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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/batman.jpgBack in days of yore (1989) a chap called Tim Burton directed a movie called 'Batman', and it was jolly good. Indeed, it was wonderful, with Jack Nicholson perfectly cast as the Joker, and a brooding Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader himself. It spawned a lavish sequel, which was also pretty good—if a little overboard on the crazy sets for my tastes—with Keaton reprising his role, and the unforgettably sexy Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman. Then things took a turn for the worse. For that read 'the next 2 films were utter shit'. Hollywood got its hooks in and threw in lots of big name actors, hoping to cash in on the success of the first two. Sadly, they got away with it, and we movie fans were left weeping in the streets at the cinematic abominations left to us. Then some bright spark decided 'Here, let's completely ignore the crap that has gone before, and make an 'origins of Batman' movie, thus reinventing the...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/6/8/7/undead.jpgThis is a low budget, high style Australian zombie flick with a twist that has gnawed its way into my heart. The quiet outback town of Berkeley, Australia becomes the spawning ground of the undead after a meteor shower rains down, and with the infection spreading so swiftly, a band of survivors is forced to group together to try and survive. Sound familiar territory? Well, that's because it is. Does that make it any less enjoyable? Fuck, no. With its tongue firmly poking out of its decomposing cheek, this owes a lot to LOTR director Peter Jackson's early films Braindead and Bad Taste, and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy (I swear I heard the zombies in this moan 'join us' a couple of times). It's drenched in bucketloads of gore, and some half decent, if not perfect CGI, to dress it up a little. We have a token feisty female, some cops, a pregnant woman and her boyfriend, and the mysterious triple-shotgun wielding...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/wax.jpgIf not for her infamous sex tape with then-boyfriend Rick (can't remember his surname) and at least one other indiscrete DIY porno, this might be considered Paris Hilton's acting debut. But then again "acting" would be pushing it; Paris' skills are comparable to those of Denise Richards, which is to say, "not there". In House of Wax, Paris plays Paige, best friend to Carly. Together they're on a road trip with boyfriends Blake and Dalton. Once they are all in their cars and under way, it's time to guess the order in which these unsuspecting "college-aged" kids will be mutilated. Carly's friend Wade and twin brother Nick (no, seriously) are also along for the ride. Shockingly, the kids find themselves camping in parts unknown. One of their cars breaks down as they're about to depart, sending one of the couples into a local town to look for help. There they discover the House of Wax and one of the...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/undertow.jpgUndertow is not a very nice film. This is made clear from the outset, as our main character, Chris (Jamie Bell), manages to impale his foot on a large nail after leaping from a roof. The sound it makes is sickening, and Chris' agonised limping—wooden board still pinned to his foot—as he desperately tries to evade pursuit doesn't make for pleasant viewing. Fortunately, a sharp script and a well-placed sense of humour save Undertow from descending into mindless brutality and gore. Set in present-day Georgia, the film is loosely based on a series of real events. Impoverished farmer John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) lives in backwoods squalor with his two sons. Teenager Chris chafes under his father's rule somewhat, resorting to petty vandalism as a release, while younger brother Tim (Devon Allen) eats things to try and make himself vomit. Mud, paint, stuff he's found on the ground, anything. Tim is an intelligent and...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/frinili.jpgSports movies are strange beasts. It's a fine line for the makers to straddle, where brilliance is a very small distance from mediocrity. Friday Night Lights is the story of a west Texas team, the Odessa-Permian Panthers, and the 1988 season of high school football. This is a subculture that is very alien to UK viewers, and we really have nothing comparable to it. The whole town gets behind the team on gameday, it is almost as if a winning season is all that the town lives for. The movie does feature all the usual sporting movie clichés, but it isn't clichéd in itself - it plays around with the conventional wisdom as regards said clichés. For example, in movies of this ilk, there is always a setback that befalls the team. Always. It is, however, very rare for the audience to be hit with it in the first 20 minutes. The movie is well shot, and captures the desolate feel of small-town Texas quite beautifully. There are...