Bdub's Film Reviews

[BWilli]

“The Forgotten” stars Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, and Anthony Edwards and is directed by Joseph Rubin.

A grieving mother, Telly Paretta (Moore), is struggling to cope with the loss of her 9-year-old son. She is stunned when her psychiatrist, Dr. Munce (Sinise) and her husband Jim (Edwards) tell her that she has created eight years of memories of a son she never had.  Telly is convinced she is going mad until she meets Ash Correll (West), the father of one of the other plane crash victims. Together, they embark on a search to prove the existence of their children and reclaim their sanity.

Earlier this year when this film hit theaters, someone on a radio station spoiled the twist.   Being the movie enthusiast that I am, I hate when that happens.  So I knew what was coming, I just didn’t know how.  Before knowing what the surprise was, “The Forgotten” sounded like a pretty decent movie with a really good premise.  What we get though is just on okay movie, with an unsuspecting twist (unless of course someone tells you).  I think the movie would’ve worked better as something else, I can’t tell you what without spoiling it for you.

Julianne Moore is near perfect as a mother who has lost her child.  She couldn’t have played the role any better.  West is also pretty good in his role.  Sinise is decent in a small role and Edwards doesn’t do too much, but is okay at doing what he does.  Follow that?  Good.

I’d say it’s worth the rental fee, otherwise wait for cable.  Not bad, but not great.

:thumbsup: :thumbsdown:  6/10

[BWilli]

Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, Billie Whitelaw and David Warner star in “The Omen”, a film directed by Richard Donner.

When Kathy Thorn (Remick) gives birth to a stillborn baby, her husband Robert (Peck) shields her from the devastating truth and substitutes an orphaned infant for their own; unaware of the child’s satanic origins.  The horror begins on Damien’s (Stephens) fifth birthday when his nanny stages a dramatic suicide.  The nanny is replaced by the creepy Mrs. Blaylock (Whitelaw).  Soon after, photographer Keith Jennings (Warner) begins noticing strange shapes in the pictures that he has been taking.  When a priest who tries to warn Robert is killed in a freakish accident, Jennings realizes that the shapes are actual signs, showing how people are going to die.  When he takes a photo of himself, he notices that he is next on the list, and decides to help Robert.  As the death toll rises, Robert realizes that his son is indeed the Antichrist and he must kill the boy to prevent him from fulfilling a disastrous prophecy.

“The Omen” is one creepy movie.  It wasn’t as scary as I had hoped, but Stephens was extremely freaky and worked great in the film.  The story is really good, and Donner does a great job directing it.  There are some really cool deaths as well, in particular an awesome beheading.

Gregory Peck is, by far, one of the greatest actors of all time.  He puts in a great performance here.  Remick kind of annoyed me a little, but she did an okay job.  Stephens is (or was) one freaky kid.  Good job.  It doesn’t seem like he’s done any other films since “The Omen”.  Whitelaw was extra creepy in her role and Warner was pretty good as well.

Do I wish the film was scarier?  Yes.  However it’s still really good.  Well acted and directed.  A must see for any horror fan.

:thumbsup:  :thumbsup:  8/10

[BWilli]

“Elizabethtown” stars Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Paul Schneider and Judy Greer, with quick appearances by Alec Baldwin and Jessica Biel.  Cameron Crowe wrote and directed the film.

After causing the Oregon shoe company he works for to lose nearly a billion dollars, Drew Baylor (Bloom) is fired by Phil (Baldwin), and promptly dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen (Biel).  Already on the verge of suicide, Drew learns that his father has died.  As the only son, Drew must travel to their small hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky to attend to his father's memorial and to make sure that his dying wishes are fulfilled.  On the plane, Drew meets Claire Colburn (Dunst), a quick-witted flight attendant, who helps him navigate the rough waters ahead and proves that amazing things happen when you least expect them.

Crowe delivers one hell of a great feel-good movie.  The screenplay is phenomenal and his directing is top-notch.  Crowe is famous for using music as a driving force in his films, and he does that again with “Elizabethtown”.  The soundtrack includes great songs by Tom Petty, Elton John and Lindsey Buckingham among others.  The best scene in the movie is by far the all night phone conversation between Drew and Clair.  What we see is the expression of two souls, who become quick friends. Up until the phone call, they had nobody with which they could share such feelings, ideas, trivialities, and more importantly, time with.  The most moving/emotional scene is Drew’s drive home, a trip with his father, as he puts it, that he should have taken “years ago”.

