badfeelinganger Reviews

Saw III (2006)

Saw III is an adequate sequel A study in grief, guilt and human frailty

[10/10 · 7 March 2015]

Though there's little doubt that these films will keep getting made until they stop making money, Saw III reportedly marks the last hurrah for the original filmmakers - including series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell (with the latter penning the expectedly intricate screenplay). It comes as no surprise, then, that Saw III generally has the feel of a final instalment - although, of course, the door is nevertheless left open for yet another sequel.Director Darren Lynn Bousman has infused Saw III with precisely the same sort of dark, Fincheresque sensibility that has essentially come to define the series' visual look, a feeling that's been augmented with the distinctly gritty vibe (the film is much, much more brutal than either of its predecessors). Whannell's script features several references to both Saw and Saw II, and occasionally paints certain events from those two films in an entirely new light (that infamous bathroom set makes a welcome appearance, albeit briefly). There's little doubt that Saw III will have a far greater effect on viewers who are already well acquainted with the series, as the filmmakers have included a whole host of little tidbits and shout-outs that will mean absolutely nothing to neophytes (that being said, the central storyline does seem accessible enough to hold the interest of newbies). And if ever there was a movie that warranted a "not for the squeamish" advisory, this is certainly it.

Saw II (2005)

In every way superior to its predecessor in terms of performances, story, characterization, gore, and climax.

[10/10 · 7 March 2015]

One of those rare sequels that surpass the foundation it was built on.The rare sequel that improves upon its predecessor, Saw II is an exploitation flick with style and skill to go along with its stream of red stuff.Less than a year after the original hit theaters came Saw II in 2005, a decent sequel that's saved by a spectacular denouement. In the week of its DVD release, this sold over 3,000,000 units making it Lionsgate's fastest selling DVD. The sequences revolving around Matthew's interrogation of Jigsaw are extremely fascinating - primarily thanks to a pair of fantastic performances from Wahlberg and Bell. Bell, in particular, deftly steals every single scene he's in, effectively transforming Jigsaw into one of the most deliciously sinister screen villains this side of Hannibal Lecter. And then there's the film's conclusion, which is simply astounding and comes awfully close to matching the original in terms of sheer shock value. In spite of the film's few flaws, Saw II remains a worthy sequel - if only for Bell's wonderfully entertaining performance and the jaw-dropping finale.Saw 2 gives talented, creepy-looking character actor Tobin Bell the chance to shine again as the cancer-ridden serial killer. Delivers on the promise made on its poster--oh yes, there will be blood. If you saw the first "Saw," you'll want to see "Saw II," too.Saw II is bound to give fans of the original a real buzz.This solid sequel employs the same cruel puzzle logic as the original 'Saw', toying with the audience in much the same way that serial killer Jigsaw (brilliantly played by the pale, soft-voiced Tobin Bell) does with his imprisoned victims.Saw II' achieves a level of horror and cruelty – both physical and psychological – that is inventively modern and atavistically medieval.

Saw (2004)

A twisted tale of torture and deception

[10/10 · 7 March 2015]

The horror flick Saw started a chain-Saw of sequels and that is now one of the most successful of the chop-and-slash variety it became One of the most profitable horror films of all time James Wan did not intend to make a torture porn film. It's not really until the sequels got into gear that the films got more explicitly nasty.It's not a bad way to spend a Halloween evening. It is all, of course, total nonsense. But for horror fans it's good nonsense, in the way that a creepy urban legend told by flashlight in a tent at 2 a.m. can be fine and dandy nonsense.Inventive and diverting entertainment for fans of moody horror mysteries.The inconsistencies and incongruities mar the overall result, but it's a fierce enough premise to excite some investors to believe this team can do better and perhaps even bloodier.Danny Glover (Tapp) stole the show as the obsessive anti-Murtaugh. we all need more Glover in our lives.You can see the influences of David Finchers Se7en and many other films including the final scene of mad max.Saw gets by on its mood of industrial dread.While the great idea gets squandered, it remains a fun flick, certainly above the par of many other genre films.While a tad derivative, Saw shows promise of better things to come from Whannell's imagination and Wan's composition.

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Documentary (1996 Video)

Fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the film that went on to become the black sheep of the Texas Chainsaw franchise.

