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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
2002 | Adventure, Fantasy
The battle of helms deep is the bench mark of all cinematic battles (1 more)
Acting is Top Notch
Peter Jackson you beautiful man.
Nothing bad to say, it's a long film but doesn't feel long enough it's that good.
 One little tidbit incase anyone doesn't know, there is a scene where Aragon kicks a helmet in anger. This reaction is actually real, as he kicked it he broke bones! Not only did he injure himself, he kept in character and that take was used in the final cut!
  
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
2018 | Documentary, History, War
Very moving
This doc is for everyone, not just people interested in military history. Peter Jackson has done an amazing job putting together a seamless, cohesive film from the many hours of footage he had available. I am usually not a fan of black and white films being colorized but in this case, it really adds to the viewer's experience. You'll get a real sense of what it was like on front lines of WWI and see the universal experience of the soldiers, no matter what country they were from. At times it's funny, at times heartbreaking, always intense. It's definitely a must-see. And do yourself a favor, stay after the credits for Peter Jackson's discussion about what it took to make this film. The amount of research and detail he and his team put into this film is awesome.
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) Jan 4, 2019

I loved this soo much!

Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
1994 | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Introducing Kate Winslet!
Before Peter Jackson was instructing us on the ways of Bilbo and Gollum, he introduced us to Pauline and Juliet, two young girls who form an intense, provocative and somewhat delusional relationship.

They become fast friends and construct a fantasy world where both of them can live whilst they make some gruesome decisions about their own parents. Throughout the film you are unsure what you are viewing is real of part of the dream.

I loved this film for its portrayals of the young girls and the lengths they will go to remain together even after their volatile relationship is discovered.

  
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
2018 | Documentary, History, War
Everyone alive needs to watch this!
Director Peter Jackson spent four years pouring over 100 hours of archive film footage and over 600 hours of interviews to weave this complex, intriguing documentary masterpiece together.

To say the movie is compelling is a vast understatement. I'm glad I saw theatrically so I could bear witness to the multiple audience gasps, applauds and reaction to some of the miraculous moments.

Jackson said afterwards in a making of documentary he had a hard time deciding on the story he wanted to tell vacillating between airplane footage, U-Boats, the use of women in the military, etc. He ultimately decided showing the life of the "everyday" grunt soldier would be the most compelling since any side or nationality would be able to relate.

It doesn't take much to make me cry, so the water works were a flowing with this one. If you have the chance, please watch. A film like this does not come along very often at all and you won't be disappointed.

  
Undead (2003)
Undead (2003)
2003 | Horror
7
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I watched a Top 30 zombie movies video on YouTube and this film was on it. I have never heard of it before then and given that it was a micro budget film from Australia that was big on the festival circuit in 2003, probably not surprising it had passed me by.
First up, if you want a serious zombie film like 28 Days or Romero's Dead films look elsewhere, you won't enjoy this. If however you don't mind some slapstick gore and tounge firmly in rotted cheek humour and like early Peter Jackson splatter horror Braindead this is for you.
In a quaint Aussie fishing village meteorites fall from the sky and before you can say this looks familiar the townsfolk are turned to the ravenous undead.
Yes the acting is hammy, the dialogue at times is weird but this film is at its heart, fun. Blood, gore and brains soak the screen as things break down. Also, what is in the rain?
Characters are a bit stereotypically but I feel the ending is the most satisfying ending to a zombie film ever. Yes it looks on paper like an idea that shouldn't work but somehow it does.
Good debut from the Spierig brothers made for $2 million Aussie dollars and effects done on a laptop. It's better then some big studio zombie flicks.
Lot of negative reviews of this on IMDb, I don't understand why it's by no means perfect but it's a lot of fun with a great early Peter Jackson vibe.
  
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
2018 | Documentary, History, War
Wow. This documentary was amazing. The restoration work, and the care that was taken with the footage is awe-inspiring. The Fathom Event showing had a short 30 minute program afterwards where Peter Jackson gave more insight into what all was done.
At first, it's all in black and white, when the colorization portion started, there was a collective gasp in the full theater. It was definitely reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, in terms of the overall reveal.
The use of the actual veterans talking about life during the Great War were really interesting to hear, and though they used dozens of people, they were blended together seamlessly. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait until I can purchase it.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Erika (17788 KP) Dec 22, 2018

Definitely stay to watch the 30 minute documentary afterwards, it was really cool.

