Ok.. I'm struggling to posts on this Blog as well as update all the social networks and try to maintain teh siet at teh main time so I'm not gonna post full reviews any longer.. Instead anytime we get a new review I'll post the link directly to it.
Been a Few done by myself as of late:
- The Last House On The Left (2009)
- Terminator Salvation
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Out here on the UK on DVD on 22nd June 2009)
- Miss March
Reviewed by Craig H
- Revolutionary Road (Out here on the UK on DVD on 29th June 2009)
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Out here on the UK on DVD on 10th August 2009)
- 12 Rounds
Reviewed by Dave M
- Drag Me To Hell
See these an much more on Rough Cut Reviews...
Thursday 18 June 2009
Thursday 28 May 2009
Looking for a Moderator on our Forum..
Yep, we're looking for a new mod. Right now I do most of the work but I have 3 reviewers and one mod who get one as often as possible. I'd like someone to primarily focus on our forum.
Our Forum - http://roughcutreviews.websitetoolbox.com/
The Role
- Delete Dupliacte Posts where neccessary
- Welcome New Members
- Fix any noticable grammer errors
- Report any conflict
- Delete Spam
Requirments
- Must be 16+
- Have good Grammer (Unlike me!)
- Have some experince of forum use / moderating
Desired but not absolutely neccessary
- Be a movie fan so can engage on site related content- Post Daily (At least as often as possible!)
Interested / Questions ?
Just let me know what kind of experience you've had at frazzle@roughcutreviews.com
Our Forum - http://roughcutreviews.websitetoolbox.com/
The Role
- Delete Dupliacte Posts where neccessary
- Welcome New Members
- Fix any noticable grammer errors
- Report any conflict
- Delete Spam
Requirments
- Must be 16+
- Have good Grammer (Unlike me!)
- Have some experince of forum use / moderating
Desired but not absolutely neccessary
- Be a movie fan so can engage on site related content- Post Daily (At least as often as possible!)
Interested / Questions ?
Just let me know what kind of experience you've had at frazzle@roughcutreviews.com
Monday 25 May 2009
New Design is now live!!
Yes, finally our new design is up. It's been a longand frustrating process but it's finally there and we're happy will the final results. To celebrate the new design we're giving away a copy of BOLT on DVD which is due for release on the 15/06/09.
Any feedback on the site is welcome while you're there....
Any feedback on the site is welcome while you're there....
Angels & Demons (2009)
Tom Hanks returns as Professor Robert Langdon and this time is called in when evidence of a resurgence of a secret brotherhood called the Illumanti are discovered and threats are made against the Catholic Church. Along with the help of the beautiful Italian scientist Vittoria Vetra, Langdon must uncover the clues that are scattered through secret crypts, dangerous catacombs and deserted cathedrals on a 400 year old trail in order to save the Vatican from certain doom.
Although not having read the Dan Brown book of the same name I'm, reliably informed that it follows the story line closer then THE DA VINCI CODE did which is a good thing as it's been said this was Brown's best offering.
Even although it is on for over 2 hours the time passes quickly. There is one point in the movie were we are lead to believe the movie is finished only for it to take a twist and last another 40 minutes. This twist, although predictable keeps the movie from becoming ridiculous. The only real negative in the movie was the role of Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna with a bizarre Irish Accent.
When all is said and done ANGELS AND DEMONS turns out to be a quite enjoyable movie which, well isn't the best of this summer's blockbuster's (At the time of writing that honour, for me lies with STAR TREK) it's well worth a watch and a massive improvement on THE DA VINCI CODE.
Now time to read the book and spot the differences!
Date: 25/05/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
Although not having read the Dan Brown book of the same name I'm, reliably informed that it follows the story line closer then THE DA VINCI CODE did which is a good thing as it's been said this was Brown's best offering.
Even although it is on for over 2 hours the time passes quickly. There is one point in the movie were we are lead to believe the movie is finished only for it to take a twist and last another 40 minutes. This twist, although predictable keeps the movie from becoming ridiculous. The only real negative in the movie was the role of Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna with a bizarre Irish Accent.
When all is said and done ANGELS AND DEMONS turns out to be a quite enjoyable movie which, well isn't the best of this summer's blockbuster's (At the time of writing that honour, for me lies with STAR TREK) it's well worth a watch and a massive improvement on THE DA VINCI CODE.
Now time to read the book and spot the differences!
Date: 25/05/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
Sunday 3 May 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
In X-MEN: ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, the first and no doubt, not the last of the X-MEN spin off movies we are told the story of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and his relationship with his brother, Victor Creed / Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) who eventually betrays him a by killing his girlfriend and Wolverine to seek revenge. He joins a special military unit called 'Weapon X' led by Colonel Stryker (Danny Huston) which finally leads to him obtaining his famous adamantium claws.
The most talked about elements of the movie before it hit theatres was that there were productions problems and that there had been re-shoots with Ryan Reynolds so Deadpool could get more movie time. It's fair to say that since the movie has come out talk of the Deadpool scenes have now over shadowed the movie itself with the fanboys unhappy with the changes made to the character. Chances are, if you're just a normal everyday movie goer then you will be no the wiser and this wont deter from your movie experience.
It's easy to mistake X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE as a X-MEN prequel as there as so many different mutants involved in the movie. The reason for this being quite obvious is that if the movie is a success then it may spawn countless more spin-offs. We've already heard of a MAGNETO movie and rumours continue to grow about separate DEADPOOL and GAMBIT movies so it's no big shock they've done this.
When all is said and done X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE is passable as a no brainer action movie which will kill some time and offer another glimpse into the X-MEN world. It's by no means a DARK KNIGHT or IRON MAN but its way better than some of the poor marvel movies like DAREDEVIL and SPIDER-MAN 3. If nothing else it's worth checking out for all you action junkies out there.
