vilincica Reviews

The Fog (2005)

It has the wrong name

[6/10 · 26 May 2006]

First of all I was in no way impressed by this movie. The acting wasn't all that, a few special effects were there just to make the movie longer (some were really nice though) and the story . . . well first of all it can't really be called a horror movie . . . If this movie is a horror movie so are The pirates of the Caribbean and no one is calling that horror.

If it was a movie called The Ghosts of the past (or something like it,I'm not referring to any actual movie) classified as a fantasy, drama, mystery this movie would have been just fine, not great, but you know, another average movie with a couple of really good moments and a couple of really bad ones.

I do agree that the second part of the move is better and that it can in no way compare to the original from 1980. I still remember watching that as a kid (I wasn't supposed to, so I would have nightmares) being all scared and spooked. In the new Fog some of the scenes that were supposed to be scary weren't scary but beautiful - and it's hard to be afraid of something beautiful. There are huge holes in the plot and some of the things that happen just don't make sense but oh well, many movies have that it's really not such a big deal.

I think the main reason people hated this movie is that most of them have seen the original and can't help but compare the two, and the second reason is that it was supposed to be scary but it wasn't. With a different type of advertising people would know what to expect.

Still if we for pretend, just for a second, that this movie was indeed advertised to me a fantasy drama mystery movie, without the horror part then it deserves a solid 6 :) I think you should watch it, just remember it's not a horror movie!

Hex (2004–2005)

Favourite of the genre

[9 December 2005]

I found Hex by accident and at first it didn't really impress me. But as I watched further it got more and more interesting and soon I was hooked. The thing I like most about it are the dialogs. Well obviously not all of them, but when they try to be funny, they almost always succeed and the jokes and puns are often double layered.

The actors are good and there is almost no moralization which really bothers me in shows like Buffy or Angel, as some have tried to compare Hex to. But in reality the only thing in common is the connection with the supernatural and the age of the people this is meant for.

Here the main characters do make the wrong choice and have to live with it, they may not even feel sorry, there is no really overly sweet friendship moments, or moral moments, or forgiveness moments. Characters change over the series a lot, some of them die.

It is a continuous story, not just kill this monster in this episode, and kill that monster in the next, but an ongoing story. Most of the actors are good and there are some really original characters, for example the lesbian ghost, and some really original modifications of known characters like the -speaking with a German accent- archangel Raphael. Azazeal is my favorite. He is a strong characters (must have something to with the acting) and you can never really hate him even though he is obviously THE bad guy :) at least for a while. The music fits and is used to create the mood a lot. The special effects? Well there are almost none, except for a creepy slimy monster now and then, since Hex took the more psychological approach to scariness. It works really well. Mind me, it is no more a horror show than Buffy but it may feel a bit more dark. And it is why I love it. The story itself isn't very original, but the little twists in it and the execution are. If you're bored of Buffy, if Angel is starting to get on your nerves give Hex a chance. I like it, why shouldn't you?

A Sound of Thunder (2005)

To make a movie this bad must have been hard work

[4/10 · 8 December 2005]

I went to see this movie with a friend........... yes we are both girls, but we really do like sci-fi, but this one was too much. It is the kind of movie that might have made it big time 10 years ago, but how does somebody come to the idea of making it nowadays is beyond me. The worst part it, that it starts, well it starts with a bit of potential, the plot isn˙t really original, but nobody expected it to be mind bogging and deep.

I was hoping the movie will get better up to a scene where the plants break trough the wall and there is a group of people around it, looking at it, all very surprised. After I saw that scene I knew for sure, things will only get worse. And they did, a lot worse.

