Together (2025)

New entry in the Body horror genre, after the recent The Substance, this is the debut feature of writer/director Michael Shanks. Liked it more than the overrated Bring Her Back. For me the other interesting horror fodder this year include 28 Years Later and Weapons. 

Together is an ambitious little horror flick, with themes of love and obsession, about a couple that moves in a little village house, far from town, and a mysterious pit in the woods.

Dave Franco and Alison Brie are married in real life so the intimate scenes have more power, intensity and authenticity than with other actors.

Supporting is Aussie Damon Herriman (The Nightingale, OUATIH, The  Bikeriders), and when he's on screen you know something ain't right ;)

Shot in Australia in only 21 days. Debut at Sundance Film Fest in Jan. 2025. Was presented even in  Locarno film fest !

Powerful score by Cornel Wilczek. End song, Another One by Golden Suits (2016). 

The effects are good for their budget, some morph coming from The Thing and more recently Color out of Space.

7 out 10 ! 3 1/2 out of 5 !

LMA Rob Halford !!!

 

Some Cakes Are Gonna Roll !!! ;)

Eddington (2025)

Eddington is one of the must-see of this year, Ari Aster's new film, his forth (after Hereditary, Midsmmmer, Beau in Afraid). via Cannes )in competition), it's imo his best. Dark, brutal, black comedy, western and thriller and political satire. It's craziness galore and one of the best performances of Joaquin Phoenix. Aster's second film with Phoenix after the werird, wild but pretentious (and over-long) Beau is Afraid in 2023.

best film about Pandemic and about America in a long time. Also starring Pedro Pascal & Emma Stone.

1st Aster film shot by legendary Darius Khondji (from Se7en to The Ninth Gate to recent Mickey 17). Great score by Daniel Pemberton. 

Unfortunately this A24 release is not in Romanian theaters. A pitty.

 8 out of 10 (a bit off steam at 2 h 28)! 4  out of 5 !

RIP Terence Stamp

Mouring one of the greatest British Icons, made big by Italian cinema and American popcorn (und more).  Terence Stamp was 87. He was Toby Dammitt in Fellini's sketch of Poe's omnibus Histoires Extrraordinaires/ Spirits of the Dead. He was in Pasolini's Teorema, as he was general Zod ;). 

He won best actor in Cannes in 1965 for The Collector.

From his film debut in Billy Budd (1962, where he received his onbly Oscar nomination) to his last bit in Last Night in Soho (2021) he was a cool, silent, sometimes very menacing presence. 

For me it was at most fun as the perverted host of the short-lived series The Hunger (1997-98).

Other highlights: Modesty Blaise, The Hit, The Limey (featuring Poor Cow).

1st ime I saw him as a kid as the badguy Wazir in the Clive Donner's Thief of Baghdad (1978,  actually a made for TV film).

Stand-out, Australian The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), which can be seen streaming now on HBO Max.

Far from the Madding Crowd indeed...