walken_on_sunshine
Joined Apr 2006
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walken_on_sunshine's rating
AVP was unjustly given a death sentence in 2003 and by that i mean a PG-13 rating and writer/director Paul WS Anderson (Resident Evil/Mortal Kombat)it failed miserably among hardcore fans, average moviegoers were slightly amused, and critics despised it. Now Collin and Greg Strause two fanboys and first time directors bring us an R-Rated, gore infested Alien vs Predator sequel.
The movie follows the end of the first film where a hybrid alien/predator bursts through the chest of a dead predator on board their ship. The hybrid takes out a few predators until a blast from one of their shoulder cannons blows a hole in the ship sending it on a crash collision in a little village in Colorado. They definitely set the movie up well they found a way to toss the aliens and predator back on earth without some lame we once worshiped them aztec, pyramid back story, what i like is how the Strauses stay away from all of that contradictory bull$hit.
The movie suffers from a lot of set backs one it seems starved for attention. These guys seem to be willing to do anything to counteract Andersons terrible 2003 film and constantly drill the R-Rating into your head by killing kids, pregnant women, and implied babies. It's not that it offended me it just seemed like a desperate cry for attention a way for them to say "hey this one is R-Rated remember".
The creature effects are great although in certain places the CGI looks pretty bad almost sci fi channel quality but the predators look reminiscent of the classics and the aliens look bigger and more menacing. AVP-R looks to be an action fueled film, intended to be mindless fun and brain off entertainment. The biggest problem is that despite the loads of action none of it makes you feel excited or on edge it's you just watch it you do not get into it at all. Perhaps one of the key reasons of this is the fact that you can't see much with the dark lighting, especially during fight scenes all you can make out is some dreadlocks here a tail there, green blood spraying over here. The choppy editing doesn't help either it only furthers the lack of visibility.
The acting is actually alright there are very few bad actors in the film but they do stand out, the ditsy blonde feels like a Laguna Beach character her relationship with one of the protagonists is rushed and feels very unrealistic but hey who's looking for realism here. The direction of the film is right the went darker, more brutal, in a way more entertaining but the technical side of the movie needs work. A good little debut for the Strause brothers but they need to work on better editing, and better lighting they seem to be better writers then directors the exact opposite of Paul WS Anderson. Overall AVP-R somehow fails at being mindless fun but it tops the original which again isn't saying much at all.
The movie follows the end of the first film where a hybrid alien/predator bursts through the chest of a dead predator on board their ship. The hybrid takes out a few predators until a blast from one of their shoulder cannons blows a hole in the ship sending it on a crash collision in a little village in Colorado. They definitely set the movie up well they found a way to toss the aliens and predator back on earth without some lame we once worshiped them aztec, pyramid back story, what i like is how the Strauses stay away from all of that contradictory bull$hit.
The movie suffers from a lot of set backs one it seems starved for attention. These guys seem to be willing to do anything to counteract Andersons terrible 2003 film and constantly drill the R-Rating into your head by killing kids, pregnant women, and implied babies. It's not that it offended me it just seemed like a desperate cry for attention a way for them to say "hey this one is R-Rated remember".
The creature effects are great although in certain places the CGI looks pretty bad almost sci fi channel quality but the predators look reminiscent of the classics and the aliens look bigger and more menacing. AVP-R looks to be an action fueled film, intended to be mindless fun and brain off entertainment. The biggest problem is that despite the loads of action none of it makes you feel excited or on edge it's you just watch it you do not get into it at all. Perhaps one of the key reasons of this is the fact that you can't see much with the dark lighting, especially during fight scenes all you can make out is some dreadlocks here a tail there, green blood spraying over here. The choppy editing doesn't help either it only furthers the lack of visibility.
The acting is actually alright there are very few bad actors in the film but they do stand out, the ditsy blonde feels like a Laguna Beach character her relationship with one of the protagonists is rushed and feels very unrealistic but hey who's looking for realism here. The direction of the film is right the went darker, more brutal, in a way more entertaining but the technical side of the movie needs work. A good little debut for the Strause brothers but they need to work on better editing, and better lighting they seem to be better writers then directors the exact opposite of Paul WS Anderson. Overall AVP-R somehow fails at being mindless fun but it tops the original which again isn't saying much at all.
