simonapro

Watch everything. It is one of those.

Oodishon, or Audition is a very complex horror movie about a man who has recently lost his wife to an illness and one day sets out to find a new partner by using his buddy's film making company as an Audition front to find the woman of his dreams.

The film is non-linear but the movie takes off about half way through after the audition and from there on it in - rocks like a mutha.

The build-up to the grande finale is disturbing to say the least and has undertones about the way men treat woman to satify their needs - making promises that they can't keep, cheating and lies.

This film is not for the faint of heart and is extremely graphic. This is a horror gem that is more leaning towards 'Fatal Attraction' than 'Ringu' or 'The Eye'. Don't watch this alone or if you are squimish.

You don't get to see many intelligent horror films these days. If you think that Glen Close has it down pat then check out the performances here.

(** out of *****)

If you hate films that play sentimental for the sake of tugging heart strings then give this film a miss. If you hate sentimental films that don't do the sentimental part so well then give this is a miss. If you hate DREAMWORKS for stuffing loads of sentimentality into an excellent idea for a film so that it plays well to masses then give this one a miss. The point being that this film had enough sentimentality from the outset, plot and premise to carry it throughout without MORE sentimentality being added to it which quite frankly is what kills this film dead. I mean COME ON!!! This is a gangster flick!!! The sentimentality is already there in the premise. Advice to Spielberg et al on sentimentality.... go watch MILLER'S CROSSING and please stop shoving sentimentality down our throats like we need it as much as we do oxygen. Sure a little sentimentality is important in a movie of this stature... and our daily lives.... but Mendes whacks layers of sentimentality on as if Spielberg is behind going .... MAKE ME CRY.... TUG MY HEART STRINGS!!!... I NEED SENTIMENTALITY TO LIVE!!! all the time.

In short - edit 50% of the movie..... i.e. the sentimentality scenes and you got a classic! Wait for Newman's - `A room full or murderers' speech. WOW!! Now that is worth a thousand sentimental scenes. This film does keep you glued to the screen... waiting for the big one... but the moment Tom Hanks leaves a bag of money at the house he just appeared out of nowhere from to get a gun shot removed is where you just have to go.... PLEASE... SOMEONE QUIT WITH ALL THE SENTIMENTALITY!!!!... This was meant to be a MOB flick! Sure it is sad in many ways more than one but the lashings of sentimentality is what makes this film so brutally hard to endure. Maybe the Oscars should be blamed for films going to trash like one.

Hell... maybe what I just watched was the most violent chick flick ever made!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!

(***** out of *****)

'Le Pacte des loups' or `Brotherhood of the Wolf' is never sure of what it really wants to be, but whenever it tries to be something it do so very well. The movie is based on a set of real events which occurred in France around the time of the revolution. Because of this the director must satisfy everybody including his French historical peers, scholars, the general French movie-goer and horror enthusiasts…….. with a hit of softcore pornography for those that want that too. What you get is a mix of love, terror, kung-fu, monster attacks and French anarchy a brew in glorious widescreen for over two hours.

The film is very French but whenever the beast is being hunted or is running amok the film goes into `super-overdrive'. This is really where the heart of the story should be but there is not enough of this as the plot drifts more into the department of seedy royal undertones and lovers who seem to sleep with everyone else but the ones they are supposed to be loyal too. But the result is pure and utter bedlam for two hours that never sits still or gets tired itself. You will be hard pressed to sit through this film without enjoying at least a good bit of it.

The director has decided that every type of film genre should have its share on the screen. The result is something that is very original, new and has never been seen before! For that 'Le Pacte des loups' scores tops marks, but alas it does have its pitfalls.

The monster does not make enough of an appearance towards the end, but the build up to it is akin to `Jaws'. The love triangles are not needed and are simply there for a taste of `Dangerous Liaisons'. The upper class characters are only explained through their dialogue and interactions but remain quite wooden apart from a good scene involving an Indian, Mani (a superbly acted Mark Dacascos!!.. can u believe it?) telling them what their animal totem is. Although Mani is one of the highlights of the film, not to mention a main character, he never seems to escape the fact that he is just another `Queequeg' from `Moby Dick'.