Date: 03/05/2009 Rating: 3/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
The most talked about elements of the movie before it hit theatres was that there were productions problems and that there had been re-shoots with Ryan Reynolds so Deadpool could get more movie time. It's fair to say that since the movie has come out talk of the Deadpool scenes have now over shadowed the movie itself with the fanboys unhappy with the changes made to the character. Chances are, if you're just a normal everyday movie goer then you will be no the wiser and this wont deter from your movie experience.
It's easy to mistake X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE as a X-MEN prequel as there as so many different mutants involved in the movie. The reason for this being quite obvious is that if the movie is a success then it may spawn countless more spin-offs. We've already heard of a MAGNETO movie and rumours continue to grow about separate DEADPOOL and GAMBIT movies so it's no big shock they've done this.
When all is said and done X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE is passable as a no brainer action movie which will kill some time and offer another glimpse into the X-MEN world. It's by no means a DARK KNIGHT or IRON MAN but its way better than some of the poor marvel movies like DAREDEVIL and SPIDER-MAN 3. If nothing else it's worth checking out for all you action junkies out there.
Date: 03/05/2009 Rating: 3/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
Knowing (2009)
KNOWING starts in 1958 when a group of students bury a time capsule containing letters. One mysterious girl fills her sheet with what looks like random numbers. Fast forward to present days and the time capsule is exhumed and the letters are given to students to read. The girl's strange letter finds its way into the hands of Caleb Myles but the letter quickly captures the interest of his father Ted Myles (Nicolas Cage), who quickly discovers that the numbers are not random and that they depict the dates, death tolls and coordinates of major catastrophic events from the past and future. Ted tries to alert the authorities but when his warnings go unanswered he has to take matters into his on hands to prevent and a major event which threatens more destruction.
With Alex Proyas previous sci-fi offerings like DARK CITY and I, ROBOT things looked to be lining up well for this one when word first hit the RCR office. The trailers and promotional work all looked quite reasonable and the synopsis sounded quite interesting but sadly KNOWING fails to live up to it's expectations. It's not that it's a bad movie, it isn't really. It's just below average. The story itself is decent but it suffers from over done special effects and some horrible acting from Cage. It's been quite sometime since he has done anything of note and of late. Movies like THE WICKER MAN remake and GHOST RIDER only serve to remind us of his recent descent.
The criticism that came out most when the movie first hit theatres was that the ending was poor but personally I thought this was the only thing that kept the movie from being bad.
Check it out if you have sometime to kill but If your looking for an excellent sci-fi movie then I can't recommend Proyas' DARK CITY highly enough. It really is a little gem of a flick.
Date: 29/04/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
With Alex Proyas previous sci-fi offerings like DARK CITY and I, ROBOT things looked to be lining up well for this one when word first hit the RCR office. The trailers and promotional work all looked quite reasonable and the synopsis sounded quite interesting but sadly KNOWING fails to live up to it's expectations. It's not that it's a bad movie, it isn't really. It's just below average. The story itself is decent but it suffers from over done special effects and some horrible acting from Cage. It's been quite sometime since he has done anything of note and of late. Movies like THE WICKER MAN remake and GHOST RIDER only serve to remind us of his recent descent.
The criticism that came out most when the movie first hit theatres was that the ending was poor but personally I thought this was the only thing that kept the movie from being bad.
Check it out if you have sometime to kill but If your looking for an excellent sci-fi movie then I can't recommend Proyas' DARK CITY highly enough. It really is a little gem of a flick.
Date: 29/04/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)
With the synopsis from a bad 50's Sci-Fi movie MONSTERS VS ALIENS could only really work as an animated kid's movie though if it had been made into a live action movie then I would have most likely been at the front of the queue for its release.
It's sees a California girl called Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) hit by a meteorite just before her wedding. This results in her growing massively tall and strong. She is captured by the government and labelled a monster. When the world suddenly comes under threat from an Alien invasion it emerges that the government have been secretly rounding up monsters for years and they now must rely on Susan and her new found friends B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D., The Missing Link and Insectosaurus to save the earth.
To date 'Dreamworks' best animated movie came in the shape of SHREK and since then it has been left trailing to 'Pixar'. Sure, KUNG FU PANDA, OVER THE HEDGE and MADAGASCAR were enjoyable enough but when compared to TOY STORY, THE INCREDIBLES and WALL-E then they are just not as good. Luckily, MONSTERS VS ALIENS breaks that trends and is a genuinely enjoyable movie going experience. While it's still not just as good as the afore-mentioned films it's far better movie than the majority of there earlier attempts and well worth a purchase when it's finally released on DVD.
With some strong voice acting and some funny set pieces as well as the usual feel good vibe MONSTERS VS ALIENS really does deliver. One that most will come out of feeling satisfied and wishing there was more.
Date: 29/04/2009
Rating: 4/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
It's sees a California girl called Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) hit by a meteorite just before her wedding. This results in her growing massively tall and strong. She is captured by the government and labelled a monster. When the world suddenly comes under threat from an Alien invasion it emerges that the government have been secretly rounding up monsters for years and they now must rely on Susan and her new found friends B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D., The Missing Link and Insectosaurus to save the earth.
To date 'Dreamworks' best animated movie came in the shape of SHREK and since then it has been left trailing to 'Pixar'. Sure, KUNG FU PANDA, OVER THE HEDGE and MADAGASCAR were enjoyable enough but when compared to TOY STORY, THE INCREDIBLES and WALL-E then they are just not as good. Luckily, MONSTERS VS ALIENS breaks that trends and is a genuinely enjoyable movie going experience. While it's still not just as good as the afore-mentioned films it's far better movie than the majority of there earlier attempts and well worth a purchase when it's finally released on DVD.
