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Reviews
Snowtown (2011)
Confusing & anti-climatic.
If you'd never watched a documentary or read a book on the true story this film is based on, you are likely to be scratching your head throughout the bulk of this film. Thankfully, I had found a really good documentary online recently.
Sitting through the film, I noticed this film was missing all the really shocking moments from this story. The murders are only lightly touched upon. The torture was played down. There's a lot of missing moments. There's not much to show that some people are even being murdered & the editing is done in such a way that it's not even clear. There's plenty of moments in which I found myself wondering why on earth this was what was being focused on rather than the real moments that were likely to grip the audience a lot more. Way too much dialogue & not enough of the real violence & horror of the story.
The ending is a total anti-climax. It cuts before the final killing to white text against a black screen to tell you what happened next. Nothing to show the police investigations. Nothing to show justice being done to the killers.
If you wish to watch a fantastic Australian movie based on true criminals, I would recommend 2010's "Animal Kingdom" over this. And if you want to watch a good documentary on this story, look online for "Serial Killers - The Bodies in the Barrels"
Overall, not worth a second look.
Hide and Seek (2005)
Clichéd and predictable
I am in complete awe as to why so many people called this movie scary, original, provocative, disturbing, etc.
This film was not in the least bit scary. I was amazed to see people jumping and gasping in the theater.
This is not DeNiro's best role, by far. Dakota Fanning was more annoying then scary. Even Elizabeth Shue and Amy Irving seem misplaced.
The so-called "twist" was a joke. Smack-bang in the middle of the movie; I predicted who Charlie was, and I was correct. Same thing happened with Fight Club. Movie-goers must be getting really stupid if they don't figure this stuff out until the very end.
My stupid teen-aged friends found crap like this, and Shrek 2 good, but said Closer and The Wicker Park were the worst movies they've ever seen. The Earth is doomed...
Do yourself a favor; don't waste your money on this, and watch a classic horror movie. The Exorcist, Carrie, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Hellraiser, etc.
Hell...Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) was more entertaining then this!
Bishôjo Senshi Sailor Moon (2003)
Japan's answer to Buffy? Could be...with some polishing!
This new version of Sailor Moon, as I comment, is only 13 episodes into the first season, and already, I can truthfully say, it has beaten the Anime version.
I have been a big fan of the Anime version of Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon since 1995. I have watched the show go from strength to strength, and have grown up with the characters.
Now, the new version; Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon comes along. Granted, I watch the first episode, and find myself thinking it is quite bizarre, but is deffinately worth watching again. I watch the 2nd episode, the 3rd episode, the 4th episode...I'm addicted.
I found there is much more character development, and a cleaner cut on-going story line (there is yet to be a filler episode, it seems something important happens in every episode). I can associate with the characters in this version much more then I could with the Anime version. I look at the characters, and their personalities, and see my friends aswell.
This version also keeps me guessing. Just when I think 'Oh yeah, in the Anime, this happened next, it'll happen like that here too', I tend to discover they do the complete opposite, and totally change the story arcs. It's a good thing! I never really wanted to see something I've already seen in 2 languages rehashed again.
The actors are very talented, and really do give it their all. I especially love Minako and Rei in this version.
Another thing; this version makes far more sense!! How many school girls do you see walking around the street with their pet cat in their arms? None. But, how many school girls do you see walking around the street with their stuffed-animal toy cat in their arms? Quite a few.
And to add to the sense-making-o-meter: When the senshi morph in this version, their hair totally changes color and style! This will deffinately help to keep their identities secret, as it was painfully obvious in the Anime who their identities were, they had simply changed clothes. In this they look totally different!
Now this series does have 2 low points:
MUSIC - Yes, the music in this series is quite catchy, but not much compared to the back ground music used in the Anime version. Alot of fans are upset over the loss of the original opening theme. That didn't bother me; the fact that we have 1 tune for fighting, 1 for the villains, 1 for the girls at school, 1 for Usagi at home, etc. We only have like 10 tracks, constantly reused. The Anime seemed to have an endless selection of tracks for background music! The live-action version fizzles here.
ACTION - The first episode's action had me confused. It was somewhat slow, and surreal. I didn't know what to make of it. As the season has progressed, I've come to notice there is virtually no action. All the Senshi do is twirl and dance about, while the monster ducks and jumps a bit. :S It looks rather silly, and I was really hoping the Senshi would kick major ass in this series, going by the way alot of people compare it to Sentai/Power Rangers, which is much more action packed.
Overall, I will say though, that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is my favourite show at the moment. I cant get enough of it, ad I hope it has many more seasons then the Anime, as it is outdoing it for plot and character development.
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has alot of potential. Enough to be Japan's answer to Buffy in fact. It needs alot of polishing before it can get here, but it does have this sort of potential! Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is fun and enjoyable, and is the ultimate source of entertainment at the moment, in my opinion!
Watch and enjoy!
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
My all-time fav movie!
Where to begin? The Texas Chain Saw Massacre...hmmmm.
Well, my mother came home one day, with a bunch of ex-rentals from the video-store. I have a look through them...and there it is. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. A grotesque cover indeed. A girl grabbing onto a poll, screaming her lungs out. Behind her, a pair of blooded hands hold a terrifyingly scary looking chainsaw. Along the top is written "The Uncut True Story", along the the bottom "PREVIOUSLY BANNED! R 18+ TRUE TERROR!"
Dear me! If you think the front cover sounds bad, I won't even go into the back cover...well, of course, being 12 at the time, I was scared out of my wits just looking at the cover. I let it go 2 months before I finally gave in, and gave it a look...
Well, I knew this was going a to be a traditional slasher, probably some gore, some big breasted girl getting stalked, etc. In horror terms, I had only seen Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. *Laughs* I really had no clue what I was in for!!!
The opening monologue rolls, and it comes off as a true story. OK, I now officially have the jitters. The movie gets into play, we meet our teens. They seem nice enough. I like them all. NOTE: This copy was VERY old and worn out, but that helped create the atmosphere!
I'm not going to bore you with the total outline of the story, so I will just go into what I thought.
I found it very hard to sleep for weeks after I had finally finished the film. Most of the time during the movie, my jaw was wide open in shock. The fact that I thought this was a true story didn't help!
I almost shat myself when I saw Leatherface for the first time. He was so fudging freaky! The movie is just terrifying right the way through.
The ending had my clinging to my seat, almost in tears! LEATHERFACE DIDN'T DIE!!! HE'S STILL OUT THERE!?!? Was my initial reaction. Holy hell!
Part of what makes this movie so terrifying is the isolation. Nobody could here poor little Sally Hardesty Enright scream her little lungs out during this movie, except for more psychopaths!!!
This is a movie that can, in the words of Rex Reed "drive you right out of your mind!" That is exactly what happens to poor Sally at the end of the film.
I remember just craving MORE after I had seen this movie! I had to know what happened next! Being unable to find parts 2 and 3 initially, I went straight on to the Next Generation, but that's another review.
Well, 5 years later, I might well be Australia's biggest TCM fan. I have all the movies on DVD and several different VHS releases. I have the figure of Leatherface, the movie poster on my wall, and even the lunch-box!
Texas Chain Saw Massacre will live on in my psyche forever, and I still can't pass an old house with peeling paint and a rusty wire door without thinking killers reside there!