MZ's Movie Review Thread

[shootemindehead]

Aye, he wasn't bad in 'I am Legend'. He was more restraint and less mouthy. But, that film is bloody terrible in general. Such a waste of time. How the hell anyone can get the source novel and screw it up is beyond me. I'm still waiting for someone to do Matheson's book justice.

[MinionZombie]

Aye, he wasn't bad in 'I am Legend'. He was more restraint and less mouthy. But, that film is bloody terrible in general. Such a waste of time. How the hell anyone can get the source novel and screw it up is beyond me. I'm still waiting for someone to do Matheson's book justice. Agreed on all counts. The movie is iffy to begin with, but as soon as those CGI abominations crop up the entire movie nosedives off a bloody cliff into a pile of shit. He needs to do more movies like "Ali" where he isn't the biggest thing about the movie. The book is fantastic - one part in particular (where he's driving home and has to fight to get back into his garage) - was absolutely terrifying as I read it. I kept reading faster and faster as the chapter progressed, and I was genuinely getting sweaty palms just from reading it. The Last Man On Earth (with Vincent Price) was decent, and The Omega Man was cool (but is rather dated and a bit hokey these days), and I Am Legend was just pish ... like you, I too am still waiting for a proper film adaptation of the book.

[bassman]

I wasn't necessarily referring to the adaptation of the book, just that his performance had a few great moments. For example, when he had to strangle his dog, when he begged the mannequin to say something, and when he found "Fred"(iirc) standing in the street.

[Neil]

That's because he's a rubbish actor. He can only play Will Smith. He certainly doesn't have the chops that Foxx has, that's for sure. Fresh Prince my arse. You've got a very binary opinion at times... While I agree Foxx was better for this role, Smith has got some reasonable acting skills IMHO.

[shootemindehead]

You've got a very binary opinion at times... 01101110 01101111 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00001101 00001010 I wasn't necessarily referring to the adaptation of the book, just that his performance had a few great moments. For example, when he had to strangle his dog, when he begged the mannequin to say something, and when he found "Fred"(iirc) standing in the street. Oh I didn't think you were. I was just spouting some ire over the film in general. It's certainly not Smith's fault that it was crap. He does what he can with his limited ability and yes when he kills Samantha, it's a sad moment, but it probably would have been anyway with someone else. But he's woefully interchangeable in many roles he's been in. I'm totally with Min on that one. That said I haven't seen the Ali biopic yet and I'm not rushing out to do so, to be honest. There's too many things before it in the queue. Agreed on all counts. The movie is iffy to begin with, but as soon as those CGI abominations crop up the entire movie nosedives off a bloody cliff into a pile of shit. He needs to do more movies like "Ali" where he isn't the biggest thing about the movie. The book is fantastic - one part in particular (where he's driving home and has to fight to get back into his garage) - was absolutely terrifying as I read it. I kept reading faster and faster as the chapter progressed, and I was genuinely getting sweaty palms just from reading it. The Last Man On Earth (with Vincent Price) was decent, and The Omega Man was cool (but is rather dated and a bit hokey these days), and I Am Legend was just pish ... like you, I too am still waiting for a proper film adaptation of the book. Yeh, there's loads of great moments in the book..."Come out Neville!" It's easily Matheson's best story. I just wish that somebody would have the balls and make it into a film. There are some good moments in 'The Last Man on Earth' alright, dated as it is. That part where he's burning bodies in an ever smoldering pit is kind of creepy. The full film is available on YouTube to watch, albeit in a colourised version. If anyone hasn't seen it before, it's worth a go and it's got Vinnie in it, so that's ok.

[MinionZombie]

Maniac (Franck Khalfoun, 2013): http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...13-review.html The remake of William Lustig's controversial and nasty 1980 slasher flick, in which Elijah Wood plays serial killer Frank who has a thing for scalps - is it any good? Read on to find out and see some screenshots. Anyone else had a chance to check it out yet, and what did you make of the flick?

[MinionZombie]

Killer Klowns From Outer Space, ParaNorman, and Buried: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...s-zombies.html 1) Bonkers 80s cheese from the Chiodo Brothers - what's not to like about that? 2) Family-friendly zombie horror comedy from the makers of Coraline. 3) Ryan Reynolds buried in a coffin giving claustrophobes the willies.