The plot makes no sense, the lines are mostly just plain stupid, and all the little subplots that could carry an interesting story are discarded. One too many "bad" creatures are introduced, the movie feel fragmented and as the end even if you're trying really hard, you cannot help but laugh

Aladdin (1992)

Last Great Disney

[7/10 · 28 February 2005]

Aladdin was in my opinion one of the last Disney's great adventures, the last being The Lion KIng......... after that it all went downhill. The stories stopped being interesting, the music became average. To me, it seems like that magical something these animated movies used to have, simply disappeared. But Aladdin puled it off............ the story, although changed a bit, was still entertaining and the music made sense. Aladdin was likable, nice and funny, and the evil Jaffar was a classic villain we expect to find in a story like this. I've seen this movie a thousand times. When it came out I was about 13. My parents bought the tape and my brother, sister and I watched it almost every other day .... it was fun then .... sometimes you realize that things you liked so mush when you were a kid are not as good when you grow up, but Aladdin still is :)

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

people, be realistic

[5/10 · 19 January 2005]

Well, before I started writing this I went and browsed trough the previous comments. One thing I noticed was, that at least 3/4 of the were written by different people from USA another thing I noticed was, that most of them were very positive. A bit to much if you ask me. I like spider-man. I think he is one of the coolest super heroes ever invented. I hated the first movie, mostly because it was so very - I love New York, you can't beat us. Sure it was after the 9/11 incident, but such a message has no place in a movie about a fictional hero like Spider-man. The second movie was better in some ways, I must admit the effects were awesome, but for all the people that loved the comics or even the cartoons it should have been a disappointment. Sure it is an action super hero movie and you can't really expect deep dialogs, development of characters and such, but there is no need to presume that people watching it will all have IQ-s of a 6 year old. At various points in the movie I felt like it was telling me I was a moron, who needed everything explained and repeated over and over for the message to get trough. The performances were, well.... average and some scenes were overly dramatic. Screaming evil laugh doctors talking to themselves really aren't my thing. I know there are a lot of fans out there so don't kill me, but be realistic

Underworld (2003)

Eye candy

[8/10 · 19 December 2004]

First of all I am a vampire slash horror movie fan. I am and I'm proud to admit it. And I loved this movie, even though it's not horror. Horror movies are a dying breed. They are being replaced by gore/gross movies, that are not scary, they just make you sick. They are also being replaced by fantasy movies like this one. You can hardly be scared by this movie, but you can be fascinated. It is a nice mix of fantasy, action and special effects, so very popular these days. Usually I'm not a big special effects fan, in my opinion they mostly spoil movies, making them one big special effect with no room for a good plot that can unwind nicely (this is the case with Van Helsing, another movie starring Kate Beckinsale). In Underworld they fit nicely, the movie would probably work with less, but I have no great complaints about that and the plot works.

Kate Beckinsale gives a great performance (she was probably really sick or something when they were shooting Van Helsing) It is a movie worth seeing in a movie theater. There is no point in writing about the plot, so in short it's vampires fighting werewolves. It's nicely done (possible SPOILER) and there is no absolute bad guy (end Spoiler). You know how in movies they can come pretty close to what a vampire looks like in your head, but they can never come close to what a werewolf should look like? Well here they almost make it. Almost for me, maybe they look exactly like you picture them in your mind's eye.

I was fascinated by the movie even though at first they called it a Blade rip-off. In my opinion it's better than Blade (I'm very sorry if you're a Blade fan) and I kind of like Blade. The only thing that was similar was the way the story is "told". No vampires lurking in dark corners, preying on people, but vampires fighting one thing or another, no human vampire hunters with wooden sticks...you get the point. Vampires (and werewolves) in modern world using modern technology to aid them in their fight.

Equilibrium (2002)

Not for Matrix fans

[7/10 · 19 December 2004]

First of all many people are calling this movie a Farenheit 451, 1984, Brave new world, Logan's run, Matrix ripoff. I would have to be blind and deaf not to see the similarities. The idea of a "deluded" population living under a semi fascist regime that is supposed to bring peace and harmony is in no way new or original, but it was done in an interesting way and people who have never seen the movies I mentioned earlier or read the books might find it quite interesting.

