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Davros42
Reviews
Preaching to the Perverted (1997)
Very Profound
A lot of people can't see beyond the SMBD of this film, but if you're able to get past that you can see the real message of the film. I was blown away after watching it. It's very beautiful and stunning, especially using pink to mark everyone who has a perverted life, public or no. The message of this film is that strange and "normal" can share a common bond. The hardcore Christian gets sucked into the SMBD world and the dominatrix... well, you have to see the movie to understand. I won't tell. Needless to say, look beyond the superficial implications of this film and root for the deeper meaning. It is one of the best films I have seen since I can relate to both Peter and The Mistress. If you can't stomach SMBD don't watch it. If you do watch it, I urge you once again: look beyond the superficial implications and find the real meaning of the film. You will be shocked with what you find.
Undead (2003)
One of the best B-horror films I've seen
This film definitely ranks up there with the likes of Evil Dead and Dead Alive in my opinion. True, the acting was a little on the bad side and the plot wasn't too terribly original, but what do you expect?! It's a B-horror film for God's sake! Not only that, it wasn't made to be scary, but funny as is evident by the one liners and the amount/quality of gore (ie, the walking legs without a body). SO many people have commented that the score ruined the film but it added to the ambiance of the movie. It was cheesy, sci-fi music in the vein of Mars Attacks. People have also been saying that it rips off a lot of other movies, but I see this movie as a tribute to a lot of the other great horror films of our time. I saw references to Evil Dead, Dead Alive, Phantasm, NOTLD, and many others and applauded! The special effects were fabulous considering the budget they had. So many times I see B-horror were cgi is used and it looks completely terrible and fake. However the cgi in Undead blended in flawlessly. Undead is definitely a must see for any hardcore horror fan.
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Not bad, but not great
****SPOILERS ABOUND****
For quite some time I had very high expectations for this movie but right before watching them I read some reviews with very low expectations, which made me lower mine in turn. I'm not one to agree with everything that critics have to say, but I take everything with a grain of salt and often find that when I do lower my expectations I enjoy the movie more. Such was the case with Revolutions. There were many great things in Revolutions, such as the special effects (especially some of the makeup effects), soundtrack, and dark overtone. Hugo Weaving's acting was supurb and I was rivited every time he took the screen. However, there were many things that made this film very mediocre for me. First off was the acting by some of the more major characters. Trinity, Morpheus, and Neo all seemed very shallow and one dimensional. In contrast, some of the more minors characters seemed to have much more depth and complexity. Much of the dialogue was very poor and I often found myself anticipating the next line, especially between Neo and Trinity. The movie was very predictable for the most part. From the start I knew that Trinity would die, Smith would be erradicated, and Zion would be saved. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the fate of Neo, which I figured out after they started making Christ references. The largest problem I had with this film is that it waxed way too philisophical for me. I have no problem with philosophy but I feel that film makers today beat the Christ references into the ground. Instead of thinking of something original they fall back on the same old 2000 year old story. George Lucas did the same thing in The Phantom Menace by refering to Anikin as a Christ figure (ie high midichlorian count, immaculate conception). As a result I quickly lose interest since I pretty much already know their fates. (At least Lucas corrupted his messiah) Movies that make people think about their lives and the universe are great things, but Revolutions did not explore anything new. Many of the theories set forth are hundreds of years old. The Matrix itself was first concieved by Descartes (although he did not call it the Matrix but the Deceiver). The first Matrix was spectacular because it gave a modern spin to Descartes theory by trying to break away from the deceivers grasp. Two movies later though, there have been no new ideas or advances on the theory, just the concept of Neo as Christ thrown in. If there's going to be philosophy in a trilogy they should not give all of the theory away in the first movie, otherwise it will get stale and the action will be responsible for picking up the slack. To the film makers' credit though, The Matrix was never supposed to have a sequel. What's the conclusion after all this rambling? Great special effects (although some were a little over the top), superb job by Hugo Weaving, and excellent soundtrack. Badly written dialogue, stale acting from the other major characters, and cliches abound. I give it 5/10. I'm not saying don't see it, just be prepared for a lot of mediocrity if you've ever thought about what life means.
La casa sfuggita (2003)
Worst Lovecraft adaptation ever!!
I have been a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft's writings for almost ten years and jump at the chance to see any movie based on his works. I have enjoyed all of them including the recent "Beyond Re-Animator" which many people hate. However, I did not enjoy "The Shunned House" in the slightest. The acting is bad, the special effects are cheesy to say the least, and the plot is near impossible to follow due to the constant shifting of time and introduction of new characters with little or no development. It seemed like the director did not care very much about this film due to the amount of detail that was ingnored. For example, there are several characters that obviously did not speak English during filming, but were dubbed over with English. At least in "Hurcules in America" Arnold learned how to speak English before filming so that the dubbing, no matter how horrible, would be somewhat believable. There was also an inconsistent use of subtitles in the film whenever a character wrote in another language. The one time they were used, they seemed awkward and out of place. The almost constant use of the strobe light is enough to bring on an epileptic fit and the music is repetitive and mind numbing. The film did have its moments though. The DP did make some interesting choices with the camera work and there were some moments that were genuinly creepy. If you're looking for a good adaptation of Lovecraft stay far, far away from this piece of crap. Try out something like Dagon, Necronimicon, or From Beyond. If you're looking for a good nappy time film though, The Shunned House is a sure thing.
