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IMDb member since June 2003
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    IMDb Member
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Reviews

Witchouse 3: Demon Fire
(2001)

Poor but with redeeming features
OK: I haven't seen 1 or 2, so diving straight in with Witchouse 3 maybe isn't the best approach.

The downside:

The plot doesn't make a lot of sense - it isn't REALLY horror, or suspense

* Brinke Stevens has nothing to do apart from trying to look menacing * Debbie Rochon's character is far too "guarded", you don't really get under her skin and find out what she's about until very late in the film, making most of her appearance seem a bit wooden * Tanya Dempsey's character is not well defined, so again the acting seems lacklustre * Paul Darrigo's character is also poorly defined

So as such, I honestly can't recommend the film at all, except that I feel honour bound to say that Tina Krause demonstrates moments of genuinely good acting abilities, (given the character she has to portray), and what she really lacks most is some decent direction.

(No, I'm not a long standing fan of Krause, in fact I'd never heard of her before watching this film).

I'd honestly like to see her work on a major budget horror film, with someone like Stephen King, to see the extent of her acting ability.

You probably won't suffer by avoiding this film, but watch out for Ms Krause in case she makes the move into big league films!

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
(2003)

the weakest outing for the terminator
this film lacks 'identity' - is it an action/adventure or a comedy?

Arnold Schwarzenegger is still the killing machine, although now he steals biker leathers (terminator protocol dictates that Arnold must ALWAYS wear leathers) from a male stripper who also inadvertently teaches him the phrase "talk to der hand!"

Old catchphrases are recycled as well - "SHE'LL be back!" Arnie observes, having blows the latest anti-terminator terminator through a wall and down an air vent

While the pure shock value of seeing a terminator cut its own flesh away is now totally lost, (remember a cinema full of people going "Ew!!" when Arnie cut one of his eyes out in the original Terminator movie?) there are still serious moments, as when a woman motorist sees a naked woman (the latest terminator - remember everyone seems to come from the future naked) walking in the street - clearly the motorist has an empathetic moment of what the hell has been done to that poor woman?

T3 as a weak and uninspired effort - you won't lose much by not watching it!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1992)

Great film!
Flying in the face of public opinion, I have to say that this is a GREAT version of Buffy, and is in my opinion far preferable to the TV series with Ms Gellar.

Kirsty Swanson is (to put it mildly), an air-head, a complete and utter bimbo, her world is fashion makeup and dating. NOT being a slayer and rooting out evil vampires! And as such, taking on the role of being the slayer has far more culture shock for her than the TV series provides.

It's a funny film, and is intended to be such. The casting is solid, with Rutger Hauer as head vampire, and the great Donald Sutherland as the slayer's watcher.

Look out for GREAT lines, such as "kill him - A LOT!!", "Great - so my secret weapon ... is PMS!?"

Prepare to laugh!!

Damnation Alley
(1977)

An unfairly maligned effort
I saw this film at the local cinema when it was released ...

and what a great film it seemed. (and in context, still is!).

The context is this - in 1977 we were in the middle of the 'Cold War', and we lived expecting the USA and the USSR to start throwing nukes at each other, which we expected to be the END OF THE WORLD. So a film about the end of civilization was bound to be a hit.

btw if you read the original novel 'Damnation Alley' then I can't recommend this film, because the tie-in is VERY tenuous

back to the film - WWIII devastates the planet, and a group of survivors from a military base build a seriously tasty all terrain vehicle with which to explore the remains of the planet. Damnation Alley - a devastated stretch of the USA - is populated by (among other things), giant scorpions :-) wow!

What would the survivors of WWIII be like? Well maybe they'll retain some semblance of whatever passed for normal before the nuclear strike, or maybe they'll degenerate - the survivors from the base meet a few along the way.

The ending? Was (in my opinion) quite a let down - but you can make your own decision about that

Android
(1982)

a vastly underrated classic
Craggy old Klaus Kinski lives with his awkward assistant Max on a space station, developing a female android. Max spends his time playing old arcade games and researching the human condition - (I heard somewhere that the external shots of the space station were done by creating a model station from a display case which used to house watches or jewelry!) Into this scenario comes band of escaped convicts on a space ship badly damaged during their escape ...

There is humour in this film but it is of a very dark shade. The LACK of special effects ADDS to the "reality" of the film.