On the upside the editing, stunts, camera and rain is second to none. The screen violence is executed quite well (this is an extremely bloody picture in the second half) to quell the thirst of the horror fans and the investigation of the beast's species type is a cool neat coy that plays with you right up until the end.

In short, this movie is a rare opportunity to see what an `all genre' film looks like if anything else. Undoubtedly in time it will become a `cult classic'…….and it probably deserves it too.

(***** out of *****)

Low budget horror does not get much better than "The Evil Dead". In fact no other low budget horror film even looks like "The Evil Dead" thanks to Sam Raimi (The director of "Spider-Man" for the ladies and gentlemen of you out there who do not know this.) So if you want to see how a big director starts from the real bottom end of film making and works his way up then you need to watch this film at all costs. Besides he was just a young kid when he made it (using a school's 16mm film camera)..... and so were his friends who acted in it.... and they ended up making a film which coined the term "video nasty'! The movie was filmed in 1979 and released in 1982 where it hit the video market just at the right time. It was one of the very first cult classics promoted by the advent of video tape.

`The Evil Dead' IS one of the nastiest films ever made. It contains extreme violence, blood, rape, torture, beheadings, dismemberments, mutilations, gore, violence towards women, chain saws - all in FULL VIEW of the camera. No holds where bared in the making of this film but some countries may show this movie in a censored form which entails the removal of about six minutes from the film. But the story is original, fast paced, scary and extremely enjoyable. Many fans watch it over and over and over again. Many of today's new film making talent watch this film over and over again and it is obvious to see why.

The camera work is used unusually, skilfully and surprisingly (so rare these days). The editing is dramatic and the low budget special effects must be given credit for the end results which beat the pants out of some of things that hit the shelves these days. In short the film making aspect is really what "The Evil Dead" is all about. Here the director is really giving you a bang for what bucks he had.

The premise is a simply one to explain. Five young kids go to a cabin in the woods for a short vacation. In the house they find a tape recording which manages to invoke an incantation which wakes up the evil in the woods. It comes after them - turning some of them into the undead, demons, zombies and flesh eating ghouls. Cue lots of household items being used as weapons, an initially sissy anti-hero (Bruce Campbell) who becomes the GOD of million adoring horror fans (you'll see why when you watch it) and low budget special effects galore. Copied by a hundred other horror films, exploited by a million uncensored bootleg copies – `The Evil Dead' is still the low budget horror king. And that is a hard act to beat!

(* out of *****)

This is not a very good video nasty. In fact, it is not a very good film at all.

"The Driller Killer" is an "Art house film" about a painter who goes over the edge because of social, city and work pressures. He then decides to use an electrical drill to kill people who annoy him. That is all it is about really.

The film is total trash in every department from story to acting, editing, sound and camera. It is not shocking. It is not even unpleasant. I recommend that if you really want to watch this then also get "Bad Lieutenant" from the same director because this film does not do him any justice at all.

The body count is extremely low. The horror element takes up about 3 minutes of film time in total and is done so amateurishly that it makes Ed Wood Jr. film's seem simply terrifying.

The film was censored and banned in a number of countries which gave it a sort of cult 'acclaim' that is really does not deserve. They should have just left this film alone to die out in the back of every video shop's bin instead of making a big fuss about it.

Do not believe the hype. I wasted my money and time pursuing this turkey expecting a low budget horror masterpiece. Watch `The Evil Dead' instead.

(**** out of *****)

What a wonderful and rich role for Gere who should maybe experiment more in movies that deal with the realms of the unknown.

A much respected reporter for the Washington Post John Klein (Richard Gere) is about to have his life turned upside down when his wife dies in an automobile accident that seems to have been caused by a mysterious flying creature which he never did see himself. The plot takes Gere to the Ohio/West Virginia border where he meets with the local residents who all seem to be having their troubles with strange lights, weird phone calls and a bird like creature which they call the Mothman. Klein investigates the mystery at the cost of his own sanity and career.

