Starring: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo
When the credits finally rolled on THE GREY
I will admit I was feeling more than a little disappointed. I’d been prepared
(thanks to the misleading trailer) to see a horror/suspense movie with Liam
Neeson battling it out with a pack of killer wolves in the Alaskan wilderness.
Well I was partly right, Liam Neeson was there, the wolves were there and the
wilderness was there, but this was more of a suspensful drama than a horror /
action film. After mulling it over in my
head for a few days though I have decided that I actually really enjoyed the
movie, I was just a bit pissed off at how much the trailer mislead me.
Liam Neeson’s character Ottway is not in a
good place. We are introduced to him somewhere in the middle of Alaska working
as a sniper keeping wild animals away from oilfield workers, and after a bit of
a lengthy monologue we see him placing the barrel of his gun in his mouth and
preparing to blow his own brains out all over the snow. Obviously he doesn’t
though. Instead he jumps on a plane with some of the other workers
headed to Anchorage. But the plane never makes it to Anchorage. In one of the
best ‘plane-ripping-itself-apart-in-in-the-air’ scenes I’ve seen on film, the plane
(and most of the passengers) ends up in pieces scattered around the snow in the
middle of nowhere. The remaining survivors gather and after realizing that they
are deep in wolf territory they decide that they really need to get the hell
out of there as soon as possible.
Now you might think that the wolves are the
film’s main focal point, but they’re not. This movie is about so much more.
Central to its themes is death. It’s everywhere. It’s also a look at the human’s
will to survive and to overcome the odds. It’s also about finding something
worth fighting for and never giving up. It is also a very depressing movie. The
death scenes are not put in purely for entertainment, they are genuinely
unsettling. There is almost no hope here as these men come to their individual
deaths not just by the wolves but also by nature itself. Also important is the
incredible change Ottway undergoes, from being completely prepared to kill
himself at the beginning to fighting for his life through to the end. And
speaking of the end, it’s an ending that will divide viewers. At first I
thought of it as a total disappointment, but now I can see that in fact in a
way it was the perfect ending and a very poignant one too.
Neeson’s acting is top notch as always, the
cinematography is incredibly good, the plot and script leave a lot to be
desired though. This is definitely not a very realistic movie. And the CGI
wolves were a bit offputting, not all of the time but most of the time. But apart from the lame premise and the even lamer digital effects THE GREY is a really emotional and enjoyable film. If you're looking for a fast paced thriller with Liam Neeson punching wolves, or a bloody man vs wolf finale (as the trailer leads you to believe) then you're barking up the wrong tree. Instead you will find a beautifully bleak suspenseful drama which may not be written extremely well but plays out perfectly nonetheless.
When I first played FINAL FANTASY XIII I
have to say I was a little disappointed. It was so linear, it didn’t let you
loose to explore until right near the end. There were no towns in which to
interact with other characters and visit item shops. There wasn’t even a world
map. It seemed that half of the things
which I loved about the FF games previously had been taken away. But after
playing for over 80 hours I actually realized how much I loved it. It may be
terribly linear but it had a kickass battle system, an amazing soundtrack,
great characters and voice acting and of course an epic sweeping storyline. And
graphically it was the best looking game in the franchise so far. So rather than being annoyed or disappointed
that Square Enix were bringing out a direct sequel I was actually pretty
fucking excited. In fact I was so excited that I spent the extra money and
pre-ordered the Crystal Edition. I will admit that I still had a bit of an
uneasy feeling though because of course the last direct sequel was the piece of
crap FFX-2. Earlier this month the game
arrived and it was time to see if my excitement was justified, or if this was a
repeat of the FFX-2 incident.
I guess a lot of people’s first question is
“is it better than FFXIII?” and I will answer that right now. Yes. It is 100%
better. They’ve basically taken all of the good points from XIII and added even
more good shit.
As I said earlier I ordered the Crystal Edition, so it is the one I will be
reviewing. Not that it matters much, the game is exactly the same it just comes
with some extra goodies.
