What a great film! I had no idea what it was about or who was going to be in it but I was so pleasantly surprised. A '15' certificate coming up trumps and having recently seen a Weta Workshop film 'Black Sheep' was surprised to find this film again shot in New Zealand and with some nearly native actors.
Had I known Josh Hartnett was starring I might have written this off. Not that I don't like him but he seems to have been in some truly forgettable films. All is forgiven. He reminds me of a young Richard Gere. It's all in the squinty eyes. But he's good. Melissa George (an Aussie haling from 'Home and Away' and working her way through the horror genre) was also good. As was the entire cast.
Down to the nitty-gritty. This is a vampire film. Set in the most northern part of America where it's damn snowy and cold. The small community there looses light for thirty days and as such booze is banned and the locals scarper if they can. Like in 'The Thing' and 'Insomnia' the feeling is automatic isolation and claustrophobia. We know something is afoot when a creepy stranger turns up and people, and dogs, start dying. Hartnett and George are the local law and as such take the situation and some of the locals in hand in trying to hide from the as yet unknown murderous fiends.
Every little detail in the film is put to good use. When we're told that the granny grows dope it's for a grander scheme. And the baddies themselves are not the overly used, clichéd erotic animals they are often portrayed as. Here they are frenzied, jumpy bastards who live to feed. Ace!
This film really puts you on edge. It's dark. It's grim and lonely. Based on a comic the director put to good use some smashing shots which you can see were taken from the book. It lends itself well to the screen. Black, white and red...
Please go and see this film. It's exciting. It cuts to the chase. It doesn't wimp out at all. People die all over the place. No-one is spared. If this had been an 18 certificate, who knows what could have happened but as it is, this was pitched just right. A near perfect horror film. Well done all involved! More please.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Black Sheep ~~~
Black Sheep - a New Zealand comedy-horror set amongst the rolling hills with zombie-killer sheep on the loose! Wonderful. So low budget you feel like you and your mates could have made it but for all the dodgy make-up and acting, a great film is made better because of this lack of investment.
Really basic story - two brothers, one a mad farmer and the other a city boy returning home to collect half his inheritance. Unfortunately, he's really scared of sheep. Bad luck for him...
Two amazingly clichéd and zany hippies roam the woods attempting to put a stop to the older brothers genetically meddling, sheep altering lab staff. It all goes a bit wrong... Imagine Weta Workshop gone mad with 50p worth of fake blood and chopped liver!!! Great stuff.
As predicted, the younger brother gets roped in to put a stop to all the madness and one by one the humans get bumped off by the crazed and blood hungry baa baa lambs!
It gets quite gory and bloody. YEAH! If you love Peter Jackson's 'Brain Dead', you'll really appreciate this. The sound quality was often pretty poor but the scenery and novelty of seeing a New Zealand film at work more than made up for it! Entertaining stuff indeed.
Really basic story - two brothers, one a mad farmer and the other a city boy returning home to collect half his inheritance. Unfortunately, he's really scared of sheep. Bad luck for him...
Two amazingly clichéd and zany hippies roam the woods attempting to put a stop to the older brothers genetically meddling, sheep altering lab staff. It all goes a bit wrong... Imagine Weta Workshop gone mad with 50p worth of fake blood and chopped liver!!! Great stuff.
As predicted, the younger brother gets roped in to put a stop to all the madness and one by one the humans get bumped off by the crazed and blood hungry baa baa lambs!
It gets quite gory and bloody. YEAH! If you love Peter Jackson's 'Brain Dead', you'll really appreciate this. The sound quality was often pretty poor but the scenery and novelty of seeing a New Zealand film at work more than made up for it! Entertaining stuff indeed.
Resident Evil - Extinction (or is it???) ~~
Before we begin I must point out the the first instalment of Res Ev is one of my favourite action-type films. I love Milla Jovovich when she kicks ass and it's even better when she's allowed to do some acting.
