J*A*S*M

Brown’s books are undemanding and intellectually shallow, but bloody good page-turners, ideal to relax in summer by the sea. With the films it’s worse because they drag quite a bit, are too talkative and the lack of logic that the books can hide between the lines (or have at least plenty of space to explain in some way) floats to the surface, making it almost impossible to ignore. Angels and Demons suffers from the same problems as The Da Vinci Code, though perhaps it’s more tense. The result, however, is still a not very interesting thriller that might surprise a few people with a couple of rather brutal scenes, but that will bore most due to its chaste asexuality and correctness. 6/10

Not counting Star Trek, Knowing is the best sci-fi film in a very long time (The Day The Earth Stood Still and I Am Legend are not even close). Proyas is a master of atmosphere and his splendid direction and eye-candy visuals made me fully immerse in the film and enjoy it in a way I hadn’t expected. I didn’t even care that I had a vague idea of the twist due to some spoiling moron. Actually, it’s not even that hard to guess quite early on, but it doesn’t matter much because the most important thing here is the atmosphere. My only quibbles are addressed at the not very good CGI, some annoying father-son conversations and the overall predictability (which, actually, is quite nonsense for a film that works with fate and predestination). Cage is more than bearable, he’s finally made a good film after a long time. For me, very satisfied 4 stars (though they could have left out the final field escapade…)

Not nearly as bad as I expected and quite a pleasant surprise when compared with the recent and ostentatiously stupid Unborn. The story, of course, is one massive cliché, but I still liked it. The arc with the sick boy helps quite a lot, preventing the film from being as generic as other ghost stories. On the other hand, the film takes itself very seriously, which hurts it in some passages – a bit of a B-movie approach wouldn’t have hurt (but given that the hero is dying of cancer, the creators probably didn’t have balls for that). Average, watchable.

And atmospheric TV horror movie with an above average rating that can be attributed to the nostalgia of the reviewers. The atmosphere is good, really, but even in only 40 minutes it gets boring. 6/10

It’s quite a shame that the film doesn’t follow on the plot of the series, but deals the events that preceded it. Basically, it doesn’t bring in anything new, other than the chance to know Laura, which is no small thing as it completes the world of Twin Peaks, but that it would expand it in a way… no. The series is great, the film is just average (and below average for Lynch). PS: If you’re thinking of watching the series, avoid the film! It would spoil it.

1st season: Excellent mysterious stuff and an impressive genre mix that every five minutes irradiates a completely different mood, all supported by excellent music and an assortment of amazing characters that gradually reveal hidden secrets. Fantastic finale. 2nd season: The bizarreness of Lynch’s world becomes fully manifested right in the first episode. Overall, the second season is a little weaker, but episodes like 7 and 9, which basically close the original main story arc, are again fantastic. The new plot that follows is also very good and interesting, peaking in the unforgettable episodes 21 and 22. It’s really impossible to avoid superlatives when describing Twin Peaks. PS: Given the shift to bizarreness between the first and second seasons, if they were to make a third season, I think the characters would have to at least travel in space, carry out a global revolution and appoint a plush owl as a ruler.

If this is what Brad Sykes wanted to kick start his career with, God help him. He should have tried a lot harder. Ten years ago, the earth closed around cosmic horror, and if it all depended on the success and quality of Plaguers, I think it will remain closed for the foreseeable future. The monster does look good, but everything that happens around it is awful. It’d be hard to find more wooden actors, under Sykes’s direction the fights look as if they were taking place during recess in primary school, and the narration is cheap. Horror fans would have to be very desperate for this film to satisfy them. A point for the plaguers and the gore. Pandorum looks considerably better.

With Drag Me to Hell, Raimi makes a partial return to “his” 1980s, but he doesn’t forget to also use what he has learned in the mainstream waters. I think this film is just the kind that can satisfy horror fans, while also entertain and scare a little the average viewer. The only little thing I could reproach is the exaggerated likeability. Fortunately, the scary scenes, the humour and the jump-scares are in the right proportion for the result to still be horror instead of comedy (the reviews had made me expect a lot more jokes and I was pleasantly surprised by the reality) – basically, it’s something between The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. Both approaches work perfectly, when Raimi wants you to feel tense (or scared), you will feel tense (in the moments when danger is approaching), and he’s just as good at making you laugh (when the danger shows itself in all its beauty, expelling various bodily fluids). 8/10

I watched the remake first, and maybe that’s why I thought it was more effective, because, logically, the original could no longer surprise me. Basically, it’s exactly the same film, but I think the couple of sleazebags were better in the American version. Although I can’t say watching the original Funny Games made me feel like singing, the American version left me a bit more exhausted. I hope Haneke won’t make another version in a different language, because I don’t think I want to go through this a third time.

I still can’t fully understand the massive popularity of gangster movies. They force the viewer to sympathise with arrogant (and often incompetent) criminals that make their profession look like the coolest thing in the world. This is a behaviour I can’t stand in any form and that’s why these films leave me underwhelmed, and Scarface is no exception. The three star rating, however, is quite strong. The shootout in the end is awesome.