Saw II (2005) October 29, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Darren Lynn Bousman
The jigsaw killer is back for more of his trademark ‘games’ in a sequel to the smash hit 2005 horror Saw. This time his evil intentions are directed towards a cop, detective Eric Matthews (played by Donnie Wahlberg). After tracking the killer to an abandoned warehouse, the detective discovers that his son is taking part in one of Jigsaw’s dangerous challenges. Meanwhile eight strangers (including Daniel Matthews) are waking up in a strange house, to face their worst nightmares.
The original Saw was quite inventive and interesting, especially for the limited amount of money spent on it. This instalment falls slightly short of the first, although they don’t opt to completely retread the original, which is a wise move. Strangely, the elusiveness of the jigsaw killer is completely nonexistent this time around, given that he’s a main character in the plot. The script was actually adapted from an already existing story, changing some characters in order to fit with the ‘Saw universe’. That has helped differentiate this movie slightly, but I can only speculate on how many changes were made.
The traps, or ‘games’, are actually tamer for the most part, and lacking the horrible grittiness that the first movie had by the bucket load. I mean, they’re still not nice, but I think only the opening scene with the death mask comes close to really stirring up any tension. The fact that there’s a group of people taking part in the game diminishes the horror factor substantially. And they never really play the group thing for scares – they should’ve had them being forced to do all sorts of terrible things to each other.
As the ending draws near, the story twists start to appear – one being quite smart, and others being kind of annoying. I never enjoy it when a story twist causes you to question the whole point of the movie, but unfortunately that’s exactly what happens towards the end of this film, and you’re left wondering ‘what was the point of all that then?’.
I didn’t completely hate it though. There is a simplicity to the Saw movies that make them an entertaining watch. It’s just that I don’t think they made the most of what they had, and some may find the ending slightly unsatisfactory. But what can you do – with Saw III about to be released (the third film in as many years), it’s clearly such as easy franchise to keep running. And as long as we’re still watching, you can guarantee that ‘there will be blood’.
Hellboy: Director’s Cut (2004) October 25, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Guillermo del Toro
In 2004 we finally saw the completion of Blade II director Guillermo del Toro’s dream project – a full-length feature based on the artist Mike Mignola’s most famous work: Hellboy. But almost a year after it’s release we found out that Guillermo was still not completely over it, and so we were treated to the Hellboy: Director’s Cut DVD. And quite a treat it is too.
The plot begins at the end of World War II, where the Nazi’s are taking part in an occult ritual to try and strengthen their campaign. A portal has just been opened when suddenly the process is interrupted by an allied attack, but not before a creature passes through into our world; a small red monster whom the troops name Hellboy. Many years later, and Hellboy is working for a secret government organisation that deals specifically with the paranormal. John Myers is an academy graduate who is about to join their merry ranks, and team up with Hellboy as he fights to bring down an old adversary with links to his past, and the Nazi’s.
This director’s cut version adds 10-minutes back into the movie although it’s been a while since I saw the theatrical cut, so I found it difficult to actually pick out the new footage. Most of it is character development I believe, so if you saw the theatrical version there was no single big event you missed. I liked this extended cut though, it definitely seems well rounded, and enough of an introduction to a character which I had no knowledge of beforehand.
Guillermo’s direction is very accomplished; he’s certainly had enough experience working within this genre to know what works and what doesn’t. The CG effects and the make-up on Hellboy are also excellent. Plus, Ron Pearlman makes a great job of the lead part, and it’s easy to see why he was the directors’ first choice for this role. That’s not to say that John Hurt (as father figure Trevor Bruttenholm) and Rupert Evans (new-guy John Myers) don’t play their parts well too.
The story is passable, although I find that occult/fantasy stuff always makes for a confusing plotline just because of the nature of the subject. As a non-reader of the comics, I can safely say that this movie does a good job of explaining the origin of Hellboy, and all the surrounding characters. They’ve piled in the action where it’s needed, however a slightly anticlimactic ending lets it down at the last minute.
Whatever you think about this movie, it’s not over yet. Despite early reports after the release of Hellboy making it appear unlikely, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army has been green-lit. So we’ll definitely be seeing more from the big red guy in the future. And with all that origin-nonsense out of the way, I’m sure Guillermo’s got big plans for his favourite comic book antihero. Watch this space.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) October 22, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Adam McKay
‘A comedy from the people that brought you Anchorman and The 40-year-old Virgin’. That poster strap-line is either going to turn you right on, or right off, depending on your view of the two aforementioned movies. Luckily for me I loved both, so my hopes were high for this new comedy starring SNL alumni Will Ferrell.
The story focuses around Ricky Bobby, a go-fast NASCAR hero who lives by one rule: ‘If you’re not first, you’re last’. With his racing partner (and best friend) Cal Naughton by his side, there’s nothing standing in Ricky Bobby’s way of winning every racing championship. That is, until a French Formula One driver migrates over to the NASCAR circuit, and proves that he can easily out-drive Ricky Bobby. Meanwhile, Cal is starting to resent his team-mate for never letting him win a race. Losing all faith in his ability, it’s up to Ricky’s absent father to reacquaint himself with his son, and teach him how to be a great driver again.
