razedown Reviews

Bakekang (2006–2007)

Amazingly horrendous

[2/10 · 27 December 2006]

A show purportedly about the revenge-of-the-ugly, and started on the premise that physical appearance is not hindrance to success. However, as it progress, it's getting too ridiculous, and it's becoming more of a series watched only because of fans' favorite actors are in it.

Yes, it's soap opera; expecting something like it's-gonna-so-open-my-mind is like shooting the moon. But really, this show lost its sense of reality. The script melts with too much cheese that it's starting to get ridiculous; and not only that, the characters are greatly performed with horrific acting and bimbo-ish character development. If you're embarrassed having your friends know you sing frustratingly in the bathroom, and haven't watched this series, consider yourself lucky. Why do they keep on making these sorts of shows anyway? On a brighter side, the other star is for Charming.

Silent Hill (2006)

Loss of reality and destruction through faith

[7/10 · 13 May 2006]

For the most part, the film has stayed with the game's basic conception of Silent Hill, and the characters who give the town its essence which fans of the game would highly appreciate. With good cinematography, especially with the Otherworld scenes, the film can boast its aesthetic quality, with all the monster/character designs and production to boot. And the industrial music that accompanies the movie almost throughout the film adds up to the disturbing atmosphere of the movie. I especially liked how Alessa killed the antagonist and the whole townspeople, and the eeriness of the Janitor, as well as the nurses.

But, the critique: there was a sort of languidness with how the actors portrayed their characters, and honestly the main antagonist was the only one note worthy. How Alessa told the truth should have used other ways of telling it than in an expository scene... and the script, well some are quotable actually, the rest seems unfit for such a poetic and disturbing "atmosphere". Rose, to boot, seemed like an automaton who just kept on "following those clues" without consideration or doubting said clues. And I honestly still don't know what the Pyramid Head is doing in the movie, since majority of the monsters are given symbolisms.

But to an extent, the film gives the idea of letting the audience think and/or interpret the film (especially with regards to the ending) just like in the games, as well promote critical evaluation of the characters. It is not one of the greatest films, and probably a lot would be disappointed, baffled or humored; but as the film's main point: it's about loss of reality and the destruction/power through and of "faith" - and actually good at that.