DVD's and Films You Have Watched Recently

[Van_Dammer]

Gozu

Initially, I thought this was going to be a gangster flick. All of the required elements are there in terms of the iconography, style, characters, sets, dialogue and initial plot. The boss of a yakuza group becomes very alarmed by the seemingly insane behaviour of one of the members, Ozaki. He then secretly orders Minami to take Ozaki to a disposal site.

 

Within approximately fifteen minutes, Gozu changes entirely and becomes an eerie, atmospheric and twisted movie. True to director Takashi Miike's style, there's a succession of bizarre scenes, wierd characters and a rather unconventional story. Strangley, it's even pretty funny in some places. Fittingly, there are a few evident links to Visitor Q, Miike's 2001 film, in regards to a couple of scenes in particular. Kenichi Endo, who played the father in Visitor Q, is also in Gozu, but he's only in it for a few minutes and hardly says anything. That's a shame, really, as I would've liked to have seen him in full comedic psycho mode again... Anyway, as Gozu is so unorthodox, it maintains a sense of intrigue throughout its two hour and ten minute duration. With a number of twists and unpredictable occurances, it doesn't drag.

 

Looking beneath the obsurity of Gozu and its imagery, the film has several underlying issues and themes. Somehow, it makes sense when you put it into some sort of context...

 

I'd actually rank this as one of Miike's top three films. It's a truly insane ride.

Edited July 7, 2006 by Van_Dammer

[ukedge87]

Don't Look Now

 

This film might have been shocking back in 1973, with its graphic sex scene and the use of violence and blood, but now its the slow burning thrill and chilly setting of venice which makes this film such a classic. Set in the post-traumatic period of a loss of a child, Donald Sutherland stars as a Britishman (with the worst accent ever) working as an archetict in a Venetian church. However, throughout the stay he comes in contact with a couple of old pyschics, who say they are speaking to his daughter, and that she is telling him to leave Venice, leading to a climatic chase through the cobbles of the watery city. The acting as you would expect from the class is spot on, however its the unnerving, and sponotenous attitude of the director which makes the film so creepy and hair raising.

 

If you haven't seen this film then shame on you, its been on TV countless times and has even been free with The Observer. It is an essential piece of British and Horror cinematic history, which fans of either genre (which I am of both) should definitley give a watch. Not quite 'The Wicker Man' in terms of the greatest horror ever, but certainly an all time classic.

[JLM]

Revolver

 

Fucking hell. Ray Liotta showing too much skin and one man's battle with his fear of elevators. Do I not like that. Andre 3000 was better than I expected, Jason Statham's remarkable range continues to impress. HA.

 

Redeye

 

LaGoosh has it covered. It's all excellent until the plane lands, then it descends into dross.

[Mr. Seven]

Yeah but Brian Cox is in it. And he fucking rules all.

[LaGoosh]

Yeah but Brian Cox is in it. And he fucking rules all.

Except he has a shitty American accent and has literally nothing to do either.

[Van_Dammer]

Made

Lifelong friends Bobby Ricigliano (Jon Favreau) and Ricky Slade (Vince Vaughn) become caught up in a money laundering scheme through making a delivery to New York.

 

I'll start with the positives. Although it's essentially a buddy movie, with a comedic character and a 'straight' guy, Made isn't overly conventional or predictable. Accordingly, some of the funniest moment occur in situations that you woudn't necessarily expect.

 

Additionally, the performances are pretty good. Vince Vaughn is much better in Made than he is in many other films. He's exceptional as a loudmouth who annoys the other characters. Peter Falk also does very well in his role and I'm not just saying that because I'm a big Columbo fan.

 

With Made, there are two major negatives, though. The first is that it seems somewhat boring in certain places. The second is that the writers seemed to have loaded the script with explicatives because they ran out of material. Generally, I have absolutely nothing against swearing, but if it isn't used properly, it simply isn't funny.

 

Overall, Made isn't anything great, but it's not bad, either. I'd rate it about average.

 

11:14

Five different stories that lead up to two 11:14 PM car crashes.

 

This is a really interesting film as it follows distinct sets of characters, their actions and individual perspectives. As it progresses, you begin to discover more about them and their exact involvement with each other and as to how the events intertwine.

 

The writing and direction are both excellent. Although 11:14 is a shrewdly executed and intelligent film, it's not stuck up its own ass. There's a great degree of dark comedy, which makes it even more enjoyable.

