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Reviews
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
one long yawn
They really could have just cut out a lot of pap and tagged this on the end of the last one. Or better still, just not bothered with either. This is a long, boring, drawn out, repetitve, pretentious heap.It thinks it is way cleverer than it is and I am just glad that I didnt pay to see it but saw it with a guest cinema ticket. Avoid!
Beyond the Universe (1981)
Ultra Low-budget curio that has more imagination than most big budget sc-fi.
When you first start watching this film you just can't get away from that fact that it is on a "cant afford more than $40 budget. From the absolutley ridiculous looking guns the security guards carry (they are basically long red plastic tubes with stripes down the side) to the stock footage frenzy early on in the picture, you get an idea of how much financial backing this movie managed to pick up. The spaceships wobble through the sky and whenever a special effect occurs the entire look of the film stock changes so you just know that a laser is coming. There's a great bit where a bloke is sucked out of the airlock and you see him floating around in space. The stars are blanked out in a two foot radius around him. Authentic scientific occurrence translated to film or just a dodgy old effect? Either way, you'll laugh out loud.
For all this however this film is actually really impressive. How is that possible with all the stuff mentioned above? Well the story is pretty cool with an earth dying of cancer. The ruling bodies deem that all the elderly and infirm are sent to 'rehab' which turns out to be another name for 'abandoned and left to die on an asteroid'. And the script while at times laughable, is also pretty well thought out. Director Robert Emenegger and Alan Sandler obviously put plenty of thought into the characters and situations despite their woefully low budget.
A couple of the actors are recognisable, one in particular who plays the security officer turned up on John Carpenters Prince of Darkness looking a LOT older.
The mystic overtones are interesting but a bit corny in places. And the head mystics stick on beard looks like its going to drop off at any minute.
3 out of 10 for the "Continuity" person proudly credited at the end. She misses a bit where our hero has a conversation with a board of directors while one of them has a pair of glasses that miraculously appear and dissapear depending on which camera angle is used.
From the typical synthesized sci-fi music (written by the director incidentally, probably for the same reason John Carpenter scored Halloween - cause he was cheap) to the daft but well thought out story, this is the type of film which if it had been made big budget may well have been a great film. For now it remains a curious little piece that has coolness and tackiness in equal measure.
Visiting Hours (1982)
Unpleasant thriller with very few redeeming features.
There are two really goof things about this film. One is, it stars the mighty William Shatner, and the other that token baddie Michael Ironside does his usual twisted performance of a maladjusted wierdo.
It basically tells the story of a media woman hunted and stalked by a deranged pychopath. You know, the usual fare. BUt to be honest, this film has some pretty unpleasant scenes which make it a bit much to watch. I dont mean it's really gory, but theres a bit of a nastiness about it which I just wasnt keen on. Unfortunatley Shatner never gets into TJ Hooker mode and sorts out the baddies with a freeze while laughing ending. Instead its a pretty depressing.
I won't be visiting again.
Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1983)
Repulsive yet strangley attractive
Ha! The original Boggy Creek was one of those films you see as a kid that really feaks you out and you cant quite explain why. So when I saw this DVD in a bargain bin I knew i had to snap it up. This film freaks you out in a totally different way. It starts as what seems to be a vanity project for its star and director, an ageing monster hunter with a very sad outfit and red cap. But theres this weird charm about the whole thing that just keeps you watching. It has the quality of an old tourism film abou the american woodlands. And there are actually a few effective moments, most noteably the finding of the decapitated animal and the approach of the beast as seen by the motion sensor computer. Is this where Aliens got its ideas from? Who knows?
Theres a hilarious scene where the lead guy has to protect the others from a "MAD DOG!" which he shouts at the top of his voice. But what is cool in this is that he really messes it up and the young bloke their sorts it out. So the director doesnt totally see himself as the Dirty Harry of the woods.
Watching it in its original form you cant help but find it trashy and daft. But theres a glint in the eye that elevates it. Even small touches like the soft focus in the flashback sequences, and the animal being attacked in the water all have an imaginative flavour to them.
Would love to see the original again, but for now this film will do nicely. Its schock but I loved it!
Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
It rocks!
This film is great. It kicks off with the most bizarre country song which actually grows on you after a while and then is a litttle boring until William Shatner enters the scene! He is just fantastic in this.
I'm watching it thinking, is he going to have the bottle to let one of these freaky spiders crawl on him and then all of a sudden hes on screen with them crawling all over his face! Respect! Other than his hair being really wierd his acting is just fantastic. One bit in particular stands out where he has just been bitten by a spider on the face and he stumbles up to the camera and deliberatley shoves his wound into the camera as if it was supposed to be in 3D!
The scene where the plane crashes into the barn looks really impressive and contains music that was used in the Australian soap opera Prisoner Cell Block H. And the closing painting looks hokey but the idea behind it is really creepy.
This is as a top class B-Movie with some suspenseful direction and impressive production values. But the star of the show is most definatley William Shatner. Lovin it!