Xtro (1983) Great Sci Fi.. Not so great sequels

   After being abducted by aliens three years earlier Sam (Phillip Sayer) returns to earth and reunites himself with his wife Rachel (Bernice Stegers) and son Tony (Simon Nash). While Sam was away Rachel moved on with her life and started seeing Joe (Danny Brainin) and after the arrival of Sam at the couples flat Joe begins to suspect that Sam is not all that he appears to be.

   Xtro is not a bad little sci-fi horror movie in my opinion. While it suffers from bad, wooden acting and a sometimes incoherent plot the film is generally well thought out and capably directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. The biggest complaint I have with the movie was the lack of character development with regards to the alien. While some creatures or villains are scarier when the viewer is unaware of its origins I feel this particular life form would have benefited from at least a slight background story which was sadly lacking. However, though the plot can be sometimes a little confusing, most of the story eventually comes across well despite leaving a few unanswered questions and being slow in places. As I previously mentioned the film was fairly well directed and this really comes through in a few scenes which generally have an extremely trippy and unnerving effect.

   The effects in Xtro are quite surprisingly of very good quality especially considering the budget for this flick. Though one or two of the make-up effects looked rather out-of-place from the rest most of the effects were well produced and made ‘Xtro' a rather gory movie which should keep gore fans happy. This movie found its way onto the infamous Video Nasty list and though it probably should not have been put there one can almost understand why as it features a couple of particularly brutal scenes involving women. Having said that there are far more vile movies out there and it would seem ‘Xtro' was just a poor victim of media propaganda.

   Xtro is certainly worth a look in my opinion for sci-fi/horror fans. Complete with a delightfully erratic and haunting 80's soundtrack the movie is fairly entertaining despite its shortcomings.  Xtro is probably not for those who expect a lot of action but instead a good movie for people who like slow-paced movies with various plot aspects to think about.

Rating...

7/10

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

     Let me say first and foremost that I was a huge fan of the Batman Beyond Tv Series, so when I had learned that they had done a movie I was really excited. 

    I had no trouble at all following the film. The plot is excellent, interesting, well-thought out, and develops rather nicely throughout, with a twist that will keep you guessing. This is well-paced, and there is an immense amount of the awesome, well-choreographed action. While quite intense and exciting, this doesn't overwhelm or overstimulate the viewer. The characters are well-written, credible and consistent. Every acting performance is great, with Hamill's take on the Joker taking the cake, as always, with the sheer maniacal quality to it, and his endless enthusiasm.

    The psychology is all accurate. This has well-done 2D animation and marvelous design. This builds the mood expertly, and the bleak atmosphere of Gotham is captured beautifully. The music is cool, and in general the audio is spot-on, with every effect sounding just right. There is a bit of violence in this, and I understand that it is stronger in the Director's Cut. I recommend this to any fan of Batman


Rating...
7/10

Rawhead Rex (1986) A Surprise

     Rawhead Rex is set in Ireland where a farmer is trying to clear a field of a huge stone pillar, as he does so lightening strikes the pillar & it falls over. From under where the pillar stood an ancient 8 foot tall demon known as Rawhead Rex (Heinrich von Schellendorf) is released, the farmer is turned into mincemeat. American photographer Howard Hollenbeck (David Dukes) his wife Elaine (Kelly Piper) together their two young children Robbie (Hugh O'Conor) & Minty (Cora Lunny) are on holiday, a holiday on which Howard is working on his book of sacred religious sites. Meanwhile Rawhead Rex kills a local farmer named Dennis (John Olohan), Ireland's finest Detective Inspector Gissing (Niall O'Brien) is on the case. Rex then attacks a caravan site & kills some more people which annoys everyone, Inspector Gissing doesn't believe the stories of monsters told by Howard who saw Rex in the woods. As the Hallenbecks are leaving town Robbie is attacked & killed by Rex, Howard is distraught & sets out to kill Rex with the knowledge he has learned from his investigations of the local Church & it's mythology...

    This English Irish co-production was directed by George Pavlou & is a pretty bad film in all respects although it's fun to watch if nothing else. The script was written by Clive Barker based on his own short story, it moves along at a fair pace & it's never boring but it's just too silly to be completely effective. The film feels like a basic monster on the loose randomly killing people with a few of the complex religious ideas & themes that Barker likes so much shining through but they are ultimately lost in the daftness of it. There's a scene in which a woman runs through a wood with her boyfriend supposedly holding her hand but when she checks she is holding his severed hand, as if you wouldn't notice.

    The dialogue is funny at times & the film has no subtly at all as Rex walks around making silly roaring noises, the bizarre Verger Declan O'Brien (Ronan Wilmot) who at first is just plain creepy & then suddenly turns into a foul mouthed nutter who worships Rex & gets a golden shower off him in a unique baptism ceremony! Some of the stuff this guy comes out with needs to be heard to be believed, very funny. I honestly think the filmmakers set out to make a disturbing, scary & effective horror film but it just comes across as silly & downright funny at times much of which has to be laid at the door of Rawhead Rex himself. Rex looks absolutely awful, his has crossed red eyes, rubber claws, a very rubber face, rubber teeth, a really bad mo-hawk hair-do, a stupid outfit & you can actually see actor Heinrich von Schellendorf's teeth at the back of Rex's mouth, this is most apparent at the rubbishy twist ending when he bursts out of the grave. To it's credit it's good fun to watch & provides a certain amount of dubious entertainment & unintentional laughs.

     Director Pavlou does an OK job but there's nothing spectacular about it, it has no real style or visual flair. There isn't much atmosphere, there's no scares or shocks & most of Rawhead Rex's entertainment value comes from it's silliness. The most effective scene is when Rex first bursts out of the ground at the start. There's a few decent bits of gore, a few decapitated heads, some bites, a severed hand & some dead bodies.

     Technically Rawhead Rex is OK, it's well made throughout except for the dodgy rubber monster suit that is. The acting was OK, some of the accents & dialogue are funny at times but that all adds to the cheese factor.

    Rawhead Rex is a decent watch, it's fun in a way the filmmakers probably didn't intend & I sort of liked it overall. Worth a watch for sure. Apparently Barker was so disappointed with this & other adaptations of his work that he set out to make his own film & thus the brilliant Hellraiser (1987) was made with Barker as director, at least that's one thing we can thank Rawhead Rex for.


Rating...
6/10

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003) A Surprise....

    First and foremost I watched this movie without consulting IMDB, so I didn't know what to expect.  However, I can tell you that I was entertained. 

   It was an enjoyable Batman animated film. Not on par with "Return of the Joker" or "Mask of the Phantasm", but solid nonetheless. I liked how the movie kept you guessing as to who Batwoman was. There was nice twist. Nice action sequences.

   The script seemed pretty solid with some actual funny moments in the movie which produced good chemistry.  Robin and Barbra Gordon were in this flick as well as Bane, but the movie could have actually done without any of the three. 

