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chlobell · 3 years

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meet chloe bell // welcome to solaris bay.

the basics //

full name : chloe michelle bell birthdate & zodiac : june 27th, 1991 & cancer gender & pronouns : female & she/her sexuality : bisexual occupation : producer for mtv, currently working on solaris bay reality show. hometown : solaris bay, new jersey family : roger bell ( father ), andrea bell ( mother ), clara bell ( half-sister, older ), [ male ] ( fiancee, dating since 2017 )

deeper dive //

hobbies : FILMING - there wasn’t a time in her life where chloe didn’t have a camera in her hand - as a kid, she used their old video camera to record birthdays, events and the street they lived on, feeling safer behind the camera with a view finder between her and the rest of the world. these days, her filming is primarily done for social media posts, but sometimes she still picks up her old video camera and shoots slices of life that happen around her. SINGING - no one’s going to give her any money for it, but chloe always loved to sing. she joined the chorus in middle school, and stuck through all the way to college when she stopped her sophomore year. these days, it’s mostly with the radio or her iPhone, but she loves karaoke nights with friends and blasting older music to sing along wtih. SKATEBOARDING - though she doesn’t get to do so as an adult as often, chloe loved skateboarding as a kid and teenager. she was often found at the skatepark during her high school years, and while most wouldn’t suspect it of her, she’d managed to learn quite a number of tricks over the years. she did break her leg when she was 16 from the hobby, which slowed her down considerably, but every now and again she’ll pull her board out from the closet and find a place to skateboard around the neighborhood again. COOKING - in the bell house, it was practically a pre-requisite to learn how to cook. andrea taught both of her daughters from a young age how to prepare food, primarily creole from louisianna where she herself had been born and raised. while clara took to it quicker and easier and with more passion, chloe still remains an excellent cook who loves to entertain her friends with her dishes.

favorites : food - meatloaf & mac and cheese drink - chardonnay or mountain dew movie - moulin rouge! song - move along ( all american rejects ) color - orange & purple habits : no cigarettes / socially drinks alcohol / no drug use nervous ticks include rambling until someone tells her to be quiet, tucking her hair behind her ears, twisting her thumb between her fingers, and licking her lips. loves : homecooked meals, her family, her niece, pampered spa days, shopping at thrift stores, the summer, the beach, whales, 2000′s era pop punk, her fiancee, romance novels, board games, filming, and listening to people’s life stories. fears : fire, hospitals, and losing her phone talents : film, skateboarding, cooking, hula hooping and predicting the weather

appearance //

height : 5′9″ tattoos : a small butterfly adorns her right shoulder, a drunken choice she got with her college roommate while on spring break her junior year. scars : a scar from her appendicitis when she was 14 is on her stomach, and a broken leg bone left a scar from where she fell over skateboarding as a teen. piercings : she has her ears pierced, usually donning simple gemstones in the holes unless she needs to dress up for an event, and has a simple stud in her left nostril. hair : though she went wild with different colored streaks in her hair as a teen, she primarily keeps her locks at a medium length, usually just past her shoulders, with a light blonde highlights into her dark locks and a wavy curl to look sophisticated and stylish while being as low maintenance as possible. fashion : clothing - between work and her personal life, her clothing attire can vary - sometimes she’s donning suits in bright colors of pink or yellow, other times it’s ripped jeans and converse. she has to ensure she can look professional for meetings at the office, but trendy when dealing with her clients and the people around her, and it’s a dichotomy she takes in stride. her favorite outfit is a simple hot pink dress - one she’s worn for most important events over the past few years, including the premier of solaris bay and her subsequent engagement that happened that same night. shoes - while she’s already tall, chloe adores wearing heels. she’s grateful to be around people who don’t mind when she throws on stilettos and climbs to 6′ - it helps her feel powerful, especially in a room full of men she may tower over. in her downtime, though, she’ll usually grab a pair of sneakers - converse or vans, though she uses addidas to exercise ( when she forces herself to do so ).