[10/10 · 16 December 2014]

This 55 minute documentary goes behind the scenes of the 1994 filming of Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (later released as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation) in Pflugerville, Texas. It includes on-set footage and interviews with the cast and crew. It is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the film that went on to become the black sheep of the Texas Chainsaw franchise.Professor Brian Huberman examined that schizophrenia closely in 1993, when he filmed a documentary about the making of Return. (This movie is the fourth instalment in the Chainsaw chronicles, though Huberman and other purists consider it the first that's worthy of the 1973 original. Like the original cult classic, Return was written and directed by Kim Henkel.)Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation itself got lost in movie limbo, stuck between a theatrical release, going straight to video and going nowhere. Along with it languished Huberman's documentary.Chainsaw examines the dark face of that scary, exciting complexity. When Leatherface, perhaps the angriest white male, finds that John Wayne behaviour fails in a settled society, he reacts by going berserk. We in the audience are both thrilled and terrified -- frightened of the madman and his McCulloch, yet also gleefully contemptuous.fusion. (Like the psycho killers of Psycho and Silence of the Lambs, Leatherface was based on real-life ghoul Ed Gein, a demented Wisconsin farmer who enquired about sex-change operations.) In the next generation, Leatherface, played by actor Robert Jacks, dresses for dinner in a rouged skin mask and a breastplate made from a female body. The documentary cuts from the scene being shot to the set, where gender roles are decidedly relaxed. Between takes, Jacks and the mixed-sex crew play with the booby-body suit in the giddy manner of grade-school girls with lipstick. The contrast underscores the on-screen freak's reverence for his guise, and reminds us that gender roles remain unsettled and important.

Huberman was raised in Britain, but was immersed in the myths of the American frontier. "I was," he declares, "a victim or survivor of the famous Walt Disney series Davy Crockett." Growing up and going to film school didn't cure his passion for cowboys. In 1975, after graduating from the British National Film and Television School, he took a job with Rice's department of art and art history. There, he teaches filmmaking technique, French New Wave and Sergei Eisenstein's dialectic theory of montage. He also indulges his obsession by teaching a class on Westerns, and by continuing to make films about Texas legends.

After arriving in Texas, he travelled to Brackettville, where The Alamo was filmed. Wielding his Super 8 camera, he expected to record nostalgia for the John Wayne movie. Instead, he found people concerned with the real battle of the Alamo; Mexican-Americans especially remembered it in a non-Hollywood way. Myth, he realised, is a flash point for conflict.

The Sopranos (1999–2007)

The Sopranos is one of the most significant programs in the history of television.Few television series have had the level of impact that The Sopranos had.

[10/10 · 30 October 2014]

The Sopranos not only did it help to make HBO an even larger success (with original programming becoming one of its staples of its entertainment), this was clearly a show that almost singlehandedly helped to change the television landscape into what it has become today. Modern shows like Lost, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, and countless others would not even exist in their capacity without the overwhelming critical and pop-culture success of The Sopranos. It changed the way audiences viewed television and the possibilities long-form storytelling had.Television has never been the same as ambitious, long-form, and serialised storytelling has shifted into being one of the norms of quality television. Now a modern audience member can more likely consider the possibility of a TV series being as compelling and intelligent as a well-written novel or film. The Sopranos would expand over the seasons and introduce new characters and parts with each passing season and would grow to include numerous guest stars throughout its run as the show continually gained popularity and raised its reputation as being the "best series on television". Many critics and audiences alike regard it as the best series ever made for its exploration of surprising familial relations, the Italian mobster world, and for its deeper character studies. Exploring the show also led to some controversies amidst the immense acclaim as viewers debated the characters and story lines with a fervour rarely seen. Some viewers loved Tony Soprano, others hated him. All were fascinated by the complex character and the strong storytelling. Creator David Chase has insisted that a lot of the show's ideas come from the influence of his own history growing up -- just without all of the gangster stuff. The family concept that this series holds is something he wanted to explore, and he added all the extra mob stuff as his youthful days were often spent watching classics like Goodfellas (which even featured a enormous number of the same actors, including three of the leads of The Sopranos).

The writing and directing of the show played a huge part in the reason why it was entertaining, thoughtful, and complex. Viewers were surprised by the craft of the series. Undoubtedly, the production merits are strong enough to match that of a modern film. It's something that has affected the series and the way television gets produced now. Without the great behind-the-scenes elements the show would have just been another gangster show or movie and not an incredibly successful and groundbreaking production. The music also added a nice layer of production to the show that outclasses most other series. Both soundtrack albums would be featured as best-sellers on the Billboard Top 100. The songs were mostly hand-picked from creator David Chase.The Sopranos' is the kind of television series that is built to be pored over again and again, not to seek a definitive answer (especially to the ending), but to examine and parse, and hopefully discuss with like minded individuals who are interested in exploring the layered complexity of a dynamic and engaging series that always had more to say than it led on.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

A Cult Classic.A werewolf movie with a funny bark and a severe bite.Just about the best straight-up, old-school horror film of the last 15 years.

