“Death Of A Nation” is a political documentary film that has been slammed by critics that see it as mere right-wing propaganda. There is no denying that political documentaries stir up a lot of emotional feelings and I feel that often means we completely disregard works that we disagree with. I do not agree with every conclusion in this film but it does raise lots of interesting issues and appears to have been made with a lot more skill and thought than some of Michael Moore’s films.

Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza draws parallels between the modern political climate in the United States with Trump in office and the challenges facing President Lincoln. While doing this, he also extensively explores similarities between the fascists of 20th century Europe and the Democratic Party.

I had only vaguely heard of Dinesh D’Souza before seeing this film so I do not know much about him. Some of the claims he makes in this film do comes across as a little far-fetched (the claim that the leaders in Venezuela are ‘fascist’ rather than communist springs to mind) but he does raise some excellent points and some uncomfortable truths throughout the documentary. I was expecting more of the film to focus on Donald Trump (that would explain the partisan criticisms of the movie) but the film actually talks far more about Hitler. Various parts of the films include re-enactments of events in Nazi Germany and the United States during the American Civil War.

“Death Of A Nation” is undoubtedly a controversial movie but I do not think that it should be ignored. Documentaries should be allowed to challenge us and you do not have to agree with everything you hear in order to find something of benefit. I’m now certainly intrigued by the work of Dinesh D’Souza and am interesting in checking out some of his other films.

“Death Note” originally started life as a manga (Japanese comic) but its popularity has led to an anime series, live-action films, videogames and even a live-action American adaptation. I had not seen or read anything “Death Note” related so I was unsure where to begin so I decided to opt for the live-action Japanese movie and I have to admit that I’m quite impressed.

Japanese student Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara “Battle Royale”) stumbles across the ‘Death Note’, a notebook with the power to kill anybody whose name is written in it. Light decides to use this power to rid the world of criminals in a bid to create a utopian society but soon the authorities are pursuing him.

Tatsuya Fujiwara does a really good job as Light. I think the way the character uses his god-like powers is very interesting and all the different rules that he discovers allow him to make creative and intelligent moves to stay ahead of the authorities. Light becomes an anonymous icon dubbed ‘Kira’ by the media. Leading the investigation into Kira is the mysterious ‘L’ (Ken’ichi Matsuyama “Gantz”) and he is quite interesting as well. The way the two play a deadly game of cat and mouse is very clever. Throughout the movie Light is followed by the strange demonic creature Ryuk. However, the C.G.I. on Ryuk is quite frankly terrible.

When I first heard the premise of “Death Note”, it sounded like it would get old fast but the way in which the movie keeps things fresh and interesting and is great. I think that I will have to check out the anime series because I have heard that it is even better than the films. If like thrillers and you do not object to there being any supernatural elements at play, I think you will really enjoy “Death Note” because it is a clever movie.

The Hollywood remake of “Death Note” is a shockingly terrible film that misses the point of the story. I really liked the Japanese live-action “Death Note” because I thought was an intelligent thriller with supernatural elements. I have now seen some of the anime series and that seems very good too. However, the American version is just awful from beginning to end.

American schoolboy Light Turner (Nat Wolff “Paper Towns”) discovers the ‘Death Note’, a notebook that has the power to kill anybody whose name is written inside it. Light and his new girlfriend Mia (Margaret Qualley “The Nice Guys”) decide to rid the world of criminals but it is not long before the authorities are on their tail.

The versions of Light in the Japanese film and anime series are smart and interesting but the American version is just a whiny brat. Also, the whole thing of him teaming up with his girlfriend was just really lame and it just indicates that the filmmakers did not get the point of the story. It’s not meant to be some Bonnie and Clyde style romance, it’s meant to be a more intellectual piece about having god-like power at your fingertips. Willem Dafoe (“Spider-Man”, “Platoon”) provides the voice of the demonic Ryuk. The acting from pretty everybody in this movie is quite frankly awful.

The American “Death Note” tries to make this a tale of lovers on the run and thus completely fails to capture the spirit of what I feel “Death Note” is about. It also contains some unneeded gory deaths and almost every single aspect was done better in the Japanese movie or in the anime series. Perhaps the only thing this version does better is that Ryuk did not look as synthetic as he did in the Japanese film. I hated this movie and I think you should avoid it. Even if you are not familiar with the Japanese “Death Note” stuff, this is still a really awful film.

“Death Hunt” is a movie where it is all about the performances. The plot and everything else is there but their only purpose is to do justice to the lead performers (Charles Bronson “Death Wish”, Lee Marvin “The Delta Force”). It’s a rough, tough, violent and most importantly, well-acted piece.

