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Post by Rorschach on May 17, 2010 1:28:49 GMT -5
For some reason, I remember TR just blasting one of these films (this or House of 1000 Corpses) in an earlier thread, and he and I having a great time just listing off things that we hated about both films. I will say however, that for his second film, I really thought that Zombie was showing some progress. There are some great scenes in REJECTS, and some great, gory moments that show his promise as a director....little did I (or many others) know that this is IT. It's literally ALL the guy has in his repertoire....foul mouthed hillbilly redneck stereotypes with all the depth of a petrie dish and none of the fascinating contents. Yeah, like I said, bashing Rob Zombie movies is pretty well-worn territory in these threads. And considering I found his so-called best film to be so lackluster (with, again, hints of a decent director in there somewhere) I don't think I'm gonna be perusing the rest of the man's filmography anytime soon. I kinda wish he'd stick to music, so I'd have more reasons to like him (I dig the guy's music). Me too...I have damn near all of his albums, and I really think he's great at making heavy music. He's one of the rare artists that I'll buy something from sight unseen. I trust him that much musically. As far as directing goes....I think he either needs to hang it up, or direct a script written by someone else, and NOT starring his wife. ;D |
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Post by Big DSR Energy on May 17, 2010 1:33:34 GMT -5
Yeah, like I said, bashing Rob Zombie movies is pretty well-worn territory in these threads. And considering I found his so-called best film to be so lackluster (with, again, hints of a decent director in there somewhere) I don't think I'm gonna be perusing the rest of the man's filmography anytime soon. I kinda wish he'd stick to music, so I'd have more reasons to like him (I dig the guy's music). Me too...I have damn near all of his albums, and I really think he's great at making heavy music. He's one of the rare artists that I'll buy something from sight unseen. I trust him that much musically. As far as directing goes....I think he either needs to hang it up, or direct a script written by someone else, and NOT starring his wife. ;D Or direct his wife in a porno where she's not allowed to talk. As I said before, she's cute, but she's also annoying. ;D |
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Chainsaw
T
A very BAD man.
It is what it is
Posts: 90,480
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Post by Chainsaw on May 17, 2010 1:37:24 GMT -5
Well...then...give it a year.  As another example...The Return of the Killer Tomatoes now plasters George Clooney's name front and center (although, who can blame them?). Maybe a hit TV series isn't enough to throw Donovan's name front and center...but it's probably listed by his name on the back cover hype. ... Sigh, I should look at these things before typing. Especially in the morning. Return of the Killer Tomatoes is so hilarious. I've told my friends that it would be hilarious if the go back and film some new footage with George Clooney telling everyone in the movie how he'll be the biggest star of them all and take over head billing in the movie one day. The whole movie breaks the fourth wall and I'd think that would be a hilarious addition to a fake "director's Cut". I need to get the DVD of that someday. I love how, halfway through the movie, it comes to a screeching halt because the movie ran out of money. Anthony and George think about it for a bit, then the next thing you know...product placement!!  Predates Wayne's World's dig at product placement by a few years, too. |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on May 17, 2010 9:31:47 GMT -5
Oh, Rob Zombie. I know I've already had more than my say on the guy, but here goes again. Firstly, Rorschach, I think it may have been the 2007 Halloween that we were discussing. Somewhere on my hard drive, there is actually an official complaint list for that movie that I KNOW I've posted in one of these threads. Honestly, it's been a few years since I've seen The Devil's Rejects, and while it is his best movie, it's like comparing a sore throat to the flu. Truth be told, I don't remember a whole lot of the specifics of it. Some people have said that his Halloween 2 was a calculated effort at getting back at fans for hating Halloween 2007 - if that's the case, good. Bring it on, Rob - instead of refining your trade and learning how to write, you know, BETTER movies, just keep doing the same thing and tell the people who made your movies a success in the first place that they're wrong for pointing out your faults. I'll go even further - we, as horror fans, NEED to continue to give this guy a virtual tongue-lashing every time he comes out with another