With some strong voice acting and some funny set pieces as well as the usual feel good vibe MONSTERS VS ALIENS really does deliver. One that most will come out of feeling satisfied and wishing there was more.
Date: 29/04/2009
Rating: 4/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com
Wednesday 29 April 2009
RCR Redesign Coming Soon
I haven't really wrote many blogs or posted any reviews on here of late as I've been crazy busy with the re-design our our website. The new site will be going up probably within the next week or so and I'll get back to posting my reviews on here...
Please let me know what you think once it's up, what you think, even if it's negative. All feedback is welcome...
Another small piece of news, I've had to update the page URL to our forum. For those of you who already have it bookmarked it can now be found at - http://roughcutreviews.websitetoolbox.com/
The Haunting in Connecticut (2008)
THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT follows a family who are forced to relocate near to a clinic where their teenage son Mat, is being treated for cancer. They manage to find a place that’s cheap to rent but little do they no that it was used in the past as a funeral home. Quickly Mat experiencing violent, supernatural events that his parents first blame on his medication but not long after they too begins to experience unexplainable events that have them thinking that the house is indeed haunted.
With it being one of those ‘Based on a True story’ movies that we see an abundance of these days, it was clear that it would inevitably gain interest and in the months leading up to it’s release it gained more followers with it’s trailer and poster, yes the one with the boy with ‘ectoplasm’ coming out of his mouth. On the flipside a lot of hardcore horror geeks had dismissed it as another feeble mainstream horror movie in the vein THE AMITYVILLE HORROR remake and indeed to a certain degree it has quite a few similarities.
When all is said and done THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT turns out to be a thoroughly watchable and at times enjoyable movie. Probably even more so if you go watch it with someone who is scared of their own shadow. Unfortunately it does suffer its flaws, the biggest being that it’s just too similar to THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and Nicole Kidman-led OTHERS. Having said that if the story is accurate and the events did really happen then these similarities were perhaps unavoidable.
Although it relies at times on the cliqued jump scares there are at a few moments that may make you cringe. The effects and make also play there part well in making the movie more believable. THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT holds it own well enough in a genre already swamped with poor remakes of classic or foreign movies.
Still , a long way off the better ghost stories like SESSION 9 and THE ORPHANGE but worth a watch if only to pass the time.
Date: 30/03/2009
Rating: 3/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
With it being one of those ‘Based on a True story’ movies that we see an abundance of these days, it was clear that it would inevitably gain interest and in the months leading up to it’s release it gained more followers with it’s trailer and poster, yes the one with the boy with ‘ectoplasm’ coming out of his mouth. On the flipside a lot of hardcore horror geeks had dismissed it as another feeble mainstream horror movie in the vein THE AMITYVILLE HORROR remake and indeed to a certain degree it has quite a few similarities.
When all is said and done THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT turns out to be a thoroughly watchable and at times enjoyable movie. Probably even more so if you go watch it with someone who is scared of their own shadow. Unfortunately it does suffer its flaws, the biggest being that it’s just too similar to THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and Nicole Kidman-led OTHERS. Having said that if the story is accurate and the events did really happen then these similarities were perhaps unavoidable.
Although it relies at times on the cliqued jump scares there are at a few moments that may make you cringe. The effects and make also play there part well in making the movie more believable. THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT holds it own well enough in a genre already swamped with poor remakes of classic or foreign movies.
Still , a long way off the better ghost stories like SESSION 9 and THE ORPHANGE but worth a watch if only to pass the time.
Date: 30/03/2009
Rating: 3/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
The Unborn (2008)
Our second ‘Children in Horror’ theme of the night was in the shape of Universal’s THE UNBORN. From the trailer it was clear what we were in for. This was to be our usual run of the mill effects heavy, jump scares-style horror from Hollywood. The only difference this team being that it wasn’t a remake of something from Asia. When the line-up for this year’s Frightfest in Glasgow was initially announced Demented Dave and I were left disappointed that there weren’t any stand out movies that we had been looking forward to. OUTLANDER for me was the one I was perhaps most interested in but definitely bottom of my list was THE UNBORN. Indeed even the organisers had very little to say about it.
The Story follows Casey (Odette Yustman, CLOVERFIELD) , a young woman haunted by a malevolent spirit called a Dybbuk . Casey begins to be haunted by visions and dreams. When she delves deeper into her past she learns that she is now the subject of a family curse that dates back to Nazi Germany and that she was a twin but her brother was never born. The Dybbuk begins to possess those around her and with each and every possession becomes stronger. Casey is then forced to try and shut a doorway from beyond our world with the help of Sendak (Gary Oldman) by the means of an exorcism.
After each of the movies in the line- up we all clapped the movies, even if they weren’t perhaps brilliant. Unsurprisingly THE UNBORN did not get one single person’s applause. Indeed there were boos from my left. Yes, granted they were from Dave but the general mumblings afterwards from the crowd were that THE UNBORN perhaps should have went Unmade. Think along the lines of the ONE MISSED CALL and SHUTTER remakes and you’ll know what to expect. By all means if you enjoyed these movies then THE UNBORN will be for you but if you are a horror fan like ourselves and prefer not to know when each scare is about to happen then you’re gonna hate this. Indeed the only reason I never gave in to leaving and just going to the pub was because of Odette Yustman . No, she wasn’t brilliant in her role (I suppose she didn’t really have much to work with) but the fact she walks about in her pants just really done it for me. Shallow huh?