[10/10 · 30 October 2014]

British director Neil Marshall's directorial debut Dog Soldiers resurrects and embraces the low-budget horror-comedy. The film is spooky when it needs to be. The sense of isolation and desperation is real.Many horror fans will be pleased to note that this film supplies its due amount of blood and gore,it's very easy to like, and makes for an entertaining night of viewing.So why is this movie so great? Well, it's not necessarily due to its originality. Every major plot element in this film has been done somewhere else in films like Evil Dead 2, Aliens, Night of the Living Dead, Southern Comfort, and about half a dozen others that I can think of off-hand.But if I may paraphrase a quote I once heard - steal one idea, you're a plagiarist. Steal them all, you're a genius! In the DVD "making of" featurette, Director Marshall says "I set out to make a soldier movie with werewolves, not a werewolf movie with soldiers," and that's an important distinction. It is the soldiers, and the bond between them, that makes this film stand out.There is a difference between comedy/ horror and horror/ comedy just compare "Shaun of the Dead" to "Dog Soldiers". "Shaun of the Dead" takes the zombie genre and has fun with it whilst "Dog Soldiers" delivers a werewolf, survival horror and throws in a lot of British humour, lashings of blood, gore and intestines. It means that "Dog Soldiers" not only delivers frights and gore but then will have you cracking up and that makes things hard for a movie reviewer because there are so many great scenes you would love to mention.Dog Soldiers doesn't transcend genre -- it embraces it, energises it and takes big bloody chomps out of it. One of the best, coolest, most action-packed horror films in years. Just about the best straight-up, old-school horror film of the last 15 years.

Eric Allen announced that a prequel and another sequel are in the planning stages, and Fresh Meat will be released on 20 December 2014

The Art of the Steal (2013)

"Kurt Russell Shines Yet Again"

[10/10 · 28 October 2014]

Given a limited release by its studio, it's worth seeking out if you're tired of movies with nothing but superheroes and overused special effects.After a far-too-long six-year absence from the silver screen, Kurt Russell stars in the amusing, enjoyable heist movie The Art of the Steal, and he's its biggest asset. Russell began his career in some engaging Walt Disney productions, then proved his considerable acting ability as none other than The King in the 1979 TV-movie Elvis, then a year later delivered a sensational performance as the quintessentially dishonest, politically ambitious salesman in Robert Zemeckis's extraordinary comedy Used Cars. From there he etched memorable hero portraits as the futuristic criminal in Escape from New York and helicopter pilot in The Thing, both of which were directed by John Carpenter (who also helmed Elvis). He was affecting as the blue-collar boyfriends of Meryl Streep in Silkwood and Goldie Hawn in Swing Shift, convincingly played a Miami crime reporter in The Mean Season, and in 1986 he gave what still stands as his finest work as the washed-up ex-high-school-football jock in The Best of Times. He re-teamed with Hawn in the fine romantic comedy Overboard and was suavely duplicitous as Michelle Pfeiffer's policeman love interest in Tequila Sunrise. He even managed to rise above the dismal proceedings in Carpenter's obnoxious Big Trouble in Little China and Ted Kotcheff's opaque Winter People. In the next decade he had his share of hits (Tombstone and Executive Decision) and misses (Unlawful Entry and Breakdown), and never once could one accuse Russell of laying down on the job. So why not a box-office draw, someone who could consistently "open" a picture? (Sadly, his biggest box-office success was the atrocious Ron Howard-directed Backdraft.) Probably because, like Jeff Bridges, you never catch him "acting"; he approaches his craft with the utmost dedication, thinking in terms of his contribution to the movie overall rather than taking advantage of opportunities to distractingly steal scenes. American audiences are more receptive to actors who pander down to them, which is why mediocre performers like Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey have achieved the success they have; in Russell's case, he's simply had the misfortune of sticking to his scruples and respecting his craft -- he refuses to pollute his characters with trumped-up artificiality. In Dark Blue he delivered a galvanizing turn as a corrupt Los Angeles cop that was far more forceful than Denzel Washington's odious Training Day shenanigans, and in Quinten Tarantino's Grindhouse segment Death Proof, as Mike the Stuntman, he was, as he always has been, the very epitome of "cool." In Art of the Steal, Russell is simply marvelous, and what a pleasure it is to see him headlining a modestly budgeted picture and showing he can still effortlessly hold our attention throughout.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

An irresponsible glorification rather than a satirical take-down.

