MZ's Movie Review Thread

[bassman]

Great read as always, MZ! You're exactly right about what Hollywood should learn from Deadpool, Kingsmen, etc. Unfortunately, they're most likely going to take those films' success as a sign that they just need to intentionally turn as many comic films into an adult rating rather than, as you say, respect the source material. If the material calls for an adult film, now they know they can do it and make money. They don't need to force it on something that doesn't call for it.

[MinionZombie]

Great read as always, MZ! You're exactly right about what Hollywood should learn from Deadpool, Kingsmen, etc. Unfortunately, they're most likely going to take those films' success as a sign that they just need to intentionally turn as many comic films into an adult rating rather than, as you say, respect the source material. If the material calls for an adult film, now they know they can do it and make money. They don't need to force it on something that doesn't call for it. Thank you, good Sir! Indeed - and heck, looking at the likes of Deadpool and Dredd, they also go to show that a comic book movie doesn't need to be two-and-a-half hours long. Dredd is just over 90 minutes IIRC - lean and mean and true to the spirit of the material. A lean running time can go a long way to keeping the budget in check, and being inventive with an action sequence (e.g. Deadpool's motorway sequence) rather than just spunking a shitload of CGI up the wall every 10 minutes. That's not to say I don't enjoy the Marvel movies - I absolutely do - but I also love variety and respect for the material, so hopefully with a run of high quality R-Rated comic book adaptations we can move forward with adaptations in general. It was also interesting to note that filmmakers like David Fincher helped get Deadpool made by asking about the projects and pushing for them personally whenever they had meetings of their own with 20th Century Fox.

[MinionZombie]

The Revenant: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...m-vs-book.html A spoiler-filled mini review/film vs book assessment...

[Neil]

The Revenant: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...m-vs-book.html A spoiler-filled mini review/film vs book assessment... I enjoyed The Revenent, but it felt pretentious and as if it was trying very hard to be "a great movie"... with "great acting"... and "great cinematography"...

[MinionZombie]

I enjoyed The Revenent, but it felt pretentious and as if it was trying very hard to be "a great movie"... with "great acting"... and "great cinematography"... Trying to bait the Oscars, do you mean? Yeah, at times it does feel a smidge that way. It'd be nice to have a different DoP win the Oscar next year as it's now been three years in a row for Lubezki. Roger Deakins, for example.

[MinionZombie]

Hail, Caesar! http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ni-review.html

[MinionZombie]

Space Station 76: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ni-review.html Domestic drama and workplace comedy meet ... in outer space circa 1976!

[MinionZombie]

"Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity" (Ken Dixon, 1987) DVD Review: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...inity-ken.html In space no-one can hear you scream … but there's plenty of hairspray and lingerie for everyone! Featuring Elizabeth Kaitan (Friday the 13th Part VII).

[JDP]

Yeah, I know. You can't keep up with everything. Better late than never. - - - Updated - - - The Green Inferno: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ck-review.html Biting satire meets flesh-munching violence! Having been a bit disappointed with "Knock Knock" (it was alright, and I enjoyed parts of it, but the following day all I could think about it concerned plot holes and scenes needing more work), I was a little worried that Eli Roth's 21st century throwback to the cannibal sub-genre would feel similarly patchy - fortunately that wasn't the case! The ending was a bit weird. One can see why at first she would pretend to like and protect the cannibal tribe (to give them enough time to slaughter and eat Alejandro for all the rotten things he did to the other members of the group), but later on we see that she is still lying about those natives supposedly being nice friendly people. She should have no sympathy or pity whatsoever for them after they cruelly tortured, killed & ate the other people in the group and nearly did the same thing to her. Once the tribe has had enough time to have gotten rid of Alejandro for her, she should denounce them as the sadistic, cruel cannibals that they are. No need to keep up the charade. And if someone asks "why the change of heart?", just give them some excuse, like: "I was in shock, I did not know what I was saying. They are rotten mean bastards who will torture and eat you, beware of that tribe!" I find it highly irresponsible of her not to warn the world about these cannibal loonies. She could be endangering other people's lives who happen to be passing through that area quite mistakenly thinking that there is no danger.

