Saw

USA 2004 - Thriller — 102 min — Directed by James Wan
Cast: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Mike Butters

Adam and Lawrence wake up chained to pipes at opposite ends of a dirty utility room. They soon learn that they have become the victims of the Jigsaw, a serial killer who devises intricate situations to get his victims to kill each other. Pitted against the clock and each other, the two must work to outwit their captor and save Gordon's family, who have been taken hostage by the killer.

Been told by some friends to watch this. I refused to hear anything about it, except that it was suposedly a good thriller with a sicko story. It was well executed and told, but for some reason it failed to engage me. Sure, it's mostly a psychological thriller, being that if you were put in the same situation - what would you do? I get it. I felt that the writers had tried too hard to be casual about the story, and it got me thinking that at some point, everything will be turned on its head. And in the last scene, sure we get the surprising plot-twist that I was anticipating all along. Which sadly, doesn't make it a surprising at all. I liked the sequence with the woman with the mouth-trap best. Nasty. Barbwire guy was also nasty.

My Rating: 7 / 10

The Jacket

USA 2005 - Thriller/Mystery — 102 min — Directed by John Maybury
Cast: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelly Lynch

A military veteran returns to his native Vermont suffering from bouts of amnesia. When he is accused of murder and lands in an asylum, a well-meaning doctor puts him on a heavy course of experimental drugs, restrains him in a jacket-like device, and locks him away in a body drawer of the basement morgue. The process sends him on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death (but not who did it or how) in four day's time. Now the only question that matters is: can the woman he meets in the future save him?

The film starts with some epilectic-inducing jump-cuts, but once you get past that it's all uphill. Brody is excellent as the "sick" veteran. Lowkey, yet very effective. Keira as the love interest works fine, as she's one fine lady, though I've got bigger boobs than she. But that's beside the point. She's good too, though Brody has the biggest canvas to paint on. The story is moving along steadily, and it never gets boring. I gotta admit that I've never heard of this film, and it was a big surprise. I wish Hollywood would take more chances, than just pump out craptastic blokbusters. This is not one of those, and it's nice to see that smaller pictures can still be made. It cost in the $20 million to make this one, and I'm just thinking that xXx 2 (released this weekend) cost $100 million more to make... They could have made five The Jacket movies for the price of that collossal disaster. It won't make those $120 million back - not by a longshot. Sure, The Jacket didn't make it back either, but at 1/5th the cost, at least the studio can look forward to great DVD sales/rentals from this, and thus earn some money. It's a good movie. There, I said it.

My Rating: 8 / 10

The Arrival

USA 1997 - Sci-Fi/Thriller — 115 min — Directed by David Twohy
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Ron Silver, Teri Polo, Lindsay Crouse, Richard Schiff

Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue.

Been a couple years since I saw this one last, and it still holds up. Never seen the sequel, for obvious reasons, and never will. While it’s not the greatest story ever told, it’s still effective, especially for sci-fi geeks like me. I remembered essentially everything, which is very rare for me, almost unheard of. I also thought the end-fight was much longer, but I was probably mixing it up with another movie - now that’s not rare! The story is not cheesy at all, and doesn’t go for lame in-jokes, or supposedly witty one-liners and such nonsense. Though not much in the way of action, it’s still allright.

My Rating: 7 / 10

The Machinist

Spain 2004 - Drama/Mystery — 102 min — Directed by Brad Anderson
Cast: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Michael Ironside

In a bleak and nondescript American city, Trevor Reznick is quite literally withering away to nothing. During the day Trevor works in a colorless industrial factory, while at night he seeks refuge in the bed of a tender prostitute, Stevie. For reasons unknown even to Trevor, he hasn't been able to sleep for an entire year. In the process, he has shed over sixty pounds, making him look like a walking skeleton. After an accident at the factory costs Trevor his job, he finds himself tracking a mysterious figure that may or may not, in fact, provide some answers to his confusion. Meanwhile, he begins to connect with a pretty airport waitress, Marie, who shows Trevor some much-needed sympathy.

Christian Bale was great, damn great even. He really looked like a skeleton, thin as, well, a skeleton. He must have lost half his weight for this movie, because he's really thin. Really thin. His character is creepy and his performance make me think he might even be a good Batman. But, I'm not sure he really can pull that one off. The visuals were really great, and you just assume it's in the US, even though it was filmed in Barcelona. The atmosphere is spot on, as a dreadfully bleak, desolate city that could be anywhere. Bale's performance aside, it's nothing spectacular. It borrows heavily from Early David Lynch movies and film noir in style, but ultimately fails to deliver any real thrills. The story just isn't good enough. They were going for something Memento-esque, but it pales in comparision. Still, it's not all bad.

