Henrik S

A tender little film that is the more exciting for its quite effective mixture of comedy and tragedy, both sides of which tends to feed int each others' strength and weaknesses. Most of the "funny" bits are tragic if you take a closer look, but thanks to man's ability to laugh at itself, we are treated with tragic moments that are so awkward in their attempt to fill the empty space with their seriousness, that they become inevitably funny and lend themselves to tokens of optimism, something that the film does as a whole. Turning the disastrous fate of one man into the joy of many, as it happens in many Hollywood films, but this one never strains our patience with kitsch, retains its authenticity, not least due to the great performances by the two lead and two supporting actors. The sets are interesting - reminiscent of that non-descript - 70s colour scheme that we already enjoy in most of Wes Anderson's films or films such as Napoleon Dynamite or Eagle vs. Shart. Underappreciated.

A pretty solid mash up of survival-thriller and Vietnam-Fetishist's dream. A bunch of jive-talking tough guys (amongst which you can enjoy the antics of R.Lee Ermey, famous for his role in Full Metal Jacket) who pave their way through the bloodsoaked country of Vietnam just to find themselves in quite a pickle when they have to defend a rundown outpost against waves and waves of enemies, all the while their numbers are dwindling and so are their morals. The characters are pretty one-dimensional, all of which follow one clichee 'Nam formula one way or another, but just like a pulp western or mob film of the 30s, it works and the interplay creates a - while not surprising - enjoyable melody of carnage, self-loathing, questionable sense of duty and rattling machine guns. One thing I did liked was the gritty set, location and violence, but then again, i do have a sort of a thing for films dealing with this particular conflict. Another thing I want to mention is the inclusion (even if it is to a minimum degree) the narrative viewpoint of the Vietcong and its general, which - just like the G.I.s - question the sense of the whole war and atrocities and are slightly promoted from Stallone-Style cannonfodder to soldiers with an agenda of their own - an agenda that is not that much removed from the American's. A good action flick for boys whole like their cinematic junk food with a tad of old school.

An interesting take on relationship drama, pitting two "survivors" in the ring of romance, both of which are left behind by a spouse that opted to cheat on their partners, incidentally, the two broken hearts manage to find each other within the remains of their shattered relationships and bring all the tension, anger and doubts along with them. The film has a few too many subplots in my opinion, Dutch's job as IA inspector, Chandler's political campaign etc., I would have preferred more focus on the relationship side of things, deeper conversations regarding the issue of loving someone you would actually love to hate and dealing with loss and grief. The performances are great, Ford's stoic style of acting fits with the character and Thomas is as enchantingly beautiful as ever. Pollack's direction is a no frills approach and leaves the script and actors to do their work with a touch of 1990s Americana thrown in. All in all, a pondering tale, that makes up in being daring and different what it lacks in finesse and verve.

Another SyFY Trash Galore. This time, the setting almost works. A Haunted High school overrun by bloodthirsty ghosts kind of reminds me of a gory Scooby Doo episode. Alas, the two main antagonist are not very interesting. I always found that, in order to be truly relatable as tangible horror, the ghosts / spirits / monsters etc. still not to adhere to (quoted by C. Carter) "realms of extreme possibility" instead of a Lovecraftian uber-capability of doing pretty much anything all the time and still fail to prevent their certain demise. The cast is not as bad as in most SyFy entries, mainly due to the fact the young kids in this film do not seem to think of themselves as serious actors in the first place, so you won't experience any talentless nitwits trying to pull of a Shakespearean performance while they are haunted by fat ghost with a giant mustache. All in all, a good ghost movie, quite haunting and not as bad as some of the rest.

A surprisingly good return to the franchise. Childs Play 3 was a dissapointment and the next two installments (Bride / Seed) were a persiflage and quiet self-ironic parodies of itself. While it works very well with Chucky as an anti-hero, I do prefer him to be more menacing and less funny. While true fans will always root for Dourif's incredibly voiced doll from hell, at least, he returns to grizzly form and causes havoc in an old abandoned house. The setting works well and is a return to the roots for the franchise. Creaky Floorboards, big wooden doors, an attic, a garage, the works. Fiona Dourif - as expected - is a great new face in the series and her character, especially due to her disability, is very intriguing. At some point, the inhabitants (or what is left of them) start turning on each other, which is another nice horror trope to be found in this. The doll effects and animatronics are as haunting and terrifying as ever and I think that with this, Chucky might be able to return to form. A must-see for horror fans and fans of the series, catch it on cable or rent it.