Kinda at a loss for words on this one! Not a complete loss but I can tell you one thing for sure! At the end of this film my jaw was on the floor and my mind was in shambles! All I could really say to myself was, "What the F!@k did I just watch?".
I have seen all the American films in this "kinda" category, those being the likes of all the Saw films and the Hostels as well. Both those franchises are tame when compared to this French movie. This has some very cringe worthy scenes in it, and by some I mean a ton. Alot of torture and psychological mind****s! That goes for the characters and the viewer.
I think, I emphasize think, that it is acted very well. By that I mean the "torturers" seem like they have no sympathy, no heart. The "tortured" seem pretty real in that they appear to be in some serious pain whether it be physical or mental. There are equal parts of each within.
The writing is just another of the same just from a different angle is all. Instead of the main characters being taken at the beginning, then the meat of the film takes place, then they get away from the bad guys just all kinds of messed up like. In this the order is scrambled to the point of trying to trick the viewer he is watching something different, but in reality it's the same.
Martyrs takes an almost religious turn at the ending when we finally figure out why these people are being tortured like they are. I say almost because if you check the forums for this film it is quite apparent that the ending is up for your own interpretation. I personally see the old people at the end as a religious cult. I don't know for sure because the film doesn't tell you anything about them at all. It is just my interpretation of the end.
To finish I will have to say to anyone that is thinking about watching this that this is not family friendly, not like anyone could read the back of the film and make that mistake. It is chock full of human torture and destruction and may psychologically damage the person that is not ready for what happens throughout. So, as I have said before...You have been warned!
This film is in my top ten films of all time. So, as it stands at this moment I have 2 of the 10 in my top ten taken care of. Still working on the rest, there are alot of films out there so don't rush me, I will finish it eventually. I get off track kinda easy eh? So anyway about this film. There are no perfect movies but this one really is as close to perfection as you can get. It is really such an amazing film throughout.
Directed by Luc Besson, the guy behind some very good movies like La Femme Nikita and the Fifth Element. He also has written tons of great films, to name a few, the Transporter films, Unleashed, Taken and Colombiana. There are more than that but I figured if you cared you can just look them up yourself. In all his awesome movies I still believe this is his crowning achievement. The direction is absolutely perfect and never falters. Dramatically perfect, psychologically perfect and the action scenes are pretty damn intense.
What can I say about the actors? I believe this may be the second film I ever saw Jean Reno in and the first one with him speaking English. Since this, he really hasn't impressed me at all. He plays the title character to a tea. He really does make you feel like he has no heart at the beginning of the film and then shortly after all you can see is heart. Natalie Portman was cast at the age of 11 but it seems as though she has been acting for years. I don't ever think that child actors are ever good, mainly because they haven't gotten any real experience yet, but Miss Portman is like a seasoned vet in this film. In a film of spectacular acting I still believe that Gary Oldman is the stand out, and he is in it way less then the rest. He plays the psychotic DEA agent Stansfield and shows the viewer just how crazy a man in power can be. Just maniacal to the utmost extreme. I remember the first time I saw Gary Oldman in a movie and it was in Sid and Nancy, from that moment on I have paid strict attention to his career. One hell of an actor this one.
As I said at the beginning no film is actually perfect but this is close. The things I find wrong with it are 2 minor things. 1: The hooker-like-chick-dude-thing at the start. That chick just looks like a tranny to me, absolutely not attractive at all. 2: The dude with the dreadlocks is ridiculous, thankfully he is only in it maybe 5 minutes. I just refuse to use his name he likes to go by because that is equally as stupid as a white guy with dreadlocks!
There are 2 different versions of this film and like all movies with 2 versions one is vastly superior. I saw the American version in the theater when it first came out and I absolutely loved it. A few years later I got ahold of the International Cut and I have to tell you I hate the American ratings system. They chopped so much from this film to the point of almost changing the story. Very not pleased with that. This second version is the superior one. If you ever get a chance to see this do not look the other way.
This is gonna be a review without a review. I am just gonna ask some questions really and I believe through the course of those questions you will understand what I am trying to get at.
First things first, I know that this film is based on a Marvel comic. Based is all! This film isn't in the Marvel cinematic universe like the Captain Americas, Iron Mans and Thors. It really is a shame because I believe if it were it would actually resemble the character a bit more. Marvel doesn't always make the characters they have invented to perfection though and 1 that I will say is The Mandarin, 100% botched, but that is an entire post in itself. The only thing that makes this a Ghost Rider film is that there is a dude with a skull for a head and it is on fire. I didn't hate the first Ghost Rider picture but it was just okay.