   If you haven't seen this movie, go ahead and give it a whirl if you are a fan of the series or need a movie to keep the kids busy.

Rating...
6/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) Going on the worst movies of the year list

       High expectations will get you nowhere with most horror remakes, Nightmare is no exception. With Jackie Earle Haley stepping up to the plate to attempt to fill Robert Englund's shoes in the role of Freddy, I remained relatively positive until I saw the final outcome mainly due to Haley's exceptionally powerful performance as the creepy child molesting pervert from 'Little Children'. Unfortunately he didn't have much to work with content wise and especially considering he was working with a first time director.

    Freddy lacks his usual wit, looks like a deformed blow up clown doll, and the set is completely lacking in the signature intricate pieces the series usually builds it's stories around. All in all, this is down there with 'Wolfman' as being one of the most disappointing horror remakes of 2010, and maybe this century. Skip it. Skip it. Skip it. Oh and I'm not even going to tackle the plot holes... oh my god, ouch. Stand by as I'm sure there will be more disappointing remakes to come


Rating...
1/10

The Village (2004) Another Great Movie from M. Night Shyamalan

   I was very pleased to have been able to see this movie when it came out in theaters although I really didn't know what to expect. 

   Nevertheless, I chose to see it, and I must say was quite pleasantly surprised. Here, ladies and gentlemen, you have a very nicely shot, atmospheric thriller with great cast, good story and a few finishing touches of Shyamalan's cleverness (which could be simply called brilliant when compared with the latest scripts that the Hollywood vomits over its audience!).

   This is defintely a movie that plays a lot of people's fear of progression and the unknown.  I loved the simplistic feel and quality.  This was birthed out of pure genius and lives up to his other movies such as Signs, and the The Sixth Sense both of which I loved as well.

    For some reason if you haven't saw this movie, grab some popcorn at night and watch it.

Rating...
7/10

  

The Sixth Sense (1999) A Great Psychological Thriller...

     Me and Justin have mixed reviews with this move.  I love this movie and Justin hated it.  I was blessed to get to see this movie when it came out in theatres and I ended up seeing it twice.  I later bought it on DVD a few years later.

    I didn't know what to expect. I guess I was looking forward to a good scary horror flick. I was very surprised. I found that the purpose for this movie was far greater than just trying to scare the audience. I found this movie was showing not only the emotions of fear, but also faith, commitment, sadness of loss, and love. The end was so surprising, I had to see it again.

   I believe that a great movie is one that helps the viewer perceive life and the world differently. The Sixth Sense is one of those extraordinary movies that does that to me. This movie reflects on some difficult subjects that will make the viewer walk away asking eternal questions. Questions about death, about letting go, about eternal love and commitment, about the love between parent and child, and between husband and wife. Maybe I read too much into this very wonderful film, but I believe it will be difficult to find a movie that has touched on these subjects so poignantly and so well for years to come.


Rating...
8/10

Unbreakable (2000) Great movie from M. Night Shyamalan

    It seems this movie has taken a bit of heat, known by many as Shyamalan's "worst" film. It is often written off as slow moving, and the twist at the end as unoriginal and boring. I've heard people say the acting and camera work was awkward and stale and that the casting was poor. Ironically enough, as more people begin to dislike this movie, the more I seem to fall in love with it. This film has a lot of personal bearing with me, both as a student of psychology and a lover of movies and just plain art. I feel like I've taken this film under my wing during its times of criticism, and now I'd like to try and show everyone what exactly I love about it so much.

    Shyamalan really showed a stroke of brilliance by getting Serra to be his cinematographer and to play around with the aestetics of the film. I don't know how or where Shyamalan is getting these guys for his movies, but I definitely love the style of each frame he shells out. Serra had been involved with predominately foreign films before Unbreakable. This was his first big American film, and I think you gotta give a little credit to Shyamalan for that. His unique and creative touch really added to the direction. In keeping with the "comic book" theme of the movie, you will notice that almost every shot is taken as if you are looking through or in between something. Like the squares of a comic strip. There is also a dark, slightly blue colored filter used throughout most of the film. This gives the movie a very bold, but eerie tone. Showing that the world can be a rough and scary place, but it can also be fought and overcome. It is evident that time and effort went into every shot. It may not slap many viewers in the face as brilliant, but it really strikes a chord with me.

    As for the score, I am more than willing to argue that this is, hands down, James Newton Howard's best score of his very successful career. It is compelling and booming. It's very powerful, but not over-the-top and excessive. For anyone with the soundtrack, check out 'The Orange Man' and 'Visions'. These are two of the most powerful pieces of any film score around. And I stress the word "powerful". Yeah, he's no Hermann or Morricone, but the emotional weight and emotive power of his chords and his overall composition are just downright chilling.

   The writing and the direction are just as captivating as the score. Almost every line of dialogue and every scene seems to be placed out on an island, alone so that everyone can stop and judge it. Some people might view this as cocky and/or boring direction, but I see it as daring and unique. Much of Shyamalan's writing is done that way. ('…I see dead people…' '...They call me Mr. Glass…' etc. etc.) Another aspect of the film that tickles my fancy is the underlying themes. I do believe, to a certain extent, that people do have somewhat supernatural powers at times. People have been known to make miracles and do unbelievable things.
   
    Maybe these things could be 'developed' in some way. These theories are, in a way, intertwined with some aspects of psychology, such as selective attention and self-actualization. If you care to discuss some of these ideas, let me know and I will relate them to the film through my eyes. In short, I do believe there is a superhero in everyone. It may not be through supernatural powers, but it may simply be through the act of reaching out to a person in need. Other themes of the movie, like how completely different people can always be connected in some way and how everyone has their vulnerabilities and weaknesses are intriguing, yet universal.


Rating...
7/10

Masters of the Universe (1987) Great movie..... a classic

    He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a hugely successful mid-80's cartoon based on a line of action figures. The success of each fed the other, as well as a popular comicbook and loads of other merchandise. Finally in 1987 came the big one: the motion picture.

    What looks like suicide at first glance - converting a cartoon based on action figures into a full-length feature - gets more appealing when you look at thes ource material closer. The cartoon is a epic hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi, with ancient castles and sorcerers mixing with laser guns and cyborgs. It also has a very mythic feel, mixing Ancient Greece-era monsters and challenges with fairy tale locations.

    There are also hordes of exotic characters - warriors, mutants, monsters, magicians of every description, so the film makers could pick the coolest ones to bring to the screen. The ones they've chosen are He-Man and his arch enemy Skeletor (obviously), amazon-type female warrior Teela and her dad Man-At -Arms, the Sorceress of Grayskull, Skeletor's second in command Evil Lyn (which is always pronounced 'Evil-In'), and Beastman. Added to these are four characters that were created for the film - Gwildor, a dwarf-like inventor, Karg, a cross between Captain Hook and a bat, snake-like Sauron, and Blade, a sword and knife-obsessed slaphead. So that's eleven fantasy characters running about, which is a pretty good total.

