One day while working out in the fields a plowboy accidentally unearths skeletal remains of some form of creature he cannot explain.  When returning with the town judge to investigate the discovery they find no trace of these remains.  The 17th century farming community thinks nothing of the plowboy's claims but soon after a cult of teenage devil-worshippers emerge, led by temptress Angel, intent on performing human sacrifices in an effort to bring the skeletal demon back to life.  Piers Haggard's The Blood of Satan's Claw is a moody, atmospheric horror film that is really a textbook example of how less tends to be more in horror films.  Throughout The Blood of Satan's Claw we see depictions of many gruesome sequences of violence yet most of the gore and bloodshed are never shown on screen.  Haggard uses fantastic sound design to create the tension and horror of the situation and in doing so lets the viewers imagination do the rest.  This decision pays off in spades throughout the film creating an atmospheric tension that is far more effective than gore porn.   A superbly directed film, The Blood of  Satan's Claw is shot in this pseudo-voyeuristic way aiding in putting the viewer into the world of these characters, who begin to question who can be trusted and who already has 'the mark of the beast".  My only real complaint with the film is that the plot becomes a little too dense for my liking, with many characters and narrative threads that really never felt necessary.  In the  end, The Blood of Satan's Claw is an entertaining, creepy and effective horror thriller that is part demonic possession, part witch hunt.
7.5/10

Using Rome as its backdrop, Woody Allen's To Rome With Love is an ensemble comedy taking place in, and celebrating one of the world's most enchanting cities.  The ensemble consists of a well-known American architect who returns to Rome to revisit his youth, an average middle class man who out of nowhere becomes a major celebrity, a young loving couple who are pulled in separate directions by romantic encounters, and a retired American whose work as a record producer is reinvigorated after meeting a mortician with a golden voice.  While Woody Allen's recent films pale I comparison to his early work, Midnight in Paris withstanding, To Rome With Love is a funny and charming
experience even if it doesn't have anything particularly profound or interesting to say.  There is a charm to this film that many of Allen's other recent films lack, with this sort of genuine feel of affection among the characters which hasn't been common in recent years.  All of the characters that make up this ensemble are interesting, and Allen does a superb job of casting,  particularly with Alec Baldwin and Roberto Benigni, who are pretty much perfect in their respective roles.  Obviously being an Allen film the story is at least unique and never generic, making it at least a nice way to burn two hours.  To Rome With Love is certainly a film that follows the recent trend of his late work being less profound but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the experience.
7/10

Despite the constant denial by leaders of the free world, the existence of MegaForce, a phantom army of super elite fighting men whose weapons are the most powerful science can devise, has officially been confirmed.  Megaforce is all about preserving freedom and justice around the globe so when a third world dictator threatens this, Megaforce led by their leader Ace Hunter, springs into action.  Hal Needham's Megaforce is an incredibly cheesy, at times nonsensical, action film which certainly wears its patriotism on its sleeve.  Many seem to classify a film like Megaforce in the "so bad it's good" category and while the film does consist of some of the most abysmal blue-screen and miniature work I've seen, I'm not sure I would go that far.  I found it surprising just how poorly paced Megaforce was, leaving me checking the time far too often.  This stems from the fact that the plot of Megaforce is simplistic and yet nothing seems to really happen outside of a few scenes of  conflict towards the end of the film.  What I did enjoy a lot was the insane dialogue throughout this film which is incredibly cheesy and at times nonsensical.  One of my favorite moments being when Ace Hunter is asked about his relationship with an old ally who went rogue.  He explains:  "I was so close to getting him back on our side, but then he stole my lighter".   Yep, this is the type of stupidity this movie brings to the table.  Megaforce features a much more colorful palette then I ever  would of expected, using bright blue, purple and red at different times to create this odd, almost scifi-esque experience.  Honestly Megaforce is a film which I have a hard time reviewing cause I don't think it reached the "awfully good" tag, yet I couldn't help enjoy that an elite fighting force uses spandex as their uniform. 
6/10

et in a post-apocalyptic future, Warm Bodies follows R, a highly unusual zombie who desperately desires to be able to connect with people again.  While out searching for human flesh with a group of his fellow zombies he encounters Julie, a human out for supplies, who he ends up rescuing from a zombie attack.  It takes some getting used too but Julie begins to realize that R is not a typical flesh eating zombie, with the two forming a relationship in their struggle to survive.  Jonathan Levine's Warm Bodies is a rather  unique romantic comedy that does a pretty good job at satirizing the typical tropes of the zombie genre.  R's blank stares at Julie are quite hilarious and the film does a great job at taking this typical zombie character and using it as a great device to capture the shy, awkwardness which exists in young love when a crush develops.  While aspects of the film are well done, the film is wildly inconsistent in the world it sets from the outset.  For starters, R develops the ability to speak with Julie far too fast in the film.  We see this visual "heartbeat" trigger which establishes R's change long after he initially begins to talk to Julie which just didn't make sense.  Another example would be the flashback sequence where we see how Julie's deceased ex-boyfriend, Perry, lost his father.  In the sequence the zombies are shown in a light more similar to the 28 Days Later flesh-eaters, yet the first 15 minutes of the film set-up that the zombies in this film are of the lethargic variety.  Too some these issues are certainly trivial but I really don't like when films lack consistency in the world they create.   My other big issue with Warm Bodies was how Julie's father, General Grigio, was such a one-dimensional character.  He is a character which we are supposed to feel sorry for and understand his hatred for zombies yet the film never spends the necessary time to develop this aspect which leaves him coming off more like a caricature.  Jonathan Levine's Warm Bodies is certainly a unique and cute romantic comedy but not enough time was spent on setting up the world and the supporting characters for me to be much into the experience.
5.5/10

After being setup on a job which left his partner dead, James Bonomo, a long time hit man, will do whatever it takes to find the men responsible. This leads James into an unlikely alliance with a D.C detective who suspects corruption stemming from the very top.  Walter Hill's Bullet In The Head is a stripped down, no nonsense action film that succeeds far more than it fails because of
its old school approach.  The narrative of Bullet in the Head is rather generic, a rather typical corruption at the top storyline, but the film is fast-paced and the action is refreshingly simplistic while being brutal and aggressive.  Hill wastes very little time on exposition, opting instead to throw the viewer right into the story and I believe this decision really makes the generic nature of the story almost irrelevant.  The relationship between these two men, a cop and hitman, is another strong attribute of Bullet In The Head, almost being an anti-buddy cop film.  These two men really don't like each other all that much and have a completely different viewpoint on morals which makes their interactions a lot of fun.  There is a great dichotomy at work: old school vs. new school, cop vs. hitman, that in a way one finds themselves questioning how their "partnership" will end.  I'm not gonna pretend this is a great film as there is plenty I found silly, like the
unneccessary voice-over/narration for example, but I couldn't help but enjoy watching these characters, especially Bonomon .  In the end Bullet in the Head is nowhere near Hill's 80s efforts but its a nice, stripped down throwback action film that is an enjoyable bit of masochism.
7.75/10