More Movies

Herself was away so I rented a pile of movies as I am wont to do on such occasions. In order of viewing: Underworld: Evolution, Ultraviolet, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Frank Miller's Sin City: Recut. Interestingly enough, that's also the order of my least to most favourite (perhaps I planned it that way).

Underworld: Evolution didn't turn out to be my kind of thing. I generally love vampire movies, but these vampires just didn't do it for me. Maybe I should have seen the first movie, but I don't think it would have mattered. I didn't think it was a bad movie - it just didn't really pop off the screen for me, and I didn't care about the characters much. If you like Kate Beckinsdale, maybe it's worth seeing.

I was mildly disappointed by Ultraviolet, although I'm not really sure why I didn't like it that much. I've always had a bit of a thing for Milla Jovovich, and the movie was definitely of the sort that I usually enjoy, but it left me a little flat. Nonetheless, it's a really good time. Think Madness, only it's a chick instead of Hank, and there's a trace of plot here and there to glue all the violence together (although the actual plot doesn't really matter).

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is the second installment in the trilogy. It's definitely different from the first picture, in that there are less surprises (and sadly, no Michelle Rodriguez of course), more contrived plot devices, and the action is... different, for lack of a better word. It's more like a zombie movie than the first, in a George Romero kinda way. It's fun, but not as cool as the first for sure. And no, I'm not one of those people who always claims that the sequels are worse than the original, because that simply is not always true (but mostly it is ;) )

Sin City. Totally made up for the other 3. This was based heavily on the original graphic novels by Frank Miller, and Rodriguez brought him in as co-director to ensure that they got everything just right. Makes a big difference, as it's really stylish and it feels like comic book. Tarantino stepped in as "Special Guest Director" for a scene, and if you pay really close attention, you'll probably be able to figure out which scene it was. I could go on and on about this flick - and I think I will...

I rented the 2-disc "recut" DVD set with all the usual goodies we've come to expect from Robert Rodriguez; one of the things I discovered is that he's really big on digital, and shot the move in HD. Also note that he has his own post-production studio, and over 95% of the movie was shot on green screen (apparently this saves a lot of dough in sets and sfx). The extras disc even has a "green screen" only version of the flick, so you get to see exactly which scenes were shot on sets (not many), and which had backgrounds added post production.

I have no real complaints about anybody's performance, but I was hoping for a little more from Alexis Bledel. She wasn't bad, but I would say hers was the least strong performance - maybe I just found it hard to believe her in that role, being as young and cutesy as she is.

Most everybody else was excellent, and with a cast list this long, it's better to just point out the really exceptional folks. Mickey Rourke was just outstanding as Marv - really funny and sincere, and over the top just enough to be a caricature. Benicio Del Toro was awesome as always; very sinister and very funny. I'm a big fan of Rosario Dawson, and she showed a lot of range in this picture - definitely her best performance IMO. Special mention to Elijah Wood, who didn't utter a single word, but was way creepier than I ever thought he could be.

Last, I really have to bring attention to Rutger Hauer's performance as Cardinal Roark; he only did one scene in the movie, and it reminded me so much of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now that I had to pop in the DVD and make a direct comparison, just to see if I was imagining the similarities. I wasn't.

To summarize: didn't much care for Underworld: Evolution. Glad I got it off the 7-day rack and wouldn't really recommend it. Ultraviolet was not what I'd hoped for, but perhaps I wasn't sure what I was hoping for. Resident Evil: Apocalypse was about what you'd expect (if you've seen the first), but doesn't quite hold up the same standard. Sin City kicked ass, you must buy the 2-DVD "Recut" set for your library and bow down to Robert Rodriguez, as he's clearly a more superior human being than you and I are. I give these flick 2, 2.5, 3, and 4 stars out of 5 respectively.

Grindhouse

I rented the two movies that make up the Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature "Grindhouse" last week. A mini review:

Before I get into the movies themselves, I should note that you shouldn't feel obligated to rent them together (as I did); they both stand alone perfectly well. It's fun to watch them together as though you're actually at the double feature, but since some of the original elements from the theatre screenings are not present in the DVD release, the purists will be left wanting anyhow.

First off, Robert Rodriguez's contribution, "Planet Terror". It's essentially a zombie movie, but it's definitely Rodriguez's style and not George Romero. You still get some good B-movie quality bad acting, but there are some heavy hitters in the cast who kind of elevated it a little from pure B-movie. It's exceptionally good fun, and just weird enough in places to remain interesting throughout.

Rodriguez contributed a fake movie trailer, which also appears on the Planet Terror DVD. The fictional movie is called "Machete", and I can't really say much else without giving anything away, so I'll just say that it was awesome.

"Death Proof", according to Tarantino, is essentially him trying to best all the car chase movies of the 70's and 80's, while still paying homage to them. Whether or not he accomplished this is up for debate, but it does have a lot of good gags. It's standard Tarantino fare in that a.) it's very chatty, b.) each act of the movie is just different enough from the others that it could almost be a short film unto itself, and c.) the subject matter is still unique from all his other movies. Don't forget kids, this is the guy who won a Golden Globe for writing Pulp Fiction (yes yes, and an Oscar and a Golden Palm, but nobody really cares about those).

I'm not sure I've seen Kurt Russel as a bad guy in anything, and I wasn't sure he could pull it off, but he did. I felt his performance towards the end of the movie was far superior, but that's just me. As with some of Tarantino's other work, you have to wait for the payoff - be patient, because it's worth it. Pay very close attention at the end, as Rosario Dawson's character does something unexpected just when you think the movie's over.

Other bits and pieces:
Both movies used some aging techniques to make them look like overused, worn out films, although it's definitely more apparent in Planet Terror - it was more of an exploitation piece. Zoe Bell did stunts in both movies and stars as herself in Death Proof. Along with Zoe, Quentin Tarantino, Rose McGowan, and Michael Parks appear in both movies - Michael Parks even plays the same character! Rodriguez also cast his son Rebel, and his twin nieces Elise and Electra Avellan.

Both definitely worth watching. I give Planet Terror 4/5 stars, and Death Proof a 3.5.