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Reviews
The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2009)
An enjoyable 'Lovecraft movie'?
This is certainly one of the better Lovecraft inspired movies I've seen. I only have a few gripes with it, and one of them is that ending seemed a little rushed. I would have liked a slightly longer epilogue, and to have seen more of how the adventure affected the protagonist and his friends. As it was, we only got a glimpse, and it wasn't even a follow- up on the supposed main character. Another problem with this movie is that significance of Charlie being a descendant of Lovecraft is barely explored, and only comes into play for a few moments in the last 7-10 minutes of the movie. In addition, some parts of the film felt a bit awkwardly mean-spirited to me- not in the humanity is insignificant and awful kind of way, but in more of the YouTube abridge parody sort of way (not that I don't enjoy many YouTube parodies). Most of the humor thankfully didn't fail to hit home. It's not every day I find a modern movie with a decent helping of cheese, so the silliness in general was appreciated. Final verdict: Does it capture the essence of Lovecraft? Hell no, but it's a fun comedy that borrows from the mythos and drops some funny nods to geek culture on side.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
The kind of quality all horror movies should strive for.
This is damn good horror movie that's full of references and affectionate parody towards the horror genre. So many American horror movies from this decade are interchangeable and uninspired, but not so with 'The Cabin in the Woods'. While not the scariest per se, it succeeds at building suspense, and the humor is top notch. It's no exaggeration to say that this is the first horror movie in a long time that made actually CARE about it's characters. A huge point in its favor, as not caring is one of the main barriers I have standing between me becoming invested in the outcome of most horror stories. As for the effects, they were decent, and I can tell a lot of creativity was poured into this movie. I might have had this film over-hyped to me, and as such found the twist to be more straightforward than I imagined- by the thirty minute mark, it's really not that hard to figure out what's going on. However, the balance of favor shifted enough between apposing forces that the end of the movie remained hard to predict. The story actually isn't that complicated when you break it down, though certainly not devoid of depth. It raises some interesting philosophical questions that provide plenty to think about for any so inclined. It also appears to draw inspiration from Lovecraft, so what more could you want? I even found it strongly reminiscent of the SCP Foundation. In summery, I'd recommend this movie to anyone old or new to the horror genre. When it's not making you laugh, it knows how to make you feel well and truly screwed over at just the right moments. Based on my own enjoyment, I feel personally justified in giving it ten out of ten rating. While not the best thing since sliced bread, what it tried to do it did remarkably well.
Kuroshitsuji (2014)
Much better than expected
I went into this movie with somewhat low expeditions. I was, personally, never a big fan of wither the many a or anime. I gave it plenty of chances, but it just never did it for me. Now this movie, on the other hand... I first caught wind of it when I stumbled apon the trailer. The setting immidiatly caught my interest; rather than being set In Victorian England, it seem to take place in some alternate universe victorean-esque Japan, which is cool enough an idea in it's own right. The anime was set in Victorian England, however, not everything in the series made sense in the context of the time period. Every now and then, something would pop up that just didn't fit, or wouldn't be invented for many years to come. The movie works to rectify this in that they can get away with just about anything they want because the setting is purely fictional, rather than historical. In fact, I think just about every change they made was ultimately for the better. I actually like Ceil better as Kiyojara Genpoue/shiori. The whole cross dressing as a man in order to inherit her familie's assets in order to achieve her goals just added another level of complexity to an already admittedly interesting character. Ceil was my favorite part of the anime and many a both, and I was more than satisfied with the somewhat liberal selection of his character portrayed in this movie. The only problem Ihad with her was how swhen started off the movie, in the beginning, seemingly not carrying about anything but herself and her revenge, being perfectly fine to leave those girls behind in that burning building. Then, at the end, she just up and decided to sacrifice her life for a bunch of strangers. Unless I missed something, I can see no real reason for this change of heart. Indeed, at some ambiguous point during the film she seemed to permantly loose her previously cool demeanor and transition into constant worry mode. I liked my first immpresions of her better, so I was just a tad disappointed. But, as I said, that's really my only complaint. There's just so much to like about this movie. The cinematography is stunning, the atmosphere just right. A truly wonder full movie, all things considered.