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Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008)
Worth your time even if only to see Corey Feldman back as Edgar Frog.
Is this as good as the original, not a chance in hell. Is it worth watching, absolutely. Corey Feldman is entertaining, a good actor and the movie works on a whole other level because he's in it. If it wasn't for his presence this would be just another forgettable vampire movie that could have been twice as good as it turned out. Overall, aside from Corey, the movie itself is interesting enough though. It has it's moments, some good special effects and some decent acting. Plot wise however it has almost nothing to do with the original other then Edgar Frog. If you've seen the first you'll notice some moments that seem to pay homage of sorts to it, but they come in passing and you have to watch for them.
Unfortunately as with most sequels and remakes these days there's the obvious attempt to update it to our times which does nothing but hurt the film. I'm not saying it should have been set in the eighties or anything, but there's quite a few things in it that the movie simply could have done without. Certain fashions, hairstyles, lesbian scenes etc. Speaking of which, this is one of those rare movies where I actually found myself thinking the sex scenes and sexual references were totally unnecessary.
On the topic of updating things, the soundtrack is alright, but nothing compared to the that of the original. If I were making this movie, I would have kept the original version of Cry Little Sister without question. I would never have gone with a new version, regardless of who sang it. Cry Little Sister was as much a part of the original as Feldman and it set the mood of the entire movie. The newer version is alright but like most things in our time, it's sort of blah compared to the original.
There's no point in going in to deep reviewing this movie because as I've said, it's alright but Corey Feldman certainly steals the show and is the main reason anyone should watch this. I do think it worth mentioning as well that for the most part the entire cast is really quite good. Feldman simply outshines the rest and is far more memorable.
Watch it, but don't expect to much out of it and the movie is enjoyable enough. Watch it if for no other reason then to see Feldman back in the role of Edgar Frog, and you will definitely like the movie. After seeing it I still find myself wondering why the studios were so short sighted. Lost Boy's 2 could easily have been as big a hit as the first film if more planning, effort and money had gone into it. It's a sad state of affairs in Hollywood when something with this much potential is relegated to a straight to DVD title.
Doomsday (2008)
So many parts, so much confusion but at least there's....
I would have loved to finish the summary with something good to say, I really would have. First let's be clear. I love disaster movies and I love Post Apocalyptic disaster movies even more. Mad Max, The Road Warrior, even cheesy movies like Empire of Ash and Def Con 4. I simply love them. So when I saw commercials and trailers for this I really had high hopes. The sight of the Bentley in the previews put me on guard but I decided to let that slide and really looked forward to seeing this. I knew it was going to modernized, but I loved the Resident Evil movies and Ultra Violet so I honestly hoped this would be like them and be worth watching. What I got for all my hopes was a lame, ripped off, boring, tired, dried up over cooked (no pun intended) piece of garbage. It had all the potential in the world and a budget to match. Yet still, this horrible mess was the best they could come up with.
First off, we have the obvious attempt at ripping off every Post Apocalyptic movie from Mad Max to Resident Evil. Then we have the lame attempt at a heroine played by a woman who couldn't fill Mila Jovovich's shoes if her life depended on it. Then of course we have Sean Pertwee relegated to the role of a simpering coward, which (through no fault of his) is about as believable as Michale Biehn in a dress playing a transvestite. Why you would throw out the chance to put a guy like Pertwee in the lead role is a total mystery to me. Pertwee is entirely believable as the gruff worn out tired soldier who has to go back in for that last fight to save everything. Or have none of the "film makers" ever seen Dog Soldiers? Let's just forget what was probably the oversight of the century and move back to our leading lady shall we?
Rhona is believable as dramatic actress who should avoid action movies like the plague, again, no pun intended. The attempt at gender reversal in the movie is obvious, painfully obvious. She's the rough and tumble character (think Mad Max) who's lost her family and has nothing to live for (think Death Wish) and has to save the world. Why, if you were going to have a one woman army like that, you would choose Rhona Mitra as your lead actress I have no idea. Although Rhona isn't quite as bad, I couldn't help but be reminded of Blood Rayne and the god awful attempts at physical prowess Kristanna Loken provided us. Rhona is nowhere near that bad but she's not much better. She obviously has some ability, but nowhere near enough to make her role in Doomsday work. She is never believable as the heroine, never are her battles even remotely realistic and never do you forget your watching choreographed fight scenes. If your lucky you fall asleep. Unfortunately I didn't.
One of the least believable scene's is the fight between Rhona Mitra's character and a seven foot tall three hundred pound guy dressed in about eight hundred pounds of metal Armour. Apparently to watch this movie you have to throw common sense out the window. Which I guess I should have because during the entire scene all I kept thinking was "I'm pretty sure if you bare fist punch solid steel all you'll wind up with is a broken hand". Not this girl. She can get belted with a spiked Mace full on and come away without a scratch. Well, not quite. At least during that scene Rhona finally gets a cut on her lip... Okay, on to the car because I just can't resist.