bio //

most could claim that chloe bell lived a charmed childhood; the only ( biological ) daughter of the local chief of police and a local restauranteer, she and her older sister clara grew up in the suburbs of solaris bay, attending clover street all the way until their graduation of solaris bay high twelve years later. an active member of their church community, a soccer player and an avid filmmaker, it didn’t come as any surprise to anyone when chloe managed to snag a near full scholarship to rutgers to explore filmmaking.

the goal was simple: become an award winning movie maker, focusing on niche topics and documentaries who got to travel around the world and visit sundance and tribecca, always with a new beau and a new movie in mind.

it was harder than it sounded, though, and chloe almost dropped out her sophomore year. crawling back home, she took classes at the local community college until she felt confident enough to go back - while it took her five years to get her diploma, it hangs proudly in her home office in new york city.

or, rather, it did, along with all her dreams. but becoming a filmmaker is easier said than done - these days, anyone with an iPhone can classify themselves a filmmaker, and while getting stories out of people as she set up shop in various bars was easy enough, the money never quite came together, and working various jobs to make ends meet in the tiny brooklyn apartment she shared with five others never seemed to be as satisfying as she hoped it would. instead, she landed a job at mtv - as an intern, working her way up until she landed a role she could feel comfortable with : producer.

reality tv was the bane of her existence, but she found something she could market herself as - the confidante to those on screen, edging them into particular circumstances those behind the scenes wanted more. but when the opportunity brought her back home, chloe tried to find any way out of it.

unfortunately, a hometown girl behind the scenes was exactly the kind of thing mtv wanted from their new show. and so she packed her bags, kissed her fiancee goodbye, and found a condo in solaris peak.

it’s not a glamorous job by any means - she’s often working 16 to 18 hour days when they’re filming, and in the off season she’s stuck recruiting new cast members, interviewing people for their web series, and coming up with plans for the next season. and being home should be joyous - she’s missed her parents, and her old friends, of course - but running into her exes, and more importantly, her sister, makes her want to crawl back to new york city and never return.

the bell family was perfect, after all. but only from the outside - and only if chloe and clara stayed far, far away from one another.

#mcb #a time to mourn and a time to dance ( aes )#there's nothing holding me back ( self )#show what you got ( abt )#©

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lambychop · 5 years

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Ultimate Horror Flick List

I know this isn’t usually my style, but 🎵it’s the most wonderful time of the year🎵

That’s right: it’s the spoopy month! Which means SPOOPY MOVIES

So I present to you:

IRONICENIGMA’S ULTIMATE HORROR FLICK LIST FOR ALL TYPES OF FILM LOVERS

1) For the Gore Hounds

•Saw series- the classic films for the guys who just wanna see some people get ripped to shreads (honestly, after the second one, they go downhill)

•Jigsaw- the more recent edition to the Saw series (this ones actually pretty good and FULL of gore)

•Hostel- Saw Studies Abroad (TM)

•Final Destination series- kinda a dumb one. The movies can be kinda dumb, but the kills are INSANE. Fun movies to watch with the gang

•Texas Chainsaw Massacre- you know it, you love it, I don’t gotta explain it

•Cannibal Holocaust- seriously messed up. Banned in multiple countries. It’s something special.

•The Midnight Meat Train- lesser known, kinda weird, super bloody

•Cabin Fever- gross disease makes you loose your skin. Nasty

•Wrong Turn- basically The Hills Have Eyes but with funner kills

2) The Classic Slashers

•Scream series- one of my faves. Classic story of small town teens with a killer on the loose. Lots of fun

•Friday the Thirteenth- do I have to tell you why this is here?

•Nightmare on Elm Street- Johnny Depp getting turned into a volcano of blood? I’m in.

•Halloween- can’t have Halloween without the movie that took the name, right?