[MinionZombie]

The ending was a bit weird. One can see why at first she would pretend to like and protect the cannibal tribe (to give them enough time to slaughter and eat Alejandro for all the rotten things he did to the other members of the group), but later on we see that she is still lying about those natives supposedly being nice friendly people. She should have no sympathy or pity whatsoever for them after they cruelly tortured, killed & ate the other people in the group and nearly did the same thing to her. Once the tribe has had enough time to have gotten rid of Alejandro for her, she should denounce them as the sadistic, cruel cannibals that they are. No need to keep up the charade. And if someone asks "why the change of heart?", just give them some excuse, like: "I was in shock, I did not know what I was saying. They are rotten mean bastards who will torture and eat you, beware of that tribe!" I find it highly irresponsible of her not to warn the world about these cannibal loonies. She could be endangering other people's lives who happen to be passing through that area quite mistakenly thinking that there is no danger. Maybe that's part of the point, though. They only attacked their group because of the outfits they were wearing (the worker clothes they donned to sneak into the logging camp in order to protest), and the mercs protecting the loggers were flat-out on the cusp of executing her near the end until she pulled the charade with the phone. The cannibal tribe were minding their own business generally, so it seems. Where their victims came from, who knows, other tribes? Loggers and mercs? Each other? I doubt they were exclusively cannibals and would eat whatever, but given the opportunity they'd devour a fellow human - perhaps, more accurately, given a reason. The protesters appeared to them to be an invading force (the loggers) and none of them spoke each other's language, so they weren't able to explain the situation. I know what you mean, but she's also probably wanting to say nothing about them in order to protect them as they were getting along just fine without interference ... cannibalism aside ... and the loggers and mercs are the real bad guys in the story (plus the bastard leader and his right hand woman of the protesters). The part of the ending I didn't like was the silly satellite zoom in thing to show Alejandro as the new head hunter of the group - that didn't make any real sense to me, and it was a pretty naff tag during the credits that they never should have bothered with (apparently it was a last minute thought that they added in ... should have thought again, in my view). I see that The Green Inferno has ended up in Mark Kermode's 'Top 10 Worst Movies of the Year So Far' list, but hearing him talk about the film I think he's decidedly misread the film - he seems to think that the loggers are cast as good guys! Since when?!

[JDP]

Maybe that's part of the point, though. They only attacked their group because of the outfits they were wearing (the worker clothes they donned to sneak into the logging camp in order to protest), and the mercs protecting the loggers were flat-out on the cusp of executing her near the end until she pulled the charade with the phone. The cannibal tribe were minding their own business generally, so it seems. Where their victims came from, who knows, other tribes? Loggers and mercs? Each other? I doubt they were exclusively cannibals and would eat whatever, but given the opportunity they'd devour a fellow human - perhaps, more accurately, given a reason. The protesters appeared to them to be an invading force (the loggers) and none of them spoke each other's language, so they weren't able to explain the situation. I know what you mean, but she's also probably wanting to say nothing about them in order to protect them as they were getting along just fine without interference ... cannibalism aside ... and the loggers and mercs are the real bad guys in the story (plus the bastard leader and his right hand woman of the protesters). The part of the ending I didn't like was the silly satellite zoom in thing to show Alejandro as the new head hunter of the group - that didn't make any real sense to me, and it was a pretty naff tag during the credits that they never should have bothered with (apparently it was a last minute thought that they added in ... should have thought again, in my view). I see that The Green Inferno has ended up in Mark Kermode's 'Top 10 Worst Movies of the Year So Far' list, but hearing him talk about the film I think he's decidedly misread the film - he seems to think that the loggers are cast as good guys! Since when?! Unfortunately, the idea that the loggers and mercenaries are the bad guys pretty much falls flat after we see the tribe and what they do. This is pretty much like Romero wanting the audience to have sympathy for the zombies in his movies, but totally failing (who in his right mind can possibly sympathize with creepy, shambling, moaning, growling, rotting flesh-eating corpses??? No matter how bad the human characters are, ultimately the zombies are always still worse.) If the tribe had really been peaceful, friendly people then the whole idea would have a point, but since the supposedly "good guys" are also a bunch of cruel bastards any possible sympathy for them goes down the drain. As far as I am concerned, the loggers/mercenaries and the cannibals can exterminate each other and the whole world would not miss a thing. These cannibals seem to attack anyone who crosses their path. When the group gets captured and taken to the village we see that what they do to them later on is a "tradition" with this tribe, as there are cannibalized human remains scattered all over the place. Make no mistake about it, this tribe enjoys butchering and eating people. The part about Alejandro apparently surviving and even making into the ranks of the cannibal tribe is an obvious way by the filmmaker to leave an option for a sequel (if the opportunity presents itself.) The reason why you could argue that Alejandro might have survived is because he seems savvy about the indigenous peoples of the area and their ways, so perhaps he was able to manipulate things to his advantage (the cannibals just got a severe blow by the loggers/mercenaries, they even killed that "head-hunter" guy in that last skirmish, so I would think that Alejandro might have taken advantage of the situation to negotiate a deal with the cannibals.)