Halloween has itself a legacy and it seems today that everyone goes overboard when somebody wants to remake or add to this legacy fearing that the original will be ruined. It blindsides me how people can be so judgmental about this film before it's release even though there have been seven horrible sequels that for me ruined the legacy of Halloween. Rob Zombie's remake does not pose as the original like the remakes for The Omen or The Grudge it has it's own unique take on a classic character.
People seem to have a pretty prejudice feeling for remakes because almost every message board I go to when one is announced is always flocking with negative posts on how it will ruin the original. Remakes have existed since the time of ancient Rome however as most plays salvaged from that period are simply Greek plays with different characters or slight tweaks in the story thus a remake. I feel this is one of the better remakes up there alongside Dawn Of The Dead, The Amityville Horror, and The Hills Have Eyes.
The acting I felt was I most cases very good and very convincing although certain characters are very cliché. Sheri Moon does an amazing job playing Michael's gutterslut mom who isn't at fault for where her life has brought her. She is the character you sympathize the most for as she does all she can to keep her family together, works all the time as a stripper because her dead beat husband won't do anything, and when Michael finally kills it breaks her down even more as all she's left with is her murdering son and her 8 month old or so daughter. Daeg ferch who plays young Michael has some line delivery problems but when acting with just facial expression or body expression he is the perfect Michael Myers as he is simply eerie to look at. The teenage characters with the exception of Laurie Strode are very cliché "bad" girls who are of course drinking and having sex throughout most of the film and no most of them cannot act very well however they are minimal characters so it doesn't take much from the overall picture. Malcolm MacDowell plays an interesting yet very underdeveloped child psychologist who after 17 years working with Michael decides to quit on him and move on however when Michael escapes he returns to prevent the death of Laurie Strode which at first is not Michael's plan.
The story is very interesting yet straightforward there are no twists and turns just a simple plot and one storyline. Rob uses all the scores from the original throughout the film to build suspense and surprisingly it works very well. The blood and gore which some would expect to dominate the movie works very well as it's not just a hack/slash film like any of the Friday The 13th, or Nightmare On Elm Street sequels. Rob uses suspense to build up the act of the murder and much like the film seven shows mostly the aftermath and not the kill. It's not the blood or gore that is meant to scare you though, what is meant to scare you is the violence which is terrifying because of it's realism and how relentless Michael is with that knife. The kills make you feel uneasy not sick to your stomach but very uneasy as you can put yourself in the victim's position much like Saw.
The remake seems to have a lot more depth than the original not that it's better but I honestly feel it's a pretty worthy addition to the franchise far more worthy than any of the 7 pathetic hack/slash sequels. Halloween is what Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning should have been a deep, frightening back story that dives in to the killers before and after persona's and gives us reason and the ability to see why he does what he does. If you have a weak stomach I guarantee you won't like this film not due to the gore but again to the realism of deplorable acts in this film there is a very realistic rape scene that will make you feel angry and uneasy at the same time and I know many who were outraged by the one in The Hills Have Eyes so any of you out there offended by that please do not see this film. If however you are looking for what today is a rare breed a good horror movie with an actual plot than see Halloween immediately because trust me it is the best slasher I've seen in years and a shockingly scary good time.
People seem to have a pretty prejudice feeling for remakes because almost every message board I go to when one is announced is always flocking with negative posts on how it will ruin the original. Remakes have existed since the time of ancient Rome however as most plays salvaged from that period are simply Greek plays with different characters or slight tweaks in the story thus a remake. I feel this is one of the better remakes up there alongside Dawn Of The Dead, The Amityville Horror, and The Hills Have Eyes.
