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Reviews
Skinwalkers (2006)
10,000 lb. hairy gorilla errrr werewolf!
I liked When a Stranger Calls, The Messengers, The Hitcher, An American Werewolf in Paris (sorry, I haven't seen London but will this weekend.) This film is camp without the lavish CGI that the likes of Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean has. Okay, maybe they didn't have the budget for it...
I'm a sucker for women in leather and shooting guns. I snuck into see Underworld and dragged my dad to see the sequel. Call me one that likes crappy films, but pullllleeeease! This is a summer film. There should be no cerebral sense to the mayhem. Jason Behr carries over his mysterious Roswell persona and Rhona, well, she can't really act but looks great. The plot is ridiculous but the transformations are awesome. Kudos to Stan Winston and company.
Mr. Brooks (2007)
creepy!
I saw an advanced screening for this movie tonight. I absolutely loved it. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat all night. Kevin Costner is extremely creepy as the villain. He played his character very well. The scariest "bad guy," I have seen in awhile. Demi Moore was great. Everyone in the audience laughed, gasped and cheered at the same time, as if we were on cue. The suspense is held through out the movie. THe amazing part is that the end was not anti-climatic. I was not disappointed in the end. I felt satisfied. The trailer does not do the movie justice. The movie is much better than the trailer indicated. Do not wait for this movie to come out on video. Go see it. Although, I did not have to pay to see this movie, I would have gladly given 10.75 to see it. Enjoy!
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Pretty Creepy
Described by director Mark Pellington as "a psychological mystery with naturally surreal overtones," The Mothman Prophecies begins like an ambitious episode of The X-Files. Richard Gere ...( read more )brings adequate torment, portent, and ambiguity to his role as a Washington Post reporter and grieving widower plagued by a mysterious, unseen urban legend known as the Mothman. Pellington develops subtle doom and gloom that's as effective as the paranoid streak he brought to Arlington Road. As the Mothman terrifies a West Virginia town, he remains an enigma, glimpsed almost subliminally. This--along with a magnificently creepy soundtrack--amplifies the movie's surreal overtones while keeping everything else (unsettling phone calls, prophesied disasters, suggestions of the afterlife) completely unexplained. With Laura Linney and Debra Messing in underdeveloped roles, The Mothman Prophecies feels a bit underdeveloped itself (and ends in desperate need of Mulder and Scully). But if you like your weirdness open-ended, this moody thriller's worth a look
War of the Worlds (2005)
Simply okay
A friend of mine has a young baby who could affectionately be classed as a screamer. Thus far, the only foolproof method of placating her is to turn on the soothing tones of the narrator from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. I'll be advising him at the earliest opportunity that if he ever wants the child to sleep again, he should on no account consider Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds as a future companion piece for her. Because this is truly the stuff of nightmares, a primal horror of such ferocity that not even Richard Burton will be able to calm you down after it.
Freely adapted from the novel by H.G. Wells, for the first fifteen or so minutes it's a domestic drama, as blue collar worker Ray Ferrier (Cruise) struggles with the task of looking after his two children (Fanning and Chatwin) for the weekend while his ex-wife (Otto) goes to Boston with her new husband. Ray is not a good father, as evidenced by his empty fridge and dubious methods of interacting with his kids. Fortunately for him, the end of the world intervenes and saves him from what could have been a really tough couple of days.
News reports have been telling of freak electrical storms around the globe, and when the lightning hits the Ferrier's neighbourhood, what begins as a cool light show quickly turns into something infinitely more dangerous. As the streets crack apart and buildings crumble, the source of all this devastation reveal themselves from deep beneath the ground - giant mechanical tripods that begin disintegrating everyone and everything in sight. Barely managing to get out of town alive, Ray and his family flee cross country, desperately trying to evade their attackers' constant onslaught while clinging to the slim hope of safety.
No one would have believed in the first years of the 21st century that two of cinema's foremost exponents of summer entertainment would have come together again and fashioned something as unrelentingly grim as War of the Worlds. Merciless in its intensity, uncompromising in its brutality, this film will rock you to your core. This is not invasion, it's apocalypse. The first scenes of alien rampage set the tone, as thousands of people are mown down without regard or pity, and the film continues in the same vein throughout, alternating scenes of massacre with blind hysteria and moments of quiet reflection and sorrow.
Spielberg throws in many a nod to his own back catalogue - the 'raptor kitchen hunt from Jurassic Park is recreated as an unbearably tense game of alien hide and seek that embarrasses Shyamalan's risible Signs. The hand-held confusion and immediacy of Saving Private Ryan is recalled in the scenes of destruction that bring a new realism to CGI. Not that the special effects are the ultimate barometer of the quality of War of the Worlds but, as it happens, they're simply astonishing. And yet Spielberg doesn't draw attention to them, often preferring to use an eye popping event in the background to accentuate the human misery being played out in front of it.
