Movie Review - Death Race 2050

Death Race 2050

(2017)

Universal 1440 Entertainment / New Horizons Picture : Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

8.25 / 10

Way back in 1975 Roger Corman gave us the great Death Race 2000 which introduced us to race car driver Frankenstein in a dystopian future where vehicular manslaughter gets the driver points.  In 1978 Corman gave us Deathsport a similar concept and once again starring John Carradine.  In some countries, this released under Death Race 2050, though it wasn't a sequel.

Now in 2017 Corman is back with the real deal.

And what a deal it is.  The Death Race is still running and the United Corporations of America are making the money off the back of the games.  Frankenstein is still unhappy with his role as the favourite and the puppet of The Chairman; all he wants to do is race... he's a racecar driver.  The Chairman, knowing Frankenstein's feelings has arranged for a replacement in a genetically perfect human, Jed Perfectus.  Then there are the rebels who are tired of being controlled by the corporations and decide to fight back by attacking the race and the drivers.

What director and writer G J Echternkamp, along with fellow writer Matt Yamashita bring the audience is a wonderful satire wrapped up in a schlocky B-Movie.  I particularly loved the crappy in car scenes where they go back to the 70's style of screen driving... the actors sit in a stationary car while the landscape plays behind them on green-screen.

There are some nice story elements which bring the film up-to-date.  In this race, the drivers have a passenger.  The passenger is the gateway for the virtual reality ridealongs.  This is a nice addition as it allows for a building of characters, whereas the first movie was more race and kill based.

Malcolm McDowell is brilliant as The Chairman, camping it up whenever possible... and you have to love that hair.  Though it's Manu Bennett as Frankenstein that steals the show.  John Carradine was good but Bennett adds a little more depth to the character and I like his portrayal the better of the two.

If you ever wondered what the great thing about B-movies was or what a makes a good Roger Corman production then give this film a view.

If you like funny films with a story and a point of view then give this a view.

If you want a good night in with a good film... then give this a view.

And sing with Minerva Jefferson and myself...  Drive, Drive, Drive,.  Kill, Kill, Kill.  Drive.  Kill.  Drive.  Kill.  Drive.  Kill.  Drive.  Kill.

Movie Review - Ghost In The Shell: Innocence

Ghost In The Shell: Innocence

(2004)

Bandai Visual Company / Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Dentsu Music And Entertainment / ITNDDTD / Kodansha / Production I G / Studio Ghibli : Bandai Entertainment / DreamWorks Home Entertainment

7 / 10

This sequel doesn't come anywhere near the original in either story, atmosphere, artwork, or provocativeness.  From the onset, the viewer is slammed with a philosophical quandary, this is given by the cyber-coroner and feels so out of context that it appears forced.  Whereas, in the original, it was subtly woven throughout the film and its context. You just don't get that here.

I don't know if this is Disney's influence at work...  The first film was a little convoluted, though, with a little brain power you could figure it out.  For "Innocence" they give it to the audience in black and white.

Then you have the appearance of digital artwork, fused and mixed with the more original.  For most of the time, this works, though it does have less effect on building atmosphere as does the setting and direction of the scene.  The worst scenes containing digital art are the cars driving down the street.  The street backgrounds are dark with a mat lustre, howbeit, the cars are ultra shiny bright metallic.  The reflections flowing over the surface of the car doesn't tally with their surroundings.  This draws the viewer out of the story to register the imperfection of the scene, this hurts the movie as you want your viewer to feel as though they are apart of the story and not a third party just watching.

The story was a nice follow-up, even though I don't think is was told all that well.  Something is happening to the sex-bots!  For some reason, they are malfunctioning and killing their owners and whoever's in the vicinity before committing suicide.  Section Nine is called in as this could be an act of terrorism since robots cannot kill humans or themselves.

Under better hands, this could have been as great as the original film had they decided to entwine the philosophy, the mystery and thriller elements, and mood and ambience into the story and artwork instead of segregating them and lessening the power of the piece.

Worth watching if you've seen the original but be warned it's not as good.

Movie Review - Ghost In The Shell

Ghost In The Shell

(1995)

Kodansha / Bandai Visual Company / Manga Entertainment : Metrodome Distribution / Anchor Bay Entertainment

10 / 10

I had quite forgotten how wonderful, inciteful, imaginative, and beautiful this film is.  Since Hollywood is making their own version of this film I thought I would revisit the original itself.

America will ruin this movie.

What writer, Masamune Shirow (Manga Author), and screenwriter, Kazunori Ito, give the audience in Ghost In The Shell is a deep and thought-provoking story of a world on the edge of great change.  It's the year 2029 and most of the population have been augmented with machinery and computerisation.  People are able to send thoughts through the wires and electronic ether to each other as well as verbally.  Cyborgs are used to help to police the civilisations.

Major Motoko Kusanagi is one of these cyborgs.  She works for Section Nine who are on the trail of The Puppet Master; a hacker who can infiltrate his way into a person's shell and use their ghost to assassinate officials.  Though, The Puppet Master is not what he seems.

As the story progresses and the truth is revealed we asked a question...  What actually represents life?  This looks to be a simple question, however, in the context of the story it expands to absorbing and provocative magnitudes.

This is a story with heart and thought.

What makes this movie and story even more substantial is the animation.  Within this film are some great shots and scenes.  I love the way that even the backgrounds are so detailed and add to the feel and atmosphere of the film itself.

This is a visually stunning piece of work that should be viewed for that fact alone.  In addition, the musical soundtrack of Kenji Kawai is superb as it matches the artwork and feel of the film.  In one montage, Kawai's music and the accompanying images emote a feeling of sadness, despair, and hope in the viewer.