The thing that bothers me the most is a the constant comparison with The Matrix. Yes there are some similarities here, especially the action scenes, but they are more believable in E. if you ask me, not that any action scene nowadays is totally believable when you think about it. One of my favorite things in Equilibrium are the subtle effects. No really big explosions, no hanging in the air, THERE IS A PLOT, such as it is and it is NOT spoiled by special effects and the action scenes just enhance it. As far as the story goes, The matrix also borrowed ideas and themes from the same movies and books as Equilibrium did, it just does it in a different way, (they both took the idea of a "special" society and a guy in the middle of it, realizing his world is not what he always thought it was and then fighting against it) and since the original part or The matrix idea was not in any way included in Equilibrium, we can easily conclude that as far as the story goes it could not borrow form The matrix (even if it did, and heavily so, from the older movies and books) Just pretend U never saw The Matrix and enjoy. There are other similarities like the light for example or maybe even the costumes, but if you think about what would you have them wear? Futuristic silver outfits??? Sadly there is the issue of predictability. If you have a twisted society under a dictator (in this case The Father) how could the plot not involve underground rebellion? :) There are many holes here of course. The plot doesn't always hold, the thing that bothered (possible SPOILERS) me the most was that the people were supposed to have no feelings, but Brandt (one of the clerics) clearly hates Preston and it that's not an emotion then I don't know what is : ). The idea of gun kata is well ... somebody said stupid and maybe that is a good word for it. If you like action/sci-fi movies where special effects take up half the movie this probably isn't for you, but maybe you should give it a try. It's a fun and stylish movie even if it's not perfect.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

One of the Great

[9/10 · 15 November 2004]

Well I must admit, that I may not be fully objective about Vampire hunter D:Bloodlust, because it was one of the three anime movies that git me hooked on anime. None of them are considered classics (the other two were Blood:The last vampire and The cat returns) and looking at them now I can see many faults, but still Vampire hunter D: bloodlust is in my mind just similar enough to western style, to make it more acceptable. The LARGE eyes and LONG legs that usually throw people off aren't really present here. There are no squeaky voices or overly expressed emotions. Even the English dubbing is quite good, compared to the usual. It was here that I first realized that anime characters aren't all strictly good or strictly bad. And you get to see both sides. Another thing that I have to admit is that I love vempire movies. Not all of them, but hey are a passion :). And that is what Vampire hunter D is - the best vampire movie I've seen so far. I's not flawless of course, but it is good nevertheless.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

It's Tarantino....

[14 June 2004]

Well I watched and re-watched this movie a couple of times and first of all you have to know that basically I like it. I didn't at first. It certainly stands out from other movies made in the last oh 10 even 20 years, that sooooo many people went to see. The acting performances are great I have to say it, and I don't even like Uma Thurman :). The use of camera is interesting and seems very fresh, and the soundtrack is well......something else. And all of these things bothered me a lot when I first saw Kill Bill Vol.1. Why? Because I knew I've seen it all before somewhere. Then I read an article about the movie in a magazine and the thing I noticed the most was that it said Tarantino's inspiration was another movie, a Japanese movie made in mid 70's called Lady Snowblood. Now I knew. I've seen it a while ago and liked it a lot, but somehow it slipped my mind. But you see, it must have been much more than just inspiration, there are so many similarities (camera, story, music, details...)Tarantino must really love it or he just wanted to make his own version of it, some would even say copy I hear. I don't know and never will. Still the fact remains that Kill Bill is a well made movie and a bold one, brutal and violent, but in a way very different from the rest of todays action movies out there. The story is revenge. Pregnant Uma is gunned down on her wedding day in a church. She wakes up, from a coma, realizes there is no baby, realizes what had been done to her. Now the only thing on her mind is revenge. She will find the people responsible and kill them one by one.....and so the story progresses. Like all Tarantino movies you either like them or you don't, there really isn't any middle ground. It is the same with this one. See it and decide.