(film review) - Shutter Island.

I don't even know where to start with this as now that I have seen it and I'm trying to get my head around it. I'm still baffled and/orconfused on certain elements of the film. One thing I got to say first is, Ben Kingsley and Leonardo DiCaprio; Great performances. Anyway, here goes nothing.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays a U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels who takes on an assignment with his new partner, Chuck Aule, Mark Ruffio to look for a multiple murderess Rachel Solando on Shutter Island, the home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Rachel Solando is presumed missing as she has escaped her cell and apparently the desolate barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under lock and key and constant supervision. As Edward and chuck try to look for clues and retrieve information which may uncover her whereabouts, Ed discovers that not only is he experiencing migraines and having bad dreams that surround the death of his wife, the hospital staff seem unwilling to co-operate or co-operate to an extent but not enough to actually help. Furious and angry, Ed tries to leave with chuck because he feels that he is getting nowhere fast, but ends up being caught in a storm which leaves them stranded on the island until it passes.

Making sure that although he is on the island, not at his own will, he then tries to give it a second try and attempts to uncover the mysteries of the disappearance, his hallucinations, the involvement of certain governing officials and question the trust of his newly appointed partner.

As things aren't making any sense, the story unravels questioning loyalty, trust and secrets. Why was Ed sent to that mental institute? Why did they pair him up with an unknown partner? Why doesn't any of the wardens or higher ranking staff seem to not help him in his findings, especially as they requested help!? With all of that, Ed tries to also figure out why he seems to keep having hallucinations and migraines and what are the twisted secrets that include experimentations on patients?

This film is beautifully crafted. I mean, how do you speak and take advice from someone who is mentally unstable? You'll find your watching intently trying to unravel the mystery and questioning all the characters with what is real and what isn't.
To say this isn't a film with a twist would be silly. It seems that Leonardo DiCaprio likes films with a twist to them.

I can't really say much more about this film but you must watch it. A most definite watch. Out Now.

(film review) - Alice In Wonderland

Everyone knows the story of Alice in Wonderland! If you don't, where have you been? I mean, really? It's basically about a girl called Alice who ends up in a crazy world where a weird headed tyrant queen, who chops off heads of anyone who upsets her, a cat that floats, disappears and re-appears at will and a crazy man called the 'Mad Hatta' who is a little bit barmy. Not to mention a smoking catapilla and two dim-witted twins that are as dumb as each other. This is a crazy world where drinks make you shrink in size and food makes you grow in height.

If you know who Tim Burton is, you will know what to expect from this film. A dark, gloomy, maybe a bit twisted kind of film and well, to be honest, although it was a very colouful film, with that Tim Burton magic all over it, I got to say, I wasn't as happy with the outcome of this film as apparently, the film was labelled 'Alice in Wonderland' but was more based on all 3 novels which involves Alice. So I was fairly surprised when the Mad Hatter was, well, not as MAAAAD as I thought he was going to be. I thought he was going to be like, mad crazy and totally insane like, but he wasn't.
A lot of people liked it and well my faults with the film were that the Mad Hatter wasn't barmy enough and why wasn't it Alice's first time down the hole. They could have done that in the film or at least had shown it in the opening credits like how they did with Wolverine.

The Special Effects were good and could not be faulted. The acting was fairly decent too, but on a whole, I was just disappointed on how it was promoted to what actually happened. I felt Johnny Depp has had a better acting role in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and i felt he was under-used due to the fact that I expected more from his character. Who stole the lime light and I thought was absolute class, was Anne Hathaway. How her character was portrayed literally had me in stitches.

This is a good film watch if you love Johnny Depp, Tim Burton films or even Matt Lucas as he is quite funny. The story isn't THAT bad and the special effects carry the film nicely. With a few note worth characters and a concept that seems to be, a girl lost in a land full of drug addicts, if you bare that in mind, you will love this film.

Out now, go watch it.