     Masters of the Universe succeeds because it takes the cartoon and adapts not it's superficial qualities, but it's essence into a movie, turning it into a mature sci-fi/fantasy adventure. This is where so many comic and cartoon based movies fail. They don't adapt their source material properly to make a successful feature film. You need to make the movie a natural progression from what it's based on, altering the look enough so it looks acceptable in real action, altering the characters into real people, choosing actors who can give real performances. It's not simply dressing superstars up as characters from a comic or cartoon, it's re-imagining the ideas as a movie. MotU does this perfectly. You can fault it as a film itself, of course, but you can't fault it as an adaption.

    The production design is superb, with some superbly realized sets and costumes. Everything has been adapted to look more realistic on the big screen. The cast give uniformly decent performances. Nobody lets the side down - these are all 3D characters, not cartoons. Dolph Lungren proves he's one of the European bodybuilder brigade who can act. Frank Langella gives an outstanding performance as Skeletor, his powerful presence almost bursting out of the TV and into your living room. Langella gives a shining example to all actors portraying comicbook and cartoon characters in live action. There is a pervading sense of dread whenever he appears, especially during Castle Grayskull sequences, and the script gives him some awesome lines which he delivers with pure evil dripping from his voice.

    The monsters are pretty bloody scary, especially for a family film, especially the Beastman (who's had a 'the' added to his name). The sequence where they invade a school gym and chase Julie around it is excellent, far more exciting and scary than similar chases in many horror films (including some of those Courtney Cox has been in). It's also, like the rest of the film, surprisingly violent, as the bad guys attack Julie with swords, claws, laser guns and high velocity darts. That she manages to escape is not unbelievable at all, because of the way the chase is staged - it's just a relief she gets out of there, the goal of any such chase scene. The sheer ammount of bad guys that the small band of heroes has to face adds greatly to the drama.

    MotU is also packed with action, and we do mean packed. There is an outbreak of violence every 15 minutes or so, usually even less, and there is variety and imagination among the content, unlike many action films, which consist of repetetive shoot outs and nothing more. It could possibly be said that it's quantity over quality, as some of it, particularly the shoot-outs, are badly filmed, and none of the action ever reaches adrenalin pumping. However, it's good enough, in-yer-face and quite exciting to watch, with He-Man taking out hordes of bad guys with his sword, laser beams everywhere, mass destruction and some good old rough and tumble. And all the action grows organically from the story - none of it seems put in simply because the movie needed an action scene at a certain point.

    If Masters of the Universe was re-released at cinemas this summer, people would realize how good it is compared to the blockbuster summer fare we get these days. And all for $17m, which was hardly anything, even in 1987.

Rating...
7/10

Devil (2010) Going up there on my worst movies of the year list...

    I didn't know what to expect out of this movie.  I have liked some of M. Night's movies in the past like The Village, Signs, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, but failed with Lady in the Water.  Devil is crap.  There are no redeemable qualities with this movie. 
   
    The acting is terrible, the suspense is alright and the dialogue and chemistry is nonexistant.  Just when you thought the movie going somwhere, but it didn't.

    I don't know exactly where he was wanting to take this movie but it ended in the crapper and a waste of mine and justin's twenty bucks that we paid for our tickets. 
  
    So in ending I would just like to reiterate the fact that this movie was terrible and it doesn't even have rental quality

Rating...
1/10

    

Darkman 2 (1995) A Decent Sequel

   DARKMAN II isn't as good as the first (obviously), but it's a decent sequel despite the obvious: there's no way Durant should be able to return. He was most-assuredly fried, roasted, toasted and burned all to hell at the end of the previous film, and his return is rather laughable. The story only briefly mentions that he was in a coma since that incident, and doesn't bother trying to come up with anymore more believable. They at least could have had him horribly scared or something, giving him a taste of what he did to Westlake.

   But still, it's fun to have him back only so we the audience that take delight in patiently waiting to see him get his at the end. He's just as vial as he was the first time around. Arnold Vosloo takes over for Liam Neeson, and it was nice watching play the hero for a change. He did a good job. Kim Delaney is rather wasted in a part that could have been much more vital to the story than it was.

   The film did a good job keeping up the feel of the original, despite lacking Sam Raimi's added punch. It still maintains that comic book feel, with a hidden underground lair and a hero struggling with his own inner rage while trying to stop a madman. Also nice to see the film keep the original movie's musical themes, something sequels don't often do. There's not as much action as the first one, and it's not as good as the second sequel, but as a sequel itself, it's not bad. If only a more believable explanation for Durant's return had been given.

Rating...
6/10

Wizard of Oz (1939) A Milestone Among Movies...

  

   I just want to say that TWOO is probably my favorite movie of all time.  I watched this movie for the first time as a kid many, many years ago and I still will put the movie in and watch it from time to time.  I also want to point out that this was the first movie that I bought on Blue ray when me and Justin bought our Blue Ray player on black Friday.

    I guess the part that "gets" me about the movie is how the writers made it pretty plain that the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion really already had what they thought they were missing; that their respective problems were in misapprehending their own complete natures. That's a powerful statement for many of us. I found myself most touched in scenes where the Scarecrow was showing wisdom, the Tin Man feeling deeply ("...when I think of Dorothy in that awful place..."), and the Lion...well, maybe accomplishing this effect was harder in his case...what *is* true courage?

Anyway, if you're reading this here, you must be a movie weenie, and you've no doubt already seen the movie, so I'm not going to recite the usual "go see this movie" mantra.
 

Rating...

10/10

Clash of the Titans (1981) A Classic Gem

   Seriously, this one should be considered one of the most important and influential movies of all time. It's also one of the best and most entertaining fantasy/sci-fi movies ever.

   If you like Mythology this is the movie you are looking for. Don't look elsewhere. You got your favorite characters, situations, heroes, villains, etc. Scenes filled with intense action, SPECTACULAR f/x (haven't aged, and are ahead of it's time), and a great score. You will never get bored, in fact, each scene is better than the previous.

   In my opinion, the highlight of the movie is the battle with Medusa. The scene is dark, creepy, and intense. The Medusa character is scary and I recall having nightmares as a kid after watching her. Her demise is memorable, stuff for legend. The other "strong" and most famous scene is the final confrontation. A scene filled with fantasy and a feeling of victory I can't describe.

   Clash Of The Titans" is a must see for everyone. For example, if you are a Horror fan you should watch "The Exorcist", and if you're a die hard fan of Sci-Fi or Fantasy, you NEED to watch "Clash". It delivers for everyone in all aspects: entertainment, visuals, sound, and acting.

Rating...
8/10

Spider-Man 3 (2007) A Let Down....

