Reviews

Inbred cannibals...Hot girl in tight T-shirt...Blood...Gore...Running around the woods at night... lots of screaming...It's got too be Teen Horror! Wrong turn is the story of six stranded travellers (including the divine Eliza Dushku with Desmond Harrington and Emmanuelle Chriqui) being pursued by cannibalistic sociopaths through a forest...classic.

This may just be me, but this movie is great! It's like The Hill's Have Eyes, Blair Witch Project and Scream throw into one. It's not flawless, all the characters seem to be trained gymnast and Desmond Harrington isn't the world's greatest actor. But if you want to see a perfect movie go and watch The Godfather or the original Star Wars. For a high chills, tense, enjoyable ninety minutes, it's a keeper!

I will admit it, I went into this movie expecting a desperate Singer-wannabee movie with no class or direction, but it appears I underestimated Brett Ratner as this may well be one of the best movies of the year. It is not without flaws, but they are insignificant under the splendour of the terrific.

When a 'cure'is developed for the mutant gene, it is seen as a breakthrough by the humans and a life raft for some of the mutant population. But other (mainly Magneto and the brotherhood) see it as an insult, and declare war on the world.

The only problem with this movie is the under use of many characters. Angel, Callisto, juggernaut, Mystique, Rouge and Cyclops are all side lined in favour of Storm and Logan. You can forgive this with the new villains because Toad, Sabertooth and Lady Deathstrike never did have much character time in the previous two, but neglecting Mystique was a mistake, she is definitely one of the most entertaining of the brotherhood. Rouge was the one who came closest to taking the cure, so it felt she needed more screen time to develop her pain and anger. Since Angel was this movies pretty boy on all the posters and a major character in the comic book, you you'd think he'd have an important role, but was in it for less then twenty minutes.

As for the good, where do I start! The acting was the best it has ever been. Hugh Jackman was as gruff as ever of animal Wolverine, and is still as wild as ever once he starts. No matter how much everyone is going to hate this, Halle Berry was great, ten times better then she was in the last two, she is less bored and More alive now. Famke Jenssen, one of my favourite actress' and didn't disappoint as the tortured Jean Grey. In another actress' role Phonix could have been a psychopath unfeeling mass murderer, but Jenssen really brings her role to life and gains the sympathy of the audience, despite the terrible things she does, although still very scary. New comers Ben Foster, Ellen Page and Dania Demiez are all good, but are overshadowed by Kelsey Grammers Beast, as silly as he looks in a suit, he his calm and diplomatic when appropriate, but no sweat he will fight for his life. Regulars Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore and Patrick Stewart do as well as always, the only glitch is Aaron Stanford as the ever annoying Pyro.

The plot is very Singer-esquire, you can see the writers were trying to stay close to the first two as is possible. Luckily it comes off with no obvious holes or stupid conclusions, though I'm sure somebody will find one. I would recommends staying to the very end, at the last possible second there is an important twist, and after the credits a short scene pretty much sets up X4.

The special effects are extraordinary. The danger room and war scenes are amazing, I could not pick out a single fake looking frame. All the characters fight in their own unique way, even the most peaceful of mutants did not avoid getting there hands dirty. The final Jean/Logan scene is particularly special, Jean is so scary yet beautiful and Logan unusually affectionate. It reflects on his line from early on 'the whole worlds going to hell and your just gonna sit there.' It felt very appropriate and fitter very well.

The comic book geek's will hate it, but what do they know! 9/10

Based on the short-lived television series Firefly, Serenity follows a spaceship of low level rebels who are just trying to make their way in the universe. But get more then they bargained for after picking up a young doctor (Sean Mahar) and his traumatised, telepathic sister (Summer Glau.)

Every few years or so, you get a brilliant action move which just amazes audience everywhere; and I am glad to say that day has finally come. Nathen Fillion stars as Mal, the distressed captain of Starship Firefly with a crew of other outcasts. Zoe (Gina Torres) the mercenary, Wash (Alan Tudyk) the pilot, Kaylee (Jewel Staite) the engineer and Jayne (Adam Baldwin) the big brutish guy who like shooting stuff. The expected love interest is played by Morena Baccarin, the sexy Hindu-like priestess who isn't as helpless as she first appears. The brilliantly minded baddie is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a sword carrying assassin with no mind of his own, he just follows orders from the higher Alliance. Another honourable mention is Sarah Paulson, who has a two minute part and dies horribly, but it is a really powerful scene. .

