Halloween

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  David Gordon Green
Screenplay:  Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill
Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, James Jude Gardner,
Running Time:  105 minutes
Genre:  Horror

On October 31 1978, serial killer Michael Myers (Gardner) went on a murderous rampage in the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois.  Forty years later, Myers is incarcerated in an institution and Laurie Strode (Curtis) who survived Myers' attack is a hardened survivalist, obsessed with Myers and the idea that he will return one day.  Her obsession has alienated her from her daughter (Greer), and granddaughter (Matichak).  Until Myers escapes while being transferred and returns to Haddonfield to finish what he started all those years ago.

This is technically the eleventh film in the Halloween franchise, including the 2007 remake by Rob Zombie, and it's 2009 sequel.  However, this hits the reset button being a direct sequel to Halloween (1978) and rewriting the entire chronology.  The idea that Laurie Strode is Michael Myers' sister which was introduced in Halloween II (1981) and has been canon ever since, is specifically stated here not to be the case.  Also, here, Michael Myers has been locked up for 40 years.  This is very much a traditional slasher film although it does have a 2018 makeover, Myers doesn't exclusively kill horny teenagers, here he kills pretty much anyone who he happens across.  He also expands his repertoire from exclusively slashing and stabbing to include hammers and banging people's heads against anything solid.  The film returns Myers to the enigmatic killer of the first film, and makes him less of a supernatural being, although he does have seemingly supernatural powers of strength and resilience.  Curtis is great as the traumatised Laurie as are Judy Greer and Andi Marichak as her estranged daughter and granddaughter.  The film benefits from a strong supporting cast, who make the characters more than just the typical faceless victims.  The film takes it's time to get going and does at times get bogged down in subplots that don't go anywhere.  However, while it is never exactly scary, it is tense and exciting and gory enough to appeal to fans without being violent enough to alienate more mainstream audiences.  It also has humour and some fun nods to previous films in the series (including a cameo from Nick Castle who played Michael Myers in the first film, and supplies some of Myers' sound effects here), and is certainly one of the best in the franchise.

Trick or Treat:  Michael Myers (James Jude Gardner) in Halloween

The Devils

Year of Release:  1971
Director:  Ken Russell
Screenplay:  Ken Russell, based on the book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley and the play The Devils by John Whiting
Starring:  Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrien, Gemma Jones,
Running Time:  103 minutes (original cut) and 117 minutes (restored cut)
Genre:  Drama, historical, horror

In 17th Century France, a convent of nuns in the small provincial town of Loudun, led by the hunchbacked, deeply repressed Sister Jeanne (Redgrave), fall victim to a bizarre hysteria, which is blamed on demonic possession.  The town's charismatic but controversial priest Urbain Grandier (Reed) is blamed, as the town falls victim to horrific mass exorcisms and a hysterical witch hunt, all of which is being carefully orchestrated by the highest powers in the land.

This is probably the most controversial film in writer/director Ken Russell's controversial career.  The film has been celebrated, despised and censored, and in fact a full uncensored cut of the film has never been released.  Given the film's lurid and still shocking violence and sexual imagery, it's easy to overlook the fact that it is a powerful and important piece of work, which has valid point to make about belief and the abuse of power.  It's based on true events that happened in Loudun in  1634, and it is notable that in the film the "possessions" are not supernatural, but are the product of Sister Jeanne's obsession with Grandier  and then whipped up by the state who want to discredit Grandier so they can demolish Loudun's protective walls.  The film's religious themes have proven problematic for censors, but there are deeply spiritual moments in the film (Russell was a practicing  Roman Catholic and he considered the film his "most Catholic" work).  The film is visually striking, the impressive sets were designed by future film director Derek Jarman.  There are times when the film goes so far over the top it just becomes ridiculous, with scenes of nuns rolling their eyes and lolling their tongues to sounds of bells, whistles and birds, as well as the insane exorcist (and David Bowie look-a-like) played by Michael Gothard and King Louis XIII (Graham Armitage) having shooting parties where the targets are people dressed as blackbirds.
This is one of those films which you will either hate or love but which you will not be able to easily forget.

Vanessa Redgrave in The Devils     

First Man

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  Damien Chazelle
Screenplay:  Josh Singer, based on the book First Man:  The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen
Starring:  Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas,
Running Time:  138 minutes
Genre: Drama, historical, biography,

This film tells the story of Neil Armstrong (Gosling) and the first manned mission to the Moon.  It opens in 1961 where Armstrong is a test pilot and culminates with the historical mission in July 1969.  Along the way it deals with Armstrong's relationship with his wife, Janet (Foy), and the personal and professional sacrifices and trials that were made on the way to the Moon.

Everyone is familiar with the Apollo Moon landing in 1969, the first step on the Moon is one of the most iconic images of all time, and the line "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," is one of the best known quotes in the world.  This film shows just how risky and dangerous it was.  Basically the astronauts were sitting in a tiny tin can on top of a missile, all of which was pretty much handmade at the time.  The film opens with Armstrong in the middle of a test flight, bouncing off the edge of the atmosphere, shot in fast, almost impressionistic images, from Armstrong's point of view wit constant rattling and roaring.  It's in the aerial and spaceflight sequences where the film soars (no pun intended), exciting, visceral with a genuine sense of wonder.  It captures the excitement of spaceflight and exploration, a time which is pretty much gone now, and it's probably as close as you will ever get to being in a space capsule.  The film depicts the training, and the sometimes fatal missteps along the way to the mission.   It also explores Armstrong's personal life.  Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong as a taciturn, emotionally distant man, it's hinted that he is deeply depressed following the death of his daughter.  As Janet Armstrong, Claire Foy carries the emotional heft of the film.  Having already buried a daughter, and seeing many of her friends and neighbours lose their husbands to the space program, she is very well aware of the risks involved and frustrated that Neil is so casual about it.  In one scene, she forces him to sit down and tell his kids that he may not come back, which he does as if he is at a board meeting.
This is a great film, and needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) in First Man