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Reviews
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
A good film, just pretend Peter Jackson never existed - a tiny spoiler if you could call it that
To start with, the film was made back in the late 70's, so the animation and colouring isn't amazingly special, even at the best of times. The animation varies from using pure animation to real live actors being animated over. This unfortunately leads to many scenes suddenly looking obscure and extremely dirty, but quite fascinating.
The actual artwork on some of the characters is not as creative as you would expect from a fantasy film. Legolas and Boromir look very good, and so do all of the Hobbits, but Gimli doesn't look like the stereotypical fantasy dwarf you would expect to see. One other problem the film suffers from is the lack of artwork on the Orcs, you only ever see a few models, they all look generic, dirty with very little colour, and lack detail to them. Notice there is no mention of Uruk Hai....
Now that is out of the way lets move onto something that the film is strong on; audio. The voice acting throughout the film is of a really high quality, the voices are extremely clear despite the film being over 30 years old. The script is well constructed and thought through, with competent actors delivering their individual characters well. Even the Orcs, despite their appearance, behave and sound the part; sadistic, manic and unintelligent, sorta how you'd expect a disgruntled and mouldy man in a potato sack to behave. The soundtrack, is much like the voice acting, very good. It just sounds like it belongs in the film. Its hard to describe but sit back in your chair listening to it with your eyes closed, and you could probably imagine what scenes they went with.
Moving on to the actual story. Unfortunately I have never read the books so I can't criticise without comparing it to Jackson' films. However on comparing the two films, both hit very similar key scenes. Jackson's films cover more scenes over two films, but Bakshi fits the first two books into two hours. That is not a problem as films never best the written versions, even Jackson omitted some scenes. But it did mean that in Bakshi's version, some characters were only mentioned in passing and not properly introduced, Eowyn and Eomer are two characters who were unfortunately overlooked.
In conclusion the film has nothing on the Jackson versions, but as I said pretend Peter Jackson never existed. If you do that you can see how this film, despite being flawed in places, is a very impressive film. Not quite a masterpiece, but definitely a classic worth respect and recognition, especially as Bakshi ran out of money half way through the film.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
A brilliant film with both humour and horror aspects
Right of the bat you are going to be half expecting another unborn film, but to be completely honest, this film wipes the floor with that film. It was not what I expected at all.
What I find with most of the new horror films is that the "scare" scenes are always predictable and you know EXACTLY what is going to happen, when and where, with this film those scares are almost always unpredictable, and just when you think something is about to come it never does, leaving you on that ever longing sense of anticipation waiting for something to happen. This is a definite bonus for the film.
The second thing that I found to be a real winner with this film was that it had a lot of comic value in it and moments that make you laugh out of your chair, when I went to see it with friends a few days ago the whole cinema was laughing and we were in hysterics at some of the films cheesier scenes.
The story isn't something that some of us haven't sketched in the back of a school book, but its not a bad story, and the way the film was written and filmed fully makes up for that so it really doesn't matter that it isn't something wonderful and unique, showing that a film doesn't need a completely new idea to be successful.
On a scale of 10 this film deserves the 10/10 marker as it really goes that extra mile, after watching this you can tell a lot of effort, laughs and giggles were put into this film to make it what it is. If you haven't seen it, stop stalling on here and get out there and watch it, go with friends and have a laugh, it's well worth the money.
Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008)
Really good game but a little anti-climatic
The game itself is a huge leap as it changes the combat system entirely from 1 and 2 (I didn't play 3 or 4 I'm assuming they're the same). For starters the game is more combat oriented with the introduction of using various combos and finishing moves to kill your enemies, you can also aim the gun yourself giving you the freedom to place a few pellets in certain monsters critical zones which can be really handy when your conserving those last 4 bullets that you 'wasted' 2 minutes ago fighting another creature.
The horror factor stands up to the silent hill name, really gory, really twisted and leaves you feeling cold due to the attention paid to certain details. The characters are likable and are great to interact with due to the new speech system allowing you to take complete control over certain dialogues. It's also great how you can have a combat buddy fighting alongside you, blasting monsters back to back.
My only complaint is the fact that the game is really anti-climatic towards the end, in many cases it feels that the designers just got bored and didn't bother with some greater in depth story line unlike in SH2 where you get two bosses and a scene explaining more of the story.
Overall the game is good and I give it 8 stars for the reason that the ending wasn't as good as it could have been, but it is definitely worth the look.
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
Finally something worth waiting for...
