movie reviews

atthequillsmercy

Finally Watched It: REC 2

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I never really have much faith in horror movie sequels but… Wow. REC 2 is just amazing. I watched REC a while ago and when they heard they made more, I jumped at the chance to see it.

This film picks up pretty much where the first left off, with a backup team going in on the same mysterious emergency call. They go in with who they think is a doctor to find a cure for whatever contagion is in the building and face the horrors within the doomed building.

Holy shit, this movie is creepy. It’s well written, well paced, and the ending was satisfying. These movies really do follow the ‘less is more’ track and it makes for a really tense movie. It was almost as good as the first but it certainly didn’t take a giant step back like some other sequels. People make derpy decisions, sometimes the camera work can make you a little dizzy, and the twist as to what the infection is had me rolling my eyes a little but I can’t say it ruined the movie for me. But obviously, don’t watch this one before you watch REC.

There is a third and fourth movie and I really wonder if they can keep up the quality. I’ll be reviewing those in the coming weeks.

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atthequillsmercy

(Late) Freaky Friday Post – Review of “Hobo With A Shotgun”

In last night’s foray into strange shit I inflict upon myself for no other reason than general amusement, I sat down and watched the above movie.

In short, this is classic movie cheese. It is everything you’d expect from a movie called “Hobo With A Shotgun.” Our hobo steps off a train in search of a new life in this town only to find it overrun by the most depraved bunch of villains since Crossed*(only with less gratuitous rape and poop and more fake blood) and after watching the chaos for a bit, decided he’s had enough and blows the fuck out of the bad guys.

What, you want more than that? Well, the acting is not so bad. What you get with Abby, our plucky prostitute, is one HELL of a screamer. Those are some horror movie lungs, right there. In fact, Abby and the Hobo both act pretty well. I believed they wanted a better life than the psycho stuff around them. The villains, however, were so over the top crazy, I felt like the townspeople should have hit in them in the head with a bag full of rocks waaayyy before the hobo got there. But then, I remembered this was not supposed to be serious. 😉

A few (hundred) gallons of red colored corn syrup later, I came a way with a few good laughs, some great one-liners (“Put the knife away, kid… or I’ll use it to cut welfare checks from your rotten skin!”), and no desire to watch this more than once. The gore was over the top, inducing some cringe worthy moments that, while obliviously fake, still made me grimace at the sight of them.

This is not a bad rental but I wouldn’t want to own it. I don’t see much re-watch value here, unless you want to point out the gaffs and such. But if you want some pure 80’s cheese to go with your crackers, I say go for it.

Totally not for the squeamish, by the way. Or easily offended.

*I hesitate to review this comic because I am still trying to get the images out of my brain. If enough people ask, I will but… Blech. >_<

atthequillsmercy

Suspiria: A Review

I watched this a while ago but I’m using the time spent sick in bed to get things done.

I spent a good deal of Suspiria with a WTF look on my face but certainly not in a bad way. XD I certainly liked this movie. It was absolutely beautiful. the cinematography, the music, the way the kill scenes were put together. All of it pure horror movie camp. Which I love! 🙂 Now, on to what bothered me…

Er, these are kinda spoilerish…

The evil villains are witches, right? And the general consensus in the movie is that witches are evil because they are witches. I can accept that (although that’s not very original), seeing as how they were murdering the students in the school. But the WHY was never mentioned. They are witches so they are evil so they are killing people because they don’t wanna be found out to be witches. That’s it. Other than that, they teach ballet. In fact, the only time the witches do anything bad is when the kids start snooping around! Now, being chased into a pit full of barbed wire is a harsh punishment for trespassing but these witches have no plans to take over the world, steal souls for Lucifer, make the dancers all horny to steal their sexual energy, nothing. They meet and cackle evilly and… That’s about it. o_O

It’s a cool movie and I’d totally watch it again but I demand a little more from my villains. It all smacks of a more innocent time where the Satanic Panic was all you needed for a decent villain. But for a night of popcorn and beer (or soda for your youngunz) with a movie to amuse you, I say go for it. 🙂

atthequillsmercy

Kick Ass

I’m not all hot shit author person who gets tickets to movies in advance and sees them before the average Joe/Jane makes the mistake of seeing it (or makes the mistake of NOT seeing it). So don’t expect a lot of movie reviews as usually my first judgment of a movie is whether or not I’ll even bother to pay to see it. Many movies fail this initial test and I get the DVD for free from the library.

That said: Get up right now and go see Kick Ass. If you like comics, you need to see this movie. If Spiderman 3 and X-Men 3 make you ashamed to be a fan of either series, go see this movie. If you want your movies to grab your brain by the balls and never let go, GO.

I have never loved a movie so much that I knew my mother would be ashamed to know even existed since Tank Girl. Kick Ass does not take itself seriously at all in some parts and gruesomely serious in others. It is pretty darn faithful to the comic; which has blood spattered all over the damn thing but like Watchmen, the movie Kick Ass deviates from the ending in the graphic novel. Comic purists can go cry in a corner now.

The character development is actually really well done but by the end of it, I really didn’t care if David got laid. In fact, I wanted the girl to stfu so I could watch Hit Girl and Big Daddy some more. That is one special team up right there. I admittedly left the theater wanting to grow up to be like an eleven year old girl!! I fully expect my kid to grow up to be like Hit Girl.

Now, on the subject of the "controversy" about Hit Girl. (clears throat) Hit Girl is manipulated by her father to be what she is, a killing machine, and she’s frickin awesome at it. She walks in to a room full of bad guys and you might as well have put them in a blender. When I looked at her, I saw all the confidence I wish I had at 11-12 years old. I never, NEVER saw a sexualized child. Ever. And whoever did has more problems than I can really address here since I’m not a criminal profiler for S.V.U.

I have to agree with this article, with the added opinion that I would much rather my daughter be able to hold her own against bullies than to end up sent to boot camp by Maury for wanting to be pregnant at 15. Hit Girl is a confident, capable warrior who is to be respected in the context of the world she’s in.

Overall, I walked out of the theater wanting to turn around and go right back in and swearing I’ll buy the DVD. I’ll keep it on the shelf right next to Tank Girl… Yet another chick I wanna be when I grow up. 😉