Bloom delivers his best performance yet, followed distantly by his role earlier this year in “Kingdom of Heaven”.  He makes brilliant move from epic dramas, to a feel-good drama, and he does is flawlessly.  Dunst felt a little over the top at first, but we find that that is what the character calls for.  She played the role well.  Sarandon isn’t on screen all that much until the end, but delivers some good comical parts to the film.  I loved the speech and dance scene near the end.  Judy Greer puts in a good effort as well, but it was the relatively unknown Paul Schneider, who plays Drew’s cousin Jessie, that steels the supporting character spotlight.  Very good performance by Schneider.

I’m putting this film in the same category as “Garden State” (my second favorite film from 2004).  “Elizabethtown” is right up there and is added to my top 10 of 2005.  Do yourself a favor and go see this movie.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: 9/10

[BWilli]

The French horror film “High Tension” stars Cécile De France, Maïwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon and is directed by Alexandre Aja.

Marie (De France) and Alexia (Le Besco) are classmates and best friends.  Hoping to prepare for their college exams in peace and quiet, they decide to spend a weekend in the country at Alexia’s parent’s secluded farmhouse.  But in the dead of night, a stranger (Nahon) knocks on the door.  With the first swing of his knife, the girl’s idealistic weekend turns into an endless night of horror.

If you’re a gore fiend, then this film is for you.  Aja directs one of the bloodiest films I have seen in a very, very long time, and does an excellent job at it.  I’ve read a few reviews which claim that Aja “stole” this story from Dean Koontz’s novel “Intensity.”  I found a brief description of intensity that I’m going to share with you now: A young woman staying as a guest in a Napa Valley farmhouse becomes trapped in a fight for survival with a self-proclaimed "homicidal adventurer", and races to warn his next intended victim. Unrelentingly terrifying, this book lives up to its name.

Ok…the only similarity I see is the “staying as a guest at a farmhouse”.  Marie isn’t trapped anywhere, nor is she trying to warn the next victim…she’s trying to save her friend.  So I wouldn’t say that he stole the story, but I guess I can see why people would think so.  It’s not like this is the only film to have a killer in the woods.  There are plenty more…”The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” anyone?  Anyway…

So I loved the story and I dug the ending.  The reason I liked the ending…I wasn’t expecting it.  I love gore.  Excellent use of not showing too much of the killer face too.  Always keeping him in the shadows, only revealing portions at a time.  Love it.  The more gore in a horror film, the merrier.  We get some very brutal kills and buckets of blood in this one:  a very creative beheading, an up-close and personal slitting of the throat, a severed hand, an axe attack, a nasty saw attack, a cool barbed wire on a stick attack, and more.  I can feel my inner-psycho jumping with joy.

Cécile De France was excellent.  She portrayed the emotion perfectly and was very impressive.  Maïwenn Le Besco gave a great performance, damn this girl can scream.  Good stuff. Nahon was flawlessly creepy.  He looked and moved like a killer should.  All around greatness in the casting department.

Anybody who loves the horror genre should like this film.  If you’ve got a weak stomach…maybe stay away from the film.  If not, watch “High Tension” as it is one of the better horror films to come out in a long time.  

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:  9/10

[BWilli]

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Christopher Lee, and Albert Finney voice characters in Tim Burton’s latest stop-motion film, “Corpse Bride”.

Victor Van Dort (Depp) is a young man who is betrothed to a woman he has never met, Victoria (Watson). While she’s a sweetheart, her parents are conniving gold diggers, hoping Victor’s rich family can help save them from bankruptcy.  After messing up his vows at the wedding rehearsal, Victor goes for a walk in the woods, practicing them.  While placing the ring on a random twig, and reciting the vows perfectly, he soon finds out that the twig is really the finger of a murdered bride-to-be. By placing the ring on her finger and saying his vows, Victor becomes married to the corpse and is taken away to the underworld.