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Jumper

Hayden Christensen plays (David Rice) a young man who discovers how to teleport (Jump) from one place to another in an instant. As this abnormality makes him and others like him different, they are seen as superior, God-Like, as it were and tracked down to be killed. David then discovers that there has been a raging war that has been going on for centuries between the 'Jumpers' and the 'Paladins', led by Samuel L. Jackson (Roland Cox) in the mist of just getting into doing whatever he wants, whenever. After shortly discovering this, he has to then fend off the Paladins and save himself and his love interest.

This film isn't a blockbuster at all, but is a very good watch. Samuel's character is sinister and if you have not seen him in arole like this, you'd be pleasantly surprised. Hayden also acts well in this film, but i think the hat comes off to Billy Elliott star, Jamie Bell (Griffin), who i believe his role steals the show and the lime light from Hayden.

The locations in this film will make anyone who likes to travel want to travel to these places. We see Rome, The Grand Canyon, London, Egypt and Tokyo among many more. The fight scenes also take us across the world and the road in a matter of seconds and also add that little extra sense of 'the world is your oyster' kind of thing. However, the dazzling special effects may leave you a little dizzy.

If you enjoy a Samuel L. Jackson film, then this is something for you. No powerful statements though. You are bound to enjoy as there is a good storyline, however, the length and ending may disappoint. Another disappointing thing about the film is the character development. Maybe they will explain a bit more, later.

14th February 2009 at 09:45pm

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Alien Vs Preditor: Requiem

Who remembers Predator? Good, alie? Do you also remember Predator 2? Weren't that bad was it? And all the Alien films? Good as well, weren't they? (I actually haven't seen Alien Resurrection properly, so i can't really comment on that). Alien Vs Predator, well...was it good? Do you remember it? Have you even seen it? I have and unfortunately, I have erased it from memory. For those who have seen it will possibly remember the pure, unadulterated cheddar cheese ending as the building or whatever was exploding and the female and the predator was running away in slow motion like a scene from Baywatch.

NO!!!! Predator or Alien for that matter is not cheesy. What were they thinking of?

The sequel on the other hand is good. The Trailer doesn't show too much of the action, so you can actually watch the film and not feel disappointed.

This film, if you didn't know is the Sequel to Predator 1, 2 and Alien Vs Predator and the Prequel to all the Alien films. The film starts days after the ending of Alien Vs Predator where a Predator is giving birth to an Alien (Predalien). This ultimately gives this new Alien a Unique look. Buckhead and Dreads in tow. After the birth of the Alien, the ship in which a few Predators are on board, crash lands on Earth and then this is when all hell breaks loose.

Without spoiling the film too much, there isn't a lot of people you meet that actually survives, as everyone and everything in this film meets it's untimely demise once the predator ship crash lands.
The film has some bad acting and a few corny lines, but is a very good watch. The storyline isn't anything. This film does not need a storyline as Predators hunt Aliens and judging by the first AVP, this is a continuation. This film is about survival from two separate species that are fighting each other. Also, this is not for the squirmish as there were a few disturbing scenes in which some if not all women expecting will not enjoy.

Enjoyable watch.

13th February 2008 at 11:39pm

(Vintage Film Review) - Cloverfield

With what we already know about the film, i.e. in most cases, nothing. You actually leave the cinema experience not much different from before you stepped in. However, i must say, this was not a rubbish film to watch.

You follow a video fly-on-wall, documentary in which you meet and follow one person and his friends through an unforgetable experience all caught through one video camera. From when the film starts, it does not take very long until the action starts and does not end. If you watch the film to the very end, you'd understand.

This film is a disaster movie and not for the squirmish. Without giving the film away too much. I can only say what has been said by movie reviewers and that is, it is a cross between Godzilla and the Blair Witch Project.

The film is done in a way that is just like the Blair Witch Project, however, with some "Thing" running around lose in New York City (as per usual). This is NOT your one man takes on all odds kind of film. You can expect casualties in abundance, buildings toppling over and well....you know, your average blockbuster film like Independence day or Godzilla filmed from just a random guy from the public with his friends and a lot of battery power in his little camcorder, which captures an event that passes and doesn't actually seem to stop.