 

The cast seem ideal in their roles. Hilary Swank is surprisingly funny as dumb cashier and Patrick Swayze is fantastic as an overprotective father, especially due to his mannerisms. Ben Foster is awesome in his part, too.

 

In short, 11:14 is a smart, funny and entertaining film. It deserves so much more recognition and it's definitely worth watching. As an extra incentive, Rachael Leigh Cook show off her magnificent cleavage - a lot.

Edited July 9, 2006 by Van_Dammer

[ukedge87]

Nutty Professor 2 : The Klumps

 

The original was funny and original with some classic comedy moments in it, and of course it was very succesful at the box office. So it's no surpirse a sequel was made, with Eddie Murphy returning to play nearly the entire cast (whoose acting skill is tested and verified by the brave feet - as it is a rare moment in which you are conscious of Murphy in the roles such as Cletus or Anna). Jannet Jackson also proves herself as being more than just a gimmicky 'pop' actresss, as she fufilles her main characters' role very well, although to be fair the character has been written to be shallow and superficial, so how she would be in a challenging role is yet to be seen.

 

The script is so unbelievably bad the film becomes unbearably. Basically, the viewer is meant to believe that Sherman Klump removes a strand of DNA from his body to make himself better, but in the process means he looses his genius intelligence and becomes well... retarded. Its so stupid, that not even the rare moment of Murphy-esque entertainment can stop the film from dragging. And I won't even mention the very unfunny bestiality rape scene, which aims to be provocative but ends up looking smuty.

 

This film should not be watched by you. It drags on for almost two hours, and its two hours you will never get back. This film is far worse than the original, it not even haliriously bad it's just plain awful.

[Van_Dammer]

A History Of Violence

A family man, Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), becomes a local hero by thwarting a robbery at his diner and saving the lives of innocent people in the process. Then, a group of mobsters come to his town...

 

My views on A History Of Violence are mostly negative. Within the first twenty minutes, it comes across as incredibly cheesy and, in some respects, ridiculous.

Click to Show/Hide

It's laughable that the bully wants to beat up Jack, Tom's son, because he caught him out in a game of baseball during PE class. Couldn't the writers have come up with a better way to set up a fight? The fact that a sex scene occurs fifteen minutes into a film is equally as bad. Edie, Tom's wife, dresses as a cheerleader and seduces him in the bedroom. Realistically, a man wouldn't be playful in such a situation as Tom is in the film - he'd simply fuck the shit out of his wife.

There are also many instances of terrible dialogue, which makes everything seem even worse.

 

However, I found that A History Of Violence finally becomes interesting after about thirty minutes. Then, it gets boring again. Unlike many, though, I wasn't too displeased with the ending. In my opinion, the films true saving grace is the violence. Generally, it's very graphic and actually adds some entertainment value.

 

Overall, I think A History Of Violence is borderline mediocre and enormously overrated. Download Maria Bello's scenes and you'll have watched the best parts of the movie.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Van_Dammer

[ukedge87]

Halloween: Ressurection

 

This is the eighth Halloween film in the series, and is the latest one to be released, and you can tell.

 

This film deals with the main theme of 5 or so teens in Myers house as part of an internet show, in which they more or less get slaughtered by the return of the grotesque Michael Myers. The film follows the linear pattern of poor horror films - which is show character, slowly kill them off one by one in different and unusual fashions, the last one alive kills the bad guy (or so you think!). The film also has a section at the begining in which Myers tracks Lauri Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and kills her - in about five minutes. Not only does this section seem totally unneccesary and stink - but it also is very apparent that it is shoved in as Curtis's escape from the over-whelaming franchise.

 

Nothing is explained in the film. Myer's escape from death in H20 being the execption, it does not tell you what he was doing since the last film, and why he chooses to kill the kids (apart from the fact they are in his house) or why he goes after Laurie. Nothing. Zilch. Plus he has a new versio of his mask, which totally misses the mark as it is looses the creepy eseque of the mask which has strengthed the weaker films because of the association imagery with the very good original.

 

However, things aren't all bad. The subplot of a boy watching a girl being chased by Myers on the internet is a good light-hearted subplot (although it does detract from the horror), and the somewhat poignant, if underdeveloped, point about the rise of the internet and reality show with human buchery is an interesting thinking point for the viewer.

 

This film does not live up to the original, but then again NONE of the sequels did... none of them came even closes. For this reason it is not damaging to the franchise, and can be viewed as pulp horror - eye candy, or guilty pleasure for Halloween fans. This film is not great, in fact it is fairly poor, but its weaknesses can be overlooked by true fans of the series because of the simple fact, it works effectively as an installment of the very long franchise.

