J*A*S*M

A pretty interesting idea (that deserves to be elaborated further) delivered in a not very convincing and, unfortunately, very predictable way. Everyone should see the twist coming.

Frankenstein’s Army is above all a horribly squandered opportunity. It has an attractive premise (I have a weakness for WW2 Nazi experiments), a brilliantly designed monster, the atmospheric setting of a dilapidated factory… and boredom, bad actors (with the exception of Roden, in basically a big cameo, and he’s having fun), uninteresting characters and a very unconvincing found-footage format. The third star is basically because of the sympathy I feel for the project.

The Pastor brothers are profiling themselves as specialists in civil post-apocalyptic dramas. The Last Days has a brilliant and original premise: the cause of the apocalypse is an epidemic of agoraphobia, the fear of open spaces. This time I’m happy to say that, unlike the Pastors’ previous film (Carrier), the interesting premise is well exploited. I liked the duel with the interesting villain in the church. I didn’t like the at times exaggerated clashes between the characters. But satisfaction overall.

I had problems with this film ever since its first trailer. The premise, which most viewers say is a “good idea”, is utterly stupid and my political science self immediately reaches the conclusion that such a regime could not function and prosper. To pose as a liberal democracy for 364 ½ days, only to implement some Hobbesian natural state for 12 hours is so politically, philosophically and morally bonkers and unconvincing that I can’t avoid mentioning it. But whatever, I don’t evaluate films only on the basis of their premise, I try to adapt to the rules of their world. With that in mind, The Purge works nicely until about the moment the time the attackers had given the Hawkes expires. When the aggressors break into the house, the entire structure collapses like a house of cards, only so heroes and villains can clash and destroy each other one by one. A really brilliant tactical performance by the attackers :-D … By the end, the creators come up with a pretty interesting twist, though not very convincingly executed. The Purge is pretty well made and, despite its problematic premise, it manages to be effective and generate tension for about half its run. It’s a pity that, especially by the end, its socio-critical line feels so ridiculous.

One of my most anticipated films of the year turned out to be pretty weak! I’d been looking forward to Pacific Rim basically ever since the first reports. A war between giant human-controlled robots and giant sea monsters could be conceived in many ways, but I was hoping for a gritty and dark sci-fi bash with relentless apocalyptic atmosphere and massive and originally conceived battles (the first reports spoke of at least five giant battles, with each being shot in a different way). In short, I was hoping for something like the antithesis to the childish Transformers. If only. Pacific Rim is nothing but a generic popcorn movie for kids with jokes, shallow characters, clichés, and pathos. Even the action scenes don’t have much juice – and there aren’t enough of them (in the first half, the characters are just talking in hangars and it’s insufferable). Del Toro really only aimed for “the bar” – even the design of the monsters and the robots is not amazing. Squandered opportunity.

Stories from the backwaters in a not very viewer-friendly package. An interesting and original indie movie (the comparison with Lucky McKee in some of the reviews here is not wrong). Jug Face will not make a big splash, but Kinkle shows quite some promise.

Western German horror from the 1980s with performances from an Eastern German porno from the 1980s. I think it’s only pretending to be psychological, but I’ve seen worse. Nothing but average.

I don’t know. I’m still thinking about this film and I can’t find any reasonable outcomes. It’s an interesting and peculiar experiment with excellent atmosphere and visuals, even funny sometimes… The first impression was positive, but after some time I’m starting to wonder whether we aren’t making of this film more than it deserves. As a movie trip for a couple of pounds, it’s alright, but I’m not giving Wheathey a higher rating until he makes something that can be described other than just “weird”. (KVIFF 48)

The big screen helped it, but I was nodding regardless. The comparisons with Malick are unfortunately true. Beautiful images, slow pace and excessively long. The director is talented, but his movie didn’t lift me off the seat. The actors are good.

An entertaining and really well made Australian horror comedy about two brothers who produce organic fertilisers and the three young tourists they want to turn into fertiliser. There’s very little horror (though there’s a lot of carnage), and plenty of jokes. But don’t expect to cry in laughter, this is rather a nice and slightly funny flick with likeable characters. The plot is pretty predictable but still fun. Unlike the similar Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, the premise of 100 Bloody Acres is less original, but I liked this Australian comedy a little more. Strong three stars.