The Maltese Falcon is still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood’s official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett’s definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn’t make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing “gunsel” played by Elisha Cook Jr. It’s an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence. This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trend-setting (and still influential) antihero persona. –David Chute

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Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. –Tom Keogh

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Wolverine, fan favourite of the X-Men universe in both comic books and film, gets his own movie vehicle with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a tale that reaches way, way back into the hairy mutant’s story. Somewhere in the wilds of northwest Canada in the early 1800s, two boys grow up amid violence: half-brothers with very special powers. Eventually they will become the near-indestructible warriors (and victims of a super-secret government program) known as Wolverine and Sabretooth, played respectively by Hugh Jackman (returning to his role) and Liev Schreiber (new to the scene). It helps enormously to have Schreiber, an actor of brawny skills, as the showiest villain; the guy can put genuine menace into a vocal inflection or a shift of the eyes. Danny Huston is the sinister government operative whose experiments keep pulling Wolverine back in, Lynn Collins is the woman who shares a peaceful Canadian co-existence with our hero when he tries to drop out of the program, and Ryan Reynolds adds needed humour, at least for a while.

The fast-paced early reels give an entertaining kick-off to the Wolverine saga, only to slow down when a proper plot must be put together–but isn’t that perpetually the problem with origin stories? And despite a cool setting, the grand finale is a little hemmed in by certain plot essentials that must be in place for the sequels, which may be why characters do nonsensical things. So, this one is fun while it lasts, if you’re not looking for a masterpiece, or an explanation for Wolverine’s facial grooming. –Robert Horton, Amazon.com

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17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross …only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good and evil forces plot to keep them apart. Get ready to fall…

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The Evil Cult (aka “Lord of the Wu Tang”) is a wildly and wacky supernatural epic in which Jet Li masquerades as Mo-kei, a weakling warrior orphaned as a child when his parents are killed by two evil Jinx warlords. Chased out of the Wu Tang compound by a leader who considers him a liability, Mo-kei (and his female protectress) find themselves trapped in a dark abyss where they stumble upon a “cooking monk” trapped in a massive boulder who holds the secret to a lost form of Shaolin kung fu. They trick him into teaching Mo-kei the secret of his “solar stance”. Newly empowered, Mo-kei sets off to find his maternal grandfather, King of the Gold Lion (de facto leader of the Evil Cult), to rally his clan with the Wu Tang in order to defeat the stifling government forces and exact revenge on the terrible Jinxes. Martial Law‘s Sammo Hung appears as Chang San Fung, Tai Chi Master of the Wu Tang clan (Hung also choreographed the action sequences for this film). Director Wong Jing (who also helmed the God of Gamblers series, Hard Boiled 2, and Return to a Better Tomorrow) just about keeps a handle on the plot and ably directs the stunning action sequences, some of which occur on battlefields swarming with soldiers.

On the DVD: the main feature is presented in letterboxed format with original Cantonese dialogue and English subtitles. The print is generally of good quality but afflicted with blemishes and white flecks throughout. The subtitles are clear but their awkward translation and speed of transition serve at times to make an already convoluted plot harder to understand. It’s a shame that an option to listen to a dubbed soundtrack wasn’t added as the dubbed theatrical trailer (included here) enhances the daffiness of the movie. Other extras include comprehensive cast and crew filmographies and a small selection of stills. –Chris Campion

Evil Cult [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] <- Read More

The Evil Cult (aka “Lord of the Wu Tang”) is a wildly and wacky supernatural epic in which Jet Li masquerades as Mo-kei, a weakling warrior orphaned as a child when his parents are killed by two evil Jinx warlords. Chased out of the Wu Tang compound by a leader who considers him a liability, Mo-kei (and his female protectress) find themselves trapped in a dark abyss where they stumble upon a “cooking monk” trapped in a massive boulder who holds the secret to a lost form of Shaolin kung fu. They trick him into teaching Mo-kei the secret of his “solar stance”. Newly empowered, Mo-kei sets off to find his maternal grandfather, King of the Gold Lion (de facto leader of the Evil Cult), to rally his clan with the Wu Tang in order to defeat the stifling government forces and exact revenge on the terrible Jinxes. Martial Law‘s Sammo Hung appears as Chang San Fung, Tai Chi Master of the Wu Tang clan (Hung also choreographed the action sequences for this film). Director Wong Jing (who also helmed the God of Gamblers series, Hard Boiled 2, and Return to a Better Tomorrow) just about keeps a handle on the plot and ably directs the stunning action sequences, some of which occur on battlefields swarming with soldiers.

