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BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered

By HOME ENT

BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered review by Alex!!!

Guillermo del Toro’s 1992 film Cronos is a Mexican Horror/Drama that provides a unique interpretation of a classic vampire tale. Starring Federico Luppi as the main protagonist “Jesus Gris”, the elderly owner of an antiques store in which he stumbles upon a device hidden among his inventory. That device being “The Cronos Device”, created hundreds of years earlier by an Alchemist with the intention of restoring youth to whomever uses the device.

BFI’s restoration work on this iconic film is absolutely spectacular, scanned from the original 35mm camera negative and much of the restoration process overseen by del Toro to fully capture his original vision in stunning 4K. I was one of the lucky few who got to immerse themselves in the film at the BFI IMAX theatre in Waterloo, I must say it was a stunning way to fully appreciate the film’s restoration and overall watch the film for the first time.

From my point of view as a first time watcher, I found the film to be a refreshing take on the classic vampire story. While I did a bit of research before viewing it was rather brief as I wanted to leave it as a surprise, needless to say I rather enjoyed it. The acting from the supporting roles were also great, I particularly noticed the artistic choice to keep the character of Aurora silent (played by Tamara Xanath). I feel that it works rather well and does not detract from her roles within the film itself, in this case her actions and body language were more than adequate to portray the characters feelings in the scenes.

I also enjoyed viewing a film meant for a different culture to mine, I mostly stick to films aimed towards an English speaking audience, in my eyes this film was a breath of fresh air. While I may have missed some culture specific references and dialogue due to translations it did not at all detract from my enjoyment of the plot. I did appreciate the small bits of English dubbing from time to time, but I am also thankful that a large portion of the film was kept to it’s original language to properly convey the setting and the subtitles were more than adequate.

The film’s status as a classic speaks for itself and I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.

Available on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K 24/2/25 (15) 4 Stars

Youth #Gottit View:

We all love Guillermo del Toro and his beautiful/sensitively dealt with way of storytelling. But Cronos was where it all began and if you’ve never seen this film – it genuinly is one of all time must see horror movies from recent years. This new 4K restoration is something very special and guarentees Cronos will be loved by many generations to come. Highly Recommended!!!

BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered review by Con CLICK HERE!!!

Marvel – Captain America Brave New World

By MAIN

Marvel – Captain America Brave New World review by Con

In Cinemas 14/2/24 (12A) 3.5 Stars

Youth #Gottit View:

This new Marvel ticks all of the right boxes for young Marvel fans. Action packed, under 2 hours and really good fun. There’s a nice Batman and Robin feel to the relationship between new Cap and Falcon, that I really enjoyed. This added something a bit fresh to the MCU. Also I really like how this continues from all of the past Marvel films – but it also feels like the first MCU movie that doesnt make you feel like you need to have seen all of the others movies to enjoy it. This is the start of a new Marvel series of stories. A must see for all Marvel fans!!!

Con at the Captain America Brave New World Screening Party!!!

BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered

By HOME ENT

BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered review by Con!!!

Available on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K 24/2/25 (15) 4 Stars

Youth #Gottit View:

We all love Guillermo del Toro and his beautiful/sensitively dealt with way of storytelling. But Cronos was where it all began and if you’ve never seen this film – it genuinly is one of all time must see horror movies from recent years. This new 4K restoration is something very special and guarentees Cronos will be loved by many generations to come. Highly Recommended!!!

Con and Alex see Guillermo del Toro’s classic Cronos in 4K on the largest cinema screen in the UK, at the BFI IMAX Waterloo. Alex’s Review CLICK HERE!!!

Con at the September 5 UK Premiere

By CINEMA

Con at the September 5 UK Premiere!!! (Red Carpet Interview CLICK HERE!!!)

Peter Sarsgaard!!! (Roone Arledge)

John Magaro!!! (Geoffrey Mason)

Ben Chaplin!!! (Marvin Bader)

Leonie Benesch!!! (Marianne Gebhardt)

Tim Fehlbaum!!! (Director and Oscar Nominated for September 5, Screenwriter )

Moritz Binder!!! (Oscar Nominated for September 5, Screenwriter)

September 5 in Cinemas 7/2/25!!!

Companion

By CINEMA

Companion review by Con (Be aware this review gives away details of the story as seen in the trailer. Many fans are enjoying the experience of Companion, without the knowlege of some early plotpoint details.)

In Cinemas 31/1/25 (15) 3.5 Stars

Youth #Gottit View:

This is an exceptionally good and fresh take on the classic ‘Friends meeting up for fun, in a remote house’ horror genre. Both myslef and Con really enjoyed this film – although we had differing opinions on the star rating. I personally would have given it 4 stars. Con gave it a very strong 3.5 stars. A must see for all horror fans and try to know as little as you can about the story before seeing it at the cinema. For the best experience – don’t watch the trailer. Highly Recommended!!!

Con at the Companion Screening party CLICK HERE!!!

PLEASE READ: I highly recommend not watching the trailer below, before seeing Companion. This movie is a far better experience when you go in knowing nothing about the story!!!

Con at the Companion Screening party

By CINEMA

Con at the Companion Screening party!!!

PLEASE READ: I highly recommend not watching the trailer below, before seeing Companion. This movie is a far better experience when you go in knowing nothing about the story!!!

In Cinemas 31/1/25!!!