hickified TCM ripoff, whether it be called House of 1000 Corpses or Halloween. In my book, horror movies have enough of a negative stigma already attached to them by the automatons who believe that horror is by nature a dumb genre, and that, by extension, we as horror fans must be morons ourselves, going out to theaters to watch these films for no other reason than to see a few ginormous breasts and marvel at the sight of fake blood flying off the screen. We DON'T need to give them any more ammuniton, which is what Rob gives them. In the great, grand world of horror, a director who is willing to spend his entire career in the genre is pretty much anointed an icon by association, and this is a guy we DON'T need representing us. Watching a Rob Zombie movie is like the black hole of the entertainment world. There is virtually nothing in them for any of us, as audience members, to attach ourselves to, either in the story or the characters, for all the reasons already mentioned (foul-mouthed hillbilly stereotypes is very fitting, R-Man  ). Of course, I've read a few people who defend Zombie FOR this reason, who say that making every character a grating asshat goes against what we expect from what movies typically are. And this is going to make me sound very intolerant, but for the life of me, I just can't understand this train of thought. A truly fascinating story can be enjoyed even if there aren't any true protagonists ( Watchmen comes to mind), but Zombie's flicks are not fascinating stories. Far from them. They're just THERE, and for ninety minutes, we watch people who, quite frankly, deserve to be shut the hell up by any means necessary meet their end. AND. THAT'S. IT. He's done it FOUR TIMES NOW, in exactly the same fashion. There are a lot of internet fanboys who harp on M. Night Shyamalan for being a one trick pony. I'll forever defend M. Night's first three films as great works, and even in his latter films, he still at least tries to make different types of stories with different characterizations. In the one trick pony race of 21st century cinema, ol' Rob doesn't just have Captain Twist beat in that regard, it ain't even a race. [/rant] Actually, I think that's a good topic for discussion - anybody out there who actually likes Zombie's films? And by films, I mean ALL of them. I'd also love to hear an explanation as to why, exactly, you find his movies appealing, because I would honestly be fascinated by it. |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on May 17, 2010 17:14:04 GMT -5
{Spoiler}-Was I supposed to be rooting for these annoying jerkwads for the climax of the movie? I mean, we see them suffer at William Forsyth's hands, escape, and shoot-out with the cops to the sound of F***ING "FREEBIRD"! I'm sorry Rob, these cats are annoying as hell and I felt no sympathy for them. I had actually managed to block that scene out of my memory. Dear lord, that was awful. And...we have no takers on my little proposal. Which is kind of a shame, because I'm really interested in reading a different take on ol' Robby. |
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theryno665
Grimlock
wants a title underneath the stars
Kinda Homeless
Posts: 13,571
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Post by theryno665 on May 17, 2010 18:24:24 GMT -5
-William Forsyth, however, is such a good actor, it makes Rob's writing look more ridiculous. He makes you wonder what the f*** he's doing in this movie! Is it wrong that I still thought William Forsyth's character was more of a hero after the supposed "heel turn"? |
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Post by Rorschach on May 17, 2010 19:25:43 GMT -5
-William Forsyth, however, is such a good actor, it makes Rob's writing look more ridiculous. He makes you wonder what the f*** he's doing in this movie! Is it wrong that I still thought William Forsyth's character was more of a hero after the supposed "heel turn"? No, it just means you're sane, and not one of the many legions of Zombie defenders (trust me, they're out there...a lot of them frequent the DreadCentral boards) that stridently and vociferously deny every accusation against the man. Scott Foy (AKA The Foywonder) did a wonderful sendup of these fans when he suddenly morphed into the "Zom-Wonder" during an episode of DC's podcast Dinner For Fiends. As the rest of the panel raged on about Halloween 2, the "Zom-Wonder" threatened them, telling them they were just sissyfied liberal limp wristed pansies who needed a good skullf*****g to get them back in the proper state of mind to really APPRECIATE the SUBTLETIES of the genius of Rob Zombie. He then proceeded to drop about a thousand f-bombs as he railed against every critical lambasting the movie had recieved. Great stuff. ;D |
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erisi236
Fry's dog Seymour
... enjoys the rich, smooth taste of Camels.
