Change Your Image
instigate_insanity
Reviews
Doom (2005)
I would say I enjoyed it, but that just wouldn't be true...
You know, I was expecting so much more from this. I mean, the games were great, and in truth there HAVE been some half decent movies based on video games recently. Granted, both the Mortal Kombat films were absolutely shocking. But seriously, can you truly say that you disliked Resident Evil? Okay, so the storyline was sh#t. So the acting was sh#t. Who cares. They were enjoyable movies, if only for the chance to stare at Milla Jovovich in skimpy clothes.
But man, Doom was shocking. They tried the same sh#t with a different movie, and if I'd seen this unenjoyable zombie flick prior to every other George Romero movie I've seen, and a whole heap of others besides, then maybe I might have enjoyed it. But this movie was simply the most boring load of cr#p I've ever sat through in my life. Sorry if you feel different, but hey, it's only the truth.
Gilgamesh (2003)
The fun of The Matrix, the wonder of From Hell, and the bleakness of Requiem for a Dream. In an Anime series.
Mention the word 'Anime'. The pictures that generally spring to mind, nowadays, are such horrors as Dragonball Z and Yu Gi Oh. Mention it to someone slightly more knowledgeable in these matters, and the names Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter Alpha may materialise within their minds. Mention the word to a true fan of Anime, though, and you'll have names such as the following reeled off to you: Neon Genesis: Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell, X, Samurai Showdown, and very possibly Gilgamesh.
I love Anime, a paradox in that I watch very little of it. The extent of my Anime covers movies such as Spriggan, the aforementioned Street Fighter movies, Samurai X, and very recently Gilgamesh.
I bought Gilgamesh on a whim. I had a gift card to spend, I had thirty bucks left on it, had already loaded myself up with music. I couldn't see anything else that looked entertaining, and figured when I picked the DVD up "What the hell, if I don't like it, at least I didn't have to pay for it".
The DVD contained the first five episodes. I loved every single one of them. The story is dark and ghostly, demonic and depressing, scary and beautiful, and all with a minimum of violence and gore. The film boasts a seemingly unique artistic flair, and is wrought through with a visual etherealism and surrealism that sends shivers down your spine. The voices synch perfectly with the movement of the mouths, and the facial expressions are a delight to behold.
I have yet to encounter an animated movie/TV series which parallels the bleak and sinister nature of this movie. The spectrum of colour used in the movie isn't all that wide, and seems to consist predominantly of darker shades of grey and black, with some colours interspersed throughout. The colour choices lend a feeling of hopelessness to the film, of despair, and the very real possibility of death in the next few minutes.
If you plan on watching this series, you can do it no other way apart from the beginning through to the end. If you miss a single episode you'll be lost. Watch this series. Enjoy it.
Which side are you on?
Pulp Fiction (1994)
There's some gimpy sh#t going on here.
I never thought it'd happen. I've seen a lot of movies. I've given a lot of high ratings. I've never before seen fit to give a movie a ten, though. But I could find not a single thing wrong with this movie.
I avoided Quentin Tarantino's movies ever since I saw my first one, which was Kill Bill. I thought it was appalling - the storyline has been done before, the violence was over the top, the gore was stupid, the acting was shocking, and we won't even go into my dislike for Uma Thurman here. I was persuaded to watch both this movie and Reservoir Dogs by my best mate, and after much reluctance I finally acquiesced. And thank all the Gods I did.
This manages to be one of the most violent, brutal movies ever produced. However, in a complete paradox to the statement I just made, there is next to no violence in the movie - it runs, much like Reservoir Dogs (but not to the same extent) off the witty and intelligent dialogue, and the incredible acting displayed by everyone involved. And yes, this includes Uma Thurman, despite my hatred for her - I regard her as a terrible actress, whatever beauty she may hold (and let's face it, there ain't much) and I refuse to watch most movies she stars in. She played a small role in this movie, and for once she actually played it well. I extend a hearty salutation.
I must give a hearty thumbs up to John Travolta at this point. His character, Vincent Vega, is easily the best I have ever seen him play. Whilst he is a criminal, a junkie, a torturer and a murder, he manages to be extremely likable and you can't help sometimes but wish you were him.
To those people who dislike intelligent movies - I advise you against watching this movie. The film grabs you by the balls and doesn't let go until the entire 114 minutes have expired, but if you're possessed of a lower IQ then by the end you won't have much of an idea of what's gone on.