Anyone who's watched the W.S Anderson resident evils will probably agree with me that they weren't the best of all films, especially to the fans of the video games. Although the 3rd film was the best one in terms of story and general interest, it just didn't have that feel resident evil should have had, and it certainly didn't feel like it should have a sequel at all.
However Resident Evil Degeneration is a definite change for the better and should the canon continue, will be much more successful than the previous films. Firstly the film is in CGI, and good CGI at that, so there's definitely no holding back on the cool action scenes that would be too dangerous or hard to do using real actors. It's always good to see slick acrobatic scenes with great angles in that seems to be done best when using CGI.
Secondly the story is a lot better, and I do mean a lot better, no more convoys, no more Alaska and no more clones; it's what resident evil should be and that's a real bonus for the fans, I won't say what Degeneration is all about, only that it is definitely worth the look. So....How about number 2?
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)
Not bad, not great, but not bad
At first glance you'd think, oh no another addition to the bug franchise's pile of trash but surprisingly it's not that bad a film. Unfortunately ST was one of those films that was hard to make a sequel to but we wanted a continuation anyway.
The first thing that was a real boost for this film is the role of Rico (hero of ST), ST2 didn't star him or anyone else so that was probably what let many people down. Saying that isn't much though, it would be better if ALL the main characters were in it e.g. Carmen, Ace, Karl and Zimm.
The Story isn't too bad for an action flick like this, people crash on planet, search and rescue blah blah blah you get the idea, kinda what you expect and I only have 2 major complaints about this film. One of which were the effects, ST was great and the bugs looked pretty realistic, but in ST3 the CGI effects on the bugs are so horrible that even resident evil would be proud (the licker and hologram, enough said).
The second major let down for me was the lack of action and patriotism the first film had. Watch this and then ST and you'll see what I mean. It doesn't do the film justice when the potentially most awesome part of the film was done pretty poorly and quickly. The ending could have been so epic if only it were done in true ST fashion.
All things said, it's not a bad film at all but you should see it yourself before making your mind up.
Jericho (2007)
A worth while game
Jericho is one of those Love/Hate games, especially if your a person looking for an intriguing and interesting plot. Unlike some games the stories are very bland, and i'm sorry to say this but Halo is one of them, it's the same goddamn story in parts 1 and 2, but 3 looks very different. However Jericho has a fairly interesting plot to go with it's horror genre. Although it is slightly confusing and is not explained very well or clearly in some parts, most of the time at the beginning of the game you'll feel bewildered from being suddenly thrown into a war zone.
On a brighter note, Jericho utilises some very impressive graphics which create a terrifying, yet outstanding environment, from real-time lighting, reflections, incredible detail and other various bits and bobs which make this game an experience to play. The action content is amazing, your hardly ever left in silence for long be it from the groans of your enemies, or the gunfire from allies mixed with the cries and screams of your men.
Jericho will not fail to satisfy even the most seasoned of horror genre fans.
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
The best yet!!!! could be classed as spoiler as storyline is mention but twists aren't given away
I know that there are a lot of Judas's out there who are extremely stuck up about game-films, and will always give them a thumbs down regardless of seeing the film or not, however to give this film a thumbs down, is almost criminal. Obviously the first film was full of holes and was generally a sloppy mess i'm sure plenty of people will agree with me, apocalypse was actually decent, the stunts and visuals were very entertaining and nemesis debut was warmly welcomed.
Moving onto number 3. One of the best things about this film is the story, it's actually believable because it could happen one day; in fact its a story similar to the 28 days later film. The story is set soon after the sanitation of raccoon city where the T-Virus was supposed to have been obliterated. It wasn't. The T-Virus spreads globally and infects the entire world, drying up lakes and turning the planet into a baron wasteland. Caught up in the midst is a convoy lead by Claire Redfield, Carlos Olivera and LJ, the remaining umbrella corporation lead by Albert Wesker, and of course, the heroine, Alice. Professor Isaac (the bad dude) is trying to find a cure for the T-Virus to end the zombie infestation but runs into a few complications.
This film boasts action more than any of it's predecessors and will not fail to impress you with it's improved fight scenes, the only real downside is the absence of one important character and another, but not so important character, Jill and Angela, which is disappointing because they were a likable characters. There are quite a few dramatic scenes, so it's not all blood, guts and senseless violence, there is a sense of loss and sadness in it. Talking about blood and guts. This film is much bloodier than any of the previous films and does add a bit more eye pleasing scenes if you like seeing blood spraying everywhere and people being slashed to pieces. Another thing that is quite impressive, is the very slight hint of the G-Virus coming into effect, even though it hasn't a label clearly saying, 'G-Virus, Big Daddy's Only' you can still see the similarities and could aid the story in a 4th one. Yes, that's right folks! It's pretty certain that there's going to be number 4.
