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Black Mirror: The National Anthem 2011 ★★★★
A very nice first introduction to Black mirror.
An interesting premise that leads to an edge of your seat thriller with a very tense build up to a turn your head away climax.
A princess is kidnapped and then the Prime Minister is coerced into having sex with a pig. How the kidnapping happened with the Fort Knox security that royals enjoy and the motives for the request are beyond me. That said, it does not deter from tension and your compassion with the PM. You're really shaking for the guy in the final minutes before the inevitable. Great performance by Rory Kinnear.
Looking forward to see the rest. Based on this first episode, this could become a modern version of Brian Clemens' Thriller. Just to say that it looks promising.
Ps: The fact that this came three of four years before David Cameron and Pig-gate adds a unique touch. The cliché about truth being stranger than fiction.
Amber Alert 2012 ★★★
I don't really understand the hatred that this film gets. Not saying this is briljant, but as far as found footage, this is actually kind of okay.
Michael and Samantha are believable as friends. You can understand why they go for it and even their arguing... the shouting match may be annoying, but you can see them having this argument as friends. Maybe it would help to have a bit of background (a throwaway line or two should be enough) to help understand Sam's emotional reaction (help us see where she is coming from), but that's nitpicking.
With a runtime of 70 minutes, this movie does not overstay its welcome. It is a bit of a slow burn and most of the tension is in the last ten, fifteen minutes. But that's par for the course for the subgenre.
"fuck the haters" is an annoying cliché and I can understand why some people don't like this one. But if you go in with an open mind, this might turn out to be a pleasant surprise and a nice addition to your FF collection.
The Sixth Sense 1999 ★★★★
Undoubtedly one of the better Shyamalans.
Upon this rewatch, some of the original thrill is of course gone. We all know what's coming and the proverbial cat is out of the bag.
The funny thing is, that the build up still stands. Of course you still see the hints now towards the inevitable. But one of his strengths is that Shyamalan, on a good day, can create an atmosphere of unheimlichkeit. And of course Bruce Willis in a, at the time, uncharacteristic role.
And the main scares – the ones the movie revolves around – still work.
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