Tag Archives: 2003

Sep 19 2020

Franchise Weekend – House of 1000 Corpses (2003) Movie Review

Director: Rob Zombie

Writer: Rob Zombie (Screenplay)

Starring: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Walton Goggins, Rainn Wilson, Chris Hardwick, Jennifer Jostyn, Erin Daniels

Plot: Two young couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of murder end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.


Tagline – Dare You Enter…

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: This Really Is Messy

Story: House of 1000 Corpses starts when four friends Jerry (Hardwick), Mary (Jostyn), Bill (Wilson) and Denise (Daniels) go on tour of at Captain Spaulding (Haig) house of horrors and learning about mysterious tree, they go off in search in a storm, picking up a hitchhiker Baby Firefly (Moon), they find a place to stay, right around when the news is reporting about missing teenagers.

The four friends find themselves being the latest victims of the Firefly family with Otis (Moseley) willing to do anything to get his pleasure for pain, their only hope is that Denise’s father comes looking for them after they didn’t arrive at his house the night before.

Thoughts on House of 1000 Corpses

Characters – Captain Spaulding is the one that has his own house of horrors that he encourages tourists to look around, he knows the legends of the area, which is why he knows how to get the curiosity of the people to want to go in search for the legends about his house. Otis is the leader of the firefly house, he will talk the most, do the most torturous treatment of their victims. Baby Firefly is the one that brings people back to the house, the youngest member of the family that is just getting started in her ways compared to the rest. Mother Firefly is always looking for a younger man to play with before they murder.

Performances – Sid Haig does bring his character to life to be one of the very few highlights in this film, while Bill Moseley knows that he needed to make this character over the top, while the victims are generic performances, they are fine, but the rest of the cast struggles to work with the awful material.

Story – The story here follows four friends that find themselves being the latest victims of the sadistic firefly family that like to torture, mutuality and kill their victims. The biggest problem with this story is that we cut away way too many times, it always looks like we are going into watch a torture filled horror story, which isn’t everyone cup of tea, but if we had stuck to this idea, we could have had a good story. The problems involve countless city away scenes of just random footage of violence happening to people, rather than having any context towards them. This story is mess and never makes you care about the victims, while not making the villains people you want to see either, making most shots of the film hard to care about.

Horror – The horror in the film is meant to be focused on the different levels of violence that could be given to the victims, it is more for shock than making any sense.

Settings – The film is mostly set in the one house/ranch like environment where the family can do what they want without anybody coming to disturb them.

Special Effects – The effects are used to show the violence, though most gets covered over with random slips of something else happening.


Scene of the Movie – Captain Spaulding’s tour.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The random cut clips that make no sense.

Final Thoughts – This is a truly messy horror that misses on every mark, leaving it look and feeling like something you would forget within a hour of finishing it.

Overall: Poor and messy.

Jul 27 2020

My Life Without Me (2003) Movie Review

Director: Isabel Coixet

Writer: Isabel Coixet (Screenplay) Nanci Kincaid (Book)

Starring: Sarah Polley, Amanda Plummer, Scott Speedman, Mark Ruffalo, Debbie Harry, Julian Richings

Plot: A young woman conceals the fact of her terminal cancer to live her life with a passion she never had before.

Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Polley is Exceptional

Story: My Life Without Me starts as we meet mother, wife and cleaner Ann (Polley) who has a routine in her day that puts her children first and gets the positives out of her life, until one day she collapses, learning she has terminal cancer.

Ann decides to keep the news to herself, trying not to bring the burden on her family, while she sets out her own plan of a bucket list, things that will leave her family with happy memories about her, while also looking to explore a few things she never got to, including meeting other men, with Lee (Ruffalo) being the one she turns to.

Thoughts on My Life Without Me

Characters – Ann is the mother, wife and cleaner, she has always put her kids first, only she never got to live her younger life, this has never bothered her until she learns she has terminal cancer, now she wants to remain happy for family, but take a few more chances in life, while making sure her family will remember her once she is gone. Ann shows us what it is like to see the world come crashing down around them, while needing to remain strong. Don is the husband to Ann, he works hard to help support the family too, he is always good to her, he does know that Ann is the strength in his life too. Lee is the stranger Ann meets, she does want to know more from love, which is why she turns to Lee for something she could never get from Don the man she loves, he is always friendly and caring towards here. We do also meet other people in Ann’s life, we have her mother, co-worker, children and doctors, all give Ann different decision to make in her remaining life.

Performances – Sarah Polley is amazing in this film, she steps up to be head and shoulders above the whole cast, bringing to life a character that feels like she could be in anybody’s life. We do have a strong supporting cast in mark Ruffalo, Scott Speedman and Amanda Plummer, who give Polley even more to work off through the film too.

