When I first heard there was to be a sequel to Danny Boyle's excellent 28 Days Later and that Boyle himself would not be directing it, I was less than excited. Then the reviews began flooding in and I was surprised, shocked even, that the majority of them were positive. It was then after the well respected film critic Mark Kermode said it was "very good" and "better than we had any right to expect" that I began to raise my expectations.
Im happy to report that they were exceeded by a sequel that surpasses the original in terms of tension and spectacle. Boyle remained on board with the project, albeit as a producer, but also directed some second unit footage and never allows it to veer away from the look or feel of his original. Not that he had cause to worry as the new director,Juan Carlos Fresnadillo obviously understood Boyle's vision and expands on it without getting too carried away.
The result is a faster paced, less reflective film, containing a very intelligent political subtext and some fantastic action set pieces that (and this is the most important part) delivers a large number of quality scares. It also dwarfs 28 days later in terms of gore, meaning true horror fans have much more in the way of visceral glee to sink their teeth into (pun intended).
Bring on 28 months later...
And I'll give it 8/10
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Hostel: Part II
Eli Roth is grossly overrated by 'horror fans' (probably just degenerates looking for more cinematic gore). I couldn't stand "Cabin Fever" and think of it as one of my least favorite movies of all time. I thought "Hostel" was a reasonably entertaining, average 'horror' film, but found that its 'gruesome' parts were laughable and brought its quality down a lot. For the most part, Roth is largely incapable of creating the most essential and important part of a horror film- a sense of dread. Or so I thought, until I saw "Hostel: Part II".
"Hostel" was cheesy, and that's a fact. It was nothing more than a slightly more light hearted and humorous recreation of a seventies exploitation film. It had it all- gratuitous violence and nudity, bad jokes, etc. It was camp to the extreme, and yet somehow it found an audience of people who apparently know a thing or two about film (including some fairly high profile film critics like Kyle Smith from the New York Post) and still thought it was a good horror film. Personally, I continually fail to understand why it was so acclaimed. "Hostel: Part II" is more of the same, except this time the backpackers are female (which caused a lot of controversy, of course, even though the film is actually a revenge flick and the males doing the torturing are aptly punished). Still, "Hostel: Part II" is much better.
Eli Roth has unquestionably grown as a filmmaker since his horrendous first effort "Cabin Fever", and it shows here. However, what's really important to note about "Hostel: Part II" is that it is by far Roth's best script to date. As I said earlier in this review, I thought Roth incapable of creating a feeling of dread in his films, and yet he does it here. This installment is far more serious than the previous one, and unlike the first, actually had me flinching at times, particularly during a scene involving a literal bloodbath and another involving a man suffering a particularly painful injury to his groin area. The gore here actually works, it's not scary, but it definitely is gruesome. The entire film is much more gruesome (more gruesome, not more gory) and far better than the first installment in every way.
"Hostel: Part II" isn't by any means a classic, nor is it the best horror film of the year, but it is a better film than "Hostel". Essentially, this is yet again a blatant copy of 70's exploitation, but it borrows from some of the better films among those. It's genuinely brutal at times, and overall a reasonably worthwhile horror film. More extreme than it needed to be, but still well made. "Hostel" left me laughing, but "Hostel: Part II" left me genuinely uncomfortable.
I'll give it a 6/10
"Hostel" was cheesy, and that's a fact. It was nothing more than a slightly more light hearted and humorous recreation of a seventies exploitation film. It had it all- gratuitous violence and nudity, bad jokes, etc. It was camp to the extreme, and yet somehow it found an audience of people who apparently know a thing or two about film (including some fairly high profile film critics like Kyle Smith from the New York Post) and still thought it was a good horror film. Personally, I continually fail to understand why it was so acclaimed. "Hostel: Part II" is more of the same, except this time the backpackers are female (which caused a lot of controversy, of course, even though the film is actually a revenge flick and the males doing the torturing are aptly punished). Still, "Hostel: Part II" is much better.
Eli Roth has unquestionably grown as a filmmaker since his horrendous first effort "Cabin Fever", and it shows here. However, what's really important to note about "Hostel: Part II" is that it is by far Roth's best script to date. As I said earlier in this review, I thought Roth incapable of creating a feeling of dread in his films, and yet he does it here. This installment is far more serious than the previous one, and unlike the first, actually had me flinching at times, particularly during a scene involving a literal bloodbath and another involving a man suffering a particularly painful injury to his groin area. The gore here actually works, it's not scary, but it definitely is gruesome. The entire film is much more gruesome (more gruesome, not more gory) and far better than the first installment in every way.
"Hostel: Part II" isn't by any means a classic, nor is it the best horror film of the year, but it is a better film than "Hostel". Essentially, this is yet again a blatant copy of 70's exploitation, but it borrows from some of the better films among those. It's genuinely brutal at times, and overall a reasonably worthwhile horror film. More extreme than it needed to be, but still well made. "Hostel" left me laughing, but "Hostel: Part II" left me genuinely uncomfortable.
I'll give it a 6/10
Hot Fuzz - fun, fun, fun
I watched it last night on my PC. I liked "Shaun of the Dead" but wasn't a huge fan but I liked what I'd heard about "Hot Fuzz". I still wasn't prepared to be quite as blown away by it as I was.
This film works both as an out-and-out comedy but also as a high paced action film and also manages to showcase the directing talents of Edgar Wright and the acting of Simon Pegg (who can really *act*) The first half is a gentle build up but is generally and genuinely amusing, but once we put the pedal to the floor for the second half the pace is relentless.
The plot is substantial enough but isn't really what we've all come to see - it's about the snappy dialogue and the gags. To describe it as a spoof is unfair - they just corrupt the genre a little and turn up the comedy.
Great fun from start to finish.
This film works both as an out-and-out comedy but also as a high paced action film and also manages to showcase the directing talents of Edgar Wright and the acting of Simon Pegg (who can really *act*) The first half is a gentle build up but is generally and genuinely amusing, but once we put the pedal to the floor for the second half the pace is relentless.
The plot is substantial enough but isn't really what we've all come to see - it's about the snappy dialogue and the gags. To describe it as a spoof is unfair - they just corrupt the genre a little and turn up the comedy.
Great fun from start to finish.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Just finished viewing a private screening of the final chapter of the Pirates of the Caribbean and can confirm it does not disappoint.
The original is still the best but 'At World's End' completes the trilogy on a high note.
Johnny Depp continues to shine as Captain Jack and Chow Yun Fat makes a huge impact as Captain Sao Feng. Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush returns as Barbossa and his exclusion from most of the 2nd movie was the reason it was my least favorite out of the whole trilogy. Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom complete the All-star class and do an OK job as their respective characters.
The whole film build up to the final battle which is one of the finest since the Lord of the Rings.
If your a Pirates of the Carribbean Fan, this one is not to be missed.
8/10, I think.
The original is still the best but 'At World's End' completes the trilogy on a high note.
Johnny Depp continues to shine as Captain Jack and Chow Yun Fat makes a huge impact as Captain Sao Feng. Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush returns as Barbossa and his exclusion from most of the 2nd movie was the reason it was my least favorite out of the whole trilogy. Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom complete the All-star class and do an OK job as their respective characters.
The whole film build up to the final battle which is one of the finest since the Lord of the Rings.
If your a Pirates of the Carribbean Fan, this one is not to be missed.
8/10, I think.
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