There’s so much in this game that it’s hard
to know where to start, but I guess I will start with the characters. In FFXIII
there were a total of 6 playable characters which were for most of the game
arranged into two parties. But with FFXIII-2 they’ve decided to go with
something a little different. First of all I have to admit that I haven’t
actually finished the game yet, but I can tell that I’m near the end so I
have pretty good overview of the game.
As far as I can tell there are only two playable characters in the entire game.
Serah from XIII and a newcomer named Noel Kreiss. It sounds bad doesn’t it? I
thought so too at first but when I realized what the other characters were
being replaced with I thought it was an awesome idea. Monsters. That’s right, monsters.
When you fight monsters you have a chance of taming them. It’s like FINAL
FANTASY meets Pokemon. You gather monster crystals and you can then use any of
these captured monsters in your party. But that’s not all. If you’ve played
FFXIII then you’ll know all about the paradigm system, if you haven’t then you
can go look it up because I can’t be bothered explaining it. Anyway, the
monsters you tame all have their own particular role. For example a Behemoth
will be a COM, a Cait Sith will be a MED, a Bunker Beast will be a SEN and so
on. Although you keep all of the monster crystals, you can only set a maximum
of three active monsters at a time. These three monsters will take the place of
your third character when you shift paradigms.
Your two main characters however can learn all six roles. So if you want
to use the Cerberus Paradigm (COM, COM, COM) you will need one of the three
active monsters to be a COM. If you don’t have one then you won’t be able to
use that paradigm. And to make things even better you can actually level up
your monster companions. You will collect monster materials throughout the game
which can be used in the Crystarium to level up and upgrade your monsters.
There will also be plenty of monsters and
characters available as dlc in the near future. These will be able to be fought
in a special Coliseum level and used in the game in the same way as the regular
monsters. One of bonuses which came with the Crystal Edition was some exclusive
dlc which included two extra character outfits and also the opportunity to
fight the legendary Omega Weapon in the Coliseum. Defeating it gives you a
chance to tame it and use it in your party. At the moment the only other dlc
characters are Lightning and Amodar but I’m sure there will be more soon.
I will also talk briefly of the game’s
storyline. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll leave most of it for you to
find out for yourselves, but will talk about the basics. First of all you don’t
need to play FFXIII before you play this sequel, but I would suggest it if you
really want to understand what’s going on. Basically after the whole saving
Coccoon incident at the end of XIII Fang and Vanille have been trapped inside
the crystal pillar which is now holding up Coccoon. Lightning has somehow ended
up trapped in Valhallah, Snow has left on a journey to go find her and Sazh is
also gone. Serah is convinced that Lightning is still alive even though nobody
else does and when Noel Kreiss suddenly arrives and tells her that Lightning
sent him she follows him through time in a quest to find her. Follows her
through time? You may ask. Yes that’s right, this whole game revolves around
time travel. How awesome is that? As I said I don’t want to give too much away,
but essentially you will find yourself travelling to different locations in
different time periods. On the way you will meet some old friends and also a
new enemy in the form of Caius Ballad. Soon you’ll find that not only do you
need to save Lightning but you will also need to save the future.
Once again there is no world map but in its
place there is what’s called the Historia Crux. It’s a kind of grid or timeline
which contains all of the locations you have visited and have yet to visit. It
also contains different time periods of the same locations. To unlock these new
locations and time periods you will need to fulfill certain requirements. This
will usually involve finishing a level/location, defeating a boss character or
simply finding a specific artifact. Artifacts are the keys to opens gates to
different periods and locations, and there are specific artifacts for specific
gates. Not all of the locations will need to be unlocked in order to finish the
game but if you want to unlock all of the trophies / achievements then you will
need to find every artifact and location.