Story – The story here follows a young woman who has been living a routine life until she learns she has terminal cancer, she doesn’t want to let her family know, instead carry on like normal and take a few more chances in her own life. This does show a new way to make sure someone who is dying decides to show us a new way to make sure their family can be prepared once they are gone. We see how Ann is trying to do the right thing, both for the future and for her remaining time, without needing to dive into the painful treatment scene. The story is told in a such a way, where it sends the message to make the most of your own life no matter how difficult life could be for everyone.

Romance – The romance in the film shows what Ann wanted in life, even though she is happy with what she has, it is all about what could be in her life.

Settings – The film uses the setting to show us an everyday life that Ann lives in, the poorer family she is in, needing the two jobs to keep the trailer for her family.


Scene of the Movie – Making the list.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could see more of Don’s side of everyday life.

Final Thoughts – This is a brilliantly acting movie that shows Sarah Polley at her very best, it has a touching story and gives an important message for all.

Overall: Touching Drama.

Signature Entertainment presents My Life Without Me on Digital HD July 31 and on Amazon Prime August 3rd

May 14 2020

ABC Film Challenge – World Cinema – N – Natural City (2003) Movie Review

Director: Byung-chun Min

Writer: Byung-chun Min, Jae-rim Han (Screenplay)

Starring: Ji-tae Yu, Jae-un Lee, Rin Seo, Eun-pyo Jeong, Doo-hong Jung, Hyo-Seon Kim, Ju-hye Ko

Plot: In the year 2080, the world is connected by a massive computer network. Combiners have developed a process that allows them to merge the souls of human and machine/cyborg, wreaking havoc in a deeply divided society.


Tagline – The war has begun…

Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Less Interesting Blade Runner

Story: Natural City starts in the year 2080, in a world where cyborgs are part of the world, taking the place of human bodies, containing their souls, R (Yu) is one of the military police that hunts down cyborgs that are out of control, with his latest mission seeing him disgraced by his boss as they hunt for the deadly Cyper (Jung).

R has been illegal collecting the AI chips from the cyborgs to sell on the black market, he sells the chip from Cyper to buy himself a cyborg called Ria (Seo) one without much time left in her system. R’s latest assignment is to track down Cyon (Lee) who is an unregistered living in the city, that could hold answers to the future.

Thoughts on Natural City

Characters – R is a military police officer that has been struggling to deal with the work of eliminating cyborgs, he has been working on making money on the side with a plan to rescue a cyborg from the life she is stuck in. he isn’t the strongest soldier, but he will do what it takes to fight for what is right. Cyon is the mysterious young woman that is the key to the battle going on, she is unregistered and is wanted by the police for her work on the streets. Ria is the aging cyborg that R wants to save, she only has days left which see her being taken, while still trying to find her purpose in the world before it is too late. Noma is the leader of the police unit that R is in, he clashes with his friend even if they do want the same thing at times.

Performances – The performance in the film are solid enough from the whole cast, nobody looks out of place, though we could have seen more from them if we are going to reach the next level.

Story – The story here takes us into a future where cyborgs are used with a limited life span, when they go rogue the military police track them down and in this story they are trying to break out to become the main force in the world. This story was difficult to keep up with in places because we are watching something that does seem similar to Blade Runner, in nearly everything single way. We the that we have three different sides coming into a potential war doesn’t help because too many different people are trying to prove themselves as the hero of their own story.

Action/Sci-Fi – The action in this film is big and does show a style which has been borrowed from other films, it has great moments which will become the highlight of the film. The sci-fi world that we enter is wonderful too, it shows the typical ideas that we have been led to believe too.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different worlds being lived in, showing us the environments that both are coming from or aiming to.

Special Effects – The effects are used to show the different developments of the cyborgs, we get to see just how they are created and destroyed.


Scene of the Movie – Cyborg escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many similarities to Blade Runner.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting spin on the Blade Runner idea, with a deeper story going on without hitting the neo-noir tone.

Overall: Just another Blade Runner.

May 10 2020

Franchise Weekend – Bad Boys II (2003) Movie Review

Director: Michael Bay

Writer: Ron Shelton, Jerry Stahl (Screenplay) Marianne Wibberley, Cormac Wibberley, Ron Shelton (Story)

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Jordi Molla, Gabrielle Union, Peter Stormare, Theresa Randle, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Shannon

Plot: Two loose-cannon narcotics cops investigate the flow of Ecstasy into Florida from a Cuban drug cartel.

Runtime: 2 Hours 27 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Bigger, Badder, Ballsier

Story: Bad Boys 2 starts as Marcus (Lawrence) and Mike (Smith) are undercover with their latest job, with Marcus getting shot in the ass, with Marcus recovering, Mike has secretly started to date Marcus’s sister Syd (Union) a fellow officer from New York.

When Mike and Marcus find themselves in the middle of Syd case in Miami, they want to help out, which sees them trying to take down Cuban drug lord Hector Juan Carlos Tapia, known as Johnny (Molla) who has bought a new deadly drug to the streets.