What are the odds that thirty years after Scotland is sealed off from the outside world by a giant wall, and taken over by gangs of cannibals, a nice pristine 2008 Bentley would survive it all? Not to mention conveniently situated next to barrels full of untouched gasoline and a crate full of neatly packed (activated) satellite phones that still work. Oh, and that a Bentley could ram through a bus and not even damage it's front end...and get rammed by (and into) dozens of Road Warrior type cars and wind up with just a few scratches? You know I could go on, but I won't. I've wasted enough time on this farce of a movie without thinking about it any more. Sure I'll be ranting about it for weeks and throwing myself in front of people's TV sets trying to spare them the anguish of watching it, but that's another story.
Maybe if they had cast a woman suitable to the role, this movie might have worked. Maybe if they had at least not tried so very hard to rip off so many other movies, I might have liked it. Maybe if I poke out my eye I can get a cool robotic one like Rhona's character has. Totally pointless but completely stupid at the same time!
In all honesty it would seem to me that the Mad Max series is still king of the Post Apocalyptic genre and If this movie is the best that it will go up against in the future, then that title is certainly safe. To the film makers I would say, give us some credit for god's sake. Even Max got shot, beaten to a pulp and could hardly walk by the end of all the movies. Oh, and next time, don't throw away your opportunity to put someone like Pertwee in a role he was born for so you can put people in theater seats to see Rhona's butt in Spandex. It's nice and all but it can't save a movie, at least not this one.
Strange Wilderness (2008)
You would have to be dead not to find this movie funny.
From start to finish this movie is as funny as anything thats been done in the past decade, if not funnier. It's completely devoid of taste and political correctness, and doesn't hesitate to make you cringe. The performances are fantastic, the locations are great and the film is put together perfectly. This movie set out to be ridiculous, but ridiculous with a plot and a story to follow.
Peter, son of a legendary wildlife TV star and host of Strange Wilderness has a lot to live up to trying to run his deceased fathers show. He believes he can fill his father shoes but lacks the ability, vision and talent to do it. In short he's screwed. Ratings for Strange Wilderness have fallen so much that the show is about to be canceled and replaced by a competitor. Peter and his crew desperately need a way to keep the show on the air so they can keep his fathers dream alive. An old friend of Peter's father appears with news of a map, a map that leads to the legendary Big Foots cave. Peter sees this as his golden opportunity to save the show and give it the ratings boost it so desperately needs. What follows is the one of the funniest movies that I've seen in a long while.
From harassing Mexicans to dressing up as a sea lion and getting eaten by a shark, this movie has just about every ludicrous scenario you could imagine and I'm sure some you would never dream of. There was nothing in this movie that wasn't funny, I even at times found myself wondering "why is that funny" but unable to stop laughing anyway. I think the movie has so many hits, that when it misses your still laughing from the last joke so the miss is funny and you just keep laughing. Be prepared for a total lack of concern for the politically correct viewer however. This movie pulls no punches in dialog or scenario and doesn't hesitate to make fun of everyone and everything it comes across.
There isn't really much more that one can say about Strange Wilderness other then it's a good time for people who are open minded and looking for some great laughs. See it, you won't be sorry. You might however need oxygen afterward for the sake of laughing until you can't breath.
Hannah Montana (2006)
Good clean fun
I'm a person who loves eighties sitcom's and the clean, surreal existence they present. As unrealistic as shows like Growing Pains and Family ties may be, they provide a look at the way family life and families should be. Hannah Montana brings that back in a way, her connection with her father in the series and her close ties to her friends send an important message that people more often then not forget. You should always put family and friends before money, before fame and always before yourself.
In true eighties fashion, the comedy is tongue in cheek and the situations are usually over the top. The acting is good, despite what many say, the stories are always fun and most importantly of all the stories are clean. This is not a show you have to worry about when you sit in front of the TV with your family. It's refreshingly minus the jokes about women's periods and men getting a vasectomy. I think shows like Everybody Loves Raymond and My Name Is Earl are fantastic and funny as hell, but Hannah Montana is a completely different kind of comedy. I truly feel sorry for people who don't "get" this show and can't manage to set aside the real world long enough to laugh at it. But then I also feel sorry for people who don't get Disney and all it has to offer older teens and adults in general. Thankfully enough people do get it and Disney just keeps steaming forward with family shows like these.
Prom Night (2008)
Another disappointment
I went into this with my hopes up, by twenty minutes into the movie I couldn't have been more let down. Despite thinking that this would be another horribly bad remake, I kept my hopes high that maybe...just maybe someone would get it right this time around. Sadly, Prom Night is about on the same quality level as the recent April Fools Day remake, bad script, bad direction, cheesy overdone acting and generally bad horror.
