6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Great targetting, 14 Oct 2006
This review is from: Contamination [1980] [DVD] (DVD)
I love it when then writers of the DVD cases know exactly who their target audience is. Check this-
"Who is harvesting these alien hell-spores? What is their connection to a doomed mission to Mars? And most important of all, how many actors will die screaming in massive explosions of blood, guts and gore?"
Having read that, you're either heading for the checkout or rapidly moving on elsewhere.
Moving on myself, as one of a few extras (including a DVD-ROM accessible graphic novel version, but don't -and I mean don't, it's awful- waste your time with it) is a good interview with writer/director Cozzi who explains why it suddenly turns into a James Bond style thriller for the middle section, and casually insults his leading lady. The film itself was, almost unbelievably, once banned in the UK as a video nasty. I mean, what's a few exploding strap-on torsos filled with animal blood and offal between horror fans?
Other than that it's a passable time-waster but don't expect anything more that.
"Who is harvesting these alien hell-spores? What is their connection to a doomed mission to Mars? And most important of all, how many actors will die screaming in massive explosions of blood, guts and gore?"
Having read that, you're either heading for the checkout or rapidly moving on elsewhere.
Moving on myself, as one of a few extras (including a DVD-ROM accessible graphic novel version, but don't -and I mean don't, it's awful- waste your time with it) is a good interview with writer/director Cozzi who explains why it suddenly turns into a James Bond style thriller for the middle section, and casually insults his leading lady. The film itself was, almost unbelievably, once banned in the UK as a video nasty. I mean, what's a few exploding strap-on torsos filled with animal blood and offal between horror fans?
Other than that it's a passable time-waster but don't expect anything more that.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars "BIGGER! BADDER! TURTLIER", 13 Oct 2006
This review is from: Gamera 2 - Attack Of Legion [DVD] (DVD)
Which giant Japanese monster fan could resist a come-on like that, especially when they emanate from Gamera's mouth on the back of the dvd case? Not me, for sure.
Actually, it isn't turtlier because Gamera isn't in it as much as you expect. On the other hand the puny humans, who usually seem to be there just to cut down on the more expensive scenes of monster mayhem, aren't too bad in this one and the bad monsters are quite cool.
So, definitely recommended to fans of the genre.
Surprisingly there's also a good batch of extras. Outtakes isn't what it seems, rather it's a collection of scenes redubbed with risque dialogue. Lake Texarcana Gamera is a mini version of the film as dubbed by rednecks and is very very funny. Add an unofficial extra star for these unexpected but welcome bonuses.
Actually, it isn't turtlier because Gamera isn't in it as much as you expect. On the other hand the puny humans, who usually seem to be there just to cut down on the more expensive scenes of monster mayhem, aren't too bad in this one and the bad monsters are quite cool.
So, definitely recommended to fans of the genre.
Surprisingly there's also a good batch of extras. Outtakes isn't what it seems, rather it's a collection of scenes redubbed with risque dialogue. Lake Texarcana Gamera is a mini version of the film as dubbed by rednecks and is very very funny. Add an unofficial extra star for these unexpected but welcome bonuses.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I really don't know, 31 Aug 2006
This review is from: V for Vendetta [DVD] [2006] (DVD)
I've given it four stars because, for a major Hollywood movie, it has tried to be different, and, because for the early part of the film, it was surprisingly faithful to the graphic novel. Even when it diverged drastically it kept touches of the original. Some of the changes worked well such as the nature of Evie's character and dropping the elements of anarchism, which would simply have been too intellectually demanding for a mass movie audience (though, as has been proved, not to a comics audience and I did miss them) as well as alienating Middle-America in droves. The film also wouldn't have worked, as the novel did, as a now-dated polemic against Thatcherism. It's the ending I'm really not sure about.
The look of the movie is good, certainly well photographed and composed. The casting varies from generally adequate to perfect (and here I'm thinking in particular of the little girl with glasses, though you'll have to be familiar with both the movie and the book to know why) and Natalie Portman does the business.
