Film: 'Hobo with a Shotgun' (2011)

For some reason known only to herself (in her defense, I think it had to do with our curiosity regarding the local film industry), my kid sister bought this on DVD as a Crimbomas gift for the whole family. And what a family film it is...
...
...What am I talking about?! It's totally not a family film. Unless you're raising your family on a steady diet of the Sams (Peckinpah & Raimi, obviously), in which case your kids will have a healthy appreciation for the respectable volume of red paint splashed all over the streets of F*ck Town. And if you're not filling your offspring's little heads with such sensational stuff, what the hell is wrong with you? I can tell you that my own childhood would have been vastly improved by the Evil Dead films, and I hope that you'll learn from my parents' mistakes and make sure your kids don't grow up deprived and turn out like me [insert wry and slightly disturbing wink here].

But I digress. Conclusion: this film is amusing, if not for the faint of heart (or people who dislike the colour red). If you enjoy razor-blade-encrusted baseball bats, hockey skates, Rutger Hauer, hobos, and electric toasters, this prime example of good clean Canadian fun is not to be missed.

Recommendation for getting absolutely the most out of this gleefully grisly gorefest: watch it with your mom.

Film: 'The Commitments' (1991)

[Yeah, I know this update is long-overdue. I was ill, and then I was ill, and then I was ill, and then I got my arm out of a cast and had hideously painful physiotherapy and hurt too much to type. Bite me.]

Have you seen this movie? No? Man, what are you still doing on this blog?! Go beg, borrow, or st - er, 'rent' - a copy, right now! I just saw this for the first time, and it's definitely a new all-time favourite. Why, you ask? Well - there's the soundtrack, for one. And the soundtrack. Oh, and - the soundtrack... (The rest of the film is fantastic too, but, as you can probably tell, I can't get over how good the music was.)

Based on one of Roddy Doyle's novels (which I, shamefully, have yet to read), the film chronicles the making and breaking of a North Dublin soul band. It's a good story, produced and acted unusually well - and the cast really did perform their own songs, which makes it even better. A skillful blend of high-flying hilarity and grim reality keeps any potential dull moments from rearing their monotonous heads, and the irresistible energy of great music drives the film from beginning to end with never a note out of place. If you like music, you will love this movie.