Just Watched Movies (2014)

[slayrrr666]

Added uncut copies of Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and Hellraiser: Bloodline to the collection.

Stormhouse-Brought on-board a secret military base, a woman's attempts to investigate their supposed capture of a supernatural entity causes chaos on the base when it's accidentally released and goes on the rampage, forcing her to try to stop it. This turned out to be quite a dreadful and really uninteresting effort without a lot really going for it. One of the only positives to this is the frankly original plotline concerning the capture of such an entity and what means is being done to control and contain it. Being able to remain controlled in a small enclosure with electronic impulses makes for a rather unique touch and allows this a pretty original touch that doesn't really get used all that often yet here makes some sense as the military would be one of the few places in the world where access to such material isn't out of the ordinary and seems pretty plausible throughout here. As well, the final half here tends to focus on the body-hopping means that the ghost employs to seek out revenge on the base for it's imprisonment and that leads to some mildly-tense sequences where it's in someone unexpectedly causing them to engage in all the horrific ideas and acts quite nicely. However, there's a lot really wrong here with the fact that this one tends to use a pretty hackneyed and cliche motive of the powers-that-be being unwilling to provide much in the way of explanations that would help this one be a little more understandable. Considering this is par for the course from the military, that's not all that out of the realms of realism where disinformation and withholding is pretty much par for the course in their history but here it just leads to endless scenes of her trying to actually do her job that she was specifically called there for yet keeps coming up with the bull-headed and refusal tactics from the military brass there which really begs the question of why she would want to stay there when what she's seen and been exposed to from their attitudes toward her would seem to really question why it was included in the first place. As well, this tends to really affect the pace of this with numerous scenes that go nowhere due to their refusal as well as tends to cause this to feel like a drag with hardly anything happening which is quite a common trait in many of the recent British efforts so this is no exception. Finally, the low-budget on display throughout this tends to cause the attacks to come off as quite lame and really ridiculous with hardly any real effort put into them, the special effects aren't that great and overall the film's centerpiece scenes are pushed so far into the back-half of the film it's too little too late as well as being plagued by ineffectiveness. These hold this back and really harm it overall.

Paranormal Activity 3-Moving into his girlfriends' house, a man comes to learn that her daughters' seemingly imaginary friend is a malicious spirit that has been targeting them and tries to find a way of stopping it from corrupting his family. Overall, this is certainly the weakest effort in the series and is not that impressive. Among the many flaws here is the fact that this one really tends to wander around for so long building up the human drama backstory that it's really not all that interesting for the first hour or so. Not only is this barely filled with any attacks or ghostly occurrences, there's barely any reason for them to set up the cameras in the first place as the whole thing is centered around her imaginary friend which is hardly the sort of behavior from a little girl that causes parents to place cameras in the house to check on paranormal activity when they're not around. That thread alone makes this one hard to swallow, but as well the fact that this one goes on for so long really tends to make this drag on and on throughout here so it's quite dull and boring for the most part as the only real scare throughout here is the false scare with the wife that's played as a practical joke on the husband so it's inclusion is a totally unjustifiable one that eats up time that could've been used to better explain how their family history is involved in the demonic the way it's portrayed here since it starts to get interesting with the presence of the demon conjuring and protective symbols that have been handed down throughout the family, but it doesn't have the time to do that since the film has spent so much time tying in the fact of her imaginary friend rather than doing anything else in here. There's actually a few good things about this, mostly the final twenty minutes or so with the family now in their relatives' house and being subjected to numerous assaults by demons and ghosts that are quite frightening and really creepy. Utilizing the possession tricks throughout here and the demonic attributes makes for a rather enjoyable time with some action finally thrown in for good measure, but overall it's not nearly enough to compensate for the boredom elsewhere as well as the series continued annoyance of featuring the shaking camera perspective that really hampers the visuals throughout here that are the more memorable parts of this one.

[slayrrr666]

Added an uncut copy of Hellraiser: Inferno to the collection.