Thoughts on Bad Boys 2

Characters – Marcus is suffering with middle-life crisis problems, he recently got hurt on duty, which has seen him milk the sympathy, he is worried about his sister on her case and will do anything to protect her, while always getting worried about Mike’s actions. Mike is still the smooth loose cannon, he has started dating Marcus’s sister in secret waiting for the chance to tell him, he is still caring about his car more than anything else, usually killing more of the suspects than he needs too. Hector is the Cuban drug lord who is making his major play to take over Miami, he will not take perfection from his men. Syd is the sister of Marcus, she has been working on a case in Miami, giving her a chance to spend more time with Mike, while proving herself as a top-level cop to her brother.

Performances – Will Smith and Martin Lawrence do both continue to show their chemistry, though the characters do seem to have changed and become more exaggerated with Will Smith being more like the player persona his blockbusters have made, while Martin Lawrence does seem to bring us more of a whiny figure. Jordi Molla fills the generic villain without needing to do much more than say threating lines, while Gabrielle Union bought a different dimension to the film.

Story – The story here follows the two narcotics detectives as they get involved with trying to take down the latest drug lord who has been working with Marcus’s undercover sister, bringing the fight to a new personal level for the two men. The story might well follow the same basic idea of the first film, it does make everything feel a lot bigger and making everything more personal only helps, the bigger the characters the two men have is noticeable here too. This one doesn’t really leave too much to the imagination but is sure a hell of a fun watch for the simplistic side to the story.

Action/Comedy/Crime – The action in the film is much bigger than the first film, we have car chases, explosion and massive shoot outs, which become the set pieces. The comedy is all about how the two are always bickering, which does get laughs through the film, while we do dive into the world of drugs once again.

Settings – The film does keep the Miami setting for the most part, while giving us an ending in Cuba for the final action set piece.


Scene of the Movie – The Cuba chase.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do focus more on the action over the story, unlike the first film.

Final Thoughts – This is a bigger and bolder action film that has massive set pieces, which is a great watch, with great chemistry between the leads.

Overall: Entertaining blitz.

Apr 4 2020

Heath Ledger Weekend – Ned Kelly (2003) Movie Review

Director: Gregor Jordan

Writer: John Michael McDonagh (Screenplay) Robert Drewe (Novel)

Starring: Heath Ledger, Orland Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Joel Edgerton, Laurence Kinlan

Plot: An innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.


Tagline – When the law tried to silence him a legend was born.

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Biopic 101

Story: Ned Kelly starts in 1871 Australia where an Irish family the Kelly’s have settled in with the eldest son Ned (Ledger) ends up getting into trouble with the law, that has always targeted his family, seeing him placed in prison for a couple of years. Once out Ned does start to try and turn his family’s luck around with his friends Joseph Byrne (Bloom) and Aaron Sherritt (Edgerton), while working for an English family where Ned falls for Julia (Watts).

When Ned gets framed for assault by the constable that has always been out for his blood, his family gets targeted, but not the police are not going to stop until they have his head, forcing Ned to go on the run to protect his family, making him one of the most wanted criminals in the world.

Thoughts on Ned Kelly

Characters – Ned Kelly is a young Irish man that has always seen his family targeted by the law, he has gotten himself in trouble because of this, which sees him falsely accused and becoming a target. Ned refused to back down from the law needing to go on the run, leading to him becoming an outlaw taking from the rich inspiring the poor as he fights for what is right and his family’s pride. Joseph Byrne is Ned’s best friend, he will stand by his side through his battles, needing to do the right thing. Superintendent Francis Hare is the man charged with capturing the Kelly gang, he doesn’t want to hear the story, he just wants them gone. Julia Cook is an English woman that Ned was working for, she is one of the few that will help him seeing the good in his nature, but being held back by her own family.

Performances – Heath Ledger does a great job here showing how he wanted to break his pretty boy image, this performance makes this happen with ease. Orlando Bloom in the supporting role is strong without being truly great, while Geoffrey Rush feels wasted, with him being involved but not getting too much screen time, same goes for Naomi Watts, she just doesn’t get enough time to shine.

Story – The story here follows the innocent man that gets forced into become an outlaw who becomes the most wanted man in Australia. This story shows how settlers in other countries would always be unfairly targeted by the locals who saw them as threats, how people’s words could create outlaws because nobody would listen or understand the truths within a world. The story is only really told from Ned’s which will always make him look like the innocent man he was, but we do hear and see that most of the group have served time, so they might not be as innocent as they look (this is only from what the film shows, not what I know about the truth).

Action/Biopic/Western – The action is everything you would expect from a western, we have seen the shooting like always. The biopic does only show one side of the story and it does feel like there is more to tell.

Settings – The film utilises the location to show how Ned Kelly has to go into hiding and including the showdown.


Scene of the Movie – The showdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does seem one sided.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book biopic that showed one of the most famous outlaws in Australia, though it doesn’t seem to reach an intensity level that it could have.

Overall: Nice biopic.