 
   There are some things that work really well, like the goofy comedy that's also present in the other movies. The movie starts off nicely with a great looking action sequence that implies how great the rest of it could be. The special effects are fantastic. Unfortunately, the movie is so convoluted that anything like a coherent plot is lost, as well as any significant character development further than Harry, Mary Jane or Peter himself.

   Peter's "transformation" into a darker self when he dons the dark suit is laughable. You're not sure whether you're watching a comedy, a drama, or a purposefully ridiculous B movie. Peter's actions are so over the top that you just want to laugh at the script rather than WITH it.

   The main villains get only a short amount of screen time, and by the "big" ending you're just wondering when Dawson's Creek is going to end and when Spiderman 3 will begin. 90% of the film consists of Peter Parker walking around, crying, and making a fool of himself in various over-the-top ways. Perhaps I went in with too many expectations, such as the possibility of an atmosphere to the film that would fit with what was happening.

    As a fan of the old cartoon, and a real fan of Venom, I was incredibly let down by the amount of time spent on his character, as well as the fact that Topher Grace is essentially Eric from That 70's Show, and I don't mean that it's the same actor. He's the same scrawny, sarcastic joker that he always plays, which, if you're familiar with the comic or the cartoon, Eddie Brock was NOT. Even if you've never heard of Venom or aren't a big fan, the villain has a total of about fifteen minutes on screen and isn't very exciting, nor is anything about him explained. He's simply suddenly THERE, as if thrown into the movie only to get butts in the seats. So feels the entire movie. It all seems like filler, even as the end credits start.

   There was a point about halfway through the movie that I simply gave up trying to justify the movie, and realized that it was just plain bad. They tried to do too much, and by having so many villains, weren't able to make a single one very deep. And the whole "inner conflict" theme is a joke. Literally. Peter's "dark side" is more comedy than anything else.

Rating...
5/10

Spider-Man 2 (2004) The Best Film of the series to date...

   Let me say first and foremost - I loved this movie.  We have most of the same cast returning with the addition of Alred Molina as Doc Oc.  I was so impressed with this movie that I went and seen it rwice while it was in the movie theatre.

   Peter Parker is an unhappy man: after two years of fighting crime as Spider-Man, his life has begun to fall apart. The girl he loves is engaged to someone else, his grades are slipping, he cannot keep any of his jobs, and on top of it, the newspaper Daily Bugle is attacking him viciously, claiming that Spider-Man is a criminal. He reaches the breaking point and gives up the crime fighter's life, once and for all. But after a failed fusion experiment, eccentric and obsessive scientist Dr. Otto Octavius is transformed into super villain Doctor Octopus.

  This movie has a little bit of everything; good on screen chemistry, lots of good action sequences, pretty good special effects, some romance.

   If you haven't seen it, go watch it.

Rating...

8/10

   In 

Spiderman (2002) A Nice Start....

    Having seen the trailers for this film I have to say that I didn't walk into the cinema with high hopes. The computer effects looked badly integrated, the Green Goblin's costume looked awful and comic book adaptations usually have such painful scripting and plotting. Thankfully I was wrong on most counts

   As it turns out, this is probably one of the better super-hero films I've yet seen - certainly up there with Superman and Batman. People seem to automatically comment that the script and acting was bad because they expect it to be the case in these films; and indeed it usually is. But if you go into Spider-man without this prejudicial attitude you'll be pleasently suprised. The acting is generally great - there is never a time when anyone is not believable as their character and you think "Hey, that's an actor, not Peter Parker". The effects do look artificial but the pace of the movie means you don't have time to dwell on this and the script is fine! What do people want, Shakespearian soliloquies?

    All-in-all, a great film that I wouldn't hesitate for a second in recommending.

Rating...
7/10

A Single Man (2009) A Masterpiece....

   A startling surprise. Tom Ford's debut as a director tells, in exquisite images, a very personal story, based on a short story by Christopher Isherwood. What makes everything fly so high is a fantastic performance by Colin Firth. I've followed Colin Firth career from the very beginning "Tumbledown", "Another Country", "Apartment Zero" where he creates a character never seen on the screen before or since, "Pride and Prejudice" where he reinvented D'Arcy's character, "Fever Pitch" where he showed a new face in riveting tragicomic strokes.

    So I should have been prepared for something new and special and maybe I was but the effect his performance in "A Single Man" had on me was (is) totally unexpected. It changed my perception of things, it made me look inwards and think of things I had put aside. I can't wait to see it again. I saw the look of love and that look remains knocking in my mind as if to keep me awake and aware. Tom Ford takes enormous visual risks in the telling of his story. It may work for some, some others will certainly dismiss or ridicule. I, for one, stand up and applaud.

Rating...
8/10

Angel Cop (1989) A Nice little Anime....

    OK, this isn't exactly the thinking man's Manga, but a kickass, nonstop action romp nonetheless. A lot of people will criticise this movie for having a weak storyline, underdeveloped characters or whatever, but it has one thing in spades - violence! Head popping, limb wrenching, flesh burning violent action in all of it's glory. And isn't that the main reason why people watch these kind of Manga films? Also, the standard of the animation is very high, an essential requirement for any kind of animated feature in my book.

    An anime film could tell the greatest story since War and Peace, but, if it has the kind of animation that makes early Hanna Barbera cartoons look like masterpieces, I'll turn it off after about ten minutes. Anyway, the plot and storyline aren't as bad as many would have you believe, certainly not compared to the standard of most anime features. Maybe it wasn't surrealistic enough, perhaps some people would have been happier if it all turned out to be a metaphor, unveiling the mysteries of evolution and the spirituality of man. For me, this flick has it all - violent "cops on the edge", slowmo shootouts, vengeful cyborgs and psychotic superhuman killers.

   If there were a live action film that had all of this backed up with cutting edge effects, I'd go see it in a minute. Angel Cop is well worth watching for any fan of in-your-face, violent action anime.

Rating...
7/10

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) A Classic.....

    Let me say that I love this movie.  I watched this for the first time several, several years ago when I was a kid and I still enjoy watching it today.  This movie is just busting out all over with titillating, slightly off-color humor (or: off-colour humour for those of you on the other side of the Atlantic) from start to finish. There are many funny and memorable lines in this movie of the double-entendre variety; it's hard to keep abreast of them all.

  

   This movie has a little bit of everything: romance, intrigue, action, horror and definetly comedy.  Everyone can enjoy this movie except small kids I guess.

   If for some odd reason you haven't watched this.  Run out right now and pick it up, you won't be dissappointed.

Rating....