Set in 1930s Canada, “Death Hunt” tells the story of a quiet man named Albert Johnson (Bronson), who gets a lot more than he bargained for when he rescues a fighting dog. After the guys organising the illegal fights come after him, he shoots back in self-defence but then has to deal with the law man Millen (Marvin). Although Millen respects Johnson and knows he hasn’t done anything wrong, he also knows he’s got to catch Johnson before the violence continues.

Charles Bronson gets very few lines, in the last half I believe he only has one, but he’s so good with what he’s got that it works. Lee Marvin is also great. Their encounters are brief and usually only visual; their only verbal encounter is handled wonderfully. These are both good, quiet guys but can stand up for themselves. Carl Weathers (“Predator”) and Ed Lauter (“The Number 23”) disappoint as the side-characters.

“Death Hunt” is actually loosely based on the real-life events of a wanted man by the same name and although this film takes some poetic licencing with reality, it feels very believable. This isn’t about shooting everything you’ve got; it’s about being resourceful, smart and knowing when to strike. I liked this film a lot even though some of the secondary aspects of it are disappointing; I think that the main characters are a lot of fun to watch. It’s sort-of done in the same way that “Death Wish” and “Unforgiven” are done where the violence while brutal feels believable and understandable when carried out by the protagonists.

People talked a lot about this movie with many claiming it was one of the best comic book films ever to grace the screen but I saw a movie that was trying to be as funny as “Guardians of the Galaxy” while simultaneously being as disturbing as “V For Vendetta” and it can’t have it both ways.

After the character’s disastrous appearance in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, Deadpool finally gets his own film with Ryan Reynolds (“The Proposal”) returning to play the fast-talking anti-hero. Deadpool sets out on a mission of vengeance to kill the man responsible for making him what he is but you have to sit through tons of flashbacks and non-stop fourth wall jokes.

Ryan Reynolds of course played the same character in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” but many felt the character was given too little screen time and not a lot to do. After seeing the Deadpool character in the way he was ‘meant to be’, I’m not impressed; this is just an irritating and violent misfit with a huge ego and an even bigger mouth. The villain in the movie is arguably the worst villain I’ve ever seen in a comic book movie, some guy called ‘Francis’, who dons no costume and has no personality.

I won’t lie, some of the action sequences are amusingly over the top and some of the jokes do work but so much of it is unnecessarily crude (one of the sex scenes is absolutely disgusting) and match that with some dark and depressing torture scenes, you have a film that seems confused about what it wants to be. “Deadpool” seems as if it merely exists to break every rule in the superhero movie book but some of those rules are there for a reason yet the makers of “Deadpool” seem to be blind to that fact.

Robin Williams (“Good Will Hunting”, “One Hour Photo”) stars in this strange picture that tries to be both an artistic look at poetry as well as your average high school movie. For me the balance doesn’t work and it’s a real shame as the bits about poetry are really good.

Mr. Keating (Williams) is the eccentric and new English teacher at a sophisticated academy. He breathes fresh air into their lives as he passionately takes them on a journey where they will look at poetry in a completely unique way. Mr. Keating tells several of the boys of a group he was part of back in his days at the academy called ‘Dead Poets Society’.

Robin Williams is a godsend and by the far the best part of this movie. This role seems perfect for him and whenever he’s onscreen it’s magical… but sadly there are long portions of time where he’s not onscreen. None of the other characters sparked any of my interests. The only one that comes close is named Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke “Training Day”). One of the worst characters in the movie is named Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard “Tape”), which is even worse as he seems to have a lot of time onscreen.

All-round there is only really one great thing about “Dead Poets Society” and that is Robin Williams. No matter how good he is, I can’t recommend a movie for just one great performance, especially as he doesn’t have an overwhelming about of screen time. Although the artistic part about poetry is something I did really enjoy, I just don’t like the high school segments. I’m sure if you like your high school movies and you are a fan of Williams then you’ll adore this. If you don’t like the high school parts to movies then you may possibly, if you are still a fan of Williams, want to check out the parts about poetry.

“Days Of Thunder” is essentially a remake of “Top Gun” using cars instead of planes and it even stars Tom Cruise (“Minority Report”, “Mission: Impossible”) in an almost identical role and has the same director: Tony Scott (“Unstoppable”). It is better than “Top Gun” but it is still a silly, messed-up film.

