Frank's Movie Log

At the guarded border between North and South Korea, gunshots shatter the nighttime silence. Two North Korean soldiers lay dead in their guardhouse, as a South Korean soldier, bloodied and wounded, limps toward the south. Both sides mobilize troops and exchange gunfire. The next morning, accusations fly. South Korea claims the North abducted the soldier. North Korea claims the South Korean guard crossed the border and committed a massacre. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission calls in a Swiss investigator to discover the truth. Continue reading...

Sometimes a movie fails to live up to its potential. When a high-minded drama fails to resonate or an actioner fails to thrill, I feel burned. But when a slasher fails to exploit a forward-thinking social commentary, I’m more lenient. So it is with Valentine, the story of five grade-school friends, now young women, who find themselves stalked by an unknown assailant as Valentine’s Day approaches. Continue reading...

Twenty years ago, in a small Nova Scotian mining town, a cave-in trapped several miners. The men on watch were AWOL at a Valentine’s Day party, forcing the lone survivor to resort to cannibalism. After his rescue, the survivor donned his mining gear and murdered the negligent men. Since then, the town hasn’t celebrated Valentine’s Day.

Now a fresh group of young miners and their girlfriends want to have a Valentine’s Day party. Unbeknownst to them, someone wearing a miner’s outfit has begun offing locals. The mayor and sheriff keep the killings under wraps and cancel the party. But the frustrated miners move the party to the mine. Soon, the youngsters find themselves trapped underground with the killer. Continue reading...

After Kill List’s neo-noir horror, director Ben Wheatley pivots to black comedy with this story of Tina and Chris, a dysfunctional couple touring the English countryside in a camper. After an accident that sees them backing into a passing cyclist, the bodies pile up, testing the relationship. Continue reading...

Most remakes disappoint. Scarface proves an exception. It reimagines Howard Hawks’ 1932 gangster picture as a contemporary psycho-sexual thriller with terrific results. Continue reading...

Blind spots are dangerous. They can obscure critical flaws. But what makes them insidious is you often don’t recognize them. Continue reading...

I’m struggling with this review. On the one hand, I liked the story of four outcasts making their way across wild west Utah, pursued by a maniacal outlaw. The plot proved a surprising exploration of immoral versus evil. The cast engages and director Lucio Fulci and his cinematographer exploit the Austrian locales to present a heightened version of the frontier west that’s both beautiful and brutal.

And yet, it didn’t resonate. Perhaps it’s the dated folk-pop soundtrack. Perhaps it’s how Rob Zombie seems to have modelled his look after the film’s villain. Or perhaps it’s how the standard definition stream lends the film a false sense of cheapness. Whatever the cause, the film deserves a high definition rewatch.

Nightmares plague a group of suburban teens. A common figure haunts their dreams. He wears a tattered fedora hat and striped sweater. Burn marks cover his face and he has razor blades for finger nails. Continue reading...

Between body horrors Rabid and The Brood, director David Cronenberg made a pit stop in the world of minor-league drag racing. The film follows a crew travelling the northwest circuit. They’re sponsored by a motor-oil company repped by John Saxon. Conflict arises between the team’s drive to win and Saxon’s corrupt motives. Continue reading...

Ken Russell’s debut feature. James Booth plays Jim, a deckchair attendant in a dying English seaside resort. Alita Naughton plays his charming girlfriend, an American journalist who’s showing signs of outgrowing their small town. With his world threatened, Jim concocts a scheme to stage a film festival starring a French beauty. Continue reading...