•My Bloody Valentine (the original one)- one of my all time favorite movies. Creepy killer, great group of characters, great time

•Sleepaway Camp- infamous for its batshit ending. Kinda weird ngl, but a classic

•The Town That Dreaded Sundown- Based on a real killer. Oldie, but goodie

•Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon- different take on the slasher genre. Fun look into the life of a movie slasher

•You’re Next- badass female lead? Check. Masked murderers? Check. Family bonding? Uh sure okay

•I Know What You Did Last Summer- secrets are bad. Roll credits

3) Supernatural (demons, ghosts, etc)

•The Conjuring- it’s pretty popular, you know it

•Insidious- also popular. Moral: your body is a ghost hotel

•Sinister- classic demon: likes kids, likes brutal deaths, likes to appear in the background of pictures

•The Exorcist- obviously

•Lights Out- ghosts are scared of light, that’s all you need to know

•The Sixth Sense- not really scary. Actually pretty wholesome. In an “I see dead people” kinda way

•The Rite- priest Anthony Hopkins coughs up nails

•The Omen- aka don’t trust kids

•1408- haunted hotel room. Someone call the ghoul bois

•The Amityville Horror- based on true events. Well at least we know the murders were real and the house is creepy

•The Skeleton Key- Old People+Voodoo= bad time

•Haunting In Connecticut- also a “true” story. Don’t buy a house that used to be a morgue

•The Autopsy Of Jane Doe- boy bonds with dad over dead teenage girl

•Mama- moths are gross, ghosts are worse. Dead Mom from Beetlejuice, but now a movie

•Rosemary’s Baby- dont trust thy neighbor

•The Shinning- classic. That’s all I’ve got to say

•The Orphanage- again: creepy kids

•Stir Of Echos- Kevin Bacon sees ghosts. Must I say more?

•The Others- haunted house story with a twist ending

4) Creature Features

•Trick ‘r Treat- classic Halloween film. Fun, creepy, iconic

•The Ritual- camping trip turns bad. Monster looks really cool

•A Quiet Place- you’ve probably seen it. Jim from the office speaks sign language

•The Babadook- children’s storybook is not kid friendly

•Backcountry- bears are dangerous

•Alien- you’ve seen this already but it needs to be here

•The Descent- dont watch if your claustrophobic

•An American Werewolf In London- also a fave. Best werewolf movie ever made

•The Monster- lesser know, actually pretty good

•The Thing- classic. Super good. Based on a short story. No one can be trusted because you don’t know if they’re even them

5) Horror Comedies

•Zombieland- hysterical. Bloody. Great cast

•Cabin In The Woods- this movie is insane. Combine every horror monster ever, the Illuminati, and the Office- that’s this movie

•Shaun of the Dead- the classic horror comedy

•Scary Movie series- less horror, ridiculous comedy

•This Is The End- again, like no horror, but one of the funniest films ever

6)Found Footage (not a great genre, but some can be pretty entertaining)

•The Blair Witch Project- basically the king of the found footage films. You’ve seen it

•The Conspiracy- the Illuminati is real and they don’t like to be filmed

•Paranormal Activity series- kinda annoying to horror fans. Relies on jump scares and the characters are idiots. But if I’m doing a section on foud footage, this has to be here

•Creep- okay this movie actually really disturbed me. People are absolutely insane. Don’t meet up with people from Craigslist

•V/H/S series- basically a anthology of short horror films. Kinda fun

•Apollo 18- the government faked the moon landing because they found some crazy shit

•The Sacrament- Jonestown caught on camera

•As Above So Below- Paris Catacombs are wack

•Grave Encounters- what if Ghost Adventures actually found ghosts

•Unfriended Dark Web- lets be honest: the first one sucked. Second one is actually not bad. Take away the ghosts, add the black market

•The Poughkeepsie Tapes- lesser know, can be hard to find. Really disturbing. Basically watching a serial killer tape his crimes

•Cold Ground- Set up to look just like it’s out of the seventies. It’s pretty fun

•The Last Exorcism- priests are liers

•Quarantine- English version of [REC]. I wouldn’t say it’s great, but it’s something