From beginning to end it's boring, repetitive and worthy of about a dozen eye rolls. We've seen it all before and we've seen it done a million times better then this. If you go to see Prom Night in the theater (I'd say wait for the DVD or PPV), get ready for the audience to laugh, because laugh they will. The laughs aren't at points in the movie that are supposed to be funny, they are in response to key "thrilling" moments in the film that are so poorly done you feel as if your watching the newest installment of Scary Movie. Seriously, was this supposed to be a remake or a spoof? The film makers missed the mark so badly here, that a large number of the audience in the theater I attended walked out about halfway through the movie. Which in retrospect, I wish I had done. Not me though, I had to torture myself and stick with it hoping it would get better. Needless to say It didn't. The "horror" scenes are a joke, not even so much because of the acting but because of the direction, the script, the "special effects" and the camera work. The movie manages to look as if they spent a fortune to produce it, but still came out of it with a micro budget movie. I halfway expected to see dollar store tags on some of the props and kept thinking I would spot a porn star in the cast somewhere.
This movies scary alright, if this is the future of big budget horror then the horror genre is doomed.
Vantage Point (2008)
A fantastic thriller
Vantage Point is one in a long list of films I've been nervous about, worrying they wouldn't be as good as they looked or as good as I expected them to be. I wasn't disappointed at all after watching this, in fact I was smiling ear to ear. This movie is fantastic and it truly is shot from virtually every view possible, showing every important characters impression of whats happening including the would be assassins. It does this well, in fact it does it very well. The movie never feels repetitive because even though you see some events over and over, you see them from so many different angles and are taken so deeply through the thoughts and actions of each character that it seems like a fresh movie each time. You also see new events from each "vantage point" mixed in with what you've already learned as the film progresses. It's because of this that right up until the end, you'll feel like your watching the beginning of a movie. You never feel as if your in the middle and you'll never see the end coming.
The events are indeed thrilling. The foot chases, car chase and shoot outs are all done in a spectacular fashion taking you through every range of emotion there is. I want to make a special note of the car chase, it is absolutely fantastic. A good car chase is always a plus in a thriller and the chase here is easily worthy of a Jason Bourne movie or an installment of the Italian job. It's a real nail biter to say the least.
Most of the key pieces of the puzzle as to whats really going on and who's involved are kept well hidden, despite what you may have heard to the contrary. I found only one aspect obvious from the beginning and in all honesty I'm not sure how the film makers could have kept it hidden without hurting the movie and making it confusing. The story is certainly solid, the script is excellent, the acting is fantastic and the camera work couldn't be better. This is a classic thriller and one that I'll watch again.
One other note I wanted to make, Dennis Quaid is in true form here. He has always been one of my favorite actors and it's wonderful to me to see him still on top of his game. With vantage point he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt he can do what he has always done best, please an audience and look damn good doing it. He fits the character he portrays here perfectly and is entirely believable in the role. He's in great shape physically and his acting is as it's always been, Oscar worthy. Any Dennis Quaid fan will be pleased with Vantage Point and it's a must see for those who love a good thriller.
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Classic Romero
In my mind this movie proves that the traditional zombie elements still work, and that Romero is still the undisputed king of the zombie genre. Although the beginning seems a little weak, once the movie gets going it becomes as enthralling as any of Romero's other films. The story is strong, good acting, excellent direction and some fantastic special effects. Any zombie fan, any horror fan should be thrilled to see this movie.
The classic slow moving zombie is back, surprising you and making you jump. They pop out of nowhere and overwhelm their victims before ripping of a chunk of flesh and spreading the disease. The mystery as to whats happening and how to stop it, the hectic news reports, the lies told by the government to make people feel like it will all just go away. All of it is Romero doing what he does best. Making you feel as if this could happen, it will happen and it is happening. One of his biggest talents has always been to use elements close to home. To use things in our everyday lives, things we see and hear, places we go and things we do. He uses things we rely on as safe and secure against us by wrapping them up into what is, to most, a completely unthinkable terror. Facing the living dead, your friends and family trying to eat you alive. To make you feel as if even the might of the American Military isn't going to keep you safe. Fending for yourself against an army of the undead amidst an army of everyday people looking to survive. Stay in your homes, lock all windows and doors. Everything will be fine, the police, army and the national guard are mobilizing to protect you. It's all under control...or is it?
In this installment, set in an age where everyone has a video camera, the lies aren't so easy to get away with. A young film maker is trying to tell the truth, to document things as they happen all the while himself believing, or wanting to believe, that someone will get the problem under control. Perhaps using the camera as his only way of dealing with the chaos and fear surrounding himself and his friends as they attempt to reach someone, get to safety and escape their worst nightmare.