For anyone who enjoyed “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, you’re sure to enjoy this film as well.  The story is short and sweet, running just under 80 minutes.  There could have been at least another 10 minutes added on, just to build the relationship between Victor and Victoria, and Victor and the Bride.  That aside, the story works well, and I dug it.  Then there are the visual images. The characters and sets are brilliantly stylized, and they gorgeously reflect the inner life of each, from the drab grey of the living world to the exciting zest of the underworld.

Close your eyes and listen to Depp’s voice as Victor.  You’d think you’re watching “Edward Scissorhands”.  And just like in Scissorhands, and nearly every other film he’s done, Depp is great.  Carter and Watson also do great voice-over work as their characters, with the supporting cast of Lee, Finney and others all doing wonderful jobs as well.

Although I don’t think this is as great as “Nightmare…” was, “Corpse Bride” is still a high-quality stop-motion film.  Burton gives us, for the second time this year, a fine film; a must see for “Nightmare…” fans, Burton fans, Depp fans, and pretty much everyone else.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:  8/10

[BWilli]

Tobin Bell reprises his role as John in “Saw II”.  Also returning from the first film with larger roles are Shawnee Smith as Amanda, and Dina Meyer as Kerry.  Donnie Wahlberg, Glenn Plummer, Erik Knudsen, Franky G, Beverley Mitchell, and Emmanuelle Vaugier join the cast.  Darren Lynn Bousman takes over as director of this one, and picks up where James Wan left off.

Jigsaw's (Bell) latest sadistic game finds a group of similar characters trapped inside a dilapidated old house, where poisonous gas is being pumped into the circulation. They have less than two hours to find a way out before they begin dropping like flies, a task that's exacerbated by the excess of traps and puzzles hidden throughout the house.  Meanwhile, grizzled detective Eric Mason (Wahlberg) finds himself face-to-face with Jigsaw after the killer specifically mentions him at a crime scene. Jigsaw claims that if Mason sits and talks with him for a few hours, his son Daniel (Knudsen), one of the hapless inhabitants of the deadly abode, will escape from the ordeal unscathed.

It’s always hard for a sequel to live up to its predecessor, but it has been done in the past (T2 anyone…).  It’s been done once again as “Saw II” comes very close to almost being better than the first.  The film was taken from a screenplay originally written by Bousman, which he and “Saw” scribe Leigh Whannel rewrote into “Saw II”.  The story is great, and really shows you how messed up the character of Jigsaw is.  He warns up, “Oh yes…there will be blood”, and there was plenty of it.  We get a bullet through the eye, spiked bat to the head, slit wrists, cutting of the throat, and the one sure to make you cringe in your seat, needles (and lots of them).  Bousman does a great job directing this film.

Tobin Bell gets more screen time in part two and eats it up perfectly.  I felt the Wahlberg over did it a little at first, but fell into the roll.  Bell and Wahlberg worked well together on screen in well done back and forth dialogue.  Giving Shawnee Smith a bigger role was a great move as she was excellent as Amanda.  Dina Meyer did what she could with the role she was given, but it was nothing too spectacular.  Franky G (it really is time to fill in the last name), over-played the tough guy act for the most part.  Knudsen was decent as Daniel and Vaugier didn’t do such a bad job either.  Plummer was all right and Mitchell didn’t do much on screen but cry.  

I’m half and half on the acting, but the writing and directing were superb.  This was an excellent sequel, with a bigger twist at the end that I really don’t think anyone saw coming.  With a 30.5 million dollar weekend, I say bring on “Saw III”.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: 9/10

[BWilli]

“Bewitched” stars Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine, and is directed by Nora Ephron.

Out in California's San Fernando Valley, Isabel (Kidman), is trying to reinvent herself. A naive, good-natured witch, she is determined to disavow her supernatural powers and lead a "normal" life.  At the same time, across town, Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) a tall, charming actor is trying to get his career back on track. He sets his sights on an updated version of the beloved 1960's situation comedy "Bewitched," reconceived as a starring vehicle for himself in the role of the mere-mortal Darrin.  Fate steps in when Jack accidentally runs into Isabel. He is immediately attracted to her and her nose, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the nose of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha in the original TV version of the show. He becomes convinced she could play the role of Samantha.  Isabel is also taken with Jack, seeing him as the quintessential mortal man with whom she can settle down and lead the normal life she so desires.

