Category: Movie Review

Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui

Writer: Joss Whedon (Screenplay)

Starring: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Michele Abrams, Hilary Swank

Plot: A flighty teenage girl learns that she is her generation’s destined battler of vampires.

Tagline – Sometimes it takes more than just good looks to kill.

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun, But Not as Good as the TV Show

Story: Buffy the Vampire Slayer starts as we meet high school cheerleader Buffy (Swanson), one of the popular girls in school preparing for the latest dance. Buffy’s life is going to take a turn when the mysterious Merrick (Sutherland) enters her life, with the tales of vampires and her being the chosen one to fight them and protect her town.

Buffy now goes through the training process, so she can defeat her first deadlier enemy, Lothos (Hauer) a vampire that is haunting her dreams with the history of the previous slayers and make it to the dance on time.

Thoughts on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Characters – Buffy is the high school cheerleader who is more worried the latest school dance to notice her own destiny. She learns she is the slayer that is meant to fight vampires and her town is now in danger. Merrick is the watcher, the man that must teach Buffy how to defeat the vampires and becoming the slayer warrior she is destiny to be. Lothos is the big bad vampire that is waiting to take control of the town that Buffy is part of, we see how he has been planning this attack for a while with his vampires in the shadows.

Performances – Kristy Swanson is good in this leading role, we might not the role of Buffy as Sarah Michelle Gellar, but Kristy was here first and built the unlikely hero very well. Sutherland is good pick for the watcher because it is the answers for wise old man. Going into the supporting cast, none of these performers make an impact on the way they could which only disappoints when we know how these characters are going to be known in the TV series.

Story – The story is difficult to talk about, because I grew up watching the show and for me, I was used to a different Buffy, an outsider, seeing the popular girl become the slayer just seems strange, but for a teenage action fantasy comedy works as we see one girl find her place in the world. This is an enjoyable watch and plays out just how you would imagine without being as interesting as it should be, because we want the world to be so much bigger.

Action/Fantasy/Horror – We have action sequences which see Buffy face increasing numbers or difficulties in her battles, in a world that is filled with vampires which plays for the fantasy and the horror side of the film.

Settings – The film takes place in the small town with a high school, this works for the movie because it shows us what Buffy will need to protect.

Special Effects – The effects were good for the time of release, while moments have dated, we don’t get the need for the effects for the most part.

Scene of the Movie – The Dance.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Its not the Buffy I am used to seeing.

Final Thoughts – This does feel like the 90’s movie it is, it gave us the film that went onto become a wonderful TV series, which is something that people will forever be grateful for.

Overall: Simple action fantasy.

Rating

Director: Takashi Miike

Writer: Yoshitaka Yamaguchi (Screenplay)

Starring: Yayan Ruhian, Lily Franky, Hayato Ichihara, Riko Narumi

Plot: In the ruthless underground world of the yakuza, no one is more legendary than boss Kamiura. Rumored to be invincible, the truth is he is a vampire-a bloodsucking yakuza vampire boss! Among Kamiura’s gang is Kageyama, his most loyal underling. However, the others in the gang view Kageyama with disdain and ridicule him for his inability to get tattooed due to sensitive skin. One day, assassins aware of boss Kamiura’s secret arrive from abroad and deliver him an ultimatum: Return to the international syndicate he left years ago, or die. Kamiura refuses and, during a fierce battle with anime-otaku martial-arts expert Kyoken, is torn limb from limb. With his dying breath, Kamiura bites Kageyama, passing on his vampire powers to the unsuspecting yakuza. As he begins to awaken to his newfound abilities, Kageyama’s desire to avenge the murder of boss Kamiura sets him on a course for a violent confrontation with Kaeru-kun, the foreign syndicate’s mysterious and seemingly unstoppable leader!

Tagline –  Once bitten, you’re a yakuza.

Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Bonkers Revenge Thriller

Story: Yakuza Apocalypse starts with Yakuza boss Kamiura (Frankly) showing his kindness to the civilians in his neighbourhood, removing any members that wrongfully harm any of his people, with a new understudy Akira Kageyama (Ichihara) we start to see the tension from the rest of the Yakuza before assassin Kyoken (Ruhian) is set to murder Kamiura who just so happens to be a Yakuza vampire that in his dying breath turns Kageyama.

Kageyama must learn how to survive his new abilities to become strong enough to extract revenge on Kyoken and the rest of the Yakuza who turned on his boss by turning everyone into vampires.

