I love the Wikipedia entry for Split Second. Reception - The movie gained a lot of criticism. Box Office - The movie was not a box office success. Perfect obscurendure fodder then.
And it's pretty good fun. Stone (Rutger Hauer) is a hard-nosed cop whose partner was, funnily enough, killed by a serial killer. He's paired up with Oxford graduate and serial killer expert Detective Dick Durkin (Neil Duncan). Funnily enough they don't get on. Worryingly, the serial killer likes eating the victims' hearts, has a rather larger mouth-span and a lederhosen fetish. Okay, maybe the last one's made up but who knows what kind of deviant practices these murderers get up to in their 'me' time.
Yep, it's all a bit cliched but the cast make up for it by not taking the material too seriously. One scene where Durkin sees the serial killer and subsequently feels the need for some larger guns is memorable, as is the interplay between Stone and Durkin as they discuss the case in a fairly frenzied fashion whilst cigar sharing and being followed by the bemused, but brilliantly named, police chief Thrasher (Alun Armstrong). The comic timing is spot on and the two leads ham it up like no-one's business. The only cast member to let the side down is Pete Postlethwaite who doesn't convince in the slightest as an antagonistic cop. I don't know what it is about him but I've never liked him in anything. (It was a treat to see the inclusion of one cast member though: The Shend from the popular music combo The Very Things.)
The creature is sensibly kept in the dark for most of the running time and only properly seen in the end sequence. Designed and built by Stephen Norrington (Blade), it is clearly derivative of the Giger designed Alien but then, so are most screen monsters post 1979. It's pretty effective as it charges about and flashes past the screen.
I'm not sure whether Split Second had a troubled production but the end sequence is credited to director Ian Sharp. The section fits in nicely and I wouldn't have realised if it wasn't for his credit. Maybe the producers/studio weren't happy with the original ending and had a bit of a tiff with Tony Maylam. If you know anything about what happened let us know.
So, for a film that was criticised and didn't make back its budget, it's surprisingly good. Go into it expecting Rutger Hauer in prime pork scratchings mode and you'll probably have a laugh. It's worth it for the smoke filled cinematography so beloved of the era and the conversations between the two cops about Durkin's sex-life. 5/10 evlkeith
Based on the 1925 "monkey trial", not the one in Darlington which actually involved a real monkey but the one in Tennessee where teacher John T. Scopes was put on trial for teaching Darwinism. The real-life story has been fictionalised with events changed and new characters added to pep it up a smidge.
Bertram Cates is a school teacher who tells his class that humans are descendants of apes. The Christian fundamentalist townsfolk are not best pleased and bang him in the slammer. The case is prosecuted by the renowned Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March) a failed presidential candidate and an expert on all things pertaining to the Bible. He's a bit of a guy and has some majorly crowd-pleasing witty quips up his sleeve. In fact he comes across more like Bob Monkhouse. If he'd been an attorney. Spencer Tracy plays Henry Drummond, Cates' defence lawyer. There is a certain level of antagonism between these two courtroom heavyweights so the stage is set for an interesting bout of legal fisticuffs.
The acting is fantastic throughout. Both leads perform admirably, but I was pleasantly surprised by Gene Kelly, playing an incredibly cynical newspaper reporter, who shows that he has more to offer than just fancy footwork. The other bonus cast member is Noah Beery (Rockford's dad in 'The Rockford Files'). His appearance was greeted with a little cheer in the evlkeith household. Sadly, he doesn't get much screen-time.
Most of the film is set in the courtroom that is more like the court of Judge Nutmeg at times (you expect 'The Wheel of Justice' to make at appearance at the climax), but it ventures out into the town on occasions. The scenes of Rev. Brown preaching are particularly worrying, especially the way he talks to his daughter, and the town quickly begins to resemble an angry mob. They perform a charming ditty that goes something like this: "We'll hang Bertram Cates from a sour apple tree... We'll hang Henry Drummond from a sour apple tree, Glory Glory Hallelujah! Our God is marching on." Harsh. They could have made themselves slight less unhinged by making it a sweet apple tree.