10/10 

Dragonball: Evolution (2009) Urgggg.....A Complete Debacle





    First and foremost, this movie was terrible.  I consider myself a somewhat fan of the series and this was a complete let down.  Watching DBE i can immediately tell the directors and everyone else involved have not watched more than a few episodes of the entire Dragonball series. The characters are only similar in name and the story feels like they chewed it up and spit it out and whatever stuck to the storyboard they went with. I wont ruin the story but its nothing like the anime, as i said before the characters are only similar to the anime by name. It almost seems like they wanted to make this movie as bad and as far away from the original story as they could. The only time an actor or actress acts like their anime counterpart is when they are first introduced speaking mainly about Master Roshi and Yamcha.

    For one of the most action packed animes around they sure did the opposite with the movie. I can count the number of fight scenes with one hand and count how long they lasted with two hands. Its pretty pathetic when the first fight scene with Goku and the "bullies" is the best and he never threw even threw a punch. The big screen debut of the Kamehameha is sad and pathetic and all the Ki blasts look like different color fire balls. They don't look pure energy (like they are in the anime) but just like slow motion fire.

     I could go on for hours about what they did wrong. If you have never seen the anime series don't watch the movie. The story is probably too confusing for anyone who doesn't know the entire back-story of the anime. The movie only gives you the who and the what but no why. In fact i think why sums up the entire movie. Why did they do this and why did they do that is all i was thinking during the entire movie. At the end of the movie all i could do was ask "Why did they make this movie and who did they make this movie for?" This is not a movie for the fans or anyone who has never seen the anime. It feels like they made this movie for the people who hate the anime.

Rating...
1/10

Interview With the Vampire (1994) One of my Favorite Horror Movies...

   Let me say first and foremost that this movie is great!  IWTV has a star studded cast with Tom Cruise, Bradd Pitt, Christian Slater, Stephen Rhea, Antonio Banderas and a very young Kirsten Dunst to name a few.

   I have a passion for films with dark settings. What's even better is when the film is not only dark and dismal but also deep and engrossing. With a combination of Anne Rice's script and Neil Jordan's direction, the overlooked Interview with the Vampire not only looks great but contains good material. Most of the time when a film is based on a novel it will try to capture the themes of the novel by choosing areas to work from. Luckily Anne Rice also writes the screenplay and understands more than anyone else what areas need addressing, providing the backbone to the dialogue and plot.

     Set in 1791 Orleans and progressing through different periods of time, IWTV is technically excellent and aware of its surroundings. From the first moment your eyes are fixed on the screen. This is the sign of great art direction coupled with costume design and set pieces that are more than pleasing on the eye. Far from in your face the film allows a taste of each period with a mixture of light and colourful scenes to the more prominent dreary settings it encompasses. Moonlit streets, abandoned plague ridden residential and underground gothic architectures all add to the great detail that has been taken in creating a believable and picturesque look to the films periods it contains. Helped also by a musical score that really lurks in the background, depicts the time and in some areas the feeling aptly.

   The story, told with a mixture of narration from the protagonist (Brad Pitt in this case) and a screenplay with enough room for all the stars makes a tight little package. At just over 2 hours long though, this may put off the viewer looking for an all out action vampire piece or those with little patience. Interview after all is a drama at heart with horror elements but what sets it apart from others is the humane way in which it's dealt with. A point in the film that leans on stereotypical vampire views sets the tone of the film perfectly, fiction aside Vampires aren't so unlike humans which is portrayed through the emotions (or rejection of them) throughout. One of the key players in such a task is surprisingly Tom Cruise as the bad influence Lestat. In one of his more challenging roles, Cruise conveys a charm that fits the theatricals of his character perfectly. Through excellent makeup and clothes from a period he refuses to break free from, Cruise is less distinguishable but all the more better for losing the usual side of him that may have been too familiar. Left only with a look of ferocity and impertinence Cruise works his role to a brilliant combination that really brings out the character of Lestat making him extremely fun to watch. Lestat's mood swings and cruel insinuations really spark the film up, stealing every scene he's in.
   
     What makes the film interesting is how every character has a background and each character has different things that make them tick. Along for the ride with Cruise and Pitt is a very young Kirsten Dunst as the disillusioned vampire child Claudia. It seems that Jordan is a good director for getting performances as Dunst gives a fine performance at such a young age, definitely showing more promise than the usual teenage focal points she has set herself on since. While Lestat is the most enjoyable character and practically the teacher, Louis and Claudia are the key elements to a story of self-discovery concerning the dark world they have joined. Other than this Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas share little screen time but enough to make their characters wholesome enough.
    
     One area that I applaud but others may disclude is the vivid scenes of a gory nature used profusely throughout. Jordan, going for realism and with blood being an important part of vampire life includes graphic details.. and with no holds barred. Jordans realistic touches add only to the plausibility of the vampire way of life, emphasising the grotesque way of living they are lumbered with for eternity. Such a eternal damnation is one of the main themes of the film exploring the depreciation of Louis and Claudia and how they come to terms with their new life. It would seem that such a serious tone to a fictional tale would make it hard to enjoy but with a mixture of dark humour throughout the film knows not to take itself 'too' seriously. The end clearly establishes this fact nicely.

     Minor quibbles aside like some hokey dialogue from time to time and despite Pitt underplaying his performance a little, among the Vampire genre and even as a drama this is a classy piece of work from a intelligent director with a flair for dark style (in most of his other films too), and more importantly produces a epic tale with sturdy direction. If you have the interest for a drama, specifically based around vampires there is little other choice than this. Through its fine performances and stunning look one things for sure, you wont forget this one easily...

Rating...

10/10

Open Graves (2009) An interesting movie....

    What could have been a fairly decent movie was turned into a ridiculous shamble of a film.  OG stars Eliza Dushku and Mike Vogel.

    No I don't like it. This is one cheap, low-grade 'horror' thriller, that didn't even seem to had any good ideas of its own. It's a movie with a silly concept and silly concepts often equal silly bad movies.

    This movie is like a strange and bad mix of "Jumanji", "Hellraiser", "Final Destination" and whatever more. It doesn't use one good original idea and instead uses several from other movies and tried to combine it. Ineffectivly though. And perhaps this is the movie its biggest problem. The problem isn't necessarily the lack of originality but more the way it handles its concepts. Everything gets developed and executed quite poorly into the movie, which makes the overall movie a terrible ineffective one.

    It's just not a movie that ever gets tense, surprising or intriguing. There is basically no real reason why you should ever watch this movie, since it really doesn't have any redeeming qualities in it. No, it's hardly the worst thing you'll ever see but that doesn't mean you should watch it.

   You just can never get into this movie because of its lacking story and poor characters. It's a very distant movie, that tries to be mysterious but instead works out as lame and annoying. It involves some strange old board game, that causes those who play and loose it to die. Sounds good perhaps but the way it's being handled in this movie is far from interesting. We don't even get to know how the game works and what's exactly the point of the existence of such a game, what the rules are and how to win it, in the first place. The 'explaination' at the end doesn't really cover this and is just too out of tone with the rest of the movie that it feels totally wrong and bad.

   Bad as an horror, bad as a thriller, bad as a mystery. There are just no redeeming qualities in it.