Yes, it really was that difficult for me to find anything positive to say about this one.
Date: 22/02/2009
Rating: 1/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
The Story follows Casey (Odette Yustman, CLOVERFIELD) , a young woman haunted by a malevolent spirit called a Dybbuk . Casey begins to be haunted by visions and dreams. When she delves deeper into her past she learns that she is now the subject of a family curse that dates back to Nazi Germany and that she was a twin but her brother was never born. The Dybbuk begins to possess those around her and with each and every possession becomes stronger. Casey is then forced to try and shut a doorway from beyond our world with the help of Sendak (Gary Oldman) by the means of an exorcism.
After each of the movies in the line- up we all clapped the movies, even if they weren’t perhaps brilliant. Unsurprisingly THE UNBORN did not get one single person’s applause. Indeed there were boos from my left. Yes, granted they were from Dave but the general mumblings afterwards from the crowd were that THE UNBORN perhaps should have went Unmade. Think along the lines of the ONE MISSED CALL and SHUTTER remakes and you’ll know what to expect. By all means if you enjoyed these movies then THE UNBORN will be for you but if you are a horror fan like ourselves and prefer not to know when each scare is about to happen then you’re gonna hate this. Indeed the only reason I never gave in to leaving and just going to the pub was because of Odette Yustman . No, she wasn’t brilliant in her role (I suppose she didn’t really have much to work with) but the fact she walks about in her pants just really done it for me. Shallow huh?
Yes, it really was that difficult for me to find anything positive to say about this one.
Date: 22/02/2009
Rating: 1/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Grace (2009)
One of the movies I knew the least about going into this year’s Frightfest was first time director, Paul Solet’s GRACE. The fact that Adam Green who directed SPIRAL, which is an RCR favourite, produced it and gave Solet a video introduction before hand made me sit up and take interest. GRACE was originally intended to be a feature film but not being able to get the funds together Solet made it into a short film with an entirely different cast and managed to get noticed at a film festival by Green. He had taken one of the props from the movie along which made Green take notice. Those of you who see the movie will realize the prop I was talking about.
Jordan Ladd plays Madeline Matheson who at eight months pregnant gets into a car crash with her husband and loses her unborn baby. Heartbroken she decides that she wants to go to term with her unborn baby Grace and opts to do this with a midwife instead of going to hospital. M iraculously Grace returns to life a few moments after she is born. Unwilling to listen to her bossy mother-in-law she opts not to go to hospital for blood tests to see how this resurrection occurred. When Madeline takes Grace Home it becomes clear that all is not quite what it seems but being her miracle child she chooses to ignore it. All too quickly Grace develops a taste for blood and when processed meat from a shop leaves her uninterested Madeline must seek alternatives elsewhere.
The only thing I knew about GRACE before going to see it was that when it was showed at the Sundance Film Festival Stateside two men had to be taken out by paramedics after they fainted. At FrightFest there were a few walk outs but I think these were for an entirely different reason. With the vast majority of us being horror fans gore and scares only serve to make us enjoy a movie more. If I had to guess I ‘d say they walked out of the movie for the same reason that kept me from giving this one a higher rating - they were simply bored. The movie drags far too much. If perhaps it was a shorter movie then it may have worked better but it seemed to suffer from being far too drawn out. It’s not all bad though; my respect goes to the director for trying to be original and doing something slightly different. It would have been easy to jump on board and go out and make a remake or copy a tried and tested formula but Solet tried to play on a generally unused subject in horror movies – Childbirth.
Another positive from the movie was that it managed to make me cringe on quite a few occasions. Not from gore or scares by but instead from the whole subject of childbirth. As a guy with no kids I really do not have much knowledge of the subject, nor do I have any desire to find out more anytime soon.
It’s quite difficult to compare GRACE to any other movie and I suppose that’s no bad thing so I’ll just say this – Check this one out if you’re looking for something slightly different from the norm. It’s just a little bit too slow for me.
Date: 22/02/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Jordan Ladd plays Madeline Matheson who at eight months pregnant gets into a car crash with her husband and loses her unborn baby. Heartbroken she decides that she wants to go to term with her unborn baby Grace and opts to do this with a midwife instead of going to hospital. M iraculously Grace returns to life a few moments after she is born. Unwilling to listen to her bossy mother-in-law she opts not to go to hospital for blood tests to see how this resurrection occurred. When Madeline takes Grace Home it becomes clear that all is not quite what it seems but being her miracle child she chooses to ignore it. All too quickly Grace develops a taste for blood and when processed meat from a shop leaves her uninterested Madeline must seek alternatives elsewhere.
The only thing I knew about GRACE before going to see it was that when it was showed at the Sundance Film Festival Stateside two men had to be taken out by paramedics after they fainted. At FrightFest there were a few walk outs but I think these were for an entirely different reason. With the vast majority of us being horror fans gore and scares only serve to make us enjoy a movie more. If I had to guess I ‘d say they walked out of the movie for the same reason that kept me from giving this one a higher rating - they were simply bored. The movie drags far too much. If perhaps it was a shorter movie then it may have worked better but it seemed to suffer from being far too drawn out. It’s not all bad though; my respect goes to the director for trying to be original and doing something slightly different. It would have been easy to jump on board and go out and make a remake or copy a tried and tested formula but Solet tried to play on a generally unused subject in horror movies – Childbirth.
Another positive from the movie was that it managed to make me cringe on quite a few occasions. Not from gore or scares by but instead from the whole subject of childbirth. As a guy with no kids I really do not have much knowledge of the subject, nor do I have any desire to find out more anytime soon.
It’s quite difficult to compare GRACE to any other movie and I suppose that’s no bad thing so I’ll just say this – Check this one out if you’re looking for something slightly different from the norm. It’s just a little bit too slow for me.
