shakesbeer Reviews

In 3 Tagen bist du tot (2006)

Surprisingly thrilling and entertaining

[7/10 · 22 September 2006]

As mentioned before this movie probably is the first one of its kind to be made in Austria by Austrians artists only. Austria's good times in the movie industry have long been gone and modern Austrian filmmakers concentrate mainly on producing artistic stuff that relies heavily on the actors (mostly due to funding problems). So this film is quite different from what is coming from Austria nowadays but it's not so different from what is coming from Hollywood. That's a new approach and that's OK. In my opinion the movie is better than the average Scary Movie flick. The story is quite straightforward, the ending is adept though not too surprising. The gory scenes come at the times you expect them to come. Sometimes you know what is going to happen before but that's what we call suspense and if it was good enough for Hitchcock it's good enough for everyone. And it works here too! The movie doesn't stay on a high level of tension all the time. It speeds up then slows down then speeds up again several times. Nice flow. The director does a really good job and I especially appreciated the cinematography. Some really nice pictures, good camera positioning. The cutting was good too and makes the movie look more expensive and professional than it was.

The young actors are mostly unknown but mostly talented and add to the overall positive impression the film made on me.

I enjoyed watching the film although it's not a perfect piece of work (therefore my score of 7/10) but judge for yourself. Let's hope there will be more to see from the people who made this movie. I think there is still a lot of potential to explore.

Feed (2005)

Interesting plot but all in all a near miss ***SPOILERS***

[5/10 · 29 March 2006]

As another reviewer already mentioned this movie can send shivers down your spine. In a way it reminded me of "Saw" or similar stuff but fails to achieve the same level of fascination and suspense. The plot is not bad at all. In nowadays world you have to be very creative to invent a sexual obsession that is not already in existence somewhere. In this case it is some kind of fetish the bad guy is devoted to - feeding women until they look like Jabba the Hut after spending a year on an all-inclusive club vacation, thus making them completely immobile and dependent from their feeder. The women are being filmed, their "progress" is tracked precisely and the material is used to run websites for people with the same interest. As it turns out it is not all about sexual perversion but these websites offer the possibility to bet on the physical "evolution" of the women, including the time of their death. Good idea to make a scary thriller from.

Unfortunately the movie contains a lot of unnecessary or completely illogical stuff that IMHO spoils what could have become quite good. I will give a few examples: in the prologue there is a scene in Germany which is clearly a reference to the widely debated case of the "Rothenburg cannibal". This scene has absolutely no connection to the rest of the film. It seems like it had been added after finishing the original work to maybe draw a little public attention to "Feed". Several questions are asked but never answered. Poor cutting I guess. In the end there's a twist (I won't tell you) which is inexplicable by what we've seen before and basically leaves you with no character to identify with including the good guy.

The two main characters are portrayed quite well - maybe a bit stereotypical - but the movie misses out completely on throwing a light on the supporting characters although they are an important part of the story. There is no explanation why the fed women take part in the deadly game. What is their kick in being fed to death?

I will not indulge in criticizing the movie makers' lack of knowledge concerning computers and the Internet. Let's just say it's there.

i watched "Feed" while doing some domestic work and I guess that's the best you can do. If you want some distraction from ironing and need something to keep you awake then put the DVD in your player. I would not recommend spending 90 minutes of lifetime solely on watching this movie. Final score: mediocre.