Author: Alex Cole

The past catches up with everyone in a small Jersey town as now Pastor’s wife, Lorraine Beebee (Tatum O’Neal), tries to help her husband’s campaign to be deputy mayor alongside small business owner and small time criminal Lou Bava (Stephen Bauer).

As the campaign progresses and Lorraine tries to weave an inexplicable number of webs with her intentions confusingly strewn from left to right, ghosts from the past including cross-dressing Mayor Ward (Scott William Winters) and Mayoral Candidate Bava’s multiple affairs with running mate Rev. Beebee’s sweet wife Lorraine and daughter Stephanie (Julianne Michelle) come creeping out, though the good pastor never seems to notice. Sweet Lorraine’s selling point is the curiosity of these back stories and the B-movie noir-esque style of it’s delivery with inherent sexual motivation and wholly cynical attitude; yet they’re also undoubtedly it’s downfall.

Simply put it’s confusing and dull. You’re not led to become invested in any characters, it’s plot seems to flip and flap at random and I was never able to grasp Lorraine’s ultimate intentions, but without the joys of interesting discussion. Sweet Lorraine didn’t give the impression of complicated motivation, but simply no motivation except power and excess; Lorraine’s odd boxing career and the fantastical and slightly psychotic ‘club’ that united Lorraine’s past was almost fantastical. Perhaps that was the point, perhaps it was meant to be chaotic strange and catch you unaware; but for me it just didn’t come together, it wasn’t enjoyable. With a strong cast for this type of production I was expecting a lot more. Ironically Tatum O’Neal gives a strong performance as Lorraine, easy to hate and difficult to understand and Matthew Conlon is excellent as the naive Pastor who can’t see anything that’s in front of his face; but good acting can’t hold together a film that has a poor script and is trying too hard to be edgy and innovative.

Expected to be released on April 23rd in the US, I won’t be recommending many people go see this film; it may have it’s niche and may even someday gain cult reverence, but for me it doesn’t work. Sweet Lorraine was a disappointment, unable to capture my attention.

In their search for Treasure, amateur treasure hunters Gus (Robert Curtis) and Sally (Abbie Salt) invite their friend Jake (Danny Shayler) to document the illegal dig on MOD land; but the treasure they find is less the Saxon they were expecting and more…extra-terrestrial.

Filmed in the verite style of Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, Rendlesham is an entertaining and exciting low budget horror that whilst unlikely to entertain the critics, at a short and sweet 83 minutes it will keep on the average viewer on edge of their seat (that includes me). With some pretty amazing ‘what the hell is going to happen’ moments its exciting and interesting and a great example of why British cinematography is growing.

New on the scene, Danny Simpson, has shown he has  a skill for short films with The Uninvited  and his newest venture Rendlesham truly shows of his skill. The three stars shine, with Danny Shayler shining the brightest, showing real passion but also an evolution in character that the others cannot. This is likely in part to the script and his  characters altering motivations, but nonetheless is is bolstered by a great personal performance. I commend Danny Simpson for keeping this film under 90 minutes which helped to maintain the suspense with few location changes, effects or characters. Way too often you see fright fests ruined by repetition or by simply showing too much of their hand at once. Rendlesham builds to its conclusion and uses its few large effects wisely. Simpson really adds to this with the ending, leaving us with a cliffhanger worth having. You’re able to get really invested in the characters, to the point that when the film ends and it’s not explained  how  the incident was discovered or exactly what happened to each member of the team you’re left screaming for answers. If this is how a thriller ends, then you’ve hit on a winner.

The only disappointing aspect of this film is simply that it’s not very original. Like many good films it works from a formula and whilst it does this very well, it’s not going to bring a new audience to the verite style, except for many fans of UFO films and with the talent on show both in front of and behind the camera this is a little disappointing.There are definitely some futures being built here. I’ll be on the lookout for Shayler for a long time to come and I won’t be surprised to Director Simpson or writer Adam Preston either.
The Rendlesham UFO Incident is a good but not outstanding example of its genre. If you like horror and you love Blair Witch this is DEFINITELY for you. I’ll be passing the recommendation around my friends and I think that says is enough. Definitely one to watch in a dark room with some popcorn and a few good mates!

Whilst not a movie in the strictest sense; ABCs of Death 2 is the second in a series of comedy horror omnibuses showcasing 26 short films from a group of international directors, each based on a word beginning with a letter in the alphabet.

As the title suggests what ties these films together is the theme of death, be it gruesome (which is by far the most common), shocking or just plain strange. Best watched in sections, it’s short film format is both a blessing and curse. Whilst it ensures it has something for everyone, you are often forced to sit through 3-4 minutes of terrible jokes (Letter P) or  a shameless and exaggerated attack of special effects (Letter I) which altogether isn’t very entertaining; but luckily not for very long! Similarly if you enjoy a particular film it often feels fleeting and unsatisfying.

