REVIEW Red Lights 2012

To put it bluntly this film is simply amazing!

I bought this at the start of the week after remembering how good the trailer was when it came out, I'm really glad I did as the film was brilliant start to end.

The director Rodrigo Cortés (Also the director of "Buried" starring Ryan Reynolds which is another stunning film!) has nailed the atmosphere, the whole film feels tense throughout, I wouldn't say it was "on the edge of your seat" viewing but I don't think it's trying to be, the more you watch the film the deeper you feel yourself pulled into the story and really trying to guess the outcome before it arrives.

The cast are absolutely perfect, Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver are the perfect match as the paranormal debunking/University professor and her assistant , topped off with a sinister role for Robert De Niro who gives this film a really dark and believable element.

Also this film is great for debunking little paranormal myths along the way, the classroom scene where Cillian Murphy hands out "accurate" horoscopes to the students is very clever!

The ending of the film is perfect, some people may not like it but at least it's not one of the over used "you come up with the ending" films, I'm getting fed up of seeing 95% of a movie then the end being left for me to decide, it's not "deep" or "thought evoking" it's just plain annoying and a cop out.

imdb scores this film 6.2 out of 10, personally I think it's 8/9 easily.

Review: Jurassic Park (1993)

I remember getting this film as a kid for Christmas on VHS. Back then I only saw it once so I watched it again today to find out why.

True to my younger self, it could well be another 20 years before I watch it again.

The concept is incredible. Michael Crichton clearly had some awesome ideas when writing about bringing dinosaurs back to existence. It has an amazing director in Stephen Spielberg, the cast are great and the soundtrack is typical 90's orchestral niceness.

So why won't I be watching it again soon?

Well the first hour is gripping. The science behind the park and construction is really interesting. It is EXACTLY how people would react if it was a true story.

But when things start to go wrong it gets extremely repetitive. How many times can they outrun a dino and then hide again only to be found again?

I was a little bit disappointed with the end, I can't say what I expected, because I didn't really know what to expect...but a cool plot twist would have made it a better film. - had I have written it, Nedry would have been more of a key character and his actions unseen until the end. But that's neither here nor there.

I wanted to love this film but I only liked it. That said, I will be watching the lost world and JP3, and I'm hoping for answers to questions such as "What happened to Nedry?" And "does the dinosaur having a cold/disease bear any relevance to the story?"

Maybe I have it totally wrong, and this was made knowing full well that the other two were going to answer a load of missing detail. - although I don't seem to remember it being released like this.

I also hope they make JP4, because from what I've read, it sounds excellent.

Overall, my main reason for disappointment is due to films such as I am legend, and Rise of the planet of the apes - which go into greater detail behind the genetics, and control of mutations etc, rather than aaarrrrgggh run!! - must be the geek in me.

Imdb score: 8/10
Mike's score: 7/10

Watch this film when you don't need to concentrate, not if you want one that gets you thinking.

REVIEW: Prometheus (2012)

Reposted due to app issues: otherwise unchanged.


Ok well here goes my review of Prometheus.

I've wanted to see this film ever since the first trailer came out, It was the kind of anticipation I felt when hearing Spiderman was being made.... this film however did not have the same effect, much like Apollo 18 I felt like I was waiting for the film to finish rather than to find out how it ends.

Right from the start I wanted to love this film, I'm a big fan of the Alien franchise, not so much the AVP or AVP requiem films (which in my opinion are just awful) but Ridley Scotts and James Camerons were awesome, So when Prometheus was released on Blu-ray I pretty much bought it immediately, with the excitement built up from the trailer I settled down to watch, I was totally disappointed.

Visually the film is stunning, the landscape as well as the CGI really pulls you in, much like Avatar you sometimes have to remember just how far visual effects have come in the 33 years since "Alien", but much like Avatar the plot is weak, confusing and pointless. The end isn't an end, more of an open ended question that no one needed to ask.

