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World War Z (2013)
Very thin and boring plot
I didn't read the book, so I can't compare it to that. What I hear is that the book is way better. And I can imagine that it is. I watched the movie in 3D, which is a complete waste of money. No need to watch it in 3D. The plot is very thin. So there is a zombie-outbreak and this UN guy (played by Brad Pitt) is for some unclear reason appointed as the guy who must solve the problem. To do that, he travels first to South-Korea and then to Israel. Both trips are completely useless, except to keep the story going and give the UN guy the opportunity to get the solution in his head. This solution is totally irrational unless you have some solid evidence. None is given in the movie and so it is a totally irrational idea coming out of nowhere. Then the UN guy goes to Whales, solves the problem and the movie is over. There is no depth to the characters.
The zombies are not cool in this movie. Compared to the Walking Dead or the George Romero movies, they are just dull. There is no gore in this movie, which makes it even less interesting to watch. Zombies in this movie are just very fast moving, CGI generated swarms of slightly disturbing-looking creatures.
Then: the UN guy can communicate by cell-phone with his wife on board of a ship all through the movie, but he has to travel all the way to South-Korea and Israel to find that the persons who are supposed to know something actually don't know anything. Why not just call by phone as well?
Don't see this movie.
Zombie (1971)
I thought it would be horror
I got this movie as part of the St. Clair Vision's Living Dead collection. I thought it would be a horror movie. But to my surprise I Eat Your Skin, while having the most gruesome title, is a comedy! Not a very funny one, but the characters go about so lightheartedly, and so ignorant, that it must be a comedy. The main character does nothing but look puzzled and ask for explanations. Almost all the ideas that he comes up with are stupid, and yet everyone follows him. There is a zombie army following at 50 meters, yet he tells the women (who never think for themselves) to stand still at some point. Obviously the zombies will catch up. It is racist as can be. Black people are either zombie or bad guy, but either way savage. It is also as sexist as can be. Women don't think for themselves (or at all). They are there to swoon for the men. The only thing that made me laugh very hard, was the island in the end. You'll know it when you see it. But don't.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
A little weird
I had mixed feelings about Snow White and the Huntsman (not that you should care about my feelings). It looks awesome, it is a beautifully made movie. Although in a few scenes it felt like watching a stage play that was filmed, but that was not very often. The acting is good. Nothing wrong with that. Kristen Stewart's range of emotional expressions is not very large in this movie, but that did not bother me. They did not want to make her a kick-ass warrior princess, but tried to bring some tragic sadness in her character. The story itself is somewhat vague sometimes. There is a love story going on, but it remains unclear who exactly is the love interest of Snow. There is the good-overcomes-evil storyline that works pretty well, although certain elements are too overtly borrowed from movies like The Lord of the Rings and The Narnia Chronicles (and even the Good Ol' Bible when Snow recites the Lord's Prayer). What made my toes curl especially was when someone said that Snow was 'The One'. Yuck. And then there are all those loose references to the original Snow White fairytale (apples, blood, prince, mirror). You could see this movie as an interesting interpretation of the original, but those references are not tied into a coherent storyline. But nonetheless it is a very nice movie to watch. Just don't take it too seriously and you'll have a great two hours.
New Girl (2011)
Great new show!
After three episodes I really start to like this show! The pilot was good, the second episode was so-so, the third episode was very good! I had to laugh out loud all the time (except for one of the guys when he's drunk). The characters are all a bit off, especially Zooey Deschanel's character. It suits her very well! So on the one hand the show is a bit weird. As if the main characters come from another strange, bright and colorful world. If you like to watch funny weird animals in the zoo, you'll like this show as well. On the other hand we have some very uncanny situations when these characters find themselves coping with their lives on planet Earth. And some very good jokes too! Hopefully this show will only get better and stays for a couple of seasons.
Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)
This was so bad!