Thoughts on Yakuza Apocalypse

Characters – Akira Kageyama is a member of the Yakuza, he is a good man not following traditions of tattoos and never hurting anyone innocent, which has raised him up the ranks under his current boss. When his boss is murdered, he takes his ability of being a vampire to continue his good nature in the battle while taking out the men that killed his boss. Kyoken is the stranger in town, the assassin sent to kill Kamiura, deadly in combat, he knows how to blend into a crowd.  Kamiura is the respected Yakuza boss that keeps the city in check not letting anything get out of hand, which has made him enemies within the Yakuza with his secret being revelled.

Performances – The performances in this film are good throughout, there is a stand out performer in Yayan Ruhian because we know just how amazing he is at combat, Hayato Ichihara is good too in the lead role, but some of the small supporting performances do feel over the top.

Story – The story here as far as I could tell, was a Yakuza boss being murdered and one of his men seeking revenge with a vampire filled twist, which just makes things bigger and crazier through everything that is unfolding. Then there is the frog costume, well things get crazy here, this is a story you remember, not for being great, but for being weird as they come.

Action/Comedy/Horror – The action is big and gives us plenty of martial arts material to watch unfold, the horror comes from the different styles of vampires that become Yakuza and the comedy comes from the craziness going on through the film.

Settings – The film keeps everything in on location of a small city which is now under control from Yakuza, first the kind type and soon the deadly type.

Special Effects – The effects in the film work well because they show the blood splatter at its very best.

Scene of the Movie – The frogs arrival.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The tone of the film changes too often.

Final Thoughts –This is truly a crazy movie which has blood splatter throughout the film even though it does follow a simple revenge plot.

Overall: A movie you won’t forget.

Rating

Director: Vito Dinatolo

Writer: Vito Dinatolo (Screenplay)

Starring: Scott Baxter, Chad Bishop, Jamie Bernadette, Janet Roth, James Hutchinson, Christopher Thorpe, Charmane Star

Plot: A war vet returns home, but a mysterious epidemic breaks out and infects his friends… The nightmare has just begun.

Tagline – What’s your demon?

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Clever Horror Thriller

Story: Face of Evil starts when Jay (Baxter) returns from his time in the services, his house is a mess, but his friends are there to welcome him home with a party. It isn’t long before the party takes an unwelcome twist and now Jay must face his infected friends out to kill him.

With his home invaded he must work with his sister Katy (Bernadette) to escape and team up with his former Sarge (Bishop) to fight the infected and learn the truth.

Thoughts on Face of Evil

Characters – Jay is the returning war vet, life isn’t what he remembers and after a night of partying things take a turn as he must team up with his Sarge to fight infected running riot in the streets. Sarge is the former brother in arms of Jay, he helps him through the infected streets be prepared for being discovered along the way. Katy is the sister of Jay that has helped throw the party, she is one that gets caught up with Jay needing to help her survive.

Performances – It would be fair to say Scott Baxter is the star of this movie, he appears in nearly every scene and it is his position through each situation that he gets to show us. Chad Bishop is good once he appears making us want to see what his character does next. While the rest of the performances are good, we don’t get too much time with them to see them standing out.

Story – The story follows a war veteran that must battle the infected across the home town, it shows how the deeper he gets the bigger the threat. This mostly follows one man who interacts with people along the way, which helps guide him to his final destination and the answers he is looking for. It would be fair to say the story gives hints to the conclusion of the film, which if you pick up on, you will get the end, otherwise this might not hit all the marks for the audience.

Horror – The horror side of the film is the journey Jay must go through during this night, be it the infected chasing him or learning what is causing the infection to spread.

Settings – The film is set in one city which shows how Jay and Sarge search for answers while alluding the infected.

Special Effects – The effects are simple and you can see the budget holding certain parts being held back, most are the infected look and bullet splatter.

Scene of the Movie – The final act.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The early house scenes can be hard to follow in the darkness.

Final Thoughts – This is a clever thriller that does take time to get going, it does show us where things are going, but it does deliver on a surprise and important message.

Overall: Thriller that keeps you thinking.

Rating

Director: Hemant Gaba, Pratim D Gupta, Sudhish Kamath, Nalan Kumarasamy, Anu Menon, Sandeep Mohan, Quashiq Mukherjee, Rajshree Ojha, Raja Sen, Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Suparn Verma

Writer: Hemant Gaba, Pratim D Gupta, Sudhish Kamath, Nalan Kumarasamy, Anu Menon, Sandeep Mohan, Quashiq Mukherjee, Rajshree Ojha, Raja Sen, Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Suparn Verma (Screenplay)

Starring: Rajat Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Anshuman Jha, Piaa Bajpai, Sara Bhaskar, Neha Mahajan

Plot: A filmmaker with a mid-life crisis meets a mysterious young girl who reminds of every woman in his past.

