The 1910 “Frankenstein” is the first film to be based on Mary Shelley’s book. Many people regard the 1931 version starring Boris Karloff to be the original but this is the true original. The 1931 certainly remains the most iconic and arguably the best version of the story to date. However, this 1910 movie was actually made by the studio run by Thomas Edison. It’s an interesting film to look at for its historical significance.

Frankenstein (Augustus Phillips “The Gates Of Eden”) is a young medical student that tries to create a perfect human being. However, he creates a horrifying creature (Charles Ogle “Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm”). The Monster relentlessly torments his creator.

Being such an old film, this is of course a silent movie. There are very few characters in here. The Monster really does not look all that impressive. I do think the scene where the Monster is created looks really good though. For the time, I’m sure the special effects and make-up were incredible but now the creature looks so lousy. The Karloff version created quite possibly the most visually memorable monster in cinema history. The Frankenstein character is okay but I don’t have much to say about him.

It’s a film that lasts less than a quarter of an hour so you hardly feel like you’re wasting any of your time by checking it out. However, it’s hard to really recommend this movie. There have been so many “Frankenstein” films from the Universal ones of the 30s and 40s to the Hammer ones of 50s,60s and 70s to the 1994 version with Robert De Niro and countless others. This is a film for those interested in film history and especially those that love the old horror movies but for the general public, there is no real need to search for this one.

“Kill Chain” is like watching somebody imitate the work of Quentin Tarantino (“Pulp Fiction”) but fail to capture the great writing. What we have here is a really dull thriller without any charm whatsoever. It’s a shame too because I can imagine Tarantino or somebody equally talented being able to make a really great film with this premise.

Set in Colombia, “Kill Chain” follows various characters with interweaving stories over the course of a single night. There will be murder, sex and revelations as we explore the seedy underworld. By the end, you discover how all the events are connected but you probably won’t care about anything at that point.

Nicolas Cage (“Ghost Rider”, “Running With The Devil”) stars as Araña. However, he only really appears in the second half of the movie. He gives one of the weakest performances of his career but then again, he’s given nothing to work with. It’s such a shame to see such a talented actor in a film as unimpressive as this. The various characters include prostitutes, hitmen and corrupt cops. None of them are remotely engaging and I didn’t care about any of them at all. When you can’t even get me to care about Nicolas Cage being in this film, you know you have a big problem.

This is not a long movie but it feels like a real chore to sit through. Parts of it are painfully slow and that’s surprising considering how it keeps jumping between different characters. The problem is that none of it is very interesting. I’m a big Nicolas Cage fan so I was really disappointed by this film and the whole thing feels like a knock-off of Tarantino’s movies. It is fairly forgettable so you’re unlikely to be kept awake at night by how lame “Kill Chain” is.

The “Child’s Play” franchise was never particularly good to begin with but the makers must really be running out of ideas. This movie throws together bits and pieces from the various instalments that came before it and none of it is very impressive.

Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif “Curse Of Chucky”) is in an insane asylum where she now believes that she was responsible for a series of murders. However, it was in fact the killer doll Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif “Child’s Play”, “Alien: Resurrection”). Chucky comes to the asylum to terrorise her. Nica desperately tries to prove that the killer doll is alive and out for blood.

The Chucky doll looks rather disappointing here. I praised the special effects of some of the early movies because they were great for their time. However, the doll here looks less convincing than it did back in 1988. Some may get a kick out of seeing several characters from the previous films altogether but I’ve never been a fan of the franchise so I didn’t care. The inmates are the asylum are rather dull. Seriously, how do you make asylum inmates bland? Overall, I wasn’t impressed with any of the characters in this movie.

“Cult Of Chucky” has a couple of amusing moments and a couple of average scares but the movie just feels like the makers were throwing everything at us. It’s a real shame that the movie does not make the most of its asylum setting. There’s a lot of potential for horror films that are set in asylums. Fans of the series may love all the little references but for me, it was just another underwhelming entry in an underwhelming horror franchise. I cannot recommend this one for anybody besides really big fans of the other “Child’s Play” movies.

“Inseminoid” (also known as “Horror Planet”) is a virtually unwatchable rip-off of “Alien”. It looks cheaper than a 50s sci-fi film despite coming out in the early 80s and it’s about as engaging as watching paint dry. It’s about as bland as films get.

A team of scientists are working in a lab on a distant planet. One of the crew members (Judy Geeson “10 Rillington Place”) is attacked, raped and impregnated by an alien creature. She then goes on a killing spree, drinking the blood of her fellow scientists. It all builds up to the birth of the alien monstrosity growing inside her womb.

The characters in this movie are as boring as possible. I didn’t care about any of them and the acting from everybody is just so wooden. I can still vividly remember some of the characters from the first “Alien” film but I cannot remember anything about any of the characters from “Inseminoid”. The alien creature that impregnates a crew member looks absolutely pathetic. The alien baby near the end looks stupid as well. Normally, the sci-fi genre at least provides you with a fun alien creature but the ones in this movie are so bitterly disappointing.

