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I liked Gemini Man. The action sequences were a bit much and the cgi was obvious in parts but I was still entertained.
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I liked Gemini Man. The action sequences were a bit much and the cgi was obvious in parts but I was still entertained.
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Personally, I didn't mind the shift; I even think that *boom* moment worked to the film's advantage, but I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone. Overall, I liked the film. I know a lot of people have condemned it as "racist", but I never got the notion that the filmmaker was saying that "every Native" is like this. All I can say is that I was thrilled and yeah, disgusted 
If there was a movie about a bunch of former Nazis hunting down some horned, well poisoning, children stealing Jewish monsters and had Seth Rogen pop up to say "these things aren't really Jewish," it probably would've caught a lot more heat.
That said, despite being racist and the equivalent of "I have a black friend," as well as having all of the pacing and filmmaking issues that are inherent of a first time director and the DTV market, the cast and violence make it entertaining enough to pass the time with.
Dragged Through Concrete is a much better film from Zahler that actually confronts the racism ideologies instead of using them as set dressing.
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Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, 2018 (D)
Antrum is a movie that starts as a documentary about a movie that causes people who watch it to die soon afterwards. The Antrum movie itself is said to be a 1979 Hungarian movie about two siblings digging a hole to hell. After about 15 minutes of documentary, you see the movie itself.
It's pretty good at building hype, but that hype dissipates pretty fast. I was excited when Antrum actually started, and it had some interesting stuff at first. The big problem is that, if you've ever seen Eastern-European movies from the 70s or 80s, this movie will never convince you it's one of them. Even if you haven't, the movie is eminently a modern movie filmed on 35mm. The audio is digitized, the subliminal stuff is very much liminal, and the movie itself is in English, which is what bothered me the most. They talk too much and, outside of mentions of odd things, there isn't that much odd stuff in this that doesn't feel forced. The technique just isn't there to support the vibe that they tried to build.
With all these technical shortcomings, what you're left with is just a slow, modern-style horror movie that doesn't offer much at all.
Antrum is a movie that starts as a documentary about a movie that causes people who watch it to die soon afterwards. The Antrum movie itself is said to be a 1979 Hungarian movie about two siblings digging a hole to hell. After about 15 minutes of documentary, you see the movie itself.
It's pretty good at building hype, but that hype dissipates pretty fast. I was excited when Antrum actually started, and it had some interesting stuff at first. The big problem is that, if you've ever seen Eastern-European movies from the 70s or 80s, this movie will never convince you it's one of them. Even if you haven't, the movie is eminently a modern movie filmed on 35mm. The audio is digitized, the subliminal stuff is very much liminal, and the movie itself is in English, which is what bothered me the most. They talk too much and, outside of mentions of odd things, there isn't that much odd stuff in this that doesn't feel forced. The technique just isn't there to support the vibe that they tried to build.
With all these technical shortcomings, what you're left with is just a slow, modern-style horror movie that doesn't offer much at all.
Carcinoma (2014)
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This was the 5th movie I've seen from director Marian Dora. I would call him the king of extreme films as his movies are not only the most vile, but also pretty well made. Carcinoma is about a guy with a really bad stomach ailment, not the most appealing storyline and the reason I've watched other Dora films first. It's certainly disgusting, but it's also slow as the director goes heavy into symbolism and meaning.
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Mighty Joe Young (1949)
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Snooze factor = Z
[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it
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Snooze factor = Z
[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it
Shame you didn’t nod off. Seems like the perfect movie to fall asleep to.
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^ Possible but I was watching it with a relative and she is the type to keep asking questions about what is happening and so on during a film, so that kept me awake... 
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I mean, the film is racist. Not because it says "every native" is like that but because it WHOLLY embraces the worst stereotypes of natives that were used to commit genocide (sub-human monsters that rape and cannibalize any that aren't there own, kidnapping a white woman, etc) and only used the laziest means to hand wave it by wasting the great Zahn Maclarnon to step in as a token Native American and say "these things aren't like us."
If there was a movie about a bunch of former Nazis hunting down some horned, well poisoning, children stealing Jewish monsters and had Seth Rogen pop up to say "these things aren't really Jewish," it probably would've caught a lot more heat.
That said, despite being racist and the equivalent of "I have a black friend," as well as having all of the pacing and filmmaking issues that are inherent of a first time director and the DTV market, the cast and violence make it entertaining enough to pass the time with.
Dragged Through Concrete is a much better film from Zahler that actually confronts the racism ideologies instead of using them as set dressing.