I remember the first thing I thought after first seeing the trailer was; "Oh god this is going to be awful!" Buffy the Vampire Slayer... It's an entertaining TV show but would never make a good movie, but,as much as I hate to admit it, I was wrong. Wehndon has brilliantly directed a flick with amazing action, from shootouts to chases. Terrifying foes, from assassins to cannibals. And, surprisingly, plenty of human emotion, love, hate, joy and loss all in the same movie. The camera work and filter lenses as well as tremendous set work really give it a futuristic edge. Fillion, Glau and Mahar all make their presence felt, all emotions are captured and portrayed. The FX are immaculately detailed, giving them a unimaginably realistic feel, from explosions to hair movement, it is all covered.

The bar fight, chase from the heist, final shootout, and space battle particularly stick out in my mind. And there's something about watching an adolescent teenage girl wipe out an entire race with a sword and an axe which you've got to love.

10/10

I'll be the first to say it, this movie is no Star Wars, and that's why some people were disappointed. They came here expecting a masterpiece, but its more like one of those Sci-Fi Anime's. Its over the top, unbelievable, got a atrocious plot, but you just can't help loving it!!

Lonely cabby Korban Dallas (Willis) is surprised when an alien (Jovovich) falls through the roof of his taxi. But is even more shocked when he finds out she is a cosmic weapon which needs to be activated or the world will end. So he, priest Vito Cornelius (Holm) and radio presenter Ruby Rhod (Tucker) set out to fine the five elements and save the planet, all the time with evil Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Oldman) on their heels.

Honestly, This is the last place I'd expect to find Bruce Willis, the Die Hard tough guy playing a confused, ordinary guy when an alien just drops into his life (quite literally) and admittedly not is his best work. But he still plays the part reasonably well. Ian Holme is funny as the bumbling priest, Milla Jovovich pulls off what could be a laughable part (baby language and all.) Chris Tucker's the main problem, he's just annoying. But its Gary Oldman who steals the show, he is brilliant as the evil Zorg. The way he delivers some of his line is hilarious, and his timing is always perfect.

Brilliant use of cheesy FX and brilliant colour make this into a form of live-animation comic book, it's just fun to generally look at, and the cheesy rubber-aliens are cool too!

8/10

Firstly, I'm a HUGE fan of the games, and really wanted this to be good, but i was severely by the many faults in this, sourcing mainly from crappy direction. Paul Anderson made so many wrong choices with this, i don't know where to start. The plot was awful, NO mansion, NO s.t.a.r.s, NO hunters, NO plant 42, NO Chris, Jill, Wesker, Barry, Rebecca... you know what, it would be easier to list what there was. Their was the T-virus, a virus developed by the Umbrella Corporation (yes they're'e there) in a lab called 'The Hive' for medical purposes, but it escapes and changes all the workers into zombies. Which brings me onto one of the biggest mistakes, the RED QUEEN. Some child-holographic-computer with a bad accent 'controlling' the Hive (come on, would you really put millions of pounds worth of equipment in the hands of a computer!) The suppose-to-be-eerie little girl sound like something a teenager would think up for some school story he cant be assed to do. I mean, come on! Anyway, the scientist are dead and we meet Alice, who can't remember anything and needs to find out what happened (I know, not very original.) When an Elite team of Army mercenary's crashes through and takes her into the hive. The team -One, Rain, Kaplan, J.D- are very one-dimensional, with no past or feelings, they just burst in, kill, and leave. So trying to destroy the red queen (BTW, a cop enters somewhere here)the team enter. I think i fell asleep for the next half an hour or so, nothing happened apart from some back story about Alices husband and the cops sister. Until your rudely awoken by...wait for it...TECHNO music, very loud techno music and a lot of shooting. By this time, they've killed some lesser characters and they escape (the lack of likeness to the game at this point is really pissing me off.) They're locked in a room, la la la, the escape, one of the team is separated (i really don't care by this point) when they're'e locked in a room, and, guess what.. ALICE'S HUSBAND IS THE BAD GUY!!! So he leaves them to die, he dies, they escape and are on the train (Resident Evil Zero anyone)and are attacked by the giant, red obviously CGI monster, but of course they win (this is the one part of the movie i actually paid attention too, RAIN DIED, she was the only decent-coughHOTcough- character in the lot.) Anyway, Alice and the cop-who-has-nothing-to-do-with-any-of-the-plot are alive. Casting loving looks at each other and so forth, but, wait, he's INFECTED, and gets taken away by Umbrella scientist well she looks on, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Then she wakes up, and the whole cities infected, leaving Alice in next-to-nothing with a shotgun.

