badtz75 Reviews

Doom (2005)

Good Enough

[19 February 2007]

As a fan of both Ultraviolet and the Resident Evil Series, this film falls nicely in between. While a bit more plot and less polish than Ultraviolet, Doom entertains but fails to reach the balance of action/plot as found in Resident Evil. Where it does succeed is when it tries to entertain and reference the game (many here) in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, rather than try and elevate the plot to a social commentary.

Sarge (The Rock) is the leader of a Marines unit which is sent to research facility on Mars to investigate missing scientists. They soon realize that the research facility is doing more than an archaeological dig, and that the scientists aren't missing - they're transformed.

The Rock does a fine job of an alpha-male, cocky Marine with swagger. The supporting cast comes off as a "wish we could've gotten Actor A but instead got B". The sfx are good, especially the much anticipated FPS style. Unfortunately, this only lasts a few minutes of the film.

Whether they make a sequel or not, Doom does entertain, and it leaves the ending open for more fun and doom.

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

A Solid Effort

[19 February 2007]

Very reminiscent of 80s buddy/cop films, TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA tries to balance both the gritty 70s cop noir (ala the director's previous The French Connection, Bullitt) with the flair of the 80s (e.g., Miami Vice, Lethal Weapon, etc.). The pace of the film is solid, with music (mostly Wang Chung), visuals, and clothing very much a statement of the "Miami Vice" type of environ, though the film is set in LA. The action and attention to detail is riveting, again, reminiscent of The French Connection, with a car chase to boot! William Petersen, 20 years pre CSI, is Secret Service Agent Rick Chance, who loses his partner to master counterfeiter Eric Masters (Willem Dafoe). (Don't worry, this point is just setup). As Chance is paired with a rookie agent, his dedication to his partner soon turns him into a rogue cop, bending and eventually breaking the rules.

The line between the enforcer of justice and renegade is soon blurred, as Chance drags his partner into a number of situations where the good guys and the bad guys are only differentiated by who has a badge.

With solid twists and strong performances, it's only a shame that this couldn't have been a darker movie, a darker tone, made in the 70s or 90s. Maybe they're do a remake, I'm sure the characters would still survive beyond the Day-Glo of the 80s.

Four Eyed Monsters (2005)

Does anyone really care?

[29 November 2006]

If this film wasn't about the self-indulgent filmmakers (who are the main "actors" in the film), does anyone really care? After seeing "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints", I think that format works much better, while acting as a biopic, the author/director keeps a safe distance, instead of (in the case of this film), using the ending to "surprise" the viewers with a "this really was our life" cliché ending. The big question that I couldn't answer was ... "Would I care about these characters if I knew they weren't the directors/actors?" I'm fairly certain I wouldn't.

The animation and pacing have merits, but the cinematography, done in HD, is spotty at best ... maybe a thumbs up for the first gen of filmmakers, but these days, amateur.

If you can Netflix it or see a free screening, it's worth checking out ... but for a fistful of dollars, I'm not sure it's worth the hype.

For more relationship/entanglement, I'd recommend The Puffy Chair (Duplass Brothers, 2005), while very Soderbergh/Tony Scott (yes, _that_ Tony Scott), in terms of hand-held, grainy visuals, the story of men, women, and the craziness when they come together, is compelling in a raw, honest, and unpretentious way.

That's ultimately the difference ... if this were a raw and honest film, I would recommend it, but it's ultimately pretentious and superfluous.

Sideways (2004)

Overwrought, Overrated, Like a Cult Cab

[10 February 2006]

Much like Haggis' Crash is supposedly thought-provoking and raw, a stern look at racism today, Payne's film Sideways has been exaggerated and promoted beyond its ordinary core to some type of introspective, character-driven vehicle for a talented (but character-trapped) Paul Giamatti. This is the only film I've ever seen where more than six people left the theater. I only wish I were on of them.

Miles (Giamatti) and Jack (Church) are "close" friends who decide to road-trip to wine country to celebrate Jack impending marriage to a beautiful and wealthy woman. During the trip, they meet two woman that match their shy vs. alpha male personalities, Maya (Madsen) and Stephanie (Oh). While Jack is simply trying to notch another one on the bed post, Miles struggles with guilt for lying to Maya to woo her. As a struggling writer, Miles only has rejection letters to show for his tenacity.

A solid premise, but the film is tied up in a pretty bow and all we learn about the characters is ... nothing, since they fit into the typical profiles for a buddy-buddy / the strong-one-needs-help-from-the-weak-one, etc. etc. etc.

Hostel (2005)

Good but Doesn't Fulfill the Hype

[6 January 2006]

Eli Roth's film has been hyped as the "scariest movie in a decade". With Tarantino attached (seemingly only for marketing/promotional reasons) and rave expectations since his previous CABIN FEVER, it's not the director's fault that this film has been pumped to the Nth degree. With the success of the SAW films and the J-Horror flicks in the past several years, we eagerly awaited this "fresh" concept, based on true events.

Paxtor (Hernandex) and Josh (Richardson) are two young Americans backpacking through Europe, focusing less on the culture and more on the booze, drugs, and women. Predictably, the characters are foils. Paxton as the brash, egotistical Type A and Josh as the more quiet, reflective, just-broke-up-with-the-girlfriend sidekick. They meet Oli (Gudjonsson) an easy-going party-animal from Iceland. Together, they enjoy the sights, scene, and sex of Amsterdam.

One night, they meet Alex (Silhavecky) who tells them of a city in Slovenia that is "filled" with women, if that's what they want. Alex shows them digital photos of him and gorgeous, naked beauties.

The bait has been shown and the fish are hooked.

Paxton, Josh, and Oli go to the Hostel recommended by Alex, but the trip is initially depressing and they are somewhat hesitant. Seemingly, their luck changes when they arrive at the hostel, a charming building which houses the three with two buxom flirts (Natalya and Svetlana) who invite them to the spa and out dancing.

The next morning, after a night of bliss, is when things start to go awry.

Roth manages to get us to this point in the film, about twenty minutes in, without much effort. The characters are stale and one dimensional, and the American-as-ignorant-tourist is over-played. Later, Paxton's ability to speak German is misused to give this idealogical conflict some meat. Unfortunately, Roth is too methodical during the gruesome torture scenes and continues to try and use the characters to send a message about Americans/capitalism.

While the concept is strong, the story plays out a bit amateurish. The tension is fleeting, and we only wish the torture scenes could be longer (not for the blood but to push the envelope of what these people are doing). It's unfortunate that we know very little from the torturers' sides; they are just masks. There's no twists as to who's good and who's bad. It's fairly obvious as each character is introduced as who will end up being a friend or foe.

As a second film for Roth, it's a good start. As for the hype, forget about it and just enjoy it for what it is, a pretty good horror flick. Hopefully Roth will forget about the Hitchcock-like directing and just focus on the in-your-face scare next time.