Gamer:
In watching the trailer I could only think of two things; The running man and Avalon. The Running Man (The Stephen King adaptation with Arnie in) people may be aware of, but few may have heard of the bizarre, visually stunning (although a little dull) Japanese flick made in 2001 by Mamoru Oshii (creator of Ghost in the shell). Gamer reminds me alot of Avalon and that's not too much of a bad thing. However Avalon is a rather ponderous film with a pace that requires you to do a bit of thinking. Gamer (made by the nutters behind Crank) will probably leave that thinking nonsense to Stephen Hawking. Looks like stupid, derivative nonsense, could be a laugh.
New Moon:
Thank God these people are pretty....because they sure can't act! Like Harry Potter, the twilight saga only needs to have people that look good/like the characters to be successful. However while the potter books have interesting elements to them, The twilight films come across as fan fiction from a 13 year old who wants her panties wet. I did see the first film to see what the fuss was about...and found it to be quite a bore. Even if the movie is not aimed at me as the target audience it could have still been...you know...entertaining. New Moon is more of the same. Robert Patterson straining his eyes and calling it acting while Kristen Stewart looks dumbfounded in every shot. Yes I'm being harsh on the teen movie but doesn't matter what i think. The film is critic proof and the fans will flock to see it even it was a two hour picture of Edward Cullen taking a shit. Each to his own.
Pontypool:
After hearing a review of this on the filmjunk podcast I was more than a little intrigued about this film. I'm sure it will only get a limited review but the idea of people turning into Zombies because of language? Fucking weird but it gets me going. The trailer....meh, doesn't give much away, but it's a film that wants to play with the sub genre a bit...and there is nothing wrong with that.
Toy Story 3:
It's been 15 years since the first toy story and while that thought alone has got me wondering what I've fucking done with my life, it's also had me realize the power Pixar has had over the animated world. These guys are 10 for 10 and the Toy story movies are two of the brightest Jewels in their crown. Yes it's just a teaser but I can't see me having one once of hate for this one.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Review: Drag Me To Hell
Year: 2009
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenplay: Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long
Film Synopsis is here
I'm not going to talk about Sam Raimi's last film because you know...it's been spoken about enough. I will say I was surprised that Raimi decided to jump back the genre that made him famous. It's been a very long time since his last entry and I thought he'd be placing script touches on a comic book character that I'll say not too much about (this is not to say i minded the third film it was just weak).
I had so many reservations about Drag me to hell, most of them stemming from an "ok" trailer and the hyperbole posters/T.V spots that I began to see all over the place. I wanted to watch the film but when I'm told that the film is a "return to form" and my most hated word in film (next to overrated) a "masterpiece" I felt that this is a lot of praise for a film that looked pretty underwhelming to me at first glance.
Well Sam Raimi must knew that there would be assholes like me that may watch this by shutting my mouth in the first ten minutes. Drag me to hell is a horror film that pulls no punches from the start. The film is unrelenting from the start, giving us a frantic set up that reminds us of the best of Raimi. He had me from the start I tell you, and I tell you what, it's been a long time since I've seen a horror movie with such big brass balls. When a child is dragged into the depths of hell within the opening scene I know I'm going to love the movie.
It's ballsy scenes like that which place a film like this above the glut of horror remakes/reboots. It's willing to go against the gain and display imagination. That dreadful feeling of "been there done that" is missing from Raimi's film with it's possessed hankies and nose bleed fountains. While the film's style owes a lot the films which made it's director famous, it never feels derivative of a certain infamous trilogy that came before it. In fact it's so fresh i kinda hope people start to nick from it; be it the crazy tilted angles to the vast amount of gross out moments. It's what's needed to cut through the dreary dead teenager movies that have been trust upon us.
The films shocks (and there's a few) are not only creative but effective. I'm not a fan of horror zingers (jump scares) has I find them to be cheap, especially in one note films like A Haunting in Connecticut. With this said, Raimi's jump moments are cranked with so much tension he pulls of the scares with ease. The bizarre camera shots, the fantastic use of sound to create anxiety (and not just for boo moments) even make the scenes in the day time feel....odd. This is a director having fun with himself as well as the audience and it shows.
Another thing it has in common with Raimi's earlier movies is the comedy that counterbalance the horror. The film is so damn funny I had tears running down my face. Yes the films scares are well constructed but it's the slapstick (morbid) humor that comes after that really won me over. With more money and a hell of a lot more freedom Raimi is once again allowed to torture his lead (Lohman at her most innocent and sympathetic) and does so with gusto. It's been a while since I've seen him in this sort of mood and to see it again is nothing short of awesome. It's a mood that gives us a story that doesn't have to resort to a high body count to give us horror.