If there was a movie about a bunch of former Nazis hunting down some horned, well poisoning, children stealing Jewish monsters and had Seth Rogen pop up to say "these things aren't really Jewish," it probably would've caught a lot more heat.
That said, despite being racist and the equivalent of "I have a black friend," as well as having all of the pacing and filmmaking issues that are inherent of a first time director and the DTV market, the cast and violence make it entertaining enough to pass the time with.
Dragged Through Concrete is a much better film from Zahler that actually confronts the racism ideologies instead of using them as set dressing.
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The Day of the Jackal (1973) - 8/10
While I'm not huge on police procedurals normally, I enjoyed my time with this film quite a bit. Maybe not as much as I thought I would, but it certainly offers a decent bit to like.
This film does a fine job at showing how the two main characters, the Jackal and Lebel, work to opposite purposes. The former works at carrying out the assassination, while the latter works at trying to stop him. As the films rolls along, the Jackal gets closer and closer to the president as bodies keep piling up around him. This is set against the procedural elements of Lebel trying to track him down throughout the film. This element persists all throughout the film and grows in intensity the further you get into the film, specifically during the last act once Lebel begins running out of time to stop the Jackal. Both the Jackal and Lebel were smart, competent characters, which made them an enjoyable pair to watch.
Though you'll probably side with Lebel, both characters can be hypnotic to watch. With the Jackal, I found myself drawn to the sense of solitude he displayed throughout the film. When he had to kill people, for instance, he went about these acts with a sense of tranquility. He'd calmly move to them and murder them fairly quickly, without them being able to scream, fight back, or resist. It's clear he's had enough experience with his profession to the point he knows exactly how to handle any situation which arises. The occasional slip up will come off as a huge surprise. Not only to the viewer, but also to the Jackal since it's implied he almost never runs into them. Overall, I found it interesting to watch the Jackal go about his task and deal with the various problems which arose along the way.
I don't have much to offer in the way of flaws, except I did feel the film's runtime at certain points, especially during the middle. However, I imagine it will flow smoother with another viewing. As it stands, this film currently stands at a low 8/10 for me, but I may enjoy it more if I watch it again.
While I'm not huge on police procedurals normally, I enjoyed my time with this film quite a bit. Maybe not as much as I thought I would, but it certainly offers a decent bit to like.
This film does a fine job at showing how the two main characters, the Jackal and Lebel, work to opposite purposes. The former works at carrying out the assassination, while the latter works at trying to stop him. As the films rolls along, the Jackal gets closer and closer to the president as bodies keep piling up around him. This is set against the procedural elements of Lebel trying to track him down throughout the film. This element persists all throughout the film and grows in intensity the further you get into the film, specifically during the last act once Lebel begins running out of time to stop the Jackal. Both the Jackal and Lebel were smart, competent characters, which made them an enjoyable pair to watch.
Though you'll probably side with Lebel, both characters can be hypnotic to watch. With the Jackal, I found myself drawn to the sense of solitude he displayed throughout the film. When he had to kill people, for instance, he went about these acts with a sense of tranquility. He'd calmly move to them and murder them fairly quickly, without them being able to scream, fight back, or resist. It's clear he's had enough experience with his profession to the point he knows exactly how to handle any situation which arises. The occasional slip up will come off as a huge surprise. Not only to the viewer, but also to the Jackal since it's implied he almost never runs into them. Overall, I found it interesting to watch the Jackal go about his task and deal with the various problems which arose along the way.
I don't have much to offer in the way of flaws, except I did feel the film's runtime at certain points, especially during the middle. However, I imagine it will flow smoother with another viewing. As it stands, this film currently stands at a low 8/10 for me, but I may enjoy it more if I watch it again.
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I haven't seen any other Zahler film. Did you like Brawl in Cell Block 99?
It's problems are more with the way it evokes grindhouse cinema in random fits and spurts but does nothing aesthetically or creatively that captures the essence of the era. It has all the pitfalls of modern low budget DTV filmmaking (flat cinematography and ugly color filters lazily slapped on).
I thought it was tedious (took 90 mins to even get to the prison) and hackish.
DAC is the only one of his that I liked quite a bit with very few misgivings (there is a couple of unforgivably bad scenes with Don Johnson and Laurie Holden) and I hope he continues on that path. It's his least popular film though.
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It's called "Sementes Podres" in Brazil, which literally translates to Ripe Seeds. Pretty good movie
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