The cover of the DVD said this movie was like 'Machete'. Well, it is not! It does not even come close. Where 'Machete' is very cool and has a lot of laughs. 'Hobo with a shotgun' misses all that. It has a very minimal plot, like 'Machete'. Both movies are about justice and revenge. In order for that to work, however, you need to feel a strong sense of injustice toward the main character's opponents. In 'Machete' you feel that and that is part of what makes that movie work. In 'Hobo', however, I did not care a bit whether the bad guys got what they deserved or not. They are two dimensional characters that do violent things just for the sake of doing violent things. They don't hurt people for a particular reason. It is just what they do. Totally implausible and uninteresting. The acting is very, very bad. It was very amateuristic. It was just watching violent act after violent act. It numbed my mind and became very, very bored. Until, that is, people started pointing guns at babies and burning a bus full of 7 year old kids with a flame thrower. That sickened me. It is so stupid and unnecessary. Tarantino and Rodriguez know how to make an over-the-top-violent movie that is still entertaining. This movie is not like that at all.
Kérity, la maison des contes (2009)
Beautiful!
I love Rebecca Dautremer's drawings. It is especially the drawings that make this film worth watching. The story is fine too. It is about a boy who can't read, but whose aunt always read him stories. When the aunt dies, he inherits her library. Then, the stories come to life and he has to fulfill a quest. If you want to see all those characters, like Alice and the white rabbit, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, giants and witches, in a style different from Disney's, then I recommend you watch this movie. My kids loved it too. They watched it nothing short of three times and were unhappy that I had to bring it back to the video rental store.
Flickan som lekte med elden (2009)
Less good than 'Men who hate women'
The first installment of this trilogy was tense and well-paced. The characters were well-developed. This second installment seems to be made in a hurry. I have not read the books and so I did not understand all of it (where did these motor guys come from all of a sudden?) or some characters were introduced too quick rendering them too flat. Beside all that I want to point out too obvious flaws that annoyed me. First, Lisbeth is buried alive for a couple of hours. Yet, she manages to dig herself out of her grave. Very unrealistic. Second, the moment Lisbeth is at Bjurman's holiday apartment searching for her report, the big blond guy sends the two motor guys to that apartment to demolish it. And they have to do that while the big blond guy waits for them to return. In this scene the makers of this movie have not realized that the chances that this would happen would be nil. It is all very sought.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Cheesy and unconvincing
This is this year's most anticipated movie, with a lot of controversy surrounding it. So I had to see it. I read the book, and didn't think much of it (Angels and Demons being the better one). The movie is even worse. There were several moments I had the urge to walk away. Because of the cheesiness of the movie. Things like: "The letters are scrambled." "It's an anagram!" Tsssss. And it's such a long movie (2 1/2 hour) that goes on and on and on. Halfway the movie, when Langdon and Neveu are at Teabing's place, the answers to so many questions are given. This is where the ideas are laid out that make or break this story. Teabing (Ian McKellen) keeps talking and talking about how Jesus had kids with Mary Magdalen, and how the Church wants to destroy the royal bloodline of Jesus. I will not repeat that here. It's so unconvincing, that it immediately drowns this movie in its own nonsense. At the end of the film, when Langdon and Neveu say goodbye, there is an over-cheesy dialogue on faith, humanity and godliness. In the end a tribute is paid to Mary of Magdalen, who is the icon of freedom for all oppressed people in the world (especially women). I asked myself how Mary Magdalen could ever be of any meaning to oppressed people, the way it is put in this movie. And even, if you are willing to believe this, how Jesus' descendants could. The acting was pretty poor. Before seeing the movie I already wondered why they had cast Tom Hanks. And after seeing it I wonder even more. In the book the ideas about ancient symbols were more or less interesting (even though it's really 'sensation-science'). But with Hanks uttering them, they are completely unconvincing. Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu is a good choice. But whereas her self-chosen naiveté in Amelie, and her blind faith in Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles, gave her performance strength and depth, in this movie she seems to be clueless about her own identity. The quest for the holy grail is her quest in that she discovers who she is. But it seems that she herself does not really believe the story that she is a descendant of Jesus and Mary. Paul Bettany as Silas the albino monk is utterly annoying. He is self-flagellating throughout the movie, and otherwise too, he is miserable. There is no humanity in his character whatsoever, and it makes him unrealistic. Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing is alright. This movie is completely humorless. It takes itself too serious. You have to either accept it, or decline. I decline.