[1/10 · 21 October 2014]

The film attracted conservative viewers by depicting a more moral tone in its marketing than the film itself depicted.Christina McDowell, daughter of Tom Prousalis (who worked closely with the real-life Belfort at Stratton Oakmont) wrote an open letter addressing Scorsese, DiCaprio, and Belfort himself, criticising the film for insufficiently portraying the victims of the financial crimes created by Stratton Oakmont, for disregarding the damage that was done to her family as a result of such, and for giving celebrity to persons (Belfort and his partners, including her father) who do not deserve it.The story "wants us to be interested in characters who are dull people to start with, made duller by their delusions of being interesting because they are high.An irresponsible glorification rather than a satirical take-down.Ultimately hollow exercise in movie excess. Plays less as an insightful critique and more as an exercise in indulgence. There is no psychological insight, no moral insight, just no insight, full stop. And it palls after a while. It's sick and disturbing in all the wrong ways, rendering this 'Wolf' nothing but a dog.It's not OK to make three hours of graphic sex, epic drug binges, and general debauchery as boring as it is in The Wolf of Wall Street.As a major filmmaker, it's about time Scorsese found some material that stretched his ideas, rather than his audience's patience.As Johnny Rotten famously asked, ever get the feeling you've been cheated?I couldn't buy it, and couldn't wait for the hollow spectacle to end.The weakest movie in Martin Scorsese's fifty-year career, the worst writing Scorsese has ever been associated with.It's showy, but it doesn't amount to much.The characteristic traits build up, intolerably: the grinding pace, the deadening repetition, the pointless wordiness (Terence Winter's screenplay never shuts up), the self-congratulatory yuk-yuks.

Just watch Wall street 1987 , Glengarry Glenross , and Scarface better films and more realistic and far less glamorised.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

25 years after the first Ninja Turtles' , This movie is meant for fans of the turtles empire

[8/10 · 18 October 2014]

It's a solid, fun and light-hearted family action flick that captures the oddly enduring appeal of the half-shell heroes. Perhaps what's most appreciative and immediately noticeable in this reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is that there is very little toilet humour. Liebesman doesn't treat his film the way Michael Bay treats his Transformers films at all. As a matter of fact, nothing about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (thankfully) resembles a Michael Bay film, so let's just stop talking about him.Instead, let's talk about how there is a good piece of entertainment residing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just awaiting to break out of its shell.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is meant for fans of the turtles empire: the original comic books, the myriad animated series, the video games, and even the other films. But a film this stupid fun is sure to make believers out of others as well.Positive rating only because this was made for the now adult kids who loved this growing up and for their children and not for me. They aren't going to care that I hated it. When the movie finally does decide to deliver the turtles we came to see it does it well. I just wish they remembered who the movie was named after sooner.There's enough turtle power to please kids and fans of the original series.

TMNT (2007)

Spectacular, sharp ,and energetic

[10/10 · 18 October 2014]

loved the original movie, loved the animated series and hell, I even dug the 2003 animated series. Remember that period when they were a rock band? I digress. This franchise is not without its hitches, as every franchise is, but "TMNT" was a step in the right direction. Computer animation, great cast, and bringing the turtles back to the dark without abandoning their major audience. I'm assuming you know the story of the turtles by now, so I'll segue into the review.Visually, "TMNT" is spectacular. For a film that's basically intended to cash in on the one gigantic cash cow, I was surprised how above par the animation is. From the massive battle sequences, to the atmosphere of the city, right down to the character design, the animators seem to spare no expense. And they compose their film as an animated movie and not as CGI. This is a cartoon, and there are no bones about it. The turtles have drifted apart after the death of the Shredder, and Leonardo has become a recluse in the jungles of South America, training and living as a vigilante. Found by April who is now a tomb raider/adventurer, he's called back to re-unite with his estranged brothers and take on a new evil. The new twist on the lore is that the turtles have basically become products of the society they hide from.

Donatello is now a tech help operator, Michelangelo is now a party entertainer, and Raphael is a reclusive warrior. The only one who remains rooted in his training is Leonardo, as we'd expect. The voice performances for this revival are as good as I hoped. Sarah Michelle Buffy is pretty solid as April, while Chris Evans plays upon his slacker hothead routine yet again taking on the one and only Casey Jones. But I came for the turtles, and I wanted to see if this cast could fill the shells of the former. And they performed extremely well. But the wonderful casting choice remains in Mako. He's excellent as Master Splinter, and inhabits much of the spirituality/philosophical conscience that bind the turtles together, even at a time when they are most separated.

"TMNT" feels like a preamble to something bigger, and when you delve deeper and deeper into the story, you can't help but feel the franchise may just be kicking off again. Here's hoping a certain tin encased warrior returns. "TMNT" was a lot of fun, and I'm glad it met most of my expectations.

Great animation, good voice work, and an entertaining story make it a revival worth watching again and again, and it was exciting watching the heroes in a half shell kick ass again. Bring on the sequel.

Constantine (2005)

solid production values and an intriguing premise

[8/10 · 16 October 2014]

The Matrix meets The Exorcist (with a little Chinatown thrown in for good measure) This film combines elements of comic book fantasy with horror to create an enjoyable brew - sort of a film noir version of The Exorcist, crossbred with the stylisation of The Matrix. A kind of Gothic guerrilla warfare, with moody demonologist John Constantine caught in between. well-crafted adaptation with just the right casting to make it fly when it could have sunk.Lawrence directs with energy, humour and an amusing eye for bizarre details - such as the fact that Hell can be accessed via the judicious use of a cat and a puddle.Keanu Reeves surfs through his acting in this otherwise excellent demonic film noir.Reeves has created a unique character that has the potential for future instalments.