One thing a lot of people complained about
(including me) with FFXIII was the lack of quests or minigames. Well you can
rest assured that there are plenty on offer in XII-2. Across the entire game
there are 160 ‘fragments’ which can be collected and most of these are found
through quests. Most of them are simple ‘go from point A to point B, bring back
item A’ type of quests but once you add in the whole time travel aspect then
things get a little more difficult. For example you may travel to a certain
location like say Yaschas Massif in the year 100AF but in order to complete a
quest you may need to then travel to Yaschas Massif in the year 110AF as
certain key items are only available in certain time periods.
Apart from these fragment quests there are
also a bunch of mini-games. In certain levels you will find ‘anomalies’ which
need to be solved in order for you to proceed further. To solve these anomalies
you will need to step into them and complete a few puzzles. There are three
types of puzzles. One where you need to make your way across disappearing tiles
while collecting crystals, another where you need to link crystals to make a
kind of constellation image, and then the frustrating hands of time puzzles
which involve clearing all of the numbers of a clock face.
There is also a location in FFXIII-2 called
Serendipity which is basically a casino. You can race Chocobos, play slot
machines and soon with dlc there will be card games available. You can also
trade in your acquired fragments for certain fragment abilities which will help
you along in the game.
Now that I’ve gone over most of the new
additions I’ll also talk about the things which have stayed the same and also
the things which are no longer present. First of all is the battle system which
is identical to the one in FFXIII. The same ATB system which lets you queue
attacks and switch paradigms is back and I think that it’s great. The
Crystarium as also back but it is slightly different. It still uses the same CP
to upgrade the same roles but it has been refined into a single tree for each
character which makes levelling up a lot quicker and easier. You can also level
up monsters with monster materials.
The weapon upgrading system from XIII
however is thankfully gone. I fucking hated it. In XIII-2 you will find better
weapons as you progress through the game. You will also be able to construct
special weapons if you have the right materials. But that’s all you need, you
don’t need to spend a shitload of gil buying components and upgrading for
hours. And speaking of weapons I have to mention Serah’s Bowblade. Not only is
it a weapon but when she is not using it transforms into the little Moogle
companion named Mog. Mog is a very important part of the game. Not only does he
seem to have a great understanding of the whole time travel thing, but he can
also be used to find hidden items and artifacts. Later in the game you can
actually get the ability to throw him around so that he can fetch distant
treasures for you.
This review is getting way too long so I’ll
have to wrap it up here with a bit of a brief overview. Basically this game is
FINAL FANTASY XIII but better. If you didn’t enjoy XIII then you probably won’t
like this, but if you liked XIII then you will love XIII-2. The ability to
collect and use monsters like Pokemon is awesome. The addition of quests and
mini-games is great and the ability to move between locations and time periods
whenever you want is a fantastic way to get rid of the linearity that the
previous game had. Once again the voice acting is top notch, the soundtrack is
amazing (a four disc CD soundtrack was one of the bonuses with the Crystal
Edition) and the graphics are perfect. Even though I think VIII will always be
my favorite, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that FINAL FANTASY
XIII-2 is one of the best in the franchise so far. A lot of ‘traditional’ FF
fans may not like it because it’s so different but I urge you to give it a
chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.
I've just today heard about this upcoming Australian zombie film ANIMALS. With a script which has been described as "Mad Max meets Romper Stomper" I am definitely intrigued. Below you can find the first poster and the synopsis courtesy of Horror-movies.ca
ANIMALS is directed by Edward Drake and stars Dave Lamb, Sweeney Young, Melissa Howard, Reg Corman and Scott Brennan.
Synopsis: “Animals is a bold and ambitious project about Marcus Young, a shaken young man trying to find his place in the world in the wake of a global pandemic. When Marcus learns that the love of his life, Sarah Finch, a woman he hasn’t seen in almost two years, is trapped in a massive reserve known as the Red Zone, Marcus launches a suicidal bid to save her from forces conspiring to stop her uncovering a laboratory abandoned at the height of the plague. But when Marcus enters the Red Zone, with the help of his estranged and tormented brother, he must confront the demons from his past and learn to move on.”
I've just received the press release for an upcoming western-themed horror short which sounds like it could turn out great.
