The Childhood of a Leader
From the opening shot of a train speeding accompanied by the haunting music, I was gripped by this film.
The title gives it away as to what the film is mainly about, but it’s still really worth seeing.
The performances are superb all round. The cinematography is stuffy and atmospheric to go along with the period trappings. It is a really well made film. I read about it being a horror as well as a historical drama, and I have to say, you would be forgiven to think that it is a horror because of the score. It’s also an interesting film, which doesn’t let up. At times it can be a bit too stagy, almost like the actors are on stage, but that is a very minor thing compared to the rest of the film, which is exquisite.
If you like historical dramas or just dramas in general or historical films, then you’ll really enjoy this, like I did.
Thank you to Soda Pictures who very kindly gave me a copy of the film to review.
The Childhood of a Leader is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I was let down by the first Captain America movie, which I thought was over-hyped. It wasn’t as good as I was led to believe by the reviews. However, this, the sequel was even more hyped. I have to say, I went with the hype as well on this one and I came away thinking that it’s a better film than the original. The original, for me, had some sub-par action sequences which really looked like they were filmed in front of green screen. I was sad about that because I thought that Marvel would have better special effects then. Then I watched The Winter Soldier. The effects in this are phenomenal; the action is breath-taking. It’s a great action film. Go just for the action and you will be pleasantly surprised. Now, I’m not really up to date with watching each instalment in the Marvel phases, but this made me want to watch more of them. I would really recommend this movie if you like greatly choreographed action scenes.
Electricity
]Electricity is a British film which follows a woman who has epilepsy and her journey to find her brother in the city.
I had no expectations going in to this film, but I was amazed at how good it is. This film deserves praise. It’s got great performances, the story is interesting and the cinematography is sometimes breath-taking. I also love the experimental touches the director uses to evoke the epileptic shocks that the main character has.
A problem I had with it, though, was that it got a bit soap operatic near the end, but other than that, it’s a fine film, which I would recommend.
Savage Streets
I love exploitation movies. This, for me, is pure exploitation of the 80’s kind. Linda Blair (The Exorcist) stars in this exploitation classic. The story follows her, as she wreaks revenge on a group of punks who abused and sent her friends to hospital or to the morgue.
This is a really good movie. It has that 80’s vibe, especially the first scenes which establish all the characters. I loved the start where it shows the ladies all dressed up, walking the pavement at night. The film has a nasty rape sequence, where the punks each take turn to rape a woman in a gym. However, it’s not as brutal or nasty as I Spit on Your Grave or any other films of that nature. It is tame in terms of that.
The revenge side of things wasn’t as gory as I thought it would be, but it was nice seeing the punks punished for what they did. They are so horrible, and the movie does serve out the justice well. It is a bit over the top how one woman is able to take out these guys, but for wish fulfilment, it’s great. You are there cheering the woman on.
I loved this movie. It’s pure 80’s exploitation rape-revenge fodder, but served up with a nice atmosphere and a weirdly absent sleaze quotient. It’s not at all sleazy. It’s brightly lit (well, for the most part, the ending takes place at night. It’s a really fun movie. Plus, I like the artwork on the new release of the DVD, with its grindhouse cover. It’s a great movie, I’d really recommend this if you like revenge films.