MissSummers Reviews

Rise: Blood Hunter (2007)

2 different Movies, really

[8/10 · 2 May 2007]

Okay. First the good news: Lucy Liu is sexy and really emotional in this. Her acting chops finally come into play in a movie where she isn't just tough or bitchy. The woman is a really good actress. Most of the rest of the cast is really good, especially Carla Gugino and James d'Arcy (American haunting). A few scenes are standouts, particularly a nasty bit of business in a junkie shelter and a very very claustrophobic scene inside a morgue drawer. Now the bad news: Nick Lachey is in this for some incomprehensible reason and it REALLY snaps you out of the story. When will Hollywood learn that goofy cameos don't belong in horror? You're watching a perfectly cool creepy thriller when suddenly the audience gasps at ridiculous casting choices that have NOTHING to do with the story.

That, as well as some cheap attempts at "jumpscares" slightly spoil what is basically the antidote to Blade, Underworld and the rest of the goofy vampire pics of late. The treatment here is much more based on pain and grounded in reality.

Definitely worth checking out for fans of vampire fiction.

Ricky Gervais Meets... Garry Shandling (2006 TV Special)

Great interview

[9/10 · 29 April 2007]

This interview was an excellent exhibition of the comedy of awkwardness that both comedians are famous for. Both men have tried to blur the lines of reality, moving their characters into the "real world". Gervais, for example, has often put on his obnoxious act when going on chat shows or doing charity work. This interview with Shandling was just the next step and it was made successful because Gervais had an excellent partner to work with. The fact that they fooled so many people into thinking their awkwardness was real is a testament to that. If you didn't get it the first time, watch it again with this in mind. There are quite a few moments where Ricky can barely suppress his laughter at what Gary is doing.