After 22 years Raimi goes back to the pure genre movies that made him famous and I found it the best comic horror I've seen in ages. It's definitely the best horror film I've seen this year, and will take some beating. In an era of some of the most dull uninspired American Horror on offer, I found Drag me to hell to be the kick up the arse the genre needed. Raimi brings forth a film that's not only laugh out loud funny but filled with more than enough shocks for repeat viewing. I only ask for one thing....when is it out on DVD?
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenplay: Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long
Film Synopsis is here
I'm not going to talk about Sam Raimi's last film because you know...it's been spoken about enough. I will say I was surprised that Raimi decided to jump back the genre that made him famous. It's been a very long time since his last entry and I thought he'd be placing script touches on a comic book character that I'll say not too much about (this is not to say i minded the third film it was just weak).
I had so many reservations about Drag me to hell, most of them stemming from an "ok" trailer and the hyperbole posters/T.V spots that I began to see all over the place. I wanted to watch the film but when I'm told that the film is a "return to form" and my most hated word in film (next to overrated) a "masterpiece" I felt that this is a lot of praise for a film that looked pretty underwhelming to me at first glance.
Well Sam Raimi must knew that there would be assholes like me that may watch this by shutting my mouth in the first ten minutes. Drag me to hell is a horror film that pulls no punches from the start. The film is unrelenting from the start, giving us a frantic set up that reminds us of the best of Raimi. He had me from the start I tell you, and I tell you what, it's been a long time since I've seen a horror movie with such big brass balls. When a child is dragged into the depths of hell within the opening scene I know I'm going to love the movie.
It's ballsy scenes like that which place a film like this above the glut of horror remakes/reboots. It's willing to go against the gain and display imagination. That dreadful feeling of "been there done that" is missing from Raimi's film with it's possessed hankies and nose bleed fountains. While the film's style owes a lot the films which made it's director famous, it never feels derivative of a certain infamous trilogy that came before it. In fact it's so fresh i kinda hope people start to nick from it; be it the crazy tilted angles to the vast amount of gross out moments. It's what's needed to cut through the dreary dead teenager movies that have been trust upon us.
The films shocks (and there's a few) are not only creative but effective. I'm not a fan of horror zingers (jump scares) has I find them to be cheap, especially in one note films like A Haunting in Connecticut. With this said, Raimi's jump moments are cranked with so much tension he pulls of the scares with ease. The bizarre camera shots, the fantastic use of sound to create anxiety (and not just for boo moments) even make the scenes in the day time feel....odd. This is a director having fun with himself as well as the audience and it shows.
Another thing it has in common with Raimi's earlier movies is the comedy that counterbalance the horror. The film is so damn funny I had tears running down my face. Yes the films scares are well constructed but it's the slapstick (morbid) humor that comes after that really won me over. With more money and a hell of a lot more freedom Raimi is once again allowed to torture his lead (Lohman at her most innocent and sympathetic) and does so with gusto. It's been a while since I've seen him in this sort of mood and to see it again is nothing short of awesome. It's a mood that gives us a story that doesn't have to resort to a high body count to give us horror.
After 22 years Raimi goes back to the pure genre movies that made him famous and I found it the best comic horror I've seen in ages. It's definitely the best horror film I've seen this year, and will take some beating. In an era of some of the most dull uninspired American Horror on offer, I found Drag me to hell to be the kick up the arse the genre needed. Raimi brings forth a film that's not only laugh out loud funny but filled with more than enough shocks for repeat viewing. I only ask for one thing....when is it out on DVD?
Monday, 25 May 2009
Review: Tormented
Year: 2009
Director: Jon Wright
Screenplay: Stephen Prentice
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Larissa Wilson, Tom Hopper
I should watch more TV but I don't. I get bored of TV shows quite easily and the glut of American serials have left me exasperated. There's only so many bad days Jack Bauer can have, you know? But there are a few things I like watching and Skins is one of them. Yes it's exaggerated, but the energy placed within the show wither it's the writing or the performance is clearly visible. Compere that to the deary cop shows (except The Wire of course) and the never ending questions/red herrings of certain other shows and I'll take my OTT Teen show thanks. Cheesy yes but pretentious? Not at all.
This brings me to Tormented which as already been labeled a "skins slasher". I had my reservations of course mostly as it's very lazy hyperbole. It has a couple of actors from Skins in it and it's a horror film. A very easy conclusion for a writer who merely can't be arsed to write about some horror film (maybe).
However in watching Tormented you actually realize that although Skins has "opened a door" for this British slasher, a lot of the movies cues are "like er... totally American". Yes the film is about a bullied teen who comes back to live to reap havoc, however the film borrows so much from Halloween you could constitute it as theft.
