Comparing: The Thing From Another World - 1951 & The Thing - 1982

This month's Movie of The Month over at the LAMB is John Carpenter's Science Fiction Horror film, The Thing. Made in 1982 The Thing is a remake of a film named The Thing From Another World made in 1951.

I thought it would be interesting to watch both films and compare them.So here are my thoughts on each film individually as well as my thoughts on how the the remake compares to the original.

International/Classic Review: The White Sun Of The Desert - 1970

To take a break from reviewing poor Hollywood action films, I've decided to review a very different kind of action film.
The White Sun of The Desert, a Soviet film made in 1970 by Vladimir Motyl.
This film went on to become one of the most popular films in the Soviet Union at the time, and over the years has become a part of popular culture and remains so even today, many years after the end of the Soviet Union.

My experience with Soviet films of this period was entirely limited to the work of a certain Andrei Tarkovsky, one of my favourite directors yet also a very intellectual one whose films are far from being populist.
However I had explored Silent Soviet Cinema to some extent but with the exception of the Battleship Potemkin, I had come away rather disappointed.
My hopes were high for this film though, after all it was voted the best Russian film in 1995 and is even watched ceremoniously by all Russian astronauts before they set out on their spacial missions. It's a classic, there are no other words to put it really. As much as The Godfather is an American Classic, The White Sun Of The Desert is a Russian one. But the similarities between the two films end there...

Blockbuster Review: Sherlock Holmes - 2009

I've decided to try my best to review mainstream films every now and then. So here is my review of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes - 2009.
Despite the impression you may get from the review, I didn't hate it so much, certainly not as much as The Expendables for example, but I was not at all impressed. 

Before I begin, I may as well state that I'm a massive Sherlock Holmes fan. I've read every single one of the stories involving him and he had become something of an idol for me.

But I am not a complete snob when it comes to Holmes and have enjoyed many films based on the books before, even if they were somewhat loosely based upon them.
However, Guy Ricthie's film was by far the worst I'd seen, of any cinematic adaptation.

End Of The Week Post

Films seen this week:

Rango - 2011 directed by Gore Verbinski
9/10

I had high expectations for this, but I was surprised to find that this is easily the best animation I've seen since Toy Story 3.
I loved the references to some of my favourite films, I liked the voice acting a lot and even liked the fact that all the characters were animals. Usually that kind of thing annoys me but here I enjoyed seeing all the different species of the desert each perfectly suited for the character.
It had it's faults, such as a few overly sentimental scenes, but on the whole it's simply a fantastic animation that was not as childish as I at first expected.

Thoughts on the film that started it all.

After my divergence into the realm of Action Films, I now return with my post on Pulp Fiction, as promised a few days ago.
This isn't really a review, more a personal post explaining the effect Pulp Fiction had on me.