Se7en (1995)

A serious meditation on the nature of evil. "It is one of the best and most intelligent serial killer films ever made."

[10/10 · 15 October 2014]

It's powerfully directed by David Fincher, and Morgan Freeman gives another of his superbly understated performances. The filmmakers stick to their vision with such dedication and persistence that something indelible comes across something ethically and artistically superior to The Silence of the Lambs that refuses to exploit suffering for fun or entertainment. The reason to see Seven, which is decidedly not for the faint of stomach, is not for the punishment of sin, but the many virtues of Freeman's contribution. Seven is a work of extraordinary style, upsetting power and narrative daring. The investigation and the clues that lead to the murderer are well thought out and continually provocative. The film is quite involving. David Fincher is at the top of his form with Seven, one of the darkest, creepiest, and most brilliant serial killer pictures in film history, far more interesting than Silence of the Lambs. Both Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman give great performances in this film.The pace is fast and the shocks build beautifully. The actors within it all reel with convincing horror.

It's not the identity of the killer that gives Seven its kick -- it's the way Fincher raises mystery to the level of moral provocation. Despite some truly fantastic work throughout the '90s and 2000s, Se7en still remains director David Fincher's best film, albeit by a very narrow margin.

8MM (1999)

It is good work by Schumacher,it is a movie of serious intent. There's no faulting Cage's committed, intense performance

[10/10 · 14 October 2014]

8mm is neither the sick exploitation film nor the risible misfire the critics had labelled it -- it is a movie of serious intent.Director Joel Schumacher steadily turns on the tension.8mm Powerfully played and conscientiously filmed. It's a complex achievement, exciting, sad and profound at the same time. This is not a movie for the squeamish, by any means. But for those who like their thrillers dark and their heroes a bit more complicated and flawed than the average shoot-without-a-blink type so prevalent in today's movies, 8MM fills the bill.Intense but very engaging.One of the most daring and attentive films.It is a real film. Not a slick exploitation exercise.Strangely compelling, the film works best as an old-fashioned private eye movie, with Welles carrying out mundane investigative work as he becomes increasingly obsessed with finding answers and uncovering the truth.Cage is the film's greatest asset! It was a return to form for director Joel Schumacher in 1999.

Lord of War (2005)

Examination of the gun trade like an illustrated lecture powered by a righteous anger, it is also very funny, stylish and daring.

[10/10 · 13 October 2014]

Lord of War Impressive performances, fascinating info-bytes and pertinent editorial, it feels too much like an illustrated lecture. Lord Of War drops the hammer slowly, laying out the fascinating parameters of Cage's world before opening up its argument in an astonishing denouement. Carefully choreographed devil's dance in which Nicolas Cage finds fleet-footed rejuvenation as a man aware evil can't exist without good, but that evil often wins. This uniquely unsympathetic, world-weary film earns the right to fling that truth. owe-red by a righteous anger, it is also very funny, stylish and daring. The morbidly fascinating subject and Cage's reptilian performance hold our interest. Unlike most Hollywood movies being made today, Lord of War actually has something to say.This film entertained me throughout, but it also provided me with a truly insightful look at the amoral world of trading man-killers.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Overlooked, under-appreciated, Geena Davis headlining an action flick with Samuel L. Jackson as her wisecracking, foulmouthed sidekick.

[10/10 · 13 October 2014]

1996's The Long Kiss Goodnight was the second movie in a row that director Renny Harlin made with his then-wife Geena Davis. Davis played a pirate in the previous year's Cutthroat Island. Harlin previously directed The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Die Hard 2 which were edited simultaneously and released just a week apart. Die Hard 2 was a huge hit and Ford Fairlane starred Andrew Dice Clay. Harlin started his career by directing Finland's most expensive film and the slashers Prison and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. The screenplay was written by action movie pioneer Shane Black who also wrote Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Boy Scout and The Last Action Hero. Alan Silvestri composed the Original Music and the Cinematography was by Guillermo Navarro.There are rumours and rumours of rumours that a sequel to Renny Harlin's The Long Kiss Goodnight is in the works. I inexplicably missed the original when it came out and dismissed it as just another action flick. I was more than surprised at how prescient a movie it was at the time. The nineties was an adventurous time for filmmaking. Increasingly influenced by music videos, a lot of the art showed dark overtones, in bright colours and quick cuts. Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs brought a sense of low-budget high-octane fun and breakaway banter back into the movies. He also expanded on the naturalistic acting styles in Barry Levinson's conversational film Diner that let everyday small talk happen while allowing the plot to move along as it might. On the surface, The Long Kiss Goodnight is a fast-paced adventure movie with a quick wit, an accelerating pace, famous locations, and a female hero that performs too many impossible physical feats. Underneath it is an allegory to the growing paranoiac conspiracy theories that are now flooding into the mainstream. The movie references the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Samantha Caine's transformation into the regrettably-named Charly Baltimore can be seen as an allusion to sleeper-agent multiple personality assassins.