A couple of really unexpected plot twists along the way - I rate it a "9" which is the highest I have ever given a film on the IMDb

Newborn
(2000)

The future of global communications?
Futurecast:Newborn is one of a series of "futurecasts" - broadcasts from the not-too distant future. They are perhaps most worrying because they neither predict a bright future (such as Star Trek) they suggest that mankind will carry on the same path as we are currently following - The network of Global Communications which the internet has grown into is suffering a series of catastrophic problems - bank records suddenly flowing freely across international borders, company accounts, medical records semi-intelligent software agents are thought to be (in part) responsible, little virus-like creations which move around the network "improving" efficiency ...

However the journalist delivering his (perhaps final) broadcast draws the viewer's attention to a strange feature of interrupted broadcasts ... there is a repeated theme of THE HUMAN FACE being displayed ...

The Demolitionist
(1995)

what does being alive really mean?
What does being alive really mean? If it means that the blood pumps around your veins, your lungs suck in air, and your eyes help you to aim your gun to blow away your enemies, then Alyssa Lloyd is certainly alive. But in dying and being brought back did she lose something important along the way? Alyssa Lloyd (played by Nicole Eggert) is the Demolishionist, a police officer brutally murdered, and brought back from the dead in true comic-book form. Every night she is forced to undergo horrific scientific procedures which keep her alive and deadly.

The scientist seems to forget that his prize specimen was (and still is?) a woman, with very human feelings.

This film has been likened to RoboCop, and there are some superficial similarities, but Demolishionist is a lot darker, the humour has more 'edge', and the final scenes bring the narrative to a brilliant conclusion!

Watch the Shadows Dance
(1988)

a much-underrated effort
technically - (sound / camera / scenery / lights) this is not the greatest effort ever but the film has so much going for it! In the not too distant future youngsters play ninja/paintball games in an abandoned power station by night, and during the day they attend their studies which include martial arts lessons with a former member of the military You can watch the film just on those terms and go no deeper;

* or you can look at the theme of the "passing of the flame" from the martial arts teacher to his students; karate starts and ends with courtesy, it is not for killing someone in a fit of temper);

* or you can watch the film for some wonderful martial arts fight sequences. (arguably the VERY BEST KENDO sequence I have EVER seen in any film)

* or watch the film as a historical effort from early in Nicole Kidman's career.

The casting of Vince Martin is nothing short of a stroke of cinematographic genius This movie gets a definite thumbs up!!

Welcome II the Terrordome
(1995)

a truly appalling film
for the technical aspects of making a film - camera work, scenery, sound, the general atmosphere it creates - this film has something going for it, it conveys just as sinister a future as "Blade Runner".

However for the story itself I honestly cannot think of a single redeeming feature.

Ngozi Onwurah is clearly an angry man to have produced a film such as this, but there is a point where social commentary becomes racism and I believe that he has well and truly crossed the line.

Saffron Burrows plays a pregnant white girl who lives in the black ghetto having escaped from her former boyfriend - however, this interracial relationship leads to her former boyfriend beating her and causing her to have a spontaneous miscarriage, and her black boyfriend's concern for her infuriates his family who have suffered a bereavement and challenge his concern for 'some little white girl'

The film contributes nothing whatsoever except to reinforce racial stereotypes and to stir up racial hatred - give it a miss!

From Hell
(2001)

Didn't live up to expectations
I usually like anything to do with Jack the Ripper - in reality Jack committed his crimes in a part of London I'm very familiar with, I have family there going back a few generations, and it's always a good topic for debate

Technically (sound / camera / scenery) a great film The Plot - From Hell contains a lot of snippets of the Jack legend - but with very little to string them together

Being familiar with the Jack legend I recognized many things - and I think that was the thinking of the writers, (that the audience would be familiar enough with the legend that they didn't need to bother explaining themselves).

Add into the mix Johnny Depp as a tortured detective experimenting with drugs and getting 'visions' - all in all a weak and disappointing rendition of the story

The Dreaded
(1990)

Great effort, but technically lacking
What a great film! OK, so there are problems - the audio track isn't great, the acting is wooden in places, the stunts aren't that impressive, and the continuity and camera work lacks the polish of a big-budget Hollywood film.

Nevertheless - a great film! This film has a good pace, it updates the vampire legend and addresses the question of what does an immortal vampire do when he's not biting necks? Tim Cobb is a well-to-do vampire, who comes to a small town from "The Big City". Lisa Watts is the small town girl feeling disregarded by her current love interest, and who is won over by Cobb's sophistication.

Depending on your point of view the final twist in the tale is either entirely unexpected, or entirely predictable - make your own judgement.

This film is excellent source material for vampire students, although it's unlikely to go down in history as a classic.

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