The Bride-After bringing a woman to life, Baron Frankenstein goes back on his decision to give her to his monster and decides to keep her for himself while he roams the world and eventually comes back to claim what is rightfully his. This turned out to be quite a middling effort that doesn't really offer up a whole lot of interesting values. The opening shots of the creation of the bride are pure Gothic splendor and some of the most exciting in the film with the storm going out of control before finally making its endgame a reality and her creation is assured, only for the rejection and dismissal to cause a huge fire that burns the whole place to the ground. It really makes for a grand opening that sets the stage here quite well overall, and is nicely echoed by the finale which does similar good in the final retribution of the monster. Their brawl is quite thrilling and violent and really seems quite one-sided which is what it should be with this one taking on a really enjoyable outcome. That's mainly due to the sympathy gained for him throughout the movie which comes into play here, but otherwise this one doesn't seem to do a whole lot that really makes for an entertaining effort. The main thing with this one is the fact that there's just nothing really interesting throughout here with the film abandoning the horror for the most part to concentrate instead on two utterly irritating storylines that have nothing to do to make them all that interesting. The first storyline involves his training her for Victorian society under the guise of an amnesia victim he's treating but unable to hide her monstrous past which keeps coming to the forefront at the most unexpected moments is bland period drama that resorts to a few snarls and rabid screaming to help sell that she's actually a monster, yet none of this is all that original or pleasing at all and tends to come off as way too overwrought with hardly anything of value happening during this time. The second storyline involving the monster's quest through the countryside in the circus just doesn't ring any sort of familiar tropes and just tries to build sympathy for him in the most arbitrary matter by showing the cruelty of others toward him but doesn't do anything special with this rather bland and expected method. It's all quite lame and really doesn't make this much of a horror effort at all, which really holds this down.

[Fenril]

- The devil's violinist. A biography of the infamous Violinist Niccolò Paganini, an under appreciated genius who is offered a pact by the mysterious Mr. Urbani: he will make sure Paganini will get his due, and that his fame will extend all throughout Europe... an in exchange, the violinist is to pay him back "after this life". Then comes in Englishwoman Charlotte, with whom the violinist falls passionately in love. Neither realizes she is but another pawn of Urbani's complex game...

Let's get one thing out of the way: despite the title, this is NOT an horror movie; this is a period drama with occasional supernatural teases (or rather, symbolic moments of devilry). And it's a *beautiful* drama, with the elaborate set stages and the soundtrack being the definite highlights. Bernard Rose (Candyman, Immortal Beloved, Paperhouse) offers another deceptively simple drama. Recommended... though maybe not for everyone.

- Dracula Untold. Faced with an overwhelming demand from the Turk Empire, warrior and emperor Vlad is left with no choice but to approach an ancient evil that may give him the edge in the upcoming battle: a blood pact with a vampire. And so begins a legend...

You know how there's movies like "Predator" that are part action movie, part sci-fi and part horror? Or how there's movies like "Abre los ojos", that are part character drama part fantasy (or sci-fi, depending on your point of view)? Well, here's a movie that wants to be like that and... doesn't succeed, because what you have here looks like two completely different movies glued together. On the one hand, you have what is actually a pretty effective horror yarn --the scenes of Vlad meeting the first vampire, his battle with his own former subordinates and his bringing some of them back as vampires are all actually quite effective. Not the best, true, but then there are millions of vampire movies (and millions of Dracula movies) already, and this one works. On the other hand, you have this other yarn that *wants* to be a period action film and... it's utterly ridiculous, with the drama being impossible to take seriously because everything is set up in this blink-and-you-miss-it idea of character development, complete with sets that so desperately want to evoke a "Lord of the Rings" / "Game of thrones" atmosphere and instead come off as really earnest cosplay. So what you're left with is mostly entertaining yet silly movie that wants to be taken seriously so badly it's almost endearing.

[slayrrr666]

Added an uncut copy of Hellraiser: Hellseeker to the collection.