This is one of the worst sci-fi/horror films of the 80s with bad special effects, seriously weak acting, a dull plot and just nothing to get you excited. This film looks like it was rushed out to capitalise on the success of “Alien” and no real thought went into making it a satisfying viewing experience for anybody. There are “Alien” rip-offs out there that are actually very entertaining such as “Leviathan” and “Event Horizon”. Even “DeepStar Six” was more enjoyable than “Inseminoid”. The only positive that I can think of is that you should be able to easily forget about having seen it all.

“Lebanon: The Soldier’s Journey” is effectively the “Phone Booth” of war films as this movie is almost exclusively set inside an Israeli tank. It feels very realistic and I imagine that this is about as close as you are going to get to experiencing being in a tank without physically getting in one.

During Israel’s first war in Lebanon in 1982, a single tank and a small band of soldiers are tasked with clearing out hostile territory after an aerial attack. The conditions of the tank get worse as it becomes dirty and starts to smell. They also face mechanical problems and radio issues, which fuel their anxiety.

The characters in this movie are genuinely gripping. The dialog is great and the raw emotions on display are terrific. We get invested in the characters that are stuck inside a dark and sweaty machine. The tank may initially seem like the safest place to be but it creates a level of isolation with the tank crew members having to rely on radio communications and occasional visits from their superior. They are also having to share their precious space with a captured Syrian insurgent, which again adds to the tension. Without captivating characters, a movie like this could become rather boring.

This is not a movie for those without a strong stomach as the brief moments of violence are incredibly graphic and are very realistic. This is an intense picture throughout and it is impressive that the filmmakers have achieved this without the budget of movies such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Black Hawk Down”. The cinematography in this movie rivals a Hitchcock movie at times. It might not be for everyone but I think “Lebanon: The Soldier’s Journey” is a darn fine war movie and much better than “Waltz With Bashir”.

“Leatherface” is the third entry in the abysmal “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise. This one lacks the gritty look of the first and the humour of the second one. As much as I disliked the earlier films, I at least had a certain appreciation for their commitment to their styles but this one just feels uninspired.

A couple from California are travelling through Texas when they encounter a band of psychopaths including Leatherface (R.A. Mihailoff “Licence To Drive”). They must try to survive this terrifying ordeal and escapes the clutches of the killers. It’s pretty much the same as the original film.

Most of the acting in this movie is really unimpressive. A young Viggo Mortensen (“Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”) plays one of the characters. It’s pretty funny to see somebody that would become such a big star appear in a shlock horror flick. The killers are really forgettable this time around. Leatherface spends time playing a little computer game to learn spelling. The first movie at least made him seem somewhat intimidating but the sequels turned him into a joke. Nobody gives a good performance in this movie but then again, the material they have to work with is pretty darn terrible.

“Leatherface” is not the worst entry in the series (it’s certainly not as bad “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation”) but it’s pretty darn awful. It’s not scary and also, it cuts away during a lot of the violent sequences so people that watch these movies for the gore are going to be disappointed. There’s nothing new on offer here, it’s just more of the same ideas you saw in the other films. It’s not the shocking picture that the original was, it’s just a generic horror flick and I cannot really think of any reason to recommend this to anybody.

“Leap Of Faith” joins “Roxanne” and “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” because it’s another fun and warm-hearted comedy from Steve Martin. While I feel Martin could have pushed the humour more, it’s certainly a lot better than some of his more recent outings that leave you feeling cold (e.g. “The Pink Panther” remake).

In “Leap Of Faith”, Martin plays conman Jonas Nightengale as he gathers communities into his shows where he convinces them into thinking he’s performing miracles (and he does this while wearing a brilliant disco ball-style jacket). He and his team reach the small town of Rustwater where the local sheriff (Liam Neeson “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace”) is hot on his trail. Over his days there, Nightengale begins to question himself and what he’s doing… the film leaves you on a powerful note.

Martin plays the slyness just right and when he’s making those enthusiastic speeches, he gets it right too. It becomes an interesting character when some of the things he does seem to actually cause genuinely good things, making the questioning of his methods even more intriguing. Also, his jacket is great; I want that jacket! Debra Winger (“Terms of Endearment”) and Neeson are also pretty good.

“Leap Of Faith” has an inspired moment near the beginning involving a watch because it’s ridiculous and funny yet it also conveys the sort-of lengths real-life preachers go to (both fraudulent and genuine). The whole film’s pretty fun and has that emotional side to give it that little extra but as I say I definitely feel more humour could have been added because after all, that is why we go and see Steve Martin movies. When you see Martin up on the stage shouting and screaming about miracles, don’t tell me that he hasn’t just nailed it.