The focus of this remains squarely on the Ferriers, with little or no indication given to events throughout the world. This puts a lot of pressure on the cast and they step up admirably. Tom Cruise remains an inexplicably underrated actor, and his work here is amongst his best ever. From his early scenes as a deadbeat weekend father, through his transformation into a reluctant hero, whether struggling to hold his emotions in check for the sake of the kids, or giving his all to protect them, he completely convinces. And what else is there to be said about the frighteningly talented moppet that is Dakota Fanning? In the last year alone she's more than held her own against big Denzel and now wee Tom, not to mention carving a few slices off the honey roasted rump of De Niro.
War of the Worlds is a terrifying potential vision of our own self inflicted doomsday, masquerading as a summer blockbuster. And if, after an hour and three quarters of total carnage, the resolution seems a little on the easy side, I'm afraid there's no one to blame for that but Mr. Wells.
Saw III (2006)
Bloody good time!
The inevitable deadening effects of repetition are beginning to infect the "Saw" franchise, now having produced its third installment in as many years.
While "Saw III" provides a decent number of new twists, psychological as well as torture-wise, it necessarily lacks the originality of its predecessors and -- if the blase response at an opening-day screening at New York's AMC Theatre on 42nd Street is any indication -- audiences may be beginning to develop a "been there, done that" attitude. The film opened Friday and, unlike the prior editions, was not screened in advance for press.
Seamlessly similar in style to the earlier films, this sequel finds its archvillain Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, again delivering a quietly intense and scary performance) not doing so well. Desperately ill, he and his loyal follower, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), have enlisted -- well, forced -- the help of a female doctor (Bahar Soomekh) to perform some emergency surgery. Helping to motivate her is the fact that she's been outfitted with an explosive collar tied into Jigsaw's heart monitor, so if he dies, she dies with him
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
Brilliant
It is like the ultimate validation of the intense energy I have always experienced when a storm is on the horizon. Mother Nature is amazing . . .
But onto the movie . . . I felt that the meat and potatoes of this film really stood the test of time, though the special effects certainly did not. This one definitely smacks of morals when you get right down to it. Several lessons to be learned here kiddies - not the least of which is to be careful what you wish for - especially when the wish is being granted by one Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce), proprietor of a seriously evil, ages-old, traveling carnival.
And isn't there always something a little sinister and mysterious about a traveling carnival? Who are these people that travel from town to town cajoling the locals to ride their rides, taste their foods and play their games. Certainly in the case of Mr. Dark and his Pandemonium carnival all was not as it seemed.
Two young boys, Will Halloway (Vidal Peterson) and Jim Nightshade (Shawn Carson) get themselves into a bit of hot water when they, along with Will's father, Charles (Jason Robards), discover what it is that this traveling carnival is really all about. They then have to battle Mr. Dark and the Dust Witch (Pam Grier) as well as some of their own personal demons in order to save themselves and the others in their sleepy little town from the dark side.
The film adaptation of the classic Ray Bradbury book, Something Wicked This Way Comes, will certainly entertain you. If you can get past the cheesy special effects and focus more on the crux of the story, it may even frighten you a bit. Either way, it is certainly worthy of your time to watch it and heed the warning to be careful what you wish because there are often consequences to being given something you desire . . . nothing is free in this world or in any other for that matter.
Showgirls (1995)
hot hot hot hot hot!
"Showgirls" is the first big-budget, big-studio film to receive an NC-17 rating. And its release last year came at a time when Senator Bob Dole and other politicians chastised the entertainment industry for promoting sex and violence. But if "Showgirls" is any indication of Hollywood's future, the folks in Washington should focus their attack on a more dangerous threat to American values--bad movie-making.
"Showgirls" is a relentlessly exploitive look at the Las Vegas strip scene, and the film turns out to be just as trashy as its subject matter. Director Paul Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas, who collaborated on another shock-value project, 1992's "Basic Instinct," follow the plight of a young woman (teen TV star Elizabeth Berkley) determined to make a name for herself as a topless dancer. It's a hackneyed premise to begin with, so not surprisingly, all of the stock characters are trucked out. There's the Demanding Producer. The Loyal Friend. The Bitchy Competitor. Lest I forget the Scummy Club Owner.