The film is constructed in Tarantino's trademark nonlinear fashion, meaning that if you want to watch this movie you haver to do so in one sitting to understand it. you can't just watch bits and pieces of it, otherwise it will make no sense to you whatsoever.
I have regained a previously nonexistent respect for Mr. Tarantino with this film, and I look forward to perusing his works in more detail later on.
"Get the Gimp!"
Underworld (2003)
It's got Kate Beckinsale in it. What more incentive do you need?
Imagine you're a student of medicine, studying in a foreign country. Because of the fact that you're only a student, you don't really have much of a life outside the hospital, and you're there for basically fifteen hours a day. Now imagine that you discover that there's a whole other world overlaid against your own, and that the two dominant species of that world are creatures of myth and horror who have been engaged in war for the past six hundred years, and that recently you've become the central focus of their war, and both sides are out to either catch you for genetic experimentation
or kill you.
Unfortunately for Michael Corvin, it is exactly this series of events that take place. Heading off to work one evening, he is caught in the middle of a vicious gunfight in the subway system of the Hungarian city, Budapest, between a group of Vampire 'Death Dealers' (sorta like the Vampire version of SWAT) and a group of Lycanthropes (werewolves Lycans, for short). This is merely the first in a series of events which will turn his life upside down, for to win the war, the Lycans require Michael's blood, and the Vampires require him dead.
Selene has been a Death Dealer for the past three or four hundred years, ever since her family was killed and she was inducted into Vampirism. For hundreds of years she's fought the Lycans, who she believes to be responsible for her family's demise, with a single minded hatred. But now she's discovering things about her Vampire kin that are tearing down all her truths, and completely changing what were once incorruptible loyalties. And then there's Michael Corvin
Underworld is a stylishly cast action flick, with plenty of tense action sequences and blood, and yet it suffers from that unfortunate affliction which besets so many action movies lack of storyline. There's plenty of possibility in a movie that almost makes the two hour mark, and yet there's no real development of any of the characters beside Selene, Michael and Lucian (and even then, there's disappointingly little). There's no real development of the plot, and some of the performances are less than impressive (case in point: Kraven, the Vampire Regent).
Yet put aside the failures in the plot and you have a highly enjoyable action flick, and, of course, Kate Beckinsale (who spends most of the movie wearing extremely tight Matrix style leather which leaves nothing at all to the imagination) to drool over. Recommended.
Romasanta (2004)
A slow-moving yet gripping horror- "Ginger Snaps" for adults
The creature is not a large one. At first glance, it doesn't even seem to be anything more than an ordinary dog.
But then you look closer. The wolf's mouth is larger than that of an ordinary dog, the teeth packed more densely together within. The wolf's eyes gleam a sickly yellow colour, and a vicious snarl augments the drool flowing from its mouth.
The creature leaps at you with supernatural speed and strength. Its front paws knock you flat on your back, and you feel the freezing earth soaking through your shirt, the full moon gleaming down like a cruel eye, watching you.
The wolf doesn't bother with a killing wound; it just begins to tear chunks of flesh from your stomach, ignoring your agonized screams. It will be a long, long time before your body loses all feeling, and everything goes dark.
Manuel Romasanta was a traveling merchant and salesman in the mid eighteen hundreds, who, at some point, went completely and utterly insane. He believed himself to be a werewolf, a man who would assume the form of an unnaturally large and brutal wolf whenever the moon was full. Manifesting from this belief was the need to kill, and so kill he did, some sixteen or more people, chosen completely at random, no discrimination. He would slaughter them, devour them and then leave the bodies for others to find.
There have been so many movies made that have been based on the lives of serial killers- Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, etc. It seemed a mere matter of time until they dredged up this psychopath from the history books and immortalized him through film.
But, of course, being set in the time that it is, and under the circumstances through which the events surrounding the case unfolded, they couldn't have been content merely to make a slasher/thriller sort of thing documenting the life of a serial killer. No, they had to turn it into a werewolf movie.
And what a fantastic werewolf movie it turned out to be. I was expecting the sorts of cheesy werewolf effects that we saw in such movies as "Dog Soldiers" and "Underworld" (although to tell you the truth, I enjoyed both of those movies, solely for the action content in them). But groundless were all my fears, for as the movie progresses it becomes increasingly clear that this is not your usual, run-of-the-mill type of werewolf crap, with Romasanta assuming the form of a proper wolf when he transforms. Rather than "Dog Soldiers", it portrays itself more as being along the lines of "Ginger Snaps", with much the same sort of tragic tale at the heart of it.
