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Full Tilt Boogie (1997)
Full Tilt Boogie - not the average documentary
There isn't really much to say about this From Dusk Till Dawn accompaniment. It can almost be considered a DVD extra, which it kind of is if you bought the From Dusk Till Dawn 2 disc edition, which I didn't. I picked this up for about $6, knowing that it came with FDTD, and being a fan of the film. It is a 'documentary' in a different kind of sense that most would be used to, though it does 'document', so that's all good. The thing about F-TB is that most of it is just footage of the cast and crew doing other stuff like eating, or dancing, but there are a few interviews, though what you could call the bare minimum of an interview. It's not always entertaining, but what I find interesting about it is how it presents the actors and how they really are off camera. Particularly Juliette Lewis; she seems a lot less innocent than she looks in the film. So if you like to see what really goes on away from the actual film making, then you will appreciate this. And if you are a FDTD or Tarantino or Rodriguez fan, then you'll like it. If you can find it in a store for under $10, then I say buy it, but anything more probably isn't worth it.
DVD FEATURES: Full-Tilt Boogie (Main Feature) Subtitles
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
My first Friday the 13th
I haven't seen a horror movie for a long time. And watching this one reminds me that these type of movies aren't to be taken seriously. The purpose of watching a slasher movie, is to watch usually obnoxious characters meet a grizzly demise by the hands of a scary killer.
I already know everything about Jason Voorhees, that he dons his infamous hockey mask in part 3, that he doesn't show up until the end of the original, and that he is virtually indestructible. This doesn't quite show yet, as Jason doesn't seem very powerful in this film. The body count is average, though when i look back on it, it seems low. Most of the deaths weren't very memorable, and the characters were pretty stupid. But I guess you have to expect that in a film like this. There were several parts that I thought could have been fixed up.
One that I can remember distinctly, was toward the end of the film, the 'final girl' stabbed a machete into Jason's shoulder, which he responds by laying down 'dead'. Any person will know that Jason will not die from this, in fact, can a real human being die from being stabbed in the shoulder? I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure it would take more than that, and especially on Jason. So of course later he pops back up attacking the 2 remaining survivors and a dog who I thought died (I still don't get this).
Also, there is no main character in this film. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but usually the main character of a slasher film would be somehow connected to the killer, whether it be a distant connection or just that they've been in contact before, or she has had the most luck escaping him, etc. Since there is nobody, you don't really feel much for any of the victims, and usually it's most effective when you want the people to escape, but here, I just wanted to see them all die. And they did! So I guess I'm wrong here, this movie was entertaining, but as hard as I try to nit-pick it, there isn't really any valid arguments, since it's a 1980's slasher movie.
All I have to say is that it's a "1980's R rated slasher movie', and once you have accepted that, it is easily enjoyable, and NOT to be taken seriously. Watch it!
S. Darko (2009)
S. Darko proves to be just the younger sibling
Many people say that this movie is horrible. The IMDb rating is below 4, which is a sign. A very clear one at that. What isn't clear, is how I could POSSIBLY give this movie a 6. But before I can answer that, I have to go into it more.
Donnie Darko, the cult classic, was one of the most original films I have ever seen. At the time, I had become a fan and gave it it's worthy 10/10, so you can understand the hype for the sequel for the fans who, knowing it definitely won't be as good, were hoping for some sort of closure; something that could at least keep fans happy for a while. What we got, was, expectantly disappointing. When I say this, I mean, even though people were anticipating this sequel, they knew it was going to be terrible. Even I knew it. But I still wanted to see a movie that was anything like the original, something familiar that I could at least consider a tribute. And honestly, I got what I expected. I didn't mind it, but I only didn't because I was such a fan of the original, and many people seeing this with no or little interest in the first would consider it one of the worst films to have ever been created. I can definitely see how people can say this, and I agree, but it doesn't stop me for liking the attempt, this attempt at a sequel which is impossible to pull off for a film like Donnie Darko. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean.
S. Darko is just formula writing. This can be seen in an endless amount of film series' that won't die but need to (Saw, Friday the 13th and any other slasher film series). It's predictable, but at the same time not. The film itself doesn't even know exactly what's going on, but it keeps churning out explanations for different things that are never really cleared up.