This didn't bother me however as the film has more than enough character of it's own. It's themes of bullying, social isolation (both by peers and technology) and that bastard that is puberty are placed right into the forefront. It's nothing you haven't seen before but it's well done. In fact the fact that Tormented puts so much effort into these elements places it leap years in front the remakes and reboots that Hollywood drudges up. However, Tormented suffers from one thing....it's not scary.
The film doesn't reach the dizzying horror heights of genre classics such as Evil Dead or Scream because none of the films set pieces are particularly frightening. They're funny in a Final Destination sort of way but your not going to get nightmares from it. In fact the films bullying scenes are much more terrifying but while they're extremely OTT, there's a eerie aura of truth that lingers around those moments.
From the first kill I was disappointed because the film didn't sent any shivers down my spine. However the films humor kept me going. The dialogue was snappy while the set pieces was full of extreme gore that no one could take seriously. The film also has a streak of cynicism that's been missing from so many horror films lately, that it took me by surprise. Trust us Brits to put the some bitterness back into horror. I was also happy that the film also had a plot, which another thing that's missing from alot of modern horror.
The youthful cast are effective for the most part, April Pearson and Alex Pettyfer play their parts with the right amount of misanthropy while the lead Tuppence Middleton is very likable. Tom Hopper makes sure his performance is more than just gruff muscle (he has the funniest death sequence). Unfortunately Larissa Wilson (Skin's Jal) doesn't have much to do, while the films "nice guy" (can't remember the guys name) comes off a little too awkward.
Tormented hits the mark because due to it's biting comments and comical set pieces. If some of our friends across the border took notice of this then they'd be producing horror movies that I'd remember and actually buy on DVD. Tormented has the right amount of nastiness and laughs that I can see myself watching it on my Xbox before going out on the razz. Well played.
Director: Jon Wright
Screenplay: Stephen Prentice
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Larissa Wilson, Tom Hopper
I should watch more TV but I don't. I get bored of TV shows quite easily and the glut of American serials have left me exasperated. There's only so many bad days Jack Bauer can have, you know? But there are a few things I like watching and Skins is one of them. Yes it's exaggerated, but the energy placed within the show wither it's the writing or the performance is clearly visible. Compere that to the deary cop shows (except The Wire of course) and the never ending questions/red herrings of certain other shows and I'll take my OTT Teen show thanks. Cheesy yes but pretentious? Not at all.
This brings me to Tormented which as already been labeled a "skins slasher". I had my reservations of course mostly as it's very lazy hyperbole. It has a couple of actors from Skins in it and it's a horror film. A very easy conclusion for a writer who merely can't be arsed to write about some horror film (maybe).
However in watching Tormented you actually realize that although Skins has "opened a door" for this British slasher, a lot of the movies cues are "like er... totally American". Yes the film is about a bullied teen who comes back to live to reap havoc, however the film borrows so much from Halloween you could constitute it as theft.
This didn't bother me however as the film has more than enough character of it's own. It's themes of bullying, social isolation (both by peers and technology) and that bastard that is puberty are placed right into the forefront. It's nothing you haven't seen before but it's well done. In fact the fact that Tormented puts so much effort into these elements places it leap years in front the remakes and reboots that Hollywood drudges up. However, Tormented suffers from one thing....it's not scary.
The film doesn't reach the dizzying horror heights of genre classics such as Evil Dead or Scream because none of the films set pieces are particularly frightening. They're funny in a Final Destination sort of way but your not going to get nightmares from it. In fact the films bullying scenes are much more terrifying but while they're extremely OTT, there's a eerie aura of truth that lingers around those moments.
From the first kill I was disappointed because the film didn't sent any shivers down my spine. However the films humor kept me going. The dialogue was snappy while the set pieces was full of extreme gore that no one could take seriously. The film also has a streak of cynicism that's been missing from so many horror films lately, that it took me by surprise. Trust us Brits to put the some bitterness back into horror. I was also happy that the film also had a plot, which another thing that's missing from alot of modern horror.
The youthful cast are effective for the most part, April Pearson and Alex Pettyfer play their parts with the right amount of misanthropy while the lead Tuppence Middleton is very likable. Tom Hopper makes sure his performance is more than just gruff muscle (he has the funniest death sequence). Unfortunately Larissa Wilson (Skin's Jal) doesn't have much to do, while the films "nice guy" (can't remember the guys name) comes off a little too awkward.
Tormented hits the mark because due to it's biting comments and comical set pieces. If some of our friends across the border took notice of this then they'd be producing horror movies that I'd remember and actually buy on DVD. Tormented has the right amount of nastiness and laughs that I can see myself watching it on my Xbox before going out on the razz. Well played.