•Hell House LLC.- kids set up a haunted house. People die

•The Houses October Built- again with the haunted houses. Don’t trust em

•The Bay- Cabin Fever but found footage-y

•Willow Creek- y’all gotta leave Bigfoot alone

•Lake Mungo- girl drowns, family sees her ghost. No jump scares with this one, like most found footage. Mostly just a family in mourning

•The Tunnel- if the government says to stay out, STAY OUT

•The Taking Of Deborah Logan- alzheimers itself is awful to go through, but let’s add some more spooks

•The Possession Of Michael King- another possession film? Yep they just keep comin

•The Last Broadcast- suspicious murder of tv hosts

6) Family Fun

•Hocus Pocus- okay obviously

•Beetlejuice- dark humor in a “kids” film. Most of the comedy caters to adults, but it’s an awesome film

•Corpse Bride- guy accidentally marries dead girl. Wholesome family fun

•The Nightmare Before Christmas- my fave Disney film. Super cute

•Frankenweenie- dead dog=goodest boy

•Paranorman- sixth sense but now for kids+zombies

•Coraline- Might scar some small children, but I loved it when it came out when I was 8

7) Psychological

•Midsommar- happy cult family holds a festival

•Funny Games- home invasion movie done well. No cheap thrills, just some sadistic shit

•The Strangers- dont answer the door for people wearing masks when it’s not Halloween are you crazy

•The Perfection- artistic, bloody, absolute mind fuck

•Gerald’s Game- sexy time turns not good

•Unsane- imagine being stalked and no one believes you. That’s the premise

•Triangle- ummmmmmmm wtf is happening what time is it??

•It Comes At Night- trust is bad. Paranoia is good.

•The Silence of the Lambs- my personal favorite film. Serial killer helps rookie detective find another serial killer

•Jacob’s Ladder- Vietnam vet struggles with EXTREMELY terrifying visions

AND THERE YOU GO. I have seen plenty more, so if you don’t see one you’d like on this list, hit me up with what kinda movie you’re lookin for and I’ll hook you up amigo

#halloween #horror #movies #movie recommendation #horror movies

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english211portfolio · 6 years

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Genre Analysis Research Paper

Docufictions or mockumentaries have been around since video content began. Some of them were created to be fun and lighthearted some were meant to create a viral media storm and others were made simply to make people believe they were true. Over the last few years this genre has evolved from April Fool’s day news pranks about spaghetti harvesting to two hour long television specials about mermaids and eight season long series about a fake paper company (Miller 19). There are many forms of mockumentaries such as game shows, fake news stories, docufictions, and even written books. In the film and television versions of docufictions or mockumentaries the characters often break the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience as if you are watching them in real time. There is no illusion of these characters living in a separate time away from the audience. As an audience member you are engaged by the characters most, if not all, of the time throughout the film or television show.

When you turn on Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel to watch a nature documentary you expect to learn about something. This something is usually backed by experts and scientists and data and evidence. You would never think a documentary would deceive you. What if it did? Instead of watching a documentary about factual creatures of planet earth you watched a mockumentary or a docufiction. This type of content is meant to deceive you, to make you think you are watching a true documentary but it is not at all. Two of the most popular docufictions are Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives and Mermaids: Body Found. Their titles lead you to believe an amazing discovery has been found. Giant sharks are probable since there is sill 95% of the ocean that still has been unexplored by humans. Mermaids are mythological creatures often depicted as beautiful women with a fish tail instead of legs luring sailors into a watery grave. They are not and have never been proven to be real, their existence being attributed to sailors who were hallucinating due to lack of nutrition, but the two hour long special drew in one of Animal Planet’s largest audiences to watch these “scientists” uncover the false history of what they were calling aquatic apes. The show included CGI reenactments of how these creatures may have lived and what they would look like. They describe their food sources, how they would act if they encountered other real sea life, and their physical attributes. The cast dives into theories and explains them in detail as if the creature is just elusive and unable to be captured of filmed. In Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives the made up crew investigates a missing ship off the coast of Africa where they believe a prehistoric shark that has been extinct for at least 1.5 to 2 million years had been the culprit (NOAA). This docufiction is way more believable to the audience. The 60 ft. long Megalodon had actually existed and there is proof of enormous 7 inch teeth washed up on beaches and collected by scientists and museums. The problem is the whole docufiction is trying to convince you that this shark is still out there. Similarly The Last Dragon a special which aired on Animal Planet followed the same format using actors and fake information and data to make the audience think the frozen remains of a fire breathing dragon had been found. The show revealed a very well preserved creature that was excavated from ice. They have footage of scientists examining it in a lab and described theories about how this creature was able to fly despite their size and breathe fire because of a special organ in its neck. These docufictions do have small a disclaimer at the beginning of the show but it is easily missed and the footage and dialog from the people portrayed as experts are very convincing. The audience viewing these films were outraged when they discovered they were misled. People turn to these channels because they want to be informed and learn something. They are not looking for false facts and hypothetical situations about mythical creatures. Seeking out a fictional movie about dinosaurs or mermaids and watching a television channel with a reputation for facts and truth is the deciding factor in how you end up feeling about the content. There is a difference in attitude between watching something you know tells a fictional story and something you know is the truth.

