Shaheed79 Reviews

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)

Maybe this was only for longtime Snappers

[5/10 · 25 April 2005]

I love horror movies ever since my mom left me in front of the television to watch such masterpieces like Alien and The Shining when I was nearly knee high. Since then I always find myself grabbed by the attention of a well made horror flick but unfortunately, Ginger Snaps Back tricked me. I caught the very beginning of this movie on Showtime and found myself thinking "Wow what great cinematography. What is this?" It reminded me of something straight out of Sleepy Hollow so immediately I abandoned any other activities to give it my full attention. As I followed the events between the 2 sisters Bridgette and Ginger and discovered Werewolves would be involved I became enthralled by its high production value and became glued to the TV.

The two sisters happen upon a Native American hunter who helps one of the girls and leads them to an old military base for shelter. The cast and costumes were all very well done and the presentation was equally good. The sister soon find out as to why the inhabitants of the compound are so edgy and fearful of strangers and the woods surrounding them. After one of the sisters is bitten the story began to go horribly wrong at some points as certain events would seem to happen randomly with little explanation as to why it happened and even more confusing were the outcomes of these events. Particularly upsetting is how they portrayed the Indian hunter who saved them. He stays there at the fort docile for most of the film protecting it and watching the girls from a distance then 3/4 through he busts in their room explaining his motives all along BUT with no real explanation for his sudden urgency to do so. How come he waited so long to tell them?

The dreams were particularly disappointing and annoying. They follow this Indian mysticism motif the whole movie only to mock it in the end. Why did Ginger have a daydream about making out with the Indian Hunter? Why did Bridgette foresee events that had no bearing on the ending? Basically by the end of the movie you have a bunch of "What the?" and not enough "Aww yeah now that makes sense." which is a testament to its lack of a clever and thoughtful script. All and all I would say this movie came off to a great start but felled flat after the horror got going and being a fan of a similar movie Ravenous just made me more tolerable of its unpredictability the difference being it never comes together at the end like Ravenous does.

Funny enough it wasn't until I watched this movie that I found out Ginger Snaps Back was the last episode of a highly acclaimed horror franchise called Ginger Snaps. After watching the trailers for GS1-2 I can only say that it looks like Showtime aired the wrong installment of this trilogy.

5/10

Envy (2004)

Jack Black is better than this.

[2/10 · 16 April 2005]

Ben whatever it's right in this playing field of the uninspired. This is the non-funniest movie Jack Black has ever been in, Ever. The beginning doesn't match the events of the movie 3/4 or even 1/2 through the picture. I would bet money that there was no script involved in the making of the film. Its like they just threw these to guys together and paid a call to Christopher Walken and the ticking time bomb began to slowly count down. I can only hope that Jack is more careful in the future of the scripts he picks up or lack thereof. The most absolute low point of the movie for me is when Ben's wife transforms into a money grubbing devil of a wife seemingly unforeseeable by prior events which derailed its potential for humor.

The music is good and the premise is potentially good. It would be nice to see what a talented writer could have done with it.

Sometimes in April (2005 TV Movie)

And we wonder why people are willing to end their lives to get away from this world.

[9/10 · 20 March 2005]

What I'm about to say is as controversial as this film. Just like many times in the past the events of Rawanda shows the true nature of man-kinds ability to demean a group or sub-group to such a level that to take the life of a woman or child bares no moral consequence. What about the lives of hundreds of thousands women and children? By broadcasting racial propaganda against the Tutsis the Hutus were able to use the assassination of their President as a springboard for hate and genocide towards the Tutsis Rwanda citizens. Hate of another racial, religious or political group or sub-group is the most used method of control throughout human history. By classifying the term "Cock-Roaches" towards the Tutsis the Hutus were able to see them as less than human making murder more acceptable and without moral consequence.

This movie touched me deeply because it showed the true unforgiving brutality of man with very few moments of sincere sympathy towards the cause of the oppressed. Which is the reality of it all. The Beurocracy of the United Nations headed by the US is as much to blame for the Rwanda tragedy as the murdering Hutus which the film every so slightly portrays in its ending. It also shows its glaring hypocrisy in the face of the UN's most recent intrusions. But this film isn't about political finger pointing its about giving First World Society a vision of the Truth. The Atrocities of Rwanda I would hope more than anything put into perspective the world around us and how everything isn't just the peaches and cream that fills most of our daily lives. No matter what hardships we have been through NONE of them compare to what happened to the Tutsie in 94 or the Jews and Chinese in WWII.

The movie ends with a heart-felt message to "Never Forget". But we will. It is the only thing we can do. To accept the tragedy for what it is as something that truly goes on in this world and will inevitably happen again if Political Propaganda so determines it to be beneficial would mean the end of society's self delusional security. If we were a moral race of beings we would of already taken steps to make sure Rwanda would never happen again in ours nor our children's children's lifetimes. But we haven't. And we won't.

Gattaca (1997)

Profound is an understatement

[10/10 · 12 April 2004]

Whenever someone asks me the inevitable question of what is my favorite movie of all time more times than not GATTACA is always the first film to come to mind. The aristocratic Jude Law practically made this movie for me as without him the captivating cinematography, excellent acting and transcendent story would of all have not been as engaging without his performance.

This movie speaks to my soul because I myself was born with a terminal condition that would keep me from being all that I would want to be in a future like that. But what some other people seem to miss is that Niccol wasn't being literal in his depiction of a discriminating future based on genes. He chose to use DNA because all human beings would be susceptible to the bleak future he painted for the "God Children". Niccol was probably more speaking about the discrimination that already exist in our society and how it parallels to the actual events of the movie allowing more people to open their minds. Skin Color, Creed and Religion are all tools that we use to discriminate against other human beings in modern times. This is where the movie becomes more philosophical because Niccol dares to suggest that we will forget about all of those particular ways of popular discrimination in the future when a persons DNA becomes all the more important than what God you worship or your skin color.

I believe a lot of people see different things when they watch GATTACA and this is what makes this movie so deep and engrossing in levels that cannot be imagined. This is why I love it because what you get from the movie maybe focused on something totally different from what I got because there is so much going on there.

10/10 "If its one movie you see in a lifetime it should be this one."