Inherit the Wind states the case for both sides of the argument but it seems to lean towards Darwinism in the way it portrays the fundamentalist population. Henry Drummond doesn't make a case for Darwin though, he fights for the right for Cates to think. As you'd expect, there is a moment where Drummond really ruffles Brady's feathers, and although satisfying, it's not up there with a similar moment in Anatomy of a Murder.
So it's a brilliantly acted, well-made film that prompts thought about this thorny issue. It didn't change my mind but I definitely revisited my opinions. Not bad for less than a fiver. Plus you can crack loads of gags about 'inheriting the wind'. Which is always a bonus. 7/10 evlkeith
If you like this you could also try: 12 Angry Men, Anatomy of a Murder.
Mark Dacascos must be able to knock this kind of film out in his sleep. Go straight to DVD. Do not pass GO. Do not collect £200.
Rykker (Dacascos) is the titular agent, hunting down some of his fellow naughty aliens who are intent on thieving the planet for themselves. Billy Zane unwittingly becomes their leader due to some body snatching tomfoolery. One of life's great questions is: how does someone with a total lack of personality manage to get so much work in films? It baffles me. (A similar question should be asked about the brothers, Vernon and Peter Kay.) Zane is his usual personality bypass self in this film and is the weak link.
It all starts quite promisingly with a Matrix style leap off a bridge followed by a car chase and a pretty cool explosion. Then, that's your lot. I wonder if they ploughed loads of cash into the first twenty minutes, just to sell the film, and then just butt-cheeked off the rest of the film. It certainly seems that way.
Easily the best thing about Alien Agent is the relationship between Rykker and waitress Julie (Emma Lahana). They provide most of, if not all, the humour in the film. Together they make the latter half watchable, despite Zane's best attempts to render it otherwise. Dacascos gets to chin and lamp some pesky aliens, but it's not the best fight direction I've ever seen. He's way more capable. Didn't they know they had a naughty-bottom mum poker on their hands (watch the fight scenes in Drive and Brotherhood of the Wolf for the true Dacascos experience).
To be honest, there is some mild entertainment to be had here. As with most films of this ilk, go into it expecting it to be really bad and you'll be mildly surprised (unlike Captain America, where they should have been able to make it half decent, but it comes out distinctly underwhelming). If it's on telly and you've got nothing better to do, (like clipping your bum hair, for example) it's worth a watch. 3/10 evlkeith
I've had to watch this a few times because I wasn't all that keen at the start, but I had a feeling it might grow on me. Luckily, I was right and my repeated viewings have been rewarded.
Sadly not about whisky, The Chaser is a jaunty little thriller. Joong-Ho (Yun-seok Kim) is an ex-detective. Now he's a pimp. An inspired choice there by his career advisor. His lovely ladies are going missing, he presumes sold, and he is trying to track them down. But soon he falls into the murky world of a serial killer. He finds the killer quickly. Now he has to find his last victim, Mi-jin Kim (Yeong-hie Seo) who is possibly still alive. Intriguing...
There is a rather large coincidence in The Chaser that put me off when I first watched it. Then I saw that it is based on a real-life story of a serial killer from Korea. Whether it all happened exactly like this is doubtable but tragic coincidences happen in real-life so it gave new meaning to the scene in the film, and made it more powerful.
There are some more powerful moments in the film. One of the deaths films is particularly brutal as the killer uses a hammer to bludgeon his victim. Blood spatters in glorious slow-motion and the scene is shot with excellent use of depth of field. Upsetting yet beautiful at the same time. The other moment, again shot in slow-motion, is of some premium quality believable acting of anguish from Yun-seok Kim. The music adds to the scene producing one of my favourite film moments in quite a while.
One of the things that felt strange to me was the inconsistent tone: on the one hand we have a serial killer who likes to hammer and chisel ladies' heads, on the other we have bumbling ineffectual cops who appear to have stumbled in from Police Story or worse still Police Academy 7. They fall asleep in their cars when they're on duty, they're not very good at keeping their prisoners locked up and they are more concerned about a poop-thrower than a serial killer. I'm still not entirely sure that the mixture of comedy and brutal prostitute killings works. I can't see it becoming a new sub-genre.
