Oliver Battershall

Die Hard 2 (1990) 4/5
Replicates the grubby, gripping and triumphant tone of the first movie brilliantly. A few issues aside (e.g. the acting ability of John Amos) this was a great time with memorable characters and a hefty dose of crowd-pleasing moments.

Shooters (2001) 3.5/5
A gritty little docudrama that feels like an homage to British New Wave Cinema. This all feels very real due to the work of the non-professional actors weaving together retellings of true stories. Every film I’ve seen that just uses normal people in the roles has had great performances, and I wonder if that’s more down to a rigourous casting process or high quality directing.

Space Sweepers (2021) 3.5/5
Although marred by clichés and some very dodgy performances from the English-speaking actors, this was still thoroughly enjoyable due to a solid core concept and its familiar yet entertaining tale of camaraderie. The wide array of languages spoken by characters was pretty cool. Sidenote, you know when shaky-cam is applied to a fully CGI shot to make it look handheld, with a zoom-in during the shot to boot, I HATE that!

The Arena (1974) 1.5/5
My single unflinching requirement for this Roger Corman production was for Pam Grier to stick it to the (Ro)Man for 81 fun minutes, but despite getting some of my wish during the final act, this was just very boring and poorly edited sleaze. To call this an exploitation flick would be too generous since there’s barely a drop of blood shed and every would-be moment of excitement or transgression was so tame.

The Bling Ring (2013) 1.5/5
Pairs with Spring Breakers for a double bill of annoying and stupid teenagers doing illegal stuff in the regrettable Early-2010’s YOLO Swag era of Western pop culture. In case you couldn’t tell, I don’t really like either of these films. At least I can say I felt something watching Spring Breakers. With this I barely have anything to pick out, it’s just privileged idiots being bad people with no discernible commentary beyond “This is bad, right?” The interview scenes taking place after the fact where every character explicitly explains any auxiliary message of the movie to you were the final straw.

Sidewalls (2013) 4/5
A really pleasant and unconventional romantic-comedy with some beautiful architectural shots. A thoughtful look into the introverted psyche in modern society.

Shock Corridor (1963) 4.5/5
A harrowing psychological thriller that powerfully holds a mirror to America’s fears, insecurities and flaws. Movies don’t have enough workaholic journalist characters willing to do anything to get the big scoop anymore.