Beowulf (1999)
A lot like every other Christopher Lambert movie out there
I saw this movie in a video store and decided to rent it because I'm a big fan of the poem. Since it had Lambert in it I was expecting it to be kinda cheesy and I was right. However, I really got into it. I know the dialogue was horrible, the weapons looked like they couldn't cut warm butter and the special effects were bad, but the weapons did look cool, the music kicked ass, and the women were quite hot. If you're looking for a film that is a replica of the poem, stay away. But if you want a movie that is entertaining and fun, go with it. It has a lot of kung fu type fighting that all Lambert movies have in them, but is a little more techno than all of his other films. I give it 7 out of 10.
The Lord of the G-Strings: The Femaleship of the String (2003)
Softcore Porn at its worst
I rented this movie because it seemed so ridiculous and I thought it would be hilarious. I was expecting something like Dreamquest as well. Boy was I wrong. The acting in this movie was horrible, but that doesn't usually bother me in porn, but all of the sex scenes were virtually the same. They tried to make them more interesting by adding more and more girls each time, but they all consisted of the same thing. I was bored of the movie after about the first ten minutes, but I made myself watch it, hoping it would get better. It got worse. When the character of Sourass was introduced, it all went to hell. THis character's power was to suffocate people by farting on them. All of the scene changes consisted of cgi pic of castles, but none of the scenes took place in a castle so it didn't make any sense. On a positive note, the women in this were cute for the most part and there were some funny moments, but I would stay far far away from this unless you like repetitive softcore porn and disgusting, childish fart jokes.
Final Destination 2 (2003)
1 for plot, 10 for entertainment value
I have to say that this was one of the most entertaining movies I've ever seen. All of the deaths were very original and gorie, which is refreshing since most of the horror movies that come out today don't have many interesting deaths (with the exception of Jason X, but that's another story). The plot was very predicatable and after the first 10 minutes or so I knew who was going to live and who was going to die. ***SPOILER*** I gave it a 1 instead of a 0 though because I thought it was kinda interesting how all of the deaths were connected to the ones in the first movie. That was kinda unexpected. ***END SPOILER*** I didn't think the acting was all that bad. As usual, Tony Todd gave a wonderful performance, but I didn't enjoy Ali Larter very much. She seemed very wooden and unlikable. ***SPOILER*** I was actually glad when she died. ***END SPOILER*** All and all it was a very entertaining movie and when I left the theatre I felt a sense of satistfaction that I had not felt in a long time after seeing a movie. If you're looking for a great plot and story STAY AWAY. But if you love gore and want a really entertaining and generally enjoyable movie you MUST see this movie.
Hollow Man (2000)
A pretty good movie, except for...
I actually enjoyed Hollow Man quite a bit. I'm a big Kevin Bacon fan and it was great to see him in this kind of role. I also am a big fan of horror movies, so I liked how this one went into a sort of slasher vein. However, the thing I absolutely hated in this movie was the protagonists. They seemed cocky and shallow and I found myself identifying with Bacon's character more than them. I absolutely hated the fact that they got out alive. I would have been more than happy if any of the other characters had gotten out alive, but I did not like the fact that they violated the rules of the slasher flick. 1) Whoever has sex in the movie dies. They had sex several times and all they got was a little cold and a little cut up. 2) Whoever lies a lot dies. Both of them lied about the relationship they were having, plus they lied about telling the committee everything. In horror films, the point is usually to kill off whoever is morally indecent. Both of the surviving characters were the most morally void (besides Bacon, of course) of the bunch, but they still survived. Other than that major gripe, I loved the special effects and the plot in general. I just wish it had ended differently.
Super Troopers (2001)
It's like the Animal House of police movies!!!
I thought the movie would be funny, but I didn't think it would be this funny! A lot of comedies these days have departed from the comedy standards set forth in the 70s and 80s, but this one returns to them with a lot of drinking, sex, and recreational drugs, along with a plot that had many twists but was not separate from the vices. It flowed well and had few slow parts. Some comedies tend to go off into a lot of little sub-plots, but this one remained true to the story and I went away from the movie satisfied that there were no loose ends. I certainly didn't expect it to end the way it did. I would say that if you're in the mood for a good comedy that has a lot of surprises, go see this one.
Jason X (2001)
Not the best, but better than the last few.
I was excited/skeptical when I heard that a new Jason was going to be released. I was excited because I'm a huge fan of Friday the 13th. Skeptical because the last few had been bad, especially Jason Goes to Hell. However, I was not too disappointed. The music was good for the most part, but at times it made the movie cheesy rather than horrifying. It sometimes sounded like B-grade film music. The film overall did have a dark feel, returning to the style of the first four. There was one or two moments that were very funny (esp the scene with the simulated camp counselors) and surprisingly it worked!! The special effects were decent and a lot and time and effort was put into making the deaths look real. Overall I was impressed and pleased to see another horror legend revived. Now lets just get him and Freddy teamed up...
From Hell (2001)
Wonderfully done!! Some parts a little hazy though.
When going to see this movie I was set up to be disappointed. I usually like Johnny Depp, but then I thought about The 9th Gate, which was a horrible movie. Some of the trailers I had seen made the two look similar. Also, the time and place was given at the start of the movie, which led me to believe that some would take place in the past, but then shift to the present, which is a cheap trick some movies use. Man, was I wrong. I was taken on thrill ride that few movies take me on. The plot is extremely deep and complicated and I was never able to correctly guess the outcome. The movie is very film noire and is shot in a style similar to Se7en and Fight Club, specifically the way the film flashes between images quickly during some scenes. The only thing I found lacking with the film is that it did not give very much background detail as to why Jack the Ripper was killing people. There was some, but not enough to explain why those specific people were being killed. All in all, though, it is at the top of my list of favorite movies and I can't wait for the DVD!