Bruce Willis (“Die Hard”, “The Fifth Element”) stars in “Last Man Standing”, which serves as gangster remake of the samurai flick “Yojimbo” and the Western “A Fistful Of Dollars”. Most people don’t seem to care for this version of the same premise but I think it’s almost as good if not as entertaining as “A Fistful Of Dollars”.

The drifting gunslinger John Smith (Willis) arrives in the town of Jericho, a place where two rival gangs compete for dominance. Smith decides to put himself in harm’s way as he plays the two sides with the hope of making some money while the bitter fight rages on.

Bruce Willis will never be as good as Clint Eastwood but he does a good job here. He plays the tough guy well and the amount of shooting he does in this movie is ridiculous… and I mean that in the best possible way. My only complaint is that he talks very quietly during the vast majority of the movie. David Patrick Kelly (“The Warriors”), Christopher Walken (“Batman Returns”) and Ned Eisenberg (“Million Dollar Baby”) play some of the main bad guys and they’re all enjoyable. I also enjoyed the performances of William Sanderson (“Blade Runner”) as the bartender, Bruce Dern (“The ‘Burbs”) as the town’s corrupt law enforcer and Karina Lombard as an innocent girl held captive by one of the gangsters.

“Last Man Standing” features some outrageously fun shootouts that remind me of “Desperado”. This is a stylish gangster movie and I don’t know why a lot of people don’t like it. Maybe some feel the formula present in “Yojimbo” and “A Fistful Of Dollars” became stale for them but I think the fact that each of the three films is part of a different genre means each one is fresh and original enough. It’s not a terrific picture but if you like gangster movies or you enjoyed the versions of the story then this is worth checking out.

“Hellraiser: Inferno” is the first direct-to-video instalment in the “Hellraiser” franchise and it’s one of the worst ones. It was never originally intended to be a “Hellraiser” film and it’s just disastrous. What we have here is a poor man’s version of “Se7en” or “Silence of the Lambs” with “Hellraiser” elements needlessly thrown into it.

Detective Joseph Thorne (Craig Sheffer “Nightbreed”, “A River Runs Through It”) leads a life of questionable moral integrity. After discovering a puzzle box, he pursues an elusive serial killer, known as the ‘Engineer’. With the fingers of a child found at every crime scene, the race is on to find the child before he is murdered.

Craig Sheffer is absolutely atrocious as Detective Thorne. This character is really unlikeable and bland. Sheffer also whispers a lot so it’s really hard to hear what is going on a lot of the time. Pinhead (Doug Bradley “Hellraiser”, “Hellbound: Hellraiser II”) appears for maybe two minutes in the entire movie. This is probably the least amount of screen time he gets in the whole franchise. It’s ridiculous as he features prominently in the film’s marketing. The other characters are just terrible too but it’s the Thorne character that is just abysmal.

This is like “Se7en”, “The Bone Collector” and a ton of other movies but with some really forced “Hellraiser” stuff. It would have been incredibly bad without it but with the “Hellraiser” parts, it just becomes a total mess. Most of the “Hellraiser” sequels are bad but this is one of the worst ones (although I think “Hellraiser: Judgement” is still the worst one to date). This is just a horrendous movie with bad special effects, stupid twists, a pathetic ending and horrific acting. Please do yourself a favour and avoid this movie because it’s a real pain to sit through.

“Hellraiser: Hellseeker” is a mess of a movie despite some good ideas. If it feels like the “Hellraiser” elements don’t naturally fit with the rest of the movie, that’s because this was originally an unrelated script that got turned into a “Hellraiser” entry.

In this film, Trevor (Dean Winters “John Wick”) is suffering from amnesia after a car accident that killed his wife, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence “Mikey”). He tries to piece together what exactly happened while dealing with disturbing hallucinations and sinister revelations that seem to be connected to a mysterious puzzle box. It will lead him to question everything including his own mind.

The performance from Dean Winters as Trevor is just awful. He’s not remotely convincing and he’s just so wooden. Ashley Laurence reprises her role as Kirsty. She was the main star of the first two “Hellraiser” films and had a cameo in the third movie. She does a pretty good job with limited time on screen. Doug Bradley is back yet again as Pinhead. His role in the story feels a little confused but that’s to be expected when he was never originally meant to be in the film. Some of the other characters are okay.

There are some genuinely intriguing parts in this movie and some of the disturbing imagery is very creative. However, the story just gets messier and messier as the makers try to force in the “Hellraiser” connections. The acting from Dean Winters is appalling, some of the special effects are lousy and it just would have worked better without the “Hellraiser” stuff. That being said, it’s better than many of the “Hellraiser” sequels. There’s certainly good stuff in here, it’s just a muddle so if you are into horror/thriller films with a lot of twists then maybe you’ll get some enjoyment from this movie.