Granted, I didn’t fall in love with “The Mutant Chronicles” as much as I’d hoped, but with post-apocalyptic movies it’s almost impossible for me to be disappointed. Director Simon Hunter’s Science Fiction horror flick doesn’t disappoint even if it’s never anything above average. Hunter gathers all the right elements for the post-apocalyptic epic from corporate corruption, war, and religion, as well as the teaming of a group of survivors who could save the world with their collective skills on the battle field. Bringing strong memories of “Seven Samurai” to mind, Hunter and co. aim for a more comic book or video game approach by treating each character with a mini-bio per their introductions. Thanks to the ever vigilant Brother Samuel who acts as the resident moral center and martyr.
Tag Archives: M
Ms. 45 (1981)
If there’s anything that gets my goat more than apocalypse films, and superhero films, it’s revenge flicks. Revenge movies make up some of the best cinema I’ve ever seen, from Samurai epics, to Western tales, and Abel Ferrera’s “Ms. 45” is that revenge movie in the vein of “I Spite on your Grave” where a woman who has suffered the crime of rape, now strikes out against all men, instead of the men who hurt her. Anna is a meek mute girl who designs clothes during the day time. On the way home, she’s anally raped on the street, and then staggers home wounded to find that a man has broken into her home and, angered that she has no valuables, decides to rape her… again.
Anna can’t catch a break, as you can imagine.
Marvel Zombies: The Movie Trailer (2007)
Directors Scotty Fiels and Jim Ojala are asking for litigation for their fan film, and you know what? I’d gladly testify and plead for their mercy in the court room, because not only are these two wack jobs balls enough to approach an ambitious concept as Marvel Zombies, but they do it so damn well, it’s shocking. “Marvel Zombies” is a wonderful series in the Marvel Universe that involves an unknown germ that arrives in space via the superhero The Sentry, who turns into a zombie and infects every single superhero in the Marvel Universe in the process. So, obviously outmatched, humanity falls under the wave of super powered invincible flesh eating zombies who bring Earth to its knees eating everything in their sights.
Jopog Manura, (My Wife is a Gangster) (2001)
Jin-Gyu Cho‘s film is a very unusual little entry. It’s basically all over the map in terms of the genres, and is really never what you expect it to be. The premise reads like a sitcom, except with violence and mystery a la “La Femme Nikita.” Sure, in some places that could lead to an awfully messy film, but “My Wife is a Gangster” surprisingly works. Eun Jin is a mob boss named Big Brother, who was given the tag of a legend after taking on a group of men to defend a friend in combat. But after so many years of acting like a man and grimacing, she finds her long lost little sister and now must stick by her while she dies. Her sister wants one thing for her: she wants her to get married.
The Medium (2007)
What Wydeven possesses in “The Medium” is a keen eye for visuals that compliment the story he’s attempting to tell within the space of only twenty-two minutes. “The Medium” is a rather interesting tale that starts off with much less of an impact than we’d ever suspect, and Wydeven takes what could have been a boring film, and adds an eye for detail, even with the apparently limited scenery. What the real appeal is of “The Medium,” is the detail.
Mime (2005)
I guess you could say that this is based on a true story, but then it’s so absurd I truly had a hard time believing. So, I’ll take Balinski’s word for it, in the end. Based on a true story, a young man who poses as a mime goes walking in the park one night, and proceeds to mime killing a passerby. He’s then chased, beaten and put on trial for murder. I can imagine the original proceedings (if there were any) didn’t really go this way, but “Mime” seems as more a lampooning of the proceedings with a clown as one of the jurors, and our lawyers insisting that the victim not speak since he’s technically dead.
Miracle in the Rain (1956)
I’m glad “Miracle in the Rain” turned out to be a great romance, because I was pretty much disappointed by the Valentine’s packet Warner Home Video sent over to review. “Miracle in the Rain” is mostly just a show for Van Johnson. Johnson, ever the versatile entertainer, really shines well in “Miracle in the Rain,” a romance drama about a soldier on leave who meets a young woman one day and sparks a romance with her. Their relationship is lovely right from the get go, as Johnson’s character Art seems to break the shell of Wyman’s introverted Ruth. He sparks conversations, almost interrupts her life, and she is a better person for it. “Miracle in the Rain” is one of many war time romance dramas about the effects of World War II on the world and the individuals within it.