proteusphi
Joined Mar 2007
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Reviews14
proteusphi's rating
What's so bad about "The Collector"? I mean come on! The premise is intriguing and ostensibly viable: Arkin, an ex-convict trying to get back on the straight and narrow, works as a handyman for the lovable Chase family. When he his wife reveals that she needs money to pay off some loan sharks. Arkin is forced to rob the Chases to get the money. Just one problem. The Chases are a bit busy being tortured to death by a psycho in their home, which has been booby trapped with a squirm-inducing variety of death traps.
Sounds awesome! Even the acting is generally great! Josh Stewart is sympathetic and believable as Arkin, and young Karley Collins does a great job as Hannah.
The death traps and kills are interesting and complex, making even the most gruesome dispatching a joy to watch.
Brandon Cox's cinematography is masterful, giving the film a shimmering, modern look, deftly evoking tension from scene to scene (if somewhat heavy on visual stereotypes.) Hell, even director Marcus Dunstan shows he knows what he's doing. He builds tension for a painfully long time before ever triggering the first horrible booby trap.
"The Collector" is sick, slick, and pretty to look at! So...what's wrong with it? Well for starters the story stops making sense after the first 30 minutes. I wish I could rattle off a list of the ridiculous leaps of logic and poorly thought out plot points, but it would give too much away.
Trust me, by the end of the movie the characters will be behaving so nonsensically you'll wonder if you're really watching a Saturday morning cartoon.
You can have all the fancy cinematography and special effects in the world, but it doesn't make a good movie. It's pretty hard to f*ck up a good screenplay and make a bad movie. But it's impossible to make a good movie out of a terrible screenplay.
3 out of 10 for being an insipid piece of torture porn.
Sounds awesome! Even the acting is generally great! Josh Stewart is sympathetic and believable as Arkin, and young Karley Collins does a great job as Hannah.
The death traps and kills are interesting and complex, making even the most gruesome dispatching a joy to watch.
Brandon Cox's cinematography is masterful, giving the film a shimmering, modern look, deftly evoking tension from scene to scene (if somewhat heavy on visual stereotypes.) Hell, even director Marcus Dunstan shows he knows what he's doing. He builds tension for a painfully long time before ever triggering the first horrible booby trap.
"The Collector" is sick, slick, and pretty to look at! So...what's wrong with it? Well for starters the story stops making sense after the first 30 minutes. I wish I could rattle off a list of the ridiculous leaps of logic and poorly thought out plot points, but it would give too much away.
Trust me, by the end of the movie the characters will be behaving so nonsensically you'll wonder if you're really watching a Saturday morning cartoon.
You can have all the fancy cinematography and special effects in the world, but it doesn't make a good movie. It's pretty hard to f*ck up a good screenplay and make a bad movie. But it's impossible to make a good movie out of a terrible screenplay.
3 out of 10 for being an insipid piece of torture porn.
"God Bless America" is a blatant ripoff of "Super", borrowing everything from the plot progression, character personalities, even the protagonist's name(!), Frank, from James Gunn's film. "God Bless America" is entertaining only in the sense that its version of Frank does what we all wish we could do.
After being rejected by his ex-wife and bratty daughter, getting fired from his job, and discovering a life-shattering news from his doctor, Frank decides to go out in a blaze of glory by busting a cap in every symbol of mediocrity and bigoted ignorance in the media he can find.
You know the types. Those brats on "My Super Sweet 16" or whatever the show is called. Bill O'Reily. Shawn Hannity. The asinine producers of American Idol who intentionally allow poor singers to go before the judges to boost laughs and ratings. Every scumbag that's dragging this nation down and deserves a mouthful of boomstick.
I love this premise because it's very empowering to know that we as Americans don't have to sit back and take it.
And Frank would be an interesting, lovable character, except he feels the need to slip in preachy soliloquies every 10 minutes. At one point he even looks dead into the camera and starts preaching to the audience. This would have been mitigated by greater shot variety and a little camera movement. A speech sounds less boring when the camera slowly dollies in on the speaker.
We GET IT. American culture has fallen victim to cruelty and mediocrity, and we are sheep, eagerly grazing on the filth of the mainstream media. WE GET IT.
It's a little unfair to call Tara Lynne Barr's performance as Roxy is wooden, considering what she had to work with. Her character's homicidal tendencies aren't extreme enough to protect her motives from scrutiny, or to even illicit laughs. As a result her actions are nonsensical; and woefully overshadowed by Elene Paige's performance as Bolty in "Super." Perhaps if more time had been spent examining Roxy's supposedly apathetic parents and her lackluster home life, then director Goldthwait might have developed a fascinating character: a girl who uses violent fantasies as a means of escape, after being ignored and diminished by everyone around her.