As with seemingly all new-age horror movies, even those done in an older sort of style (such as this one), there is a love story at the heart of the movie. However, true to the bizarre nature of this movie, it is not a happy tale of love that unfolds, rather a twisted tragedy in which neither side comes off any better than the other. For those of you who possess something like a twisted romanticism, I tell you now not to miss this one, you'll regret it if you do.
I've already told you basically all you need to know about the story of this movie, and I'm not going to ruin all the twists and turns of the movie so as to spoil your viewing enjoyment. Just be sure not to miss this one, especially if you liked "Ginger Snaps".
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
A Gothic tale of love, hate, sorrow and blood
As with Queen of the Damned, so it was with this movie that I made what I thought was a rather hideous mistake in watching the movie prior to reading the book. Those fears were well based with queen of the Damned- the book is utterly fantastic, whereas even without having read the book the only part of the movie I liked was the soundtrack.
My fears were groundless with "Interview". Granted, there were parts missing and parts changed, but not in such a way that it detracted from the story in general. Where the book is a horror novel which almost parallels Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in its ability to terrify, the movie is a drama which alternates between inducing laughter, sorrow and, in some parts, nearly reducing the viewer to tears. Pitt's performance in this regard is particularly fine.
However, the one thing that everyone who has seen this movie cannot fail to agree on is the fact that, whilst there is indeed an all-star cast (notable characters are Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater and Kirsten Dunst), it is the twelve year-old Kirsten Dunst (playing Claudia) who steals the show. In the book she was a truly terrifying child, whose alternate flashes of rage, love and complete and utter lack of emotion serve to unsettle the reader to the point of wanting to close the book and calm down for a few minutes. In the movie she is a little less cold-hearted, and the relationship between her and Louis (Pitt) is bizarre, seeming at times like the relationship between father and daughter, and at other times like the relationship between lovers.
Many viewers who have not had the pleasure of reading the book (in particular the jocks) criticize the movie for the homoerotic undertones which define the relationship that begins to build between Louis and Armand, at times like that between a teacher and their student, and at other times (again) like lovers. This relationship is underdeveloped in the movie, and is not given the chance to blossom into the full- fledged bond that Louis and Armand share for a brief period in the book.
A strong performance is put in by Banderas as Armand, albeit slightly different in temperament than the Armand of Rice's books. Unfortunately the role was too brief a one, and Banderas did not get nearly long enough a role.
Louis' progression through the years is another example of the areas in which this movie excels. Whilst he physically does not change, his surroundings do, and his dress sense changes with the years.
This was a strong adaptation of a brilliant book, which fans of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles should all enjoy. The main plot of the movie stays true to the book, and in some places the dialogue is perfect, straight from the book, line for line. It has the power to disturb, induce laughter, sorrow, and excitement, and is a visual feast for the eyes. The vampires look exactly like Rice describes them, except (dissapointingly) in the case of Armand. And even with the screw-ups in Armand's appearance, Antonio Banderas plays him extremely well.
The fact that I happen to despise Tom Cruise can only serve to add to just how good this movie must be.
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
Modern day horror spliced with a twisted sense of humour
For those of you who listen to the music of the legend that is Rob Zombie, and have seen both of his forays into the world of cinema, then you'll agree with me that what you witness in both of his movies kinda seem to represent the extremes of what you get in his music.
In House of 1000 Corpses, for example, you get the more carnival oriented side of his music, the neon-lit Hollywood land of songs like "Spookshow Baby" and "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains". And now with The Devil's Rejects, we get the meat and gristle side of his music, the mysticism, the sex, the blood, and the gore of songs like "Dragula", "Superbeast" and "Blood, Milk and Sky".
I was slightly disappointed with House of 1000 Corpses. It was like a new age remake of one of those weird old horror flicks you can catch now and again on Briz 31- lots of neon lighting, trippy music, incredibly cheesy horror, with possibly the most bizarre character names in any movie I have watched to date.
Well, fans of new-age horror, rejoice. For what we have here is a far cry from House of 1000 corpses. No neon lights; no cheap and tacky costumes; no cheesy music. What we have here is a visual orgy filled with brilliantly executed gunfights, sadistic torture and abuse scenes, screwed-up sexuality, brilliant music and a visual grittiness that fans of the El Mariachi trilogy will absolutely love.
Much like House of 1000 corpses, the movie swims with a dark and twisted form of humour (once again, much like Zombie's music) which has the (often unnerving) ability to make the viewer laugh out loud whilst one of Otis Firefly's many victims' intestines are splattered half a kilometre down the road.