I will admit I've lived the past few months in a terror of my own, afraid that this movie wouldn't live up to my expectations having been a fan of this genre and a fan of Romero's for well over twenty years. While waiting for my chance to see this movie, having missed it's opening, I heard a lot of good and a lot of bad but I ignored it all waiting to judge for myself. As you can tell if you've read this, I am not disappointed. Go see it, ignore the nay sayers and bashers and just go see it. You'll be one happy fan in the end.
Five Across the Eyes (2006)
Excellent horror movie.
Five Across The Eyes is an excellent horror movie. It's presents itself as nothing more then horror, it doesn't try to please you or sugar coat anything for you. The movie begins with a group of high school girls (who actually look like high school girls) in a mini-van traveling to a party. They've taken a short cut, gotten lost and stop to ask for directions at a roadside store. While there, they begin goofing off in the van and wind up hitting an SUV parked in the lot. Instead of staying to exchange information with the owner of the truck, they decide to leave and what ensues is nothing but sheer horror.
The movie is not about an angry SUV owner as you might think and not about road rage as others have said, who clearly didn't watch the whole movie. I don't want to give the film away, so I'll leave it at that and get on to the good points. I've seen a lot of bad low budget movies, this isn't one of them. Although obviously low budget, overall the acting is solid, you really feel through almost every scene that the girls are average teenagers and that they are absolutely terrified. The emotions of the girls and the insanity of the person chasing them are well conveyed from start to finish. The film makers were smart enough to realize that they didn't have the budget for lavish special effects, so they use sounds to get to you. They will get to you. The sounds of screaming, the sounds of beatings, the thoughts generated in your mind when you see a shotgun barrel heading for the rear end of a girl bent over the hood of a van. A screwdriver being rammed in a place no one ever intended a screwdriver to go.
The film is incredibly effective and far better then some of the tripe that indie film fans are always pushing as god like. The music, both type and timing is good and fits perfectly with the movie. The locations are perfect, if you've ever been out of a city and driven down a back road you've been where these girls end up. You've felt the feelings they feel as you drive down a dark road and joke nervously when you know your completely exposed to break down, running out of gas, getting lost or being run off the road by some nut. You know, those people who fly by you on a gravel road because your not moving fast enough, with no concern for the hundreds of little rocks spitting back at you. They show no concern for the fact that your an inch away from the ditch, what if one of those people ran you into a dead end, turned around and blocked the exit? You could very well wind up exactly where these girls do.
The big selling point for me with this movie is the fact that the girls actually look like teenagers. Lately I have been so sick of seeing (obviously) twenty somethings and thirty somethings passed off as teens in peril that I think I'll lose my mind if I see it again. It's a never ending torture to me, seeing a 30 year old woman with stretch marks walking down a school hallway with her hair in pig tails wearing a cheerleader's outfit. Or that guy that looks like your father, who supposed to be sixteen smoking pot next to a locker...yeesh. None of that with this movie thank god.
Dramatics aside, if you love horror and you love something along the lines of Duel (1971) updated with a little more story and some pretty girls thrown in, you'll love this movie.
Punishment Park (1971)
The problem...
Punishment Park is a good film in a sense, but it's so heavily laden with ridiculous and over stated arguments that it's hard to watch. I realize that realistically, the arguments portrayed in this movie are the arguments that people opposed to the government make. As are the arguments made by the government officials and police officers in the film. At the same time, it's very frustrating to watch because of that.
One comment in the film I think perfectly describes my feeling. When facing the tribunal, one of the prisoners says "how is using LSD the same as starting wars and killing children". The answer is simple to anyone with a functioning brain, you can answer with a question with a question. How many people die from drug abuse every year? How many people have died because someone got them to use a "harmless, mind freeing" drug? I feel the same frustration with the movie from the opposite angle. The tribunal members are always ranting on about freedom and independence, yet the draft and incidents like the Kent State shootings represent the very anti-thesis of freedom. If your fighting a war thats supposed to be just (I believe it was) how can you possibly justify it with unjust actions?
It's things like this throughout the movie that I find make it nearly impossible to watch. Another reviewer here likened the movie to a Clockwork Orange, I would agree. This film has that same, you agree with both sides but your torn because how can we have civilized society without the right to self defense, without the rule of law and punishment for breaking that law? How can we be free if we're constantly shackled by the same laws that protect us? Can there ever be a balance?
I think Punishment Park convey's that about as well as Clockwork albeit in a very different style and feel. So why am I rating it six stars and not higher? Simply because of that style and feel. It seems to lack any real conclusion to whats presented and it fails to feel finished, or refined. It feels instead like watching footage of the Oka stand-off or the LA riots (both of which I watched live as a side note), your frustrated, annoyed, angry and sometimes just bored. Your left with the feeling that nothing has really been stated, nothing has been achieved or resolved and that everyone involved is just plain nuts. The people calling for freedom are the same ones locking people up for protesting. The people calling for an end to tyranny are the same people calling for tobacco and gun bans. Those calling for non-violence are grasping at the nearest knife, and those fighting wars for liberty are the ones burning books.