My Rating: 6 / 10

The Last Samurai

Action/Adventure — 154 min — Directed by Edward Zwick
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton, Billy Connolly

In Japan, Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren trains the Emperor’s troops to use modern weapons as they prepare to defeat the last of the country’s samurais. But Algren’s passion is swayed when he is captured by the samurai and learns about their traditions and code of honor.

Nicely done. It has some awesome combat scenes, and it's brutal. The setting is great, and it really preaches a bit too much for me. You knew how things would end up, almost scene by scene. I felt that it tried to make the captain into a hero, much like Mel in Braveheart. Made me wonder how it was received in Japan, with their honor and such. It's most definitely a kick in the balls to them. A wake up call. But as we know, medieval times are bygones, never to return, however much romanticized they are. Tom does and great job as usual, as does Watanabe. I really hated the US Army lieutenant - what a creep. It was nicely filmed, but not spectacular; I guess Kurosawa is still the master there. But as I said, I liked the gritty combat immensely!

Sadly though, no nudity. I'm joking of course. Or am I? Thank God we didn't have to endure Tom's butt, but alas, not even a boob in sight. It was great that they didn't inject a love story into it all. Well, they did kinda, but at least not in the regular sense, and cheers for that! It would have made it so sappy and forced. If you want a romantic movie, see another movie.

My Rating: 7 / 10

Hitch

Comedy/Romance — 115 min — Directed by Andy Tennant
Cast: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta

While helping his latest client woo the gorgeous woman of his dreams, Hitch, a professional "date doctor" finds game doesn't quite work on the gossip columnist with whom he's smitten.

How many guys was dragged to the theaters to see this one? Yes, it's yet another chick-flick, which they love so much. I bet the filmstudios have a computer program that does nothing else than spit out stories like this, as they're essentially the same. Guy meets girl - falls in love - loses girl - gets her back. We've seen it countless times before, and this one has nothing that makes it stand out from the pack. It's not even especially good. No good performances, no laughs, and come to think of it, no (gasp!) tearjerking moments. The characters aren't even especially likeable or well done, only caricatures of themselves.

My Rating: 3 / 10

Downfall (Der Untergang)

Germany 2004 - Drama/War — 156 min — Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Cast: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch

It's the last days of Adolf Hitler, April 1945, and Hitler's personal secretary Traudl Junge finds herself in the Der Fuhrer's bunker. Facing inevitable defeat, Hilter's moods range from defiance to fight or flee, remain loyal or opt for self-preservation. Eva Braun parties while Magda Goebbels kills her children. The movie goes on to show how Hitler and Eva lived their last hours in the Bunker.

Well crafted and believable, like no Hitler story I've ever seen before. Plays almost like a documentary, and the acting is first rate. It shows the state-of-mind of Adolf in his last days, and his increasing delusions. You sure get the horrible conditions and feelings of despair that it must have been in the bunker those final days - not for Hitler, but for his staff, and generals. It's never fun when something comes to an end, especially if you've enjoyed the spoils of it. Payback time is not very nice. The settings are muted and effective, and the noise of war is never far off. You hear bombs hitting close by, machine gun fire etc. It sure has a feel of authenticity to it. Nothing like this would ever have been done in Hollywood. Not even close. It shows you, if nothing else, that European cinema is not dead, although it's so totally dominated by the Hollywood machinery.

My Rating: 8 / 10

Grey’s Anatomy (Episode 6)

Alex gains the trust of Annie, a nervous patient with an extraordinarily large tumor, only to humiliate himself in front of her later. Meanwhile Derek chooses Meredith to assist with an elderly Parkinson's patient who may need surgery - but Bailey disapproves of their relationship and is determined to make Meredith suffer - and tensions escalate between Burke and Shepherd.