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/2/4/8/GeneralGrievous4.jpgI’ll get the obvious question out of the way first, quickly and concisely. Yes. It’s good. Very good. I’d even go so far as to say that this movie is on a par with The Empire Strikes Back. That’s just how good it is. I've probably forgotten a lot of things that should be mentioned here, but I'll be seeing this a good many more times, and I suspect most other people will do the same. From the incredible opening space battle—with shots that couldn’t even have been dreamed of in the ’70s, and couldn’t have been pulled off in the ’90s—leading straight into some fantastic lightsaber fights…it just doesn’t let up. Every time you think: “Okay, that’s it. The scene’s over, and things are going to quieten down”, you’re proven wrong. The intensity of the combat in this movie has been kicked up so many notches from the rest that The Phantom Menace’s battles look like Warhammer 40k battles in comparison—viewed...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/sincity.jpgFirst of all, this movie is not your average comic book adaptation! Like Film Noir? Love Dick Tracy? Want a complete gore fest with an actual story? SinCity is definitely for you. You’re looking at a comic book movie, which is going to become as big as movies like Pulp Fiction amongst cult movie fans. There’s a huge all-star cast of top-quality actors who fit the comic book characters beautifully. Without going into too much detail about the cast you will enjoy a few familiar faces such as; Bruce Willis (Hartigan), Mickey Rourke (Marv), Rutger Hauer (Cardinal Roark) and Benicio Del Toro (Jackie Boy). SinCity is split into three chapters based around the characters Hartigan, Marv and Dwight. It is a pseudo-realistic story set in a post modern century, a story that catapults the characters into a world of violence, sex, rape, murder and corruption. The overall story is about a busted-up old cop helping to protect...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/3/2/1/8/h2g21.jpg I had been looking forward to this film since forever, so I was feeling pretty nervous as I strode into the cinema in my dressing gown, a towel slung over one shoulder. Would I be horribly crushed under a bleak slab of disappointment? Well, no. For those who don't know, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (hereafter referred to as H2G2) is a huge, sprawling adventure, a haphazard collection of bizarre scenes strung together by an entertaining but threadbare narrative. It started life as a BBC radio comedy, before enjoying great success as a (five-part) trilogy of novels and somewhat less success as an excellent TV series. Creator Douglas Adams substantially rewrote the story for each medium, and the film adaptation is no exception. The basic plot remains the same; everyman Arthur Dent awakens one morning to find that his house is scheduled to be demolished, in order to make way for a bypass. Shortly thereafter...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/9/9/4/avatarimage.jpgSix shooter - check. Poncho - check. Cigar - check. Dusty cowboy gear - check. Mule - check. Scowl - check. Right, now we can begin. MGM release three Sergio Leone special editions this week, offering documentaries and commentaries similar to what could be found on the existing editions of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and Once Upon A Time In The West digital video discs. These films came from the greatest Spaghetti Western director, Sergio Leone. Of course, that was not really hard since arguably most Spaghettis were infamously awful. These Italian made, located in Spain films have made a lasting impact on action cinema, reducing the need for clean cut heroes and influencing directors like Peckinpah to push the boundaries of screen violence in the Wild Bunch. Unlike the clean cut Cavalry men of John Ford movies, the heroes of the Spaghettis are scowling bounty hunters, mercenaries and ambitious gunslingers...

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http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/2/4/8/whologo.jpg Doctor Who 2005, Episode One – “Rose” It’s been a long wait. A very long wait, considering that in my opinion the Paul McGann TV-movie was awful. A very very long wait, considering that in my opinion, “Survival” ( The final Sylvester McCoy Dr Who arc ) was one of the best stories in the series’ history. The darker aspects of the Doctor’s character were beginning to be explored, and more and more hints were being dropped that there was still a LOT more to his history – and his relationship with OUR history – than we knew about. So… the new series, then.