It's all just a mess of conflicting ideals coming out of the mouths of people who have a fantastic ability to double talk, and an even greater ability to fight with each other. It's not a horrible movie, but it's far from great and it's not the "protest" film people make it out to be. It's rather an unfinished work that compares to something great in idea but lacks the conviction to finish what it starts...at least with any effect.
That said, I can now be berated by all of those who love free thought and the right to self expression. Simply because they love this movie and I don't *insert sarcastic wink here*.
April Fool's Day (2008)
If April Fool's Day 1986 were fed through a garbage disposable...
If April Fool's Day 1986 were fed through a garbage disposable...the end result would be this movie. Was this really intended as a remake of the nineteen eighty-six version? If it was you would never know it. The entire story has changed, and nothing of the original remains, at least nothing of any note.
The original aside, we have as usual every stereotype imaginable presented to us. In stereotypical scenarios that aren't even done well. Spoiled rich kids kill the "good" rich girl and the fallout destroys their lives...except nothing is destroyed and nothing in their lives really changes at all. Never fear though because the rest of the movie is full of many senseless scenes and pointless dialog. The courtroom sentencing, the ludicrous attempt at a five minute blurb from headline news, the stop to use a payphone in a horrible, rundown neighborhood by the rich kids...and nothing happens, and so on. As the "movie" drudges forward, the film makers attempt to make us laugh, and fail. They attempt to scare us, and fail. They even attempt to be politically correct at some points and manage to fail at it. Thats a new one on me.
Bad story, bad plot, bad execution and a bad script make for one bad movie. One thing I won't trash is the acting. Why? Yes, it's totally over the top but I have no doubt that "over the top" is how the actors and actresses were told to play it. Clearly the filmmakers were trying to have a "nash your teeth for the paparazzi" type feeling to the characters. Problem of course is that it's done to the point of making you nauseous. If it wasn't the directors intent, or the writers, I'm sure someone would have put a stop to it.
As it stands I think it's clear the writers, producers and director are all entirely at fault here. I think they might have read the synopsis for the original April Fool's Day here at IMDb and then said "screw it, we'll make it up as we go along". It's clear that no matter what, there was no desire to, and no intention of, doing the original movie justice...in fact I think they wanted to insult it.
I know, your thinking "there must be something good about this movie". Well, your right. There is one good thing about it. It ends.
Day of the Dead (2008)
A genuinely good movie.
I've been a zombie fan since I was eleven and saw Dawn Of The Dead (1978) in a neighbors basement. I was hooked from that moment on and since then I've spent countless hours watching every movie from this genre I could get my hands on. In many cases I've been disappointed and at times disheartened, but in this instance I don't mind saying that I am happy to have watched this movie.
I heard a lot of bad comments about this remake before ever setting eyes on the film. Much of what I heard revolved around Nick Cannon being in it. I'll grant you his performance is at times over the top but I believe that was the film makers intention for the character he's portraying. Cannon himself actually does a pretty decent job in his role and although I'm not about to rush off and buy all of his movies, I don't see where the negativity about him is coming from. At least in this case. In fact, the comments I heard about all of the acting being overdone and cheesy are totally unjustified.
Overall, everyone in this movie provides a good performance. Most of the acting is solid enough and I found everyones performance quite enjoyable. In fact I would have to wonder how many critics bashing the movie have actually watched it, or at least watched past the first ten minutes. The special effects are well done, the weapons are well chosen, the settings are great and the story is good enough to keep your attention through the entire movie. There are some very tense moments and some genuine "make you jump" moments as well.
To add to that, for fans of zombie movies, there are plenty of references to the original Day Of The Dead. Those references are well placed and timed so that people who haven't seen the original will find them enjoyable but fans will get the point. Granted this movie is entirely different then the 1985 version but it's different in a good way. The story here adds to the concept of a zombie outbreak, takes it one step further and does it very well. There are some new twists to old ideas presented, and in this day and age without new ideas the zombie movie would, itself, be dead. Pun intended.
If I had to compare this film to any modern movie I would say it is easily as good as the Dawn Of The Dead remake if not a little better at times. It blows away all of the lousy low budget zombie movies that have hit the market over the past seven years with the exception of Zombie Wars. I'd say their about on par with each other, though this movie looks better and obviously had a bigger budget.
If your a fan of zombie films and don't mind the new "hyper zombie" then check this out. If your a horror fan but you don't really like zombies, or you go for the old stiff, slow walking zombies then skip this movie and save yourself the trouble of writing a bad review.
On a final note, if you've read the other reviews here, I've seen Plane Dead (aka Zombies On a Plane) and it's a pretty good movie in my opinion. Not quite as a good as this, but well worth watching for decent acting, a good story and some fine zombie horror. It's also rife with good special effects, lots of gun play and the all important witty dialog the could only come from people faced with being eaten alive.