I didn’t have high expectations for this film at all.  I think Will Ferrell is hilarious, but I think Nicole Kidman is kind of overrated.  I’m also not all that crazy about the whole old TV show adapted to a film thing.  In this case though, they didn’t remake the TV show into a film, just used the idea of remaking the show within the film.  The first half of “Bewitched” felt kind of slow to me.  I didn’t like the whole rewinding sequence.  However, I think the film picked up a bit in the second half.  The story kind of fell into place.

So…I said that I think Ferrell is hilarious; and his is…normally.  This was easily not one of his funniest roles.  He was all right, but not the same old Will we’ve seen in other films.  I also said that I think Kidman is overrated.  Well, I’ll tell ya, she was actually quite charming in this role.  She worked the comedy very well, which is something much different for her.  She pulled it off though.  Caine was decent, but is normally better, and MacLaine was just okay.  Steve Carrell makes a pretty funny cameo as Uncle Arthur.

I think “Bewitched” could have been a whole lot better if it was in fact a complete remake of the Samantha and Darrin story of the original TV show.  I wouldn’t change the cast, I would have just changed the story.

:thumbsup: :thumbsdown:  5/10

[BWilli]

Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel, Erica Leerhsen, R. Lee Ermey, and Andrew Bryniarski star in the remake “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

In August 1973, in Texas, friends Erin (Biel), Kemper (Balfour), Andy (Vogel) Morgan (Tucker) and hitchhiker Pepper (Leerhsen) are returning from a vacation in Mexico on their way to Lynard Skynard concert.  They see a young woman wandering on the road and decide to help her.  Once in the van the woman gets hysterical and commits suicide. The group decides to look for a telephone to call the Sheriff, and they end in the house of the Hewitt family, where their lives are threatened by the sick Leatherface (Bryniarski) and his deranged family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this re-imaging of the original 1974 film.  The whole premise of the film was the same, where as the characters and the way the events played out were different.  The film didn’t really mess with, or take anything away from the original, which is a big plus.  The locations brought a good sense of creepiness to the film, the Hewitt house and the meat locker scene in particular.  

Overall the cast was surprisingly really good.  I’ve never thought Biel was a good actress, but I liked her performance here, a lot actually.  She reached a damn good emotional level and was perfect at it.    Leerhsen sold the “scared shitless” role, and can scream with the best of them.  Bryniarski was beyond perfect as Leatherface.  The casting department couldn’t have picked a better actor to play the part.  Balfour and Vogel did okay jobs in their roles, but it was Tucker and Ermey, who I feel, stole the show.   Tucker played the pot-smokin’ hippie to a tee.   Great job.  Ermey is a classic actor and kicked major ass in this film.  You could tell he had a shit-load of fun with his character.  Tucker and Ermey shared one excellent scene together and it was easily the best scene in the movie.

I was pleasantly surprised with TCM 2003.  It turned out to be a good horror movie.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the original, so I’m not sure which I like better.  Horror fans should definitely check this out, and fans of the original should too.  The 1974 version is a cult classic, and die-hard fans may not dig this one as much, but it really is an enjoyable slasher flick.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:  8/10

[BWilli]

Rob Bowman directed “Elektra” which stars Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic, Terence Stamp, Kristen Prout, Will Yun Lee, and Natassia Malthe.

Elektra is a hired assassin whose origins are finally revealed after her old ninja clan the Hand brings her back from the dead to serve their evil purposes. Reunited with her old sensei, Stick (Stamp), Elektra leaves the past behind her and is eventually given an assignment to kill Mark Miller (Visnjic) and his daughter, Abby (Prout). When her conscience gets the best of her and she decides to protect them instead, members of the Hand; Kirigi (Lee), Typhoid (Malthe), Tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Stone (Bob Sapp), and others, take over the job, and hunt down Elektra, Mark and Abby.

Critics totally bashed this film; however, I don’t think it is really as bad as they say it is.  Sure, it’s no “Spider-man” or “X-men”, which are the better of the comic book films, but “Elektra” wasn’t a total disappointment.  The story was pretty good, and the fight sequences were awesome; however, there were a few fight sequences I would have loved to see.  Some of the deaths were just way too quick, and the whole evaporating into thin air when killed just didn’t cut it.  There were also a few parts in the dialogue that was relatively cheesy.