Not good! Not good! Not good!
Posts: 21,904
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Post by erisi236 on May 17, 2010 19:37:20 GMT -5
I'm still waiting for a full version of Werewolf Women of the SS, why can't Rob make that dammit. It would be double effect as a Rob Zombie movie I'd want to see and a Nick Cage movie I'd want to see him in.
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Post by Rorschach on May 17, 2010 20:42:58 GMT -5
I'm still waiting for a full version of Werewolf Women of the SS, why can't Rob make that dammit. It would be double effect as a Rob Zombie movie I'd want to see and a Nick Cage movie I'd want to see him in. I think you're going to be waiting awhile, if it every does happen. You can thank Rob and his (alleged) intentional torpedoing of the Halloween franchise for that. Had he brought in the bucks and got that series kick started, the studio would have all but fallen all over themselves to let him do either that, or his dream movie T-REX (whatever IT is). Anywho....review time again! This time, it's a return to form for one of our beloved icons:  SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009) DIRECTED BY: If you don't know, you're in the WRONG thread, pal! ;D STARRING: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, and Richard Fitzpatrick. Once again, the venerable and beloved grandfather of the zombie genre is back in his milieu, giving us another dose of the Living Dead as only he can. Say what you will about zombie movies, I have loved nearly every single one of Romero's offerings (save the cinema verite' flavored DIARY OF THE DEAD) and unlike others who merely dabble in the genre, he has made it his home, and made it his OWN for over forty years. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident. In his latest offering titled Survival of the Dead, Romero resists the temptation to one-up the recent Zombieland in terms of irreverence, and instead sticks close to home with this film...in fact, you COULD say that this movie is all about home, and family, and what it truly means to survive. In the film's opening setup, we're introduced to three different sets of "families" two of them being actual blood families and one being a close knit military unit. The group we meet first is the military unit led by Sgt. Nicotine Crocket (Van Sprang, looking like Billy Mays' slimmer twin brother here), as they deal with a recently re-animated soldier. This opens the film proper before we jump over to Plum Island, where foul tempered Irishman Patrick O'Flynn (Welsh) is making like the Punisher and going round gunning down anything undead that moves. His daughter Janet begs him to stop, telling him that the choice between what lives and dies is not his to make...and that they might be close to finding a cure for the walking dead that doesn't involve him erasing half their face with 12-gauge buckshot. He kindly ignores her and moves on across the island with his brothers in tow, merrily blasting any zombies he comes across. Finally he reaches a house that belongs to the Muldoon clan; apparently the O'Flynn clan and the Muldoons have been making like the Hatfields and the McCoys on this little island for quite some time, fightin' and a feudin' and drawing lines in the sand over the slightest thing. The recent zombie outbreak has been just the latest cause for them to fight over it seems, with O'Flynn and his family wanting to exterminate them, and Muldoon and his wanting to save them and possibly cure them. Thus as O' Flynn investigates the house he discovers two tiny Muldoon children chained to their beds, infected with the zombie and frothing at the mouth for human flesh. He is about to do his usual bit and blast them to kingdom come when the Muldoon family patriarch Seamus (Richard Fitzpatrick) bursts in the door. Sadly, Seamus does not deliver a Riverdance Kick O' Doom to the side of O'Flynn's face...instead Muldoon has his own posse with him, and they force the O'Flynn clan down to the beach at gunpoint, and off the island for good. Only O'Flynn's daughter is allowed to remain, after disowning her father and turning her back on him. Thus is the stage set for Sgt. Crockett and His Howling Commandos to encounter O'Flynn on the mainland, with the entire group eventually ending up on a ferry bound for Plum Island and a showdown with Muldoon and the zombies that have infested the place. Honestly, I know I might be alone here but I love Romero's work. I can admit that lately it seems as though the master might be slipping, but I had a lot of fun watching this movie. It's not the scariest one