Why did the production company think even for a minute that the 2 guys responsible for the Crank series would be good fits for a Marvel film? Yes, this movie was messed up by not 1, but 2 directors! So if you have one crappy director and you have one terrible director, what do you have when you put them together? One terribly crappy directing team. I will be surprised if these 2 ever have another job in Hollywood ever again!
I know they were kinda stuck with the "star" of the film as it is a part 2, but my question still exists. Why on this huge planet did someone think that Nicolas Cage was a good fit for The Ghost Rider? For one he is about 100 years too old to play this part. For two HE CANNOT ACT! He proves without a doubt in this film alone that he should just hang up his coat and disappear!
The camera? Why do people that work in Hollywood think its cool to film with that godforsaken shaky cam? It does absolutely nothing to increase the coolness of the film. It completely ruins all films for me. Some filmmakers say it brings realism to the film. WTF? How is shaking around like you have Parkinson's bring realism? I know for me, when I am just standing there and I am watching say, a car drive by, my head isn't constantly shaking and it looks plenty real to me.
David S. Goyer. So let me get this straight. Mr. Goyer, the writer behind such films as The Dark Knight trilogy, Man of Steel, the Blade trilogy and a few other good films decided to not read the Ghost Rider series when he wrote this? He thought he would just wing it? I don't know if the world knows this but there are fans of Ghost Rider out there. They think noone would notice?
One more thing on this subject. How is it that a film with bad directors, bad writers and bad actors can get greenlit when the previous outing, which was miles better, didn't so so well at the box office? I am completely stumped at this.
Okay so it isn't all bad. There is one redeeming factor in this movie but it happens to be halfway done right. The special effects? When Nic Cage is in full Ghost Rider form he looks damn cool. The bubbling leather on his shoulders is way cool, as is the skull and fire. But, with the good you gotta have the bad. There are still alot of just nasty looking fake effects. So apparently the folks who edited this film missed some spots.
Never...Ever...Ever, would a movie like this get made in the United States. I am thankful it is available here because I watch anything and I especially like the fact that films made in other countries aren't subjected to the same terrible rating system we have here in the States. Some other countries do have a ratings system but they aren't nearly as strict. Japan is a bit different though, I have found they can pretty much do whatever it is they want to get their story made right.
I will warn everyone at the gate that this film is absolutely not right for everyone! I enjoy a sadistic film every once in a while. In my eyes, why watch only the happy films? If every so often you throw in a film that is as jacked as this then you really learn to appreciate the films that are happy endings. It also makes you appreciate life as a whole too. I say that because all humans should count their lucky stars they don't have a person like Kakihara living next door to them, or the title character for that matter. This film has some incredibly uncomfortable scenes involving mutilation and rape. It doesn't show the particulars of the rape (good thing) but you can tell what is going on. The entire picture is pretty unrelenting, it goes from one thing to something worse five minutes later.
Don't look for good special effect though because if the Asian filmmakers are bad at anything it is effects. They have always been able to do martial arts, drama and crazycrazy, but fall too short when it comes to effects. The practical ones aren't too bad but they aren't too good either. Now, when it comes to the computer effects they are, in a word, laughable. They are so bad in fact that that I've seen better CGI in a made for TV movie...in the 80's! I am not over simplifying them at all, they really are that bad.
I think all the actors may possibly be doing a good job but I really cannot tell because when the disturbing things start showing up you completely stop paying attention to such things and reach for a bible because this film makes you want to pray, not after viewing, but during it. I'm not even religious and I felt like there is a darkness on the world that only Jesus can fix!
You have been warned! And, mind you, this is one of the more gentle foreign movies.
Like I said at the end of the last posting...onto The Legend of Drunken Master!
This film came out a full 16 years after the first part and I really am not sure as to how well they are connected because I seem to remember his dad in the first being a martial artists instead a pharmacist. But, either way they are connected.
This one has more of a story then its predecessor and also infuses old school Jackie with the worldwide known new school Jackie. I may be hurting some peoples feelings when I say this but I believe this film is miles ahead of the previous outing. Jackie has proved, well he proved it before this, that he really is just a master of martial arts. And in the almost 2 decades it took for the producers to make this sequel he has fully mastered the art of drunken boxing. He is absolutely amazing from start to finish in this film. If you want to see the man at the peak of his performance then go no further then this picture!