The format also brings with it a lack of continuity, with some stylish features, some strange, some crude and some emotional it’s very difficult to watch in one sitting with the range of emotions a little too broad to take in. Watching for too long, I began to feel little numb to intended impact of any given letter or film and would have much preferred in some cases to have watched them individually.

This franchise and indeed this feature, is a showcase for some glorious talent. The legendary animator Bill Plympton (Letter H) sits alongside the talented Julian Barret (Letter B and The Mighty Boosh), it’s a showcase for international talent including Canada’s Astron-6 and visionary Hiajime Ohata (Letter O), whose post-apocalyptic zombie government is an inventive and unique take on the genre.

Fans of horror should certainly go out and find themselves a copy. ABC’s of Death 2 is a collection 26 excellent short films and may pave the way for some glorious talent to enter the mainstream horror circuit. There is sure to be an ABC’s of Death 3; and it’s something I’d more than willingly watch….just maybe not whilst eating my lunch!

Burn victim Agatha Weiss (Mia Wasikowska) arrives in Hollywood in search of the stars, child superstar Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird) faces yet another sequel and former leading lady Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore) fights for one last role; on the surface, a pretty realistic and average day in Hollywood, but as Maps to the Stars progresses, we discover just how closely entwined the lives of these characters really are but also the darkness lurking beneath their Hollywood white veneers.

Adapted from a script penned by novelist Bruce Wagner Maps to the Stars is a cutting portrayal of the callousness of Hollywood; perennial outsider David Cronenburg delivers a damning tale of incest, mental illness and the fate that can befall an aging star, even if that star is only 15. Satirical, plagued with exaggeration and with humour as dark as the hearts of the characters it portrays, Maps to the stars is nonetheless a fantastic caricature of Hollywood life whilst at the same time giving the audience a strange but enticing tale of familial dysfunction that will have audiences wondering just what could possibly happen next.

Julianne Moore’s portrayal of a fading beauty with serious mummy issues displays exactly why in 2015 she’s finally conquered the Oscars and Mia Wasikowska’s form never fails and she delivers another seamless performance as a dysfunctional teen, awkward in life and in love. Evan Bird deserves more than just a nod for his performance of the films ‘anti-hero’; a young actor with a strong career ahead of him, he is able to make you detest him whilst commanding the audience to pour sympathy on him as we understand how and why he is the way he is.

Plot spoilers are a real detriment to this film as so much relies on the slow reveal, so I’ll keep the detail to a minimum. Maps to the Stars is a Cronenburg classic, it’s a film that doesn’t fit in with the Hollywood in-crowd and is all the better for it.

For fans of the quirky, definitely one to watch!

Seeming inspired to bring back the gritty late 20th century redemption thriller by the unnervingly powerful personal of Liam Neeson; Scott Frank’s A Walk among the Tombstones is a gripping tale of vengeance, redemption and old school justice.

Set in 1999, former cop and alcoholic Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) is working as an unlicensed detective when he is hired by drug trafficker Danny Ortiz (Maurice Compte) to solve the murder of his wife. Initially unwilling to take the case; Scudder is swayed by the pure brutality of the murder, soon unravelling a series of masochistic killings targeting the families of former DEA targets.

Presented with a series of progressive flashbacks, A Walk among the Tombstones is as much about the motivation of Neeson’s character as it is about solving the murders. Whilst you would expect this to be primarily about redemption; it cleverly avoids this obvious turn and focuses more on doing the right thing than the usual attempts to right wrongs of the past. This subtle change gives this film a different feel to most crime thrillers with Frank’s touch of moody noir found in lurking within most of the films transitions. This is never more obvious than the opening credits which are snippets of snuff film made by the films killer documenting the brutal torture of one of the films earliest victims, announcing almost immediately the strange touches this film has. My immediate thoughts on seeing the cast were whether this was simply Taken 4; but it’s very soon made clear that whilst similarities exist, A Walk among the Tombstones is much like Taken, but without the filters. Instead we’re given a Liam Neeson character that, although incredibly capable, is much less sure of convictions.

Nonetheless, it still doesn’t quite break the mould of the typical crime thriller, occupying instead a middle ground between quirky and standard that whilst elevating it somewhat unfortunately cause it to falter as it neither pleases the fans of true noir nor does it quite have the nonsensical action Neeson has become known for.

A sign of a good film adaption is that it makes you want to buy the book.

Let’s just say I’ve ordered my copy.