Veskanderrai Reviews

Case 39 (2009)

Decent enough horror movie

[7/10 · 2 November 2009]

The movie, as a horror movie, delivers what it promises, which is scaring people. It is however not without its flaws.

As an above reviewer already stated Renee Zellweger is not a great actress for these types of movies, but it's not something that should bother you during the duration of the movie.

Another flaw is the use of what I tend to call gratuitous scares. What do I mean by that you may ask. These are scares that are provoked by suddenly letting a barking dog jump against a window when the main character is standing there or by letting a coworker pop up next to the protagonist when she's sitting down. However effective they may be, they are not scares relevant to the story and they tend to irritate me because they take the focus of the main story, mostly because the main story has little volume.

This is lucky not the case here. The acting of the "evil" by the little girl is very well done. If I had a child before me like that, I'm sure I wouldn't be too comfortable by him/her.

***SPOILER*** For the rest part the story is good enough to keep you going although I would have preferred a non Hollywoodian ending because that would have been more "realistic" if the girl was really possessed by an ancient demon. ***SPOILER***

But all in all a good movie to spend your evening on.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

A creepy film with a superb build up of scares

[8/10 · 2 November 2009]

This movie was excellent. It starts slow and has a bit of a low budget budget feel but as the movie progresses I was more and more drawn in by the atmosphere of the movie.

By the end of the movie I could almost feel the panic anxiety which the characters feel and this is what a good horror movie without gore or abundant special effects should do.

The acting is good enough (I'm not a purist who analyzes every move of the actors) because I was never really put off by stupid reactions or card board performances. Some actions of the movie characters remain questionable but I guess thats inherent to most movies.

I recommend you watch this in a dark an quiet environment and I assure you'll have a great time.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

Entertaining evening movie

[6/10 · 19 October 2009]

This movie is fairly entertaining, but I only give it a 6 due to some "things" which seem inevitable in present VS movie making but which tick me of. A description: - Why on earth didn't the Baroness finish duke of in the beginning of the movie. --> If you don't want either to die, then make up a better scene.

• Why doesn't Storm Shadow kill the general for good when he shoots him. Just sloppy storytelling.

• The actor playing Duke is so wooden, that even Pinocchio seems lifelike in its wooden state. --> Please act better.

• Why on earth is there always a stupid sidekick who has to bring comic relief. --> I don't care if Wayans is playing in this flick, just give him a real role.

• Too much ball talk (like the mind numbing speech from the general) and more stupid one liners.

And I have some more gripes just as the above, but you catch my drift. Because of this I award this movie just entertaining value and nothing more.

Dead Wood (2007)

Mind numbingly boring

[1/10 · 19 October 2009]

This movie suffers from bad acting, bad directing and bad storytelling. The moments of suspense are so scarce that when they come, you know where and when you'll be supposed to be scared.

Apart from the lack of the above, the only scary thing in this movie is the knowledge that you are wasting precious time of your life which comes to you with each second you watch of this abominable "movie".

It are movies, such as these, that give the horror genre the bad name which it has today. I suppose it is the only genre that's being used as a training ground for bad and/or beginning directors and actors.

Stay way from this and don't even touch it with a 10-foot pole. You've been warned.

Quarantine (2008)

Uninteresting horror movie

[2/10 · 19 June 2009]

I'm afraid I haven't seen Rec as the above reviewer so I have to judge this movie as a stand alone.

This horror movie is the archetype of what's wrong with the horror genre nowadays. I'll list some of the problems with this movie.

1. Idiot characters: If someone with bloodshot eyes, incomprehensible speech and blood soaked clothes gnarls at me, I would either put IT down or run away. Here in this movie the characters stay shouting "Stop and freeze" and then get bitten.

2. No Suspense: I don't call appearing "zombies" out of nowhere or illogical places scary, they are just gratuitous scares that the movie maker uses.

3. No story whatsoever: Okay, now this is a tricky one. Of course one could say, why do you need a story in a horror movie, it's all about the scares and suspense. That would be true if the latter were in the movie. This however, as stated above, is not the case so then I want some story to at least keep me going. Again the movie fails to deliver.

4. Ending. This must be the dumbest ending I have ever seen. This is the reverse of a deus ex machina, and I would like to call it diabolus ex machina if you can forgive me the bad analogy.

So to end I'd like to state that this horror movie is up to par with Uwe Boll's crap, Amusement, and I'm sure you can add countless more to this list. Apparently I've blocked out older experiences of bad movies.

Stay away from this, or lose precious hours of your life.

The Eel (1997)

How a Japanese man copes with guilt

[8/10 · 19 June 2009]

The Eel tells a story about a Japanese man who copes with his guilt after committing a crime. (I won't go into details on the crime, that's for you to find out) The way he does this is what makes this movie a great one in my book. Not only does he turn himself in after the crime (with a great way of response by the police) he even makes a friend out of an eel in prison. Hence the name of the movie. Once outside the prison he tries to build up a barber shop and get his life back on track.

The film is carried by its character interactions. Apart from these there is nothing else in this film, so for those who don't like dialogue don't bother with this film because you'll be bored.

For the others, who like a story carried by characters, this surely is a must. The only flaw for me was the presence of a quirky UFO nut, but that's minor.

And please watch the original version with subs and not some gruesome dubbed version. I never understood the appeal of a dub.

The Celebration (1998)

Family scandal unveiled by choice of speech

[9/10 · 19 June 2009]

I'd like to give 10/10, but then again who or what is perfect.

Anyway about the movie. This movie came to me as a bomb. I saw this as part of a late night special where they show great but not mainstream movie and this time i was mesmerized.

It starts out as a normal family dinner with a great variety of personalities as it is in real life. No cardboard clichés here.

Then the movie's pace and tone changes on the choice of 2 speeches and all hell breaks lose. What makes this movie work for me is that the situations and character interactions in this movie are real. They can happen in any family (provided that the patriarch is like the movie character).

So if you're looking for a great experience (as stated above by the other reviewer) you're in for a treat. If you get your kicks from violence, computer graphics, or any other form of brainless entertainment then you better stay away.