Now, i have nothing against the actors in this, all of them play the parts as well as can be expected, but they struggle to add depth to the already paper thin parts. Its the director, he obviously is not a fan of the game and has the brain of a thirteen year old on a sugar high. "Lets have BIG guns" he says "and lots of dying and a not naked lead." Shut up moron! and stop making movies before you ruin another franchise!!!

3/10

My only disappointment on this movie is it never made it to the cinema so more people could enjoy it. Love, Faith, Desperation, Greed and Power are all mixed into a heart pounding plot resulting in a truly terrific movie.

When a child, Siegfried's (Benno Furmann) parents were murdered and he cast down a river, where he was found by a kindly blacksmith (Max von Sydow i think.) Now an adult, he's looking at the stars one day when an asteroid hits earth, upon investigating, he meets the queen of Iceland (Kristanna Loken, in her best part yet) and so the epic begins.

Firstly, Loken plays the part brilliantly, portraying the tough but troubled Queen, hiding her anger and grief after losing the love of her life. But Max von Sydow gives the best performance as the kindhearted and often comical blacksmith. The rest of the cast do very well too, my main problem with the whole movie was Furmann's accent, it sounded like a bad dubbing job on an old japanise movie.

Based on an old Germanic myth, the movie has a real historical feel to it. Happy at the beginning, but it slowly becomes more gritty and dark as the colours on your screen fade into greys and whites. The FX is pretty cool too, the dragon has been criticised a lot, but I think it looks wonderfully unique, setting it apart from all the other similar movies. And the ghostly Nibelungs are..well..ghostly.

Not many films can hold my attention for 3 whole hours, but this one did. The action will have you on the edge of your seat, from slaying fire breathing dragons to axe combat on an icy lake. Also, the way the plot can change in a heartbeat keeps you watching all the way to its tragic but perfect ending.

8.5/10- well done Uli Edel.

Wes Cravens last ground-breaking film was Scream, which Hollywood followed up with so much crap i've forgotten why i liked it in the first place. Since finishing the (dissapoiting) scream trilogy, Craven can finally focus on other tasks, the first being Cursed, which I have no intention of seeing. But finally, he pulls Red-Eye out of the hat.

Lisa (Rachel McAdams) is a busy hotel manager who is Catching the Red-Eye plane back home to Miami, there she meets Jackson Ripner (Cillian Murphy) who seems to like her. But, once on the plane, he kidnaps her and says if she doesn't help him kill a wealthy businessman staying at her hotel, he'll kill her father.

McAdams puts in a likable performance as innocent Lisa, while Murphy is chillingly terrifying as Jackson Ripner (Which is suppose to sound like Jack the Ripper, if you haven't made the connection.) The chemistry between them at the beginning of the film is electric, but stylishly shattered by half-way. Brian Cox, who seems to be everywhere at the moment, is convincing as Lisa's uninformed father, while Jayma Mays is great as dizzy blonde Cynthia.

The first 3/4 of this movie are brilliant, the final 1/4 is very good. It just seems Jackson turns weak and girlie when Lisa beats him with a bat,a and that he isn't trying to catch her, but keeps letting her go. But, i suppose being stabbed in the neck could slow you down a little 0__0.

Anyway, with a mix of horror, suspense, and a little bit of action, Cravens back on form as Red-Eye is released, and i look forward to seeing he redeemed future work.

This movie is so dark, funny and cute its hard to explain, but i'll try, here goes.

Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween, the scariest guy in town. But he's bored and restless with life. One night, walking in the woods, he comes across a doorway to Christmastown, where everyone is happy, kind, cheerful and no ones dead! He decides he wants to try Christmas himself, so all of Halloweentown try to claim Christmas while preparing for their very own Christmas eve...