Date: 22/02/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Trailer Park Of Terror (2008)
Six troubled high school students and their chaperon, and their youth ministries Pastor get into a smash on their bus which leaves them stranded while returning from an outdoor character building retreat in the mountains. Little do they know that when they stumble upon a trailer park, the chaos that waits for them as there is home to Norma a super-hot and damned Red neck and her band of blood-thirsty and cursed friends who are hell-bent on destruction.
With 30 DAYS OF NIGHT making the jump from graphic novel to movie and quickly becoming one of my favourite horror movies of 2007 I made a point of keeping an eye out for other horror comic books/graphic novel adaptations so when Demented Dave, our horror guy mentioned this one to me I took note. I had originally planned on reading some general horror comic books before watching anything but when TRAILER PARK OF TERROR fell into my lap the urge to watch it was too great.
TRAILER PARK OF TERROR is your normal bog-standard red necks in a trailer park who turn into demons and prey on passers by’s type of movie. Ok, maybe thats not quite bog-standard but there’s been similar stories. For me this one comes in as one of the better attempts. It never quite takes it’s self seriously nor does it try to be something it’s not. The othere elements of the movie which helped it along for me where some of the effects and make up which for a movie with a lower budget were surprisingly good. It also had some decent gore and death scenes which let's face it, we love as horror fans.
Yes, it’s not without its flaws, in between some great lines there is some poor acting but for a Direct-to-DVD release we we’re never going to get Oscar-worthy performances but I have to admit to loving Norma, the leader pf the these cursed soles. Not only did she looked good but her characters was quite amusing too.
If you enjoyed FEAST and JACK BROOKS: MOSNTER SLAYER then this one may just be for you. If not then it’s still well worth a watch as it’s a lot of fun.
I don't know, maybe it's just me or that I've watched too many horror movies but I still managed to find Norma hot even with the makeup!
Date: 12/02/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
With 30 DAYS OF NIGHT making the jump from graphic novel to movie and quickly becoming one of my favourite horror movies of 2007 I made a point of keeping an eye out for other horror comic books/graphic novel adaptations so when Demented Dave, our horror guy mentioned this one to me I took note. I had originally planned on reading some general horror comic books before watching anything but when TRAILER PARK OF TERROR fell into my lap the urge to watch it was too great.
TRAILER PARK OF TERROR is your normal bog-standard red necks in a trailer park who turn into demons and prey on passers by’s type of movie. Ok, maybe thats not quite bog-standard but there’s been similar stories. For me this one comes in as one of the better attempts. It never quite takes it’s self seriously nor does it try to be something it’s not. The othere elements of the movie which helped it along for me where some of the effects and make up which for a movie with a lower budget were surprisingly good. It also had some decent gore and death scenes which let's face it, we love as horror fans.
Yes, it’s not without its flaws, in between some great lines there is some poor acting but for a Direct-to-DVD release we we’re never going to get Oscar-worthy performances but I have to admit to loving Norma, the leader pf the these cursed soles. Not only did she looked good but her characters was quite amusing too.
If you enjoyed FEAST and JACK BROOKS: MOSNTER SLAYER then this one may just be for you. If not then it’s still well worth a watch as it’s a lot of fun.
I don't know, maybe it's just me or that I've watched too many horror movies but I still managed to find Norma hot even with the makeup!
Date: 12/02/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Sunday 1 February 2009
Pineapple Express (2008)
Seth Rogen plays Dale Denton, a lazy stoner who loves nothing more than to smoke weed. His dealer Saul (James Franco) gets a new rare strain of weed called ‘Pineapple Express’. Whilst outside the house of Ted Jones (Gary Cole) he is about to serve a subpoena he witnesses Jones and bent cop Carol (Rosie Perez), commit a murder and in a state of panic dumps his Pineapple Express out the window. Remembering earlier that Saul said that it was rare he heads back there to see how rare and whether it could be tracked back to him and as fate would have it I can. They’re no longer being paranoid; people really are out to get them. They have to turn to Saul’s friend Red (Danny Mc Bride) who they can trust – or can they?
When the trailer first emerged for PINEAPPLE EXPRESS I knew it was one I had to see. I loved THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and SUPER BAD and while I didn’t love it, I still enjoyed KNOCKED UP so it was fair to say I was looking forward to it. However upon finally getting to se it on DVD I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in this one. Maybe I built it up too much but it wasn’t the laugh-a-minute stuff the trailer led me to believe and indeed the majority of the funniest moments were actually shown in the trailer. Yes, it’s true, a trailer ultimately sells a movie but to give away some of the funniest parts only served as a spoiler.
As far as the stars went Seth Rogen was his usual funny self but it was the performances of James Franco and of Danny McBride that stole it for me. Franco was excellent as the dealer who just wants a friend and McBride had some brilliant one-liners. Without going into too much detail there’s a fight scene involving the three that was at times simply hysterical.
While it’s a more than watchable and at times quite a funny film, I expected so much more from it much like ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly I actually laughed more at Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER and not so well received SEX DRIVE. If you enjoyed any of the above mentioned movies or even if you like stoner movies in general then PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is for you. If you don’t, then this isn’t for you.
Date: 01/02/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
When the trailer first emerged for PINEAPPLE EXPRESS I knew it was one I had to see. I loved THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and SUPER BAD and while I didn’t love it, I still enjoyed KNOCKED UP so it was fair to say I was looking forward to it. However upon finally getting to se it on DVD I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in this one. Maybe I built it up too much but it wasn’t the laugh-a-minute stuff the trailer led me to believe and indeed the majority of the funniest moments were actually shown in the trailer. Yes, it’s true, a trailer ultimately sells a movie but to give away some of the funniest parts only served as a spoiler.