On the DVD: the main feature is presented in letterboxed format with original Cantonese dialogue and English subtitles. The print is generally of good quality but afflicted with blemishes and white flecks throughout. The subtitles are clear but their awkward translation and speed of transition serve at times to make an already convoluted plot harder to understand. It’s a shame that an option to listen to a dubbed soundtrack wasn’t added as the dubbed theatrical trailer (included here) enhances the daffiness of the movie. Other extras include comprehensive cast and crew filmographies and a small selection of stills. –Chris Campion

Evil Cult [VHS] – Read More

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The Evil Cult (aka “Lord of the Wu Tang”) is a wildly and wacky supernatural epic in which Jet Li masquerades as Mo-kei, a weakling warrior orphaned as a child when his parents are killed by two evil Jinx warlords. Chased out of the Wu Tang compound by a leader who considers him a liability, Mo-kei (and his female protectress) find themselves trapped in a dark abyss where they stumble upon a “cooking monk” trapped in a massive boulder who holds the secret to a lost form of Shaolin kung fu. They trick him into teaching Mo-kei the secret of his “solar stance”. Newly empowered, Mo-kei sets off to find his maternal grandfather, King of the Gold Lion (de facto leader of the Evil Cult), to rally his clan with the Wu Tang in order to defeat the stifling government forces and exact revenge on the terrible Jinxes. Martial Law‘s Sammo Hung appears as Chang San Fung, Tai Chi Master of the Wu Tang clan (Hung also choreographed the action sequences for this film). Director Wong Jing (who also helmed the God of Gamblers series, Hard Boiled 2, and Return to a Better Tomorrow) just about keeps a handle on the plot and ably directs the stunning action sequences, some of which occur on battlefields swarming with soldiers.

On the DVD: the main feature is presented in letterboxed format with original Cantonese dialogue and English subtitles. The print is generally of good quality but afflicted with blemishes and white flecks throughout. The subtitles are clear but their awkward translation and speed of transition serve at times to make an already convoluted plot harder to understand. It’s a shame that an option to listen to a dubbed soundtrack wasn’t added as the dubbed theatrical trailer (included here) enhances the daffiness of the movie. Other extras include comprehensive cast and crew filmographies and a small selection of stills. –Chris Campion

Evil Cult [DVD] [1993]

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. –Tom Keogh

The Big Sleep

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Amazon.co.uk Review
It’s sick! It’s twisted! It’s House of 1,000 Corpses, and it’s more fun than a wholesome bowl of “Agatha Crispies”! Dropped by two studios (Universal and MGM) and doomed to obscurity until Lions Gate Films gave it a limited theatrical release, Rob Zombie’s gonzo horror flick is a blood-spattered throwback to the gore-fests of the 70s, lending new meaning to the term “box-office gross”. Most critics misunderstood this unbridled exercise in graphic style and violence, but for devoted horror buffs it’s a refreshing rebuttal to the comparatively “polite” frights of the post-Scream era. While paying homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last House on the Left, Motel Hell and other gory classics, Zombie’s ramshackle plot (two young couples are terrorized by an inbred family of homicidal maniacs) lacks a crucial sense of dread, but his pastiche of vivid colours, grainy fetish-films and photo-negative imagery is guaranteed to hold your attention. A bona-fide cult item, this House is definitely worth a visit… if you dare. –Jeff Shannon

House of 1,000 Corpses

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Available “fully uncut” for the first time in the UK, Two Thousand Maniacs! is the second of director HG Lewis’ “blood” trilogy. Though the “once-in-a-lifetime” title makes a promise no film could keep–only about 30 maniacs show up–and the level of gore is a notch or so down from Blood Feast–only four deaths–this is perhaps the director’s most watchable film. The Brigadoon-derived plot nugget concerns a Deep South town (variously suggested to be in Georgia or Arkansas, but actually Florida) wiped out by Union raiders during the Civil War, which reappears once every 100 years to wreak “blood vengeance”. For the centennial celebrations, Pleasant Valley lures Yankee tourists off the road and subjects them to gruesome fairground games–a cannibal BBQ, a “horse-race”, a “barrel roll” and “teetering rock”. The ideas are nasty, and Lewis even attempts subtlety by keeping the quartering and the spiked barrel inside mostly off screen, but the creepiest touch is the “aw-shucks” good humour with which the ghostly Confederate maniacs–led by a mayor who is the spitting image of Sergeant Bilko’s Colonel Hall–treat their horrible sport. It has the usual Lewis drawbacks–mostly inept staging, acting that veers between the wooden (“Playmate” Connie Mason) and the amateurishly hammy (one of the worst child actors in film history), clumsy editing, community theatre production values–but his fans wouldn’t have it any other way and the hayseed music is great!

On the DVD: The full-screen image is as good as this ever will look, considering Lewis’ primitive understanding of lighting cinematography, with rich scarlet blood, vividly ugly 1963 leisurewear and very few print imperfections. The features offer an imaginative “Welcome to Pleasant Valley Centennial” menu, with buttons like the target you have to hit to drop the “teetering rock” on the Yankee; lurid original trailer (“Two thousand maniacs crazed for carnage started bathing a whole town in pulsing, human blood … brutal, evil, ghastly beyond belief”); filmographies for Lewis, Friedman and star William Kerwin (aka Thomas Wood); promotional art gallery; notes by aptly-monickered expert Billy Chainsaw, highlighting the connections with John Waters and Brigadoon; a teaser trailer for “the Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection”; a mass of trailers for other “Tartan terror” titles. The Lewis-Friedman commentary and mind-numbing outtakes reel available on the Region 1 DVD are sadly absent, but that release doesn’t have this one’s major bonus addition–the entire soundtrack album, with compositions by Lewis himself (including the immortal “Yee-Hah, the South’s Gonna Rise Again”) and Flatt and Scruggs (of Bonnie and Clyde fame). –Kim Newman

Two Thousand Maniacs

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