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timmahkato
Reviews
Desperation (2006)
Could have been so much better
Its rather saddening when you come across a film such as this. Some of the acting was great, especially Ron Pearlman, who I've enjoyed watching in such films as Alien Resurrection. Pearlman plays the part of the possessed sheriff rather well and is quite menacing at times, the scenery and location of the film is also very effective and you really get a sense of desertion and death.
However, the film suffers greatly for a few reasons including: It is hugely religiously sentimental, ie: 'God' saves them *insert rolling eyes here*. eg: The young boy in the film prays a lot, which his mother doesn't seem to like very much for some reason before she is demonificated, but his praying pays off because his recently dead little sister turns up with a bright toxic green bar of soap so that he can strip off and soap himself up and squeeze through the bars of his cell. He then safely navigates his way around the buildings in the vicinity of the prison cells un bothered by any of the possessed animals (which are obviously having dinner or a game of cards or elsewhere doing animal things at the time) then finds a gun and goes back and shoots the dog thus freeing everyone else. At the end of the film a yearbook magically appears in the back of a car they decide to look at on their way out of the area and inside it there is a photograph of 2 people who died during the film (and had not previously met before the adventure) holding hands etc etc so they all give thanks to god and pray.
Apart from various other goofs, there are some good points which horror fans will enjoy: Sudden and rather meaningless killings seemingly just for the hell of it. Dead children's bodies (often a thing that people will avoid showing so as not to offend parents etc) Convincing enough demonic possession including superhuman strength = things and people get broken. Some nice gore.
Had it not been for the 'God' element and the rather trouble free way in which the demon was finally dispatched once they found where it was etc, this film could have been soooo much better. Shame really.
Worth watching if you can ignore the over-riding religious element and enjoy the horror.
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Meh... Same old story + snakes
Same old story: Very over the top evil terrorists want to do something nasty to someone without losing a henchman so devise an escapeable and rather round about way of offing said person + anyone else around him. Plucky hero saves the day with the help of token guy who fortunately knows what to do from hours playing playstation (yeah... anyone else see the difference between a joypad and a cockpit layout?).
Add in: Snakes, that have been made to go ape, surprisingly not touching each other and only lusting after human flesh, though it is snake hormone in the planes air. A few "I'll be back" style lines. Plenty of gore and women screaming.
Some things that didn't work: Snakes where miraculously stopped by an inflateable dinghy and bags along the way and though they had found their way in ducts etc from the cargo hold, they somehow found it hard to circumvent these obstacles. Snakes seemed to appear in waves in the cockpit and when there where no snakes there, nobody seemed very worried about them turning up again until they left someone in there alone and they copped it. Also the part of the plane between the cockpit and main stairwell seemed impervious to snakes somehow.
Snakes On A Plane, as the title may suggest, is a simple gore + action film, nothing much more really. It's good fun to watch with plenty of eye candy, but not for anyone looking for an intelligent thriller.
Worth watching, but nothing special.
Edison (2005)
Terrible, simply did not work
I found it very very difficulty to watch this after the initial 5 minutes of the film. I managed to stomach 45-50 minutes before switching it off in disgust and watching Monster House instead (which, by the way, is great fun).
The story has massive holes in it. The plot line is hugely over stated and dull, the acting is awful, especially from Justin TImberlake who should really stick to what he is good at (looking daft and singing like a castrato). Morgan Freeman looked incredibly uncomfortable, especially when made to dance around to rock music for no apparent reason half way through the film after him and Timberlake meet. Freeman and Timberlake's characters seem to be supposed to have some sort of father/son relationship of sorts or something, which simply isn't evident at all apart from the fact that; though Freeman's character seems to have nothing but contempt for the ignorant and rather stupid character of Timberlake, he never the less pulls out all the stops to help him uncover a completely ridiculous cover up.
It would take some incredible suspension of disbelief to give any credit to the story line, which is simply absurd and blown out of all proportion.
Don't watch this film, it is a pure waste of time.
Hoodwinked! (2005)
Needed a little more.... something
Personally I found this film was lacking something, not quite sure what. The graphics, as many people have previously mentioned, where not the best, but that wasn't the problemn in my eyes. I think perhapse what let it down for me was that the story line, though imaginative, was far too toned down. Perhapse it was the voice overs, the dialogue, the characters, the animation or a mix of all four, but something just didn't feel right. I was expecting a little more veild adult humour, but it seemed far too tame and a little unoriginal in that department and I quickly lost interest. It was almost like The Magic Roundabout vs Chicken Little, but with Dougle and the aliens missing. Just... not all there really.
None the less, a good film for the kids to watch as pretty simple to understand. Perhapse it is one of those films that grows on you, I will try watching it again some time.