"Dead-Alive"
Peter Jackson's "Dead-Alive" is a masterpiece of over the top gore and zombie violence/hilarity. A must for gorehounds and fans of twisted humor alike.Date Night - Online Premier, Monday December 5th!
386 Films "Date Night" will be available for online viewing through Vimeo on December 5th. Click the image above to watch the film (Again... Available December 5th), or click here to read Critical-Film's review of this incredible short.
'Zzyzx'
"Zzyzx"
It looks as though (at the time of this writing) Scott has cornered the market, so to speak, on movie reviews that begin with the more obscure letters of the alphabet, Z, X, and Q. So, I'm proud to present my first review of a film starting with the letter Z, and rather surprisingly, it doesn't contain the word ‘zombie'.
'X-Files: Fight the Future'
"X-Files: Fight the Future"
I sit down to write this knowing full well how socially insignificant both the movie is, and my review will be. If you haven't seen "The X-Files: Fight the Future" yet, then chances are you had little to no interest in the first place, and that hasn't changed, nor will it change, based on my review. If you have seen it for that matter, nothing I say here will change your point of view about it; I have no new insights or much original to say about its cinematic validity.
'Wolf Creek'
"Wolf Creek"
Something's missing... But I can't quite figure what. A movie like "Wolf Creek" should have impressed me, especially during a time when the film industry is being flooded with films lacking not only originality, but any filmmaking skill at all. We're being subjected to remake after remake, as it seems that Hollywood has run out of original ideas. "Wolf Creek" should have been a breath of fresh air. But, as I mentioned, something was missing. Perhaps my intentions were too high... Perhaps. However, I believe that the film just wasn't as good as it could have been.
'Where the Truth Lies'
"Where the Truth Lies"
I have a confession to make. This is an embarrassing one considering that I am Canadian, and also a movie geek (of sorts). I don't really like Atom Egoyan. I think he is a marvelous technical director, and at times he has caught me up in his cinema. I find, however, with a lot of his work that he keeps the material at such a distance from the viewer, that the audience can not fully appreciate it like they should. He made "The Sweet Hereafter", which was a prime example of what I'm saying, and then "Felicia's Journey" which was a step in the right direction. Then along came Ararat and I thought he was doomed. During that film, I swore he was lost forever in material that was relevant only to him.
'Taken'
"Taken"
Considering the basic plot behind "Taken" has been recycled at least a thousand times since the 1985 Schwarzenegger film "Commando", it is a pleasant surprise that Pierre Morel's film entertains its audience as well as it does. The film is completely enthralling and quite simply an incredibly enjoyable movie-going experience.
'Swimfan'
"Swimfan"
There are critics out there who knock the five-star rating system because, they claim, it creates too bizarre of a spread between different ratings. How can one tell the difference between a one star movie, a half star movie, and a zero star movie? They all would be terrible, but is a one star movie all that much better than one that receives a zero?
'Stuck'
"Stuck"
Do you know who Stuart Gordon is? If you don't, you should by now. Go watch some of Gordon's flicks, and get back to me. And if you do know Gordon's flicks then you need not read this to know that you should be checking out his latest film. Chances are you've known about it for quite some time, and have been waiting for it to come to a theatre or DVD place near you. Maybe you're just reading this to find out how "Stuck" compares to Gordon's other pictures. It seems like slightly foreign territory to him (comedy), but not really too much of a stretch.
'Say Yes' aka 'Sae-Yi Yaesue'
"Say Yes" aka "Sae-Yi Yaesue"
As much as I love Korean cinema, I will admit that they are very much a country that doesn't so much innovate, when it comes to film. They seem to be more content imitating the output of other countries. There are some notable exceptions, in particular the works of Kim Jee-Woon, which are wholly original and are spawning imitators in other countries, both in Asia, and the Americas. However, the country is more known for its lack of creative output and general production of cinema which favours style over substance. "Say Yes" is certainly not original, and is obviously inspired by a number of American thrillers from the past decade. The similarities are glaring, making it hard to dismiss the film as anything more than a cheap imitation of films which needn't be imitated. For some reason, however, I enjoyed it.
'Saw III'
"Saw III"
The third, and most certainly not last, film in the incredibly popular series is the poorest in terms of basic quality of storytelling, however serves as a very suiting tie-in to the other two films in the series. Written by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, who originated the series with both their original short and the original feature, the film replays a number of events from the first film, while tying them into the events occurring onscreen during the current film. It's the most successful aspect of the film, showcasing a slight amount of creativity in a series which is quickly losing any sense of originality. The films are virtually indistinguishable, as each is only a slight modification on the basic plot of the others. The third film does nothing to break this trend, but offers up some reasonable gore effects (by Hollywood standards, anyway).