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Reviews
DeepStar Six (1989)
Strangely non-horrifying "horror" film, but a pleasant and inoffensive one
This is an odd movie. The upside: there's honestly not much to complain about the film's cast and production. The acting is actually pretty good; perhaps the best example of this is that probably the stupidest plot device in history on paper (Ordered to secure a set of nuclear missiles so the crew can pull out, Miguel Ferrer's character elects to do so by detonating the things) seems vaugely credible and quite amusing on film. The production design's great and believable, there are some mildly interesting plot points (Mild Good-natured Guy dies, but did you expect Confident Female Scientist to cop it immediately afterward?) and the special effects are generally okay.
The down side: nothing much actually happens. Even though the plot's centered around the threat from the monster, the giant prawn/crab/thingummijig doesn't seem to do a whole lot to be honest - most of the cast die without much in the way of struggle ('Here comes the monster. Ooh, it's eating me! See ya, folks.') The biggest shock scene ("spoiled", if that's the right word, by the DVD cover) is a little bit... laughable, really, at least to anybody over the age of eight. What should be an deeply uncomfortable image (diver's guts hanging out of his shattered JIM diving suit) becomes laughable as said diving suit goes tootling purposely over the camera, like a kid dangling seaweed in their parents' faces at the beach. There's almost no shocks and scares at all, in fact, and not much gore either.
I do have a soft spot for DeepStar Six; it's quite a weak movie, but one that's very hard to actively dislike. Maybe this is a horror film for the kids, who'll probably love it and find it pleasurably frightening - I know I did when I was seven.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
A dull movie with one shocking, tragic and incredible scene you have to see.
The big problem isn't that it's a love story. The problem is it's a DULL love story. Despite the length of the running time spent on the love triangle, all three of the lead characters are handled far too sympathetically. Nobody is depicted as being particularly at fault. Everybody's nice. Where's the real conflict between these people? Affleck comes back from the dead to discover his best friend has been sleeping with his girlfriend. He should be incredibly angry at this. Instead, he just has a bit of a sulk and eventually has a little scuffle, after which they're the best of friends again. Hmm.
The net result is that you're supposed to care about these folks, but they're so colorless that you literally couldn't care less, not even at the climax. Ultimately the historical characters, like FDR and Doolittle, are far more interesting and better played, and deserved more screen time.
The Japanese are handled sympathetically, but perhaps to too great a degree, coming across as simplistic, troubled stooges instead of the dedicated, enthusiastic warriors they seem to have been. Look at Tora, Tora, Tora's depiction of the Imperial Japanese Navy, for instance. There's a big difference.
And yet for all this, the attack, when it comes, is utterly shocking. The human suffering and awful destruction is presented with real skill and sympathy. It's the one emotionally involving part of the entire film, but it's lost in a sea of filler material. This is a vapid movie, and the horror and impact of this scene shows that up. The attack has nothing in common with the rest of the movie, and frankly looks like something spliced in from a much better film.
To cap it all, the whole thing is disjointed. It doesn't feel like a coherent story at all, just a series of events that abruptly stops at the end credits.
Positive points - the flying scenes are very good, the special effects are fantastic, the acting is in general good and in places excellent. But this still isn't a good film. If only the verve, skill and - crucially - the emotional punch that was applied to the attack sequence had been spread across the entire film, this'd be a sure fire classic. Instead, it's just a dull romance with a stunning sequence jammed in the middle.
Half-Life (1998)
An all-time classic.
Great set pieces, great enemies and a great setting in the smashed-up Black Mesa Research Facility. The storyline and its twists are genuinely well handled. It's been said a million times in a million reviews, for instance, that you end up fighting US Special Forces sent to kill you and your co-workers. But the way this is revealed to the player - turning a stairwell corner to see a scientist gladly running up to his Marine "saviour", only to be brutally murdered in a hail of gunfire - is genuinely shocking the first time round. You really feel involved in this storyline. Half-Life has excellent use of music, sound and superb AI to create a genuinely creepy atmosphere. At times it's honestly difficult to continue playing; the fact that you're armed is often no comfort at all when it comes to going round THAT corner, or going though THAT door - and that's the mark of a truly scary game, in my opinion. The voice acting makes a big difference, too. The security guards and scientists could have been disposable drones - instead they're convincingly your workmates, your friends even, there to help and be protected. And, man, do they make some awful sounds when you screw up and get them killed - you almost feel guilty... Over time it will be superceded by newer and more complex games - the superb Deus Ex, in particular, has definitely put Half-Life in the shade in terms of narrative, atmosphere and involvement. But that takes nothing away from Half-Life's status as an all-time classic.