If you haven't seen this movie yet then do yourself a favour and find yourself a copy to watch.  Now in my top ten movies,

Movie Review - Virus

Virus

(2016)

Blumhouse Productions / Busted Shark Productions / Chapter One Films / Dimension Films / IM Global / Miramax : Lionsgate / Entertainment One

7.5 / 10

"Worm-flu hits America..."  I really wasn't looking forward to watching this film with that tagline, though the synopsis and trailer were enough of a hook to fish me in... and I am glad they did.

There's some new illness going around and it spreads with the speed of Speedy Gonzalas.  At first, the news tells people not to worry... then to stay at home... then the airwaves are taken over by the CDC as everything goes to hell.

What you get here is a typical "Teenagers will do what teenagers will do survival story".  the difference being it's pretty strongly directed and acted.

The story by Barbara Marshall and Christopher Landon had me in mind of Stephen King's Cell (also reviewed on this blog) though done better.  Instead of a cell phone signal affecting people, it's a strange infectious disease... or is it?  What the writers do best is to create strong and engaging characters.

Respect to directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman for breathing new life into the genre by creating relatable and realistic characters, adding tension and scares where required, and especially for some very nice camera shots.

Something else which booted the film in my eyes was the absence of an annoying character.  There's usually one character in this type of movie that is irksome and usually lowers the movie; the best example of this is "Snot-Girl" in The Blair Witch Project.  Luckily there's no such character here - thank you.

What you get are sisters Emma and Stacey Drakeford who have been forced to move to the new housing estate in a new city, thanks to their teacher dad's transfer.  The sisters are realistically portrayed by Sofia Black D'Elia and Analeigh Tipton, respectively.  Even though all hell is breaking loose around them it's a story of their relationship and how strong their and their families bonds are.

Even though there aren't many big special effects in the film, what there is are well done and nicely throughout.  The airstrike comes straight to mind as an example as does the "wiggly" ears...

If you like science fiction films about humans fighting an unwinnable fight against unknown forces then this would be worth a watch.  You will also see how Cell should have been done.

 

Movie Review - The Evil Gene

The Evil Gene

(2015)

Mind The Gap Productions / Flutterby Productions : Uncork'd Entertainment

2 / 10

This film doesn't live up to the poster or its own blurbs "Evil is Born Not Made" and "They Tried To Lock It Up".  It also comes nowhere near encompassing the possibilities of the synopsis.  There is an actual gene that causes psychosis and murderous tendencies in its host - that alone offers loads of scope for action, suspense, and tension, none of which appear in the movie.

The people who have the gene are locked up in a prison where a murder has been committed.  Surely this will add tension among the inmates as they're all murderers with a need to kill shut in close confinement.  Nope.

The FBI agent sent to investigate, Griff Krenshaw, begins to believe there may be a demon involved in the murders.  So now we get a supernatural element to add a bit a fear into the mix.  Er... No.

What we get is a bland, verging on boring, film that teeters on the abyss of total pure garbage.

It's a shame the writer, Kathryn F Taylor (who also directed), missed out on even the basics that the story should have given the audience.  Even the actors seem bored and, at times, appear to be wondering what they are doing there.  The worst for this is the beautiful Cameron Richardson, who plays Dr Dana Ehrhart, who puts no effort into her character and her delivery of lines could put an insomniac to sleep.

The only good thing about this story is the twist at the end, though I had figured it out as soon as the possibility was flagged up.

This could have been in so many genres though the film that Taylor gives us falls more into the science fiction side than that of either thriller or horror, though it is very weak.

I would recommend painting the fence or walking the dog in the rain before watching this movie.

 

Movie Review - The Signal

The Signal

(2014)

Automatik Entertainment / Low Spark Films / Signal Film Group : Focus Features / KVH Media Group

6.5 / 10

This is a solid science fiction story based on an extraterrestrial encounter our three protagonists while trying to track down the hacker Nomad, who has been recently plaguing their lives.

The start of the film is pretty slow and the soundtrack does feel a little depressing, given that we are on a road trip with three friends I thought the soundtrack could be a little more happy and carefree as it adds an unnecessary and incorrect feel to the film at this time.  However, as the film progresses the music melds better with the situations and feelings the writers, Carlyle Eubank, David Frigerio, and William Eubank (who also directed), wanted to portray, which is mainly a sense of loss, confinement, and hopelessness.  I really loved the way the Nima Fakhrara built up the entire soundtrack to a climax at the end of the movie, just like an electronic symphony.  Well thought out and respect due.

As previously stated, the film starts slow and I nearly turned off, but I have learnt to at least give a film twenty minutes as this could just be scene setting and character building.  In this case, it was just that.  You learn of the relationships between the three friends, Nic, Jonah, and Hayley; the reason for the road trip and their ongoing trials and tribulations.  This builds a realistic and credible storyline with characters you can relate to and believe in.

All the actors give good performances though it's Laurence Fishburne, who portrays the governmental figure of Damon, who steals the show.  No matter what happens, he always keeps his composure, never overreacting whatever the situation.  It's only Hayley's character, played sparingly by Olivia Cooke, that seems a little flat, maybe the male writers haven't got in touch with their feminine sides yet.

This is a slow burner of a film which builds slowly up to major reveals, action sequences, and the big reveal at the end, which you know is coming because in sci-fi something big has to be revealed.  All of this is handled superbly by the director William Eubank.  Once I got through the beginning I really enjoyed this tale, there are enough strange happenings to keep you enthralled and wondering WTF is going on?  However, there are also disjointed flashbacks, which only serve to confuse, but this may be the director trying to show Nic's confusion of the situation, though, this didn't work for me.

If you love science fiction then this film is worth at least one watch.