A more lighthearted take on this genre comes from mockumentaries. These pieces of work are usually television shows or movies where the style is similar to a documentary, with interviews and a camera following the cast around but in this case the cameras are following scripted actors. One of the most popular television shows is The Office. In this show a crew follows the daily lives of the staff at a Pennsylvanian paper company. The cast acts like this is their real job and talk about their lives outside of work but it is entirely scripted. The company is not real and the people in the show are all actors. Similarly, Parks and Recreation is a Television show about another group of people working in an office and sharing their work and personal lives with a camera crew. It follows the same format as The Office. Unlike docufictions these pieces of work are funny entertainment. They are not trying to deceive you into believing extraordinary discoveries have been made. You know these people are just acting and it is not meant to make you think you are watching the absolute truth of how a paper company functions.

Go Ask Alice is a book published in 1971 as a journal published after the assume writer, a young girl, had taken her own life. This story followed a girl as she told her deepest secrets, experimented with drugs, homelessness, and other horrible situations until she ended her life. It was not true. This journal was not written by a girl who died but you are supposed to think here is no known author. Anonymous is simply written on the front and spine where the authors name would be. This deception further tries to trick its readers into thinking they are reading a true diary of a girl who’s grieving family doesn’t want to be known. Like many other pieces in this genre there is a lot of controversy around this book. It was used as a teaching tool in schools where there was a lot of push back due to the drug use and sexual descriptions. On one hand adults believed if kids read what horrible things can happen to you when you engaged in risky behavior they would be less inclined to act the same. On the other hand adults didn’t want kids exposed to such intense situations and thought it would have the opposite effect on them by glorifying the character. There are now five books following the same format as Go Ask Alice in the same way a journal was found after a teen or young adult had taken their life after a struggle with social issues like addiction, sexuality, or disorders. Additionally some books have a police report “scanned” into the last pages describing how paramedics found the dead author of the journal.

How did this genre come to be? Why does it create such dramatic opinions? So when a media channel you trust with reporting the truth puts out fake and mythological products it is disturbing. It is different than enjoying a work of fiction that you know is fiction. When you turn on a lighthearted television show about a fake paper company you, as the audience, are not nitpicking it to find fault. You know these are actors even if they are pretending not to be. The examples used in this research paper are all very specifically mockumentaries or docufictions but this genre, like most, have blurred edges. Take, for example, The Blair Witch Project which is a found footage horror movie that looks to be made by kids on a backpacking trip. Many would consider this movie to be a horror film but it is also a docufiction. Docufictions and mockumentaries can be combined with almost any genre from comedy to horror. It is up to the audience to look for clues that what they are watching comes from the mind of the writer and not the real world around them.

Works Cited

Bennett, Sid, director. Mermaids: Body Found. Darrow Smithson Productions, 2012.

