Podcast: Ross And Phil Talk… Halloween Special (A week late!)

Podcast: Ross And Phil Talk… Halloween Special (A week late!)

by RossAndPhil Ross and Phil Talk Movies The Podcasts

 

On this episode of the podcast we deliver our Halloween Special (A week late!) as Ross returns to the podcast.  Yup it’s Michael Myers from strat to finish as we break down the Variety list of Worst to Best Halloween films. With a few other franchises in there for good luck!

Hosted by Award winning filmmaker Ross Boyask and blogger/writer/failed filmmaker Phil Hobden.

Films Discussed: Halloween, Halloween (2018), A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday 13th , IT, Evil Dead, Day Of The Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army Of Darkness, Bride Of Chucky

#RossAndPhil #RossAndPhilTalkMovies #MoviePodcasts #Podcasts

For more on Phil Hobden check out www.philhobden.co.uk , Twitter (@PhilQuickReview) and Instagram (RossAndPhilTalkMovies)
For more on Ross Boyask search @RossBoyask on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook

   

 

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Phil’s Top 5… Zombie Films!

Phil’s Top 5… Zombie Films!

by Phil Hobden Other Cr*p Top 5

Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five.   This time out: Zombie Films!

 

Close but no cigar: Night of The Living Dead, Return Of The Living Dead, Zombie Flesh Eaters

 

5 -Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
Zack Snider remakes a classic and makes an a film almost as good.   Great set pieces, excellent effects and fast zombies that really work. Just an excellent film.

 

4 -Day of The Dead
Day of The Dead is brutal.  From it’s gut ripping effects to it’s post-apocalyptic nialistic world stripped of hope this is one of the most oppressive horror films ever made.  And it’s brilliant.

 

3 – Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
Romeo made a stone clod classic in Dawn Of the Dead.  The fact that it exists in so many versions means you probably have never seen the whole film.  Romero’s cut,  An extended cut. The Fuci cut.  This aside Dawn is the grandfather of modern Zombie films and set the pace for all the imitators that followed.

 

2 – Shaun Of The Dead
Comedy horrors often fall flat.  Good low budget comedy horrors are rare as hens teeth.  Yet. Shaun of The Dead works.  Not just as a comedy but as, more importantly, a Zombie film.  It’s brutal and funny.

 

1 – 28 Days Later
Raw, stripped back and brutal, 28 Day’s Later isn’t technically a Zombie film according to Danny Boyle but it really it.  Introduced us to fast zombies/infected and proved that once again humans are more dangerous than the undead.  Unparalleled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dawn of The Dead (2004) – A Quick Capsule Review

Dawn of The Dead (2004) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
The 2004 remake of Dawn of The Dead is the template for HOW to remake a classic film.   Rather than just copy beat for beat, Snider (never known for his subtly) flips the tone, landing on a film that is as much action as it is horror.  And it works.  Yes for sure it has horror moments (Zombie baby anyone) but it’s in the action horror beats that the film really shines.  The cast do well (Rhames and Polly especially) and the fast zombies really helps the film keep a pace and sense of dread that older Zombie movies don’t always have. As a lover of Zombie films and Dawn of The Dead I was possibly the most cynical about this film.  But Snider delivered and the film remains highly watchable all these years later.

Best Bit: Gas canisters

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Buy

If You Liked this Try: Dawn of The Dead, Day Of The Dead, 28 Days Later 

★★★★★★★★★★


 

 

 

 

Patient Zero (2018) – A Quick Capsule Review

Patient Zero (2018) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Patient Zero is part 28 Days later, part Day Of The Dead. The problem is the film feels like a bottle episode of a TV series, created to save money, with almost no outside shots and an ending that just happens without really resolving anything.  Also considering the actors involved (Smith, Dormer) the acting is pretty rubbish, saved only by a really fun turn by  Stanley Tucci as a super infected.  There’s good idea here (although it treads very close to films we’ve seen before) but the films budget (or lack of) does little to help realise these ideas.

Best Bit: Stanley Tucci

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: 28 Days Later, Day Of The Dead, Train to Busan

★★★★★★★★★★


 

 

 

 

Ravenous – A Quick Capsule Review

Ravenous – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Ravenous is a unique take on the zombie movie, feeling more like a Canadian 28 Days Later than a plodding Dawn Of The Dead rip off.  This latest Netflix released exclusive delivers scares, shocks and surprises as a zombie plague ravages a rural Quebec town and a band of strangers are forced to band together to survive.  What you have is an admittedly low budget fair but highly effective with good use of it’s budget and effects.  Well worth a watch.

Best Bit: Smoke. Field. Dead.

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream (Netflix)

If You Liked this Try: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Day Of The Dead

★★★★★★★★★★

Day of the Dead: Bloodline – A Quick Capsule Review

Day of the Dead: Bloodline – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Day of the Dead: Bloodline isn’t quite as bad as I expected.  A “remake” of sorts of Romero’s superior Day Of The Dead, Bloodline suffers from a bad script, poor technical elements and weak acting.  It feels low budget.  That said where the money has gone shows – the effects are very good and actually at times even better than those on The Walking Dead (itself a rotting corpse of the show it used to be).  Those not precious about seeing Romero’s films remade may get a little out of this but at the same time theres very little new here.

