Horror Express (1972)
Spanish-British science fiction horror film. It's about various passengers aboard a European-bound Trans-Siberian Railway train who are soon stalked by an alien intelligence inhabiting the frozen body of an ancient primitive humanoid brought onboard by an anthropologist. Very good cast (Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas, Alberto de Mendoza and more). It's under 90 minutes long, which is the perfect runtime for this kind of movie. Overall I was very entertained and can definitely recommend this one.
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Blood Gnome (2004), I just saw the cover without reading what it was about, I'm on a roll. Little BDSM gnomes having fun slicing their victims. 5/10
Silent Zone (2025), a very safe and boring zombie movie and didn't have to be almost 2 hours long. 4/10
Wheeler/Psycho from Texas (1975), some very questionable scenes, and scream queen Linnea Quigleys first movie. 4/10
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The Blind Man (2012)
This suspenseful crime thriller from Xavier Palud, director of The Eye, based on an idea by Luc Besson, follows a cynical detective who stumbles upon intrigue in the corridors of power. A beautiful young woman is escorted home late at night by her bodyguard. When she is alone, a shadowy figure emerges from the darkness and strangles her. A superbly planned and executed murder. The investigation is led by veteran detective Lassalle, a loner who is fascinated by the blind piano tuner whose pictures are plastered throughout the apartment. But his verified alibi and disability make him seem unlikely as a murderer. Soon the victims pile up with no apparent connection between them other than the ingenious and artfully staged circumstances of their deaths, so Lassalle finds himself hunting a serial killer. When he gets too close to the dubious dealings in the corridors of power, his superiors take the case away from him, but Lassalle continues his investigation with the support of his young partner Héloïse. The murderer toys with him, entangling him in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in which Lassalle has everything to lose. (Original title - À l'aveugle) © 2012 Universum Film GmbH
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The Road to Wellville (1994)
American comedy drama film. It's about the ins and outs of one unusual health facility in the early twentieth century, run by the eccentric Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Very good cast (Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Broderick, Bridget Fonda, John Cusack, Dana Carvey, Lara Flynn Boyle, Colm Meaney, Traci Lind, Michael Lerner, John Neville and more). Of course, Dr. Kellogg was real, he was the inventor of corn flakes, as you might've guessed from his last name. He also was a bit of a health nut. This movie is based on a fictional novel about the guy, so take most of what you're seeing in this movie with a grain of salt. Overall I enjoyed it. It was some light entertainment but that's what I was looking for. So I can recommend it.
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The book, by T. Coraghessan Boyle (who later switched to the less peacocky name T.C. Boyle), is also very good. He's a wonderful writer.
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Gorillas in the Mist (1988) the fascinating (and controversial) life of Dian Fossey in its movie iteration.
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I watched that movie so long ago I didn't even know there was controversy.
As always we are quick to judge and demonize poachers who kill and orphan wild animals to feed their own families when we really should be going after the massive networks who sell the animals to the uber rich for pets for nothing else but greed and the movie is surely guilty of that, although I guess they were more trying to show that she made her share of enemies than to show the extent of her "scare tactics" with the locals.
It's a great movie with a great performance though. And a rare 80ies movie that stands the test of time
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Since the 80s the image of Dian Fossey's work was tarnished from a multitude of other allegations regarding her treatment of presumed poachers, and other people around the camp. Even her own workers. I think that she was a very complex person in a very complex situation, and must be viewed as that. Not a saint, not exactly a sinner either.
EDIT: Great movie thou. Her book is also very engaging.
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I agree. And the movie makes an effort to show she drew a very hard line at what she considered unacceptable without trying to excuse her behavior I thought. Sad to think the movie probably would never have been made in the 21st century. Complexity and human weakness gets in the way of accomplishments now. We just can't seem to accept that people can do great things and be flawed human beings at the same time.
Shame Weaver had to net that nomination on the same year Jodie Foster was in the Accused because she really would have deserved awards for that movie and she didn't get many opportunities for various reasons later on.
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I think this is the best era for nuanced and interesting stories. Just not from Hollywood as often as before.
From my letterboxd, somewhat popular movies that are like that, I can recommend:
Memoir of a Snail, Godzilla Minus One, American Fiction, Perfect Days, The Holdovers, Fallen Leaves, Anatomy of a Fall, Robot Dreams, Mars Express, Banshees of Inisherin... Plenty of amazing movies from the last couple of years.
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Just not from Hollywood as often as before
Oh that's for sure. And even before, studio movies were not really known for nuanced stories.
I loved Memoir of a Snail. I was gutted it didn't win that Oscar, mostly because it might have exposed a few more people to the movie and it's important movie. Flow is good but it's more on the conventional metaphor side.
American Fiction was everything I was hoping it would be. Jeffrey Wright has been one of the most underrated working actor for decades.
I've also watched Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and Banshees. The rest, I'm adding to my watchlist, thanks for the recommendations.
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The Lobster (2015)
Very interesting comedic dystopia with Colin Farrell as the lead, I gave it a 7/10.
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Such a weeeeeird good movie. By Lanthimos standards it's rather tame as weird goes but it's still very odd in the best possible way.
A nice parable about love in our modern societies with great performances by Farrell and Weisz
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Haven't seen any of Lanthimos' other movies surprisingly, seeing as I've heard of many of them.