As far as the stars went Seth Rogen was his usual funny self but it was the performances of James Franco and of Danny McBride that stole it for me. Franco was excellent as the dealer who just wants a friend and McBride had some brilliant one-liners. Without going into too much detail there’s a fight scene involving the three that was at times simply hysterical.
While it’s a more than watchable and at times quite a funny film, I expected so much more from it much like ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly I actually laughed more at Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER and not so well received SEX DRIVE. If you enjoyed any of the above mentioned movies or even if you like stoner movies in general then PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is for you. If you don’t, then this isn’t for you.
Date: 01/02/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2008)
Like the tagline suggests (Every war has a beginning) UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS is a prequel to UNDERWORLD and traces the origin of the original blood feud between the Vampires and the Lycans. With the help of his secret lover Sonia (Rhona Mitra), Lucian (Martin Sheen) stands against Viktor (Bill Nighy) to free his kind of their life of slavery.
Having been a fan of the first 2 movies I was interested to see what would happen with UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS without two key components from the first movies – Len Wiseman as director and of course Kate Beckinsale in the lead role. Wiseman was still involved with producer and writer credits but this time directing was left with Patrick Tatopoulos. He too had been involved in the first two movies, in which he had designed some of the creatures that we saw in the movies.
In all honest Tatopoulos doesn’t do much wrong with UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS but I fear it will be heavily criticised and labelled as the worst of the trilogy. Yes, It probably is the worst of the three but I say that not in a disrespectful way as I enjoyed it but I didn’t offer anything the first two hadn’t already.
One of the more noticeable problems it did suffer was the camera work during action scenes. At time it was difficult to make out what was happening which did detract ever so slightly from the death scenes. The biggest problem was simply the story. As it was a prequel we already knew what was going to happen – Infact we actually saw some of the very scenes in the first movie. RISE OF THE LYCANS then had to rely on how it got to these points in time an unfortunately I doesn’t do enough to deviate enough from the other movies therefore making it pointless.
All that being said I still managed to enjoy it. There were some good performances from Martin Sheen as Lucian and another from Bill Nighy as the evil Viktor which helped the movie along. If I strip it back to the bare bones it’s simply done for me exactly what it said ob the tin. It had Vampires, Lycans, Action, Gore and of course the not just as, but still sexy as hell Rhona Mitra. Yes typical guy answer, I know, but at the end of the day if you go see a movie like this you have to know what your gonna see. Of course we aren’t gonna be seeing an award winning movie, we are gonna treated to a non stop action movie and plenty of guts and gore.
For those of you who were big fans of the first two movies you may still enjoy this one but for anyone else I would probably only recommend it if you were a completist but even then if you do decide to skip it then you won’t miss anything as nothing new is offered.
Date: 25/01/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Having been a fan of the first 2 movies I was interested to see what would happen with UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS without two key components from the first movies – Len Wiseman as director and of course Kate Beckinsale in the lead role. Wiseman was still involved with producer and writer credits but this time directing was left with Patrick Tatopoulos. He too had been involved in the first two movies, in which he had designed some of the creatures that we saw in the movies.
In all honest Tatopoulos doesn’t do much wrong with UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS but I fear it will be heavily criticised and labelled as the worst of the trilogy. Yes, It probably is the worst of the three but I say that not in a disrespectful way as I enjoyed it but I didn’t offer anything the first two hadn’t already.
One of the more noticeable problems it did suffer was the camera work during action scenes. At time it was difficult to make out what was happening which did detract ever so slightly from the death scenes. The biggest problem was simply the story. As it was a prequel we already knew what was going to happen – Infact we actually saw some of the very scenes in the first movie. RISE OF THE LYCANS then had to rely on how it got to these points in time an unfortunately I doesn’t do enough to deviate enough from the other movies therefore making it pointless.
All that being said I still managed to enjoy it. There were some good performances from Martin Sheen as Lucian and another from Bill Nighy as the evil Viktor which helped the movie along. If I strip it back to the bare bones it’s simply done for me exactly what it said ob the tin. It had Vampires, Lycans, Action, Gore and of course the not just as, but still sexy as hell Rhona Mitra. Yes typical guy answer, I know, but at the end of the day if you go see a movie like this you have to know what your gonna see. Of course we aren’t gonna be seeing an award winning movie, we are gonna treated to a non stop action movie and plenty of guts and gore.
For those of you who were big fans of the first two movies you may still enjoy this one but for anyone else I would probably only recommend it if you were a completist but even then if you do decide to skip it then you won’t miss anything as nothing new is offered.
Date: 25/01/2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Seven Pounds (2008)
After the success of THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS it was inevitable that Gabriele Muccino and Will Smith would team up for another big pouting. On this occasion it’s SEVEN POUNDS, the story of Ben Turner who is an IRS agent with a fateful secret. He sets out on in search off redemption and in hoping of change 7 strangers life but his plans are made complicated when he falls in love with Emily (Rosario Dawson), a woman with a heart condition.
To go into more detail on what SEVEN POUNDS is all about would only serve to spoil it, it’s one of those movies where the less you know before you see it, the better it will work. On the other hand if you do know next to nothing about it you may end up confused for a good portion of the movie. Indeed anyone involved with the movie kept their cards close to their chest and wouldn’t say much about it during interviews but once you’ve seen the movie it’s easy to see why. Without that element of mystery the movie really would be quite poor. For me not knowing much about it sat just above poor mark but still below average. I definitely expected much more from the man who brought the excellent THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS.