The film is very scary but lacks the pace and fibre that made the John A. Keel's book an awe inspiring read. There are no Men In Black, UFO's, alien impregnated women, phone tapings or a clear resolution to some of the character's fate. In fact only about 10% of the book is actually reproduced in the film. The other 90% seems to have been plucked from an episode of the `X-files'... but what a good episode it is! This is a film that has high production values. The lighting, camerawork, sound and editing are always on top form which is something that prevents the movie from disappearing into the ranks of science fiction B movie hokum. `The Mothman Prophecies' looks simply `weirdly' gorgeous on the big screen.

There is not enough Mothman revealed to the viewer but country folk Gordon Smallwood (the well cast and superbly acted Will Patton) creates a much needed conduit into the effects that the Mothman has on the people of Point Pleasant and this is what the film is really all about - The consequences that the supernatural can have on the psyche of a small backward town's population. Although the ending is Mothman free it certainly does jolt the emotions and evokes a sort of belittling sympathy for the human beings of this planet.

Watch this film and then go read the book for a much better look at really went on. All in all, the film is a spine-chilling riveting stuff and well worth repeated viewing even though it never truly escapes its `X-Files' feeling.

(***** out of *****)

Ivan's Childhood is Tarkovsky's debut feature film about a 12 year old boy who volunteers to fight in the front lines against the German invasion because his family where murdered by Nazis. His size and height make him the perfect spy for the Russians as he slides his way across muck and swamp to bring back vital information about the German offence that no other man can achieve. At the same time his commanding officers object to this boy being used as a tool of war but have no control over the matter because of Ivan's convictions to bring down those that killed his parents.

Shot in beautiful monochrome the camera never ceases to capture nature, religion, dreams and love - all of which are major elements in any Tarkovsky film. This motion picture is one of the most stunning independent movies you will ever see.

Sometimes Ivan cries like the child he is but this is not because of the burden of war but because he can not do what he wants most - to avenge the death of his family. Other times he is like a General in the making - standing up to his commanders, spitting orders back at them, making other soldiers look pale in comparison and walking into the fray without any fear attached. The dichotomy of his fractured personality is evident the most when he is alone. One moment he is dreaming of his mother, the next he is stalking the ghost of a Nazi murderer in the room where he sleeps (which is one of the most disturbing scenes in this film).

The final sequence in the ruins of Berlin fully brings home the impact of the film's premise. This is a story about Ivan's Childhood and that is exactly what you get. Heart wrenching from the first frame to the last and never equalled. To think this was all made in 1962! Shocking cinema at its very best.

(** out of *****)

While `Lost Highways' strung us along like the Lynch junkies we are - `Mulholland Dr.' is a painful experience that is only kept alive by the enormous performances of the lead cast and some memorable supporting roles.

The young and alive Betty (Naomi Watts) arrives in LA to try and get a job as an actress. Staying in her aunt's apartment she meets up with Rita (Laura Harring) who has lost her memory but has a ton of money on her and a single blue strange shaped key. The perfect mystery begins and Betty tries to help Rita discover her true identity.

The cause of film's failure is that it does not develop the devices that grabbed our attention at the start. There are many good ideas at play, yet Lynch decides to go down a route that we would find in one of the duller episodes of Twin Peaks (of which there where hardly any). However, `Mulholland Dr.' was originally a pilot episode for a now abandoned television series and this may explain the lack of development and the surprise that never comes. Clocking in at 145 minutes this film could well have been played out in 90.

Experimental it may be, but at the same time it is not a film that delivers on its promises. We don't mind wackiness, a story without meaning or quasi-dimensional worlds (that is why we watch Lynch movies!) but we do mind excellent ideas that are cast aside for more trivial and banal discoveries that serve no more of a function than to knit one scene to the next.. Arrrrggghhh it was amateur in so many ways. A sorry case of hit and miss.

The film is not all bad though. There are many funny moments, interesting predicaments and wonderful sets pieces. Notably, the hitman's attempt at keeping his work quiet, a scene involving a philosophical cowboy (keep an eye out because you see him once again oh yes!) and the weird concert.

All in all the film feels rough on the edges and has a rushed look to it. If only Lynch took the time out to just revise the script and give it the bump that it is crying out for, then I am sure we would all be watching it over and over again. It had all the ingredients but the Lynch cake just didn't bake this time.