Kiss of Death (1995)

An outstanding ensemble cast propels Kiss of Death. Nicolas Cage is a riot. Caruso, immersing.

[10/10 · 13 October 2014]

Unjustly overlooked thriller packs a punch. It's a sleek, muscular thriller played by a terrific ensemble cast, as you would expect from a team including director Barbet Schroeder, writer Richard Price, Nicolas Cage,Caruso, and Tucci's marvellously slimy prosecutor. Gutsy dialogue, atmospheric direction, lots of night scenes and an uninhibited take on the source material. A crackling thriller that feels unusually attuned to its lowlife characters. Cage, one of the few American actors who gets more interesting from film to film(well sometimes), comes close to kidnapping the picture as Little Junior, a pumped-up but asthmatic thug who, like King Kong, is a gorilla with a wistful air about him.Cage dominates the camera, stealing scenes by the sheer intensity of his inimitable strangeness.Caruso's acting is vivid, but amazingly quiet and internal, and it's fascinating to watch the kaleidoscopically conflicted emotions battle beneath his controlled surface.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

The spirit of the comics and the cartoon is alive and well in "The Secret of the Ooze.

[10/10 · 13 October 2014]

In this sequel, which was rushed into theatres the year after the first film, the Turtles get in touch with a scientist named Jordan Perry (David Warner), who has access to the mysterious ooze that originally transformed them. Unfortunately, the Shredder has returned, and he wants the ooze to transform himself into an unbeatable opponent. The Turtles work to keep the Shredder from using the ooze.

This is one of those rare sequels that actually lives up quite nicely to the original. While it's not as good as the first, it really had a shot to be almost its equal. In fact, I enjoyed this movie better than the first, until it swerved into this goofy night club dance sequence with Vanilla Ice.

Still, the spirit of the comics and the cartoon is alive and well in "The Secret of the Ooze." It's also a good TMNT movie because it deals with the Turtles' origins, which always makes for some great storytelling.

This lacks the darkness and subtlety that makes the first film so good, and so adult, but its simplified plot and gags will appeal to the under tens. The sequel plays things very safe

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

The film kept very close to the dark feel of the original comics, with several elements also taken from the 1987 TV series that was airing at the time

[10/10 · 13 October 2014]

The first film in the series, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was released in 1990 at the height of the franchise's popularity and was a commercial success.The first film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, closely follows the storyline from the Mirage comic books, in addition to some of the more lighthearted elements of the cartoons. The film tells the origin story of Splinter and the Turtles, their initial encounters with April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) and Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), and their first confrontation with The Shredder and his Foot Clan. Another plot point for the film is that The Foot have kidnapped Splinter, and the Turtles must rescue him from the Shredder's grasp. Directed by Steve Barron and released by New Line Cinema, the film showcases the innovative puppetry techniques of Jim Henson's Creature Shop.The film kept very close to the dark feel of the original comics, and is a direct adaptation of the comicbook storyline involving the defeat of Shredder, with several elements also taken from the 1987 TV series that was airing at the time, such as April being a news reporter, and the turtles having different-colored masks, as opposed to the uniform red masks of the comic.Roger Ebert gave it 2½ stars out of 4, saying, "this movie is nowhere near as bad as it might have been, and probably is the best possible Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie. It supplies, in other words, more or less what Turtle fans will expect." The film was also criticized for its level of violence, though Ebert opined that it was mostly stylized and not graphic.The results are lively and funny enough to keep adults enthralled as well as kids. Scores with its generally engaging tongue-in-cheek humor. The unapologetically hokey humor and dialogue and characters have their charms for sheer late-'80s kitsch value. Elias Koteas scores as a mock-turtle vigilante, and there are some nifty turtle effects from the Henson Creature Shop.An excellent adaptation, and a raucous, brutally entertaining action fantasy that embraces the source material lending it valid complexity, and depth.The Turtles have appeared in five feature films. The first three are live-action features produced in the early 1990s: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993). The Turtles were played by various actors in costumes featuring animatronic heads, initially produced by the Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The fourth film is a CGI-animated film titled simply TMNT and released in 2007. A reboot produced by Platinum Dunes, Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and produced by Michael Bay, was released in 2014.The film became the second-highest-grossing independent film of all time, and became the ninth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1990. It was the most successful film in the franchise until the 2014 film. It was followed by two live-action sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993; and one computer-animated: TMNT in 2007.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

"Retribution" has actually got some very decent action and 3D effects. The story is still razor-thin.