Meet the Spartans (2008)
Brain dead fun
I would guess fans of The 300 are a little angry with this movie and are trying to bury it on IMDb in the hopes no one will go to the box office. Apparently they've missed the fact that the movie has been sitting at number one since it debuted. I recall checking the ratings here a few days ago and wondering to myself, how the hell can a movie thats been sitting at number one for weeks be so bad? So I went and saw it and what do you know, it's absolutely hilarious from start to finish. I mean this movie is so funny my face hurt after seeing it. Yes it's brain dead, no there's not really a plot and yes it's offensive as hell to anyone who can be offended. Of course, thats why it's so funny and thats exactly what the film makers intended. Movies like Airplane, Scary Movie, Epic Movie, Walk Hard and Meet The Spartans are intended to poke, prod, repulse and make you laugh. If they weren't made in the fashion they are then they wouldn't be funny. I literally did not stop smiling or laughing once during this entire film, except when I had to turn my head and cover my mouth because of some particularly disgusting scene. I might point out though that I pretty much had to close my eyes during the "bush" trimming scene in Scary Movie...but thats another story.
If you enjoy parody films, you can deal with being offended and repulsed or you are the type thats not offended by anything then go see this movie and get ready to laugh yourself into the hospital. If your easily offended, you should probably skip this and check out Cloverfield or 27 Dresses, you'll be happier and you won't have to look back on this film in disgust.
The Cellar Door (2007)
Interesting but not great and certainly nothing new.
I think this movie had a lot of potential but it lacks something, I can't really put my finger on what but there is just something that keeps the movie from being worthwhile. I think the problems lay mostly with the lead actress, she is simply not believable in her performance and I found myself feeling no sympathy for her character because of that.
The killer in this film is your typical American serial killer, a loner cut off from the world who appears very affable and non-threatening. Very much like a John Wayne Gacy, he seems pleasant enough at first but he hides a dark and sinister side. This is portrayed very well by James Dumont. His acting is good, his appearance suits the role perfectly and he is very capable of presenting the cold, emotionless side of his character. Unfortunately I can't say the same positive things for Michelle Tomlinson.
Her portrayal of the victim is very stiff. She doesn't convey the emotions of a person trapped and facing her impending death well at all. She never comes across as a sympathetic character nor did she ever give me the feeling that she was really afraid of what might happen to her. As an actress I think she simply lacks the depth for the role she was given.
The movie overall is not a bad one. The camera work is what you would expect from a low budget horror movie, looking like one of those softcore adult films on HBO. As I said though, I expected that and it really doesn't hurt the movie itself. The script is fairly good and the locations are well chosen. The best scene I think is one where the killer is shopping at the grocery store and a female clerk gets rude with him. He seems to brush it off but then a few moment later, we see the clerk getting off of work and heading out to her car. The killer steps up behind her with a baseball bat and proceeds to beat her to death, showing no remorse, sympathy or hesitation. For her one comment, the victim is murdered. I think that, if anything in the movie, really displays the psychopath in his truest form.
The special effects are not great but I found them forgivable since the movie itself managed to hold my interest right up until the end. The ending is what really blew it for me. There was a lot of potential to break from the serial killer movie mold and have a film where a cold heartless killer doesn't see justice. That unfortunately is not what happens. Rather than have an ending in which the killer succeeds in his deed and we are left to wonder "will he kill again? Will he get caught?" we are given a typical serial killer wrap up that comes across more like "I am women hear me roar".
Is the movie worth watching? Yes, if you can tolerate a typical, and at this point in my movie watching career I would say bad, ending. If you can tolerate the lead actresses stiff performance, there is a movie worth seeing buried beneath it. It is sad though to have to look at yet another movie with a load of potential pass away into the abyss. Kudos to James Dumont however, he carried this entire movie on his shoulders and did it well.
Purgatory (2008)
Had potential but sadly it's wasted.
I really wanted to like this movie. I gave it more of chance then I have given most other low budget ventures because I kept hoping that the good story (or good concept for a story) wouldn't go to waste. Unfortunately the camera work, dialog and continuity are so bad that the anything good couldn't possibly have managed to survive.
Maybe thats a little harsh, the acting really isn't that bad. In fact it, aside from the story, is the only thing that sticks in my head as being good about this movie. Now back to the bad. The film from it's very beginning is loaded with flashbacks. In fact so many flashbacks that the plot gets confused and I actually had to question when events were taking place. It's clear that the filmmakers new this would happen because they tried to separate the present from the past by using blurry camera shots and echoed audio. However, the look of the rest of the movie is so bad that at times the flashbacks look pretty much like the everything else. The casting is a bit off as well, the guy who should be the hero spends his time running away and gets killed while the guy who should be the victim acts as the calm headed one. The movie is also full of a lot of pointless dialog and pointless moments. It's as if something is happening, we can hear it happening, we can see it happening but nothing ever really happens. I suppose like the rest of the problems with this movie that can be blamed on the camera work and the style of filming. I just feel as if their was a good movie here, but it's destroyed by the ultra low budget and complete lack of effort on the filmmakers part to ensure that what they were making was worth it.