It’s good to see Will Smith tackling much bigger and darker roles like that in PURSUIT and I AM LEGEND instead of the safe roles we’ve seen him in time and time again but on this occasion even Smith himself failed to win this movie anymore appeal for me. It was also quite disappointing to see Woody Harrelson so under used – to cast such a well know face I would have definitely expected to have seen him in a bigger role.
I think those who actually enjoy SEVEN POUNDS, and I have no there will those who will, will be hard pushed to get the same sense of enjoyment a second time around as once you have seen it, the mystery is gone and really outwith that it doesn’t have much going for it.
The problem for me was the pacing, at times I thought it was far too slow and I have to admit I felt close to sleep on a number of occasions. I’m not asking for a fast paced action movie, just that it progressed perhaps a little quicker as to keep the viewer interested.
All in all a disappointing for Muccino’s second outing in Hollywood with Will Smith but you may find some enjoyment if you are a Will Smith fan or a fan of a romantic movie. Ultimately it’s one that will try to appeal to the heart instead of the head…
Date: 20/01/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
To go into more detail on what SEVEN POUNDS is all about would only serve to spoil it, it’s one of those movies where the less you know before you see it, the better it will work. On the other hand if you do know next to nothing about it you may end up confused for a good portion of the movie. Indeed anyone involved with the movie kept their cards close to their chest and wouldn’t say much about it during interviews but once you’ve seen the movie it’s easy to see why. Without that element of mystery the movie really would be quite poor. For me not knowing much about it sat just above poor mark but still below average. I definitely expected much more from the man who brought the excellent THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS.
It’s good to see Will Smith tackling much bigger and darker roles like that in PURSUIT and I AM LEGEND instead of the safe roles we’ve seen him in time and time again but on this occasion even Smith himself failed to win this movie anymore appeal for me. It was also quite disappointing to see Woody Harrelson so under used – to cast such a well know face I would have definitely expected to have seen him in a bigger role.
I think those who actually enjoy SEVEN POUNDS, and I have no there will those who will, will be hard pushed to get the same sense of enjoyment a second time around as once you have seen it, the mystery is gone and really outwith that it doesn’t have much going for it.
The problem for me was the pacing, at times I thought it was far too slow and I have to admit I felt close to sleep on a number of occasions. I’m not asking for a fast paced action movie, just that it progressed perhaps a little quicker as to keep the viewer interested.
All in all a disappointing for Muccino’s second outing in Hollywood with Will Smith but you may find some enjoyment if you are a Will Smith fan or a fan of a romantic movie. Ultimately it’s one that will try to appeal to the heart instead of the head…
Date: 20/01/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Sex Drive (2008)
Ian Lafferty is an eighteen-year-old virgin who is down on his luck and can’t seem to catch a break. Bullied by his older brother Rex (James Marsden) and shown up in the girl department by his 14-year-old younger brother, Ian just doesn’t know how to talk to girls except when it’s on the Internet. He decides to do something about it by bravely ‘borrowing’ his brothers pride and joy, A Vintage Pontiac GTO and along with his 2 friends Lance and Felicia he sets of on a drive cross country to meet Miss Tasty, a girl he’s been talking to on the internet for a while and finally lose his virginity before starting College. As you would expect things don’t go according to plan and they end up leaving a trail of mayhem along the way.
SEX DRIVE is a teen comedy in the same mould as AMERICAN PIE and ROAD TRIP so if your going to see it you have to accept that this is the type of humour your gonna get. For the first 20 minutes, indeed up until the time their Road Trip begins the movies roles along with a few chuckles here and there but as it gets into it’s stride the laughs start to pour out and we are treated to some genuine side splitting moments much in the same manner as SUPER BAD.
Ok, so maybe it’s a tad predictable but it’s a tried and tested formula and given the following of the afore mentioned movies then why not try to replicate that?
James Marsden and Seth’s Green performances as the Cock sure brother and sarcastic Amish farmer respectively, are brilliant and are hands down the reason I enjoyed the movie much more than I probablt should have.
In a year when there hasn’t been and abundance of great comedies SEX DRIVE holds it’s own. When your consider we’ve only had a handful of movies like TROPIC THUNDER, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and the dark and intelligent Coen Brothers movie BURN AFTER READING then SEX DRIVE actually comes out fairly well.
Take a look at your DVD collection before deciding whether or not to see this. If you see movies like THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, AMERICAN PIE and SUPER BAD in there, then SEX DRIVE may just be up your street. It certainly kept me entertained.
Date: 18/01/2009
Rating: 4/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
SEX DRIVE is a teen comedy in the same mould as AMERICAN PIE and ROAD TRIP so if your going to see it you have to accept that this is the type of humour your gonna get. For the first 20 minutes, indeed up until the time their Road Trip begins the movies roles along with a few chuckles here and there but as it gets into it’s stride the laughs start to pour out and we are treated to some genuine side splitting moments much in the same manner as SUPER BAD.
Ok, so maybe it’s a tad predictable but it’s a tried and tested formula and given the following of the afore mentioned movies then why not try to replicate that?
James Marsden and Seth’s Green performances as the Cock sure brother and sarcastic Amish farmer respectively, are brilliant and are hands down the reason I enjoyed the movie much more than I probablt should have.
In a year when there hasn’t been and abundance of great comedies SEX DRIVE holds it’s own. When your consider we’ve only had a handful of movies like TROPIC THUNDER, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and the dark and intelligent Coen Brothers movie BURN AFTER READING then SEX DRIVE actually comes out fairly well.
Take a look at your DVD collection before deciding whether or not to see this. If you see movies like THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, AMERICAN PIE and SUPER BAD in there, then SEX DRIVE may just be up your street. It certainly kept me entertained.