As far as the acting goes Charlize Theron is as good as ever but the stand out performance has to be Michael Fassbender, he is really convincing as the android "David" even his movement and tone of voice are perfectly non human. One negative that I will make of the acting is the total miscasting of Guy Pearce as an old man, Originally so the character could be shown much younger but this lets the film down so much.

That's pretty much it, if you want a good "Alien" style film...watch Alien or District 9.

REVIEW: Critters (1986)

As promised - the long awaited first review.

Seeing as this was my first film review (EVER), I began by taking notes.

The first thing we see in Critters is a garish flashing production company emblem (very memorable in design, but the name has already slipped my mind).
This was about the time I stopped taking notes. How do I know what is or isn't important? And how am I going to enjoy the film with my phone in my hand - as we are long gone the trusty pen and paper method of note taking.
I also don't want to explain the bits I liked and didn't like from beginning to end, revealing any spoilers or giving away the plot.

My immediate thoughts about the film was that it definitely hasn't aged very well. With a combination of 80's Doctor Who aliens,  original Tron graphics and Red Dwarf series one weaponry, it is very hard to take seriously. That said, it isn't supposed to be a serious film and the retro feel did take me back to my youth watching the old classics.
These were my personal opinions on the weapons, aliens and graphics - and obviously as it was made at the same time as all of the above, it would have been state of the art of the time. BUT...and this is a big BUT...I must hand it to the directors/writers/prop guys at this point, because they brought in some wonderful tributes that actually make it a much more enjoyable film to watch.

Firstly, ET makes an appearance. The 'Critters' ask a rubber ET model "Who are you?" - when in reality ET was probably looking right back at them and thinking the exact same thing.
Next, the bowling shirt of the team the Dad plays for has a Ghostbusters tribute on it.
Finally, the cat was called Chewy.

Three of the biggest sci-fi movies of the 80's (even today still up there), and this film honours them all.

Being a big sci-fi fan myself, you'd think this was the highlight of the film for me. It wasn't. This was:

I haven't formally introduced myself yet, but to the other writer of this blog, I have been called Grover for a very long time. When I caught a glimpse of this scene I wanted to phone him straight away, but know he will get more pleasure from seeing it on here.

I can already feel myself waffling on about a film that definitely doesn't require an essay to summarise.

If you are a fan of 80's classics, if you like a bit of sci-fi from yesteryear, if you don't mind relatively happy endings, or Critter montages, then I would say watch this film today.
If the above doesn't really tickle your pickle, avoid it at all costs.

As for the scare factor, I think the 15 rating is for the swearing and the amount of fake blood they used - nobody nowadays is scared of one of these fellas right??

IMDB Score: 5.9
Mike's Film Critter Score: 7

Critters

Okay so I mentioned that this blog is called critters as a play on words with critic. Well I didn't, but it is.

I've decided that I will be reviewing Critters from 1986 as my first review. Mainly cos without it, we wouldn't have this name. Well we would, but the last five minutes of typing would have been a waste of time.

Getting my hands on a copy of critters may prove to be hard. But worst case scenario, it's £3.49 on iTunes to rent.

In the mean time, watch this:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=PQNLQc7xqyw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DPQNLQc7xqyw&gl=GB

By looking at the trailer I can tell in for a treat this week.

Also let me run through a few guidelines to this blog.
1. You may be the only person to ever read this.

2. We do not expect to become popular, cool or funny by using this as a method of communicating. In real life we are already all three.

3. Please feel free to comment on our reviews, suggest other titles to review or ask for our opinions on anything at all (film related that is, we are really shit at veterinarian work).

4. Follow us on twitter @filmcritters

Peace.

M.

Welcome

This is where, eventually, all our film reviews will end up. Two twenty something guys critiquing films in an honest and open way.

Currently watching: Apollo 18.
Last film seen: 2012
Last film bought: Prometheus
Last film seen at cinema: Dark Knight Rises