I've screened two movies tonight, both left me sitting here wishing I had gone out for coffee instead.
Dead Mary (2007)
Well worth watching
Though the beginning of the movie is a little slow, and some of it predictable, once the movie gets going it proves to be very enjoyable. A lot of people who will watch this movie will undoubtedly have played the Bloody Mary game at some point in their life. Dead Mary, which is based on the Bloody Mary legend is the best portrayal of it that I've seen in a long time. Some of whats said by the people who are possessed in the film may actually make you stop and wonder. About what I won't say but watch the movie and see if you don't find yourself thinking back. Remembering a night when you stood in front of a mirror, called Bloody Mary's name and thought nothing happened.
The acting is solid. the effects very well done, great camera work. good locations and a great story. The only thing that stops me from rating the movie higher is that the beginning is so slow. It just kept the movie from feeling quite right, but it is done well enough to keep your interest and if you stick with it you won't be sorry. A good movie for a dark and stormy night and a must for any horror fan.
Cannibal (2006)
Crosses Every Line There Is To Cross
Let me start off by dispelling a myth that I heard about this movie before watching it. This film is by no means pornography. Though it delves deep into the homosexual tendencies of the killer, calling this movie a porno because of that would be like calling Halloween or Sliver a porno. If your a mature person who can sit through the sex scenes, what follows is something that could only be called the greatest cannibal movie ever put to film.
Everything done in this movie is done for a reason, it all contributes to our understanding of the characters and makes the horror that follows far more shocking then it would have otherwise been. To go into some detail, the first twenty minutes or so in the movie are virtually dialog free. There is a short part at the beginning where a story is told but aside from that the viewer is left to rely on sights and sounds to explain whats happening. The beginning is setup to show us the killers quest for the man who will be his victim. What follows once the dialog starts is meant to expand on the characters we've met and it does so fantastically. Showing us how they feel and think, what their desires are and how desperate they are to fulfill them.
The sex scenes, like the rest of the film are unflinching. Shown in more detail then I would have ever expected to see in a film, but those scenes like everything else are there for a reason. They show the killer and the victims ultimate uncontrollable desire to be "one". They expand on the characters and show the almost primal desires that lie within them. Anyone who continues to watch the movie following these scenes can see how essential they were, how much they added to characters and to the effect the movie has on it's viewer.
The film runs about an hour and a half. Roughly fifty minutes or so into the movie it becomes truly horrific, taking us even deeper into the mind of a madman and his quest to satisfy his hunger. The gore at this point in the film will truly make you squirm. I've been watching horror movies since I was ten years old, I have never truly felt taken aback by what I've seen. I have never felt that I could label a film as truly brutal, realistic, honest and straight forward. Until now. I've seen Cannibal Holocaust and it's sequels, Cannibal Ferox and countless other cannibal films. More horror movies then I can remember, all of the Faces Of Death series, countless examples or real autopsies and many things I wouldn't care to mention. This movie is truly the best cannibal film I've ever seen and I can't imagine anything ever comparing to it.
I think calling it a cannibal movie is perhaps a little unfair, the term almost simplifies the film when there is so much more to it and it is so incredibly well done. The entire movie has a dark and foreboding feel, the camera work and music add to a great story which, as others have said, if it wasn't true no one would believe it. I am a fan of all types of horror from North America, Japan, Europe and just about everywhere else. I never judge one type of cinema against another. I'm not the type to say "if Hollywood could make a movie like this, it would truly revive North American horror". However I'm going to say exactly that. Perhaps the closest thing we have to this type of film making in North America right now is Rob Zombie, but even he doesn't push the limits like this. I have to wonder if he would, if he thought he could actually get it released in US and Candadian theaters.
If your a mature horror fan this is a must see and you will not regret it. If it isn't already clear though, keep the kids (or your parents as the case may be) out of the room for this one.
Wild Country (2005)
Definitely worth watching
Despite reading a few negative reviews on this movie I thought I'd give it a go tonight and I'm very glad I did. The only thing about this film that strikes me as a little off is that the werewolves look very different from anything I've seen before. Maybe even a little cheesy. However the acting, camera work, the story and the way the movie is put together all make up for it. The ending of the movie is perhaps the best part and for me a good ending makes or breaks a movie. I won't go into detail so as not to spoil the end of the film, but suffice it to say there is quite a twist and it did not end the way I was expecting at all.
