[Trailer] Piranha 3DD

I have no shame in saying that I enjoyed the first Piranha 3D, gleefully gory and over the top, it was a fine redux of the Roger Corman original.

Still, I always felt it should have gone further, this much anticipated sequel seems like it’s really upping the gore and tongue in cheek camp, small concern over the director, should be a lot of fun for genre fans…..

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WARD

ON VIDEO

THE WARD


A young girl named Kristen (Amber Heard) awakens in a psychiatric hospital after setting a farmhouse ablaze, and finds herself stalked by a malevolent ghost in this psychological shocker from celebrated horror director John Carpenter (Halloween). Badly battered and seemingly stricken with amnesia, Kristen forges a fragile friendship with fellow patients Sarah (Danielle Panabaker), Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), Emily (Mamie Gummer), and Zoey (Laura-Leigh) as her compassionate therapist, Dr. Stringer (Jared Harris), works to uncover the source of her mysterious condition. Later, at night, when the lights in her remote ward go dim, Kristen is confronted by an imposing phantom that seems intent on dragging her screaming into the darkness. Eventually, the other girls in the ward begin to vanish, one by one. Now, the harder Kristen fights to avoid falling prey to her shadowy pursuer, the more convinced she becomes that no patient who's checked in to North Bend Psychiatric Hospital ever comes out alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer, Lyndsy Fonseca, Jared Harris

Release Date: Jul 08, 2011

Rated R for violence and disturbing images

Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.

Genres: Horror, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

John Carpenter took a 9 year hiatus from feature filmmaking after making the dreadful Ghost of Mars. Carpenter’s return was mildly anticipated because he’s created a handful of favorites including one of my favorite horror films ever, his remake of The Thing. That being said, even the most diehard fan can’t ignore his obvious decline during the 90’s even though I am one of the few that liked Vampires. The Ward unfortunately just continues the decline, it’s biggest sin is that’s it not really a mess on the scale of Ghost of Mars but it’s just so bland and uninspired that you are left wondering why he chose this project to break his hiatus. The film is directed decently and it flows nicely but it’s just about as vanilla as it gets. Nothing about it has any identity or soul, it’s a mindless run through a plot that’s rudimentary and never really all that engaging. Amber Heard is incredibly easy on the eyes but her performance along with the rest of the cast, outside of Jared Harriss who looks like he’s really trying, is bland and nondescript. At best I can see it as a throwback to the “woman in cages” exploitation films from the 70’s but even that is kind of a stretch. It’s still better than Synder’s horrid Sucker Punch but that’s not really much of a compliment. Carpenter’s general sense of disinterest is so palpable that you can almost here him yawning in the background or maybe that’s you.

C-

[Trailer] John Carpenter’s THE WARD

Carpenter's first film since the awful Ghost of Mars (2001), trailer doesn't fill me with a lot of hope as it looks fairly pedestrian and the January release date (known to be a dumping ground for studio’s crap) makes me more than a tad apprehensive.

Time will tell if Carpenter is able to capture any of that magic from the 70’s or 80’s…

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE CRAZIES

Sunday, February 28, 2010
MOVIE REVIEWS: THE CRAZIES

IN THEATERS

THE CRAZIES




Sahara director Breck Eisner teams with screenwriters Ray Wright (Pulse) and Scott Kosar (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) to give George A. Romero's underrated 1973 shocker a shiny new makeover in this update starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell. Perform a Google search on "small-town America," and eventually you'll stumble across Ogden Marsh, a picturesque hamlet situated a safe distance from the nearest big city, and full of friendly faces. The citizens of Ogden Marsh are happy, albeit unremarkable people, but they're about to discover just how fragile their warm slice of the American Dream really is. When a mysterious toxin transforms the locals into murderous maniacs, it's up to Sheriff David Dutton (Olyphant) to find out why a man who was once an upstanding citizen would attempt to massacre the local youth baseball team, and a caring father would burn his beloved family alive. Within hours the town has descended into total chaos, and the government has ordered it quarantined. Anyone who attempts to escape will be shot on sight, whether they're infected or not. Realizing that their only hope for survival is to fight through the madness that has consumed their once-quiet town, Sheriff Dutton, his pregnant wife, Judy (Mitchell), his deputy Russell (Joe Anderson), and frightened medical center assistant Becca (Danielle Panabaker) wage an epic struggle to discover the source of this malevolent scourge while fending off their infected friends and neighbors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director: Breck Eisner

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker, Joe Anderson, Christie Lynn Smith.

Release Date: February 26, 2010..

Rated R for disturbing violent content, violence and gore

Runtime: 1 hr. 41 min.

Genres: Horror, Thriller

Review:

The Crazies is a surprisingly effective, if predictably derivative, remake of George A Romero’s 1973 original. Breck Eisner creates an effective atmosphere and delivers a visually engaging picture. After a shaky start that feels closer to Resident Evil and The Happening, Eisner finds his footing putting any concerns at ease. Eisner keeps the film moving at a quick pace and doesn’t linger on much peripheral information creating an experience that’s never boring and only occasionally borders on tedium. He has a nice knack for creating set pieces that are interesting and innovative, a scene at a car wash and one at the high school make the biggest impact. The cast is effective but they suffer from weak script. Timothy Olyphant is strong as the lead, even if he’s a bit young for the role and being stuck in the tightest sheriff uniform in history, and plays against the type well. Radha Mitchell works well with Olyphant even if the pair seems a bit mismatched but you can’t help but feel she could have done so much more if the character were defined. Joe Anderson and Danielle Panabaker are even more one note but they aren’t asked to do much aside from look act increasingly unstable and the latter acting terrified. Scott Kosar & Ray Wright penned the script, Kosar having scripted various other remakes, and they keep it simple which has its positive and negatives. The characters aren’t terribly defined and logic takes various sabbaticals during the film’s run time mixed with an over reliance on gotcha scares probably keep this from something special. Also, I’m uncertain about the effectiveness of making “the crazies” zombie like in appearance when they aren’t zombie in the standard sense. These deficiencies aren’t fatal mainly because Eisner keeps the film running at a steady pace and making it less of a problem. Genre fans, me included, will find plenty to enjoy here and The Crazies is much better than the bevy of remakes currently being churned out.




C+