Ah, Meredith's such a fox, looking better and better by the episode. The cast is very likeable, even the nazi. Only problem I have is with the chinese chick - she looks so strange, like she's not even human. Yuck. But apart from that, it's all good, and I bet I'll keep watching this series for a long time to come. The chemistry between the people is just right. The relationship between Meredith and Shepherd is evolving, but slowly, just enough to keep the interest there. Eeew, I'm hooked - and by a stupid doctors series to boot. Where will it end?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

USA 2005 - Adventure/Comedy/Sci-Fi — 110 min — Directed by Garth Jennings
Cast: Bill Bailey, Anna Chancellor, Warwick Davis, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Su Elliot

Everyone has bad mornings. You wake up late, you stub your toe, you burn the toast...but for a man named Arthur Dent, this goes far beyond a bad day. When he learns that a friend of his is actually an alien with advanced knowledge of Earth's impending destruction, he is transported off the Earth seconds before it is exploded to make way for a new hyperspace motorway. And as if that's not enough, throw in being wanted by the police, Earth 2.0, an insane electronic encyclopedia, no tea whatsoever, a chronically depressed robot and the search for the meaning of life, and you've got the greatest adventure off Earth.

Oh. I never imagined it would be this bad, but it was. They totally botched it. They managed to make it totally boring and ultimately a dreadful movie. It was not a comedy, unless you mean a comedy of a comedy. They've tried before with TV and animated series and failed, and this just adds movie to the list. I smiled a few times - that's about it. No laughs. Not one. But that was to be expected I suppose. It shows that not every book can be filmed, and done well by it. So where did it go wrong? Well, I'd say by turning it into a love story and a space opera - both which the book isn't.

The Vogons were great, but everything else was wrong. Zaphod was cool - for a solid minute or two, but he was then turned into a meaningless sidekick. He's a sidekick to no one! Ask him. Worst of all is that when they introduced stuff, they just whisked past it without developing the essence of it, if you will, not giving it more explanation than a brief intro. Examples: You don't get to know that the Heart of Gold ship's computer is an insane, but very happy and optimistic computer. That Zaphod treat Arthur like, Arthur the Ape man. Trillian and Arthur is not a couple. And worst of all - Zaphod's second head. Agh! They totally fucked that one up! Sure they could have done better if the movie was one hour longer, but still, they screwed some major stuff up, and that's unforgivable. Just think if Peter Jackson had let Boromir survive and marry Galadriel...

My rating: 3 / 10

The Haunting

USA 1999 - Horror/Thriller/Mystery — 113 min — Directed by Jan de Bont
Cast: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Bruce Dern

A remake of the classic 1963 movie, where a group of insomniac volunteer research subjects travel to a massive old mansion to undergo testing for what they believe to be insomnia studies. What they do not know is that the professor in charge is actually conducting experiments on human fear. As the days and nights pass, the group slowly begins to learn the terrifying secret behind the house's former owner. They soon realize that the house is pure evil, and they must battle a terrifying spirit to escape the house of nightmares.

While not the best 'scary house' movie, it's still much fun. It has it's scary bits, mainly from the excellent sound, that really makes you jump outta your skin at times. Otherwise, it's just a regular possessed house flick. Though this one has Catherine Zeta Jones in it. Drool. Though she doesn't wear any skimpy outfits, not does she run into the dark cellar in her undies. Damn it. She should have a clause in her contracts just so she always had to do that. They found a creepy house for it though, but as usual, most interiors were shot on sound-stages. It's apparently a college in reality, creepy place to goto school, heh. Nice special effects giving the house 'life,' and for once, used sparingly and subtly, which is good. Liam is allright, but guess what, he did this one for the cash, not for the good part. Hell, they all did, but it was still good fun.

My rating: 6 / 10

Dark City

USA 1998 - Sci-Fi/Mystery — 100 min — Directed by Alex Proyas
Cast: Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly

John Murdoch awakens alone in a strange hotel to find that he has lost his memory and is wanted for a series of brutal and bizarre murders. While trying to piece together his past, he stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of beings known as The Strangers who possess the ability to put people to sleep and alter the city and its inhabitants.

This is an instant classic, or as close as you can get. Been a about two years since I saw it last, but it still holds up. Top notch performances and a great story set in a moody dark city. Rufus is perfect as John Murdoch, alone in a strange world. Jennifer Connelly is just so incredibly beautiful and she's even a good actress. Looks and acting skill seldom go hand in hand, but she's great. William Hurt never does a bad part, and even Keifer does well here. You have to remember that this is a pre Matrix move, and not the other way round. The city in itself is a fifties setting, and it's excellently done. Gotta hand it to the director - he did an excellent job too. The only thing that stops this from being a perfect ten, is the final battle. It's rather generic, and totally unsurprising. If they only would have taken another path, made something special happen, I would give it a ten without hesitation, but as it stands, it's still a strong nine in my book. And that's not bad.

My rating: 9 / 10