Best Bit: The Effects

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Day Of The Dead, Dawn of The Dead, 28 Days Later 

IMDB Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★

 

Author: Phil Hobden

Phil’s Top 5… 1985 Films!

Phil’s Top 5… 1985 Films!

by Phil Hobden Other Cr*p Top 5

Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five.  This time out: Films from 1985.  Yup the golden years of movie.s

 

Close but no cigar: Enemy Mine, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, American  Ninja, Police Story

 

5 – Rambo: First Blood Part 2
Rambo is back and this time he’s unleashed in Vietnam, making a heroic return and on the look out for missing war veterans.  Chaotic, ridiculous action sequences and Stallone mumbling through ever scene follows.  It’s brilliant.

 

4 – Day Of The Dead
For me the Best of the original Romero trilogy.  With the dead now outnumbering the living and the remaining humans tearing each other apart you end up with most of the most claustrophobic and down beat horror films ever.  It’s not an easy watch but it’s a good one.

 

3 – Commando
One of Arnie’s most OTT entries (in a decade where OTT was the mantra), Commando is a joy to watch.  From self healing Porches to killer one liners, Commando is the action film of the 80’s.

 

2 – Back To The Future
Marty McFly, Doc Brown, The Delorian, 88 mph, the clock tower… the iconic images and moments just keep on coming.  Any other year back To the Future would have walked film of the year…

 

1 – The Goonies
… but this was the year of The Goonies, the Spielberg produced, Richard Donner directed epic that it just as perfect as an 80’s film could get.  Pirates, adventure, treasure, Giant octopuses (kinda) The Goonies has it all AND more. Epic.

 

 

My Favourite… George A. Romero Film

My Favourite… George A. Romero Film

by Phil Hobden My Favourite… Other Cr*p

As death continues it’s relentless march through the gifted and talented of TV and film, My Favourite… celebrates those we have lost by taking a look at a slice of their best work. Well sometimes best, sometimes just the one I like the most.

This time out: My Favourite…. George A. Romero (1940-2017) Film

[divider]

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985)

Zombies rule the world, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker in Florida. The scientists are using the undead in gruesome experiments; much to the chagrin of the military. Finally the military finds that their men have been used in the scientists’ experiments, and banish the scientists to the caves that house the Living Dead. Unfortunately, the zombies from above ground have made their way into the bunker.

Whilst Night of The Living Dead created the sub genre and Dawn Of The Dead cemented Romero’s subversive world view, for me it was always Day of The Dead that showed me what society would become should the apocalypse ever break out. It’s a brutal, nihilistic film with little hope or joy.  People die, the zombies win, humanity falls apart.  It was obsessed with this film.  Mix in some of the best practice effects i’d ever seen in a horror movie (Tom Savini take a bow) and a quotable script and you have one of the boldest, darkest films of the 80’s.  In later years Romero failed to come even close to this trilogy but even all these years later they and their influence hold up.

 

See also: Dawn Of The Dead, Night of The Living Dead

 

 

Phil’s Top 5… Zombie Films!

Phil’s Top 5… Zombie Films!

by Phil Hobden Other Cr*p Top 5

Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five.  This time out: Zombie Films!

Close but no cigar: Night of The Living Dead, Return Of The Living Dead, Zombie Flesh Eaters

5 – Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
Romeo made a stone clod classic in Dawn Of the Dead.  The fact that it exists in so many versions means you probably have never seen the whole film.  Romero’s cut,  An extended cut. The Fuci cut.  This aside Dawn is the grandfather of modern Zombie films and set the pace for all the imitators that followed.

4 -Day of The Dead
Day of The Dead is brutal.  From it’s gut ripping effects to it’s post-apocalyptic nialistic world stripped of hope this is one of the most oppressive horror films ever made.  And it’s brilliant.

3 – Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
Zack Snider remakes a classic and makes an even better film.  Just.  Great set pieces, excellent effects and fast zombies that really work. Just an excellent film.

2 – Shaun Of The Dead
Comedy horrors often fall flat.  Good low budget comedy horrors are rare as hens teeth.  Yet. Shaun of The Dead works.  Not just as a comedy but as, more importantly, a Zombie film.  It’s brutal and funny.

1 – 28 Days Later
Raw, stripped back and brutal, 28 Day’s Later isn’t technically a Zombie film according to Danny Boyle but it really it.  Introduced us to fast zombies/infected and proved that once again humans are more dangerous than the undead.  Unparalleled.

 

 

Birth of The Living Dead: A Quick Capsule Review

Birth of The Living Dead: A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Birth Of The Living Dead is an extended interview with Zombie godfather George A Romero about, unsurprisingly, the birth of the his original dead trilogy, the iconic Night of The Living Dead.  Even in his 70’s Romero is captivating, and the stories (whilst mostly heard before) are well told.  The film is reality simple but the analysis of the times racial politics against the films production paints a fascinating story of what, in the hands of a lesser director, could have been a total mess. Interesting then, if not essential.

Best Bit: Romero.  He’s still a fantastic interviewee.

Rent, Borrow, Buy, Stream: Rent

IMDB Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★

If you liked this try: The Hamster Factor (9/10); Full Tilt Boogie (8/10); Document of The Dead (7/10)