Garner was good and showed more depth this time around then in “Daredevil”.  Visnjic and Prout were okay in their roles.  Stamp was cool in the short screen time he had.  Lee, mostly an unknown actor wasn’t half bad as the villain.  I was expecting Malthe to have more screen time, but she was decent in her role.  I would have like to see a fight scene between her and Garner.  

It’s not the best film of the year, not by far, but I wouldn’t call it the worst film either.  It was moderately enjoyable, with decent acting and really cool action sequences.  If you like the recent surge of comic book films, definitely check this out.  

:thumbsup:   7/10

[BWilli]

Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Steve Zahn and Garry Marshall voice characters in “Chicken Little”.

After Chicken Little (Braff) causes widespread panic when he mistakes a falling acorn for a piece of the sky, the young chicken is determined to restore his reputation. But just as things are starting to go his way, a real piece of the sky lands on his head. Chicken Little and his band of misfit friends, Abby Mallard (Cusack), Runt (Zahn) and Fish, attempt to save the world without sending the town into a whole new panic.

This could possibly be the cutest film of the year.  The story is pretty good; although I’ve heard that it deviates from the original.  I don’t know much about that, but I enjoyed it.  Aside from the whole “the boy who cried wolf”-ish story, it's really about the broken relationship between Chicken Little and his dad, a very familiar father/son set-up in which both love each other but rarely discuss their true feelings.  There’s plenty of humor written in as well.  

For the most part, you could barely recognize that it’s Braff voicing Chicken Little, but occasionally you can hear it.  Braff did a great job with the voice-over and was a really good choice for the part.  Cusack was also hard to recognize and did a great job voicing Abby Mallard.  I’m a fan of Steve Zahn, and it was great to hear him voicing Runt.  He did an awesome job, making Runt my favorite character in the film.  Garry Marshall does a wonderful job voicing CL’s dad, Buck.

Over all, “Chicken Little” is a fun, cute, funny, and heart-warming CGI animated movie.  Children will love it and adults should definitely dig it.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:  8/10

[BWilli]

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” stars Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi and Angelina Jolie.

Ace pilot Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan (Law) reluctantly teams up with his former flame, journalist Polly Perkins (Paltrow), to uncover the mystery behind a group of missing scientists and a series of shocking robot attacks. Aided by gadgetry whiz Dex Dearborn (Ribisi) and enigmatic military commander Franky Cook (Jolie), Joe and Polly must find out who is responsible for an increasingly elaborate scheme that may trigger the end of the world.

I didn’t catch all of the films back in 2004, but I think its safe to say that most of them, if any, don’t even compare to the visual style of this film.  It’s not the best film overall, but “Sky Captain…” is visually stunning.  The entire movie was shot using “digital backlot”, where all of the acting was shot in front of a green screen, and the backgrounds added in during post-production (same technique used in “Casshern” [2004] and “Sin City” [2005] among a few others).  I’m loving this technique and hope that more films, not all, will use it.

The acting was top-notch all the way around.  Jude Law was awesome in the lead.  The dude is all over the place these days and its no wonder why.  Paltrow worked perfectly in her role and looked excellent in the part.  Jolie gave a strong supporting appearance, as did Ribisi.  Big ups to director Kerry Conran to use archive footage of the late Sir Laurence Olivier in the film as well.  

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” is a fun action movie, visually stunning, well acted and well directed.  If you haven’t already, check this film out.

:thumbsup:  :thumbsup:  8/10

[BWilli]

“The Jacket” stars Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Daniel Craig.

Shot in the head while in Iraq, Jack Starks (Brody) has returned home only to be convicted of a murder that he didn't commit. Still reeling from his wartime trauma, Jack is found not guilty by reason of insanity and is committed to an institution for the criminally insane. Once there, he is drugged by Dr. Becker (Kristofferson) and placed into a coffin-like drawer on a nightly basis. Inside the drawer, after being tormented with horrific war flashbacks, Jack is mysteriously transported to the future, where he forms a tender relationship with the hardened, beautiful Jackie (Knightley). Aware that he is destined to die in four days, Jack must use his new gift to figure out what happened to him, with the hopes of altering the course of history.

