dougray Scott and his young son board the train for home late at night and are joined by various other 'normal' characters. Kara Tointon in particular appears and begins flirting with him in rather a desperate manner but that just seems to be her personality. She also takes a shine to his son.
They fall asleep and when they next wake, they find that there are only a small handful of people left on the train. After unsuccessfully trying to speak to the driver Scott realises something is very wrong when the train speeds by each of their stations without stopping and appears to be picking up speed.
It's a taut movie, and does have plenty of jumps and thrills, but I was SO disappointed by the ending that it's brought my rating right down.

(NOIR) Sleep, My Love - 1948 **** 1/2

Douglas Sirk, in my opinion is one of the best directors of the 40s/50s. I was also amazed to see that Mary Pickford had produced this which proves how much of a pioneer in all areas of film she was.
Colbert plays a woman named Alison, who wakes up disorientated on a speeding train with no idea of how she got there.
Her husband is panic-stricken on her return and does his best to comfort her. However, he is careful not to talk too much about the bizarre bullet wound in his arm, or his wife's sleepwalking attempts which sometimes lead her out onto the balcony to other people. He gets her to start seeing a psychiatrist but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Thankfully a nice young man named Bruce comes into her life, and notices that things seem to keep happening around Alison, and her husband seems just a bit too saccharine for his own good...
Gripping, exciting, tense and well shot. The pace was fast, but just right, so the story could be followed without too much difficulty.
Hazel Brooks gives a very sultry performance as Daphne - a cross between Jane Russell, Joan Bennett and Gene Tierney in the beautiful women stakes. 

Conversations with Other Women - 2005 ****

Short but effective. I love these films where you are introduced to only one or two main characters and then throughout the course of the film, you come to know their stories and their motives for their actions.
Eckhart was better than I imagined he would be, meeting Bonham Carter at a wedding (that of his sister, and her as the 7th bridesmaid). Throughout the evening they flirt, laugh, smile and reminisce about the past. Things take a drastic turn as the wedding winds down for the night, and they both must decide whether to go to bed together, or stay faithful to their respected other halves.
Very well acted. Gripping from start to finish and painfully realistic.

Source Code - 2011 ****

Now I have to say that I was extremely surprised by this film and really enjoyed it. Gyllenhaal was actually pretty convincing and the storyline in my opinion was original and crisp.
After waking up in another man's body, Gyllenhaal is told that he is part of a mission to find the bomber of a train in Chicago. He has nothing to go on except that he returns each time to the same time and scene 8 minutes before the train explodes. It is up to him to find the bomber and save the people on there without having any idea what the person might look like or what their motives are.
Taut, tense and thrilling, this is worth watching, and yes, while the ending is a bit bizarre, the rest of this tightly knitted film is worth it.

(HORROR) ATM - 2011 ***

I was actually very impressed by this movie. And the only thing which really spoilt it for me was the ending. I am trying to hard when I watch horror films to suspend my disbelief because otherwise I would be slagging off practically every one that I watch. So I was happily suspending my disbelief with this one and generally having a good time being scared out my wits. And then the ending came about and I was left.. well.. pretty disappointed. When I read the synopsis for the film I thought, 'how on earth will this work? Surely they can't have a whole film based around an ATM machine??' But they can! And it was gripping, taut and downright freaky.
The ending ruined it, and it doesn't make any sense.

(NOIR) Undercurrent - 1946 ****

'Undercurrent' is one of those films that grips you immediatly, lets you go and then grabs you again.
Some parts really had me on the edge of my seat and others had me snorting in laughter. Katherine Hepburn has a tendency to totally overract in some of her films and it was quite apparent in this as she manically ran around with wide eyes and clenched fists flinching everytime Robert Taylor said anything.
The story could rival 'Rebecca' in many ways, except this time, the focus of obsession is a missing/presumed dead brother, instead of a first wife. Geeky, plain Hepburn ,meets charming and handsome Taylor and they have a whirlwind romance ending in marriage. Before long however, Hepburn finds out that Taylor has a brother that she has never heard of. This sets the tone for a weird series of events that unravel as she tries to figure out the mystery surrounding a man that no one will talk about, that no one knows the whereabouts of, and that certain people believe has been murdered.. by her new husband.
Taylor is brilliant, and Mitchum puts in a very good appearance in the limited screen time he is given. Hepburn is good but tends to be a bit much after a while.

(NOIR) The Blue Dahlia - 1946 ****

'Tamed by a brunette, framed by a blonde, blamed by the cops' (just had to include the wonderful tagline)

I wish reviewers would stop saying that this film is based on the Black Dahlia murder when it isn't. Actually Elizabeth Smart was nick-named the 'Black Dahlia' after a suitor got the name of the film wrong, and it stuck. The Blue Dahlia is a place, not a person. Rant over.

I think this is probably the best of the 3 films I have seen with Lake and Ladd. Lake is astoundingly beautiful, Ladd is tantalisingly handsome, add in some dark scenes, some romance, some murder and you pretty much have this (and any other film noir that you would care to mention).

Ladd returns home from war early only to find that his alcoholic wife has been having an affair with a male friend. *SPOILERS* The wife is murdered the same night, and of course Ladd is the prime suspect (when we all know he didn't do it because he was chatting up Lake at the time).

I love these tense plots where the audience know the truth and the police don't, and there is no proof to save the hero. It keeps you glued to the seat.

Great movie, worth a watch for one of the greatest noir pairings ever.

(NOIR) Night Editor - 1946 ****

I actually enjoyed this noir, despite the fact it was a 'B' movie (going to show yet again that not all 'A' movies are the best.

The movie tells of a police lieutenant named Tony who starts an affair with a beautiful socialite (Janis Carter) behind his wife's back (ironically she is also cheating on her husband). One night they go for a drive to 'lovers lane' to be alone and are startled to see a a man bludgeoning his girlfriend to death. Because of their current situation they cannot report the crime without revealing their affair, and so begins a nerve-wracking journey where the main witness to the crime cannot help solve it without giving himself away.

A very interesting story and very taut and gripping. I liked.

(NOIR) He Walked By Night - 1948 ***

This was a surprisingly good movie. It's set out in a sort of semi-documentary way about a crook who murders a policeman and the subsequent chase between him and the police that leads them all to the underground. It has a hint of 'The Third Man' in it, and obviously the latter trumps this by 100%, but I was still fascinated by it and one particular scene where the killer sits in wait in his darkened room, his dog snarling at the window as the police close in on him. It's really thrilling.

A good film, exciting and gripping.

(NOIR) Criss-Cross - 1949 ****

A very well done thriller-noir from director Richard Siodmak who went on to direct 'The Killers.'

Burt Lancaster gives a gripping performance as a man who gets caught up with his ex-wife and her mobster husband. It's not one of the best film noirs out there but it sure is worth a watch, and I think the academy award for acting in this film should go to the totally underrated Dan Duryea who steals practically every scene he is in. Yvonne DeCarlo is a beautiful femme fatale but I found her performance to be a bit wooden and her role probably would have to been better suited to someone like Claire Trevor or Gloria Grahame.

However, Lancaster is a good half good/half bad guy and I will have to check to see if he has been in any other film noirs of the 40s.