Overall I give this film 10/10 because I can't really find anything highly disappointing about it. I wont downgrade it because it's based on a game, that would be very narrow minded, also because it's not meant to be a film thats meant to make you walk out and say that it made a valid point, or it was hilarious, or for whatever reason because it's a film thats meant to be entertaining and something to enjoy on a rainy evening or afternoon, not something you can have a 5 hour debate discussing the moral rights, or historic event that the film is based on. To be completely honest with you, films like that are rather boring and often send me to sleep, I'd much rather watch resident evil extinction than "Gone With the Wind", or "Syrianna" any day. You go to a cinema to be entertained and come out thinking 'wow those fighting scenes were amazing, well worth the money' not to come out and discuss politics. Anyway enough of my ranting, some of you will agree with me some of you will lob rotten lettuces at me, but if you enjoyed the Resident Evil films, then this film is for you and I fully recommend it. If you just want to watch it for the eye pleasing stunts, fight scenes etc, then I fully recommend it, but if you want a film based on historic events such as apartheid, sorry do not watch this you'll just come out wishing you spent the last 2 hours in the pub discussing various topics.
All I can say now is......Bring on number 4
Silent Hill 2 (2001)
....wow!
This game must be my no.1 buy of all time, and I mean that! This game is so beautifully crafted it's unreal. There is a massive contrast in quality from it's prequel and Silent Hill was, naturally rich in story. In comparison to Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill is more of a horror survival game, which requires nerves of steel and Heartstopping concentration. In Silent Hill you are guided by a petty little torch through, what seems like the toy box of Satan. Silent Hill 2 is more like a tragic love story that will leave you stunned. The music is extremely Moving, Sad, Hopeful and in some places rather Haunting but the best music setting of all is the silence. The leader of the music area said, and i quote "Silence is also a sound". Silent Hill 2 will grip you tightly at the beginning, and tighter as it progresses and then twists you, and folds you, and bounces you, as the story thickens. The characters are introduced at perfect moments, and in perfect form. I forgot to mention that the graphics are brilliant by the way and that statement proves itself in cgi movies and in game roles. This game isn't as 'Jumpy' as the first but it's more psychologically scary. The psychological effects kick in because the monsters you encounter look like deformed humans and this terrified me. Mind you that i was about 12 or 13 when i played this. The sounds in game are freakishly bone tingling enough to send paralysis to your fingers almost instantly and impede any further progression. The puzzles in game are enough to twist your brain into submission with their cruel yet revealing secrets. As i progressed through the game the puzzles got me thinking towards the climax of the game, it got me thinking about Pyramid Heads purpose and why he stalks James, it got me thinking maybe he's here to punish James and torment him. In fact this was but a scratch on this entity's purpose.
In short this game is a must buy for anyone into games with rich stories and game play. It has 5 possible endings each one revealing a bit more of the story and opening up more opportunities regarding secret weapons and other goodies. This game is a must have and i assure you, you will not regret it! I do pass on a warning though if you have young children (13-) do not play it around them or let them play it, it will psychologically impair them for sometime, it did me! It is much worse that Silent Hill 1 but thats because of the better graphics if Silent Hill 1 was re-made with the same quality sounds and graphics as Silent Hill 2 it would be terrifying!
Cradle of Fear (2001)
Excellent
Being a psychotic fan of 'cradle of filth' I just had to see this film. The only people that I think would watch a film like this are..... 1. Fans/psychotic fans/die-hard fans/stalker fans. Naturally, they would love this film and pretty much no question about it. 2. People looking for a film to rent for one night 3. People who like violent, sadistic and/or satanic violence. This film is a blood bath from beginning to end, with comedy added to it. 4. Black comedy seekers. This film's genre is basically Horror/Black comedy. For example one part of the film a man is trying to sever his own leg off with a screwdriver whilst screaming his head off. The special effects have a lot to be desired, but this is due to the fact the film was on a major low budget, in which they used syrup for blood in a few scenes. I don't think this film can be marked down because of it's lack of specials. The sounds are quite good and some of cradle of filth's songs are dotted throughout the film. The storyline is a bit predictable at times, nevertheless it is entertaining and isn't a crappy last minute storyboard job.
Overall I thought this film deserved a 10/10 considering the circumstances. Not because I felt sorry for the makers but because it is an awesome, hilarious film that is brilliantly put together.