Film: Insidious

Things start to go bump in the night (and during the day for that matter) in the Lambert family home. These events culminate with their son falling into an inexplicable coma.

Now that the Saw movie franchise is apparently over creators Leigh Whannell and James Wan had to come up with something new. Unfortunately if this is the best they can come up with they'll need to head back to the drawing board.

It all starts promisingly enough as Renai (Rose Byrne) begins to hear strange noises coming through the baby monitor and writer Whannell, who also stars, should have kept to a haunted house story.

Instead we soon veer off into Demon and possession territory and although there are some creepy moments the silliness just feels like unintentional comedy that shouldn't have a place in this type of film.

Hopefully Whannell and Wan will return to the serial-killer genre that they revived so spectacularly with the original Saw.

Ric's Rating: 42%

A - Z Challenge: Z

Z is for..............................Zombies.

Love them or loathe them, if you're a horror fan you can't escape them.

From Geroge A Romero's classics to 28 Days Later and Shaun Of The Dead they are a force to be reckoned with at the movies.

I have also recently read a couple of zombie novels by Craig DiLouie, the second of which, The Infection, is absolutely brilliant.

There will be more to come from these demented souls courtesy of Permuted Press so stick around, it's bound to be eventful to say the least.

Book: Winds Of Change by Jason Brannon

In this novella Jason Brannon brings us an apocalyptic vision that is simultaneously terrifying and intriguing.

Shortly after witnessing a falling star a group of strangers find themselves trapped in a hardware store. Stepping outside means instant death as everyone who ventures out disintegrates into a pillar of salt.

The group contemplate the reasons for the nightmarish scenario they find themselves in and as theories come and go personal differences emerge.

This moves at a relentless pace and demands that you keep reading so it’s all over pretty quickly. It feels like a refreshing slap in the face compared to some of the laborious horror novels I have endured.

Brannon is one to look out for, I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

Ric’s Rating: 82%

A - Z Challenge: Y

Y is for......................................Youngblood.

It's video classic time again.

Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb and Patrick Swayze star in this story of an ice hockey pro trying to make a name for himself.

I remember thoroughly enjoying this at the time but that was in 1986 so who knows how it'd hold up today.

A- Z Challenge: X

X is for.............................................American History X.

Edward Norton delivers a stunning performance in this powerful drama from 1998.

He plays Derek Vinyard, a young man who believes in White Power and who sympathizes with the Nazi cause.

While serving a prison sentence he sees the error of his ways and decides to help prevent his young brother (Edward Furlong) taking the wrong path.

This is a fantastic film with great performances all round. Highly recommended.

Book: Lake Charles by Ed Lynskey

Brendan Fishback is facing a murder charge, so while out on bail awaiting trial, he decides to go on a fishing trip to Lake Charles. Accompanying him are Edna, his sister and Cobb, her husband and Brendan’s best friend.

Their little getaway soon becomes something a whole lot more when Edna vanishes leaving Brendan and Cobb to get to the bottom of it.

Ed Lynskey’s tale of kidnap, murder and drugs is set in the Smokey Mountains of the late 1970s and it quickly draws you into an atmospheric journey through dangerous countryside as the guys encounter some not so friendly locals who will shoot first and ask questions later.

The star of the show, Cobb’s Father Jerry, turns up to lend a hand and things take a strange turn when Brendan begins to dream of the dead girl he is accused of murdering.

This feels like a psychedelic Deliverance so fans of that movie and any similar tale will revel in this.

It’s an absorbing story and although I would have preferred some more action the characters involved make it a compelling tale of revenge and redemption.

Ric’s Rating: 73%

Lake Charles is available now on Kindle and the paperback will hit shelves on 28th June 2011.

A - Z Challenge: W

W is for.................................Willard.

This curious little film from 2003 stars everyone's favourite eccentric Crispin Glover as Willard, a man able to command a colony of rats to do his bidding.

When he is fired by his obnoxious boss, he turns to his "friends" to help in his quest for revenge.

This won't be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it, it was pretty original and Glover is always worth watching.

A - Z Challenge: V

V is for............................Vin Diesel.

After some small roles Vin Diesel exploded onto the big screen as Riddick in the fantastic Pitch Black.

Then came box office hits The Fast & The Furious and XXX, these were followed by the under-rated revenge drama A Man Apart.

After a couple of flops Diesel has wisely returned to the Fast & Furious franchise, the latest of which, Fast & Furious 5 aka Fast Five is in cinemas now. Hopefully I'll be reviewing that soon.

Film: Thor

The blockbuster season starts with a "mighty" bang as Marvel Studios bring us their latest comic book adaptation, directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Thor is the all conquering God of Thunder who wields his imposing hammer with complete confidence that he can defeat any foe. This confidence borders on arrogance and an act of agression enrages Thor's Father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) so much that he casts his Son out of the realm of Asguard to live as a mere mortal on Earth.

Of course Thor's troubles soon follow......

Chris Hemsworth is perfectly cast in the leading role, he looks as Thor should and puts in a charismatic performance. As well as Hopkins there is terrific support from Tom Hiddleston as Thor's brother Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane and Ray Stevenson as old ally Volstagg. Look carefully and you'll also spot Idris Elba as The Gatekeeper.

Anyone familiar with the comics will have an idea of how the story pans out but it's all done very well and it's laced with some nice "fish out of water" type humour.

It's a perfect way to kick off the Summer movie season and the best superhero film in a long time.

Ric's Rating: 90%

A - Z Challenge: U

U is for......................................Uma Thurman.

Ok so she might have had a couple of flop movies lately but who could forget her amazing performance as the assassin out to dispose of her former friends in the Kill Bill films.

Rumour has it Kill Bill vol.3 will be with us in 2014 and Uma is set to reprise her role as The Bride.

Bring it on !!

A - Z Challenge: T

T is for...........................................Thor.

This isn't the big blonde guy with the blockbuster movie.

This is the supershock novel of Dog v Werewolf !!

It's recently been made available on Kindle.

You can read my full review of this fantastic book elsewhere here, click the Wayne Smith label.

A - Z Challenge: S

S is for ..................................Surveillance.

Check out the trailer for this disturbing drama from Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David.

I won't give too much away but it involves corrupt cops, serial killers and features Michael Ironside alongside Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman.

Highly recommended but not for the squeamish.