Hellbenders (2012) Don't know how I missed this one. It's a horror/comedy with a silly premise. Essentially the Church has a small group of priests they use to do exorcisms. These dedicated people know they're likely have to die on the job (by letting the demon get into them, and then committing suicide), so their last days are always just around the corner. Not only that, but in order to be more attractive to the demons they have be flawed. To do this they have to sin - a lot. If they don't sin, then they become too pure, and they're no good for the task at hand. So they drink,swear, take drugs, have sex..... and then go fight some nasty demon. Not heavy stuff then, and rather silly. But it has its moments, and I enjoyed it.
Absolutely. It's not an attempt to redeem Hitler, it's an attempt to portray him as what he was. A human being, humans are complicated and full of contradictions. A man who despised so many people but who loved dogs and was affectionately remembered by the children of his associates. The latter aren't redeeming qualities, simply signs of the complex nature of people. Then what relevance does the liberties they took have? Would it have been more entertaining had it been by the book? It's supposed to be entertainment, not a science lesson.
It would have added some weight due to authenticity. A film can be authentic without being a "science lesson". Basically nothing happens in the film anyway. Getting the science right would have at least given it one star.... It would have been a bright spot in an otherwise lousy film. IMO. Instead of that, I found myself laughing at an already horrible film. Still, each to their own - there are plenty of films I like others dislike....
Zero Dark Thirty 1/10 (only because I can't score it lower) Spends 2 hours of the 2:30 hours speaking with no actions of any kind. You know its a bad film when you can watch the last 10 minutes (which is pretty much in total darkness) and that is practically the film. Very poor acting, very poor camera (lighting) & very poorly made.
I just didn't think there was a lot to the movie tbh. If they had a different actress maybe I could've bought it more. I get I was supposed to feel something for her being in the dark, scary universe all alone but the only emotions I felt were hoping the space garbage would hit her so the movie would end. Still, visuals were awesome.
Agree with the bold, not so much the second part, visually beautiful the SFX were fantastic, the story moved along and it was over before I realised I'd not stopped it for a mid movie smoke, but it actually left me wishing that there had been more than there was ...... I agree with this, had there not been interesting things floating out of the TV screen at me I probably would have been less engaged It's not one I think I would ever seek out to watch again, if it was on and there was nothing better maybe
Zero Dark Thirty was alright but no more than that. I thought action toward the end was top-notch and the tension was palpable. The lack of light worked for me because it increase the tension and made it feel more real. However, I couldn't stand Maya, one of the most charmless, boring lead characters I've seen. I thought the fella who did the torturing was far more interesting, whereas Maya was very one-dimensional.
Agreed. Zero Dark Thirty was possibly the biggest disappointment for me, in a year full of films that I found disappointing. Don't think either of the films are 'murica' films though to be fair. ZDT wasn't engaging enough for the bulk of the film. I liked the opening, I liked the ending, which was brilliantly filmed, but Chastain going around shouting at everyone got very dull, very quickly. That must be one of the most overrated performances in recent years. Was just talking about Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin - that performance gets ignored by the academy, while Chastain's is raved about. (different years I know)
Chasing the Devil (2014) I should admit up front that I really enjoy the first person "Blair Witch" or "Found tape" type movies. Yes, 99% of them are rubbish, but there's something about them that I find fun each time. Even the bad ones. Chasing the Devil is actually quite good though. It does nothing new, and there are no surprises that you won't see coming. But it's nicely made, and some of the people in it can actually act (not what you sometimes get in these films). If you like this sub-genre of horror films then you should find something to enjoy here. If you hate it - then boy, stay well away.
Totally agree. The start and the end were great, but in between we had an unlikeable character who complained constantly, and I wouldn't mind but it seemed to me like a lot of the other characters were doing much of the work..she was just there moaning and shouting. There were many times when I couldn't work out what her great contributions were other than being obsessed. Congratulations, you have no life, stfu.
Boy Wonder (2010) At the start I was anticipating it to be shit and a waste of time, but to be fair it was probably worth a watch. 6/10
Pain & Gain 5/10 I'm not sure about this, it's loosely based on a true story but seems like more of a comedy than a serious translation. If they went for the more comedy approach then it was certainly that but I doubt it as it was based on a true story and not many 'true stories' are more funny than serious. It's decent but thats about it.
It would be great if it wasn't based on true events because a lot of it is hilarious but then you remember it is and it sort of degrades it.