The film is gorgeously shot throughout with the lighting showing off the seedier, dirtier side of the locations. It's probably worth watching for that alone. Not a total triumph but finding a half decent film in a 3 for £5 offer is always a treat. The rumour that it's going to be remade is probably an indication that it's better to watch the original version. Are there any remakes of World films that are better than the original? (Oh, and the trailer doesn't do it any justice.) 7/10 evlkeith
If you like this you could also try: Lady Vengeance, Shuttle, Police Story.
Brian Keene returns to form in this breathless tale where generic haunted house fiction meets The Hills Have Eyes. After 'The Rising', 'City of the Dead' and 'Dead Sea' I've had high expectations of Keene, and although not that impressed by 'Ghoul', 'Urban Gothic' will not disappoint his growing army of readers. This is not a book for the faint-hearted however, as Keene unleashes a slashing, bashing gore-fest on downtown America.
Some posh kids stumble into one of the less desirable areas of Philadelphia looking to score some drugs rather than soft cheese. Typically their car breaks down and chased by some of the local homeboys they flee into a nearby haunted house to hide, as you do. Sounds like my journey to work most days. You can more or less guess the rest, as the six buddies enjoy a torrid experience inside the spooky old house, with some or all of them receiving some nasty cuts, abrasions and grazed knees.
It's great fun if you like that kind of thing and even has the added bonus of a social comment based sub-plot, where Keene documents the decline of the old American sense of community, the ghettoisation of deprived areas and the stereotypical view of black youths in the hood. The homies and their middle aged leader are a particular highlight as they come charging to the rescue and ultimately re-unite the whole community - hurray!
The only downside is that Keeno goes a bit over the top with the violence and gore in a book that doesn't really need it. The atmosphere of the house and its labyrinthine cellars is such an excellent location for the story that we really only need to follow some well-defined characters into its depths to fully enjoy the whole scenario. Unfortunately the plot whizzes along so fast and with so much splatter that we only gain a surface knowledge and empathy of the characters, when another two hundred pages was probably needed to fully exploit the potential of the wonderfully created subterranean environment.
Problems aside this is a high paced, enjoyable read and is only a zombie tuna away from one of Keene's best.
It's been a tough time for me recently. The last four films I've seen have all had a rating of 2 or less. The film before that dire run (P2) only got 4 out of 10 so that was hardly sparkling either. This is a worrying trend. I read SFX and in their reviews most films are receiving low marks, average at best. Apart from anime that is. The recent anime releases all seem to attain above average star ratings. So with hope in my heart I made Legend of the Millennium Dragon my next viewing experience.
Right from the off I knew it was not going to be terrible. It starts with a battle between some army types from 1200 years ago in the Heian era and some creepily animated monsters, the Oni. A massive creature soon makes an appearance and starts causing havoc. Gen'un pops up and cooly sorts it out. Gen'un travels to the present time to enlist the help of a 'chosen one', and we are introduced to our reluctant hero, schoolboy Jun Tendo. You know the plot now. But the atmosphere makes up for a lack of originality in the story department. The music helps to give it a rather strange feel. On screen there are huge historical style battles, yet they are accompanied by seventies style cop music. The other music choices are equally quirky and lift Legend of the Millennium Dragon out of the standard-issue mire. The visuals are equally accomplished. The fights are epic in scale and the Oni have an interesting effect applied to them. There's nothing overly special or original but pleasing nonetheless.
The characters are a weak point. Loads of spillover characters appear and then just as quickly, disappear. Five characters, who make a dubious pact with Gen'un and turn into 'Bayonetta' style gods, could have been interesting, but again suffer from limited screen time. Jun is a non-entity too. He's only there to fulfil his destiny.
This feels like more of a child friendly offering than the recently reviewed First Squad. The story is too obvious to appeal to the more mature viewer. I watched it with a nice cup of tea and some biscuits and quite enjoyed it. I let it's anime goodness wash all over me and purge me of the memory of Donkey Punch. It's way better than anything else I've seen recently so the rating is thankfully a tad higher. Still waiting for something good though... 6/10 evlkeith As a side note, as I was searching for images for this review I came across this intriguing photo from Milocrorze: A Love Story. If this doesn't scream obscurendure I don't know what does. I want to see it. Someone release it now.
