Xtro, 1983. Directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. Starring Philip Sayer, Bernice Stegers, Danny Brainin, Maryam d’Abo and Simon Nash. SYNOPSIS: A father is abducted by aliens and returns to Earth three years later to try and reconnect with his family. The release and subsequent success of Alien (1979) seemingly opened the door to mind-altering tales […]

Steven Spielberg (War Horse, Schindler’s List) is close to signing on to direct a Braveheart-esque version of the story of Moses for Warner Bros. The film, which has a working title of Gods and Kings, will include him forming an army, freeing the Hebrew slaves, wandering in the wilderness, receiving the Ten Commandments and parting […]

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… The Hurt Locker, 2009. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce. The Hurt Locker is the gritty tale of a three-man bomb disposal team […]

Carnage, 2011. Directed by Roman Polanski. Starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. SYNOPSIS: Two sets of parents meet to discuss the matter of one child assaulting another. Things steadily go from bad to worse. Everything about Carnage is quite simple, both the plusses and minuses. I know it’s early in […]

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… The Matrix, 1999. Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Joe Pantoliano. The Matrix is one of the most iconic films in the modern era and itself draws on […]

Goon, 2011. Directed by Michael Dowse. Starring Sean William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Kim Coates and Eugene Levy. SYNOPSIS: A bouncer undergoes a change of career to become the star enforcer of an underachieving ice hockey team. Let’s get the Rocky reference out of the way to begin with. It’s a sports […]

The Watermen, 2011. Written and Directed by Matt L. Lockhart. Starring Jason Mewes, Richard Riehle, Floyd Abel, Luke Guldan and Tyler Johnson. SYNOPSIS: A group of sport fishermen and their attractive lady friends go on a fishing trip, but they soon get captured by some murderous watermen and must fight for their lives. What worse […]

Hostel, 2005. Directed by Eli Roth. Starring Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson and Eythor Gudjonsson. SYNOPSIS: Three backpackers travelling through Europe find themselves staying in a hostel with a dark secret. It’s difficult to deny that Hostel is an important film within the horror genre, ushering in a wave of torture porn. David Edelstein’s 2006 article […]

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die… Philadelphia, 1993. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen and Antonio Banderas. Philadelphia is one of the first Hollywood films to deal with the sensitive subject of homosexuality, homophobia and the gay community’s […]

War Horse, 2011. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Toby Kebbell. SYNOPSIS: A horse is sold to the calvary and sent to the front during World War I. The poster for War Horse tells us that horse and boy are ‘Separated by war. […]