This movie displays ten times the amount of gore that "House" did, with people being nailed to chairs, splattered into a sticky pulp by passing vehicles, and being tied up and forced to wear the skins of the Firefly family's many victims as gruesome masks. It is all portrayed utterly realistically, and not for one moment does the thought "Jesus, I wonder how many tubs of strawberry jam they went through to make this movie?" swim across your mind.
The individual members of the Firefly family are portrayed brilliantly and sadistically by Bill Moseley, Sherri Moon, and Karen Black, but as it was in "House", so it is here as it is once again Bill Moseley who steals the show, perfectly playing a character whose life is completely ruled over by violence, sadism, cruelty, torture and (shudder) necrophilia. A character we unfortunately don't see enough of is Tiny, the hulking, scarred, mentally retarded Firefly (played by Matthew McGrory) who provided moments of bemused entertainment in "House".
If it's modern day horror with a twist of dark humour you're after, look no further than "The Devil's Rejects". It disappoints slightly in its duration time, but promises a fun ride with the rest. Rob Zombie easily earns an 8 from me.
The Pianist (2002)
This is a bleak and bitter view of the holocaust through the eyes of one who escaped it.
I don't know how he does it, but once again Roman Polanski has somehow managed to create a visual experience which, without any overt use of blood and gore, parallels Saving Private Ryan in its ability to disturb.
Let me first begin with the basic plot. This is the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman (played by Adrien Brody), a brilliant, young, Jewish pianist living in Nazi-run Warsaw. Before the war, things get slowly more and more horrible for the Jews, eventually resulting in the setting up of the Death Camps and the beginnings of the Holocaust.
Wladyslaw gets away from the Death Camps, ending up instead within a Nazi labour camp. With the help of old friends, he escapes from the camp and hides in the ruins of Warsaw, with the aid of a sympathetic German officer.
This is possibly one of Polanski's most disturbing films, yet it has what many would regard as a 'happy ending', with Wladyslaw being rescued by Russian troops pushing the Germans out of Warsaw. The camera-work is particularly brilliant, alternating between light and dark, yet never with any cheerful vibes. The performances by Thomas Kretschman and Emilia Fox are very good, but as always in his movies it is Adrien Brody who steals the show.
This is a bleak and bitter view of the holocaust through the eyes of one who escaped it, and the fact that it is a true story only adds to the power of the film. I give it an 8.5.
The Shining (1980)
Watch this movie late on a stormy night... but not if you've got a heart condition.
Let's take a look at some other movies that have been based on the books of the brilliant (and, obviously, slightly insane) Stephen King. One of my firm favorites is, and always will be, Ride the Bullet (based on a short story of the same name). Whilst remaining pretty much true to the original story, it managed to turn a book that takes just under forty minutes to read into a movie masterpiece that goes for over two hours, adding some scenes, deleting none.
The Shining is an altogether different story. It uses the book sort of like an outline for the movie, not quite staying true to the story but not deviating from it in a massive way. It also manages, without even really trying, to be one of the most terrifying movies that I have watched in quite a while.
The basic plot is this: a man (Jack Tarrance by name) takes the job of winter caretaker at the isolated Overview Hotel, so as to work on writing his book. Throw into this the fact that he takes his family along with him and the fact that the place is haunted by evil spirits, and you've got a recipe for horror waiting to happen, in the form of demonic possessions and attempted murder with a fire-axe.
One of the best parts of the movie is the feeling of complete and utter isolation the viewer experiences merely from watching the movie. The snow, the mountainous setting, the vastness of the rooms of the hotel and the complete and utter lack of people all come together to paint a picture of complete and utter bleakness.
The brief glimpses of the vengeful spirits inhabiting the hotel don't really terrify; rather, they unsettle the viewer, and plant the seeds of creepy dreams once you've finished watching the film.
This is by far one of Jack Nicholson's better films. His portrayal of a man slowly sinking deeper into the depths of insanity is utterly convincing, and his alternately snarling and dementedly gleeful face serve to unnerve the viewer to the point of almost turning away from the screen.
Shelly Duval's terrified screams are high pitched and ear grating, and seem almost to verge on the point of irritating. Somehow this just lends more weight to the viewing experience. Danny Lloyd's performance as Jack Torrance's son is also brilliant, and his psychic flashes are brilliantly and creepily executed.
If you plan on watching this movie, do so in a pitch black room, late on a stormy night... but not if you've got a heart condition. Just make sure to read the book first.