The Running Dead - Decent, but cheap, zombie film

Okay, so there's more zombie films out there at the moment than the zombies themselves in a George A Romero movie and I'm guessing I've seen most of them. In fact, there are probably some much higher budget ones that are worse than this.  I seem to remember that the first time I watched 'The Running Dead' I enjoyed it enough to buy it afterwards on DVD.  Since then I've watched it twice more in the space of a few years because I couldn't remember the plot.  Now I've seen it again, I realise I probably overrated it a bit originally.

Okay, it's not the new 1979 'Dawn of the Dead,' but, considering zombies are getting pretty tired these days, anything that vaguely breathes even a little bit of life into a rotting corpse of a genre is worth a little look.

'The Running Dead' is definitely a 'low budget' affair.  The story is set a year after your average zombie apocalypse blah, blah, blah and two human survivors seek refuge on a - supposedly - zombie-free island. Of course there are a few zombies (or `walkers' as they call them here) who make in into their little paradise, plus the local human inhabitants have some secrets up their sleeves.

The first you should know is that this film is pretty cheap. You don't see an awful lot of the undead at the best of times, which means that gore is also kept to a minimal for most of the film (the `pay-offs' all come in the last twenty minutes or so).  And, when you do see the zombies, they're about as well made-up as a seventies home movie horror film.  However, what the film lacks in gore it makes up for by its general gloomy atmosphere and great use of scenery on the island (you really get a feel for the place). Plus, for a low-budgeter, the actors all turn in pretty good performances, although I doubt you'll ever have seen any of them in any other production (before or after this).  If I had to compare Dead Season to another zombie film, I'd say it shared a few traits with 'Day of the Dead (1985)' as it shares a lot of the same story beats.

If you can stomach yet another zombie film, I'd keep in mind that this was made on quite a shoestring and give it a go - just be VERY forgiving.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

Chappie - A reasonable ‘mish-mash’ of other films

Take ‘Short Circuit’ and mix it with ‘Robocop.’ Then season the brew with elements from Terminator and a few other sci-fi offerings and you’re left with ‘Chappie.’ However, just because it isn’t totally original, doesn’t mean it’s that bad.

It’s actually an okay watch.  A city is plagued by crime, so they turn to droids to deal with the criminal.  One becomes sentient.  And we have our movie.  It’s basically a reworking of ‘Short Circuit’ as a robot struggles to understand the human world around him, all the time being considered ‘less’ of a person, simply because most humans can’t believe that any droid could ever be as ‘alive’ as the rest of us.  The ‘Robocop element’ comes in as another branch of the police force is trying to get their own robots out there on the market.  Think a (pretty blatantly copied!) ED-209, but one with slightly more weapons and a jet pack.

Perhaps it totally wouldn’t have worked, had it not been for the decent cast and crew it had behind it.  At the helm is Neill (District 9) Blomkamp.  Therefore expect good special effects and a real ‘gritty’ feel to the film.  Plus you have his long-standing friend and collaborator, Sharlto Copley, as the robot’s voice.  Sigourney Weaver and Hugh Jackman are thrown in there for added weight, but their screen time only adds up to a few minutes out of the whole movie.  For the most part we’re treated to Chappie himself and his ‘adopted’ family.  Now, whereas Johnny 5 (from Short Circuit) was schooled to be nice, Chappie is held (sort of hostage) by a gang of criminals.  Therefore, he’s schooled in crime – albeit in the most innocent way possible!

I found that a little hard to get my head round.  The ‘hero’ of the film was sort of being forced against his will to be bad.  And the humans he was surrounded by were villains, therefore they were hardly the sort of people you would want to root for (or even associate with!).

Yes, there’s some ‘character development’ and the final – pretty explosive – act was pretty spectacular.  Plus there are some moments in there that you probably won’t see coming.

