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Near Dark, a review by KinkyCyborg

Near Dark



Title:Near Dark
Year: 1987
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Rating: NR
Length: 94 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Adrian Pasdar
Jenny Wright
Lance Henriksen (1940)
Bill Paxton
Jenette Goldstein

Plot:
In the dusty heart of the American southwest, innocent country boy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar of MYSTERIOUS WAYS) is seduced by a beautiful girl (Jenny Wright) into joining a roving pack of vicious drifters led by the enigmatic Jesse (Lance Henriksen of THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS). But this is no ordinary band of outlaws; Caleb is now trapped in a nightmare of soulless evil that waits in the shadows, hellish mayhem that thrives on blood and absolute horror that begins NEAR DARK.

Bill Paxton (TWISTER) and Jenette Goldstein (ALIENS) co-star in this extraordinary shocker co-written and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (STRANGE DAYS) that Entertainment Weekly calls "ultrastylish, ultraviolent and altogether brilliant." This is more than simply the most ferociously original vampire movie of our generation; NEAR DARK is one of the best horror movies of all time.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Closed Captioned
THX


My first time watching this... how embarrassing. 

Not my most favorite vampire movie but I think it cracks my top 5.

What makes this movie great is it's simplicity. There is no shape shifting, no elaborate coffins, no lengthy history about how they came to be. These are just bloodthirsty, marauding vampires who are flying by the seat of their pants and despite their obvious strengths & advantages they are very much living life (death!) on the edge.

Lance Henriksen has always been a favorite of mine and it's great to see him in a meaningful role of yesteryear as he has now pretty much evolved into a STV (Straight To Video) whore. He is the cynical leader of the pack. Bill Paxton was phenomenal as a monster among monsters, stylish with a sense of humor.

Loved the bar scene as you knew what was coming as soon as they walked in. Reminded me of the restaurant scene in Natural Born Killers where a collection of strangers, victims of wrong place wrong time, wait for their deaths in muted horror and myself as the viewer all pumped up to see how it will play out.  I also liked the means for a cure of vampirism, again for how simplistic it was.

Interesting film from Bigelow as this is about as different in content and direction from Hurt Locker as it can possibly be but it presents to us an insightful evolution of a director's work.

Great stuff!

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on May 5th, 2011)

Le Deuxieme Souffle, a review by Antares

Le Deuxieme Souffle (1966) 4/5 - This is my sixth film by Jean-Pierre Melville, which is almost half of his directorial output, and I find that he is swiftly moving towards the top of my all-time greats list. There is no bullshit in his films. Every line of dialogue has its importance, the music is only there to add a subtle nudge to a scene and he gets the most from his actors. I know that with the six films I've watched that I've pretty much seen his best work, but I'm hoping the remaining eight films are just as good as this one. Oh and if only Robert DeNiro could take a lesson from Lino Ventura...great actors don't accept just any role for the paycheck and then mail in their performance as DeNiro has been doing for close to fifteen years now. I mention this because Ventura reminds me so much of DeNiro in his glory days of the 70's and 80's. Tough, burly and with a smoldering intensity that just explodes onscreen. It's a shame what's become of DeNiro, he's almost a caricature now.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 15th, 2011)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Pulling - Series 1

Episode 1
29 year old Donna comes to to the sudden realisation, that she doesn't want to get married to her boyfriend Karl - one day before the wedding...



A sitcom about a thirtysomething woman who ditches her reliable fiance to move in with a group of single girls. Donna isn't dull, she isn't ordinary and she's definitely meant for big things in life, so dumping her ultra-dependable and slightly beige fiancé Karl just days before their wedding isn't such a major thing for her.

A BBC3 series that was missed by many, but for the few that have given it a chance, the reward was a hilarious, black and original comedy, in the mould of Gavin & Stacey or Shameless, and a better series than many that have plagued the major channels in recent years. Series 2 has just finished, and I believe it has now been scrapped.
The comedy revolves around three crass and common girls flat sharing in London, a desperate ex fiancé, and the many cringeworthy scenarios they find themselves in. It is most definately adult humour, from the very first scene in the pilot! It is extremely well written, some great acting, and storylines to make your belly hurt from laughing. This should have been a major hit, but without the mass appeal of the more mainstream family-friendly comedy programmes, it was never given much of a chance on the lesser Beeb channel.
Completely underrated and overlooked, I highly recommend it.
 



(From My PILOT Marathon on September 16th, 2009)