around, true, but it boasts some of the BEST zombie kills you're likely to find in cinema today. And not only that, but unlike Zombieland, this film isn't afraid to off main characters, or have them PAY for their stupid actions. The zombies in this movie aren't the fastest around, no, but you slip up around them and you WILL pay. That's one of the neat little touches I found myself liking about Survival....these creatures might not seem like a threat upon first glance, but if you get careless, they'll tear your goddamn head off. I also loved the gore FX, and I thought it was complemented quite nicely by the CGI, rather than being overwhelmed by it. Honestly...if you're into zombie movies, I think there's a LOT to like about Survival of the Dead. That being said, there are several things that people have also been griping about, but I'll leave you to go to IMDB and read those thoughts at your own peril...suffice to say, I don't think those who rip this film apart really truly get or understand what Romero was going for here....think early American Western and you'll understand...that analogy that was made by an IMDB reviewer really does frame this film very well. You have the "White hats" and the "Black Hats" and the "wild card" which in the Western was usually always the Native Americans but here is the zombie element. Of course, Romero is not content to just pay homage to that genre and so he has to blend a bit of his own flavor in as well...the ironic twist, the sudden, shocking death of a main character, and the redemption of man through a harsh trial. It's all there, and in my opinion, though it's not ALL good... it's good enough. I had fun watching it, and though it's not nearly on the levels of his earlier efforts, I put it MILES ahead of Diary and a goodly ways ahead of Land in the new trilogy. *** out of five, and if you want the best advice I can give you regarding this film: watch it with friends. You'll cheer out loud at some of the kills, and you can have LOADS of fun MST3K-ing some of the bad dialogue. |
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erisi236
Fry's dog Seymour
... enjoys the rich, smooth taste of Camels.
Not good! Not good! Not good!
Posts: 21,904
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Post by erisi236 on May 17, 2010 20:57:29 GMT -5
I'm still waiting for a full version of Werewolf Women of the SS, why can't Rob make that dammit. It would be double effect as a Rob Zombie movie I'd want to see and a Nick Cage movie I'd want to see him in. I think you're going to be waiting awhile, if it every does happen. You can thank Rob and his (alleged) intentional torpedoing of the Halloween franchise for that. Had he brought in the bucks and got that series kick started, the studio would have all but fallen all over themselves to let him do either that, or his dream movie T-REX (whatever IT is). It's funny as Rob actually shot 30 minutes worth of WWotSS, I'm sure they could come up with another 60 minutes on the cheap, ha. |
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on May 17, 2010 22:29:14 GMT -5
I'm still waiting for a full version of Werewolf Women of the SS, why can't Rob make that dammit. It would be double effect as a Rob Zombie movie I'd want to see and a Nick Cage movie I'd want to see him in. I think you're going to be waiting awhile, if it every does happen. You can thank Rob and his (alleged) intentional torpedoing of the Halloween franchise for that. Had he brought in the bucks and got that series kick started, the studio would have all but fallen all over themselves to let him do either that, or his dream movie T-REX (whatever IT is). Anywho....review time again! This time, it's a return to form for one of our beloved icons: SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009) DIRECTED BY: If you don't know, you're in the WRONG thread, pal! ;D STARRING: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, and Richard Fitzpatrick. Once again, the venerable and beloved grandfather of the zombie genre is back in his milieu, giving us another dose of the Living Dead as only he can. Say what you will about zombie movies, I have loved nearly every single one of Romero's offerings (save the cinema verite' flavored DIARY OF THE DEAD) and unlike others who merely dabble in the genre, he has made it his home, and made it his OWN for over forty years. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident. In his latest offering titled Survival of the Dead, Romero resists the temptation to one-up the recent Zombieland in terms of irreverence, and instead sticks close to home with this film...in fact, you COULD say that this movie is all about home, and family, and what it truly means to survive. In the film's opening setup, we're introduced to three different sets of "families" two of them being actual blood families and one being a close knit military unit. The group we meet first is the military unit led by Sgt. Nicotine Crocket (Van Sprang, looking like Billy Mays' slimmer twin brother here), as they deal with a recently re-animated soldier. This opens the film proper before we jump over to Plum Island, where foul tempered Irishman Patrick O'Flynn (Welsh) is making like the Punisher and going round gunning down anything undead that moves. His daughter Janet begs him to stop, telling him that the choice between what lives and dies is not his to make...and that they might be close to finding a cure for the walking dead that doesn't involve him erasing half their face with 12-gauge buckshot. He kindly ignores her and moves on across the island with his brothers in tow, merrily blasting any zombies he comes across. Finally he reaches a house that belongs to the Muldoon clan; apparently the O'Flynn clan and the Muldoons have been making like the Hatfields and the McCoys on this little island for quite some time, fightin' and a feudin' and drawing lines in the sand over the slightest thing. The recent zombie outbreak has been just the latest cause for them to fight over it seems, with O'Flynn and his family wanting to exterminate them, and Muldoon and his wanting to save them and possibly cure them. Thus as O' Flynn investigates the house he discovers two tiny Muldoon children chained to their beds, infected with the zombie and frothing at the mouth for human flesh. He is about to do his usual bit and blast them to kingdom come when the Muldoon family patriarch Seamus (Richard Fitzpatrick) bursts in the door. Sadly, Seamus does not deliver a Riverdance Kick O' Doom to the side of O'Flynn's face...instead Muldoon has his own posse with him, and they force the O'Flynn clan down to the beach at gunpoint, and off the island for good. Only O'Flynn's daughter is allowed to remain, after disowning her father and turning her back on him. Thus is the stage set for Sgt. Crockett and His Howling Commandos to encounter O'Flynn on the mainland, with the entire group eventually ending up on a ferry bound for Plum Island and a showdown with Muldoon and the zombies that have infested the place. Honestly, I know I might be alone here but I love Romero's work. I can admit that lately it seems as though the master might be slipping, but I had a lot of fun watching this movie. It's not the scariest one around, true, but it boasts some of the BEST zombie kills you're likely to find in cinema today. And not only that, but unlike Zombieland, this film isn't afraid to off main characters, or have them PAY for their stupid actions. The zombies in this movie aren't the fastest around, no, but you slip up around them and you WILL pay. That's one of the neat little touches I found myself liking about Survival....these creatures might not seem like a threat upon first glance, but if you get careless, they'll tear your goddamn head off. I also loved the gore FX, and I thought it was complemented quite nicely by the CGI, rather than being overwhelmed by it. Honestly...if you're into zombie movies, I think there's a LOT to like about Survival of the Dead. That being said, there are several things that people have also been griping about, but I'll leave you to go to IMDB and read those thoughts at your own peril...suffice to say, I don't think those who rip this film apart really truly get or understand what Romero was going for here....think early American Western and you'll understand...that analogy that was made by an IMDB reviewer really does frame this film very well. You have the "White hats" and the "Black Hats" and the "wild card" which in the Western was usually always the Native Americans but here is the zombie element. Of course, Romero is not content to just pay homage to that genre and so he has to blend a bit of his own flavor in as well...the ironic twist, the sudden, shocking death of a main character, and the redemption of man through a harsh trial. It's all there, and in my opinion, though it's not ALL good... it's good enough. I had fun watching it, and though it's not nearly on the levels of his earlier efforts, I put it MILES ahead of Diary and a goodly ways ahead of Land in the new trilogy. *** out of five, and if you want the best advice I can give you regarding this film: watch it with friends. You'll cheer out loud at some of the kills, and you can have LOADS of fun MST3K-ing some of the bad dialogue. Nice review. I was going to pick up the UK Blu-ray of this, but after hearing about the upcoming US release, I think I'll hold off for now. I'm looking forward to it, however. |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on May 19, 2010 11:40:35 GMT -5
SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009) DIRECTED BY: If you don't know, you're in the WRONG thread, pal! ;D STARRING: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, and Richard Fitzpatrick. Once again, the venerable and beloved grandfather of the zombie genre is back in his milieu, giving us another dose of the Living Dead as only he can. Say what you will about zombie movies, I have loved nearly every single one of Romero's offerings (save the cinema verite' flavored DIARY OF THE DEAD) and unlike others who merely dabble in the genre, he has made it his home, and made it his OWN for over forty years. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident. In his latest offering titled Survival of the Dead, Romero resists the temptation to one-up the recent Zombieland in terms of irreverence, and instead sticks close to home with this film...in fact, you COULD say that this movie is all about home, and family, and what it truly means to survive. In the film's opening setup, we're introduced to three different sets of "families" two of them being actual blood families and one being a close knit military unit. The group we meet first is the military unit led by Sgt. Nicotine Crocket (Van Sprang, looking like Billy Mays' slimmer twin brother here), as they deal with a recently re-animated soldier. This opens the film proper before we jump over to Plum Island, where foul tempered Irishman Patrick O'Flynn (Welsh) is making like the Punisher and going round gunning down anything undead that moves. His daughter Janet begs him to stop, telling him that the choice between what lives and dies is not his to make...and that they might be close to finding a cure for the walking dead that doesn't involve him erasing half their face with 12-gauge buckshot. He kindly ignores her and moves on across the island with his brothers in tow, merrily blasting any zombies he comes across. Finally he reaches a house that belongs to the Muldoon clan; apparently the O'Flynn clan and the Muldoons have been making like the Hatfields and the McCoys on this little island for quite some time, fightin' and a feudin' and drawing lines in the sand over the slightest thing. The recent zombie outbreak has been just the latest cause for them to fight over it seems, with O'Flynn and his family wanting to exterminate them, and Muldoon and his wanting to save them and possibly cure them. Thus as O' Flynn investigates the house he discovers two tiny Muldoon children chained to their beds, infected with the zombie and frothing at the mouth for human flesh. He is about to do his usual bit and blast them to kingdom come when the Muldoon family patriarch Seamus (Richard Fitzpatrick) bursts in the door. Sadly, Seamus does not deliver a Riverdance Kick O' Doom to the side of O'Flynn's face...instead Muldoon has his own posse with him, and they force the O'Flynn clan down to the beach at gunpoint, and off the island for good. Only O'Flynn's daughter is allowed to remain, after disowning her father and turning her back on him. Thus is the stage set for Sgt. Crockett and His Howling Commandos to encounter O'Flynn on the mainland, with the entire group eventually ending up on a ferry bound for Plum Island and a showdown with Muldoon and the zombies that have infested the place. Honestly, I know I might be alone here but I love Romero's work. I can admit that lately it seems as though the master might be slipping, but I had a lot of fun watching this movie. It's not the scariest one around, true, but it boasts some of the BEST zombie kills you're likely to find in cinema today. And not only that, but unlike Zombieland, this film isn't afraid to off main characters, or have them PAY for their stupid actions. The zombies in this movie aren't the fastest around, no, but you slip up around them and you WILL pay. That's one of the neat little touches I found myself liking about Survival....these creatures might not seem like a threat upon first glance, but if you get careless, they'll tear your goddamn head off. I also loved the gore FX, and I thought it was complemented quite nicely by the CGI, rather than being overwhelmed by it. Honestly...if you're into zombie movies, I think there's a LOT to like about Survival of the Dead. That being said, there are several things that people have also