The major trouble is District 9.  Basically, everyone loved it and will rate Chappie against it.  No, Chappie is nowhere near as good as District 9, but it’s not that bad.  Just lower your expectations and you’ll be in for a fun time with a few rough edges.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

Pretty Woman - Still holds up, despite its lack of originality

Being a guy, I'm pretty sure that this movie isn't really meant for me.  No matter how the film-makers dress it up, it's your basic 'rom com.' However, just because nothing about it is original, doesn't mean that it's not at least 'watchable' (and 'watchable' is about the highest praise I can ever give a romantic comedy, based on the fact that most of my DVD collection involves car chases and alien armies being thwarted by superheros in an epic New York battle).

Yes, I hate to admit it, but 'Pretty Woman' is actually very funny.  No, it's definitely not original.  It follows the tired old genre trope of: boy meets girl, boy loses girl and boy gets girl back again.  But, if the characters are interesting and we care about them, plus they make us laugh along the way, who cares?

In case you're the one person who doesn't actually know the plot of this film, Richard Gere plays a high-powered businessman in Los Angeles who befriends a down-on-her-luck 'working girl' (Julia Roberts).  At first he pays her for her company during business events.  Soon there's a flicker between them that something more may happen.

So, you'd probably have to have never watched a romantic comedy film before not to be able to know what happens next.  But it's not a film that's supposed to 'subvert your expectations' or with a 'twist' at the end.  Everything flows from A to B nicely and along the way there are many memorable funny moments that you may since have seen lampooned in various popular culture outlets.

I know women tend to like this film more, but I have to say that - if you're like me, i.e. a guy who isn't really into the genre - and you find yourself having to watch only ONE romantic comedy, this could be the one for you.  It certainly goes quickly and the two leads are just so charming that you can't help but root for them.  Also, special mention to Hector Elizondo who adds just that extra little bit of heart and charm to an already heart-filled and charming film.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

Zero Dark Thirty - A reasonable portrayal of modern day espionage

In case you don't know... Zero Dark Thirty is about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, after the 9/11 attacks on America. Maybe, over the years, we've been spoiled by James Bond into thinking that all spying involves gadgets and car chases. However, in reality, most spying is done from behind desks and listening. And, yes, that's certainly a bit boring in some people's eyes.

However, that could be seen - by some - as a failing of the film. It's about two and a half hours long and a lot of it is spent in offices watching people in suits arguing about budgets and how to spend them (hardly what we'd expect from superspies!). So, maybe if you're intending watching this, you should know that it's not `all action.' Plus there is a fair bit of human torture during the first half, so, if you don't have a strong stomach, you may not want to see how interrogations are taking place.

But, it does chronicle the hunt for the world's most wanted man pretty well. Even though (assuming you've watched the news) you probably know then ending, the final showdown is extremely tense and well filmed.

Plus there should be a special mention to Jessica Chastain who completely owns every scene that she's in. In fact... her performance is so strong that she effectively eclipses every other actor in this film, leaving everyone who isn't her as little more than an extra!

So, if you're interested in the subject matter, then this really is the film to watch on the hunt for Bin Laden - certainly worth a watch (although expect a `slow burner').

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather

The Truman Show - Life eventually imitated art?

I remember hearing the briefest of synopsis of 'The Truman Show' in a film magazine that was promoting the next year's upcoming movies.  It just read, 'Jim Carrey discovers he's a character in a TV show.' I have to say that that description hardly blew me away as I didn't know what to make of it.  Saying it like that makes it sound much more simple and goofy than it really is.  I didn't go and see it when it was theatrically released, but after the positive word of mouth it generated, I felt I had to see it for myself.

I can't really sum it up any better.  Jim Carrey slowly discovers that the world around him is one giant TV set and he's the (unwitting) star, as cameras have been following his life ever since his birth.  It was actually a pretty novel concept back in 1998. 'Big Brother' and various other reality TV shows had not yet taken over our airwaves, making this film quite ahead of its time.

Carrey plays, 'Truman Burbank,' a happy-go-lucky fella who slowly starts to realise that there's something very wrong with the world and its inhabitants who exist all around him.  From there, he slowly begins to unravel the plot for himself.  It's all great fun and you really want to root for Truman to succeed in escaping this 'prison/goldfish bowl' he exists in.  Jim Carrey is known for his 'larger than life' characters, but I'm pleased to say that he's dialed it down here and is much less manic than his other outings such as 'The Mask' or 'Ace Ventura.'