Acting was flawless and because of the way the film was shot, you can't help to feel involved and actually in the film. It's not like your watching a movie with actors playing people (in which you are), but it is like your actually in the film and what you watched was a close friend of yours or someone you knew or heard of in the real world.

This film is deep. This film is different. This film is Cloverfield and you should watch it.

2 February 2008 at 01:08pm

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Blood & Chocolate

This film is based on a Novel of the same name. It stars Agnes Bruckner as Vivian, a young woman living in Romania after her parents were killed when she was a little girl. She stays with her Aunt and does a spot of, what seems to be 'Free-running' and makes Chocolate.
Her Aunt was a mate of the wolf pack's leader, Gabriel. They had a Son called Rafe and due to pack law, Gabriel has to find a new mate every 7 years. Also, there is a prophecy that a female loup-garou will lead all loup-garou into the age of hope and Gabriel thinks this wolf will be Vivian, and for this reason he wants to marry her.

To add to the story, an artist called Aiden who writes graphic novels, falls in love with Vivian after bumping into her in a church they had both broken into at different times, one night for different reasons. He so happens to be studying the loup-garou for his novels and is intrigued by Vivian's beauty and follows her for days before they start to see each other. They end up meeting secretly until Vivian's cousin Rafe catches them with his gang and tells Gabriel who then orders him and his gang to get Aiden out of the city, even if they have to kill him as he is obviously a distraction to the master plan.

After a bit of a scrap, Aiden accidentally kills Rafe in self defense in which leads to the entire wolf pack out to kill him and Vivian to the rescue to save the man she loves.

I did very well to get this far in this review. At least i gave you guys a review, because this film is so poor, i only stayed to watch the film to the very end to see how cheesy it was going to get. You can watch cheese and be like, 'ok, that was cheesy', when you think that can't be beaten for the pure unadulterated cheddar cheese that it was, this film proves you wrong, time and time again.
Although this is meant to be a romantic film, possibly soppy to some people, i have seen better romantic films. This film was just whack. Don't even read the title out loud when you see it. The film isn't even worth that. The film could have been much better and what made it worst, from the same people who brought us Underworld, how did this film manage to have such poor special effects.
There is a part where these wolf people turn into wolves and it was like someone flashed a torch and the person changed from human appearance to wolf creature.

Rubbish
10 May 2007 at 08:47am

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Hot Fuzz

Dependent on your humour, this film is quite possibly one of the funniest films you would see this year!
This film stars the same actors from 'Shaun of the Dead' Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

The films main hero is a Police Officer called Nicholas Angel from the London Met who is a Police officer who is well and truely, DEDICATED!!!! He is the kind of officer who pulls out all stops and goes that extra mile. Nicholas Angel is so good at his job and dedicated, his police department "promotes" him to another town in england because he makes them look bad.
This town is called Sandford, where the "crime" rate is so high, that they need a police officer like him to clear it up and bring peace back to the town. The town needs an officer like Nicholas Angel to teach their officers how to take care of situations.
The town seems 'crime-less' and is so small in comparison to London, that everyone knows everyone who is anyone and who is sleeping with who, what for and why. It is a town so small that, crime, doesn't actually happen and if it does, it is an accident or are several otherwise unnoticeable crimes and misdemeanors, in short order (such as shoplifters, underage drinkers and a farmer storing a huge supply of illegal weapons in his barn).
Also, being partnered with a well-meaning but overeager and naive police constable Daniel "Danny" Butterman, the son of the local police chief Inspector Frank Butterman, and a committed action movie fan, things don't half get better for Nicholas Angel. And with the thoughts that Danny believes that his new big-city partner, Nicholas Angel, might just be a real-life policing bad boy, just like Bad Boys the film, with Car Chases and guns blazing, Danny is over the moon to be his partner and is itching to buss a cap in someone's.....you get the point.