been griping about, but I'll leave you to go to IMDB and read those thoughts at your own peril...suffice to say, I don't think those who rip this film apart really truly get or understand what Romero was going for here....think early American Western and you'll understand...that analogy that was made by an IMDB reviewer really does frame this film very well. You have the "White hats" and the "Black Hats" and the "wild card" which in the Western was usually always the Native Americans but here is the zombie element. Of course, Romero is not content to just pay homage to that genre and so he has to blend a bit of his own flavor in as well...the ironic twist, the sudden, shocking death of a main character, and the redemption of man through a harsh trial. It's all there, and in my opinion, though it's not ALL good... it's good enough. I had fun watching it, and though it's not nearly on the levels of his earlier efforts, I put it MILES ahead of Diary and a goodly ways ahead of Land in the new trilogy. *** out of five, and if you want the best advice I can give you regarding this film: watch it with friends. You'll cheer out loud at some of the kills, and you can have LOADS of fun MST3K-ing some of the bad dialogue. ... Anyway, time for some TR's Japanese Horror Theater. Kaidan (2007) - Mentioned briefly in the HOF induction for this movie's director, Hideo Nakata. Kaidan is a film version of an ancient Japanese folktale that is one of Takashi Shimizu's main inspirations for the creation of the Ju-On series and the character of Kayako Saeki in particular. It takes place centuries ago during the days of feudal Japan - a samurai's son named Shinkichi (Kuroemon Onoe) and a teacher (Hitomi Kuroki of Nakata's Dark Water, who is ACES in this role) meet and fall deeply in love, although Kuroki falls a little bit TOO deep, to the point of being pathologically jealous of any female that her beau talks to. About halfway through the film, Shinkichi accidentally wounds her, causing an infection which eventually kills her - but not before she utters the words that she will kill any woman that he decides to marry after her death...and if you think he follows that advice, you haven't seen enough horror films. Kaidan is long (over two hours in length) but it never drags, and is a great throwback to classic 1960s J-horror masterpieces like Kwaidan and Onibaba. Well-acted, well-paced and an awesome slow burning scarefest that hooks your emotions better than any horror movie I saw last decade. **** out of ****. Tomie: Beginning (2005) - Ahhhh, back to the Tomie series, which seemingly no one - with the exception of myself - cares about. This direct-to-video film was released simultaneously with the next film on this round of J-horror theater, and is the sixth movie in the Tomie series. This time around, we go back to the events that took place before the first movie in the franchise, where a new girl named Tomie Kawakami (Rio Matsumoto, who is decent in the role, but not as effective as Miho Kanno or Miki Sakai) enters high school and immediately commences causing a meltdown with the jealous classmates. For those new to the series, every Tomie film essentially follows the same formula: we meet a group of fairly likable characters, and Tomie enters their lives to cause havoc. Just WHAT Tomie is, however, is never really explained. As far as we can tell, she's some kind of demon or ancient ghost, cursed to forever wander the Earth and suffer violent deaths at the hands of lustful males for eternity. Also for reasons that are never explained, she can never truly die. This go-round is more of the same, but actually features some decent gore effects (the best since Shimizu's Tomie: re-birth), along with good, non-linear storytelling structure and the novelty of seeing this in its original high-school setting (which was the subject of the Junji Ito Manga that inspired the series). *** out of ****. Tomie: Revenge (2005) - Unfortunately, the second part of the twin-2005-billing of new Tomie flicks is nowhere near as interesting. This one concerns a young doctor who runs down an unidentified naked girl on a rural road. This girl, of course, turns out to be Tomie, and a year after the incident, she returns for vengeance. This one...just isn't very good, and unfortunately there's not a whole lot more I can say. As for this movie's Tomie Kawakami, Anri Ban is forgettable at best. Avoidable for all but diehard Tomie fans. * 1/2 out of ****. |
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erisi236
Fry's dog Seymour
... enjoys the rich, smooth taste of Camels.
Not good! Not good! Not good!
