since 1999
A great ‘B’ movie to C? Sorry; had to throw in that groaner of a pun.
“Planet Terror” is great. The art direction that adds the classic ‘B movie’ elements is fantastic and works well to setup the style of movie. Makes me want to find some “retro/dirty film” photoshop effects. The “Missing reel” gag is hilarious.
The one question I was left with — When does “Machete” come out?!
[rating:90/100]
Apocalypto was a much better movie than I thought It would be. It is a violent and brutal film, leaving very little to the imagination but it has a driving story line that saves it from becoming only a Mayan blood-fest. It does become a over-the-top and predictable once the “Chase” starts but everything up to that point had my full attention.
“Which is not to say that “Apocalypto” is a great film, or even that it can be taken quite as seriously as it wants to be. Mr. Gibson’s technical command has never been surer; for most of its 2-hour 18-minute running time, “Apocalypto,” written by Mr. Gibson and Farhad Safinia, is a model of narrative economy, moving nimbly forward and telling its tale with clarity and force. It is, above all, a muscular and kinetic action movie, a drama of rescue and revenge with very little organic relation to its historical setting” — NYT’s
[rating:80/100]
Watched “28 Weeks Later” last night on DVD. I liked the first movie a lot and had high hopes for this one. There might be some spoilers here so you should stop reading if you haven’t seen the film.
This “Horror-Survival” film is the second part of a purposed trilogy centering around a “zombie” virus that breaks out in England.
Some good: Robert Carlyle is one of my Scottish favorite actors. He plays the psychopath role almost too well. Since his role as “Begbie” in “Trainspotting“, he has cemented himself in my mind as someone close to the edge. He knows how to get “fierce”.
The look of the movie has partially kept pace with the style of the 1st one – the scare factor was there; especially the use of the dark/shaking camera in tight spaces. Just think “panic in a dark low-ceilinged room” and you’ll get the idea.
Some bad: The American angle of the film bugged me a bit, I preferred when it seemed completely European. Also — I was also really hoping to see more of how they shot the film in a seemingly “empty” London in the DVD extras. They also mention a bit about “day for night” shooting techniques but not as much as I wanted.
Extras: Rumor has it that “28 Months Later” has already started taking shape in director Danny Boyle’s head who’ll return as director. It’s supposed to start where the 2nd left off in mainland Europe and from what i’ve read it sounds like he might want to go bigger — what if “the action” took place in a less contained area? Sounds good already.
[rating:80/100]