Rating...

2/10

Darkman (1990) Another great movie from the 90's



    First and foremost I just want to say - great movie. 
   
    This movie might have joined the ranks of the utterly forgettable Z-movies of the genre had it not been for excellent direction, superb characterization, and outstanding acting on the part of Liam Neeson, who played Peyton Westlake/Darkman, and Larry Drake, who played his enemy, the arch-villain, Durant.
  
    The movie presents the destruction of a man by a psychopathic monster for utterly trivial reasons -- and makes it clear that however horrifying the physical damage perpetrated on Peyton Westlake by Durant's minions might be, the effect on his soul and spirit is far worse. At the same time, it showed that in spite of what happened to him, Westlake/Darkman was able to rise above it at least enough to choose the life of a giver of justice rather than one of evil, as the physically unscarred drug-lord Durant & Co.

   This film does not in any way glamorize psychopathic, criminal violence in any way, but rather shows it for what it really is: repellant, ugly, and contemptible, destroying life and everything that supports it without a qualm for no better reason than cheap thrills or a very minor profit. This is not a typical Hollywood film, nor just a cheap garage-flick monster movie special. It shows with graphic realism exactly what is left when conscience, civilization, and the rest of the more delicate mechanisms that constitute our humanity are stripped away: pure beastliness, without glamour and without redemption of any sort. -- And it shows, as well, that even when everything is taken from a man, he can rise above it, choose to remain a man, however damaged, rather than sinking down to the level of the beast.

    This movie is a must see for any superhero or 90's buff who has not had the opportunity to watch this film.

Rating...
6/10



Bad Channels (1992) Another great hit from Charles Band

     Utterly bonkers movie.  Bad Channels is another great low budget movie that is so bad, its good. 
     A shock jock at the local radio station finding himself in danger (like the girl who cried fire to get attention then burnt to death) because aliens invade the radio studios and start collecting women (including busty waitress Cookie played by once-upon-a-time Full Moon favourite Charlie Spradling) in conical vases.
    Ted Nicolaou, a veteran of Full Moon films including some of their best really screws this up with lazy-haphazard and purposeless direction while the script by Charles Band and Jackson Barr.  Tim Thomerson's Dollman character is credited and I was confused how I had missed his cameo but stay tuned until the credits finish for a relatively amusing brief Dollman extra scene.
    The aliens are ridiculous, one a scale covered monster, another a small tin robot that looks like it was a reject from the acclaimed Smash Potato Mix adverts. Truly rubbish film but intriguing and amusingly painful in equal measures.  
    Any fan of the Full Moon videos will want to check this out.  You go Charles Band!

Rating...
6/10



Arena (1989) Scifi Cheese at its best....

    OMG.  So where do I begin?  No, this is not a great movie, and yes it has it's share of problems. I'm not really even sure why I like this film, but I do. I admit that it can be pretty bad at times and extremely cheesy at others, but it still kept me entertained for an hour and half.

    The story is actually a fairly interesting one, nothing terribly original, but nonetheless interesting. This film is basically just "Rocky" and "Star Wars" thrown together.

    The acting was nothing to get excited about in the film, but it wasn't all that bad either. There were a few times that were pretty badly done, but overall the acting was just fine. I've got to say something though, Paul Satterfield has an uncanny resemblance to Christopher Reeve and sounds like him too. The entire cast are virtually unknown to me, but there were some familiar faces in the film (still couldn't name them or place where I'd seen them though).

    The special effects were relatively decent given that I'm sure the budget was REALLY low. The make-up effects were sometimes really good and other times just horrible. Some of the aliens were actually quite well done and pretty cool looking. The outfits and wardrobe of the film was pretty good for the most part, except that stupid fighting uniform thing that Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield) wore when in the arena, that needed to go.

    All in all, I thought this was an ok film. Far from great, but I've seen worse. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I would only recommend this film to people that like cheesy sci-fi films. If the words "cheesy" and "sci-fi" don't spark your interest, then go watch something else. In the event that you do see the film, I hope you enjoy it. 

Rating...

7/10



Hulk Vs Wolverine/Thor (2009) Two great movies for the price of one

    Whats more to can I say about this?  Normally these marvel cartoons are too kiddy-fied for the kids, but these cartoons are something special especially the Hulk Vs Wolverine film. You get to see everything in here, blood, limbs being sliced off etc. By far this is the most entertaining cartoon from marvel to watch and due to its more mature content the grown-ups will enjoy it too.

   The Hulk vs Thor is in my opinion not as good or as violent as the Hulk vs Wolverine cartoon but its still worth watching to get to know more about the characters on Thor's side of the Marvel universe.

   Both of these films could have been longer and were about 40 mins each.  Fortunately both of these films were packed with decent action and some good voice acting. 

   My recommendation. try out both of these films I think you will be impressed.

Rating...

Hulk Vs Thor   5/10

Hulk Vs Wolverine 7/10

The Invincible Ironman (2007) Better then Average

   Growing up I was never a big Ironman fan.  Now having said that when this movie was released I was like okay I will give it a shot.  This movie was a little bit better then average and a little bit better then The Ultimate Avengers movie and a lot better then the Ultimate Avengers Movie 2. 

   A little less then half way through the movie I was finding myself bored.  The plot closely follows that of the origin of Ironman and a battle with the Mandarin (what a surprise there). 

   I don't expect a sequel for this movie and if there is I might watch it, might not depending on my mood. 

   My best advice,  watch this movie if you are a fan and if you are not a fan stay away from it.  

Rating...

5/10 

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) Great Movie!

    What a great movie.  BMMOTP delievers nonstop action, intrigue, and some great voice acting. 

    It has a great story that flashes back to just before Bruce took up the mantle of the bat and the woman he was involved with at the time, then skips forward to an unknown assassin killing Gotham City's mobsters, and we see how the 2 story's meet. The writing is top-notch, in no-way predictable and the voice acting by Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker truly amazing and bone-chillingly scary.

    The only complaints is that the animation could have been better at some points, but that is because it was originally meant to be a straight to video release before Warner's saw what a masterpiece they had created, and also it should have run for a little bit longer, but oh well. If you haven't yet seen it i highly recommend it.



Rating...

8/10

Wonder Woman (2009) DC does it up wonderfully

     Without a doubt the best DC animated movie out there so far and as far as that goes one of the better comic animated movies. 

    Wonder Woman has everything from a faithful retelling of her origin, awesome action sequences, and some great voice acting. 

     Keri Russell does an excellent job in voicing her.  She is joined by the great Alfred Molina, Oliver Platt, and Marg Helgenberger. 

     As soon as this movie was released I went out and rented it.  I had the pleasure of buying this Gem on Blue Ray 3 days ago for 15.00 dollars. 

     Rent it or buy it, you will not be dissappointed.

Rating...