Grisly "accidents" soon start to occur and are then linked to a hooded figure. Who is this figure? Why is the town so closed-circuit? and why is it that, Simon "Sissy" Skinner, the charming but sinister manager of the local Somerfield supermarket, always seem to be around the crime scene with something smart to say? Angel suspects him of murdering the victims due to their involvement in a lucrative property deal, but that doesn't go down very well with the town's people and having already clashed with all members of his police force, things aren't going down to well for Nicholas Angel as he is already in a town where nobody likes him along with finding the town difficult to adjust to.
However, despite all this, Nicholas is the only one who can bring an end to all the chaos that is going on in the town.

This film is funny. There is hand to hand combat, guns, car chases, secrets, lies and all sorts of craziness to make you think, 'shut up, man had that in his barn?'. When the action came, it was decently paced, realistic (to an extent) and most of all, was hilarious.

10th May 2007 at 06:57am

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Spiderman 3

Spider-Man - Up to speed.

Spider-Man is about a young nerdy student called Peter Parker, who gets bitten by a genetically modified super spider, who then inherits spider-like credentials. He has super human strength, is able to spin/form webs from his hands, stick to walls and has a 'spider-sense' that warns him from forthcoming danger.

After his Uncle dies in an attack Peter feels responsible for, he vows to use his powers for the good of mankind.



Spider-Man 1

The first film explores Peter as being a complete nerd and discovering his new powers, trying to deal with a childhood crush and dealing with his Uncle Ben's death. Moreover, with the arrival of the Green Goblin, terrorising the city and just laughing about it, Spider-Man has to find a way to deal with him along with his new powers.

With great power, comes great responsibility.



Spider-Man 2

This film explores the maturity of Peter Parker and his skills as a web-slinger and super hero. Now that Peter Parker is a hero, he also has to juggle that with education, living alone and trying to cope with everything all rolled into one, including a love for his childhood crush. With all this going on for Peter Parker, it's something he can just about bare with until he starts to loose faith in being a Hero.

The New villain this time around is one of Peter Parker's idols who accidentally merge tentacles to his back in a failed experiment that leaves him eight-limbed, crazy and a name called 'Doctor Octopus'.

Coincidently, this all happens when Spider-Man has "Retired" from being the friendly neighbourhood super hero. It is then up to Peter Parker to restore his faith, bring back the hero and save the city along with the girl in one huge swing.



Spider-Man 3

This is most likely the final from the Spider-Man films. However, in saying that.....They have managed to do a Die Hard 4 and it looks good. But you can only go so far, right?

This film has Peter loving and flourishing off the fame that spider-man has. Every man, woman and child of New York love spidey and they do a parade for him to honour his achievements. Whilst this is happening, Sandman, an escaped convict who accidentally got caught in a sand experiment, disrupts everything. Unless I wasn't paying attention, but the sand experiment was never explained in the film and seem to only serve the purpose of turning Marko Flint into a man of sand.

After battling the Sandman, Spidey becomes host to an alien symbiote which falls from the sky in which engulfs him, giving him a black suit and unleashes the darker and non-tolerant side of Peter Parker. His attitude is then flamboyant and vengeful to whomever upsets him, he would seek revenge in ways Peter Parker wouldn't have even dreamed of.

If that wasn't enough, Spidey has to deal with the New Goblin who wants Spider-Man dead and the new Alien Symbiote's host, Venom.



This film touches on a lot of things. Revenge, Love, Pain, Hate, anguish....EVERYTHING! The fighting scenes are seamless, fast and leave you in awe in anticipation on a 'how Spidey will get out of this one?' thought. However, in places, the action is slightly too fast in some places fully follow.



They had made Spider-Man 3 a more emotional story. Throughout the film a man or 12 is crying over something or the other and if that wasn't enough, there are some real cheesy bits in the film. Near the end where Spider-Man is swinging to the final few scenes and there is chaos happening and the people of New York are cheering for Spider-Man who then manages to swing and land in front of an American Flag which is basically behind him but takes up the whole background giving off this whole 'All American Hero' vibe which was so much cheddar cheese for me I thought someone was eating Wotsits or Cheetos.



