OCTOBER 2017 - FILMS + TV

Another cracking month's viewing - a couple more cinema outings and plenty of TV enjoyed! 

Killer Joe  (2011)

The darkest film I've seen Matthew McConaughey in. Not a particularly easy watch, but I liked it.

A cop (Matthew McConaughey) who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer (Emile Hirsch) in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister (Juno Temple).

Fargo Season 3 (2017)

Binge watched about the last 5 or 6 episodes. I enjoyed it, but the ending was slightly unsatisfying for me. Not as enjoyable as the first two series, but if there is a fourth - deal me in!

From Wikipedia.....The third season is set primarily between December 2010 and March 2011, in three Minnesota towns: St. Cloud, Eden Valley, and Eden Prairie, and is the only season to not feature the titular Fargo, North Dakota. It follows the lives of a couple, Ray Stussy (Ewan McGregor) and Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who, after unsuccessfully trying to rob Ray's brother Emmit (also played by McGregor), become involved in a double murder case. One of the victims is an old man with a mysterious past whose stepdaughter, Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon), is a policewoman. Meanwhile, Emmit tries to cut his ties with a shady organization he borrowed money from two years ago, but the company, whose employees include V.M. Varga (David Thewlis) and Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan), has other plans.

Security (2017)

A film with Antonio Banderas down on his luck after leaving military service. Starting a temporary job as a security guard at a shopping mall, he gets a chance to use his skills when a young girl in witness protection flees from a ruthless gangster after her minders get ambushed. Probably not winning any Oscars but I enjoyed it. Ben Kingsley oozes menace as the bad guy.

A mall security guard has to protect a female witness from a gang after they lose all forms of communication during a storm.

American History X (1998)

I hadn't realised this film was nearly 20 years old, as it seems quite relevant today. Popped up on the small screen and I was happy to record and view. Another film with a hard-hitting message. The two Edwards are very good - Furlong and Norton.

Living a life marked by violence and racism, neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) finally goes to prison after killing two black youths who tried to steal his car. Upon his release, Derek vows to change his ways; he hopes to prevent his younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps. As he struggles with his own deeply ingrained prejudices and watches their mother grow sicker, Derek wonders if his family can overcome a lifetime of hate.

The Snowman (2017)

Cinema trip number one and a crime thriller based on a Jo Nesbo book of the same name. I haven't yet read the book. Enjoyable enough and I wasn't demanding my entrance money back. Last time I saw Michael Fassbender was in an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. (Mac-shit in my opinion.) Maybe a 7 out of 10.

For Detective Harry Hole, the death of a young woman during the first snowfall of winter feels like anything but a routine homicide. His investigation leads him to "The Snowman Killer," an elusive sociopath who continuously taunts Hole with cat-and-mouse games. As the vicious murders continue, Harry teams up with a brilliant recruit to try and lure the madman out of the shadows before he can strike again.

Liar (2017)

Six episodes of an ITV drama. The couple pictured go out on a date and have sex afterwards, though was it consensual or was it rape? We spend a few episodes building the tension. Is the woman slightly unhinged and vengeful? Or is our man a predator? Interesting, tense, quite disturbing in places. Not quite sold on the ending personally. The two leads - Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Guffard are pretty good.

Created and written by BAFTA- and Golden Globe-nominated producers and screenwriters Harry and Jack Williams, and featuring "Downton Abbey" star Joanne Froggatt and "Fantastic Four" actor Ioan Guffard, "Liar" tells the story of two people whose initial attraction leads to far-reaching consequences for them and their friends and families. Laura Nielson, a smart and capable teacher in the middle of a breakup, is set up on a date with recently widowed surgeon Andrew Earlham. However, the day after it is apparent that something has gone wrong, and the subsequent fallout rapidly spirals out of control, exposing the power of truth, deception and trust.

Tracker (2010)

I'm a bit of a Ray Winstone fan and in spite of his dodgy South African accent here, I quite enjoyed this one. Set around the turn of the century in New Zealand. Winstone goes on a bounty hunt, but things aren't too straight forward once he catches his man. Great scenery.

An Afrikaner veteran of the Boer War has just immigrated to New Zealand and is hired to track a man accused of killing a soldier. While hunting through the countryside he captures his fugitive, only to learn that he's innocent of the crime. When faced with the life changing decision to turn him in or set him free only one man will walk away alive.

1922 (2017)

An adaptation from a Stephen King novella. Didn't recognise any of the cast. Pretty enjoyable, not especially horrific, more tense I suppose.

A rancher conspires to murder his wife for financial gain and convinces his teenage son to participate.

Jigsaw (2017)

Cinema trip number two and a horror spin-off from the Saw franchise. Just what I needed on my birthday! Worse ways of spending a couple of hours, but not one that will live too long in the memory. Ingenious set-ups as per usual.

After a series of murders bearing all the markings of the Jigsaw killer, law enforcement officials find themselves chasing the ghost of a man who has been dead for over a decade, and they become embroiled in a new game that's only just begun. Is John Kramer back from the dead to remind the world to be grateful for the gift of life? Or is this a trap set by a killer with designs of his own?

Get Out (2017)

Interesting film which reminded me a bit of The Stepford Wives. I was enjoying it and the tension was building as our main man seemed to be dragged deeper into the clutches of his girlfriend's freaky family. Lo and behold the doorbell rang and we paused mid-film for about an hour. When we returned to it, some of the suspense had vanished. Still an enjoyable film and another one where I wasn't recognising any of the cast and playing the "what where they in before" game.

Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

Tower Heist (2011)

A light offering and a bit of comedy crime. I do like Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. Plenty of laughs as the gang try to take down Alan Alda. Matthew Broderick is pretty good also. I'd probably watch it again if it came on, but wouldn't cry if I missed it.

For more than 10 years, Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) has managed one of New York City's most luxurious and well-secured residences. One of the condo's most-notorious residents, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), is currently under house arrest for the theft of more than $2 billion from his investors -- including Josh and his co-workers. Determined to reclaim the retirement funds Shaw stole from them, they turn to a petty crook named Slide (Eddie Murphy) to help them break into Shaw's home.