[8/10 · 13 October 2014]

Resident Evil's appeal as a series is almost exclusively rooted in Jovovich's charisma. She combines the enigmatic magnetism of a silent-movie siren with the bravado of an action hero.Anderson is often mistakenly dismissed as a hack but the artist is actually working within the confines of Hollywood genre cinema, constantly transcending and elevating it through the triumph of his avant-Gardie visual sensibility. For those of us who know what we're in for with the series, the fifth instalment is for better or worse, more of the same - albeit with the familiar levels of ridiculousness from its maddeningly inconsistent director/writer .If you liked the other Resident Evil films, you'll like this, and the end suggests there'll be plenty more. A mildly entertaining piece of eye-candy.Paul W.S. Anderson's writing may not have blown minds and our characters may not be up for any awards, but Resident Evil: Retribution showcases tantalising big budget action on a stylistically provocative level.You either enjoy buff female and male characters in tight, form-fitting outfits shooting at zombies and each other, or you don't. It's really that simple. We do not expect quality from Resident Evil any longer. We expect our brains to be expunged of common sense and pumped full of endorphins wearing fetish costumes.The movie is convoluted, of course, but it is also slick, savage and thrilling.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

"Milla Jovovich likes money"More of the same, but if you enjoy this kind of thing, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[8/10 · 13 October 2014]

Bound to please the legions of Milla fans who have doubtless poured over the extras-rich DVDs of the first three Resident Evils, as well as her please-sequel-this gem Ultra Violet.Inventive ideas, dazzling 3D and spectacular production design elevate this fourth in the franchise to a juicy bite above the average zombie movie. More of the same, but if you enjoy this kind of thing, that's not necessarily a bad thing.Afterlife is very likely to please at least most of the fans of the series, but don't expect too much aside from Milla looking great and a groovy visual style.If critics and fan boys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception and Avatar on every level.There are worse ways to pass an hour and a half than watching Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter shooting the hell out of zombies and mutants.Milla Jovovich commands the screen and makes all the RE films a fun ride. If you hate the series, this won't change your mind.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Resident Evil: Extinction is more of the same ,with impressive action sequences

[8/10 · 13 October 2014]

Milla Jovovich reprises her tough-girl-in-sexy-thigh-boots role, and the survivors travel in Mad Max conveys up and down desert highways in search of fuel. Zombie sequel is just as grisly as the first two. Director Russell Mulcahy is revered by genre fans for his work on the original Highlander, he will gain many more followers inside Fangoria circles with this over-the-top splatter fest. The action at times is pretty effective, from an attack by an infected flock of crows, to some brutal fighting in a sand-engulfed Las Vegas. Aussie filmmaker Russell Mulcahy piles on the atmosphere to make up for lack of originality in the script or production design. He also knows which bones to throw zombie movie fans, who relish the methodology of destroying the slow moving freaks.A grimly efficient horror thriller that delivers exactly what the other two entries did: monsters, gore, and a heavily armed Milla Jovovich in boots and garters.Equal parts Mad Max and Day of the Dead, this third and supposedly final entry in the Resident Evil franchise is no less derivative than its predecessors but moves along at a brisk clip.With clever lifts from "The Birds" and Cormac McCarthy's bleak "The Road," you have a rare movie that wasn't screened for critics yet is actually worth watching.

Silent Hill (2006)

It's one of the best video game adaptations I've seen in years.Effectively creepy atmosphere.

[10/10 · 13 October 2014]

This movie needs to be seen to be believed and to Mr Uwe Boll and Mr Paul WS Anderson I say, "Take notice. This is how survival horror should be done."Radha Mitchell is excellent as Rose and Jodelle Ferland will creep you out as Sharon. Laurie Holden plays the poor cop who finds herself chasing Rose into Silent Hill and Deborah Kara Unger is Dahlia Gillespie, who hides her own little secrets in the town that won't stay dead.Silent Hill captures everything a great horror film should, without falling back on those predict-a-scare moments that have become part of the genre's visual furniture. We have writer Roger Avary (Rules Of Attraction) and director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood Of The Wolf) to thank for that. I beg that Hollywood puts them together again to make a true sequel.Effectively creepy atmosphere. the closest you'll get to actually having a nightmare in a movie theatre outside of a midnight screening of David Lynch's Eraserhead. Just like the game, which is an achievement.Silent Hill is an unremittingly creepy municipality of the mind where motherhood, mystery and madness have come home to stay.No matter how you interpret the film, it's nearly impossible to deny what a beautiful work of art it is.SILENT HILL leaves a lot up to you to figure out, but gamers used to conventions like phasing in and out of alternate worlds should have no problem going along for the ride. Middle-aged critics are another story.If you like horror flicks, you'll like this one....