The second in the series was mediocre but still true to the games and the characters were pretty solid as were the baddies. So, the third (and hopefully final) instalment was an unsurprising disappointment. Milla/Alice is very cool but practically mute throughout the whole flick. It's set in the desert. Why? We are told it's something to do with what the zombies have been up to. What ever. And, for a zombie movie, there could have been a heck of a lot more of them roaming about. Wussed out, I think. Where did the budget go then? Anyway, mustn't grumble too much. It was fun whilst it lasted. The token British baddie was a bit crappy (Iain Glen, who can do so much more really). Ali Larter was bad-ass, as was Oded Fehr (yum, from The Mummy etc) and Ashanti got splattered. The effects were pretty good and the action was completely predictable. It was quite nice to see Alice having to battle with mind controlly things as well as the zombies.
The Umbrella Corporation continues to destroy everything good whilst at the same time mucking everything up for the humans that remain. I don't care any more. Bit of a shame really especially as we girls have very few heroines to call out own nowadays... or ever really. Am I really going to have to wait for Wonder Woman to turn up to save us????
Go see this to complete the series. Take something with you to fill the gaps. Popcorn? Booze?
The second in the series was mediocre but still true to the games and the characters were pretty solid as were the baddies. So, the third (and hopefully final) instalment was an unsurprising disappointment. Milla/Alice is very cool but practically mute throughout the whole flick. It's set in the desert. Why? We are told it's something to do with what the zombies have been up to. What ever. And, for a zombie movie, there could have been a heck of a lot more of them roaming about. Wussed out, I think. Where did the budget go then? Anyway, mustn't grumble too much. It was fun whilst it lasted. The token British baddie was a bit crappy (Iain Glen, who can do so much more really). Ali Larter was bad-ass, as was Oded Fehr (yum, from The Mummy etc) and Ashanti got splattered. The effects were pretty good and the action was completely predictable. It was quite nice to see Alice having to battle with mind controlly things as well as the zombies.
The Umbrella Corporation continues to destroy everything good whilst at the same time mucking everything up for the humans that remain. I don't care any more. Bit of a shame really especially as we girls have very few heroines to call out own nowadays... or ever really. Am I really going to have to wait for Wonder Woman to turn up to save us????
Go see this to complete the series. Take something with you to fill the gaps. Popcorn? Booze?
Michael Clayton ~~~~
Since I've been slacking off for the last month or so, I thought I'd update the last few cinema reviews in a more minimal manner. So here goes...
'Michael Clayton' - gripping, tense, beautifully filmed with solid performances. Clooney rocks, Swinton sweats and Wilkinson goes loopy... or does he? Really enjoyable 'grown up' thriller without as much 'thrill' as I'd have liked. A great insight into the shady world of law firm fixers, those who are asked to do anything to get their clients off the hook. Clooney is a man coming to terms with what he really does in life and whilst doing so becomes embroiled in what seems to be his biggest and hardest case. Wilkinson, another lawyer, has been keeping secrets whilst working on one of the biggest, and potentially most destructive cases for a huge company who may or may not have been killing innocent people. But who will come out on top? If Swinton's determined lawyer batting for the other side has anything to do with it, she will.
Unfortunately, due to a huge coughing fit in the cinema, I missed one of the most important and graphic parts of the film. Bugger. That said, for anyone who likes well-made, thoughtful and insightful political thrillers (with a little mystical horse bonding on the side) please see this. It won't disappoint.
'Michael Clayton' - gripping, tense, beautifully filmed with solid performances. Clooney rocks, Swinton sweats and Wilkinson goes loopy... or does he? Really enjoyable 'grown up' thriller without as much 'thrill' as I'd have liked. A great insight into the shady world of law firm fixers, those who are asked to do anything to get their clients off the hook. Clooney is a man coming to terms with what he really does in life and whilst doing so becomes embroiled in what seems to be his biggest and hardest case. Wilkinson, another lawyer, has been keeping secrets whilst working on one of the biggest, and potentially most destructive cases for a huge company who may or may not have been killing innocent people. But who will come out on top? If Swinton's determined lawyer batting for the other side has anything to do with it, she will.
Unfortunately, due to a huge coughing fit in the cinema, I missed one of the most important and graphic parts of the film. Bugger. That said, for anyone who likes well-made, thoughtful and insightful political thrillers (with a little mystical horse bonding on the side) please see this. It won't disappoint.
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