Alfie "Overall this film was funny and touching. The outstanding actors really pulled together a film whose script sometimes dragged along and didn't always connect in all the right places. Look for some very MTV-esque shots with Law and Miller, and for several very literal signs that point to Alfie's state of mind. I have not seen the original, but now I'm inspired to see how Michael Caine played a character that encompasses all of the very best and worst attributes a man can have..." (full review)
The Grudge "Sure, the bloody, spine-cracking ghost and the horrific belching noise she makes are creepy, too - but the mood of absolute desperation is what seals the deal..." (full review)
Saw "Saw isn't the scariest movie I have ever seen, but it is easily one of the most disturbing and twisted. If you don't like psychological thrillers or horror movies you will want to stay far, far away from this one. This movie will give some people nightmares for sure. If you lust for blood and guts and can overlook some common sense plot holes this is right up your alley..." (full review)
"The only reason I'm not giving this movie an A rating is because there are some inconsistencies present in the story, but not enough of them to make this other than a worthy effort..." (full review)
"Cube Zero" by 'Dr. Climaxx' It must be getting pretty difficult to come up with ideas for the Cube franchise. After all, how much can you really do with a film that's set entirely in a box. A maze-like box, but a box all the same. Cube 2 proved you can't do anything but retell the same story we saw in the first film, but Cube Zero seems to have been conceived by someone with a fatter imagination. In short, it's the best of the Cube films....you'll hoot and hollar at the screen for more.
Now where this one scores points is that besides telling it's expected tale of a group of strangers all waking up in said box, it also lets us in on the background of those that operate the seemingly inescapabale thing. Yes, backstory! Oh and did I mention that the performances in this one borderline on being the best bunch of thespians gathered for a film in the franchise yet? Stephanie Moore is easily the best heroine of the whole trilogy, and the rest of the cast are pretty credible too. For once, there's no cardboard cut-outs!
What I especially like about the Cube films is that they always move at a brisk pace, and this one is no exception. Funnily enough though, this is the unexpected 'Empire Strikes Back' of the Cube series. It actually makes you want to see a fourth one!! 4/5
"The Grudge" by 'The Soothsayer'
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Karen, a foreign exchange student working at a Tokyo medical clinic that provides palliative care for its patients. One day Karen hears that her co-worker Yoko hasn't shown up for work and is asked by her supervisor Alex (Ted Raimi) to cover for Yoko. When Karen arrives at the designated address she finds an elderly catatonic American woman named Emma (Grace Zabriskie) and the whole house in disarray.
As Karen pieces together what went on in the house she finds herself facing off against an evil and ancient curse, known as "The Grudge". What triggers such a curse? What is the meaning behind its awakening? And will Karen be able to figure it out before it swallows her whole?
The best way to describe "The Grudge" is that it is a cross between "Lost in Translation" and "The Amityville Horror". What makes it such an interesting horror film to watch is that for nearly 85% of the film there is no soundtrack and the film relies on the actors, creaks, nasal releases and echoes to deliver its horror. This kind of horror film hasn't probably been seen in quite sometime.
The film's direction and overall subtleness reminded me a lot of old Hitchcock films. Hitchcock probably would have loved Gellar as one of his leading ladies. The layout and feel is very Hitchcock but the film doesn't ever reach the quality scares found in a lot of the old Hitchcock classics. It does deliver with a whole lot of creepiness, though.
The director and creator of "The Grudge", Takashi Shimizu has been retelling this story from all sorts of angles for nearly four years now and this is his fifth film about the subject matter. The Japanese horror legend started in 2000 with "Ju-On: The Curse" which spawned the four film Japanese series and this American remake.
In the film you can see that the director has been doing this along time. There seems to be no real effort in trying to explain itself as the film chugs along. Shimizu's playing with the film's linear direction is interesting but tends to take away from telling the story.
I liked Sarah Michelle Gellar's very subtle and withdrawn approach to this character and that in a lot of ways helped me make the Hitchcock jump. What I didn't like was that Gellar was never really able to use her acting chops except with maybe facial expressions. There are a lot of seemingly mimed expressions and gestures in this film.
I liked a lot of what "The Grudge" was trying to get across but felt it should have left more of an impact and had a genuine horrific Hitchcock thriller ending. Instead it seems to end on an insincere Hollywood cliché. (3.5 out of 5)
"Saw" by 'The Soothsayer'
Where does the barrier between grisly and mainstream films begin? In the new film, "Saw" that very aspect is explored so much that for more than half the film you aren't sure what you are witnessing. Saw's premise begins something like this:
Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) awakens on a decaying bathroom floor. His ankle is handcuffed to one of the bathroom's many pipes. In the centre of the room lies a dead body that seems to have died by apparent suicide. Blood leaks from an open head wound and the victim holds a revolver.
On the other side of the room sits another man named Adam (Leigh Whannell, also the film's co-writer) who seems to be in the same situation as Gordon. On a microcassette, their abductor instructs Gordon to kill Adam or the two men will die and so will Gordon's wife (Monica Potter) and daughter. Other than the microcassette, their abductor has left the men a couple clues and two badly worn handsaws that are only strong enough to cut flesh and bone. What are they to do? Who is more desperate? What would you do?
We have seen so many of these grisly horror films and some of the better made films have gone on to be critically-acclaimed horror classics which include "Se7en" and "Silence of the Lambs". That is just it; Saw isn't even in the same league as those classics.
What "Saw" has going for it is an unbelievable spine-tingling premise that is horrific unto itself. When the film veers away from the room holding the two men it loses its momentum and its horrific impact.
The film tries to allow the audience to see what is going on away from the room with a disillusioned detective named Tapp (Danny Glover) and even allows us to see the long drawn out history between Tapp and the abductor. Not for one moment do we care and all we want to see is more of what is going on inside the bathroom.
I loved this film's premise and wanted it to slowly uncover the insanity of the situation and its grisly but all too human outcome. I didn't need to see some bloated detective chase down yet again another serial killer. I wanted more psychology and less grime.
I loved the performance of Cary Elwes as the desperate doctor and he is probably the best actor in the piece. This marks two stellar performances for Elwes who was also incredible in the A&E film "The Riverman" where Elwes played infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. If you haven't seen that film, seek it out. (2 out of 5).