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Borrowing elements from the video games Resident Evil 2, 3: Nemesis, and Code: Veronica

[8/10 · 11 October 2014]

Resident Evil was a fast-paced, enjoyable, horror/adventure romp. Resident Evil: Apocalypse is Borrowing elements from the video games Resident Evil 2, 3: Nemesis, and Code: Veronica.The film opened to theatres on September 10, 2004. On a budget of $40 million, the film grossed $51 million domestically and $129 million worldwide, surpassing the box office gross of the previous instalment. Resident Evil: Apocalypse received mostly negative reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences but criticised the plot. Resident Evil: Apocalypse has lots of action,Milla Jovovich still deserves much of the credit for the film's short-term success , for what people refer to as "star quality," perhaps nothing more is needed than the alluring oddity of her face, the widely-spaced cat's eyes and innocent animal look, fearless yet poignantly unprotected. The filmmakers can count themselves lucky to have an actress who can conjure audience empathy out of nothing;this sequel has a pleasing B-movie insouciance, not to say incoherence: it's a film with little on its mind beyond giving the audience their money's worth of horror, action, moody industrial settings and hip Gothic attitude. The no-frills script amalgamates various genre classics from the 1980s: the all-night race through a derelict city derives most obviously from Escape From New York, while the evil corporation pulling the strings recalls Aliens, as do the monstrous mutants of their creation. The easily-dispatched zombies themselves seem like something of an afterthought – an element for the characters to wade through, rather than a threat in their own right.

As for the warrior women who dominate proceedings, they're swift-moving physical presences rather than characters, all sharp cheekbones, taut limbs and video-game poses. Specific acting skill is not required, nor is martial arts training beyond the basics – shadows and flashy editing make the action sufficiently hard to follow in detail, and stunt doubles do the rest.So, if you're into horror-action films, this is a good bet. If you're into cerebral movies about the human condition, you'll want to find another way to spend a couple hours.Lovers of Zombie films and action flicks should like this fast paced sequel.Followed by Resident Evil: Extinction.

Resident Evil (2002)

It's a zombie film, a creature feature, a disaster film, a spy movie, an escape film, a sci-fi evil computer picture, an anti-corporate diatribe, and a disease flick.

[8/10 · 11 October 2014]

It is to writer/director Paul Anderson's credit that he retains the tension throughout. I don't quite understand why this thing received such crappy reviews when it was released five years ago as I found 'Resident Evil' to be real creepy fun entertainment. I am aware that director Paul W. S. Anderson doesn't get a hell of a lot of love out there and is the brunt of many a scornful comment but with RE (that's what those of us in know call it) he has crafted a true zombie horror film that has an eerie ominous feel throughout, some legitimate jump out of your seat moments, plenty of blood and gore for those who like that kind thing and of course Milla is jumping around, scaling walls and kicking much zombie ass.Resident Evil may be empty, but it is still a lot of fun. It avoids being a tired sub-genre film by being so many sub-genres at once. It's a zombie film, a creature feature, a disaster film, a spy movie, an escape film, a sci-fi evil computer picture, an anti-corporate diatribe, and a disease flick. And more than any of those, it's an adventure movie. What's surprising is that they are all done right. The pacing is nearly perfect, keeping things always moving, but never too fast to miss plot points or character development. The music keeps the tension high. The fights are exciting. And I found myself caring about Alice. It doesn't hurt that she's played by Milla Jovovich who looks stunning and moves like a cat. But then, the entire film looks good. It's worth watching once just to study the colours. No one will be discussing philosophy after watching Resident Evil, but sometimes, that's OK. You will be entertained.

Followed by Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

Ghost Rider (2007)

The movie has the look and feel of a western. Cage's delivers truly bizarre performance.

[7/10 · 10 October 2014]

Bad fun if you're in the right mood, and a large part of the credit goes to Nicolas Cage. The movie has the look and feel of a western. The final showdown is in a ghost town in the desert. Improves on the Spawn formula. Fonda is smart casting as Mephistopheles, while sultry Mendes is topnotch eye-candy.Ghost Rider had some excellent one-liners, comedic breaks, and enough excitement to keep me wondering when and where the next battle might ensue.As comic book movies go, this delivers pretty much everything you could expect from a film about a guy with a flaming skull for a head.Nicolas Cage plays Johnny Blaze as a homespun dunce who 'drinks' jelly beans from a martini glass, listens exclusively to The Carpenters, and busts a gut laughing at chimpanzee slapstick on TV.Sometimes it sizzles. Sometimes it's a pale shadow of the comic book.