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Dreamworks to make Martin Luther King biopic
A little while back I was blogged about Presidents and the movies that cropped up in their career. I didn't say too much about what we may see in Obama's term(s) however this bit of breaking news says quite alot.
Spielberg/Dreamworks/Martin Luther King - 1
Spielberg/Dreamworks/Martin Luther King - 2
Now may mean shit to a lot of people but to me it means a bit. Why?
The Malcolm X Film.
A quick glance to wikipedia gives you a quick insight into the amount of production issues that came with the movie.
But now in the realm of a biracial president it doesn't come to any surprise to me that not only the King estate have finally agreed to this, but a studio like Dreamworks look set to finance the film with Spielberg's name behind it on the producing side of things. Especially as this film annoucement as came so quickly within Obama's reign.
My questions now are:
Whose gonna direct this?
Will Spike Lee go nuts about the directors colour
But most importantly
Will this be a powerful, honest portyal of a life thats been way overdue?
Only time will tell
I love trailers I do!
You know the deal. New Trailers come out. I look at them, then make ridiculous judgment on them.
H2
For me I find Rob Zombie to be a frustrating director. He's different from most horror directors working out there, he has a strong viewpoint on the genre and his work displays great confidence. However I'm just never pleased with the finished product (save the lucid and lurid House of 100 corpses). The Halloween remake for me was a needless task which missed the point on why Micheal Myers was feared. However looking at the youtube comments of this trailer it seems that things change and violence and brutality win out over subtle and unquestionable evil. Each to his own. But H2 looks set to be an interesting entry into the slasher stable, with the trailer bringing up a far more intriguing element about it's killer than the all of the many sequel put together. It's a little too Friday The 13th in parts and I kinda hope Zombie stops placing his wife in all of his films (she was of the weakest elements of the remake) but this could be worth a peek.
The Girlfriend Experience:
Steven Soderbergh's back y'all and this time it's not another Oceans film, which usually doesn't bode will for the man. His indie record since his first film Sex lies and videotape hasn't been the greatest and unfortunately this movies trailer didn't make me think any different. But what gets me going about Soderbergh and his lesser seen movies is his willingness to do something a little different. Best example is Bubble. An experiment that didn't work but generally got favorable reviews from many who watched it. The girlfriend experience looks set to try and make it's porn star lead Sasha Grey a credible actress while allowing it's wily director go off on one of his indie exploits. Trailerwise this is a 2 minute trailer that could have been shorter. It gives us a tiny amount of info but takes a long time to tell us. While it's not revealing the plot of the whole film like many trailers do, it does feel like a needlessly lengthened teaser trailer. The music was good though.
District 9:
While I don't know too much about this...I'm going to have to find out asap. The trailer is one of the most unusual and yet relevant ideas I've seen in a while. It seems that the message that this film might portray may be an obvious one and that certain people won't be swayed by any arguments it brings up. But hell if it don't look interesting
H2
For me I find Rob Zombie to be a frustrating director. He's different from most horror directors working out there, he has a strong viewpoint on the genre and his work displays great confidence. However I'm just never pleased with the finished product (save the lucid and lurid House of 100 corpses). The Halloween remake for me was a needless task which missed the point on why Micheal Myers was feared. However looking at the youtube comments of this trailer it seems that things change and violence and brutality win out over subtle and unquestionable evil. Each to his own. But H2 looks set to be an interesting entry into the slasher stable, with the trailer bringing up a far more intriguing element about it's killer than the all of the many sequel put together. It's a little too Friday The 13th in parts and I kinda hope Zombie stops placing his wife in all of his films (she was of the weakest elements of the remake) but this could be worth a peek.
The Girlfriend Experience:
Steven Soderbergh's back y'all and this time it's not another Oceans film, which usually doesn't bode will for the man. His indie record since his first film Sex lies and videotape hasn't been the greatest and unfortunately this movies trailer didn't make me think any different. But what gets me going about Soderbergh and his lesser seen movies is his willingness to do something a little different. Best example is Bubble. An experiment that didn't work but generally got favorable reviews from many who watched it. The girlfriend experience looks set to try and make it's porn star lead Sasha Grey a credible actress while allowing it's wily director go off on one of his indie exploits. Trailerwise this is a 2 minute trailer that could have been shorter. It gives us a tiny amount of info but takes a long time to tell us. While it's not revealing the plot of the whole film like many trailers do, it does feel like a needlessly lengthened teaser trailer. The music was good though.
District 9:
While I don't know too much about this...I'm going to have to find out asap. The trailer is one of the most unusual and yet relevant ideas I've seen in a while. It seems that the message that this film might portray may be an obvious one and that certain people won't be swayed by any arguments it brings up. But hell if it don't look interesting
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