 

Oh, and by the way Busta Rhymes is awful.

[JLM]

Damn right he is. Busta Rhymes beating the shit out of Michael Myers is probably the most depressing thing in the whole Halloween series.

[Mr. Seven]

"Damn Mike you lookin' kinda crispy! Like some fried chicken mothafucka!"Busta is quite good in Narc though.

[Supremo]

I watched The Warriors for the the first time yesterday. It was awesome. I now simply have to own the game.

Edited July 10, 2006 by ELsupremo

[Adam G]

Yes you do, the game is pure awesomeness, one of the best games in a long time.Edit: Ooo, page 90. I'd imagine this topic is a good candidate for the UKFF Gold Section one day.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Adam Gard

[LaGoosh]

This film does not live up to the original, but then again NONE of the sequels did... none of them came even closes.

You obviously haven't seen the hidden classic Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch which I personally think is the scariest movie I have ever seen.

[JLM]

Rob Zombie is making the next Halloween movie, which is set to be a remake of the first film. Interesting.

 

In other news..

 

Stay alive

 

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!

 

Wow. This is a staggeringly bad film. I was laughing out loud at parts of it. The sad thing is they actually pick a decent ghost story (Countess Elizabeth Bathory, look it up) to work with, but throw it in with a horrible mess that steals from The Grudge, Ringu and a few other movies that are so much better than this that any and all comparisons will be purely to mock this abomination.

 

I don't know where to begin really... Malcom from Malcom in the middle is in it, he's rubbish. The lead actor is rubbish. Samaire Armstrong from The OC tries, but unfortunately the plot and dialogue are also, you guessed it, rubbish. And what the fuck is everyone wearing? In a bid to create some kind of socially inept gamerz look, they've put Malcom in a sun visor thing worn sideways and giant headphones that he wears for gaming. I bet he didn't think when he signed up to be in a horror film he'd feel more ridiculous than he did in Spy Kids.

 

The scene were October (yes, there's a character named October) fills them in on the Elizabeth Bathory story is particularly special. "They walled her up in her tower... alive. And here's the kicker: she said she'd be BACK! So what if she is back? And she's killing us one by one in the same that we die in this videogame?" Delivered with painful intensity through pursed lips, it makes for hilarious viewing. Then there's her brother, who is so cripplingly emotionally retarded that he fails to show any sympathy towards a guy who has seen two friends die in horrifying circumstances in two nights, and then we're somehow supposed to care when he dies?

 

The speed with which they all buy the central idea is even worse. It's not the fact that they believe this idea, because people believe similarly absurd things in The Ring, Final Destination etc. and it's to be expected of horror movies. The problem is that no one seems to suggest any other explanation, and there's a token period of scepticism that lasts all of 30 seconds before they all just accept that there's a witch-ghost on the loose who kills via the medium of a very ropey looking survival horror game. Them you've got every stereotype in the book. There's the grizzled old detective who suspects the hero is involved with the murders, his hard headed deputy who won't heed the warnings and ultimately suffers, a hero with a backstory/issues, love interest for said hero and then a couple of disposable characters who's deaths you can call within 10 seconds of seeing them.

 

The CGI is shit, Bathory looks awful, the little crawling sub-par Sadako clones look even worse and none of the kills deliver any goodness. Even the attempts at jump moments through loud noises and false scares don't work, and you'd think they would be foolproof. Then..THEN... there's the fact that, in order to break the curse, they have to find this tower where she was bricked up and do various things to her body. Luckily for them, however, said tower is not in Hungary, where she was actually imprisoned until her death, but... Up the road! If you lived within a few miles of a place like that I reckon you'd know about it and probably have some idea of the mythology surrounding it, but that's the least of the film's problems I guess.

 

Oh, and the ending... They break the curse, and, because the copy of the game that got everyone killed was a beta copy in the final stage of testing... we... erm... assume that there was only one copy in existence? That it won't come out because they went to a house and put nails in a corpse? What do they think happens after the testing stage of a game? Well, in an jaw-dropping ending scene we cut to a game shop and see that the PS2 version has been released and people are buying it!!! What a clever twist, I bet the writer gave himself a big pat on the back for that fucking masterstroke.

 

Easily one of the top ten worst films I have ever seen.

Edited July 11, 2006 by JLM