Campbell, M. (2007). The mocking mockumentary and the ethics of irony. Taboo, 11(1), 53-62. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1650149231?accountid=13158

Glover, Doug, director. Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives. Pilgrim Studios, 2013.

Miller, Cynthia J. Too Bold for the Box Office: the Mockumentary from Big Screen to Small. Scarecrow P., 2012.

Sparks, Beatrice. Go Ask Alice. Prentice-Hall, 1971.

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rob-blog1234 · 6 years

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WEEKEND TV HOT FILM PICKS!

Check out my guide to the top films on TV this weekend, best of the rest and what to avoid at all costs. Enjoy!

LATE FRIDAY 24th NOVEMBER

HOT PICKS!

More4 @ 2100 Rush (2013) *****

You may see this film advertised on TV and think it’s not for you as you are not really a big fan of Formula 1…STOP. This film transcends a simple “sports film” and is a fantastic film for all. It’s a biography of F1 champion Nikki Lauda, specifically around the 1976 F1 season, focusing on the intense relationship between himself and arch rival James Hunt, we see the highs and the lows of one of the most competitive relationships in sporting history. Ron Howard has pulled out all the stops here and created something quite amazing, packed full of emotion, with characters you can really feel, combined with some of the best action facing sequences I’ve seen for a long time - Rush is a great success. Sit down, strap in and hold on tight.

Horror @ 0220 Let the Right One In (2008) *****

This is my favourite film of 2009 (UK release date). This amazing vampire drama from Sweden did suffer the indignity of a U.S remake “Let Me In” - but luckily they somehow pulled that one off - but here’s the original in all its glory. A thoroughly engrossing and touching film based on a superb book. Watch this! 5 Stars. It’s a dark love story set in Sweden. The bleak and snowy back drop compliments the pace and mood of the film. The sound, direction and acting are all perfect. I find it very difficult to find fault with any part of it. The relationship that is built between our two young lead actors is simply fascinating to watch, there’s so much realism. This is a tender and touching film but also subtly horrifying. The end of this film will stay with me for a long time. So much is said with so few words. It really leaves a mark on you. A truly great film.

Best of the rest:

TCM @ 2100 Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) *****

C4 @ 0005 Boyhood (2014) *****

ITV3 @ 0030 The Theory of Everything (2014) ****

TCM @ 2310 Goodfellas (1990) *****

Film4 @ 2310 Aliens (1986) *****

***SO BAD IT'S GOOD!***

Film4 @ 0215 Piranha DD (2012) * SO BAD IT'S GOOD!

I expected awful and even potentially unwatchable. I saw the reviews and prepared myself that I could even be angry with how bad this film would be... but would you believe it, it's not as bad as the majority say. This is a B-Movie that knows exactly what it is, doesn't apologise and really doesn't care. It makes no attempt to cover up its shortcomings, it uses them to its advantage. Don't get me wrong, this film isn't great, it's not even good but it just about squeezes in enough gratuitous wobbling body parts, awful jokes, ridiculous death scenes and, most importantly, appearances from Gary Busey and David Hasselhoff to make this throw away comedy better than you've read about in the press. If everyone understood this films place as well as its makers did, I think it would get a little less horrendous panning.

***AVOID AT ALL COSTS!***

W @ 2100 Dark Shadows (2012) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Dark Shadows marks a definitive end to my patience for the continuing dross being offered from the Burton / Depp camp. I fail to actually see who this film was supposed to be for. If it's for adults it's far too childish, if it's for kids there is far too much innuendo and sexual themes. I personally think it's was for Burton himself who seems to know he can somehow churn out whatever tickles his fancy and still get paid. Very disappointing indeed.

SATURDAY 25th NOVEMBER

HOT PICKS!

