Battleangel

Yes, there is Bowling for Columbine of course. But I also indulged myself with some fiction as usual. Lots of rentals this week thanks to Brafilm.com. Hehe. Suckers …
These are movies that I have wanted to see for a long time but for various reasons have passed me by.

Monster’s Ball
Battleangel rating: 4/5 || Comments: A movie about loss (mostly). And that in times of tragedy, no man or woman is a castle but might need someone to support them. Maybe not my cup of tea but undoubtedly a very well made movie. And hey, Halle Berry won an Oscar for best actress so it has got to be good right *irony*. Ok, seriously, this was a pleasant surprise that actually survived the Oscar hype. At least if you’re not easily depressed.

Resident Evil
Battleangel rating: 4/5 || Comments: Another pleasant surprise. Maybe since I expected it to be crap. I’ve seen the most illogical complaints on IMDB but you really shouldn’t mind them. The color of the virus for example is not really a valid objection. I love the blend of action and horror. And the spooky atmosphere with the constant feeling of solitude. This end-of-the-world kind of feeling that runs through the feature. Really surreal. Even Milla Jovovich was better than usual.

Blade 2
Battleangel rating: 2.5/5 || Comments: Not good but not bad either. Intense action scenes. Some serious flaws in the script. But it is .. intense. The action gets a bit repetitive after a while. I still think that the movie makers are making the Blade concept too difficult for their own good. I mean, the first movie dealt with some sort of reborn vampire god and this one deals with a new breed of super powerful, super evil vampire. Where do you go from here? Wouldn’t it have been better a bit more discreet and begin on a smaller and more “human” scale?

Assault on Precinct 13
Battleangel rating: 3.5/5 || Comments: Good to see a movie from the 70s that still is watchable today. It still has some strong scenes of violence that can upset even the most hardy film buff of the 21st century. And amidst all this bloodshed there are still other emotions to be sought. It’s John Carpenter. What more could you want?

In the Mood for Love
Battleangel rating: 3.5/5 || Comments: A romance Kung Fu with the fighting replaced with love scenes. Simple but effective in other words. Normally I wouldn’t watch this stuff but I’m making an exception. I see it as common knowledge.

Battle Royale
Battleangel rating: 5/5 || Comments: Creative, brutal, psychological and .. brutal. The idea is simple and somewhat like Lord of the Flies. A school class wins to lottery and are selected for Battle Royale, a somewhat different game show. They are dumped on a desolate island somewhere and are forced to fight to the last. Out of the 42 individuals, only one can remain. If they do not comply, they will be killed anyway and thus have NO chance to leave the island. Not for the faint of heart.

Also I placed an order for John Carpenter’s The Fog. It seemed like a refreshingly old school ghost/horror movie and since it exists here and now in a decent DVD edition (R1) there are really no reasons not to have it. Another order from CD-WOW btw.