Wolf Moon-After a mysterious drifter arrives in town, a woman's burgeoning romance with him becomes threatened when he reveals the deadly curse he falls under and must try to protect her from more of his own kind ravaging the town. This one wasn't as bad as it could've been as it turned out quite enjoyable. One of the biggest pluses here is the fact that this one manages to really overwhelm with how brutal and vicious the werewolves really are here with this one really getting the most out of it's scenes. Attacking with ferocity and remorselessness, the way a true werewolf should attack in such situations, that leaves this with plenty of vicious and brutal attacks that have people with their faces and chests clawed to pieces, hands bitten off, flesh torn into and devoured and even claw impalings that are quite gruesome and bloody which works quite well here. This also causes many of the attacks to come off as rather chilling and suspenseful with the usage of the werewolf to really toy with his victims here and then go in for the kill so the ambush at the father's house, the police station encounter and the encounter at the car-lot all come off as quite chilling and enjoyable. The big action scene, which is the town's shootout with the werewolf in the desert which devolves into the main brawl between the two werewolves in a brutal, vicious and bloody sequence that eschews spectacle to go for pure carnal brutality as would be the case in such a fight causes this to really become a true highlight that comes off incredibly well here with the amount of action supplementing the brutality. That's really all that works here, as otherwise this one tends to come off with a couple flaws in the fact that this one mainly centers around a romance angle that's highly derivative and ripped off from plenty of other movies. Granted, it never humanizes their bestial modes and keeps them as something to be feared throughout, but the fact remains that it still rips off other movies with the inter-species romance that tends to take up the first hour or so between the two and really causing this one to grind to a halt with it's more intense happenings occurring in such brief snippets it loses it's horror tag at times. This also causes the film to go on way too long for something as simplistic as this plot is because it has to wrap the romance into the proceedings so that it can fully tell that story specifically rather than anything else so that the rest of the movie is stretched out as a result. By using the Wolf-Man style of werewolf make-up rather than the Werewolf style which basically just gives the creatures fangs and fur around the face, it makes the creatures look somewhat laughable at times by not really trying to do anything special with their make-up and just going for the weakest look in the genre. It looks great, but it's still a poor design, and joins the other flaws here to hold this down.

Twisted Sisters-Following a series of savage deaths, the police's insistence on a young woman as the culprit gradually reveals the existence of her malicious twin sister out for revenge for her better life and tries to stop her. This was a rather enjoyable effort if only slightly flawed. One of the biggest pluses here is the fact that there's a lot of time spent trying to determine if there's actually any sense of whether or not she's the one doing the killing. This manages to pull out two or three different tactics to ensure it's not all that easy to determine what's going on, as the twin angle is played off in the last act so the remaining sections up until then utilize both the split personality feature in that it really is her while in a stupor or the fact of manipulating the surroundings to ensure she won't get caught, and it's quite good at doing these two tactics throughout here. Likewise, the film also manages to feature some incredibly brutal and graphic scenes in here that are wholly enjoyable and quite exciting to really play up her deranged and mental state with a slew of over-the-top graphic set-pieces filled with blood and gore including scenes of castration, tons of dismemberments, slit throats and the craziest sequence where she cuts open his stomach and shoves in an assortment of fireworks before setting them off inside his body, so this one really tends to get overloaded with the blood and gore. Coupled with the rampant nudity as well, this one's certainly not all that bad but does have a few problems. The fact that the revenge makes no sense seeing as how the entire thing is based on pure circumstance is a little troubling, as there's very little about it that would make someone start such a campaign to destroy someone that insignificant. Her job is decent at best, her boyfriend is about to propose marriage but hasn't yet and there's no evidence of her social life so it's not like her life is really one that needs ruining to the extent this one does, much less even in the first place so the purpose of choosing that particular point to strike is highly confusing. Same as with the cliched and overused method of turning her psycho, with the abusive foster-parents after their true parents died which is hardly original and not all that convincing. The other part here that does need mentioning is the fact that, because this one is set-up as a mystery for the most part, the film is pretty slow to get going in the first half with the large amount of time spent on uncovering the reasons for the attacks while also playing out her home-life which takes a while to get going. Otherwise, this one is pretty enjoyable.

[Fenril]

- Gone girl. A woman disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary. As her husband is grilled for information, pieces of her diary hint at what may have truly happened to her... or maybe not, because this is just the beginning of one complex cat-and-mouse game between one clever sociopath and the world at large...

Clever thriller adapted from a best-selling novel that takes us from what seems a standard procedural story to one complex examination of appearances and media manipulation. As can be expected, there are a few set-ups that stretch believability, but even so as the intrigue grows and more layers are revealed the movie manages to hold our interest for it's long running time. Of particular note: one of the grisliest throat-slashings committed to film yet.

