Many people think that I’m much too hard on “Hatchet,” and unnecessarily punish it for being the victim of gross over hyping by a hyperactive press who stroked themselves to Green’s premiere debut. In actuality, I liked “Hatchet,” because it’s tough to disappoint me with a slasher film, and Green has a charisma about him that guarantees to win me over sooner or later. “Spiral” is a step in the direction where Green will definitely win me over as a fan if he continues at this rate.
Tag Archives: Romance
3 Steps 2 Abducting Awareness in Love (2007)
I thought it was my computer and I tried to replay “3 Steps 2 Abducting” twice and it was still occurring. Right around the climax, the movie just stops playing and nothing is resolved, nothing develops and we’re left with a feeling of abrupt closure that just doesn’t answer any questions. “3 Steps 2 Abducting” definitely has the right idea, it just doesn’t know what it wants to be.
Across The Universe (2007) (DVD)
One of the benefits of being a hardcore Beatles fan is that I don’t really need to buy the covers of the best Beatles songs of all time presented in “Across the Universe.” Instead I have the entire soundtrack and much more in my grasp. Ain’t it sweet? “Across the Universe” gets a lot of guff for being that representation of the Beatles that wasn’t mean to be. It’s a movie, a mainstream movie, with a rather cliché story, but you know what? Fuck it. “Across the Universe” is an absolute masterpiece, a thrilling, chilling, and incredible musical experience that takes the best of the Beatles and transfers it into an awfully excellent romance and war time story under the direction of Julie Taymor who takes a movie and makes it into a cathartic experience for the fans.
Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series (DVD)
I have to admit that I’ve never been a fan of “Doctor Who.” If you talk to our resident contributor William Garcia, you’ll find a Doctor Who fan who surpasses every other Doctor Who fan before him. But me as a casual viewer found Doctor Who thanks to the Sci Fi channel here in America who broadcast the entire series every week. I was never a fan before so I went into it with a general ignorance on everything associated with the universe and found it entertaining. I thought Billy Piper was a cute heroine, I liked her charm and courage, and I thought she was a great pairing with Christopher Eccleston, my original lure to the series.
Anita: Swedish Nymphet (1973)
When you get right down to it, sure, “Anita” is sexploitation, and sure in many occasions it can be pure smut, but, and this is a giant but: “Anita” can also be quite entertaining. Very much in the vein of films like “Black Snake Moan,” Wickman’s drama porn is not just a display for Christina Lindberg and her gorgeous physique, it’s an interesting study in the habits of nymphomaniacs, and the misery that can arise from sex and sexual acts when it’s made out of sheer impulse and not pleasure. Sixteen year old Anita is a girl with so much psychosis that she’s hopelessly addicted to sex and really has no grasp on restraint or discretion when it comes to getting what she wants.
Shoot 'Em Up (2007) (DVD)
A man sits on a bench drinking coffee and eating a carrot, a pregnant screaming woman runs by. As does a man wielding a gun prepared to shoot her. Mr. Smith is now involved. Thus begins a sudden mission to protect a newly born child from a massive conglomerate and a surprisingly interesting reason why this child is wanted. I theorized all throughout Davis’s raucous action comedy and really wasn’t prepared to find a devious plot as complicated and absurd as the one explored here. “Shoot ‘Em Up is yet another variation on “Lone Wolf and Cub” with a mysterious warrior leaving a body count in the triple digits to protect a child, and though Davis derives from the concept, “Shoot ‘Em Up” is its own twisted animal. There’s really no point in hating “Shoot ‘Em Up”; it’s a ridiculous, idiotic and fantastical cartoon mixed with a formula video game, and it makes no presumption to pretend otherwise.
Atonement (2007)
All it took were the words of a child. All it took were the words and accusations of one child, and it set in motion events of one of the most unusual romances I’ve ever come across. “Atonement” is set around the hook of a man accused of a crime, which gives him surprising clarity on his life. Robbie is a servant for a local wealthy family in the countryside on the cusp of World War 2 where Hitler is beginning his reign of terror. But, “Atonement” is less about the lieu of the war, and more about what leads to Robbie’s inevitable interaction with the big war that he didn’t intend on. It begins on a light note, as Joe Wright, known for the moderately entertaining “Pride & Prejudice” adaptation, starts the film off as an odd series of coincidences and happenstances that take a toll on the characters all around them.