9/10

Green Lantern: First Flight (2009) Green Lantern soars onto the big screen

    First and foremost I just want to say that I really enjoyed this movie.  Me not being the biggest GL fan was really impressed with what this movie had to offer.  DC really did do a great job in translating the story of green lantern voiced by Christopher Meloni onto animated film. 

   This movie is not directed towards young children, but I would definetly say that 13 and up crowd. 

   The story is pretty on key to that of the origin of the Silver age Green Lantern.  The animation is great and there are some pretty decent action sequences.  So try it out if you haven't seen it yet.  I consider this one of the better DC animated movies to be produced.

Rating...

7/10

Resident Evil 3: Extinction (2007) Not so great....

    Let me say that first and foremost I was pretty let down by this movie. 

    In Extinction we have most of the cast returning from the second film with the exception of Sienna Guillory.  A few years have passed since part 2 and it appears that the virus has spread throughout the entire world.  Alice has been searching the world over trying to find remeants of the Umbrella Corp only to find a cloning facility (which is trying to clone her), but her friends as well including Ali Larter as Claire Redfield. 

   The movie has a lot of running around, gun battles, and more zombie killing fun.  The movie lacks a good plot as well as real substance and introduces a bunch of characters that no one really cares about. 

    All in all not a total waste, but still a let down.

Rating...

6/10



Resident Evil 2: Apocaylpse (2004) Great movie

   I wanna say first and foremost that I really enjoyed this movie. 
  
    The sequel to Resident Evil – in which a group of scientists and special forces get trapped in a giant underground facility overrun with zombies and mutants – is pretty much what you'd expect. After being captured by the Umbrella Corporation at the end of the first film, almost-sole-survivor Milla Jovovich (the only supermodel in the world who you can take seriously as an action heroine) wakes up in an abandoned laboratory in Raccoon City to find that the zombie-animating "t-virus" has spread to the surface. Half the city are already zombified and killing the other half, and Umbrella Corporation has sealed off the city limits and is planning to "sanitise" the area. Hooking up with a rag-tag group of survivors, Jovovich makes a deal with a rogue Umbrella scientist who promises to get them out of town as long as they rescue his missing daughter who's hiding somewhere in the ruins. Meanwhile Umbrella has its own plans for the lovely Miss Milla, involving a seven-foot armour-clad mutant called the Nemesis who's using the infested city as a training ground. Much shooting/fighting/exploding ensues, and - just like in the first film - the mysterious cliffhanger ending leaves things wide open for another sequel.

    Probably because it's based on a Japanese video game, this movie isn't afraid to embrace the clichés that Hollywood's spent the last decade or so trying to avoid. Lurching zombies, machine gun-toting monsters, smarmy suit-wearing villains, hard-as-nails soldiers and a wisecracking streetwise black dude are all essential ingredients, as well as not one but TWO sexy ass-kicking heroines. While Jovovich rides in to save the day on a motorcycle and carries so many guns it's a wonder she doesn't fall over, Sienna Guillory (as tough bitch cop Jill Valentine) has the dubious honour of performing various athletic action sequences in a miniskirt and boob tube. Am I complaining? Hell no.

   To be honest, it's really quite refreshing to see a movie like this in this day and age. Like the timelessly cheesy horror/action flicks of John Carpenter, the Resident Evil franchise throws realism and political correctness to the wind and just has fun pitting Pretty Girls With Big Guns against Ugly Monsters With Big Teeth. Be honest – unless you're a metrosexual poseur or a card-carrying member of the PC Police, you probably love this stuff as much as I do.



Rating...

8/10

Puppet Master 9 (2004) Ummmm I wanna know what they were thinking...

     For starters let me say this: the acting was (very) bad, the special effects laughable, and the story made me want to hurt the writers.

    But you know what? I enjoyed it anyway!

    Compared to "CURSE OF THE PM", "RETRO PM" and "PM: THE LEGACY" this was a step up...okay, a half a step, but still. Sure the Puppet's movements were really herky-jerky, but it's nice to see someone actually cared to make them MOVE, instead of looking like someone was playing with their PM action figures and over-relying on stock footage. And Baby Oopsie movements were pretty good actually. Ditto that freaky jack in the box. (The less said about that useless Teddy Bear, the better).

   The acting is undeniably bad, but bad in a "so-bad-it's-funny" way, which is a little better than the boredom I felt watching the three films mentioned above. Shot, Coery Feldman wasn't even their first choice but their original lead man backed out over a budgeting dispute, which is really, really unfair considering the money the Sci-Fi Channel people spend on all those Sci-Fi original mini-series and Friday night shows and marketing the heck out of them.

  Making the Puppets into cyborgs was an annoying move, but a somewhat necessary one. Let's face it, short things killing people was scary back in the eighties and early nineties, but a doll/puppet with a knife doesn't remotely scare anyone anymore (look at what's happened to the CHILD'S PLAY series). In fact, I almost like the Puppet's *ahem* upgrades. Blade gets a bigger knife with teeth on edge, a better looking hook and is still a little bad ass, Pinhead's new hands look bad but make him a lot stronger, and giving Six-Shooter lasers ain't a bad idea (where in the world could he find a steady supply of tiny bullets?) Jester...his new look and abilities aren't good at all, but then again all he ever had going for him was his rotating head. Much less forgivable is the decision to give the Toys *ahem* "super powers". The jack in the box's laugh now doubles as a sonar scream and Baby Oopsie has the ability to leap long distances by...farting?! What were they thinking is anyone's guess.

   The plot these tiny terrors are in...it's real bad isn't it? In fact, the whole "kill millions of kids on a holiday" thing was done before--and better--in HALLOWEN 3. And once again the writers gladly overlook and ignore continuity to make a new story and some new plot points, never mind long time fans and how they feel (Wait, you mean there was another Toulon centuries ago that sold his soul to a demon, then hid it in an oak tree and that same tree is what Andre used to make those puppets from "RETRO PM"?...HUH?!?!).


I consider this by far to be the worst of the series

Rating...

3/10

Puppet Master 8 (2003) The Legacy... not so much

    In "Legacy", we find Peter Hertz, the boy who as child during World War II was helped by Andre Toulon and escaped with him from Nazi Germany. Now, named Eric Weiss (played by Jason Witkin), in the present, he has finally discovered the fate of his friend after many years of lost contact. In the Bodega Bay hotel he found Toulon's notes and his beloved Puppets, but he was found by a mysterious woman named Maclain (Kate Orsini) hired to find the Puppets and Toulon's secret.

    The movie follows a discussion between the two of them, remembering Toulon and his actions since he learned the secret of life, until his death and rebirth. While Weiss remembers Toulon as a great man whose life was destroyed by the Nazis, Maclain knows him as a mad psycho who enslaved the puppets.

    The movie works very well in terms of giving sense to the storyline, trying to fix the enormous plot holes the series had. To do this, the movie uses clips from all the Puppet Master movies, although this has to do more with the fact that it had almost no budget than with a creative decision.