- La amante del libertador (The liberator's lover). A woman comes back home to Peru from Spain to help her estranged sister restore an old house that is to be sold to a hamburger joint but which they believe holds historical value. And it does: it was once the home of a noblewoman drawn into the insurgence of Peru itself due to a forbidden love. A love that reaches even now to the present, breaking the barriers between centuries, between life and death...

Notable mix of historical drama, romance and ghost movie, with an earnest (if just a bit obvious) script, with a powerful message about national pride and identity. Fine performances and an elegant soundtrack; the elaborate sets are worth a look, too.

[slayrrr666]

Added an uncut copy of Hellraiser: Hellworld to the collection.

The Fright Night Files-A fortune teller reveals the fates of three customers: a woman's quest to win back her fiancee makes him into a dangerous, obsessive freak; a man who throws away a woman for another turns his life into a nightmare; a radio DJ experiences a series of calls from an inhuman nature. Overall, this made-for-TV anthology isn't that bad but does have it's problems. The low-budget nature of all these stories does become apparent throughout here with this one never really showcasing anything that could be said to eat up a budget and just looks low-brow and really cheap. As for the stories, part 1 is utterly stupid with this being a romance gone wrong and turning the boyfriend into a jealous, possessive control freak which isn't in the slightest bit scary and acts more like a Lifetime-channel thriller than a horror effort despite a chilling finale. Part 2 is clearly the best with the use of demonic hallucinations and a rather creepy air to it that really works quite well for this one. Part 3 is also not bad with a growing atmosphere of dread and suspense that offers a totally different mood from the rest of the efforts on display here as the growing realization of what's going on here is quite creepy, but this is also the one that really showcases the low-budget well because the twist here could've been handled amazingly had this one been allowed to really go for the throat the way it's set-up demanded. Instead, the low-budget keeps this from really exploring what could've been great as instead, we're left with a decent-if-slightly flawed entry that's part of a decent-if-slightly flawed anthology effort.

[slayrrr666]

Red Dawn-When Korean paratroopers land in their Seattle suburb, a group of teens fight back with one's military-trained brother to fend off the invaders and take back their town. Surprisingly a lot of fun here with this one really taking the premise from the original into far more action-packed realms by upping the action considerably. We get a ton of frantic shoot-outs, bombings, chases and gun battles that range from decent to quite exciting, which is what's needed in an action movie to keep things moving along nicely. The finale in particular which is the final brawl in the police station with all sorts of shootouts, fist-fights and exchanges makes for a bullet-flying, explosion-happy sequence that's highly enjoyable and cements this as quite exciting and enjoyable. While the plot is highly underwhelming and the plan by the Koreans is highly suspect beyond them being the go-to-bastards at the moment so this one is highly topical at the moment like the original, and the PG-13 rating does hurt this from really selling itself the way it could've been, there's much worse ones out there.

[slayrrr666]

The Cold Light of Day-Arriving in Spain for a family vacation, a man becomes an unwitting part of a covert operation to retrieve a valuable briefcase from terrorists after learning of his father's involvement. Overall a pretty middling effort as the mere fact that this one never seems to really get in-depth with it's storyline makes this one seem rather unfinished. The motives for all the forces here are basically just given a general gloss-over and never really expanded upon so next to nothing is really given here about why the briefcase is important, who wants it or why he has to get involved. That really seems to make any less sense when the bad guys are continually trying to shoot the one guy they need to stay alive in order to return their property to them as killing him effectively causes them to lose their property and why they continually need to do so is confusing when several occasions clearly show that he's totally unaware and confused about what's going on. As everything here is built on lies and deception, it hardly makes for an engrossing or enjoyable time here with this one really struggling to make sense when everything told to us beforehand is washed away and discarded, all the while doing little in terms of action to make things right. A few of the gun-fights aren't that bad, especially the apartment escape which is pretty enjoyable as well as the parking-garage battle, though the real joy here is the stellar car chase at the end which is quite a bit of fun and definitely brings this up somewhat. Still, it's not enough to save this from the rest of the film's problems.