John Maybury directs a pretty original screenplay that was written by Massy Tadjedin.  Maybury brought a very claustrophobic feel to the movie which worked amazingly, considering the whole concept of the morgue drawer that Jack is stuffed into every night.  The story is meant to be a psychological thriller and it most certainly is.  It may be the most mind-effed I’ve been with any movie so far this year.

Brody delivers another excellent performance, and Kristofferson is very notable as well.  Knightley worded well with her first American accent in a film, and was on par acting wise.  Leigh was decent, but I think Craig stole the show.  He was great as the only true crazy person in the film.  He stole every scene he was in.

Psychological thrillers have been a favorite genre of mine for a long time, and this film was near perfect at it, thanks to an excellent story, great directing and really good acting.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: 8/10

[BWilli]

Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, and RZA (founding member of Wu-Tang Clan) star in director Mikael Hafstrom’s “Derailed”.

Meeting on a commuter train one morning in Chicago, ad executive Charles (Owen) and financial analyst Lucinda (Aniston) have an immediate connection. Worn down by his job, strained marriage to Deanna (George), and a sick child, Charles finds himself drawn to the escape Lucinda can offer. A lunch meeting, followed by dinner and drinks, leads the way to a rendezvous in a sleazy motel, where no sooner have the adulterous lovebirds ripped each other's clothes off than a sadistic thief (Cassel) breaks into the room and puts them through hours of nightmarish horror. Because of their relationship's illicit nature, the two are unable to go to the cops, and are thus virtually powerless to their attacker's every whim, leaving themselves open to blackmail as he threatens their families and lives. Choosing momentary gratification and the excitement of the unknown over the values he generally holds dear, Charles more than pays the price for his indiscretion.

Thrillers come a dime a dozen these days, but they’re not always all that great.  “Derailed” isn’t great, not by far, but it sure is a decent thrill ride.  The film is adapted from a James Siegel novel by screenwriter Stuart Beattie (who also wrote “Collateral”).  It’s well written, and well directed by Hafstrom.  “Derailed” offers its share of sexy seduction and shocking violence. The hotel attack is disturbing, yet well-choreographed.  The story has its twists and turns, which all worked perfectly.

Owen played his part excellently.  He’s becoming more and more of a favorite actor of mine with each role he takes.  Aniston makes the bold move comedies and dramas into this thriller and does a superb job while doing it.  I’ve always though she was a good actress, and pretty damn hot, and she’s both of those in this role.  Cassel is brilliant as the bad guy.  He was the perfect choice for the role.  RZA is surprisingly efficient as Charles' ex-con coworker.  He added some really good comic relief to the film.

So yeah, like I said, it’s not the best thriller, but it really is a pretty good flick over all.  I especially liked the casting decisions.

.:thumbsup:  7/10

[BWilli]

Robert Kerman, Gabriel York, Francesa Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen and Luca Giorgio Barbareschi star in Ruggero Deodato’s “Cannibal Holocaust”.

A New York anthropologist, Professor Harold Moore (Robert Kerman), travels to the 'Green Inferno', an inhospitable jungle in South American to find out what happened to a documentary film crew who disappeared nearly a year earlier while filming a documentary about reputed cannibal tribes. After a long search and encountering a few primitive tribes, Professor Moore finds the remains of the crew and several reels of their undeveloped film. Upon returning to the USA, Moore views the film in detail featuring the travels of the director Alan Yates (York), his assistant Faye Daniels (Ciardi), and cameramen Jack Anders (Pirkanen) and Mark Tomaso (Barbareschi) venturing into the jungles where the inexperienced, street-wise film group, after finding the indigenous tribes too docile for their film, decide to push them for kicks, with drastic consequences.

For over twenty years, this film had been banned in the U.S. and many other countries due to its graphic nature.  In fact, the footage is so intense and so unflinching in its realism that the director and producer of Cannibal Holocaust had to go to court to prove that the actors were really not killed in the film.  Watching the film though, for the most part, you can tell what’s fake and what’s not.  There is no shortage of nastiness here with all sorts of brutal rapes and killings.  It’s hard to watch at times, especially the animal killings, which are, unfortunately, real.

