zedex
Joined Jun 2001
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Reviews14
zedex's rating
This is a fine example of everything that is wrong with modern horror films. The premise is flimsy: a bunch of students summon a demon from a ouiji board, it starts killing them off one by one; nothing you haven't seen a thousand times before.
The characters are completely undefined - we never see them for more than a few seconds, I went through most of the film trying to work out who was who. No background is given, none of them are very really shown expressing emotion (a little bit of fake crying and yelling here or there to show how REALLY FREAKED OUT they all are by the mysterious deaths of their friends) which means you don't particulary give a damn when they are slaughtered.
And the deaths themselves are quite boring; considering the film is selling itself as a gorefest, it is remarkably blood-free and there are no wincingly painful deaths (contrast with something like "Final Destination" which makes you feel sympathy for the characters simply for their painful, painful deaths)
The film is horribly unrealistic. One perfect example is when, after the first death, one of the group who is into ouiji tries to convince the others that it is a demon who killed their friend. She tells them it's a demon. They yell a bit, then calmly accept it, so that the film can move on quickly. In reality, if someone told you that your friend had been murdered by a demon, would you believe it? Unlikely. And later on, characters who have by now accepted that a fire demon is trying to kill them split up in an abandoned house. Have these trendy students never watched a horror movie in their lives?
Lon Time Dead is boring and annoying. Spend 90 minutes doing something remotely interesting instead.
The characters are completely undefined - we never see them for more than a few seconds, I went through most of the film trying to work out who was who. No background is given, none of them are very really shown expressing emotion (a little bit of fake crying and yelling here or there to show how REALLY FREAKED OUT they all are by the mysterious deaths of their friends) which means you don't particulary give a damn when they are slaughtered.
And the deaths themselves are quite boring; considering the film is selling itself as a gorefest, it is remarkably blood-free and there are no wincingly painful deaths (contrast with something like "Final Destination" which makes you feel sympathy for the characters simply for their painful, painful deaths)
The film is horribly unrealistic. One perfect example is when, after the first death, one of the group who is into ouiji tries to convince the others that it is a demon who killed their friend. She tells them it's a demon. They yell a bit, then calmly accept it, so that the film can move on quickly. In reality, if someone told you that your friend had been murdered by a demon, would you believe it? Unlikely. And later on, characters who have by now accepted that a fire demon is trying to kill them split up in an abandoned house. Have these trendy students never watched a horror movie in their lives?
Lon Time Dead is boring and annoying. Spend 90 minutes doing something remotely interesting instead.
To be honest, I expected Smallville to be yet another average action show that gets cancelled after the first season or two. When I saw them taking the "mutation-of-the-week" approach, I was sure of it. This generally happens to shows when they run out of ideas (ie, Dark Angel) and is a surefire way to get them cancelled. However, watching the first season progress, it really began to grow on me.
The acting is amazing. I can quite honestly say there isn't a weak actor among the main 8 or so characters, and those on guest spots are normally quite good too. My favourite by far is Allison Mack as Chloe. She is one of the more experienced of the young actors on the show, and is truly excellent. The plots are quite good, now that they have moved past Kryptonite and more onto the characters themselves. One of the most enjoyable things about this show for me is the many humourous references to the future and little in-jokes (For example, Clark's line "I don't know what I want to do, as long as it doesn't involve wearing a suit and flying a lot").
This is a very entertaining show, and one that might survive until the 100 episode mark if the quality of writing and acting is kept up. I look forward to season 2 being shown in the UK. 8/10
The acting is amazing. I can quite honestly say there isn't a weak actor among the main 8 or so characters, and those on guest spots are normally quite good too. My favourite by far is Allison Mack as Chloe. She is one of the more experienced of the young actors on the show, and is truly excellent. The plots are quite good, now that they have moved past Kryptonite and more onto the characters themselves. One of the most enjoyable things about this show for me is the many humourous references to the future and little in-jokes (For example, Clark's line "I don't know what I want to do, as long as it doesn't involve wearing a suit and flying a lot").
This is a very entertaining show, and one that might survive until the 100 episode mark if the quality of writing and acting is kept up. I look forward to season 2 being shown in the UK. 8/10
After being fired, Helen (Gwynneth Paltrow) runs to catch a train that, unknown to her, her future hinges on. If she catches it, she'll get home in time to catch her boyfriend Gerry with another woman. If she doesn't, she'll go on not knowing about his infidelity.
This has to be one of the most intriuging plots I've ever seen. Most films would take just one or other of these plots and churn out a typical rom-com, but Sliding Doors turns them into one excellent film. The acting is great (even if Paltrow's accent is at times a little too British and forced) and the plot twists every few seconds. It could have become very confusing, but the direction is good enough that you can easily follow the two stories at once.
There are two things that stop this film being a 10. The first is that the two Helens sometimes seem a little too different from each other to be the same person. Even if they have gone through to different experiences, they don't act the same at all. The second is that the message of the film seems that we don't control our own future-after all, it isnt Helen who decides if she makes it to the train, it all depends on if a little girl is pulled out of the way by her mother in time.
Still, this is a very entertaining film, and definately worth watching. 8/10.
This has to be one of the most intriuging plots I've ever seen. Most films would take just one or other of these plots and churn out a typical rom-com, but Sliding Doors turns them into one excellent film. The acting is great (even if Paltrow's accent is at times a little too British and forced) and the plot twists every few seconds. It could have become very confusing, but the direction is good enough that you can easily follow the two stories at once.
There are two things that stop this film being a 10. The first is that the two Helens sometimes seem a little too different from each other to be the same person. Even if they have gone through to different experiences, they don't act the same at all. The second is that the message of the film seems that we don't control our own future-after all, it isnt Helen who decides if she makes it to the train, it all depends on if a little girl is pulled out of the way by her mother in time.
Still, this is a very entertaining film, and definately worth watching. 8/10.