[slayrrr666]

Hit and Run-Despite being wanted by a vicious criminal, a man takes his girlfriend on a job interview and winds up being chased by the criminal and his gang and must try to get her away from them alive. Not too much to say here, a lame comedy with some action bits that try to fool us into thinking this is an Action/Comedy instead. It comes off feeling more like a vanity project from the real-life married couple at its' center and really tends to get dragged out here with useless scenes of them together rather than going out and actually encouraging the action which is based on just a few car chases that aren't all that impressive anyway although the final chase in the dune-buggy is the best of the bunch. Still, not a whole lot to really like here.

This Means War-After both falling for the same woman unknowingly, the discovery of their ruse forces two best-friend CIA agents into utilizing all their skills to get the upper hand without her finding out and their latest assignment from getting to her. So, instead of a comedy with a bit of action thrown in, this one instead drops in the Romantic-Comedy angle instead which is slightly less intrusive on the film as a whole and doesn't really make for all that much more enjoyment. This is still a long ways away from the usual trappings of what appeals to me in the form of shootings, chases and explosions as the majority of the film is set on simply trying to leave as little trace of their existence as possible so the stealth required for such activities keeps this from really going all out with the action, and while the finale does get back into business with the tacked-on storyline involving the criminal kingpin which is quite lame, there's too many unappealing elements that hold this one back.

[slayrrr666]

Dredd-Called to a deluxe skyscraper to deal with a series of incidents at the building, the policeman and his partner find the criminal gang that has control over the area is intent on not letting them leave and turns the area into a battleground in order to do so. This was far better than I expected as there's really only the rather lame computer graphics on display that really ruin this one. The slow-motion effects that signal the effects of the drug are incredibly lame and totally out-of-place in the film by slowly things down so rapidly that the resulting action it surrounds becomes so jarringly inconsistent against it that there's just so little appealing about it. Other than that, this was a lot of fun with a generous amount of action outside the facility where the opening car chase and resulting shootout made for quite an impressive set-up while the majority of the action inside made for quite a thrill with the charge through the guards in the obstructed gas cloud, the shootout in the weapons bunker and of course the utterly thrilling gunfight with the machine guns made for explosive fun that was quite a joy with all the bullets firing and explosions going off which is what makes them highly enjoyable. Not a whole lot really wrong with this one other than the lame graphics earlier.

[slayrrr666]

Lockout-When a group of criminals escape confinement on a space-station prison system, a wrongly-jailed hero if forced to rescue the president's daughter held captive by the criminals in order to halt their escape. This wasn't all that great of an actioner mainly because the majority of the time spent here is on the two of them bickering with each other over his purpose for saving her and his mission there on the station, resulting in numerous scenes that have no action at all within this. There's a few shootouts throughout that aren't that impressive anyway so this gets even less interesting against all the bland talking scenes that don't give this one anything to go on. Even more problematic is that this one contains the same old cliche of the escaped convicts never given any sort of reason why they're taking over the ship which is quite hard to get into when their end game is simply that we're told they're ruthless bastards but nothing else comes of it. All of these severely drain on the film as the lack of action, constant bickering and lame motive for the gang really overcomes the few somewhat decent moments within this, as the brawl in mid-air over a vent system is pretty nice and the final escape attempt makes for a thrilling visual but that's about it.

[slayrrr666]

Added an uncut copy of Zombie Honeymoon to the collection.

Blacker Than the Night-After inheriting her grandmother's house in the countryside, a woman and her friends stay there to help sort out matters but grow increasingly convinced something is living in the house with them and try to get to the bottom of the mystery. This turned out to be quite an enjoyable effort with a lot to really like here. One of the biggest pluses here is the fact that this one really manages to get the look and feel of the Gothic/Victorian style house here which is quite expertly handled and gets a lot of mileage out of. Filled with the grand layouts, spacious designs of the rooms and the twisting labyrinth of walkways and passages throughout, it fits the bill quite nicely with this one keeping up appearances quite well in addition to the fact that the last half of the film takes place in the secret rooms of the house. Using the underground library and the garden outside as the main locations in these sections makes for a rather chilling time with the multitude of encounters throughout there and how the earlier scenes set-up these encounters by focusing on the actions of the ghostly housekeeper and her cat. These are handled well enough for the rather impressive finale to feel like a continuation of these scenes which is where the fun of these come from while also accounting for the chilling nature of such encounters. While there's a lot to like here, it also has a few flaws in the incredibly clichéd and contrived set-up involving her and her friends moving into the house she has just inherited which really has no point here in generating any kind of originality or credibility in forcing them onto the property to begin with. As well, the fact that the girls' stay there includes the visitation by their boyfriends who are left alive by the disturbing lack of deaths here does make their intrusion seem pointless and drags out the running time in the middle when they're featured, yet this still manages a lot more good than bad points.