I do however agree with the 2 other points :)
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I loved The Favourite, though The Lobster is a close second.
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The Monkey (2025)
Very disappointing “horror comedy” movie, a movie without any horror and limited comedy death scenes. The plot is messy and incoherent, and it is very noticeable early on and throughout the movie.
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Killer Elite (2011)
Australian-British-American action thriller film. It's about a retired special ops soldier who must return to a life of danger and confront his past after his mentor is kidnapped by mercenaries. Good cast (Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, Clive Owen, Yvonne Strahovski, Dominic Purcell, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ben Mendelsohn and more). I'm usually not a big fan of action movies, but this one was quite okay. What's almost more interesting is the question wether Sir Ranulph Fiennes (who wrote the novel this is based on) made it up (which some of the families of the people who are portrayed in the novel and movie say) or if it's actually based on documents he got from them (which others say). Who knows? All in all this was not bad and if you like action movies you'll probably like this one, too. Can't recommend to everyone but if you think you'd like this you probably will.
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I had avoided this one due to terrible ratings and reviews but thought I was in the mood for a thriller and it couldn't be as bad as people said. Oh boy, was I wrong. Even Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams are terrible in the movie and they're actresses who have proven they can act in way tougher parts so I can only put it down to the laughably bad lines and direction of the movie.
The whole thing is about as thrilling as an SNL skit and about as erotic as a parody of 50 shades of grim.
I can't help but wonder what happened to Brian de Palma. It's like his talent just disappeared at the beginning of the 21st century.
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Dead Talents Society/鬼才之道 (2024)
Taiwanese horror comedy film. It's about a rookie ghost in a fictional underworld where ghosts can linger in the mortal realm by competing to haunt humans as she embarks on a journey to find her own uniqueness under the tutelage of a passionate agent and a washed-up diva. Very creative and fun concept and very well executed. It plays on urban legends, the afterlife, competition shows, it's funny, it's scary, it's well written and acted. All in all very entertaining. Highly recommended.
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Wicked
FINALLY I don't have to feel like the only person that hasn't seen this.
As a movie, the presentation was great. As a musical, it wins over all.
Not the greatest musical movie I have ever seen, but up there. Fiddler on the Roof has the distinction of being number one.
All in all, a 7/10
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Big Nothing (2006)
British-Canadian black comedy crime film. It's about a frustrated, unemployed professor who joins forces with a scammer and a friend of his in a blackmailing scheme. Good cast (Simon Pegg, David Schwimmer, Alice Eve, Jon Polito, Julian Glover and more). It's a fun movie with a few twists and a runtime under 90 minutes, so overall I can recommend it.
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The Departed (2006)
Somehow I've postponed watching this for a few years now and having watched it now I see why it gets so much hype.
Yet another banger by Scorsese. The fact that it felt like less than 2 hours to me with a runtime of a bit over 2.5 hours goes to show how engrossing and thrilling this movie was. Definitely a 9.5-10/10.
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Snatch (2000)
British-American crime comedy film. It's about the search for a stolen diamond and a small-time boxing promoter who finds himself under the thumb of a ruthless gangster who is ready and willing to have his subordinates carry out severe and sadistic acts of violence. There are two intertwined plots and they sometimes cross paths in very funny and unexpected ways. Great cast (Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones, Benicio del Toro, Alan Ford, Stephen Graham (who was also brilliant in the recent Netflix miniseries Adolescence which I can highly recommend; just a little sidenote), Jason Flemyng, Dennis Farina, Ewen Bremner and more) who all deliver very good performances. Overall this is justifiably considered an excellent piece of cinema. It's beautifully British, has lots of fascinating characters, the intertwined plotlines are very captivating; the action, the comedy, the soundtrack, the cinematography, the editing, everything about it is just really good. Highly recommended!
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If you enjoyed that one, Lock, stock and two smoking barrels is 'a must', and maybe rocknrolla
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Ponyo (2008)
Japanese animated fantasy film. It's about a goldfish who escapes from the ocean and is helped by a five-year-old human boy after she is washed ashore while trapped in a glass jar and ss they bond with each other, desires to become a human girl, against the devastating circumstances brought about by her acquisition and use of magic. I'm probably saying this every time I'm watching a Studio Ghibli movie, but it's beautiful. Not just the art and animation, but the story too. Magical, you could say. Overall this might be one of the weaker Ghibli movies but it's still very good and I can definitely recommend it.
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The Monkey (2025)
American black comedy horror film. It's about two twin brothers whose lives are turned upside down by a cursed toy monkey that causes random horrific deaths around them. The deaths in this are very creative, but at a certain point it just starts to feel kinda repetitive. Just a death, barely any story, the next death and so on. Sure, those deaths are entertaining but overall I guess I just expected more. But if you just want to turn off your brain and watch something, I can recommend this.
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Hot Rod (2007)
American comedy film. It's about a self-proclaimed stuntman who's preparing for the jump of his life to raise money for his abusive stepfather Frank's life-saving heart operation. Rewatched this yesterday and it's still really good. Highly recommended.
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Here we go, I'll start.
Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (2010) - This movie is a joke. At first it's interesting, then it's boring and then it's just funny/pathetic. And they put it in a "horror" genre. Words are not sufficient. Nosferatu is turning in his grave. 3/10
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