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Reviews
House of Wax (2005)
Fun, but cliché film
House of Wax's only failing, is that we've seen this type of scenario far too many times. The story recalls everything from Chainsaw Massacre to Wrong Turn, and the characters do the most inane things; often leading to their own demise. If it wasn't for the superb finale, I might have rated it lower, but everything comes together in the last act. The survivors finally grow a brain, and decide to burn down the titular building. As a result, the wax melts; the characters seep through the stairs and walls, and try to claw their way out. It's a wonderfully-orchestrated sequence, and a fitting denouement. House of Wax might be a silly time-waster, but it's a perfect antidote to a boring Saturday night...
House of Wax's only failing, is that we've seen this type of scenario far too many times. The story recalls everything from Chainsaw Massacre to Wrong Turn, and the characters do the most inane things; often leading to their own demise. If it wasn't for the superb finale, I might have rated it lower, but everything comes together in the last act. The survivors finally grow a brain, and decide to burn down the titular building. As a result, the wax melts; the characters seep through the stairs and walls, and try to claw their way out. It's a wonderfully-orchestrated sequence, and a fitting denouement. House of Wax might be a silly time-waster, but it's a perfect antidote to a boring Saturday night...
War of the Worlds (2005)
Liked it, didn't love it
i finally snatched up the film. could have been better, but it was still a good ride.
Here's what i didn't like: too long in places, some over acting by the the toothy guy, OK martians and ships and things - but just OK. it wasn't spielbergs. music was blah, nothing epic sounding (that's my thing. i like hearing great music).
Here's what i liked about it: neat story. i felt as though i got a more genuine feel for the characters than the spielberg film, but didn't get the action (which i missed!). good writing, and very emotional. really liked the lead guy. really liked the girls in the film (his wife, the girl that slapped the priest). some very strong performances all the way around.
liked it, didn't love it, but i was glad to see it. it was worth the rental.
Sahara (2005)
Better than expected
As the star of the film, McConaughey makes good in a role that should set him up with as much of a future as Raiders Of The Lost Ark did for Harrison Ford or The Bourne Identity did for Matt Damon. Unlike Damon, however, McConaughey looks to be playing it as much for laughs as for thrills and never loses sight of how much enjoyably daft excitement there is to be had from the film. The main plot - the finding of a battleship in the middle of the Sahara - is simply a story on which is hung all manner of action sequences, including a fistfight on top of a solar power plant, a race across the desert on an airplane-cum-landsailer and a climactic battle with cannons and a tank battalion. Each of these would be exciting were they in separate films but, together, they make Sahara great fun. Elsewhere, Zahn plays off McConaughey without ever vying for the lead role but Cruz is a distracting presence. I have no problem with a female member of the main cast - Eva Rojas balances the Dirk Pitt/Al Giordino balls'n'boffins combo - but Cruz is neither a good actress nor attractive enough and her reading of the medical notes carries as much authority as would an appearance by Jordan in ER.
Finally, what Sahara does very, very well is to make a fine case for not ever wanting to go to west Africa, Like a Mondo Africa but with higher ambitions and a story linking the outrages, Sahara would have you believe that everything you'd ever heard about Africa occurred on a daily basis and that Mali, a real country that borders Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal amongst others, is a hotbed of violence against all but the slipperiest of westerners. Odd then that the BBC website concludes that, " Mali remains relatively peaceful." In the end, Sahara feels oddly out of time, not only in its portrayal of a Mali some twenty years out of date but in having McConaughey playing Dirk Pitt as a contemporary of Indiana Jones, Matthew Quigley, Frank Buck and Tales of the Gold Monkey's Jake Cutter, rather than the more troubled Jason Bourne. If you're in the mood for a film that makes you feel smarter than you are but dumber too, for enjoying it, then you will welcome Sahara like a Bond on a Bank Holiday afternoon.
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)
Lots of fun
One great thing about the movie is the decision to make it completely uncensored - there are some great moments here where characters are aloud to let rip and come out with expletives. The most eye-opening is in the first five minutes when we're introduced to Peter and Lois (Alex Borstein) on the red carpet - Lois a little worse for wear after taking advantage of the free drinks in the limo not only liberally uses the F word, but also tries to get Peter to 'ride' her on the carpet and is eventually sick all over herself. While some of these might make it into the weekly show, the chances are most of them would end up on the cutting room floor.
With only South Park really pushing the taste envelope on television at the moment, it's good to see another animated series try and provoke a reaction in similar ways. Seth MacFarlane and the writers of each segment have pushed things as far as they can - and not all of the risqué jokes are vocal. Keep an eye out for Quagmire's camper van - I very much doubt that'll make it to our TV screens as part of the series! Family Guy is great fun and Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story is great Family Guy - well worth fans checking out, although you may find it more rewarding to watch in three sittings as the joke doesn't get a chance to wear thin.
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Eh
Visually, 'Stepford' literally shrieks from the screen, presenting an extremely intense, oversaturated colour palette. It's hard to tell whether the transfer is too red or if it's representative of the original print. Generally, however, a very good picture.
There's not much more to say about 'The Stepford Wives'. Discussing the movie with a friend, she said that if she was heavily hung-over, unable to move from the sofa and turned on the TV to find that there was absolutely nothing else on except the film, she would watch it. I wouldn't go this far.
The Commentary by Frank Oz is conversational and informative. Oz is an engaging speaker, rather more involving than the film itself, and reveals that he shot, at great expense, an entirely different beginning featuring hordes of marching, Prada-clad women that proved wrong for the film (it's odd that this isn't included in the deleted scenes). He explains why several comedic sequences were cut in order to drive the story forward and provides a very comprehensive (and extremely complementary) overview of the different crew and cast members who helped make the film.
Garden State (2004)
Near Perfect
"Garden State" is the kind of near-perfect treasure of a movie that you want to hug and never let go. Not only is there unmeasured poignancy in the journey Large goes through to reclaim a hold on his life, and a transcendent love story between Large and Sam, and a wholly unpredictable plot trajectory to what occurs, and how things happen, but, technically speaking, one would never be able to guess this is a low-budget independent feature. The use of songs, much like 2004's "The Girl Next Door," are a vital character in and of themselves, with choice tracks by such important artists as Nick Drake, Coldplay, The Shins, and Frou Frou, the latter of whom's "Let Go" masterfully underscores the sublime final scene. Likewise, the resplendent, classy cinematography by Lawrence Shin (2004's "Club Dread") attracts and fulfills through its meticulous use of long shots and different film speeds; each one evokes a different mood, and each mood aids in putting the viewer right alongside the characters in their various surroundings. "Garden State" is a beaming, unforgettable little masterpiece, creatively alive and emotionally intimate at the same time. For Zach Braff, this is just the first of what now promises to be an encouraging film-making career, and for 2004, this is easily one of the year's finest motion pictures.
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Pleasantly Surprised
I was quite pleasantly surprised by an unexpected pairing in the film as well; I thought it to be both plausible and creative. Additionally, the effects are a quite incredible looking blend of animatronics, suits, and CGI.
The major complaint I have is Director Paul W.S. Anderson's penchant for ripping off the terrific Canadian film "Cube." He did this in his previous film "Resident Evil." I chalked the derivative scene in that film up as homage, but this time the theft is so obvious and on a much larger scale, that I'm shocked litigation isn't pending. It will be interesting if to see if he can make a film that is entirely his own, now that there's nothing left for him to steal from "Cube." It's been a long wait for fans of both the "Predator" and "Alien" series and, for the most part, the end result was worth it. Yes, the ending is overused and predictable, and it takes a bit too long to get going, but AvP is otherwise better than it has any right to be.