FrightFest

"Devil" - very bad -poorly acted rubbish about someone being the devil in a trapped lift full of people. If you go expecting the usual Shayalaman twist, you will even be disapointed by its abscence. Good trailer. Woeful film.

Watched "Mutants", which I got in my frightfest goodie bag, afterwards, what a contrast, great little film. A better french zombie film than La Horde, with a great creepy snowy setting. Very impressed and free as well.

Winters Bone - Moody slow burner 7/10

Devil - very average but Dowdle is a better director than M.Night.

F - bit disappointed wanted more of the violence on screen.

daveroughcut wrote:Devil - very average but Dowdle is a better director than M.Night.

Actually I'd argue that. I think M Night has terrific ideas, but he can't write them up as terrific screenplays, and he then proceeds to direct those bad scripts rather well. I'm all in favour of a director who's prepared to nail the camera to the floor instead of throwing it wildly round the room in a desperate bid to make the movie exciting. The flaws in MNS movies are more with the screenplay than anything else. And I liked Lady In The Water and The Last Airbender (both with serious reservations, especially Airbender) but they're not the atrocities they're made out to be.

Devil's perfectly adequate, by the way - nicely creepy in places, very nicely shot, rather liked the score. I don't know how much M Night contributed beyond the back-of-an-envelope setup (five people in a lift, one of them might be Satan) but it's well enough done. Though I saw it about 12 minutes after The Other Guys, so it was bound to shine in comparison....

Winter's Bone - a completely engrossing mystery set in the wilds of Missouri. Terrific performances from newcomer Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawes (the unfortunate liquor store clerk in From Dusk Till Dawn). It's not a horror film, but there is genuine horror at the films icy core.

resident evil afterlife
Firstly i know most people hate these films but i have to admit to them being my guilty pleasure.
The 3D was very very good and easily the best i have seen so far of the "new" crop of 3D films.

The final fight scene gets very"Matrixy! Nice post credits cliff hanger though
Overall its a good enjoyable film, story is a bit silly to say the least but thats to be expected.

streetrw wrote:

daveroughcut wrote:Devil - very average but Dowdle is a better director than M.Night.

Actually I'd argue that. I think M Night has terrific ideas, but he can't write them up as terrific screenplays, and he then proceeds to direct those bad scripts rather well

And I'll argue that. 80% of directing is casting. The Happening has a perfectly competent cast who have proven themselves elsewhere so why then do they act stilted and spew bad dialogue? That is how they were directed to do it.

Devil - quite enjoyed this one, simple silly popcorn movie of which there haven't been many lately.
The Hole - This movie was really great, had a nice 80's vibe to it, Dante doing what he does best. Surprisingly scary esp. for a 'family' movie - not sure I could have handled it as a young child.

Saw The Hole in 3D last night. A Major surprise, and one of the best horrors of the year, for a 12A, it is surprisingly scary. Far creepier than many 15/18 certifcate films. It also benefits from having a really good simple storyline, okay it nicks a few things from Stephen King's IT, The Gate and even The Ring, but Dante makes it seem fresh.

The 3D is used well, and the teen cast are probably the most likeable in a long time, not irritating for once. Joe Dante's best film since Gremlins, A great night out.

Picked up some foreign titles from Blockbuster to watch-
Dogtooth - pretty cold and clinical but darkly amusing in places and intriguing enough to hold my attention. Pretty good.
Mother - fantastic acting from all involved and a nicely different spin on a detectice story. Excellent.
Plus I have Rec 2 to watch this evening. Nice.

Sat and watched The Horde on DVD... loved every minute of this stunningly shot zombie flick

Just back from The Hole 3D. Really loved it. Thought it would be much lighter considering it's a 'family movie' but it was enjoyably dark. Can't imagine my Niece and Nephew getting much sleep if they saw it!

On the 3D aspect, I have always loved 3D, even back in the anaglyph days on TV but with the recent batch of 3D films I'm actually leaning toward the opinion of Mark Kermode in that it seems to take more away from some films than it adds.

I still think IMAX 3D is stunning but of all the recent 'standard' 3D I've seen, Piranha, My Bloody Valentine, Bolt and The Hole I do think having the darkness of the polarised glasses 'removes' one from the film slightly.
I hate saying this as I really want 3D to work...

Devil, garbage.

LA Zombie
Definitely a step up from Otto, but is it any good - not really. If you want to see a gay zombie f*ckfest however with no real story but essentially a movie sewn together by a series of vignettes, then this is a film for you!!!

Frozen (US Blu-Ray) - totally lives up to the hype, really tense and beautifully shot and scored. Dig the character naming too