[shootemindehead]

Maybe that's part of the point, though. They only attacked their group because of the outfits they were wearing (the worker clothes they donned to sneak into the logging camp in order to protest), and the mercs protecting the loggers were flat-out on the cusp of executing her near the end until she pulled the charade with the phone. The cannibal tribe were minding their own business generally, so it seems. Where their victims came from, who knows, other tribes? Loggers and mercs? Each other? I doubt they were exclusively cannibals and would eat whatever, but given the opportunity they'd devour a fellow human - perhaps, more accurately, given a reason. The protesters appeared to them to be an invading force (the loggers) and none of them spoke each other's language, so they weren't able to explain the situation. I know what you mean, but she's also probably wanting to say nothing about them in order to protect them as they were getting along just fine without interference ... cannibalism aside ... and the loggers and mercs are the real bad guys in the story (plus the bastard leader and his right hand woman of the protesters). I think you put more thought into that than Snyder did. What I got from that ending is that he was merely trying to ape the "surprise" ending on 'Cannibal Ferox', where the lead actress says there's no such thing as cannibals, despite the fact that she knows about the cannibals.

[MinionZombie]

I think you put more thought into that than Snyder did. What I got from that ending is that he was merely trying to ape the "surprise" ending on 'Cannibal Ferox', where the lead actress says there's no such thing as cannibals, despite the fact that she knows about the cannibals. You mean Roth? Clearly the fact that they're still wearing the logger uniforms when they crash land - and encounter the cannibals - is intentional, and Roth speaking about the film has plainly revealed what he thinks of deforestation. The tacked-on mid-credits reveal of Alejandro still being alive? Yeah, that was a half-assed, last minute, poorly considered bit of pointlessness - Roth said on the commentary that it was a really last minute thing and by the sounds of it they hardly put any thought into it. It's really out of place with the rest of the movie, I feel. Back to keeping schtum on the cannibals etc... Reading into it a little further, it's not like the tribe was spreading itself around and encroaching on the rest of human civilisation - they were sticking to their turf, and the loggers were endangering that turf. Linking in with the protesting and conservation angles of the film's plot, the main character (and the few you can get behind in the group - all the ones who balk at Alejandro's willingness to let the leading lady die in order to get good footage for their 'cause' and vocally reject their leader) is the one who actually cares about doing something, who actually cares about conservation. She may have got into it for semi-spurious reasons, and out of a lot of naivety, but she's willing to conserve even the nasty parts. Everybody wants to conserve cuddly-looking animals, but nobody gives a shit about ugly looking bugs and insects and nasty, horrible creatures. Plus, she might also be wishing to spare the loved ones of the deceased the knowledge that not all of them died in the plane crash. A bunch died in awful conditions, eaten alive, butchered, humiliated, etc etc etc. So she's even protecting the loved ones - they'd rather have a believable lie than a horrific truth - and, of course, if she did tell the truth then you'd definitely end up with a team of merceneries being sent in to wipe out that tribe. More death and destruction would occur - and in-so-doing, it'd benefit the loggers, the very people she was trying to stop. So there's many reasons why she keeps quiet on the cannibals even existing. BTW - loving a bit of back-and-forth on this flick. Despite some flaws, I think it's got an awful lot to say, but much like the Hostel films, it has been misinterpreted too easily (e.g. by the likes of Kermode, whose opinion I otherwise put high stock in).

