PureGore Reviews

Evil Dead (2013)

Exceeded All My Expectations

[10/10 · 7 April 2013]

I've been a huge fan of the Evil Dead films for 3 decades. They're a big part of my movie-watching while growing up. During this time, I've shared the movies with all my friends and family. Any new addition to these films would have to reach a very high bar to meet my approval. So when I heard a remake was in the works, I was both excited and concerned.

My concerns grew when I found out the movie would not be directed by Sam Raimi, and would not be starring Bruce Campbell in any capacity. Then I found out this was being directed by a rookie, who also penned the screenplay. I was convinced this movie had "disaster" written all over it.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

It's been many years since a movie actually got my heart racing, and it was amazing to have that feeling again after so long. Evil Dead is a thrill ride that gripped me and didn't let go until at least an hour after it had ended.

It was also refreshing because there were almost none of the typical moments where I asked yourself "Why did he do that? That's stupid!". The premise of the movie gives a good reason for the characters to remain at the cabin long after most sane people would've taken off.

Half the fun of the movie was spotting all the cues taken from the first 2 movies, but given their own twist in this re-imagining. Bitten hand that goes bad and needs to be chopped off? Check! Stump-wielding a chainsaw? Check! Demon locked in the cellar? Check! If you've got a favourite scene in one of the first 2 Evil Dead movies, then there's an homage to it in this movie somewhere. But these cues aren't shoe-horned in for the sake of fan service, they're skillfully crafted into the story line in a way that makes these cues unique and shocking in their own way. It's like the writers took these ludicrous moments from the first 2 movies, and turned them into the genuinely scary devices they were meant to be in the first place.

I loved how this movie kept me guessing. Sure, I think I KNOW what's gonna happen next. It's been done this way in movies countless times before. But the story throws just enough loops in that there's always doubt. I thought I knew how this movie would end, and I was wrong. And being wrong was awesome, because the end turned out to be way better than my expectations.

Mind you, that may not be the fairest way to put it. After all, my expectations were pretty low. So let me state it this way: I can't stand to watch a movie twice in a row, no matter how much I enjoy it. Usually, if I watch a movie, I'm done with it for at least 3 years. But I want to race back to the theatre and watch Evil Dead again RIGHT NOW! And I bet I'd love to watch it a 3rd or 4th time. It was just that much fun.

Do I have a favourite among the Evil Dead series? Not really. I enjoy all of them for different reasons. But Evil Dead stands right up there among my favourite movies of all time.

(as a counterpoint, my wife watched most of the movie with her eyes half-closed, and felt disturbed for hours afterwards... so this movie definitely isn't for everyone, especially if you're squeamish)

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

A Rompin' Good Time

[9/10 · 20 August 2011]

First and foremost, this movie is not for movie critics. This movie is for people looking to watch a film with an open mind and have a good time doing it. In these days of Michael Bay pseudo-epics being released every other week, it was great to sit down, turn off my brain, and enjoy a Conan movie that follows in the true tradition of Conan stories.

This movie is also for true Conan fans. Lots of violent battles, blood everywhere, a dark arch-nemesis, nude women, rowdy yet loyal friends, Conan "getting some" with the main heroine... if you've ever read one of the Robert E. Howard or Robert Jordan (or any other author in between) Conan stories, you know exactly what to expect in this movie. The typical Conan adventure recipe is being followed faithfully, and in a very good way.

Jason Momoa is a FANTASTIC Conan. He's got the moves, the attitude and the stoic presence that I've always imagined when reading the stories. The action sequences really play to his strengths, and he takes full advantage of them.

Of course there's plenty of clichés throughout the movie, but that's to be expected from a Conan story. The novels are full of them too. There's also a few moments of cheesy visual effects that don't work too well. But it's easy to forget these and get pulled into the next well-scripted battle sequence.

By far the lowest point of the entire movie was the "evil daughter" Marique, played by Rose McGowan. That's about the worst performance I've seen on the big screen in decades. Either the character was terribly scripted, or Rose McGowan was a terrible casting decision. She's worse than a parody, she's an embarrassment to the movie. Scenes where she's trying to exude an aura of evil are laughable (seriously, I almost burst out laughing when she was on screen trying to be ominous).