All in all, Spider-Man 3 is a good watch in which, if you caught the opening Credits, you wouldn't need to see part 1 and part 2 before this as the images tell you the story so far. Fans of Venom would be slightly disappointed as his role was small in comparison to the other characters and could have easily have been edited out, for a Spider-Man 4 called Maximum Carnage. Bring in Venom and Carnage and we would have a worthy 4th film.

10 May 2007 at 06:50am

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Tom-Yum-Goong

I saw the Trailer to this recently and thought it was due to be out, but I believe they were re-releasing it under a different name.

This film is also know as 'Warrior King' over here, 'The Protector' in the US, 'Neak Prodal Junboth' in Cambodia and 'Honour of the Dragon' in the Netherlands. So don't work if you feel yourself talking about the same film with two different titles to your mate(s) as it actually has five.

For those who have seen 'Ong Bak' and hated it, then this is definitely not for you. But if you saw 'Ong bak' and liked it, this one is much, much better!


Just like 'Ong Bak' Tony 'Merkah Man' Jaa (my name for him by the time the film did finish) plays a Thai man named Kham, who is peaceful and calm until his Elephant's were stolen from his home and taken to Sydney (Australia). In Thailand, the natives respect elephants and regard them as close to family as normal people. These elephants are treated just like family. So then Kham sets out to find his Elephants.

The storyline is slightly dry, however, I do respect the values and morals behind it.
The film starts off with the friendship built between a young boy and an elephant and his father. This part of the film is dry. However, to understand why a man should receive a ‘flying knee to the face’, then this part of the film is imperative to watch.

Once the elephants go missing, that is when the action starts and when I say action, I mean, ‘kick a man in his face who is behind you and had just asked you, "have you ever received a foot in the face" and you don't even turned around to even address him’. That kind of action.

In some elements of the fighting scenes, you can see a thinner, faster and taller Jackie Chan. The guy is so nimble; there is a part where you see him slide through a 10cm slit in a fence. No effects, real.

For those who haven't see any Tony Jaa film, I’ll break it down briefly.
This guy moves fast, he is agile, and he will merk a man in one move. So in saying that, there are times in the film where it seems as if the director said "you, camera man, follow him, all you other fighters, just attack him". Because there is a part in the film where Kham runs into a building and the camera man follows him and Kham is just brucking up everyone who approaches him and there are no cut scenes at all. All in one take.

This is a superb film and I would say, if you want action with a tiny touch of comedy, like the bit where a woman is telling off her partner about buying pirate DVD’s, then you will love this film.
Otherwise, if you don't like fighting films, just watch the first couple of minutes because the rest of it is pure unadulterated one man kicks everyone’s arse throughout the whole film. And with a film like this, who needs a superb storyline?

12th December 2006 at 02:10pm

(Vintage FIlm Reviews) - The Covenant

This is a film brought to you by, Renny Harlin. The same guy responsible for a number of successful and non-successful films over the years such as, A Nightmare On Elm Street. 4, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Deep Blue Sea and a few more.

I personally believe his work isn't that bad, viewable and entertaining, as most of the films I mentioned, I own and are decent films.

The Covenant is about 5 families that settled in the Ipswich colony of Massachusetts, in 1692 around the same time as the Salem Witch Trials. The families form a covenant of silence and were to never reveal their powers in public. However, one family had a desire and lust for more, so they were banished - their bloodline disappeared without a trace.

Over the years until now, the Covenant is now bound by the 4 Son's of Ipswich who are decedents of the families that moved to Ipswich in the late 1600s. They possess great supernatural powers, by right of their heritage and they are all students.

The problems they face with their Supernatural powers are, every time you use it, it gets more and more addictive. Kind of like, Crack. When they turn 18, they 'ascend' and their powers become much stronger meaning, once they are already 'addicted' they can abuse their power in which will be less controllable and in turn, in the long run, drain their youth and have them aging prematurely.

