Previous month: December 26, 2004 - January 1, 2005
Next month: January 9, 2005 - January 15, 2005

Dawn of the Dead

We've seen and enjoyed the new Dawn of the Dead, so it was easy choice to pick up the original version. We saw the Romero cut (and not the Dario Argento's cut, which we later regretted, as Argento's version was 30 minutes shorter).

While the remake is dynamic and exciting, Romero's original is slow, boring and silly. The zombies look stupid and aren't scary in any way. It doesn't even work as a comedy. It had some good moments, but even those were usually stretched far too long - over two hours is way too much for a movie of this caliber. The remake is clearly superior.

8.01.2005 klo 11:45 | Comments 1 comment(s) | TrackBack (0)

Don't Look Now

We watched Don't Look Now yesterday. It's a classic thriller from 1970's. It's about a couple who lose their child in a tragic accident. They end up in Venice, where they meet a psychic who sees their child. Mysterious and tragic events occur and things start to turn towards a horrible end.

The DVD we watched was unfortunately cursed with really bad sound and no English subtitles, so at times it was pretty difficult to hear what was said. That was bad, but didn't spoil the movie. It was fairly good, with lots of atmosphere thanks to the grimness of the small alleyways of Venice. What a perfect location. In the end the movie was quite intense, but the intensity was hurt by too much random running around and the climax was a wee bit silly. It should've been better. Still, it was an enjoyable movie and only slightly dated.

7.01.2005 klo 10:22 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)

The Grudge

The Grudge was a positive surprise. Having the director of the original version direct this new one (and not Sam Raimi, as I thought) was probably critical, but whatever the reason, the remake was good work. I especially enjoyed the fact that despite all main characters being American, the movie was still set in Japan. The house where the horrors happened was almost identical to the one used in the original version.

There were changes. One significant plot turn (Toyamas) was cut and replaced with something new that was less complicated. The new plot explained the reasons behind the original killings, which was left as a mystery in the original version. Events were generally explained a bit more. While Rika was obviously the main character of the original version, Sarah Michelle Gellar's Karen had a significantly stronger role in the remake.

The plot changes were ok, except the ending. The original has much more interesting ending, which was ruined in the remake. The spirits of the original version aren't one-dimensionally evil, unlike in the remake. How boring. However, the movie was scary and the very important sounds were beautifully done in the remake.

It's Ring all over again, but the other way around. Now it was the original version that was richer and more impressive. The Grudge isn't a bad movie, but the original is better. I gave the remake 3½ stars in Movielens, while I gave 4½ stars to the original.

6.01.2005 klo 12:16 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)

Pocket Kingdom

Pocket Kingdom is a weird game. The first time I tried it, I instantly agreed with most of the reviews I've read: the user interface is very bad. Most of the time is spent clicking through various menus. The flaws are very simple and it is obvious how to fix them.

First, stuff in the inventory needs to stack. It's bloody annoying to wade through several copies of each item when you need to fetch the last item on the list (which doesn't wrap around). Stacking items would make browsing the lists easier.

Second, buying and selling stuff should be made faster. For each item you buy or sell, you need to click twice. Nice, but not so when you need to buy, say, 10 copies. How about a possibility to buy or sell several copies at once?

Third, menu shortcuts would be sweet. N-Gage has lots of buttons, why use just two? If an interface could work on a four-button GameBoy, it's less than optimal on N-Gage. Placing shortcuts to different menus on the unused buttons would make playing the game faster.

Despite these grumbles, I've found Pocket Kingdom quite addictive. It's the default game in my N-Gage, the one I keep in when I'm not playing something else. The gameplay is designed well for mobile use: it is possible to spend just few minutes with the game, fiddling some aspect of one's kingdom or perhaps fighting a single battle. For longer sessions one can go on extended raids or perhaps try the human opponents on Arena. It works well and I've already spent a significant amount of time with the game, even if it's been just ten minutes or so at the time.

5.01.2005 klo 11:48 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)

Ju-On: The Grudge

The rest of our Play order was delivered yesterday. We pondered for a while whether we should see the original Ju-On: The Grudge before the US remake, which we'll go and see today. We ended up watching the original.

It's bloody creepy and ranks among the very best horror films (A Tale of Two Sisters, Dark Water and Ring). The movie begins with murders that leave the spirits of the deceased haunting the house. Of course, lots of innocent bystanders visit the house and end up suffering from the spirits' vengeance.

The plot of the movie isn't linear and that has caused some confusion. For example, a girl called Izumi appears in the movie as a child and later as a teenager. But yeah, movies can have time leaps even if the dates of the events aren't explicitly told! We found the order of the events fairly easy to figure out. Too much explanation hurts the movie and at least we weren't really confused at all. Some questions remain, as usual, but nothing critical.

My expectations for the US remake are mixed. The movie will probably look better. The special effects aren't flashy in the Japanese version. It's still impressive, but perhaps the dead could've used better look than simply white makeup? I do hope they can replicate the excellent soundtrack. The sounds were often more scary than the sights! Japanese horror movies (and games, like the Silent Hill series) have often made good use of scary sounds. The plot will probably be simplified a bit - hopefully not too much.

I'll write more about the US remake tomorrow when I've seen it. Meanwhile, the original is highly recommended.

5.01.2005 klo 11:40 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)

Saw

We went and saw the Saw. It's about a twisted serial killer, who doesn't actually kill his victims. Instead he places them in games in which they have a chance to survive through gruesome horrors. Each game has something to do with the things the victim has done wrong in their life - the setting isn't far from Seven.

It's clever, and the main game of the movie is an intriguing setting. Two men are faced in a room. One must kill the other, otherwise his family will suffer. Men are chained to pipes so they can't reach each other, but the room has secrets, which will give the men more possibilities.

The idea is great, but the movie is merely good. Cary Elwes does a substandard job as one of the lead men. Most movies have stupid things which are necessary to make the plot work - in this case, there are probably few too many. Police are, as usual, rather stupid.

Considering the circumstances the movie was made in (inexperienced director and writer, 18 days, 1.2 million dollars, expected straight-to-video release), it's well done. So far it has brought in 55 million dollars in USA alone. That's no Blair Witch Project, but certainly well done!

2.01.2005 klo 15:05 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)