This has got to be the best animation films i have ever seen, it is not up-to-date computer technology with fancy lighting effects and computerised water reflection. Its old-fashioned, simple puppet animation, and it fits fantastically. The attention to detail is extraordinary, Halloweentown pacifically looks wonderfully Gothic. Christmas town is..well..christmassy. The puppets movement seems a little jittery the first time you watch it, but once you are used to the style you will not notice anything drastic.

You do really feel for Jack as a depressed skeleton, bored with his life. You want him to find what hes looking for. Also for Sally, Jacks unnoticed, under appreciated love interest who knows something will go wrong and tries in vain to stop Christmas. The greatest characters though are the Oogie Boogie man, a gambling addict, slightly old school town misfit brilliantly voiced by Ken Page. And the Mayor, who has two personalities, optimistic or neurotic, depending which side of his head your talking too!

The music is catchy, although sometimes it gets in the way of important character development, and everyone in the cast can sing (which is unusual for this type of musical.) Only one song is a little boring and that is the slow one which is sung by Jack second, but you soon forget about that and on to the brilliant ones like 'Kidnap mr. Sandy Claws' and 'The Oogie Boogie song.'

My only glich with this film is it doesn't spend enough time on the character development the other residents of Halloweentown, spending far too much time on Jack. I for one would love too discover more about Oogie Boogie, like why was he outcast in the first place? and why does he seem to have a vendetta with Jack? And there are a lot of background characters who i would have loved too see more of. Wolfman, The hanging tree, the 2 witches, the slime monster and the Vampires to name a few.

A cute little plot woven in with brilliant characters and catchy songs, Tim Burton has outdone himself with this holiday treat for everyone!

To Write a full review, i'd need more than a 1000 words, so i'll keep this short and sweet.

Acting- Nothing short of perfect, i couldn't imagine anyone pull off their characters then better then this cast. Mickey Roarke deserves an Oscar, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Alexis Bledel, Jamie King...actually, almost everyone is amazing too. The only problem is Britanny Murphy, she is OK but the way she delivers some of her lines is dreadful.

Plots- The Hard Goodbye- when it starts, it seems to be a straight forward revenge story, but you soon discover it is a lot darker and more interesting then that. Again, Mickey Roarke makes this movie. The Big Fat Kill- The most believable of the three, Dwight tracks a Jackie Boy, a scumbag who abuses women, and eventually Jackie Boy dies. But his death has put the city in peril and Dwight is the only one who can put things right. The weakest of the three but still brilliant. That Yellow Bastard- After being imprisoned for 8 years, Dectective John Hartigan must protect the girl of his dreams from a psychotic paedophile who tried to murder her years before. Original and amazing.

Digital Effects- Perfect, no other word for it. The black and white city is simply compelling on its own, but the splash of deep red blood or icy blue eyes adds something stunning which just can't be described. I only wish i had been to see it on a 20 ft cinema screen, it must have been magical.

Script- The script give all the characters personalities, you really believe these are people with history's, flaws and feelings. As, i said, all the actors did brilliant jobs portraying these people.

Sexy, stylish and brutal, i'd recommend anyone to see this movie, I promise you wont be disappointed.

Right this is my first review, so don't slam down on me to hard! anyway... I've read a lot of comments about petty-problems with this film, but couldn't help thing'what the hell!,' this is a fun movie.

First, a plot summery, Padme Amidarla is mow a senator for Naboo who deeply believes in democracy, and i travelling to couresant to vote 'no' for a Republic army. After a failed assassination attempt, Obi and Anakin are assigned to protect her. Anakin takes her back to Naboo for safety, while Obi tries to find out who's trying to kill her.

Next, the special effects are great, all of it looks real and the detail to attention in superb. The Clone war is amazing, explosions and shooting. And the digital characters don't look fake at all.

The plot is good too,it all revolves around the beginning of the clone wars and thats all I'm going to say.

The acting is on the whole good, McGreggor, Portman and Lee are all great. Jackson's good. Christen leaves a lot to be desired but i can forgive him just this once.

Finally, ignore the haters, this movie's great!