Not just is it a quirky little drama, but it throws in many a dose of healthy social commentary of society and their obsession with television and the characters they spend their lives watching.  However, I doubt that the film-makers ever realised how true to life this would all be with the amount of reality TV shows which were to follow it.

Personally, I loved it and - despite it being a bit out of date now - I think it holds up perfectly as a warning of our obsession with TV.  For what it's worth, I'll mention my friend's thoughts on it.  He didn't like it because he thought it was all too far fetched.  He felt that if the cameras had been following Truman since birth (approximately thirty years by the time we join him), that would mean the TV show started around 1968 and, back then, studios didn't have the technology to pull this off.  I simply disregarded that as a nit-pick.  This film is too good to look that deeply into and risk putting yourself off enjoying the ride.

I guess I'll leave it up to its 'tagline' to say it best. 'On Air.  Unaware.' Well done to the Marketing man who came up with that one!

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather

Basket Case 2 - Good, but very different to the original

Basket Case 2 takes place right after the original. And, if you've seen the original, you may be in for a surprise. The first instalment was pretty dark - about a young man who carries his psychotic miniature deformed brother around in a basket. However, number two immediately changes the genre slightly into more of a wacky comedy (yes, with a few murders in, but mainly it's played for laughs).

A lot of people who saw the first film see it as a cult classic (yes, it's cheesy, but still pretty enjoyable nonetheless), so when number two shifted gear it took a lot of stick. Not only does the overall atmosphere change, but the central two characters - one being the `basket case' himself - are slightly pushed out of the forefront of the story - another reason Basket Case purists see the sequels as a step in the wrong direction.

However, if you look at number two on its own, it's reasonably enjoyable (in a silly kind of dumb way). Number three follows on from number two straight away, but keeps the same comedy feel with horror as a secondary part to it.

I quite enjoyed all three of them. However, the general consensus is that you should stick to the first one if you like horror films. The next two are pretty wacky. You have to be in the mood for such silliness, or a complete basket case (which I obviously am).

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

The Roommate - Horror by the numbers

I haven't seen the film 'Single White Female' for a while. but, from what I remember, it was basically 'The Roommate.' Maybe 'The Roommate' was actually a remake of 'SWF' and I just didn't get the memo?  Either way... I basically felt that I'd seen it all before - and better.

A student moves into her university dormitory, only to get a new - you guessed it - roommate.  And the roommate is a psycho.  If you were told that briefest of plot synopsises then you'd probably be able to guess what happens next.  And I reckon you'd be right.  There's nothing here that's remotely surprising or worth your time watching.

There's everything you'd expect here.  Stalking.  Disbelief at what's happening.  A slow burn leading to some kills and minor backstory to try and 'explain' various character motivations.

The girl is, er, a girl.  I'd never seen her in anything else, so please excuse my ignorance regarding her body of work.  She's functional enough and even likable.  Then you have her roommate.  She too, plays her part as best as the story allows.  But - and this may just be me - but I found they looked too similar.  Now, maybe this was on purpose, but I actually got confused between the two sometimes!  Then, occasionally the script will require other girls popping up and - guess what - they also look almost identical.  Maybe I just need by eyes tested, but normally I can tell one character apart.

Yeah, I know I'm being a bit harsh on it, but I've seen a lot of films (in particular horror) and, if you're in the same boat as me, there's very little point in you bothering with this one (especially if you've seen 'Single White Female' which is infinitely better).  However, if there's one positive I can say about it is that it probably wasn't meant for hardened veterans of the genre.  If you haven't seen that many similar films then I'm guessing all this will be quite new and interesting.  So, if you haven't picked up on what I'm saying, basically - if you're young you'll probably love it.  Old people like myself... move on.

5/10 a hard trek, a bit like unicycling to Mordor and back