kaseino Reviews

The Kiss (2003 Video)

I went to Boston for *this*?!

[26 September 2003]

I'll see anything Eliza Dushku is in, but I was really looking forward to this after getting my hands on a copy of the script. Suffice it to say I wasn't impressed. Apparently neither were the writers - before the film began, Stephen Manzi stood up and asked the audience not to laugh in the wrong places, as well as other comments of a similar nature that escape my swiss-cheese memory.

I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with The Kiss. It's a wonderful story with an incredibly talented cast, but something got lost along the way. The script moved me to sappy romantic tears and the movie completely failed to move me.

That Night (1992)

A simpler time, but the issues are still complex

[6 June 2003]

I remember seeing a trailer for That Night in theatres and thinking that it didn't look particularly interesting. I was wrong. Ten years after its release I finally watched it because of the young actress it introduced, Eliza Dushku. If I had any doubts about her ability to act, this quashed them.

Yes, I'm a fangirl. I'm also the first to say most of Eliza's movies are mediocre at best, though she always gives her all to each role. This one is incredible.

That Night deals with the familiar theme of not fitting in but does it with characters that are flawed and occasionally just a little creepy. It takes the viewer back to a simpler time, when family values were more than just a politician's catchphrase, and it deals with some very up-to-date issues as it does. The characters are well thought out and very believable, and easy to identify with. It's a good family film for those with older kids - there is a fair amount of sex hinted at.

In short, That Night is definitely worth the watch. :)

Wrong Turn (I) (2003)

Can't sleep...mountain men'll eat me... (SPOILERS)

[30 May 2003]

Ok, so it's more the excitement of having finally seen WT that's keeping me up than anything else. I got back from the NYC screening three hours ago and I'm still jazzed! Wrong Turn kicks butt!!! I expected it to be really bad so I'd be surprised when it was only mildly bad...and I'm darned near heart failure with how good it was.

I may be biased a bit. I may also have found a new favorite character in Jessie.

Opening scene is hella freaky. But I wasn't sorry to see the guy die, he was a real D**k. (Named after his personality - gotta love it.)

I wasn't scared until Jessie was. She's strong, she's smart, she looks good in bondage...er...yeah. Hey, I didn't write the movie. If I had, she wouldn't have at one point turned into the stereotypical woman-in-horror-film. For the most part, though, Jessie is not a woman you want to mess with. And the bondage fun? Not a good idea, because they left the bow and arrow within reach. Silly mutants...guess they've never seen Buffy or they'd know how sexy Faith looks with a recurve bow. Wait...you mean that's not Faith? Oh...right...no superpowers. Just one very p***ed off chick whose friends have been butchered. I have one problem with this scene, and that's the use of a long range weapon in close quarters. (What's wrong with a knife? She looks good with knives! Heck, give her a freakin' machete!) Otherwise...heck, I and half the crowd gave a holla when the camera turned around on Jessie with the bow and arrow and that look. The pics are nothing compared to the image onscreen. *squeeeeee*

Of course anyone who's read the official plot summary knows Francine and Evan die early. We don't see what happens to Evan. Francine's death is gruesome and sudden. It's in the trailer...if you don't blink you might catch it. Not giving it away because it's really nasty and the surprise makes it moreso.

Carly...Carly, Carly, Carly. Every horror film needs a screamer. She's it. But she's versatile - she can whine, too! If the intent was to make me (and most of the other theatregoers by the sounds of it) want to slap her to get her out of her hysterics, then they succeeded. When she died, I nearly stood while applauding...but it was as much for how her body fell from the tree as the death itself. Booyah! Stuff like this is why I went in the first place. It was great that someone finally shoved something in her mouth...too bad it was sharp. Not giving away anything further on it.

I wish I could say I gave a darn about the male characters. I cared so little for Jeremy's character that I can't remember his name. Chris may have been the big manly hero of the movie, but I found no reason to like him other than his attempts to comfort Jessie. This may be because at one point the "strong" female character was so distraught she had to be told what to do by him. There's that pesky bias again. I like my strong women to stay strong and I loathe anything that gives even a whiff of an 'all women need men' vibe. How about the man needing a woman for a change? There was a bit of that too, which of course I loved, but this movie had the ideal opportunity to not bring out one of the worst sterotypes...and it did. Yeah, an arguement could be made that they were supporting each other in a time of crisis...blech. How trite. I want a movie where the female lead kicks some monster butt and looks hella sexy while doing it. Oh...wait...we had that, it was terrible and spawned a tv series that I cannot find the words to describe the magnificence of.

I want a sequel. This was sick enough that I'd see a sequel even though I'm sure the survivors won't return to the woods. But if they do...well...they deserve whatever they get.