This is a really short review but what can I say? It is just amazing and you should go out right now and find a copy of this film
I am in a martial arts type of mood! I been at work talking with a fellow co-worker and the conversation ended up on martial arts films and martial artists. The guy I was chatting with was very much uninformed when it came to these two subjects. i went into explaining about Bruce, Jackie, Jet, Donnie and Tony, among some others. So it naturally got me wanting to rewatch a few. To start my trek across the kung fu nation I chose Drunken Master from 1978 starring Jackie Chan.
First thing is first though, and I must say if you are looking for the modern day Jackie then you are in the wrong place entirely. The Jackie I am talking about is the good one when he was pretty young still and wasn't influenced by Americas uninspiring fight flicks. Do not get me wrong I still like Van Damme and the early Seagal films but China, and the rest of Asia for that matter did it best, by far!
I have one prerequisite when it comes to my Asian films. And that is I prefer them to be in their natural, or original language and have subtitles. It is my honest opinion that every Asian movie that has English dubbing has been turned into a comedy, no matter what type of film it is. In the case of Jackie Chan films, he likes them to have a comedic style infused in them so I can stand his films with dubbing. Not like them but at least stand them.
There is no one I know that watches a martial arts film for the story either. Most of them are just about the fighting and this one is no different.
What I will say is that Jackie Chan is a spectacle to watch. His fight scenes are so entertaining because of his addition of the slap stick comedy style he adds to it. Also, not to mention that he likes to use all the surrounding environment, whether it is a ladder or a chair or a table, he uses it to some very comedic means or uses them to defeat his opponents. There aren't too many artists out there today that can do drunken boxing very well but Jackie is not one of them. Even when he isn't supposed to be drunk he does it well and when he is supposed to be he is even better.
Although this is the first part of a series of films it is basically an origin story showing the viewer how his character learned drunken boxing. So, we only see the style in maybe the last half hour or so of this film but it is well worth it.
Jackie Chan truly is a master...albeit a drunken one, but a master none the less. Now, onto The Legend of Drunken Master!
I, my friends, am tumbling down a steep incline head first! Because of my love for horror and especially slasher films I have continued down this road of remakes of my favorites of all time. This one, or two in this case are the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 2003 and it's prequel sequel subtitled, The Beginning. The reason I am putting both together is because if you watch them in reverse order it just makes one long movie containing everyone's favorite chainsaw wielding, human face wearing lunatic, Leatherface. And also in reverse order you get to see the newer creation of a classic character and that of some brand new characters to the story. I will not lie, I do like these films! And not because I think they are better then the original of 1974, because they are not by a long shot. I think for once Hollywood has figured out how to do a remake in proper fashion. They did add in the shock value and gruesomeness that would naturally accompany a new horror film because without it new audiences wouldn't watch it.
From this point on I will refer to the prequel as the first half and the remake as the second half. In the first half we have the creation of Sheriff Hoyt, which I think is such a great and sadistic character and played to perfection by a legend, R. Lee Ermey. Yes, the great Gunnery Sergeant Hartman! This role is so good for him or I should say he is so good for the role. Not only does he play this guy to a tea he also ad libbed a lot of his scenes. And that is precisely what a good actor can do, take the lines he was given, change them and make them into his own, but keep the spirit of the original lines. He really is the best reason to watch either one of these films. Now the main character in each is none other than Leatherface, who is played very well by Andrew Bryniarski. He is known for his role in The Program when he played steroid loaded Lattimer. He only has to be menacing in these though and in that he passes with flying colors. He doesn't even once say a line in either half. The first half has Jordana Brewster as the lead and she is believable, kinda. I say kinda because throughout the whole thing when she is supposed to be scared and crying there are never tears coming from her eyes. If she just learned to cry on demand then she would have been better. In the second half we have Jessica Biel, looking all kinds of hot. She does her part really well in looking scared to death of a huge man with a chainsaw and that's all she needs to do. These two films put together as one long one makes you enjoy the both of them better then watching either separately. At least for me anyway. They just seem to work better is all. All the effects are done practically with dummies and prosthetics, or at least that I can tell. As far as these type of effects go and how nasty some of the scenes are they really work well. And the story is a classic slasher tale so I shouldn't have to say anything about them.
I like these films as an extension, of sorts, to one of my favorites. These show Leatherface making his "masks" and other things that the original only hinted at. Different and up to date but good no matter how you look at them. I won't even try to say that they are without flaws because in reality there are no films without them.
