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jnash4853
Reviews
Yurusarezaru mono (2013)
Stunning re-imagining of an American classic, but 1 drawback.
This is a beautiful retelling of Clint Eastwoods classic film.
It's stunningly shot, well acted and very immersive. Ken Watanabe is the quintisenial reluctant badass. The only problem I had was with the film's villain. Gene Hackmans charming and terrifying performance is almost reduced to a mustache twirling villain. Like he literally has a mustache, which he twirls. Hackmans original performance is so engaging and effective, because he's so polite and charismatic. You really get the idea that he's a psychopath hiding in plain sight. Sadly the remakes villain falls short of Hackmans high bar. Beyond that, this is one of the better remakes I've ever seen.
The Final (2010)
Damn good movie
OK, some of you will be offended by my thoughts about this film, and frankly I couldn't care less. Lets get that straight. I was bullied relentlessly as a kid all the way through my high school years for everything from my race, religion the way I spoke the fact that I was a kind of sort of nerd/jock, everything. This movie speaks to a part of me that was born out of that turmoil, a sick, twisted, sadistic side that only my former bullies have seen. Granted I never took it to the extent that the film shows, but I have broken my fair share of bones to drive home the point, that I wanted to be left alone. But I would be lying through my teeth if I said I hadn't dreamed of taking it further, and most of you would be too. The down trodden will always dream of rising to give the wicked their just due.
As a theater geek, and aspiring actor, writer, and all around movie connoisseur I was very impressed with the story they were able to tell on a shoestring budget. The lack of flashy special effects creates an aura of realism. As well as leaving the more disturbing bits for your own imagination to run wild. And yes the script could have used some reworking and some of the actors are robotic. Dean could have been much better portrayed but Emily was without a doubt the best performer of the "freaks". The redhead "hot chick" was the best of the victims, she was excellent. The "jock" was the worst, very one dimensional. And more could have been done with the class clown character, the one that got the cattle gun to the face. Really would've liked to see more character development with the "freaks" because this is the type of movie where you almost find yourself rooting for them. A not so stereotypical portrayal of the popular kids would've also been appreciated, but I understand that they had to go with archetypes of these characters. I'd love to see a remake with a larger budget and better actors.
The main reason why I loved this movie is because it's a horror movie that can actually happen. Strange creatures and monsters don't scare us any more because we know them not to be real. The truth is now being revealed in this day and age, the only real monsters are monsters of our own creation. For the most part, monsters who bring guns to school to kill their classmates, are created by the bullies who torment them day in and day out. And the school administrators who do nothing to stop the abuse when they see it going on. It's a glimpse into the dark side of the "duality of man" as RL Stevenson(Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde) put it. The scariest monster to ever walk this earth is man. And this movie illustrates that quite well.