2019 Year End Review: Part 5 – The Unforgettable of the Decade, 2010-2019

January 7, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Year End Reviews and tagged 100 Bloody Acres, Attack of the Werewolves, Blood Glacier, Cub, Honeymoon, Jug Face, The Canal, The Human Race, The Wind, When Animals Dream | Leave a comment

When I first started to compile a list of my Best of the Decade, I had to narrow the list of well over thirty titles to begin with. As I was narrowing it down to ten, I did notice quite a few that I really enjoyed but just weren’t going to make the cut. Then I also realized that some of these titles don’t seem to be coming up in conversation too often, or at all. It would be a real shame for a great movie to come out and quickly disappear into all those other titles that are constantly coming out through physical media or some streaming service. That is why I decided to make this particular list because I want to make sure that if one or two, or more, of these titles had slipped by you, now would be your chance to seek them out. If you enjoyed them as much as I did, then to pass the recommendations onto other like-minded film fans. The last thing we want is for some entertaining and sometimes original films to get lost in the flood of all these titles. So make a note of these titles, if you haven’t seen them, and give yourself a challenge to find them in 2020. And then help spread the word! Once again, these are in alphabetical order.

So let’s get at it. Continue reading →

2019 Year End Review: Part 3 – Best Viewings

January 4, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Year End Reviews and tagged Border, Cold Skin, Color Out of Space, Marrowbone, Murder Party, RIchard Stanley, Satan's Slaves, Shrew's Nest, The Wind, The Witch in the Window, Tonight She Comes | Leave a comment

As always, keep in mind that my list here are my favorites that I watched for the first time in 2019. You’ll noticed that while most of them are recent films, coming out in the last few years, there are some that are older, one that even came out over a decade ago! But to me, when I’m watching a film for the first time, it is a new movie to me, so that is why I count them. I have them listed in alphabetical order just to make it easier.

Ready? Continue reading →

Soundtrack Review: The Wind

December 17, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Soundtrack and tagged Ben Lovett, Lakeshore Records, The Wind | Leave a comment

The Wind (2018)
Released by Lakeshore Records
32 Tracks with a Total Running time of 64 min.
Music by Ben Lovett

Within the first note, it feels like composer Lovett went old school for this score. Since the film takes place in the old west, the first sound we hear is strings, from a violin or cello (I’m a music fan, but not an expert!), that sets the mood. In the film, we get a sense of wide open plains with nothing out there for as long as you can see, and Lovett brings that feeling through with this music.

I was surprised at some of the more faster tempos on some of the tracks, like #2 Demons of the Prairie, but he still using the strings, along with some percussions to keep that tension raised. Then when you get to tracks like # 6, We Shall Be Monsters, we get more of a quiet sound, with some wind instruments in there, as well as strings, creating a creepy mood, as if something is out there in the dark.

We first came across Lovett’s work in the 2007 low budget film The Signal and then more recently with The Ritual (2017). This score isn’t going to win you over by melodies or themes, but for an atmospheric piece that usually stays on the somber side, pounding up the tempo occasionally, it works well on its own. And even more so in the film itself, which I had seen before reviewing this score.