Date: 18/01/2009
Rating: 4/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Based on the novel by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE tells the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), An Orphan from the slums of Mumbai who grows up to break the bank on the Indian version of the popular game show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’? He is one question away from the top prize when he is arrested on suspicion of cheating and has to explain to the police how an uneducated street orphan could possibly know the answers and so we are treated to the tale of his childhood and what he learned from his life experiences from the early days when he met ‘Latika’, the girl he loved and lost to how he came to be on the show in the first place.
Having already been nominated and won loads of awards it’s fair to say there was a lot of hype surrounding SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and sometimes with that hype there is a danger that you’ll ultimately be let down as you were expecting a master class in cinema. Not being my preferred genre of movie I was able to disassociate from all the hype and sit down to watch it as a complete neutral. Yes, I loved Danny Boyle’s previous work like 28 DAYS LATER and TRAINSPOTTING but that doesn’t mean I’d watch just anything he made.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is an exquisite rags- to-riches fairytale, which tells of the hardship of the people in the Slums of Mumbai. At times it can be desperately dark and gritty and then it can be happy and upbeat. Whilst the tale may seem far-fetched sometimes that’s why we go to see movies - we need escapism and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE offers just that and more. It’s the feel good movie of 2008 and for that I can’t recommend it highly enough.
As well as Danny Boyle’s brilliant directing and Simon Beufoy screenplay there are also some strong performances from the young cast especially Dev Patel who gives a mature performance as the lead star, so much so you actually care what happens to him.
Easily one of, if not the best movies of 2008 (yes I know it hit UK screens in 2009!) SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is now my personal favourite of 2008. As far as I’m concerned they can now give Danny Boyle a blank chequebook and let him make whatever they hell he likes. One request from me first though as a horror geek – 28 MONTHS LATER please...
Date: 11/01/2009
Rating: 5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Having already been nominated and won loads of awards it’s fair to say there was a lot of hype surrounding SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and sometimes with that hype there is a danger that you’ll ultimately be let down as you were expecting a master class in cinema. Not being my preferred genre of movie I was able to disassociate from all the hype and sit down to watch it as a complete neutral. Yes, I loved Danny Boyle’s previous work like 28 DAYS LATER and TRAINSPOTTING but that doesn’t mean I’d watch just anything he made.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is an exquisite rags- to-riches fairytale, which tells of the hardship of the people in the Slums of Mumbai. At times it can be desperately dark and gritty and then it can be happy and upbeat. Whilst the tale may seem far-fetched sometimes that’s why we go to see movies - we need escapism and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE offers just that and more. It’s the feel good movie of 2008 and for that I can’t recommend it highly enough.
As well as Danny Boyle’s brilliant directing and Simon Beufoy screenplay there are also some strong performances from the young cast especially Dev Patel who gives a mature performance as the lead star, so much so you actually care what happens to him.
Easily one of, if not the best movies of 2008 (yes I know it hit UK screens in 2009!) SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is now my personal favourite of 2008. As far as I’m concerned they can now give Danny Boyle a blank chequebook and let him make whatever they hell he likes. One request from me first though as a horror geek – 28 MONTHS LATER please...
Date: 11/01/2009
Rating: 5/5
Copyright ©2009 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Steel Trap (2008)
It’s New Year and 7 strangers are unknowingly brought together as they celebrate a party on the top floor of an abandoned building. They each receive a text message inviting them to a mysterious and exclusive party on the 27th floor. When they arrive they are presented with a set of clues to what they believe is a treasure hunt but instead find themselves fighting for survival with no idea of how they are linked to each other or who their host is.
Director Luis Camara-Silva doesn’t try to sugar coat STEEL TRAP, it’s obvious even from watching the trailer that it’s a slasher and plays by the rules as far as the genre goes. Instead of being forced into watching another-sub standard PG13 movie like PROM NIGHT we are treated to some pretty decent death scenes and loads of the red stuff.
Unfortunately STEEL TRAP has its flaws, which drag the movie down, and the biggest gripe I had was the acting. At times it was cringeworthy and wouldn’t have been out of place on a daytime soap. The other problem was that it was far too predictable. Horror geeks will have it sussed early and most mainstream movies goers will most likely see the end coming just before it happens too.
That aside the ending is never the less enjoyable and stops it from being completely poor. STEEL TRAP has its moments and does flirt with being decent but unfortunately the flaws outweigh the good points and make it a disappointment.
Worth a watch if only to see some decent death scenes but be warned – It can be very frustrating as it follows all the usual clichés and the acting is of a pretty low standard.
Date: 18/01/2009
Rating: 25/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
Director Luis Camara-Silva doesn’t try to sugar coat STEEL TRAP, it’s obvious even from watching the trailer that it’s a slasher and plays by the rules as far as the genre goes. Instead of being forced into watching another-sub standard PG13 movie like PROM NIGHT we are treated to some pretty decent death scenes and loads of the red stuff.
Unfortunately STEEL TRAP has its flaws, which drag the movie down, and the biggest gripe I had was the acting. At times it was cringeworthy and wouldn’t have been out of place on a daytime soap. The other problem was that it was far too predictable. Horror geeks will have it sussed early and most mainstream movies goers will most likely see the end coming just before it happens too.
That aside the ending is never the less enjoyable and stops it from being completely poor. STEEL TRAP has its moments and does flirt with being decent but unfortunately the flaws outweigh the good points and make it a disappointment.
Worth a watch if only to see some decent death scenes but be warned – It can be very frustrating as it follows all the usual clichés and the acting is of a pretty low standard.
Date: 18/01/2009
Rating: 25/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
Read this review and more on: http://www.roughcutreviews.com/
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