dfusion Reviews

V for Vendetta (2005)

Somewhat disappointing

[7/10 · 6 April 2006]

I was really looking forward to this one, but sadly it turned out to be a disappointment, just like The Matrix Revolutions.

Just like with TMR, V for Vendetta has a great cast and holds the promise of an excellent story. Sadly, in the end it doesn't deliver and is not much more than a smart action movie. No more Wachowski brothers for me.

That said, this isn't a bad movie. The cast is great, the visuals and sounds are excellent, and it will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat the whole duration of the movie.

7 out of 10

A Man Apart (2003)

Bad Boys meets Dirty Harry meets Traffic

[7/10 · 27 August 2003]

This is not a good movie. It doesn't deliver an original story full of surprises, it does not have great actors but in the end, all that didn't bother me!

Just judge this movie for what it's worth: a no brainer. If you look at it like that, you'll have a good time. The action is fast and violent and there are some great characters in there.

7/10

The League of Gentlemen: Live at Drury Lane (2001 Video)

Could have been better

[7/10 · 16 February 2003]

I'm a huge fan of LoG, so naturally I wanted to check out this DVD. As in the series, this DVD shows the extraordinary talent of the three actors portraying all those different roles so flawlessly and full of humor.

Sadly, the added value of watching this live show is quite small - a large part of the sketches are exactly the same as in the TV-series, which I've seen many times. This is compensated by some good new stuff (The German teacher thing is very funny - though the poor audience member involved will think differently I guess :)

This show isn't bad, but could have been much better if they'd used more new material.

7/10

Cube²: Hypercube (2002)

Surprisingly good!

[7/10 · 16 February 2003]

I was really sceptical about this movie. Having read the not-so-positive reviews I was positively surprised that this movie is pretty cool after all.

The weakest point is definitely some of the acting - they should have invested more in good actors to wash away some of that B-movie flavour which I must say is not present in the other aspects of this production. The visual FX are stunning though and the story gets better by the minute. I really liked the ending too, which should really appeal to Sci-Fi enthousiasts.

You won't be disappointed by this movie if you're into Sci-Fi but if you're not and haven't seen Cube 1, it's also worth checking out.

Penitentiary III (1987)

This movie is bad - bad meaning good!

[7/10 · 24 December 2002]

How can you go wrong with a plot like "A man is framed for murder and sent to prison. He is beaten and tortured, then forced to fight the prison's worst killer, a martial-arts fighting midget called Thud." ??

This is a B-grade pen movie but it is so bad that it's actually a lot of laughs. I saw this movie ten years ago when I was 16 but I bet I'd enjoy it again if I were to watch it now.

7/10

Irreversible (2002)

Unbelievably realistic

[7/10 · 15 December 2002]

I have mixed feelings about this movie. Let me point out that through it's portrayal of the graphic and disgusting nine minute rape scene and the stuff going on in the gay bar, this movie has learned me two things:

One - never let your girlfriend walk home alone (never!)

Two - I'm not going to a gay bar(never ever!)

The movie is well made (you get used to the weird camera techniques after a while) and it presents a hellish nightmare that I have never ever experienced in any other film.

The only thing I don't understand is why did the movie start at the end? I mean it's original (sort of) but it totally destroys the plot which would have been great if the story were told in a linear way.

Verdict: High impact film that could have been much better if the plot was linear. Still a must see because of its life lessons. Score: 6.8 out of 10

Keeping the Faith (2000)

Another Stiller Masterpiece

[8/10 · 12 August 2002]

Like Meet the Parents and Zoolander this again is a very funny (feelgood) movie. The dialogue and characters are both great. Stiller and Norton are good as always. Jenna Elfman is also great in this role (and I personally dont like Dharma). Only minor letdown is that near the end the story slows down quite a bit. They should have trimmed things a bit more. That said, its a great movie - rent it on DVD!

South West 9 (2001)

Much better than human traffic!

[7/10 · 2 June 2002]

We really rented this DVD on a gamble - I hated human traffic and even though the cover of SW9 said "trainspotting meets pulp fiction" (usually speaking this assures you that the movie is bad ;) - we went for it.

