The Quiet (2005)

25quie.2.600The whole concept behind “The Quiet” is that our main character Dot (subtle) is a deaf mute that lives among the upper class after her parents died. Dot is a deaf mute yet she still narrates every twenty minutes. This is not introversion of our main character stuck in a world she doesn’t want to be in, this is just an excuse to give Camilla Belle dialogue even though common sense would entail her character not speaking. It’s explained later that Dot could speak and hear once, but not anymore. Which is no excuse to give her narration. If you want us to believe this girl is now in a world where sound and communication can no longer exist, don’t undermine it with rambling narration.

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Watch Me (2006)

watchm6The recent craze of Asian horror inspired films has been one I’ve not been most accepting of, mostly because half of them aren’t very good to begin with. Some are dramas painted as horror (Dark Water), and some are just remade into horrible films (Pulse), but I’m always willing to watch a horror film inspired by the trend and see if it lands on its feet or falls flat and breaks its neck. “Watch Me” has all the basic elements of an Asian horror film. Creepy ghost, mysterious object inspiring mysterious deaths, and of course a modern medium used as a facilitator.

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Saw III (2006)

Well, it’s sad that a promising trilogy is now being announced as having almost five more installments added soon. Lions Gate has made no lies or double talk about this decision. The creators Whanel and Wan have proclaimed they’re dropping out of the further installments, but the studio and Tobin Bell are intent on continuing this franchise. Soon we’ll have “Saw: in Space”! Since the studio is intent on raping this series until it bleeds, “Saw III” is possibly the last good entry in an otherwise quality franchise.

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Halloween Night (2006)

Asylum’s “Halloween Night” is a film cashing in on a popular horror flick in the same vein, and they won’t admit it. Heaven forbid we should notice the similarities. Pumpkin inter-spliced with knife in hand, and the words “Halloween” and “Night” plastered on the cover. As much as I revel in bashing Asylum for their blatant horrible rip-offs, they’ve become just like every other film company. They chose to unofficially remake big budget films and they’re no better in the fact that they basically remake “Halloween” before Rob Zombie, and say, in a press release, that this film is better than both “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” combined. For shame. Now, let’s get to the meat of the situation, I’m roasting the big pig known as “Halloween Night.”

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Dust Devil – The Final Cut (1992) (Limited Collector's Edition DVD)

dust-devil-19922Richard Stanley’s “Dust Devil” is “The Hitcher” with a supernatural twist. It’s a compelling story about a man who kills random drivers on the road, yet is also a monster impossible to kill. With the special edition of “Dust Devil” from Subversive Cinema, now on DVD, you don’t only get one DVD, you get five. You receive the final cut, the more extended work print, and three other film works from Richard Stanley that are very avant-garde. Like the “Cannibal Holocaust” boxed set, this is well worth the money because it gives film collectors something to really bite on with a wonderfully constructed library of goodies with extras, booklets, production diaries, and even a “Dust Devil” comic book.

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The Ice Harvest (2005)

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You’re very well aware at how poorly put together this vehicle is, when throughout the entire film, people are shot in the head with a small hole and a drip of blood from the frontal lobe, yet right in the climax when the villain’s head is blown away, blood and brain matter splatters all over Connie Nielsen. I hated “The Ice Harvest.” I hated its being. I hated its presence. Because—borrowing from a hilarious scene in “The Family Guy”—it insists upon itself. It’s so smug in its attempt to feel like a neo-noir dramedy, and fails in every aspect, and then tries horribly to shove the themes down our throats and never lets up.

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Broken Flowers (2005)

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Never underestimate the power of karma. Don Johnston never will. Don has just broken up with his girlfriend, who urges him to get his life together and grow up. One day he receives an anonymous letter revealing to him that his son, who he’s never met, is looking for him. Jim Jarmusch’s tale of a lady killer who gets a jolt of reality facing his own mortality, is a clever and pretty interesting slice of life about a man whose life seems basically comfortable until he gets the announcement.

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