This film has good points and bad points.

The storyline could have been stronger. I felt some things in the film were to 'bait' or didn't add up.
The acting was fine and done very well by the 4 "brothers". Each character represented their role well as to how their personalities differ and how they clash with one another.
The special effects was brilliant and there was one bit with a Ford Mustang crashing into a trucking carrying tree-logs and upon impact, the car dissembles into bits around the truck then reassembles behind the truck all in one peace. My jaw was left open for a while.

Other than that really, the film was entertaining to watch, somewhat frightful as well, such as the spider scene (if you don’t like spiders, this scene will have you cringing) and the ending could have been worked on a touch more. There were some grimey fights, but it very much came across like Street Fighter II (the game) hyper special edition or whatever and at certain times I was just waiting for the 'Shouryuu Reppa' (dragon punch) or the 4 ‘Sons of Ipswich’ to breakout into a song, because for some reason, seeing the 4 of them altogether, they reminded me of the Backstreet Boys or some boy band.

Overall, this film gets a 7/10. Only for the quality of 3 scenes among the other tiny little bits that make up the film as well. The Mustang scene, The Spiders scene & The Dorm Room Deception part. Oh, and for the line where Sebastian Stan as Chase Collins asks Steven Strait as Caleb Danvers to be his ‘Wiatch’ (Replace the ‘W’ with a ‘B’ if you don’t understand). If those Bits weren't in the film, it would have received a 4 if that.

10th December 2006

(Vintage FIlm Reviews) - Battle Royal

First and foremost, this IS a Japanese film, so when watching it, you will not be surprised at what is going on at all.

The film is about a japanese school being so over-run over the years by bad students and not being able to achieve results. Students are either, not going to school by boycotting school or classes or when they do actually go in, they miss behave and get up to no good. Stealing, stabbing, mocking adults, you name it, these students are doing it.

To stop this and make improvements within the schools, the government launch a project called "Battle Royale".

Battle Royale is where teachers will take the bad students on a "School Trip", kidnap them to bring them onto a remote island for a game. When the game is complete after 3 days, is when you can go home. There's only one minor, minor, minor, minor, thing. Only ONE person can win the game. Sounds easy don't it? Well, it's not a game of Ludo or Connect 4 that's for sure. The winner must be the sole survivor of the game. So, if that means stabbing your best-friend, hubby or wifey in the neck with a pencil, then so be it.Indifferent



Each student is wearing an explosive necklace upon waking up and is given a bag of "goodies". In this bag contains your must-have survival tools. Bread, water, map, compass, torch and a weapon. However, for each student, their weapon's will vary. It could be a knife, gun, stick or pot lid. i know...kinda fuming if u got a wooden spoon and your confronted by someone with a cutlass.LMAO

When I first watched this, before anything properly got going, a girl was talking whilst the video was on in which she was meant to be paying attention to. She wasn't meant to be talking, but she was heard and instead of getting a warning, the teacher drew for something and she got a knife in her forehead from across the room, by the teacher. Her body jolted back a little, her body went stiff and she then dropped to the floor. The teacher basically wlaked up to her, stood on her and took out the knife and said, "back to the video".

At that moment in time, my mouth dropped and I was in such amazement, the only thing that came out my mouth was Musiccooold blooodedMusic.

The film is different to say the least. But you couldn't expect anything less from a Japanese film.

It is fresh, stylish, funny, bloody and slightly disturbing, when you think about it. The music plays a big part I feel in the film and also give the film a more comic edge to it, since what is going on is very much ridiculous and outlandish.

It also shows you if your best friend will have your back and protect you, or have your back bored with a knife and cut you. It's survival out there...sink or swim.

29th November 2006

(Vintage Film Reviews) Borat - Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan

Borat, full name Borat Sagdiyev is said to be born in July 30th 1972, who is a Kazakhstani Journalist who goes around to different cities and countries to learn from their culture to benefit his home country.

