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Posted: |
Jun 9, 2013 - 8:28 PM
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By: |
Mr Greg
(Member)
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And here we go again.
A couple of sequels to chew on...
The Last Exorcism Pt II...Yes, I know it's not "Found Footage" but it is the sequel to one so thought it worth mentioning. I had hopes for this after the decent first installment...what a shame. I would probably avoid this one, unless you want to see another good performance by Ashley Bell (she just keeps getting better...think she has a great career ahead of her) or unless you need to fill in the gap before seeing Pt III (which I doubt will happen now). Last 5 minutes are fine, but the rest is an interminable bore.
VHS 2 Slimming the number of segments down seems to raise the level...if you hated the first one then leave well alone, but if you enjoyed the first one you are going to have a blast with this. Four segments, with a wraparound tale. 3 good segments, and OK wraparound...and plonked in the middle is the story "Safe Haven"...just absolutely, completely, and deliciously bonkers...trust Gareth Huw Evans (The Raid) to be involved with this...strap in, and try and keep up! Kudos to the team behind "A Ride In The Park" too...I wasn't keen on the woolly conclusion, but the film is very aptly described as a "New Slant on an Old Classic".
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Posted: |
Aug 3, 2013 - 9:03 PM
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By: |
Mr Greg
(Member)
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The Dyatlov Pass Incident aka Devil's Pass...if you don't know what the real-life story is behind the Dyatlov Pass, don't worry - a potted history (somewhat inaccurate, but enough to understand the movie) is given early on in this flick. Also early on, the flick seems to have a split-personality...not sure whether to be Found Footage or straight-ahead documentary...choosing after about 10 minutes to go with the former. A group of filmmakers head to the Dyatlov Pass to try and understand once and for all what happened to that team in the 1950's...but something may be travelling alongside them...and why do the footprints lead nowhere?
I suspected I knew where this was going...I couldn't have been more wrong...(HINT - a cameo by Michael Pare and Bobby Di Cicco doesn't happen...but would have been fun  ) the last 30 minutes exceed even the Evidence level of bonkers...some startling effects, shots lingering JUST long enough, a careful calculation as to how much is too much...and characters that - although corny at times - do seem to have an existence...not cardboard cutouts...we actually care...a little..particularly at the closing moments. And it is the closing moments I have most trouble with...if anything there is too much packed in there...one line in particular had vast implications, but was just blurbed out...too much...I wanted another 10 minutes on this movie just to let some of it - and the implications of what was being suggested - breathe a little (unusual for me....FF Movies longer than 90 minutes tend to outstay their welcome for me...I wanted more here)...
Nice to see Renny Harlin back behind the camera...he's done a good'un...not a huge fan of his (aside from a movie or two), but he knows how to push a movie forward and keep the audience entertained...and this movie is an ample demonstration of this talent. This one's also getting a limited run in cinemas in the UK...go catch it if you can...if not, this one's for a quiet, dark evening with no distractions and a good sound system.
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2013 - 9:07 PM
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By: |
Mr Greg
(Member)
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I have a lot of time for Andrew Traucki...his first feature ended up being one of the best horror films of recent times (2007's Black Water, which I highly recommend) and followed it up with the excellent, albeit not remotely as tense, The Reef...the man knows how to switch on tension and rack it up, and also cares about his characters and how we feel about them..so I was looking forward to his latest movie - The Jungle. Group of Aussie animal lovers + Cameraman & guide hit the Bush to try and locate a rare breed of big cat...only to find something else may have got there before them. But it's...just...well...meh...right from the crappy title, to the repetitious scenes, to the (often) cliched camera stuff...I was hoping for something more....and though the tension DOES rack up (a lot - there are some great moments herein...but that's part of the problem...they are just moments) towards the end, it becomes too little too late (especially since we never get to properly see what the crew are up against...judging by what we DO see, this might be a good thing). I look forward to another Traucki movie, because this is just not up to his standard...he is better than this.
EDITED TO ADD...I wonder if I'm being fair to this film...Traucki IS better than this...I wonder if there was some shenanigans going on with editing, studio pressure to keep time short etc etc...it just doesn't sit right.
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