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Reminiscing Never Felt so True

Story: X: Past is Present starts as K (Kapoor) is at a party when he meets a young woman that reminds him of his former love, each moment he sees her through the night reminds him of previous women in his life and we follow the young K (Jha) through these relationships.

Each memory brings back a moment in his K’s life, one that he will never forget and one he can never live through again, these stories have made K the man he is now even the missed opportunities he went through.

Thoughts on X: Past is Present

Characters – K is the womanising filmmaker having a mid-life crisis, he meets a young lady at a party and starts to reminisce on the women that have help inspire his movies through the years. He is filled with happiness and sadness with memories that have made him and broken him in the past. The young woman likes the stories she is hearing and does have motivation for arriving in K’s life. Rija is the wife that K lost in his story of love, she wanted a normal life, something K never offered.

Performances – Rajat Kapoor is great in this leading role showing us the memories that K is having with the happiness and regrets like we all do. This does have strong performances from the whole case too.

Story – The story follows the man having a mid-life crisis remembering the women that came into his life, some for the better, others for the worst, each one brings their own story and lesson he learned through life. While looking at the different stories is wonderful too, it does become difficult to understand the different times everything is happening for K because the jumps seem ransom for the different time eras. Away from that slight flaw the idea is something I could enjoy watching and is one that I feel people will understand.

Mystery/Romance – The romance in this film comes from the different memories that K has been having the loves he once had for years and the small slings which lasted a lifetime. The mystery comes from who the mysterious girl is and even if she is real.

Settings – The film takes us to plenty of different settings that K has been through his life they have helped him write his own movies.

Scene of the Movie – How the flashbacks feel, because they feel like they are how memories would be.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Keeping up with the timeline in the flashbacks

Final Thoughts – This is a very good look at how life can lead us down different paths, some that will show us the best and most memorable moments and others which will remind us of the mistakes in our life.

Overall: Lovely look at life’s best moments.

Rating

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Writer: Lynne Ramsay (Screenplay) Jonathan Ames (Book)

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette

Plot: A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Divisive to Say the Lease

Story: You Were Never Really Here starts as we meet Joe (Phoenix) a war veteran that has his own nightmares that uses getting bag over head trick to show him what life is worth being a part off, he lives with his insecure mother (Roberts) and works as a fixer, tracking down missing girls for a living.

Joe’s latest job is to help Senator Albert Votto (Manette) find his daughter Nina (Samsonov) who has a habit of running away. When this latest mission gets out of hand, Joe must seek revenge on the people responsible in the bloody way possible.

Thoughts on You Were Never Really Here

Characters – Joe is the veteran that is suffering from his own nightmares, traumatised from his time at war, his outlets include a mix of legal highs and searching for missing girls. He is excellent at getting the job done and can get his hands dirty where needed, he has a close relationship with his mother where he tries his best to care for her, but his latest job will show us just how deadly he can be. Joe’s Mother is the one person Joe opens up to, she is the only one that can keep him grounded through his troubles. Nina is the teenager that went missing, the one he promises to help, we don’t see too much from her other than he is part of his motivation.  

Performances – There is no question that Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant in the leading role, we know his struggles he is showing us and watch eagerly to see what he does next. As for the rest of the performers, they are good as they are not trying to take the spotlight away from him.

Story – The story follows a struggle war veteran with the ability to track down missing people getting involved in a bigger picture that he just wasn’t prepared for. As things get out of hand he continues to question his own sanity as he looks to do the right thing for the latest victim. Well I think that is what I read from the movie, I am not going to lie when I say I feel I may have missed what makes this such the iconic special movie people have been talking about. It just seems to go into the you will need to understand every scene to make the answer to what happened as most of the interesting scenes do seem to miss the point.

Mystery – The mystery parts of this film come from just not knowing just where things will be going, just like Joe who is waiting to see what he has gotten himself into.

Settings – The film shows us just where Joe can stay away from the public eye but can be in the middle of the scene searching for the answers.

Scene of the Movie – Goodbye.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – This movie has been overhyped for me.

Final Thoughts – This is disappointing for me, because all I have heard is how great this movie is, but by the end of the film it does end up falling very short for me.

Overall: Disappointing.

Rating

Director: Jorge Michel Grau

Writer: Jorge Michel Grau (Screenplay)

Starring: Carmen Beato, Alan Chavez, Francisco Barreiro, Paulina Gaitan, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Humberto Yanez

Plot: When the patriarch of the family passes away, the teenage children must take responsibility for the family chores: the preparation of the rituals, the hunting and putting the all-important meat on the table. These newfound responsibilities are even more daunting, however, when you live in the city and happen to be a family of cannibals.