The story is interesting though.  We don’t see a whole lot of cannibalistic films anymore.  There seemed to be a surge of them throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.  Robert Kerman gives a solid, strong performance as Professor Moore, probably the only noteworthy one in the film.  The rest of the cast is just okay, but it’s Kerman who drives the film.

Controversy aside, I had wanted to see this movie since about 3 year ago when I first heard about it back in college.  I wasn’t let down.  Sure, it’s not the greatest spectacle I’ve ever seen, although it is the nastiest movie I’ve ever seen.  I’m going to suggest the all animal lovers not watch this film and all those with weak stomachs to stay away.  If you like horror and gore, give it a viewing though.

:thumbsup:  7/10

[BWilli]

Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Colin Hanks, Thomas Kretschmann, Jamie Bell, Evan Parke and Andy Serkis star in director Peter Jackson’s “King Kong”.

Set in the 1930's, young and struggling actress Ann Darrow (Watts) is down on her luck when her show is canceled.  She gets caught steeling fruit from a stand, but is quickly saved by Carl Denham (Black), a movie director who believes that Darrow as got the looks to replace the actress in his next film.  When she hears that the screenplay was written by Jack Driscoll (Brody), she’s quick to agree; which is a good thing since they need get on a boat to head to their shooting location.  Carl hasn’t told everyone where they are really headed though, which turns out to be the mysterious Skull Island.  When they reach the island, the crew is immediately met by natives; who end up capturing Ann to sacrifice to Kong.  When Kong shows up and takes Ann, she uses her wit and talent to entertain the giant ape, so as to not be eaten by him.  Jack sets out to rescue Ann, as Carl sets out to finish his film, and capture the Kong.

“King Kong” was one of my most anticipated films of 2005 and it did not let me down at all.  This film is entertainment at its finest.  Peter Jackson is no stranger to giving us great films, as he is fresh of the heels of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. “Kong” is a long one, I clocked it in at around 2 hours and 45 minutes (from the time the film started, to the end, not counting the previews or credits as most theaters seem to do).  We don’t see the island or Kong until about an hour into the film, and I think this was a smart way to do it.  What we see for the first hour is the build up to the island.  We learn everything we need to about the main characters in the first act, we see a ton of action and, as well as a relationship between Ann and Kong develop, on the island in the second act, and in the third and final act, we return back to NYC where Kong goes apeshit…(get it…”apeshit”…haha…yeah…ok…) destroying everything in his path to find Ann.

The CGI looked fantastic, especially when it comes to Kong.  It’s all about detail and nothing is left out, even down to every little facial expression.  The other CGI creatures included dinosaurs, giant bats, insects and spiders and the very creepy but really cool man-eating worms.  The Kong vs. T-Rexes battle was well done and one of the coolest scenes in the movie.  Aside from a lot of the awesome action sequences, there are plenty of scenes that scream beauty, Kong and Ann on the mountain top watching the sunset and another poetic scene in NYC where Kong and the girl find a frozen pond in Central Park, and the gorilla is lost in delight as it slides on the ice…my favorite non-action scene.

Watts makes a superb heroine and plays her part perfectly. There have been complaints that Jack Black and Adrien Brody are not exactly hero material, but I think they worked well.  Black took on a different type of role than he’s used to and I really didn’t see any flaws in his performance.  Brody is a great actor (did we forget he’s an Oscar winner? Ok then) and also did a fine job in his part.  The two play a director and a writer; respectively…they don’t have to be so big and muscular.  What they need are strong personalities that can be transformed under stress.  Well portrayed by the both of them.

Colin Hanks plays Preston, who is a production assistant for Denham.  It’s a small role, but well done.  Thomas Kretschmann is the captain of the ship and puts on a strong performance, while Evan Parke, who plays Hayes also does an excellent job.  Jaime Bell is Jimmy, a young and naïve crewmember of the ship.  He holds his own in the large cast, but doesn’t exactly shine out among the other actors/actresses in the film.  Andy Serkis pulls double duty in the film as he plays not only Lumpy the Cook, but Kong as well (same way he played Gollum in the LOTR trilogy).    He gave the beast life via his many precise facial expressions.  Excellent job all around by this amazing cast.

Jackson’s directing is superb. “King Kong” is a fantastic action-adventure/romantic story.  It’s got everything a moviegoer could ask for.  Do not miss this movie.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: 10/10