Posts: 21,904
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Post by erisi236 on May 19, 2010 11:50:02 GMT -5
Tomie: Beginning (2005) - Ahhhh, back to the Tomie series, which seemingly no one - with the exception of myself - cares about. This direct-to-video film was released simultaneously with the next film on this round of J-horror theater, and is the sixth movie in the Tomie series. This time around, we go back to the events that took place before the first movie in the franchise, where a new girl named Tomie Kawakami (Rio Matsumoto, who is decent in the role, but not as effective as Miho Kanno or Miki Sakai) enters high school and immediately commences causing a meltdown with the jealous classmates - both male and female. For those new to the series, every Tomie film essentially follows the same formula: we meet a group of fairly likable characters, and Tomie enters their lives to cause havoc. Just WHAT Tomie is, however, is never really explained - as far as we can tell, she's some kind of demon or ancient ghost, cursed to forever wander the Earth and suffer violent deaths at the hands of lustful males for eternity. Also for reasons that are never explained, she can never truly die. This go-round is more of the same, but actually features some decent gore effects (the best since Shimizu's Tomie: re-birth), along with good, non-linear storytelling structure and the novelty of seeing this in its original high-school setting (which was the subject of the Junji Ito Manga that inspired the series). *** out of ****. Tomie: Revenge (2005) - Unfortunately, the second part of the twin-2005-billing of new Tomie flicks is nowhere near as interesting. This one concerns a young doctor who runs down an unidentified naked girl on a rural road. This girl, of course, turns out to be Tomie, and a year after the incident, she returns for vengeance. This one...just isn't very good, and unfortunately there's not a whole lot more I can say. As for this movie's Tomie Kawakami, Anri Ban is forgettable at best. Avoidable for all but diehard Tomie fans. * 1/2 out of ****. If you like the movies I'd totally recommend the Mangas, all of Junji Itos stuff is pretty great as a matter of fact, the dude is totally the Japanese H. P. Lovecraft. The Enigma of Amigara Fault is the greatest thing ever made, DURR DURR DURR |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on May 19, 2010 11:57:39 GMT -5
If you like the movies I'd totally recommend the Mangas, all of Junji Itos stuff is pretty great as a matter of fact, the dude is totally the Japanese H. P. Lovecraft. The Enigma of Amigara Fault is the greatest thing ever made, DURR DURR DURR I've actually reviewed the first seven Tomie flicks in J-horror mini-review form (the only film I haven't done is the most recent one, Tomie vs. Tomie). At their best, they're gripping, powerful stuff (with the original 1999 film and Tomie: re-birth representing the cream of the crop), but all of the other movies in the franchise have been misfires of varying degrees. I'll check out the Manga when I get a chance. As a total aside, I actually own every Ringu Manga, and those things are friggin' epic. ESPECIALLY the adaptation of Koji Suzuki's Spiral novel, which is effectively a thousand times better than Rasen, the feature film based on the book. |
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Post by YellowJacketY2J on May 19, 2010 12:33:49 GMT -5
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andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,223 
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Post by andrew8798 on May 20, 2010 23:22:10 GMT -5
Another Day of the Dead remake
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erisi236
Fry's dog Seymour
... enjoys the rich, smooth taste of Camels.
Not good! Not good! Not good!
Posts: 21,904
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Post by erisi236 on May 20, 2010 23:36:34 GMT -5
Another Day of the Dead remake Taurus Entertainment is quickly becoming one of my most hated groups. |
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kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
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Post by kidglov3s on May 21, 2010 4:03:32 GMT -5
Another Day of the Dead remake Taurus Entertainment is quickly becoming one of my most hated groups. What took you so long? Sounds like someone didn't see Day of the Dead 2: Contagium or Creepshow 3. |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on May 21, 2010 6:19:02 GMT -5
A few people in my everyday (read: dumb) life have been saying that I don't give older horror films enough credit - so I went back to the old, old, old-school this week on my blog. All the way back to the 1931 Frankenstein. As usual, the link is in my sig.
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Post by mysterydriver on May 21, 2010 8:51:44 GMT -5
"No talent has yet been announced for the latest DAY."
Is it me or is that kind of funny in an out of context kind of way?
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Predates Wayne's World's dig at product placement by a few years, too. 
). Of course, I've read a few people who defend Zombie FOR this reason, who say that making every character a grating asshat goes against what we expect from what movies typically are. And this is going to make me sound very intolerant, but for the life of me, I just can't understand this train of thought. A truly fascinating story can be enjoyed even if there aren't any true protagonists (Watchmen comes to mind), but Zombie's flicks are not fascinating stories. Far from them. They're just THERE, and for ninety minutes, we watch people who, quite frankly, deserve to be shut the hell up by any means necessary meet their end. 