Tagline – Young. Wild. Hungry.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Darkly Disturbing Cannibal Movie

Story: We Are What We Are starts when the father of the family dies, Patricia (Beato) the mother of the family must get her sons Alfredo (Barreiro) and Julian (Chavez) to take over the business while daughter Sabina (Gaitan) steps up with the household responsibilities.

The family are cannibals and now one of the brothers will need to step up Alfredo is the eldest while Julian is the one that will take the chances when they are looking for their next meal, hunting the city for the easiest target to follow their ritual.

Thoughts on We Are What We Are

Characters – Patricia is the mother of the family she has seen her husband uses whores for the food, once he has died she wants her sons to take over and not use whores for their rituals. Alfredo is the eldest son, he is quiet compared to the others calculated and isn’t fully behind taking over in the same way Julian is. Julian is the younger brother, he has a short temper which has seen him get in trouble before, Sabina is the daughter of the family, she pushes Alfredo to take over knowing they need him to keep the family ticking.

Performances – The whole cast in this film are wonderful, we see the confliction, the determination and the belief in every action they go through, each cast member makes their character stand out in each scene too.

Story – The story of cannibals is one we have see a few times, we usually watch how the innocent must learn to fight back against them (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) we have seen the high class elude the law (Hannibal trilogy) now we get to see how one family operates in a busy city full of potential victims and how they select the victims along with how they operate when the leader of the family dies. The story has a disturbing factor about it from start to finish and following the villainous figures of this family brings a fresh spin to the cannibal genre.

Horror – The horror in this film comes from seeing how the cannibals operate, what they are planning and how they go about it, it feels disturbing in each scene.

Settings – The film is set in Mexico in a busy city which shows us how easy to find victims can be to get away with it too.

Special Effects – The effects are used well to not show us too much directly to the camera, this can both frustrate or keep things interesting as we don’t know the complete truth.

Scene of the Movie – The final act.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It would have been nice to see how the father operated in preparation for the ritual.

Final Thoughts – This is a disturbing horror that brings new life to the cannibal genre.

Overall: Cannibal delight.

Rating

Director: Seung-wan Ryoo

Writer: Seung-wan Ryoo (Screenplay)

Starring: Jung-min Hwang, Ah-in Yoo, Hae-jin Yoo, Dal-su Oh, Man-sik Jeong

Plot: Jo Tae-Oh is a young man who was grown spoiled in a wealthy family. He keeps on committing pretty much every crime that one can think of. He tries to buy his way out of everything which almost always works but Detective Seo Do-Cheol won’t let that happen this time.

Tagline – He will stop at nothing

Runtime: 2 Hours 3 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Smart Enjoyable Crime Thriller

Story: Veteran starts as we see how Seo Do-cheol (Hwang) and his team operate taking down criminals, his latest target in young businessman and vice-president of the family business Jo Tae-oh (Ah-in Yoo) who playboy lifestyle has been raising eyebrows as he can buy himself out of any problems.

When one of the contractors attempt suicide after lack of payment, Seo starts to investigate Tae-oh to bring down his corruption at a price as he puts his career and marriage on the line to bring them down.

Thoughts on Veteran

Characters – Seo Do-cheol is a detective that has been operating with his team to take down criminals for years now, his latest job made him a connection to a contractor that gets terminated before receiving payment, this gives Seo a chance to look at the vice-president of the company where he must show his determination to expose the truth and bring him down against everyone else’s opinions. Jo Tae-oh is the vice-president of a family company where he has more money then sense which lets him indulge in illegal part of life with his lawyer needing to clean up his actions.

Performances – The performances from the whole cast are good, Jung-min Hwang in the leading shines with his determined mindset to bring down Tae-oh. Ah-in Yoo is great as the playboy businessman, he brings out his cockiness in nearly every scene while also being able to snap at any moment.

Story – The story follows one determined detective trying to take down a vice-president of a ruthless company who pays off anyone that tries to go against him. The story does have plenty of twists along the way and does handle business corruption well, we also get to see how South Korean culture can play into decisions being made by characters. The pace of the story works well to as it never seems to let up even if the film is over 2 hours long.

Action/Comedy/Crime – The action in this film is kept for a couple of good sequences while we focus on the crime side of the film for the most part. We have moments of comedy while they don’t take over the film.

Settings – The films place in a South Korean city where the rich can get what they want and get away with what they want, and the cops must try to take them down.

Scene of the Movie – The takedown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – You feel we could have had more of Jo Tae-oh action before this crime.

Final Thoughts – This is a good crime thriller that exposes plenty of truths in the corruption one man had been causing and shows the best of the two men and what they are fighting for.

Overall: Fun crime thriller.

Rating