THE PROSPECTOR'S CURSE has just wrapped production near the town of Ponty Pool, Ontario. It's described as a darkly comedic short and was written and directed by Josh Heisie and produced by Bruno Marino. It stars David Roberts, Johnny Quinn, Amanda Ives and Robert Nolan. Nolan as you may know starred in WORM and FAMILIAR, both shorts from Fatal Pictures which I've heard great things about.
I suggest you keep an eye out for this film.
Synopsis: Theodore “Tubby” Ellsworth and Jack smith are two criminals on the run, lost in the untamed wilderness. When they stumble across a mutilated Prospector, dying on Indian ground, they promise to give him a Christian burial. The fugitives break their oath and steal the old man’s gold…but that night, the Prospector’s corpse returns to make them pay!
For more information check out the film's Facebook page and stay tuned as hopefully I will have a review up as soon as possible.
So you might have heard that Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE is set to become a trilogy. Well it looks like things are rolling along smoothly and thanks to ComingSoon we have a synopsis and some poster art for the first sequel titled MACHETE KILLS. Danny Trejo will reprise his lead role and the movie should start filming in April.
After this first sequel you can then look forward to the third instalment which will be titled MACHETE KILLS AGAIN... IN SPACE!
Synopsis: "MACHETE KILLS finds Machete recruited by the U.S. Government for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man. Machete must battle his way through Mexico to take down a madman cartel leader and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war across the planet with a weapon in space. Machete takes on an army in an effort to dismantle a plan for global anarchy."
Starring: Rob Scattergood, Amber Lewis, Richard Olak
Reviewing an independent film is always a little different from reviewing a big budget Hollywood film. I usually tend to be a little lenient and take into consideration all of the financial and time constraints etc. But at the same time I try not to be too soft, because since indie filmmakers are usually just starting out I think it's important that they are made aware of any weak points in their films which can be improved upon. These days anybody with a video camera and a bunch of friends can make their own film. The majority are absolute shit, but every now and then you stumble upon one which is just as entertaining and clever as any big budget blockbuster. After watching SKEW I think I can honestly say that it falls firmly in the second category.
Simon, Eva and Richard are three friends who embark on what is apparently a long-awaited road trip. Richard (Olak) and Eva (Lewis) are obviously in a relationship while Simon (Scattergood) seems to be the third wheel as his girlfriend has refused to come on the trip with them. This is our first hint that there is trouble brewing. The trio travel the roads and highways, stopping at offbeat tourist attractions like the 'world's biggest chair' and 'world's biggest Viking head' and so on. Tho whole time Simon is videotaping absolutely everything. It turns out that Simon has a very personal reason for documenting everything but I'll leave that for you to find out yourself. His constant filming however starts to get on Richard and Eva's nerves and things begin to get tense between the three friends. Things escalate even more when Simon realizes a terrible and fatal truth about the video camera. Simon's grip on reality seems to be slipping and the friends' relationship begins to decay further until finally ending in the brutal and shocking conclusion.
POV / found footage films have been done to death in recent years. Paranormal Activity, REC, Cloverfield, Apollo 18, The Devil Inside are just a few and there are a ton more in the pipeline. An interesting fact about SKEW though is that it was filmed in 2005, so it actually predates all of the movies I've just mentioned. While it's still not one of the originals of this sub-genre, at least it cannot be accused of trying to capitalize on the recent success of movies like PA and The Devil Inside. And it's a very original spin on the tired sub-genre. The acting is great, especially for a bunch of amateurs with hardly any other credits on their resumes. At times it was a little awkward but it's not distracting or annoying, and it definitely didn't detract from the movie overall. The effects both practical and CGI are used sparingly and to good effect, although they do display the small budget fairly clearly. As a horror film SKEW isn't really as scary as it is unsettling. There are only a couple of cheap jump-scares which are effective but as it is a psychological horror the movie does depend mostly on atmosphere and tension, both of which it does well.