For those who do not know, Borat is a fictional character played by Sacha Baron Cohen, an English comedian.
Sacha's character Borat, first appeared on Da Ali G show, where Sacha also played Ali G among other fictionl characters. Setting up and arranging interviews with the public who ostensibly believe that the interviews are sincere and legitimate.

The Borat film 'Borat - Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan' is just that. DO not mistake this for a film and do not take the entire show seriously. This is indeed a Mocumentary that only (possibly) a handful of people know what is going on, but everyone else is totally obivious. In saying that, this is a documentary that will have repercussions as people do feel that the entire show is indeed sincere.

This low budget documentary takes the viewers on a journey with Borat from his home country of Kazakhstan to the United States. You get to see his country, his village and his neighbours. You then get to meet his family briefly before he ventures off to America.

We are then following Borat from New York where he lands, to California where he has plans to make Pamela Anderson his wife. On the journey, he visits a few states and meets a lot of different people along the way before returning home.

When watching this show, i was in a lot of shock/horror with my mouth partly opened and one hand over it. I couldn't believe what i was seeing in some scenes and in other scenes, i was in tears with laughter.

Borat makes a mockery out of all the people in such a way, most occasions the audience will find him funny and the people who are being mocked will either, 1 - get offended, 2 - laugh it off as they don't have a clue or 3 - go along with it.

The documentary has anti-semitism, racism, sexcism, homophobia, prejudices and all sorts throughout, but it is down to the individual to either laugh or cry.

This is most definately a documentary EVERYONE will need to watch at some stage in their life. I dont think many will find the whole documentary outrageously offensive, except maybe the people in the documentary, but this is most definitely a documentary to watch and own.

(Vintage Film Reviews) - The Grudge 2 (With The Grudge 1 in brief)

For those who haven't seen The Grudge, here is a short update.Yes

The Grudge is about Matthew Williams, who receives a promotion at work and moves to Tokyo with his family. His wife, Jennifer and his sister Susan, choose a house where they move to along with his ailing mother Emma.

A social worker, Yoko offers to help Emma with the cleaning around the house and she hears noises through her walkman, goes to investigate and then meets her demise.

As Yoko did not turn up the following day for work, another social worker is dispatched to cover for her and check on the house, (Sarah Michelle Geller) who plays Karen.

Upon arrival, she notices that Yoko’s bike is still parked up at the houseConfused, phones her boss to come over and as she is waiting for him with Emma who seems to be the only one left in the house, Emma starts talking as if she is talking to someoneIndifferent. Karen then asks her about it, when Emma says she wants her to leave her alone. Moreover, a noise of creaking floorboards are now heard and black hair starts to come down from the corner of the room and this is the arrival of Kayako, who then starts reaching for Emma but then notices Karen. As Kayako’s eyes are rolled back, they fall into place to “LOOK” at Karen and then Alex comes in to find Karen in shock starring at the ceiling and Emma dead on the floor.

Karen is then visited by a detective who asks her questions and then goes to the house to, yep, you’ve guessed it.

Karen then goes back to the house (like going there once and seeing a woman merge from the corner of the ceiling weren’t enoughIndifferent) to find out more, when she finds her boyfriend there looking for her. Kayako comes to get them and Karen attempts to burn down the house as her chosen method to remedy the situation. That is where the film ends.


The Grudge would swiftly get a 9/10 for it’s way to keep you jumping. I never knew of such a film that made me come out the cinema paro to go home.


The Grudge 2


The opening scene is set in Chicago with a trance-like, Trish (Jennifer Beals) cooking breakfast in the kitchen and Bill (Christopher Cousins), her husband is vex at her for not cooking his breakfast right.

The film then flips to Japan 2 years after the house was burned down with 3 school girls in an International High School, leaving to go home but end up being farse to stop in "the house". Although two of the girls, (Theresa Palmer) as Vanessa and (Misako Uno) as Muyuki, have heard about the house and tell Allison, who has just found new “friends” with these girls, does not know a thing and these girls decide to go into the house and pressure (Arielle Kabbel) as Allison, to close her eyes whilst in "the cupboard" and count to 10 to try and test the myth behind the house.