The acting I felt was I most cases very good and very convincing although certain characters are very cliché. Sheri Moon does an amazing job playing Michael's gutterslut mom who isn't at fault for where her life has brought her. She is the character you sympathize the most for as she does all she can to keep her family together, works all the time as a stripper because her dead beat husband won't do anything, and when Michael finally kills it breaks her down even more as all she's left with is her murdering son and her 8 month old or so daughter. Daeg ferch who plays young Michael has some line delivery problems but when acting with just facial expression or body expression he is the perfect Michael Myers as he is simply eerie to look at. The teenage characters with the exception of Laurie Strode are very cliché "bad" girls who are of course drinking and having sex throughout most of the film and no most of them cannot act very well however they are minimal characters so it doesn't take much from the overall picture. Malcolm MacDowell plays an interesting yet very underdeveloped child psychologist who after 17 years working with Michael decides to quit on him and move on however when Michael escapes he returns to prevent the death of Laurie Strode which at first is not Michael's plan.
The story is very interesting yet straightforward there are no twists and turns just a simple plot and one storyline. Rob uses all the scores from the original throughout the film to build suspense and surprisingly it works very well. The blood and gore which some would expect to dominate the movie works very well as it's not just a hack/slash film like any of the Friday The 13th, or Nightmare On Elm Street sequels. Rob uses suspense to build up the act of the murder and much like the film seven shows mostly the aftermath and not the kill. It's not the blood or gore that is meant to scare you though, what is meant to scare you is the violence which is terrifying because of it's realism and how relentless Michael is with that knife. The kills make you feel uneasy not sick to your stomach but very uneasy as you can put yourself in the victim's position much like Saw.
The remake seems to have a lot more depth than the original not that it's better but I honestly feel it's a pretty worthy addition to the franchise far more worthy than any of the 7 pathetic hack/slash sequels. Halloween is what Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning should have been a deep, frightening back story that dives in to the killers before and after persona's and gives us reason and the ability to see why he does what he does. If you have a weak stomach I guarantee you won't like this film not due to the gore but again to the realism of deplorable acts in this film there is a very realistic rape scene that will make you feel angry and uneasy at the same time and I know many who were outraged by the one in The Hills Have Eyes so any of you out there offended by that please do not see this film. If however you are looking for what today is a rare breed a good horror movie with an actual plot than see Halloween immediately because trust me it is the best slasher I've seen in years and a shockingly scary good time.
Chuck Lorre is in my opinion a pretty funny writer i was so so with Dharma and Greg, hated Roseanne, and once again i'm so so with Two and A Half Men. It seems though that Lorre is one of those guys that get better and better as they go so i'm looking very forward to The Big Bang Theory this fall on CBS. Now on to the sitcom everyone is hailing as the only worthwhile sitcom on TV for one that is a terrible terrible lie. Two and a Half Men is funny i enjoy it's sexual, crude, but intelligent humour but the show is extremely over rated. The characters do not develop or change or learn lessons and all the show plot wise goes absolutely nowhere every episode is funny but character wise uninteresting. Why Charlie Sheen is viewed as the star is beyond me and why he's up for an emmy is beyond the world because any true fan of the show should be well aware that Jon Cryer is the star. He's definitely the person who generates the best jokes and delivers his lines best he's also the only character who is eccentric or different while the others are very laid back and casual. Charlie Sheen basically just says his lines and he's lucky that they're very good lines or else the show wouldn't be funny. The show is quite entertaining and because of it's go nowhere characters can go on for a long time. Two and a Half Men is really just a bunch of good writers speaking through actors there really isn't anything that makes the characters three dimensional other than Jon Cryer and the boys's mom. From the beginning the show has pretty much only furthered the Alan and his ex wife plot line and not very far at all. I do enjoy the show and find it funny it has it's few classic episodes bu it's never had a "bad" episode at least so far and probably because the series is so ho hum that you're expectations aren't big going into it. I think it's one of the most over rated sitcoms in terms of it's constant emmy nominations but it is a huge and hilarious stepping stone for Chuck Lorre who get's better and better as he goes. Overall it's a good show to watch when not much else is on but you won't miss anything if you don't watch it for weeks.