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Reviews
Graphic Sexual Horror (2009)
Intelligent, despite the cheap shock value title.
There isn't much I can add about this film that hasn't already been said. In a sentence; it's a logical, somewhat non-biased insight to the BDSM porn industry in America. I'm a little disappointed with the whole 'PD is so original' thing when most of this kind of thing was copied from Japan, but if you go with the flow, it's easy to ignore. "Plagiarism is the most sincere form of flattery" or so they say.
I will add that I had low expectations for this film given the outrageous title; "Bah! A couple of (probably stereotypical lesbian) feminists making a crockumentary about female oppression!" I thought at first, but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a sensible adult film about, well... sensible adult films. If you have your head screwed on right, it's an absolutely fascinating and informative look at the "darker side" of pornography in the west.
In the end, my only complaint is that the ending was abrupt (I would like to know more about the Homeland Security stuff, what money did to BDs personality, etc.), but I'm led to believe the producers share the same sentiment. Time and money is always a constraint I guess, whether you're submissive or not!
Nymph (1996)
I don't know.
I can't rate this.
Its one of about maybe 3 "porn" films I've ever seen in 20 years that actually has a plot.
These days, what more can you ask for? By pornographic standards, it easily deserves a 52billion+/10, but by normal film standards... er.. it's actually pretty good as well. There's a fun Chinese ghost story thing happening there, but with less kungfu magic and more sex. And not in a cheesy typical porn way. It's still no Kubrick or Besson film though: maybe a 4/10?
Since it was made after the 1973 (or whenever it was) US film rating/censorship fiasco, I'm probably overly impressed to the point of bias.
Supernova (2005)
As everyone else says, terrible by any definition.
The Sun suddenly going supernova... hmmm... all life on earth would be completely extinct for about 1000 different reasons by the time it even got close to doing so. The whole concept is completely flawed. If the film had been portrayed intelligently in pieces over a few million years, maybe it might have worked.
I'd go so far as to put a "R"/"XXX" rating on this if I could: do not let anyone under 21 see it - it is detrimental to their intelligence, and unlike old 1940s & 50s B films (which are equally as stupid these days), we now know FAR more. What gave these old films their charm was that they didn't know any better at the time, and to their credit, the writers/directors/whatever were trying to push the boundaries and encourage budding new thought.
As always, making an obviously idiotic film like this is just retarded and lazy.
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
insanity
I dunno if anyone really got 'the point' of the original, but it seems to have been about the flightcrews descent into insanity. I found it pretty boring to be honest (as nearly all films about the slow and painful process of delving into insanity are), despite the realism.
This new version didn't really convey any of this well, (I've never seen a properly setup 4 stroke engine fire more than 10 or so strokes and then suddenly die for example, and that didn't happen in the original). And now there's a girl? My god! how much more trouble they would have gotten into in the old one if they also had one! Can anyone say 'gangrape', or probably more realisticaly, 'water whore'?!
Recent reviewers are very accurate, and its just a really nice (visually) version of the older one with actors you might be more familiar with. I was impressed that they'd kept much of the old dialogue nonetheless - one of the few times Hollywood hasn't insulted their roots by turning it into some misguided Christian/Disney moral. I can't decide if this was better or worse than the original. Perhaps just wait 'till a good film crew gets their hands on the concept, because it truly is a brilliant story; reminds me of something Roald Dahl would have written. That's pretty much the only reason either version is worth watching.
The Darwin Awards (2006)
It seemed a bit disjointed
It seemed a bit disjointed. I plan to watch it a couple more times, but I'm only writing this after the 1st viewing and I was mostly going 'Huh?' through the plot related bits. Partly because the actors were mumbling, and partly because I suspect there was a lot edited out that shouldn't have been. Y'know, so it fit into the typical 90 minute format.
I've read nearly all of the darwin award incidences portrayed (as well as those that didn't qualify 'cos no one got killed, like the dense eurotrash girl that didn't understand cruise control). All of them were hilariously done. Or maybe I need to see a psychiatrist.
Anyway, I LOVE intelligent, well thought out films you need to watch a few times to really 'get'. Warner Ho's- uh I mean, Bro's, have really found the sweet spot with their usual Batman films and so on. They always get good reviews 'cos they're so moronic, you only have to watch them once, but if you're the type thats utterly bored of that stuff, go see this instead.
I laughed so hard at the frontmen of Mythbusters as illegal weapons dealers, I think it just cured my lung cancer. +1 point.
And then there's the whole homicide investigator that faints at the sight of blood thing. +1 point. Mostly for not dwelling on it so long that it became annoyingly stupid. That could have been a disaster, but it was handled well. In fact, it was so well done, that I wonder if a lot of previous reviewers even saw the irony in it.
And so on... In short; it's not 'Dr. Strangelove' brilliant, because it will age very fast (although I bet you a million bucks 'ol Stanley didn't think of that either, at the time), but it's pretty good now.
Menace (2002)
An insightful look at what it takes to become a criminal.
Maybe I read too much into this, but I thought it raised some important and previously ignored issues with how the Police and legal system work, and how 'normal' citizens can become criminals. I don't know if that was the intent... the nuances were subtle. Having been the victim of petty crime many times before, maybe I just identified with it too well.
Our heros life slowly becomes completely destroyed as a small time case of extortion over an exceedingly large 'reward' for his missing dog escalates into a fullblown bank robbery.
The previously law-abiding bank manager turns into a crook himself through harassment from the family of the extortionist and the resulting ignorance from the police and legal system.
I like films that make one think, and this one definitely did.
The production was 'good enough' that I was driven deep into the story, and didn't notice anything bad about it. If I try to nitpick, *perhaps* the acting was a bit over the top from the bank manager and his wife at the beginning, but I suspect that was deliberate: hinting at their rapidly deteriorating marriage that started long before the beginning of the film.
All in all, a brilliant piece of work. I haven't seen anything this good in a made-for-TV production in years. I'd like to see it again if I can get my hands on it.
Hell Asylum (2002)
A good film strangled by producers and budget
This film is extremely well directed and acted, but sadly the plot seems to have been written in a rush, or maybe too much was cut. The special effects weren't that great either, which might explain why I mostly laughed my way through this film.
This could have been a great story with 5 silly little girls getting the life scared out of them - one even running around in her underwear, scared stupid for the last part of the film (how hot is that!?), but well... I think that aspect could have been taken further. Perhaps the producers were aiming for a M rating or something, I don't know - ratings seem totally arbitrary to me. How this got an R seems ridiculous.
Another problem is there was a lot of time wasted on making a joke about 'reality television'. Its funny sure, but I got it 1st time, laughed and moved on.
I might add the music was interesting and very appropriate too. Thats a big plus which a lot seem to forget about.
The end result: a B grade movie that should have been better. For die hard horror fans: *definately* something to see. There are traces of an outstanding cult film in there.