     The new material (barely 30 minutes) is well acted, and in fact is better acted than most of the acting in the series. It really shows how hard Band tried to fix his most successful series, as the clips from previous movies are very good edited, and work better than watching the entire awful movies (clips from Parts 4, 5 and Retro Puppet Master for example). We also get to know the fate of characters from all the movies, as they are mentioned in the conversations between Maclain and Weiss.

      As a fan, watching the movie was kind of sad, because it was very obvious that this was a desperate attempt to fix a series that has been badly damaged over the years; nevertheless, the effort is very appreciated, because it finally gives a fitting conclusion to Full Moon's best selling movies.

     30 minutes and clips of previous movies is not my idea of a good movie, but this movie is definitely a must see for every fan of the Puppet Master series.

Rating...

 5/10

Puppet Master 7 (1999) One of the better sequels

Six-shooter, Tunnel Sergeant, Dr. Death, Pinhead, Cyclops, and Blade help the young Andre Toulon take out Sutek's Egyption henchman in the best sequel this series has seen.

Retro Puppet Master is atmospheric with many sets, quality acting and some fun puppet FX. What it lacks in gore, it makes up for with an interesting well-paced plot.

Best Quote: Dr. Death: "Don't you know, my friends? Smell the sulfur, see the smoke..."

This is easily the best Dave DeCoteau film I've seen. The actors do a more-than-credible job: Jack Donner as "Azfel" turns in an inspired performance, and the young Toulon does well with the puppets. Oh, and the ring-needle is cool.

John Massari's score is a nice symphonic take on the original Puppet Master tunes by Richard Band, keeping the movie playful and eerie. It's rare for a Full Moon score to actually add something to a film, and this one does.

Unfortunately, Dave Allen didn't seem to be affordable enough for Band and Co. in the late-90's and beyond, so all of the puppet action is done rod and string. There's no stop motion such as the famous and funny scene in the original where Pinhead's looking for his pinhead. And, of course, as with all of the Full Moon fare of this time period, RPM was shot in and around Castel Studios in Bucharest, so most of the bit parts were cast to Romanians: hearing their "Parisian" accents was a bit annoying.

Rating...

7/10

Resident Evil Afterlife 3D (2010) Best of the Series

    My partner took me to see this movie, in part to the fact that there really wasn't anything else playing.  Justin, however had major reservations about seeing 3D because he wasn't a fan of any of the movies. 

    I was decently impressed with 3D.  Great zombie sequences.  Lots of creative shots 3D and otherwise.  Milla gave another great performance as her Alice character. Also returning is Ali Larter as her Claire Redfield character and introduces both Wesker and Chris Redfield.

   I actually consider this to be the best of the series.  The first movie was pretty decent, the second movie was really good, the third movie was better then average.

Rating...

9/10

Resident Evil (2002) Decent game into movie entry



I had to sift long and deep for a good comment on this. Why all the hostility? I think there was great chemistry on this production and it shows; the actors and crew involved loved the game and had a good time making this. This movie successfully recreated the feel of the game, and because it kept exposition to a minimum of what you needed to know for this particular story and didn't borrow from or revise any of the original characters or settings, it supported and strengthened the franchise. No story is retold here, no words are wasted, the setting, feel and pace is familiar to fans of Resident Evil and yet it's perfectly accessible to those unfamiliar with the broader storyline. Not giving the fan-boys their favorite characters was a good choice since characters tend to get mangled in adaptation, and yet the fan-boys still complain. With this film you have a good, watchable story that can partake of the Resident Evil cosmology, showing it due respect.

It did an excellent job establishing characters without too much unnecessary background, developing them just enough to make you want to know what they'll do next, to make you care before the sudden and gruesome happens to them. The acting was above par for a Resident Evil, certainly much better than the first game. The plot was no more comic bookish than any of the games. My one complaint was that the characters were too battle-trained, too slick, too good at fighting for them to be sympathetic horror subjects. This could've been balanced out with more reaction shots showing the soldiers wetting themselves. But Alice's over-the-top commando-style action made her too much of a super heroine to really make anyone concerned about her survival; characters made of Teflon make good action but apathetic horror subjects.

Rating...

8/10

Puppet Master 6 (1998) The Sixth Installment leaves unanswered questions

     Returning home from college, Jane Magrew, (Emily Harrison) and her father, Dr. Magrew, (George Peck) run into town for chores and meet gas station worker Tank Winsley, (Josh Green) being picked on. Noticing his carving skills, they take him to visit their house, a museum of magic props and puppets. Shown a special group of puppets that are alive without being attached to strings, he is commissioned to help carve a new puppet for their show, and he does so at the expense of everything else. When he becomes implicated in a series of murders around town, no evidence is gathered up. Realizing that there's a sinister force at work that's causing the murders, they recruit the help of the puppets to put an end to the danger around town.

     The Good News: There's some good stuff here that really helps the film. The fact that there's a return to the original puppets after introducing either new ones or different designs for the classic names is something to appreciate, and it gives the film a more natural slot with the rest of the series pitted back with it's familiar assortment of puppets. The stronger rating definitely comes into play here, making it much more graphic and violent and really letting loose at times. The blood does flow in it's few kills, as there's a couple of face slashings, a hook used to chop up legs and ankles, a drill to the crotch and a couple flurries of stabbing that really come off nicely. There's also a strong opening bit, as a dark-coat clad figure works feverishly to bury an unknown object in the ground during a raging thunderstorm, and sets it on fire bury burying it. The murders in the museum are fun, and the ending has a really nifty gore scene to go out on. It's all apart of the revenge section at the end, which here is justified, fun and comes off as wholly satisfying considering what had been spent on it before. This one also has a really nice ability to still be fun despite the brevity, and it doesn't seem as short as it is and it remains fun throughout. On the whole, this one wasn't as bad as it easily could've been.

    The Bad News: There's a few problems with this one that do manage to keep it down. The fact that the relationship with the dolls being in their possession makes no sense, as this one has no scene of the elder passing on the secrets to the next generation. This one doesn't even give any knowledge they know how the dolls came to life to begin with. There's more emphasis on getting the structure right, meaning that it has more significance than the formula which brings them to life, a stark contrast from the others and something that should've been addressed. There's also how easily the newcomer takes to the revelation that they're alive, merely acknowledging it and then dismissing it, getting to the main crux of the story easier but also pointing out the flaw in the pacing. As is usual, the short time means that it plays cruel tricks on the pacing, as the police investigations with the friends, the first dinner time meal and the scene in the postal office go on for too long to beat a simple idea to death, but there's the ending, which just comes out of nowhere and then it's over, when it should've been stretched out a little more. The last flaw is the discussion of the inner will, shoe-horned into the plot for no reason and certainly isn't needed. These here hold the film down.

Rating...

5/10