Don't let the artsy fartsy movie critics dissuade you. If you know what to expect, or if you're a fan of Conan stories, this movie is definitely worth the price of admission. After decades of waiting for another Conan movie, we can rejoice: it's finally arrived!

Sweet Karma (2009)

Engaging and fun to watch

[8/10 · 12 July 2009]

I saw the world premiere of this movie at the 2009 Fantasia Movie Festival in Montreal. I went in with an open mind, not necessarily hoping or dreading anything. But I have to admit, my initial thoughts were that the "rape revenge" thing has been done to death. It seems like an easy way to have sex and violence in your movie and draw the most typical movie-watching crowd (ie. an easy way to make a fast buck).

Sweet Karma surprised me. Right off the bat, the movie has a very dark and gritty feel to it that draws you in. Shera Bedard is awesome as Karma, avenging the death of her sister. Having the "heroine" be a mute added a great dimension to her character. She does a great job of expressing emotions and intentions through her eyes and body language. She's really believable as a shy young woman who has nothing left to lose and forces herself to take out her anger on those who're responsible. This also adds an unexpected complexity to the movie, since Karma can't tell her story herself. There are sporadic "flashback"-type scenes early on which help to clarify things, and these do a great job of helping us understand what's going on.

Most of the rest of the cast is great too. The Russian accents don't sound forced or fake. The main "bad guys" are especially despicable, and I found myself wanting Karma to succeed in her self-appointed mission. One exception is John Tokatlidis, who was neither believable nor very interesting. In fact, when his character is focused on about halfway through, the movie's quality goes down a couple notches. He manages to bring it down all by himself.

One of the big draws for me about Sweet Karma is the fact that it's a purely Canadian movie. The story is based in Toronto, and it was entirely filmed there. Everything was financed by the crew, apparently with no outside help. Unfortunately, it seems like the story could've happened anywhere just by changing a few words in the script. There were almost no recognizable Toronto landmarks, and very few Toronto-specific scenes except maybe the airport. There's a scene near the beginning of the movie where the bad guys are joking about forming a hockey team, but it feels tacked-on and out of place. Almost like someone said "Hey, this movie doesn't feel Canadian enough, let's add some hockey dialog!" Despite this, it's great to see a purely Canadian production that's so engrossing and entertaining. Maybe the fact that it doesn't really "feel" Canadian is a good thing since the movie can appeal to a bigger audience outside the country... if they cut out that scene with the hockey dialog.

Obviously, sex and violence were portrayed. But not in an over-the-top way, only in a realistic way that fit with the theme of the movie. This definitely isn't PG-13 stuff, but it's not gratuitous either.

The rest of the audience really seemed to enjoy the movie too. There was loud applause after the credits, and the questions that people asked the crew during the Q&A session showed a lot of interest.

I'm really glad I went to see Sweet Karma, it's an excellent take on the old "revenge" theme. For me, nothing will ever beat High Plains Drifter as the best "revenge" movie, but Sweet Karma comes close, and ranks right up there as one of the best movies I've seen recently. For a purely independent film, the production values were really high, even matching or exceeding some of the stuff coming out of Hollywood these days... especially the ones that pretend to be "nitty gritty".

In Country (1989)

A powerful Bruce Willis performance...

[8/10 · 8 August 2000]

A lot of the criticism against this movie comes from the fact that it didn't follow the book as accurately as it could have. But since I haven't read the book, that's not an issue for me. I didn't have to sit there and say "Hey! That's not how it happened!"

This movie caught me by surprise. The only reason I saw it was because I happened to be channel-surfing and I noticed Bruce Willis with a weird mustache. The movie was just starting, so I settled in to watch the whole thing. This says a lot about the kind of recognizability Bruce Willis has earned in the years since he made this movie.

In all I was very impressed with his performance as Emmett. And while Emily Lloyd was a bit on the annoying side, the role she played was portrayed beautifully (which I guess was the whole point).

Being a Canadian, the Vietnam War doesn't hold as much meaning to me as it does to Americans. But this movie went a long way towards showing me how someone who was affected by the Vietnam War dealt with the repercussions. While the movie did develop very slowly and seemed to drag on at times, it was wonderfully refreshing and touching.