C4 @ 2100 Ex Machina (2014) *****

I can't believe this was Alex Garland's directorial debut. He was the writer on 28 days Later and Sunshine - so here's his directorial debut and it's unmissable. It's hard to even think this is his first film at the helm. The film oozes beauty in every shot - the clinical setting and awesome camera work produce some fantastic visuals in what is in essence a very tight and small set with 3 main characters in the most part. Ex Machina is one of the best Sci-Fi films to come out in recent years. It follows Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb, a 26 year old coder for the world’s largest internet company. He wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain retreat of the company CEO - Nathan (Oscar Issac). Nathan is a recluse and the social interactions between the two are fascinating. Caleb finds out that he is to participate in an experiment interacting with the world’s first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl played by Alicia Vikander. This is true Sci-Fi. It could very easily be set right now. It's only a matter of time before one of the big players launch something truly stunning. Thought provoking, brilliantly story telling that keeps your eyes glued to each interaction and the wonderful script wraps its way right through you. It lingers long after the credits roll. Don't miss this. Look out for the trailer for his next step into Sci-Fi that I for one am very excited about… Annihilation.

Horror @ 2100 The Descent (2005) *****

The best British Horror film of the noughties. Neil Marshall’s superb Brit Shock Horror “The Descent” is chilling, creepy and full of suspense. It’s packed full of shocks, not just run of the mill cheap tricks, these are great shocks, perfectly timed with fantastic twists. This was just what the genre needed. It withstands multiple watches and has become a firm favourite of mine. If all else fails… Stick The Descent on.

A group of young women go on a caving expedition that goes horribly wrong and they soon become lost in an uncharted cave system. As panic escalates they come across some strange and very dangerous creatures. Here begins a fight for survival. This is a very accomplished Horror that excels in all aspects; the relatively unknown cast are all superb and help along the back story nicely. The cinematography is second to none, capturing all the awkward angles of the confined spaces as well as the vast open space of the caves; the story is wonderfully layered and is excellently told. This certainly is NOT a cheap teen horror. Neil Marshall hit our radar with his 2002 debut “Dog Soldiers” which was a lot of fun and showed a lot of talent, but in 2005, he had obviously honed his skills and produced this dark, bloody and claustrophobic Horror with a fantastic story line. It has some beautifully executed twists that will stick in your mind for a long while. From the very off this film is set at full speed and rarely lets up - every time your adrenalin begins to drop you are thrown back into heart stopping tension and fantastic frights that all add up to one of the great Horrors of modern times. If you like Horror… Love this.

Best of the rest:

Film4 @ 1300 Field of Dreams (1989) *****

ITV2 @ 1850 Inception (2010) *****

TCM @ 2100 Goodfellas (1990) *****

ITV4 @ 2300 Full Metal Jacket (1987) *****

SUNDAY 26th NOVEMBER

HOT PICKS!

Sony @ 1630 Another Earth (2011) ****

Through all the improbabilities and implausible ideas in this elaborate work of fiction, Mike Cahill brings us a subtle, affecting and intimate story that takes place as we discover another planet, another Earth, getting closer and closer to our planet. An exact replica. This huge and admittedly outrageous Sci-Fi concept is merely a sub plot to the main event - It is a story of how two people meet and how their relationship, forged through tragedy, grows.

Brit Marling, who not only co-wrote this film but it is also her fantastic debut in the lead role as Rhoda, turns this light weight, low budget story of a tragic relationship into a serious heavy weight contender. This is no doubt the start of a great career for her. I still haven't managed to catch her in the 2012 release Sound of My Voice which I'm very much looking forward to.

The film does raise a ton of unanswerable questions but sensibly chooses to stick to its guns and focus purely on Rhoda, her decisions and the reasons for the path she takes. This emotionally charged Indie Sci-Fi fascinates and mesmerises with its subtle, slow pace, mysterious soundtrack and affecting performances.

C5 @ 2100 Fury (2014) ****

There are plenty of war films with the same old formula, and this film does follow a rather formulaic approach, but here we focus solely on a U.S. Sherman tank crew. Not since the amazing Kelly’s Heroes had I seen a film focus on these tanks. A history lesson in itself for the ignorant and uneducated - the Nazi Tiger tanks they are up against completely and utterly out gun them and with armour so strong - the Sherman’s found it extremely difficult to stop them. Comparatively this film is nothing like the almost light hearted, satirically barbed Kelly’s Heroes, here we have a film attempting to capture the realism of war, the death, the squalor and the sheer inhumanity. It does this very well.

