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redhunter
Reviews
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
great TCM
I saw two women leave the theater during the sledgehammer scene in the bosses office. What the heck? What were they expecting? Sure this one is the same vein as many of the other TCM's, but come on, is that a bad thing? R. Lee Ermy kicks butt as the pseudo-sheriff. The name said, "the beginning" and it showed you just that. How they came to be. How a lot of the parts in 2003's movie came to be. This one had 3 chainsaw killings, more then just about any of the other TCM flicks. There was plenty of gore to be had, especially considering the watered-down American PG-13 crap fiestas that usual blow through the theaters. I wasn't overly impressed with the main girl, she was too low-key and probably kept the suspense toned down with her almost blasé approach to the horrors she was facing. Jessica Biel was better in the other one. Overall though it has what you came for; besides the afore mentioned 3 saw kills, you get two guys run over, cop gets his head blown off with a shotgun, biker blown in chest with same, forearms harvested for dinner, broken teeth, severe beatings, sledgehammer kill, throat slitting etc. If you like TCM movies, you'll like it. For those who say it's more of the same, so was Friday the 13th movies and that's why I liked them. So is AC/DC and that's why people like them. If you want to see something 'different' done with the TCM franchise, rent the worst of them, the '94 crap-fest with Renee Zellwigger and the government sponsored conspiracy angle. Ugh.
Escape from Sobibor (1987)
I don't think this contains spoilers but I'll mark it anyway...
To those who were unmoved by this movie I can only say that I hope you develop a sense of human misery soon. No there wasn't blood and guts in every other scene (I by the way am a huge horror/gore movie fan), and they didn't show the actual killings in the shower rooms. That was reflected in the faces of the prisoners as they discovered what kind of a hell they had been forced into. Like a lot of others, I saw this when it came out and upon seeing it listed for two bucks at K-Mart (along with The Trial by Orsen Welles, don't know why they paired the two however) I had to buy it and watch it again. I was moved even more today by what was portrayed. The horror, the hope, the brutality, the deep-seated hatred for another race all comes through. Arkin, Pacula and one of my favorite actors from the 80's Rutger Hauer are excellent, as are many other unknowns. These prisoners are watching thousands of human beings being sent to death showers every week, including friends and family, and they are mostly unable to do anything about it. When they formulate the plan, and pledge to do what they have to do, let's just say I would have found this to be unbelievable if it hadn't actually happened. It is astounding.
"You do it because you have to." At once tragic and hopeful, it shows what evil men are capable of, as well as what good they can do for each other. You won't forget it.
Children of the Living Dead (2001)
great googly-moogly
I am at a loss where to begin. Usually when I watch a "hack and slash" movie, the "hack" isn't the director and the "slashing" doesn't come from the editing dept. Most people seem to preface their reviews for this movie with, "the first ten minutes with Savini were good, but....". What movie were you watching? Just because Savini is cool, doesn't mean the first ten minutes didn't suck. (hey, we've all had to make a buck washing dishes and waiting tables, right?)Again, editing wreaked havoc on the fire-arm action, (innapropriate number of rounds, empty guns still fire etc.) giving me one of my favorite parts in the movie. When Savini fires his pistol in the barn, there is the sound of it firing, but Savini hits the clip release and drops the clip nearly to the ground before the camera cuts away. His character wastes ammo for no reason, blows up his car with all of his supplies in it when he could've just shot the two or three zombies, he puts a zombie's body in the car before rolling it down the hill (he already wasted that one, what was the point?), and when the car rolls down the hill, there is now TWO bodies inside! A deputy shows up to check out an area. It's broad daylight, but he gets out of his car and walks about ten feet and looks around. Nope, nothing going on here. Then they kill Savini and the movie actually gets worse. So we're stuck with Abbott whatever and his Wal-mart rubber gloves, the hilarious car-over-the-cliff scene, a 'story' ripped-off from "Poltergeist", cemeteries that leave bodies above ground over-night even though they've been tampered with before, and NO "CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD". In the world of laughably awful zombie movies there is, "Zombie '90", "House of the Dead", and this mouse pellet somewhere in between. As comedies go, I give it five out of five.