Don't get curious, please, because it's NOT in the movie.
3 out of 10 for being frustratingly preachy, and a blatant knockoff of the film "Super." Go watch that movie instead. It's racist, but much funnier and features greater acting and abandon.
After being rejected by his ex-wife and bratty daughter, getting fired from his job, and discovering a life-shattering news from his doctor, Frank decides to go out in a blaze of glory by busting a cap in every symbol of mediocrity and bigoted ignorance in the media he can find.
You know the types. Those brats on "My Super Sweet 16" or whatever the show is called. Bill O'Reily. Shawn Hannity. The asinine producers of American Idol who intentionally allow poor singers to go before the judges to boost laughs and ratings. Every scumbag that's dragging this nation down and deserves a mouthful of boomstick.
I love this premise because it's very empowering to know that we as Americans don't have to sit back and take it.
And Frank would be an interesting, lovable character, except he feels the need to slip in preachy soliloquies every 10 minutes. At one point he even looks dead into the camera and starts preaching to the audience. This would have been mitigated by greater shot variety and a little camera movement. A speech sounds less boring when the camera slowly dollies in on the speaker.
We GET IT. American culture has fallen victim to cruelty and mediocrity, and we are sheep, eagerly grazing on the filth of the mainstream media. WE GET IT.
It's a little unfair to call Tara Lynne Barr's performance as Roxy is wooden, considering what she had to work with. Her character's homicidal tendencies aren't extreme enough to protect her motives from scrutiny, or to even illicit laughs. As a result her actions are nonsensical; and woefully overshadowed by Elene Paige's performance as Bolty in "Super." Perhaps if more time had been spent examining Roxy's supposedly apathetic parents and her lackluster home life, then director Goldthwait might have developed a fascinating character: a girl who uses violent fantasies as a means of escape, after being ignored and diminished by everyone around her.
Don't get curious, please, because it's NOT in the movie.
3 out of 10 for being frustratingly preachy, and a blatant knockoff of the film "Super." Go watch that movie instead. It's racist, but much funnier and features greater acting and abandon.
The series follows Casshern in his journey to find himself and combat the Ruin, a devastation that causes his fellow robots to rust and die. An immortal killing machine, Casshern must watch everyone around him fade away. The Ruin began with the death of Luna; and rumor has it she was murdered by Casshern himself.
It's a very nice setup with strong philosophical questions. I feel, however, that the series doesn't dive deep enough into the issue of immortality vs. death. It doesn't matter though because the stylized visuals, excellent voice acting, and ferocious action keep the audience entertained. Think about the series' plot and philosophical conclusions too long, however, and you'll be disappointed.
I can't reveal anything, but let me say that after watching the whole series....it makes no sense. The plot has several glaring holes in it. It wouldn't be so bad, except character's actions and motivations HING on these plot holes. So their actions end up not making any sense either. The series concludes with nonsensical violence and philosophical posturing. Do any of these characters understand what's going on, or why they have to accomplish their strange goals? Do they even know what those goals are??
There's a strong theme of madness and desperation in the face of eternal death, but it's nothing anime viewers haven't witnessed (and better done) before. The ending is such a let down, and the main characters' motivations so nonsensical that the slow build up to the final climax hardly seems worth it. Don't get me wrong, there are genuinely insightful moments here and there. Opening sequences before the song and titles are helpful to fill in the mysterious back story, creating tension.
But the series ending? Sorry, such nonsensical rubbish is a Sin (ho-ho! zinger!) 4 out of 10 for wasting my time.
It's a very nice setup with strong philosophical questions. I feel, however, that the series doesn't dive deep enough into the issue of immortality vs. death. It doesn't matter though because the stylized visuals, excellent voice acting, and ferocious action keep the audience entertained. Think about the series' plot and philosophical conclusions too long, however, and you'll be disappointed.
I can't reveal anything, but let me say that after watching the whole series....it makes no sense. The plot has several glaring holes in it. It wouldn't be so bad, except character's actions and motivations HING on these plot holes. So their actions end up not making any sense either. The series concludes with nonsensical violence and philosophical posturing. Do any of these characters understand what's going on, or why they have to accomplish their strange goals? Do they even know what those goals are??
There's a strong theme of madness and desperation in the face of eternal death, but it's nothing anime viewers haven't witnessed (and better done) before. The ending is such a let down, and the main characters' motivations so nonsensical that the slow build up to the final climax hardly seems worth it. Don't get me wrong, there are genuinely insightful moments here and there. Opening sequences before the song and titles are helpful to fill in the mysterious back story, creating tension.
But the series ending? Sorry, such nonsensical rubbish is a Sin (ho-ho! zinger!) 4 out of 10 for wasting my time.