In “Days Of Thunder”, Cruise stars as hotshot driver Cole Trickle, who has no real knowledge of automobiles but has the help of veteran Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall “The Godfather”) in order to win the upcoming races. At times it is merely predictable then suddenly it spouts off in a pointless and ridiculous direction.

Tom Cruise has been in some really good movies and has given a few good performances but this is another film and performance that can be put in the same category as “Top Gun” and “Cocktail”. Robert Duvall is good but his efforts are wasted here; the same can be said for Randy Quaid (“Independence Day”). Nicole Kidman (“Batman Forever”) may as well not even be in the movie as her character is so insignificant, even as love interests go. A few of the other drivers serve as Cole’s enemies but they aren’t very interesting.

“Days Of Thunder” is hilarious and some of the driving scenes are entertaining but in any normal sense the film cannot be recommended to anyone who isn’t a big fan of movies such as “Top Gun” and “Cocktail”. It’s another simplistic vehicle for Cruise where the script clearly just has blank spots so a few things can be changed. I think this one is better than “Top Gun” as there is no singing and it is better than “Cocktail” because car racing is a little more dynamic than drink mixing but that is just about all I can do to defend this film. Tony Scott sadly hasn’t lived up to his brother Ridley (“Blade Runner”, “Alien”).

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You will find virtually all types of films reviewed on the site. Go from the movies of the dawn of cinema right to the present day. From silent to sound, from black and white to colour. Pretty much every genre you can possibly think of (action, comedy, romance, drama, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, western, animated etc...) is on here. I also review films from around the world including the United Kingdom, Japan, China and Russia. You will find the big blockbusters to low-budget movies that hardly anybody knows. Looking for something niche? Don't be surprised to find a few reviews of kaiju, cyberpunk, sword and sorcery, blaxploitation and even Bruceploitation.

 

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Movies take effort and determination, “Daylight” is nothing more than an exercise. I can call this an exercise because everything is done at such a mediocre level that it becomes just an unwatchable display of utter rubbish.

In “Daylight”, after an explosion in a New York tunnel, both ends are sealed off and there seems like no hope for the several survivors that range from an ordinary family to prisoners. A disgraced rescue officer named Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone “Death Race 2000”, “Rocky”) manages to reach the tunnel via a scene that feels more like a videogame level. Now with a shortage of oxygen and water on its way, there isn’t much hope.

The characters in this film aren’t really characters, they’re just cardboard archetypes. These archetypes are all badly scripted and badly portrayed, they’re simply they’re to moan and then to either die or be rescued. For example, we have mountaineering celebrity Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen “A History of Violence”, “The Road”), who barely says a word before he stupidly attempts to escape the tunnel and they’re shortly after that he meets his demise. Every character is just there to talk pointless lines that merely make this sad film longer. The characters are played averagely and they’re written averagely.

“Daylight” has a routine, every time the characters manage to cover some ground somebody dies. It’s routines, which make the movie unpleasant to watch. Everything in the film feels like the makers said “We have to do this” as opposed to “Let’s try this” as there feels like there was no spontaneity involved. It feels like something you get in the back of the children’s book where you can write your own story; it has a predetermined route and you simply fill in the blanks. “Daylight” has some average acting, some average characters, an average premise and some average special effects and it all amounts to just mediocrity, which becomes sickeningly bad.

“Day of the Dead” is the third film in George A. Romero’s zombie series; it follows on from “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead”. I haven’t cared much for his films or the genre; the movie is an achievement in terms of special effects and costume design but overall it is a boring movie.

In “Day of the Dead”, we find a group of scientists and military men in an underground facility as they bicker about the problem of the dead overtaking the world. After endless amounts of boring discussions, the zombies finally show up in large quantities but that’s not even fun because most of the action takes place in a dull environment.

I like the zombies in this movie as they look great because the make-up is high-tech and they all look individual. There are only two living people I liked: the first is a mad scientist named Logan (Richard Liberty) and an equally mad army guy named Captain Rhodes (Joseph Pilato “Pulp Fiction”) but both are in the wrong movie here. The others are roles that don’t require overacting but the people playing them clearly didn’t understand that; they’re unpleasant and so one-dimensional that they make the zombies look as if they have depth.

“Day of the Dead” changes the location from something people can relate to so it lacks that appeal and some of the characters could easily put you into a coma with their pointless speeches. However, the zombies look very good, the revelations about them are somewhat interesting and the gross death scenes are done well but I’m still saying this is a downgrade from Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”, not much of one but a downgrade nevertheless. Movies involving zombies so rarely work (unless done with a good sense of humour) and if the supposed ‘master’ and ‘father’ of the genre can’t get it right then that I have very little hope.