[slickwilly13]

Maniac (Franck Khalfoun, 2013): http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...13-review.html The remake of William Lustig's controversial and nasty 1980 slasher flick, in which Elijah Wood plays serial killer Frank who has a thing for scalps - is it any good? Read on to find out and see some screenshots. Anyone else had a chance to check it out yet, and what did you make of the flick? I guess we are the only two, who have viewed it. I will continue the discussion about the movie in the other thread later on.

[MinionZombie]

This Is 40, A Field In England, Valley Girl, Bare Behind Bars, and 12 Angry Men: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...0s-fields.html 1) Judd Apatow being simultaneously hilarious and overly indulgent ... plus rather out-of-touch in a financial sense. 2) British weirdness from the bloke who did Kill List - essentially English Civil War soldiers getting smashed on mushrooms and wandering around a field for 90 minutes. 3) Nicolas Cage with his chest hair shaved into a triangle saying "f*ck off, for sure!". 4) Essentially a plotless excuse to show a shitload of (in this 18-rated version) softcore porn. 5) An absolute cinematic landmark ... jaw-droppingly superb. I also checked out "Kiss Me Deadly" (a film noir from the 1950s), which was pretty good but then veered off into "WTF?!" territory at the end with that crazy box.

[MinionZombie]

Nothing to do in this sweltering heat but stay in the coolest room and watch movies... V/H/S, The Campaign, Cars 2, and Hotel Transylvania: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...apes.html#more 1) Anthology horror populated mostly by utter arseholes. 2) Only the bit where a baby gets punched in the face is memorable or funny. 3) Pixar being slightly less lazy with $200m than they were with Cars 1. 4) Adam Sandler continues to provide work for David Spade.

[MinionZombie]

The Bloodstained Shadow (Antonio Bido, 1978) DVD Review: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...onio-bido.html A superb and deeply atmospheric giallo - plenty of screenshots in the review, too.

[MinionZombie]

Cosmopolis, The Watch, From Beyond, Zulu, Savages, and Hatchet For The Honeymoon: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...os-aliens.html 1) What a load of bollocks. R-Patz talking gibberish in the back of a limo, mostly. 2) A neighbourhood watch versus an alien invasion. 3) What Stuart Gordon did after Re-Animator ... gloopy 80s horror with Ken Foree in his pants wrestling a giant snake monster. 4) A classic. Nuff said. 5) Oliver Stone flick about drug lords fighting with each other ... featuring some utterly dreadful dialogue along the way. 6) Mario Bava giallo (of sorts) ... I'd have made a different movie with the basic concept ... a very stylish giallo, even if there's naff-all mystery to it ... also, not one single hatchet in the whole movie. - - - Updated - - - Eyeball (Umberto Lenzi, 1975) Review: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/eyeball-umberto-lenzi-1975-review.html A giallo flick about a red-gloved killer, with a thing for left eyes, hacking their way through an American bus tour.

[MinionZombie]

The World's End, Van Wilder 2 The Rise of Taj, Frankenweenie, and Killing Them Softly: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...i-musings.html 1) The closing chapter in the Cornetto trilogy rediscovers Shaun of the Dead's sense of poignancy, in addition to the expecting tidal wave of laughs. 2) The most unoriginal movie I've seen in years ... the only plus is that it's got Lauren Cohan in it (Maggie Greene on TWD), as well as Holly Davidson. 3) Tim Burton's best filmic outing in years. It's amazing what can be accomplished when you don't cast your man-crush and your wife in every single film you make, isn't it? 4) Mobsters meet the 2008 financial crash - I think this one is a little bit ahead of itself, but that it'll grow into itself over time and age well.

[MinionZombie]

Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key (Sergio Martino, 1972): http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...ly-i.html#more Sergio Martino directing, Ernesto Gastaldi on scripting duties, with Anita Strindberg, Edwige Fenech, Luigi Pistilli, and Ivan Rassimov in the cast? It was always going to be a good giallo - Ned, you'll want to get your peepers all over this one - it came in-between Martino's other superior giallo flicks The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh, and Torso.

[MinionZombie]

The ABCs of Death: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/...view.html#more Where "F" is for "Fart" (featuring Japanese school girls farting ... yes, you read that correctly), where "W" features a bikini-clad buxom blonde fighting a walrus that shoots lasers out of its eyes, and where "T" is just flat-out awesome. Screenshots and a brief letter-by-letter cutting-to-the-chase review of the entire film via the link.