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DjMico
Reviews
Hei tai yang 731 (1988)
Disgusting trash
How people can praise or say anything positive about a film that features the actual autopsy of a child cadaver, is really upsetting to me. The parents of the little boy approved the filmmakers to use the body of their dead son as a "special effect" in this sick piece of vile vomit. I hope they were payed well, because if I met them in the street, I would spit at them.
"Men Behind the Sun" is not a film, it's an endurance test. And a dull one, at best. If you watch the movie and actually like it for its artistic qualities, then you're in dire need of a psych evaluation. The only reason people still talk about this garbage is the shock value. Intestines shooting out of rectums and cats being eaten by rats are a few of the tasty bits in this bland stew.
Atrocious horror for fans of animal abuse and snuff documentaries.
The Matrix (1999)
Weird but fun
This is really strange stuff. Not at all blockbuster material, one might think, but it works. On many levels. The story deals with a man awakened from the dream that is life on earth. Our existence is an illusion, generated by an elaborate computer program known as "The Matrix". Planet earth is instead ruled by vicious, man-like aliens, intent on eliminating all those who know the truth.
The dark, moody comic-book feel really challenges your imagination. It is recommended that you keep a VERY open mind while watching this film, as the story gets pretty flipped-out from time to time. I found certain parts of it hard to swallow, yet bits and pieces of "Matrix" are truly brilliant. There are quite a few impressive fight sequences, some breathtaking and ground-breaking visual effects and a shootout scene that should be scribbled down in the record books. The message of the film is crystal clear and very ironic in these computerized times - mankind is a virus, a disease that can, should and will be cured by someone who knows better. Style AND substance, folks. The way it should be.
The storyline is occasionally confusing and Keanu Reeves' acting abilities leaves a lot to be wished for, but those are minor gripes. "Matrix" delivers the goodies and the soundtrack is really cool. I recommend it, but not for the Schwarzenegger-crowd. This film forces you to think and participate, to probe and search for the truth alongside the characters. Not all visits to the movie theater turn out that fruitful.
If our existence really is controlled by a computer program, I sure hope "The Matrix" is it. The Microsoft phenomena is frightening enough as it is, but to see Bill Gates in shades and a black suit after viewing this film would be enough to give anyone goose-bumps.
The Mummy (1999)
Disappointing slapstick-comedy.
The beginning is awesome - ancient Egypt, some 3000 years ago. The camera slowly swoops over the majestic pyramids, quietly observing the construction of the Sphinx and the swarming streets of this once mighty city. The atmosphere from the trailer seems to be there - for a minute or two. It wasn't long before I realized I'd been scammed.
The most idiotic thing a film maker can do, is trying to market his film as something other than it is. This film most definitely is NOT the scary horror-film I expected it to be after seeing the trailer - this is "Army of Darkness, Light", at best. The third entry in the "Evil Dead"-trilogy was never meant to be taken seriously, we all knew what to expect when we went into the theatre. "The Mummy" was marketed as a horror/suspense/adventure-flick - not the silly slapstick-comedy it turned out to be.
Brendan Frazer may have been just right as "George of the Jungle", but he seems awfully misplaced here. I can only imagine what Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg, or Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell could have done with a piece like this. Sadly we'll never know.
For all I care "The Mummy" could have stayed in his crypt, for after seeing this film I wished I had been in there with him.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Gore-drenched slasher-classic
This is one of those films that really got to me in my childhood years. I'll never ever forget that final scene when Adrienne King is attacked by Jason in the canoe - a classic shock, far more frightening than the excessive violence and gore seen in every "Friday"-clone thereafter.
Since horror is an emotion rather than simply a filmic genre, these films can't be reviewed with the same guidelines as others. It's all about the atmosphere, the build-up and ultimate destruction of everything we've been told is right and normal. "Friday the 13th" does well on all those points. In fact it stands out as the best slasher-movie in history, competing only with "Halloween" from two years before.
The violence is grim and graphic indeed. Throat-slashings and decapitations galore and very little is left to the imagination. Strongest being the scene where well-known actor Kevin Bacon is impaled by an arrow through the neck, in one of the goriest moments in the history of the R-rating.
If you're looking for a classic chiller, this first "Friday" is the one to see. But stay clear of the sequels. Already by it's second installment this series of films started to imitate not only itself, but also it's imitations. And that's never a good sign. Not in any genre.
"Chh, chh, chh... hah, hah, hah..."
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
A whisper that never seems to end
As I looked around the theater before this film started to roll, I realized I had walked into the wrong room. I was surrounded by a huge crowd of giggling, middle-aged women who had gathered in swarms in selected parts of the theater. Probably the exact same crowd who collectively sobbed away during "Bridges of Madison County" and "Legends of the Fall" a couple of years back.
Robert Redford is a competent director, no doubt about it. He's got a great cast here, a beautiful countryside to show off and some potentially interesting psychological territory to exploit. There is a dysfunctioning family, a tragic accident and some moral do:s and don't:s, but not much more. The film is well made, but never interesting. I found myself waiting for some sort of climax that never happened. There's no chemistry between the characters and it's simply too long and slow-paced for my taste. I fail to get emotionally involved in a film about the mental recovery-process of a horse and a bunch of depressed people who constantly cry, scream or ride around in slow-motion in search of themselves and a better life.
A few questions came to mind during the course of the film: Who in their right mind would travel thousands of miles across the american continent with an injured horse, when the most simple and affordable thing would be to shoot it and simply buy a new one? And if you take away the beautiful scenery, the romantic dinners and sentimental background-music, isn't a married woman who fools around with another man still a hussy?
If you're not a fanatic horse-lover or someone who enjoys a good summer -flirt, you might as well pass on this film. My girlfriend is happy she didn't, and judging from the tears in the eyes of most of the other female members of the audience, so are they. I guess Redford managed to whisper something right into the ears of these women after all, and I'm pretty sure that riding HORSES had nothing to do with it...
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
More of the same...
...and I mean that mostly in a positive sense. As light entertainment goes this is as good as it gets, but I must say that it all feels rehashed.= Sure , the chemistry and action is still there, Pesci is hilarious as always and the Richard Pryor-wannabe Rock is a nice new addition, but as for the rest we've seen it all before. I may be getting to old for this, but in my opinion the enviromentalist director Donner might as well have entitled= the film "Lethal Weapon - Recycled".