Now if there’s one thing this kind of movie has going for it, it’s quote-ability. Maybe this movie slightly less than the ones before it though. It’s still got a bundle of madcap craziness, and some wonderfully improvised scenes that introduce the most bizarre subject matter. Although some people find these kind of movies ‘dumb’, there was certainly an intelligence to Anchorman that is lacking here. It could have something to do with the characters, none of whom can be described as smart.
Anchorman director Adam McKay handles the expanded budget well, and the race sequences are fairly impressive. It’s clearly not the focus of the movie, but they have done their best to bring some spectacle to the racetrack shots, and they certainly appear realistic on screen. There’s even the mandatory CG shot where the camera passes right through a moving car – a nice take on the photography of big budget blockbusters.
I enjoyed the performances of all the principal cast: Ferrell, Gary Cole playing Ricky Bobby’s father, and Sacha Baron Cohen as French driver Jean Girard. They play everything for laughs, working with a script that sits just on the right side of stupid. Even ‘real’ actor John C. Reilly gets to show how comically gifted he is playing driving team-mate Cal Naughton. His improvisation scenes with Will Ferrell show he’s got a knack for this kind of work – so much so that he’s set to play opposite Ferrell again in another Adam McKay helmed flick: Step Brothers.
I thought this movie was an entertaining break from reality, which is exactly what you should expect from this filmmaking team. While I don’t think there’ll be too many phases that’ll enter into your vocabulary, there are plenty of funny lines that fit well within the movie itself. Given the current choices you have when it comes to comedy movies, you could do a lot worse than hanging out with Ricky Bobby for a couple of hours.
‘About Me’ Page Updated! October 21, 2006
Posted by gproject in : News , add a comment
Well, it’s taken me a while but I made a promise and I’m gald to say that I’ve finally come through - the ‘About Me’ page has been written. I’ve actually split the page up into ‘About Me’ and ‘About The Blog’, because it made more sense that way.
There’s not much on the ‘About The Blog’ page apart from a description of my categories, and I only added it because I don’t know how clear the sections are. I doubt it will get looked at often, but at least it’s there.
Thanks to all those who’ve been reading regularly so far (I do check my counter stats). I urge you to check out some of the other great FilmJournal blogs - simply visit the FilmJournal homepage for freshly updated ones. I’ve started back at university now (final year - yikes) and things are a little busy. As a result, I doubt I’ll be watching quite as many movies, but I’m still going to try and keep a semi-regular update schedule. So keep checking back, and I’ll make sure there’s always new stuff to read. Finally, here are some direct links to the new pages:
Cheers guys,
Gp.
Red Eye (2005) October 19, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Wes Craven
After a slight misstep earlier in the year with the movie Cursed, horror maestro Wes Craven has a second attempt at directing something post-Scream. And comes out with a better, though still not perfect, action/thriller.
Set mostly on an overnight flight to Miami, Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a young hotel manager making her way home for work the next day. She meets a nice guy in Jack (played by Cillian Murphy) who not only helps her out in the airport, but by coincidence is also sitting in the seat next to her. Everything is fine until the plane takes off, and then things turn nasty. Jack, you see, is actually a contract killer, and he needs Lisa to do him a favour – change the room of an important government official staying in her hotel, so that he and his family can be assassinated. Jack threatens her with the knowledge that if she won’t call the hotel, he’ll have her father killed. Now, thousands of feet in the air with nowhere to run, she must decide who lives, and who dies.
Quite an interesting premise, and although in reading it may not seem enough to sustain a whole movie, it does. Well, two-thirds of a movie at least. It’s important to understand that despite this being a Wes Craven film that does contain certain horror elements, it is in no way a horror movie. One look at the UK 12A rating would tell you that. This is much more of a thriller, which Wes handles very well for the first hour. Unfortunately, things start to fall apart once the claustrophobic in-flight section of the story ends, and everything turns a bit ‘Scream’.
As for the cast, he proved he has the right menacing factor in Batman Begins, but Cillian Murphy is great here too as the nice-guy turned not so nice, playing both halves of his role to good effect. Rachel McAdams is also fine, though not outstanding, as the poor innocent girl caught in the middle of it all. The script keeps things ticking along, and finds numerous elaborate ways of delaying Lisa’s impending phone call. It’s still nice and short however, wrapping things up in a brisk 85 minutes.
I think that the poster for this movie is maybe more effective than the movie itself (see the picture above). The darkness, the restrained hand, and the implied terror in the image, all add to the way this movie was perceived before it’s release. Anyone going in expecting the darkened tone of that poster will probably be disappointed, because even though Cillian Murphy brings menace to the role of Jack, the rating of the movie prohibits anything beyond that. An entirely forgettable ending wraps up a film that should hopefully convince Wes Craven to stick to the genre he’s good at.