It's just the ending which differs so wildly from the novel. In its favour it is consistent with something V quotes early on, "The government should be afraid of its people..." And when the masks come off and you see some of the faces underneath... Well, it's a poignant moment. (Can you tell, I'm trying not to give too much away?)
But I suppose I just miss Alan Moore's chaos.
So, if I really don't know, at least the movie has me thinking seriously about it which is something most of them don't. All I can say in conclusion is, give it a try and make your own mind up because, whatever its faults, it is worth watching.
The look of the movie is good, certainly well photographed and composed. The casting varies from generally adequate to perfect (and here I'm thinking in particular of the little girl with glasses, though you'll have to be familiar with both the movie and the book to know why) and Natalie Portman does the business.
It's just the ending which differs so wildly from the novel. In its favour it is consistent with something V quotes early on, "The government should be afraid of its people..." And when the masks come off and you see some of the faces underneath... Well, it's a poignant moment. (Can you tell, I'm trying not to give too much away?)
But I suppose I just miss Alan Moore's chaos.
So, if I really don't know, at least the movie has me thinking seriously about it which is something most of them don't. All I can say in conclusion is, give it a try and make your own mind up because, whatever its faults, it is worth watching.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the smile, 30 Aug 2006
This review is from: Sugar Rush Series 2 [DVD] [2005] (DVD)
of Sarah Jane Potts, though there are other good reasons such as the sharp funny dialogue and the acting. The plot centres round an emotional menage between Sugar, Kim and Saint (the wonderful Potts) Kim's new older girlfriend. All three characters are screwed up in their own way and at times you want to give them a (metaphorical) slap. Sugar remains totally unreliable and selfish, Kim is just as self-centred and short-sighted in her own way, and Saint is... well, I don't want to spoil that for you.
Kim's family don't play the central role in her life as they did in the first series. Her parents try being swingers in an attempt to resolve their marital problems and you can imagine how that turns out. The subplot concerning Matt her younger brother and his voyage of self-discovery from Marilyn Manson into something even more outrageous is sadly given short shrift and deserved more emphasis -the young actor does a lot with so little.
Never dull, always engaging, often funny, sweetly tastefully sexy, Olivia Hallinan is terrific, and if that isn't enough, buy it to watch Sarah Jane Potts smile, it's a smile to fall in love with.
Kim's family don't play the central role in her life as they did in the first series. Her parents try being swingers in an attempt to resolve their marital problems and you can imagine how that turns out. The subplot concerning Matt her younger brother and his voyage of self-discovery from Marilyn Manson into something even more outrageous is sadly given short shrift and deserved more emphasis -the young actor does a lot with so little.
Never dull, always engaging, often funny, sweetly tastefully sexy, Olivia Hallinan is terrific, and if that isn't enough, buy it to watch Sarah Jane Potts smile, it's a smile to fall in love with.
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't like martial arts movies, try this., 18 Sep 2005
This review is from: Wing Chun [DVD] (DVD)
Why? Apart from the fact that it stars Michelle Yeoh, it's an absolute delight from start to finish.
Wing Chun, played by Yeoh, is the somewhat androgynous protector of a village from a gang of thugs and bullies. She runs a tofu shop with her vivacious and avaricious aunt and befriends and protects a young widow whom its seems every male in the village lusts after uncontrollably. The aunt lusts after the rich, greedy local scholar. A visiting martial artist appears in search of his childhood sweetheart, mistaking Yeoh for a man and the widow for his sweetheart. At one point Yeoh's own interest in the widow appears somewhat ambiguous.
Cue a romantic comedy of errors plus lots of fighting. It's really a rather sweet film with Yeoh displaying a shy humour and an emotional vulnerability which contrasts with her bravura displays of fighting skills. (The rest of the cast are all fine too.) Despite the fact that at one point Yeoh deliberately roasts a bady guy's genitals, it isn't a violent film, although it doesn't stint on the action either -the methodical demolition of a chauvinist thug while maintaining the integrity of a large plate of tofu is a particular highlight.
Wing Chun (the movie) will leave you with a smile on your face, laughter in your throat, and, if you aren't already, a big fan of Michelle Yeoh.
You'll have to excuse me now, it's fourteen hours since I first watched this movie and I want to see it again.
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