July 2013 horror movie DVD round-up
Medieval zombie flicks, eh? Other than the obvious (Ash fighting against the Army of Darkness in Sam Raimi’s trilogy finale), most would be hard-pressed to name anything like a good example.
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Medieval zombie flicks, eh? Other than the obvious (Ash fighting against the Army of Darkness in Sam Raimi’s trilogy finale), most would be hard-pressed to name anything like a good example.
It’s been a long time coming, but it’s with no little expectation that the third part of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s thematic-trilogy of genre-bending comedy films arrives in cinemas. Having already skewered zombie films and action films, with a healthy dash of romances and bromances, now they turn their attention to science-fiction with The World’s End.
Stick the word ‘American’ in the title of your play, and you’re invoking some pretty big spirits, whether it be the deeply buried but suddenly dislodged secrets of well-meaning families in an Arthur Miller, or the suffocating summers and memory plays of a Tennessee Williams.
It’s manna from heaven for fans of John Luther’s coat in this episode (surely the greatest villain we’ve yet to meet in the show is a killer with a fetish for grey tweed outerwear) as a search of his house by anti-corruption cops Stark and Gray reveals not just one but a whole rack of them.
In terms of superstar horror movie icons, it’d be fairly safe to say that they just don’t make them like they used to.
To hammer (or Hammer) home the point, this summer sees the release of a whole host of classics (and a few duds) from the annals of time, starring some of the all-time greats, including the likes of Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing.
If last week’s Series 7 opener seemed a little slow to Skins fans, it certainly picked up the pace in the second part of Effy’s two-parter, Skins Fire. Right from the off we see a strangely relaxed Effy; the most human, flawed, approachable we’ve ever seen her, so we know something’s going to go horribly wrong.
With a crash, a bang, and all the wallop of a gigantic sea monster crushing a skyscraper comes Pacific Rim, Guillermo Del Toro’s barmy, charming, cheesy and always entertaining action blockbuster. Time to forget your superheroes, folks. This summer it’s all about massive robots.
New Year’s Eve. Always a letdown. But this December 31st, whether you’re having every atom of your privacy invaded in a club so packed that it resembles a box of sweaty styrofoam peanuts, or you’re sat at home with a sherry, waiting to salute the clock at midnight, think on this: it could be worse. You could be in an underpass, caving in your cannibalistic brother’s head with a crowbar as he tries to eat Catwoman’s pancreas. ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot’?. Ideally, yes.
Parks and Recreation is a genuine contender for the title of ‘Best Sitcom on Television’. The contents of this boxset were originally broadcast in the US in 2011, while only the first two seasons have seen UK broadcast on BBC Four and a Region 2 DVD release. Like all the best boxsets, it’s remarkable easy to select ‘Play All’ and find yourself watching the whole disc for several hours.
Luther polarises opinion like a Marmite commercial starring Russell Brand. To some, it’s the only home-grown series that can hold its own against European crime heavyweights like Spiral and The Killing. To others, it’s a car crash of cop clichés; only the herculean efforts of Idris Elba in the title role holding together a show which looks stylishly gritty on the surface but lacks substance where it counts – all woolly grey overcoat and no Kickers.