[slayrrr666]

Total Recall-After a visit to a memory-creation center leads a man to become hunted by the government, he learns the truth about his life and becomes embroiled in a campaign against a ruthless tyrant who plans to invade a small city. This turned out to be quite a rousing and highly entertaining effort that really has a lot going for it. The decision to keep this localized to the present-day world and not have it jump around to various locales and planets makes for a much more centralized feeling that helps to add a lot more suspense to the story as there's a singular city to run around in and try to escape capture from which is a lot more thrilling than doing the same thing across the galaxy. That also ties in with the film's best feature, it's enormously satisfying and exciting action scenes which is what really makes this one stand out on it's own and against the original as the chases are bigger, grander and a lot more exciting and really makes this worthwhile. The rooftop chase through the down-town district after he first learns his wife's real identity, the hover-car chase through the underside of the highway, the shootout through the elevator tunnels and the brawl in the factory to escape their clutches are simply fun and explosion-happy action scenes just the way I like them and provide the film with some extra punch as well which is what makes for this being so exciting as well as having a lot to do with the story as a whole, while the finale on the rooftop of their invasion headquarters is a really enjoyable sequence that wins a lot for it's little scenes as well as the spectacle of what transpires. While the story still doesn't make any sense like it did in the original, namely the reason why a company designed to fake memories of a fantasy vacation unlocks the hidden world of a spy deep undercover in his own memory and the CGI is still utterly atrocious and obvious, there's still a lot more to like within this.

[slayrrr666]

Taken 2-Kidnapped with his wife and daughter while visiting Istanbul, a former CIA agent heads back into action against the kidnappers who are seeking retribution for his previous actions against their relatives. Frankly, this turned out to be a lot more enjoyable than the first one and was pretty decent in it's own right. The biggest thing to this is the increased amount of action present which is a far cry from what the original did, as here we get two thrilling car chases including a particularly thrilling one through the city streets against a squadron of police officers and the evil henchmen, several full-scale brawls that are pretty exciting and a couple more shootouts that are quite exciting as well. There's also the far more pronounced feature included here about being able to utilize his skill-set to greater impact which seems to be a more conscious effort this time around than otherwise stated previously as there's a lot more taken of his being able to get out of the situations than were otherwise shown in the original. Still, there's a few things here that don't really get all that impressive, chief among which is the fact that the reasoning for the whole film is entirely wasted with the father seeking revenge for his own son's criminal doings. Repeated claims are shot down throughout here about how justifiable what he is doing actually becomes, yet nothing is ever made of it and it seems to be a way simply to make a sequel as there's not a lot of thought into that part of the story. Likewise, for all the good this does in enhancing the action quotient it's still plainly obvious that Neeson is a graduate of the Steven Seagal School of Martial Arts' Masters Program as he does nothing more impressive than wave his arms around and have the bad guys punch into his arms or get thrown around, that is when when have a chance to notice this. The shots are framed and edited so that it's nearly impossible to tell what actually happened in the scene as the blurry motion and high-speed editing account for in here. Otherwise, this is a better effort than part one.

[Fenril]

- Perfect Sense. An epidemiologist and a chef develop a relationship in the midst of a worldwide epidemic that causes people to experience extremely intense emotions (grief, fear, anger, euphoria) right before losing their senses one by one. How much loss can the human spirit adapt to before giving up completely?

Powerful sci-fi parable with strong performances, nice worldwide locations and a haunting score (rather reminiscent of "Requiem for a dream"), which managed to evoke the best of established genres (romance, comedy, tragedy) en route to an apocalyptic conclusion. Recommended... but don't be expecting a thriller, as this is the kind of movie that is far more interested in human drama than in offering answers as to the origins of the plague.