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patrickwlangille
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The Cinema Snob Movie (2012)
Just got it in the mail
I finally received my copy in the mail, it was a sort of Christmas present to myself I guess.
Based off the character of the same name from the internet show, Brad Jones delivers a solid film that his fans would appreciate. Though it is a problem if you are not familiar with the type of movies he reviews or the humour you might find yourself a little lost. Having some knowledge of exploitation movies really is a must when it comes to anything the Cinema Snob related, not like other "ThatGuyWithTheGlasses" critics who review more mainstream bad movies.
What I like about The Cinema Snob show is that I learn about movies I would have never known existed and could see that when a film was mocked there was some level of passion for the film even when it was being riffed (Though not all movies, ones of the Nukie variety). The movie is set up as an origin story for the Snob who is really an exploitation filmmaker posing as a pretentious critic in order to secure permits to film "Black Angus", an exploitation flick set in the 70's. I could relate to dealing with the struggles of making an independent film and having to deal with a lot of red tape.
I did find the performances funny, they worked for a film of this size. Without giving too much away there is a murder plot that happens almost an hour in that is darkly funny and works well with the film's subject matter, it begins to turn into an exploitation movie (One character gets stabbed with a cellphone but the killer gets a little carried away and doesn't stop there). Brad's friends make appearances of course including Noah Antwiler better known as Spoony, Jake Norvell plays Neil the director, this movie's answer to Brad Pitt from True Romance but with an arc. Also there is Mr.Jones' wife and an actor from the the movie Parenthood which I was convinced wasn't true because it was listed on IMDb but you'll have to see for yourself.
If you are expecting it to be like his other movies that were more run and shoot like Midnight Heat or Hooker With a Heart of Gold you might be disappointed (You do get things like good lighting and cinematography though). It's too bad Black Angus isn't a real film because when I go see Django Unchained and it ends up sucking I can't say, "Well, it was no Black Angus"
Orphan (2009)
Orphan!
What to say that hasn't already been said about Orphan. Creepy, dark, evil, I'm talking about the movie of course. Sure it might be slightly predictable but what makes this different from recent horror bummers is the acting from the little girl; she's what makes the movie something else.
SPOILER: (The seduction scene: A little squeamish)
The story is simple enough, couple brings home orphan, orphan looks nonthreatening enough but things start to turn bad. Soon after a small animal is killed the orphan bashing begins. Now I know about the whole uproar about people saying this movie portrays orphans badly but they haven't seen it because there's a twist ending(I already seen it coming)
The one thing I didn't care for was the direction, the director would try every chance he got to try for a jump scare that just says "We meant to put something else here but we decided to go with an old cliché instead." If Sam Raimi was behind the camera it could have been a totally different movie, and I'm not just saying that because of Drag Me To Hell.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Pure Awesomeness!
Pure Awesomeness! Are the words I use to describe Sam Raimi's new horror movie. Alright, so I seen this movie just the other night so it's good to write this up now while everything is still partially fresh in my mind. I went in with expectations of the first two Evil Dead movies (Good thing to do if you've seen those movies and liked them). So if you've seen the trailer and read the synopsis above you know that the character of Christine Brown is cursed by a gypsy woman after denying another extension on her mortgage payments.
PROS: -Good use of humor with scares (There's a scene that was brilliant that involves a mild scare and then when you think it's over something else happens that would seem stupid to scream about but if you're a girl and easily scared you will anyway. Trust me there were like five girls in the rows behind me that did.)
-Almost makes up for all of the Japanese horror remakes that have plagued our movie screens(Don't reuse art by taking the art out and calling it gold!).
-Sam Raimi's Back!(Please make a new Evil Dead movie!)
CONS: -The actress in the lead role was the least talented of the cast, sometimes she showed no emotion.
-Some people might find this movie too goofy and too disgusting.
Finally: Go see it or you'll be cursed (Plus it's cool to go in the theater and say to the person working at the ticket counter "Drag me to hell")
SPOILER One more thing, that possessed goat was great. I was hoping for a crazy puppet like creature and that's what I get. But it wasn't in too long.
The Point (2006)
Not so bad for a Canadian production
I seen this movie in Halifax during the Atlantic Film Festival, my film class from High school and classes from other schools attended. The film focuses on a day and night following groups of teens. Sounds a little familiar, I know. Each character and story sometimes crosses paths. My memory is a little vague but without giving too much away, there is an abandoned building that appears at the beginning and end of the film (Important). The surprising thing about the characters is that the teens portraying them are recreating times in their lives, no changes in their names at all. Before the film started in the theater in Halifax, Dorsey told everyone about his stress of getting all of these kids together and trying to find out if they would stick with the project or not; as he wanted to make a good story with all of their input. In the end I can't say the movie was the greatest independent or Canadian achievement but it is worth a look.
P.S. : If anyone knows where I can find the DVD that would be great, my class might be in the behind the scenes special feature.
The Comebacks (2007)
Not exactly good, but.....
I wouldn't say that it's the worst spoof movie, it does have some humor that some people may find overused though. There's a lot of sex jokes and jokes about sexuality. Doesn't make up for recent movies of the genre. On Youtube there are these really dumb promos with this ridiculously large breasted cheerleader who's obviously a future porn star. It didn't bring up any hype for the movie though, not even when she made out with her friend who's basically her only blonde. If you care, you just search "cheer confessions" it's utter gibberish to what she is talking about. Thank God this wasn't the work of the two writer's of scary movie, let's hope that they'll be better parodies or they at least wait a few years before they bring these movies out because they just show that Hollywood is running out of ideas.