Flight Risk

By CINEMA

Flight Risk review by Alex

Flight Risk is an action crime movie written by Jared Rosenberg and Directed by Mel Gibson, it involves an Air Marshal by the name of Madolyn who is tasked with accompanying a fugitive by the name of Winston to trial. They embark upon a flight across the Alaskan Wilderness alongside their pilot named Daryl, however something seems amiss and answers to questions aren’t quite adding up.

The cast has some familiar faces with the likes of Michelle Dockery (Madolyn), Mark Wahlberg (Daryl), and Topher Grace (Winston). These three will be the ones you will spend the most time with throughout the film so get comfy, the supporting cast had a relatively small presence on screen mostly being reserved for phone calls and such.

In terms of fitting into its chosen genre of horror/thriller with a sprinkling of action, it does exactly what it says on the tin and is marketed as such. I’d say that it has a pretty specific target audience, that being for fans of the chosen genres and it checks all the checkboxes as such. While it’s not going to win any awards, it’s still a solid watch for those interested.

In Cinemas 24/1/25 (15) 3 Stars

Youth #Gottit View:

Flight Risk is a solid, classic 80’s style Horror/Thriller movie. It’s never winning any Oscars and does exactly what you would expect it to do. But it’s lots of fun and well worth a watch!!!

Con & Alex at the Flight Risk Screening Party CLICK HERE!!!

Con & Alex talk to Dead Before They Wake Writer, Co-Director and Star Nathan Shepka

By HOME ENT, INTERVIEWS

Con & Alex talk to Dead Before They Wake Writer, Co-Director and Star Nathan Shepka

What challenges come with Directing yourself as a cast member when making a film? Con


Nathan Shepka – I think sometimes I have a tendancy to be in front of the camera and focus on other people’s performances and then run round to watch the take before realising you’re on auto-pilot a bit yourself. It’s finding a balance between immersing yourself in the scene and reviewing what others are doing too. Fortunately our DOP Andy and latterly co-director is good at telling me when I can do better!

And with Dead Before They Wake we were fortunate to have so many great cast members that needed very little direction at all.

Films like Dead Before They Wake need to have intense moments. How do you create an intense feel for a scene? Con

Nathan Shepka – This one sort of builds in a way, we wanted to keep a feeling of tension and dread throughout the entire film that increases as it comes to an end. We wanted the audience to have that feeling of unease in the pit of their stomach and know things might not end well. Individual scene wise I think a lot of it happens in the writing but in one of the opening scenes where a taxi driver tries to snare a young girl waiting for a bus, the realism in the acting helped nail that.

A couple of reviewers commented that the intensity comes from the viewer knowing things like this have actually happened.

Was there much difficulty minimising reflections of the camera crew when reflective
surfaces were in shot? (e.g. like the indoors scenes next to a window)
Alex

Nathan Shepka – That’s a random one! It is always an issue though. Indoors and with windows and mirrors it is a bit easier because you control the light. So you can bounce light in different ways to stop the reflection as much, sometimes we use an anti-glare spray to try to help. The worst though is car door panels. They are huge and they see everything and outdoors it is more difficult to control the light!

And sometimes you don’t spot the crew until you see it in the edit suit and then it is time to get the digital paintbrush out!

Was Alex character based on any real-life vigilantes? And if not, how did you come up with the character? Con

Nathan Shepka – Not any real-life vigilantes as such, certainly not the kind you see on social media of predators being cornered in the street. Inspiration partly came from Joaquin Phoenix’s character in You Were Never Really Here. I’d always done more upbeat, extroverted characters so I thought it would be nice to play someone quiet, reserved, only speaks when necessary so he’s direct and to the point.

I also wanted to give him a sense of loneliness, a sense that he’s just existing as opposed to living in a way – again a bit like Phoenix’s character. But going beyond that I felt he needed more of an arc; someone to give him hope (the stripper/school teacher that he develops feelings for) and something to give him purpose (finding the missing girl). He’s got a real rage far below the surface though, that takes almost the entirety of the film to come out.

What was the oddest object used to create a desired sound effect for a scene? Alex

Nathan Shepka – Some of the baseball bat scenes were partly done in camera, hitting the bat off the likes of an inflatable bed and then beefing the sound up in post with wooden bats hitting a ball. Likewise with the hammer, hitting the surface of a table but then layering in squelching watermelons and such like. The one thing that’s always a challenge is knife puncturing flesh. I imagine in real life there’s very little sound but in the movies you always have to exaggerate everything.

Who do you think will enjoy this film most and what do you hope they take away from seeing it? Con

To me some films are there to entertain (popcorn action flicks), some are meant to make you think (Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas) and some are meant to be an experience (Requiem for a Dream). I suppose with this we were almost trying to do all three. Anyone who likes really gritty, dark, borderline disturbing films might enjoy Dead Before They Wake – the likes of Bull, Blue Ruin, Nocturnal Animals.

It is harrowing in places because it is based on the Rotherham/Rochdale grooming gangs so there’s a real life element and there’s a “this goes on in society every day and most of the time we don’t see it” element. I suppose the takeaway is realising that this goes on. I dare say people won’t leave this one feeling uplifted. But I also felt there needed to be a pay-off for the audience, one thing about the bad guys in this film is that they don’t get a chance to experience British justice or early release from prison – they don’t make it that far!

Dead Before They Wake Available to rent or own on Digital Platforms in the UK from January 27th!!!