All in all SKEW is a very entertaining and engaging film. It does have its flaws which include the beginning dragging on a bit slow, some awkward acting, a few scenes going on perhaps a little longer than they should and less than perfect effects but in the end most of these are easy to overlook, especially after you see the final scenes and ambiguous ending. SKEW is definitely worth your time.
Starring: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Walsh, Richard Fitzpatrick
After the terrible LAND OF THE DEAD and then the abysmal DIARY OF THE DEAD I guess you could say I was a little worried going in to watch George Romero's latest zombie offering. It turns out I had good reason to worry.
SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD concerns itself with Plum Island and the residents which have lived upon it for generations. Two families which have inhabited the island since forever (the O'Flynns and the Muldoons) can't seem to see eye to eye on what to do about the recent zombie outbreak. Patrick O'Flynn (Walsh) gathers up a posse and decides to go around putting the dead to rest or 'extending the island's cemetery' as he puts it. Seamus Muldoon (Fitzpatrick) however is against the idea and wants to keep the zombies around until they show signs of improvement or until somebody comes up with a 'cure'. Since the Muldoons outnumber the O'Flynns this disagreement ends with Patrick being forced to leave the island at gunpoint.
At the beginning of the movie we are introduced to Sarge 'Nicotine' Crockett who you may remember from his brief appearance in DIARY OF THE DEAD. It seems he and a few of his soldier pals have decided to go AWOL and fend for themselves. To survive they become highwaymen, stealing from anybody they come across. After a shootout they come across the young character known only as 'Boy' and he tags along with them. He shows them a video broadcast of a man calling himself Captain Courageous who announces that people looking for a safe haven should make their way to Plum Island. Even though it is most likely a trap the soldiers decide that at this point anything is worth a try so they head to the location given by Captain Courageous (who is actually Patrick O'Flynn), but upon their arrival they discover that if they want a boat to Plum Island they will have to trade everything they own. Another shootout leaves O'Flynn and the soldiers on a ferry making their way to the island. After they arrive O'Flynn and Muldoon resume their bitter rivalry but this time they are determined to end it once and for all.
SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD isn't really a zombie movie, let me just get that out of the way first. The zombies are really just background noise, something added in perhaps to help the movie fit in with the rest of the DEAD franchise. The main focus of the film is upon the rivalry between the two island dwelling families, so much in fact that you almost forget that the movie even has zombies in it at all. At no point are the zombies presented as a serious threat like they were in Romero's previous movies. And the notion that killing zombies has become some kind of moral dilemma is laughable, and only makes the movie seem less serious and more ridiculous. Romero combined the undead with social commentary perfectly in his original trilogy but lately he seems to have been taking shots in the dark and missing every time.
The acting in SURVIVAL is pretty average across the board and the characters are all too one-dimensional to even care about. The pace is all over the place but mostly slow, and serious scenes shift into horribly out of place slapstick comedy. And don't get me started on the CGI. The practical effects look great so why add the CGI? It looks horrible.
George A. Romero is and always will be a legend when it comes to horror cinema. He perfected the modern zombie film, but honestly I think after DAY OF THE DEAD was released he should have just put the franchise to rest and tried his hand at something different. Its easy to forget that he used to make movies without zombies in them. The Dark Half, Martin, Monkey Shines and Creepshow are all fine movies and a hell of a lot better than his last few DEAD offerings. Hell, I'd even prefer to watch Bruiser than see SURVIVAL again. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fucking fan of Calabrese and excited as hell to hear that they have a new CD coming out soon. If you haven't heard these guys yet then hurry up and get right on it, in fact I'll save you the trouble and include a couple of their songs in this post.
As usual the Calabrese brothers are giving leaving it up to the fans to name their upcoming CD. Below is the artwork for the new album for inspiration.
All you have to do is email your suggestions to:
NewCdContest@CalabreseRock.com
You have until Friday April 13th to submit your three best suggestions for your chance to get your name published in the liner notes, and to receive a free signed copy of the new album.
For more info on the band head to www.calabreserock.com
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