The film is unnecessary, but without it, fans would've have been pained to not see anything related to Donnie Darko, so in a way, it was necessary. It was a useful tool to let people know that there cannot be a worthy sequel to Donnie Darko, and there probably won't be. I did hear there was going to be a 3rd, and it would be directed by Richard Kelly (Director of the original), but this died after a while, sadly, and it seems like Donnie Darko 3 will not see the light of day.
Finally, S. Darko is only a film to be seen by hardcore Donnie Darko fans. Otherwise, stay away, you will be very displeased.
Smokin' Aces (2006)
Smokin' Aces: Not quite there...
This review will definitely contain spoilers as I will go into detail. Just a warning if you missed the other one.
I wanted to watch this movie because I wanted to take a break from what I usually watch and wanted some over the top action. Now I know that people can call me ignorant for not liking a movie for what I wanted it to be, but it did drop below my expectations. And if you don't like my review then don't read it.
So, the movie starts and 2 guys are sitting in a van. What are they saying? I don't know, because I can't pay attention. I usually have a good attention span for films, but it just wasn't interesting and I lost track of where they were going with the conversation. I could not get my head around the story, it was way too complicated at first and new characters kept popping up. I personally didn't care for Alicia Keyes' character or her counterpart. They felt very separate from everything else that was going on. I was mostly interested in Lazlo Soot, he was mysterious and alone; so intriguing that I had to keep watching.
There were parts of the movie that were confusing, but in the way that I didn't understand how they happened. Firstly, Soot shoots the man arresting him after some maneuvering, runs into a bedroom, and about 2 seconds later when the security runs in, he is already out of costume. This is impossible. How could he have run into the room, took the tracksuit off, wig and mask, stuff it under the bed, all in a few seconds? Another thing I found implausible, was when the last surviving Tremor gives his car keys to a man (who is he? I don't know) who then waits about 10 seconds to shoot him in the back about 20 meters away, or even further with a handgun. That is possible, but he would need to be very accurate. But even if I can accept that, he isn't even LOOKING at him! How can he just shoot something he can't see that far away? It makes, no sense. And why wasn't he looking? For dramatic effect? Now I know I'm nitpicking, and this is just a movie, but I found these parts irritating and actually rewound them to re-watch because I couldn't believe it.
Now there's gotta be something good to say right? Well, right. While the action was lacking, and not much specific tone to the film, I admit that I was quite entertained in the last 20 minutes of the film. You didn't know who was really dead, what was going to happen to the characters, who was gonna make it out, and Buddy Israel, who's going to kill him? Now, if the whole film had been this way, it would have made for a decent, fun film. However, if only about 20 minutes of the movie were this way, is it worth watching? Well, I say it's harmless, but don't put your life out of the way or anything to watch it, only if you've really got nothing else to do or have watched almost every movie in the world except for this one. Now I'm exaggerating a little here, this movie is probably for a specific audience, and if you like Guy Ritchie films, this is below par, but still kind of in the same direction. Now when i say 'kind of', I really do mean that. People will be disappointed if they want Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and if you haven't seen those yet, make sure you watch them because they're great movies.
My final word on Smokin' Aces; it's a slightly mediocre film, perhaps an acquired taste that I can see some loving and more than some not liking it, although I can't see anybody hating it. But watching a kid showing off his karate skills while getting a boner is something you don't see in a lot of films, so, give it a chance, but don't expect too much.
Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)
The story is predictable and cliché, but still watch it..
The plot of this movie is unoriginal, and I knew what was going to happen before the movie even finished. The dialogue is pathetic, and when I watch it, it seems to me that the writer said..
"Ok, lets make a sequel to Step up, but it'll be in the streets this time, yeah. Now go learn some dances, I'll just come up with something about something, I'll throw in some dialogue, and put it all together"...a bad movie, with good dancing.
Now that's what bugs me - this movie is INCREDIBLE in the dancing, but for the rest I wasn't even watching properly, I was waiting for the dance scenes. Why couldn't they at least put in an effort to come up with a better story and better dialogue, it would have been a really good movie! I say, if you haven't seen this, watch it for the dancing, but don't expect much from the non-dancing parts of the movie.