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I didn't expect much from Apocalypto  . Honestly, I was thinking I'd get annoyed by the movie and not feel like reading it. I was surprised when that didn't happen and, in fact, I felt somewhat drawn to it. The movie was full of action and had a somewhat compelling story behind it. I thought the last scene was funny, in an odd way. The whole movie was supposed to be about the decline of the Mayan civilization, but the last scene was the only one that really brought this home, in my mind. Of course, what I thought was funny was that curiosity got the best of the two men on the beach. I saw this as an omen of things to come. I could see a continuance to this, but doubt it'd happen. Nonetheless, I'd be interested in it.
Three years before Premonition came out, Yogen was released in Japan. After I saw Premonition, I figured I'd check out the original movie. While the premise is the same, the story is a lot different. Usually, re-makes are just that -- a veritable do-over. That's not the case here. If you liked Premonition and can stand reading thru a movie, I highly suggest you check out Yogen. The movie is a bit slower, but that's somewhat typical of Japanese movies, from what I've seen. One other note is that this movie had horror undertones, but I wouldn't really say it was a horror movie. Yogen was also a bit more supernatural than Premonition. Perhaps that's why I liked it more -- I tend to like sci-fi and horror movies a lot. Either way, the scifi/horror spin is minimal, so don't let that push you away.
Sat
Jan
06
2007
Water
Water is one of the most boring movies I've seen in a while. I will say it's mildly interesting, but not so much as to make me want to sit thru it again. The movie did touch a chord with me, tho. Basically, it's about the Indian culture and how widows are ostracized from the public. I found this very aggravating. Every culture has its close-minded attributes and I hate that. If you're interested in different cultures, then you might want to check it out; otherwise, I don't think I'd recommend this to anyone. Like I said, mildly interesting, but boring as all get-out.
Night Watch  is another movie I have no idea why I added to my list. The movie is a Russian vampire movie, but there seemed to be a lot more than just that. The begining introduced a grand story, but the rest of the movie didn't seem to live up to the promises of that story. I feel like there were huge holes in the story that just weren't filled in like I would've hoped. I will say that the special effects were top notch, tho. Actually, I can't say that the story was bad; it's more the implementation I didn't like. With a few tweaks here and there, this could be really good. As the movie went on, tho, I eventually found myself begging for an end to it all. I just have to say that it wasn't the story at all, simply the implementation. I would really like to see this remade. The real question is whether or not I'll track down the other 2 movies in the trilogy -- I don't even know what they are right now, I just saw some mention about them in the movie description.
I'm not sure why I got District 13 , but as soon as I saw the menu screen on the disc, I knew it was one I'd probably regret. Luckily, that was disproven fairly quickly. The dubbed version wasn't very good, which was probably the second thing I noticed -- after the menu screen, of course; but I got over that, as I tend to do when I take a chance on a foreign movie. Overall, the movie was your typical action movie. The story was lacking, but passable. What really made up for everything else was the opening chase scene. This is the first time I've seen David Belle , but I will have to check out some of his other movies, as few as they may be. This is also the first time I've seen Cyril Raffaelli , but his scenes weren't quite as exciting as Belle's initial scene. They were both great action actors, tho. If you have a chance to see either of these guys, I suggest you take it. Either way, give District 13 a shot. I guarrantee you it'll be worth it within the first 10 minutes.
I knew I was pushing it with the first one , but Battle Royale 2 definitely wasn't worth the time. Honestly, I couldn't even finish it. The concept was relatively the same, but the approach was different. Perhaps it was because I was tired, but it seemed way too long and I barely made it half way thru before I turned it off. If you like strange foreign movies, you might be interested in this. If not, don't even waste your time thinking it over.
Battle Royale (Batoru Rowaiaru) is a Japanese movie based on what you might expect, given the name: a grand battle where everyone is against everyone. There's a pretty big twist to it, tho. I'm not going to spoil it, either. The movie isn't as grand as the concept behind the battle might seem, but it is "interesting," as a friend who recommended it said. If you're into movies that mainstreamers might consider odd, give this one a shot. Of course, since I'm a sucker for sequels, I'll be getting Battle Royale 2 in the next few weeks.
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