The special effects are a little lacking at first but they greatly improve toward the end. One scene in which a werewolf virtually bites a man in half is especially well done and makes up for the lack of gore earlier in the movie. All in all the effects, perhaps (though I hesitate to say it) with the exception of the wolves are very well done. I hesitate because I'm still not sure if I liked the wolves or not, it was refreshing to see something different but at the same time as I said earlier, they seemed a bit cheesy. I'll likely watch the movie again soon and I think watching a second time around I'll probably decide I like the wolves and they aren't cheesy at all.
The film is loaded with the type of dialog and wit you would expect in a film from the UK and it all comes off very well. There are some tense moments and a lot of wondering what will happen next, I don't think it's truly scary but I do think it's a great werewolf movie. If your a fan of European horror you will definitely get into this movie and love every minute of it. It's movies like this that make me glad I root to dig up things that are out of the ordinary because even though a lot of the time you get disappointed, more often then not you come out of it smiling.
The Absence of Light (2006)
Bland, Cheap and Boring
I don't know where to begin. This movie feels a lot like one of those cheap Saturday morning kids shows that they used to make back in the late eighties early nineties. Sort of like Captain Power or the Power Rangers. It's full of bad digital overlays and really cheesy sounding "secret agencies" and villains.
The acting is so bad that it's not even funny. The direction is terrible and there is little to now continuity. It seems as if someone just threw a bunch of scenes together and forgot that there was supposed to be a plot.
Perhaps one of the most ridiculous scenes in the movie comes early on, when several villains plant an explosive device in an agents car. For some reason, even though the device is clearly stated as being "remote detonated" the bad guys decide to chase her down on their motorcycles as she drives away. This chase carries on. all the while with the bad guys doing ludicrous and completely pointless bike stunts. Standing up on the bikes, doing wheelies and so on. At one point, a crash happens and one of the attackers is thrown from his bike, we see the bike (clearly cgi) thrown over the agents car but the rider has vanished. Then, a few seconds later the rider and bike return...apparently unscathed by the crash. At this point even though the car has an explosive device planted in it, the attackers choose to shoot the agent while driving past, then blow up her car. Which was also clearly done with cgi. Sound confusing? It is, and so is the rest of the movie.
I might point out that when I say cgi, we aren't talking about Lord Of The Rings type cgi here. We're talking the cheap cheesy Power Rangers type cgi, actually I think it would have been done better on Power Rangers.
Why Savini and Todd did this movie I will never know, I can only assume they did for money, as a favor to someone or because they were blackmailed into it...probably the last one.
August Underground (2001)
Boring, lost and completely pointless
I read a lot of reviews about this movie, I knew what I was in for as far as content and style. What I wasn't prepared for was how utterly boring and truly lost this movie really is.
The plot. There isn't one. There is no purpose or reason stated behind anything seen in the movie, there is simply no point. The two killers go off on their "rampage", they find victims and assault or murder them. Thats it and that in itself is done badly. I have dealt with loose plots, lost plots and even hopelessly confused plots but I have never (until now) seen a movie that I would consider completely pointless. Yet here I am after 23 years of movies, admitting this film is just that.
The special effects. One of the main comments I read about this movie is that it is gory and realistically so. Some said it made them sick, describing revulsion and so on. That is not the case. Anyone can see that the fight scenes are fake, the blood is fake, injuries fake and even the feces is obviously faked. Badly faked. Perhaps most poorly done are the scenes involving body parts, rubber feet and so on. I think part of the reason behind using the heavily exaggerated bad video, was an attempt to hide the obviously poor effects.
The acting. So bad it's hardly worth mentioning. No one is the film appears seriously angered, scared or upset. In fact at several points I'd almost swear you could see some of the "victims" smiling. The convenience store scene is perhaps the worst scene of all. The man being beaten is overacting to the point of it being laughable. His girlfriend appears neither terrified or even mildly scared. Her boyfriend is crying like a baby, yet she seems barely disturbed.
The script. I find it hard to believe there was one so I fail to see the point in commenting on it.
One thing that is notable is that movie actually lacks violence for some reason. You would think a movie about to killers on a rampage would have a lot of fighting and murdering and so on. Well in this case, you so rarely actually see anything happen that the movie manages to lack violence. At one point we are introduced to a couple of comic store owners, who are the next intended victims. The movie jumps from a casual conversation between the killers and the store owners, to the store owners being tied up in the killers basement. We never see the actual altercation, and no explanation is provided as to how the kidnapping took place. The movie jumps like this in several places which only serves to add to the nonsensical story line. As well, anytime there is actual violence, punching or hitting, the blows are so obviously pulled that again it's laughable.
To sum up, if your looking for a completely pointless, badly shot, poorly acted and completely hopeless movie, your in luck. I expected something like Jimmy and Judy and instead got nothing. Literally nothing.