[shootemindehead]

NO...I MEAN SNYDER!!!!!!!!!!!!* *actually, no I meant Roth.

[JDP]

Clearly the fact that they're still wearing the logger uniforms when they crash land - and encounter the cannibals - is intentional, and Roth speaking about the film has plainly revealed what he thinks of deforestation. The tacked-on mid-credits reveal of Alejandro still being alive? Yeah, that was a half-assed, last minute, poorly considered bit of pointlessness - Roth said on the commentary that it was a really last minute thing and by the sounds of it they hardly put any thought into it. It's really out of place with the rest of the movie, I feel. Back to keeping schtum on the cannibals etc... Reading into it a little further, it's not like the tribe was spreading itself around and encroaching on the rest of human civilisation - they were sticking to their turf, and the loggers were endangering that turf. Linking in with the protesting and conservation angles of the film's plot, the main character (and the few you can get behind in the group - all the ones who balk at Alejandro's willingness to let the leading lady die in order to get good footage for their 'cause' and vocally reject their leader) is the one who actually cares about doing something, who actually cares about conservation. She may have got into it for semi-spurious reasons, and out of a lot of naivety, but she's willing to conserve even the nasty parts. Everybody wants to conserve cuddly-looking animals, but nobody gives a shit about ugly looking bugs and insects and nasty, horrible creatures. Plus, she might also be wishing to spare the loved ones of the deceased the knowledge that not all of them died in the plane crash. A bunch died in awful conditions, eaten alive, butchered, humiliated, etc etc etc. So she's even protecting the loved ones - they'd rather have a believable lie than a horrific truth - and, of course, if she did tell the truth then you'd definitely end up with a team of merceneries being sent in to wipe out that tribe. More death and destruction would occur - and in-so-doing, it'd benefit the loggers, the very people she was trying to stop. So there's many reasons why she keeps quiet on the cannibals even existing. BTW - loving a bit of back-and-forth on this flick. Despite some flaws, I think it's got an awful lot to say, but much like the Hostel films, it has been misinterpreted too easily (e.g. by the likes of Kermode, whose opinion I otherwise put high stock in). This tribe has been butchering and eating people for a long time, quite before the loggers showed up in their turf. Just look at how well organized and ritualized they have the whole human sacrifice & cooking thingy. They got sacrificial places, ovens, places where to hang "the meat", etc. These are not "nice guys" by any means. The bit about Alejandro being alive and apparently now working for the cannibals to me looks like a blatant open-door for a possible sequel. Filmmakers do such inserting of loose ends when they think that a movie might have potential for a sequel. Notice that even without that last bit about the satellite picture of Alejandro apparently being a part of the tribe we were already still left wondering what happened to him, since we are never shown his fate. It all looks like leaving loose ends for a sequel. Whatever reasons or excuses one can conjure up for Justine's farcical characterization of the natives as nice and peaceful is totally overcome by the huge irresponsibility of making the world ignorant of these dangerous people. Anyone who, much like her and her companions, happens to waltz through their territories will become potential prey for this violent tribe. The best she could do is expose them to the whole world. If it means that they have to be "tamed", or worse, so be it. Better than leave such a dangerous people free to brutalize others they might come across.