Of course, any attempt at character development or a coherent storyline is just window dressing for the film's main attraction--an endless parade of full-frontal nudity. Unfortunately, "Showgirls" doesn't satisfy in this department. Verhoeven's slam-bang, in-your-face style of direction proves neither arousing nor erotic. To make matters worse, you'll be forced to sit through the movie's clothed scenes, which don't cover up for laughable acting and some of the most absurd dialogue ever spoken in film history.
Verhoeven and Ezsterhas deserve credit for trying to break ground, but if it's adult entertainment you want, stay home and watch the Playboy Channel. You'll be the wiser for it
Grindhouse (2007)
Incredible!
What makes this double feature so genius is that it is gratuitous for the sake of topping itself, but it's all done with a knowing manipulation of the cinematic medium. These guys deliver massive entertainment with an artful approach.
Right away, Rodriguez borders on blasphemy by having a priest join Danny Trejo in an ass kicking trailer. He even lights their faces with crosses. As soon as Planet Terror starts, it relishes in gore so gross it's funny like Evil Dead 2.
Since it was previewed so early, I was wondering how anything else in the film could top the gun leg. By the time the film actually gets to that, you've already seen so much more crazy stuff. They still use the gun for a big payoff, but I was more in awe of Marley Shelton's hands.
There is enough crazy, gory action to fill several films, but Rodriguez packs his with even more depth. Tangential characters become scene stealing plot points, backstories are elaborately soap operatic and the inter-relationships between the characters pay off.
The cast acts different levels of ham. There's wide-eyed Marley Shelton, badass Freddy Rodriguez, ignorantly authoritative Michael Beihn, tragically sexy Rose McGowan and pure A-hole Josh Brolin. Each style serves its purpose in this retro reference perfectly.
After Planet Terror when the intermission card comes on, please, don't be an idiot and get up to leave. No modern movie really has an intermission. Come on, people. I missed half of a fake trailer because some guy couldn't decide whether to walk out or sit back down.
Death Proof slows things way down from the barrage of Planet Terror. It's all Quentin Tarantino dialogue. It may be slow, but it's all mood. It gets going good with one of the screen's most interesting stalkers and most visceral mass murder.
It's Tarantino's idea of girl talk, vulgar sex stories and such, but I wouldn't presume that women don't talk that way. Of course everyone speaks more extremely in Tarantino's world. There's some pop culture reference too, and a well thought out self defense talk. It may seem like old hat, but it turns out he's just making you think it's the same old thing. Really, he's got a big payoff in store, way bigger than the stupid exploding palm on Bill.
Death Proof may only have one extended action scene (after the first kill shot), but it is so outrageous it may even erase the memories of Planet Terror. Every time you think you know where it's going, where one of those other movies would go, it keeps pushing. There are points where you may say they could just stop the car, but don't even worry about that. It's not going to end how you think.
The fake film scratches work for artistic effect. They minimize in parts of the film so you're not looking at warped footage constantly. Then they get more and more F'ed up in key places, with intentionally odd cuts. You just know they're going to pull a film rip at some point, but Rodriguez actually works it into the story. You can feel him giggling and pulling the ultimate prank on his audience, one that we'll love him even more for. Interestingly though, Tarantino's portion is far less grunged up. Hmmm.
This is easily Robert Rodriguez's masterwork. All of his creativity has culminated to epic proportions. Tarantino has never looked this joyfully over the top. F*** it, this is the best movie ever made. I may regret saying that next time I watch Toy Story 2, but actually, since it's two movies, even if each one is only four out of five stars, that still adds up to eight which is more than any single movie can have!
An American Haunting (2005)
boo-tiful. a thrilling psychological roller-coaster
An American Haunting is a very remarkable film from more than just one viewpoint. In an era where you can only impress young horror fanatics with bucket-loads of blood and gross-out effects, Courtney Solomon actually re-teaches his audience that fear is especially caused by suggestion and the absence of explicit images. A.A. Haunting is the first intelligent horror film in years, completely relying on atmosphere and eerie set pieces. It's such a relief to finally see a subtle film that is also effective! I'm normally not much of Sissy Spacek fan but she's very convincing as the prudish, over-concerned mother who desperately tries to protect her children. The screenplay by Solomon himself based on the book - is not totally unique (filmfreaks who're familiar with expressionism highlights from the 60's will quickly guess the hidden plot twist) but it's filled with ingenious findings and sublime dialogues. An American Haunting reminds you of 'The Innocents' and there are far worse films to get compared with, if you ask me! What also is rather amazing about this production is that Solomon seems so confident with his second feature film! This is his first giant Hollywood adventure with stars in the cast and American money and yet he has total control over everything. The acting is great, the plot actually scares you and the directing is solid. An American Haunting is a total winner and easily one of the greatest genre-films of the last few decades.