It’s dark, rich colour palette and beautifully framed cinematography certainly keep your eyes glued to the screen. The poor Sherman crews did not have much hope. We are taken deep inside the belly of “Fury” the Sherman tank with crew of 5 led by Don “Wardaddy” Collier played by Brad Pitt. Never before have I seen such oddly perfect hair styling in a war zone since Clint Eastwood’s barnet in Where Eagles Dare.

The claustrophobia of the tank is captured really well but it also somehow creates space with every odd angle when we see times where this crew felt secure in their new found home. The performances are the icing on the cake here with everyone pulling out performances to be very proud of. Not a film that will survive a re-watch mainly down to its bleakness, but never the less a film I am very pleased to have seen.

Film4 @ 2320 The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) ****

Before McConaughey did anything good at a time when mediocrity saturated his filmography with sub-standard Rom-Coms and Sahara… I hate Sahara…. Anyway - Here we see him in a fantastic role as (you guessed it) a lawyer who works out of the back of his car - a Lincoln… See what they did there! I’m a sucker for a good court room drama and this is certain one of those. Plenty of twists. Stand out McConaughey. Great supporting cast. Don’t miss it.

Sony @ 2320 Sunshine (2007) *****

It’s been a while since this has graced our TV schedule. Don’t miss Danny Boyle’s splendid venture into the space Sci-Fi genre: Sunshine. I love this film. It pulls from so many influences from Science Fiction greats such as Alien, 2001, and even Event Horizon. The film is set 50 years in the future, a team of astronauts are sent on a mission to reignite the dying sun. They are Earth’s last hope of survival.

Sunshine relies heavily on the quality of the cast to drive this through and they all do a sterling job. Particularly Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans. They all capture the essence of how 16 months cooped up in a confined space must make you feel. The mission takes a turn when they find the original lost ship from a failed mission in a decaying orbit around the sun. This is the beginning of a string of unfortunate and strange events that put not only their lives but their mission to save the world as well.

Boyle dishes out some seriously tense scenes and towards the end of the film it changes from Sci-Fi to Horror as certain things are revealed. Although not everyone welcomed these changes, I think they worked really well and it was a good twist ultimately carrying film to conclusion. Sunshine is a thrilling and very gripping Sci-Fi feast from a great British Director. A must see film.

Best of the rest:

ITV2 @ 1605 Despicable Me (2010) ***

Film4 @ 1705 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) *****

C4 @ 1805 Men In Black 3 (2012) ***

TCM @ 2100 The Day of the Jackal (1973) ****

Sony @ 2100 Unbreakable (2000) ****

***AVOID AT ALL COSTS!***

Film4 @ 2100 Cowboys & Aliens (2011) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

First off - Ignore the cast. You would wrongly assume that a film with Harrison Ford / Daniel Craig / Sam Rockwell / Olivia Wilde / Paul Dano / Walter Goggins & Clancey Brown would at least be slightly watchable. You would be wrong. It may as well have cast Hugh / Pew / Barney McGrew / Cuthbert / Dibble & Grub. Disjointed, Unentertaining, dull and horribly boring - Nothing stands out here. I haven’t felt this disappointed in a “Western” since Wild Wild West and I’m still angry about the sheer existence of that grot. Why was this film even made?? Maybe it’s a cover for something bigger, maybe Money Laundering!!? - filtering money through the stinking bowels of this “film”…Who knows… What I do know - AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

BBC2 @ 2240 John Carter (2012) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

What an unfortunately boring waste of a colossal budget. Slap-dash, hurried and choppy story with some ludicrous ideas. We’ve seen enough special effects to now not be simply wow-ed by that alone. John Carter looks good but bored the hell out of me. AVOID!

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