The beauty of this movie lies not in the story, but more in the total production, the characters and the excellent music. It all makes you experience the life of these clubbers and scammers in a really authentic way. Some parts of the movie even reminded me of (the far superior) Requiem for a Dream.

All in all it's a great movie that will certainly appeal to anyone who ever ate Disco Biscuits :)

Repli-Kate (2002)

Great Fun!

[7/10 · 21 May 2002]

This is just a great (albeit silly) comedy and nothing more...I had never seen nor heard of Ali Landty before, but she is not only great looking but also very convincing in her role(s).

The movie itself is fast paced and short enough to keep you from being bored, since obviously there isn't a great exciting plot to keep the viewer waiting for more.

6.5/10 Rent the DVD and watch it with Friends, beer and pizza!

The Learning Curve (1999)

16-19 year-olds....rejoice!

[6/10 · 18 April 2002]

...for this is a nice lightweight, shallow movie that should appeal to the teenage market. The story is pretty basic: two teenagers find love and get entangled in a web of crime while pursuing their quest for easy cash. Actors are unknown and pretty uninspiring, apart from Monet Mazur and the bad guy's speed-addicted henchman - he made me laugh quite a lot throughout the movie.

The biggest problem, for a more mature audience, is the shallowness of the story and the flatness of all characters. Overall, production and music is quite good and I see no problem in checking this out at your local video rental store, if you're in the mood for a light teen-crime action movie.

6/10

Monster's Ball (2001)

Vastly overrated

[6/10 · 27 March 2002]

I am baffled that this movie not only has an overall 8.0 rating on imdb currently but also resulted in Halle Berry getting an Oscar for her performance.

The storyline of this movie is very average and hardly intrigueing. The performance of most actors was mediocre, with the exception of Billy Bob's dad, who put up a solid performance playing his racist father.

The movie offers nothing new, exciting or worth spending 2 hours for....it's just a recycling of stuff we already know. Its main themes, execution of a prisoner, cross racial love and the hardships of parenting have all been portrayed many a time and really don't justify spending your time and money, not in the way this movie was made anyway.

The only really good things about this movies are the music and cinematography. Both are great, accompanying the events and portraying the little southern community.

6/10

Ali G Indahouse (2002)

Brilliant

[8/10 · 27 March 2002]

Fans of Ali G will love this movie. Don't look at the storyline or the acting of most of the cast. Just follow Ali G's wicked humour, as this is a film that surprised me a lot - I really thought it would be a lot worse!

Notice tho that the movie is not funnier than his best sketches in Da Ali G show (Borat stuff, FB-aaayy etc). Still very entertaining and worth watching again and again.

8/10

Training Day (2001)

Awesome!

[8/10 · 27 March 2002]

Finally, Denzel manages to break away from his stigma of playing the good guy. I always *knew* he was an excellent actor, I just really got fed up with the type of roles he got dealt in movies lately.

Now, as Allonzo, he really shines as the ultimate Bad Lieutenant, making corruption, drug abuse and violence all part of his daily cop routine.

What I like even more about this movie is the fact that instead of filming loads of storylines and events, they took a few and portrayed them well.

8/10

Scarfies (1999)

College movie with an Edge

[7/10 · 3 September 2001]

This movie is a bit like a college flick mixed with elements of shallow grave....Both the actors and the story are interesting. I also like the way it's been cut - the story keeps moving and never realy bores....nice movie overall.

This is one of those unknown movies you rent on a gamble - most are bad and some shine - this is a definite gem.

7.4/10

Luck of the Draw (2000)

Tarantino ripp-off

[4/10 · 13 May 2001]

I took a gamble by renting this one DVD - it certainly had potential, with the good storyline and great actors (Madsen, Hopper).

After 15 minutes however, things really went downhill and it became obvious that this is a total Tarantino ripp-off. The story is very similar to True Romance and the music reminded me of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction - except that these weren't the original tracks from the 70s :)

It's really a b-grade ganster movie with none of the subtle filming or dialogue we get in Tarantino's movies.

4/10