Allison who is already reluctant about the house goes into a cupboard?

The film then makes a transition to Karen's sister Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn), being called by a sickly Mother (Joanna Cassidy) to go and get Karen and bring her home as there has been an accident where she tried to burn down the house, kill her boyfriend and now she's in hospital.

This is where the film got confusing.

There are three parts to the movie. The beginning is the end and the school girls is the middle. The scene’s with Karen’s sister are after the events of the first Grudge film. So technically, you are watching, The Grudge 1.5 then The Grudge 2.Geeked

After being told not to go into the house, Aubrey goes into the house, meets a reporter/journalist who is trying to seek out the truth behind the house. She then goes on a journey to only then go back to the house later on and meet her curse.Huh?

Back to the beginning of the film, bearing in mind, is the end of the film; we have Jake (Matthew Knight), who has just moved into this new apartment with his father and step mother so he is just adjusting to the new surroundings when one night he hears a noise and he gets out of his bed. He then finds a figure being brought home by the couple down the hall and continues to Columbo his way to the truth.

The film ends with a sort of twist to bring the story together with Jake being scared out of his cranium with the figure in front of him who ends up being (haha…watch the film and see) and then after a lil brief conversation and a little “borrowing clothes” momentConfused, the film ends.Indifferent

The Grudge basically takes the biscuit. In my opinion, what makes The Grudge so chilling is the fact that, once you go into the house there is no escape from Kayako and Toshio.

29th November 2006 12:46am

(Vintage Film Reviews) - The Departed

This film stars 6 big actors from past to present. We have (1)Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, who has most definitely left his whipped attitude from Titanic to the exact opposite.

We also have a (2) Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan who plays a streets smart, straight 'A' student who has graduated from the Cadet Police Academy.
Once graduated from the Cadets, Colin went to join the police force among many other Cadets, however, things aren't what they seem to be. Billy also goes to join the police force, but for what reason, as he was kicked out of the Cadets?

With such a clean history Colin, the straight 'A' student, joins the force as well as Billy. However, Billy has a turbulent and troublesome history so to think he wants to serve and protect is somewhat a joke! Nevertheless he is hired and then "fired" from the police force to then serve time in prison.

The villain is (3) Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, who is the Irish Mafia Mob head honcho.



Can you imagine a ruthless Irish Mafia Mob boss who runs the city with an iron grip?
Can you imagine this happening over a long period of time and the police trying to bringing the mob down but no avail?
Can you imagine moles working in both units till things start to become apparent, that each unit has an enemy in it?
Which mole will discover the other mole first?
Which mole will have to Depart?



This is where everything gets tricky.

A mole is working for the police, but the police also have a mole in their Special Investigations Unit led by (4) Alec Baldwin as Ellerby, who is watching Costello's every move. This means, Costello is watching those who are watching him. Ellerby's boss is (5)Martin Sheen as Captain Queenan, who has contact with Costello's henchmen.

With both moles working deep undercover, both moles start to feel the pressure of living a double identity. As one climbs up the ladder in the Police force, the other starts to struggle with his job and how he hasn't had much help, so both moles jobs and lives are at risk.

Things get slightly more interesting and intriguing when Colin starts to date this psychiatrist then she moves in with him, but then when Colin is torn between work, loyalty and his girlfriend, Billy then comes into the picture and starts to see said psychiatrist for counselling.



It is a film of cat and mouse, Loyalty, Power, Decisions & Deception. The film has more twists than a telephone cord and some elements to the film make you think, "so, hold on a Minute!?!". I felt the story did drag a little in the middle to justify the longevity of the "Get Costello" project, but it is well written, smart and edgy and will definitely keep you entertained throughout, especially, the final scenes.

All starring actors which also includes a very very very aggy (6)Mark Walburg as Dignam, Queenan right hand man with a permanent chip on his shoulder, play their parts very well.

29th November 2006 12:14am