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Andy K (10821 KP) Dec 22, 2018

Ok thanks I will. Very excited to see this.

The Frighteners (1996)
The Frighteners (1996)
1996 | Comedy, Family, Horror
9
8.2 (16 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Spooky Scary Ghost
The Frighteners- is a excellent horror comedy directed by Peter Jackson. Micheal J. Fox is excellent in it.

The plot: Once an architect, Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife (Trini Alvarado) of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent (Jeffrey Combs).

Its a excellent underrated horror comedy. Highly recordmend.
  
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Director: Jon Watts
Writer: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers (Screenplay) Steve Ditko, Stan Lee (Comic Book)
Starring: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Samuel L Jackson, Jon Favreau, Angourie Rice, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori
 
Plot: Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.
 
Runtime: 2 Hours 9 Minutes
 
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
 
Verdict: An Entertaining Jumble
 
Story: Spider-Man Far from Home starts when Peter Parker (Holland) and his classmates MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Batalon), Flash (Revolori) and others head off to Europe for a scientific school trip, Peter’s plan is to finally tell MJ how he feels, but things don’t go to plan.
Peter finds himself recruited by Nick Fury (Jackson) to help new superhero Quentin Beck known as Mysterio (Gyllenhaal) fight a new threat that is attacking cities in Europe, trying to decide if he is ready to tackle the added responsibility of being a superhero.
 
Thoughts on Spider-Man Far from Home
 
Characters – Peter Parker has two main storylines going on in this film, one side of him is the high school student that wants to tell the girl he likes his feeling, nervous and social awkward. The second one sees him facing the reality that he was hand picked to step up and help save the world, a decision which sees him wanting to just take a break from. Watching Peter balance the two is interesting because the high school one was the weaker side, the superhero side is very interesting to follow. Nick Fury is also adapting to life after the snap, where he isn’t in the same level of control on everything going on in the world, he wants Peter to come and work for him and doesn’t like being told no. They did try to recapture certain elements of the chemistry he had with Captain Marvel too. Quentin Beck is the new superhero dubbed Mysterio because of his powers and ability to defeat the elementals that have started attacking the major cities, he offers Peter a chance to discuss his position with having powers like nobody else has since Tony’s death. MJ is the girl of Peter’s dreams, she is very different to both versions of MJ we have seen before, being very distant to the rest of the class, but always manages to capture Peter watching her.
Performances – Tom Holland does do a very good job in the leading role, if it was just the high school side of the film, he does struggle at times, but it is the human effect of being a superhero that completely makes you believe what he is going through. Samuel L Jackson does what we expect from him in a supporting role, as does Zendaya who does everything without standing out. Jake Gyllenhaal though, he was a joy to watch especially in the second half of the film, he just takes his role and runs with it.
Story – The story here follows Peter Parker on his high school trip that gets interrupted to help try and save the world from a new threat, testing him to see if he is ready to replace Iron-Man. This like the character of Peter Parker can be broken down into two simple positives and negatives, the high school trip stuff, is there, most of it gets pretty boring quickly, it is here to help show a human life that he could have though. The superhero side of the story is the highlight because it does get to show how the once confident Peter is starting to question if he is ready to step up after seeing the consequences to what has happened to people in their lives. The villain is a surprise and while I won’t get into details, it is very entertaining to watch and could be one of the best they have bought to a stand alone film.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action in this film is brilliant to watch, it blends with the special effects and doesn’t turn into anything as ridiculous as it could be when you see the fights. The sci-fi element of the film does address the dangers of technology being in the wrong hands once again, but it all works for the story being shown here.
Settings – The film gives us the basic European settings, we have Venice, Prague, Berlin and London, you know well know locations that have large populations which could get destroyed.
Special Effects – The effects in the film did seem flawless, we do have large scale, dust, water and fire monsters used for battles which all look like they could be real along with certain twists in the story which only add to the effects.

Scene of the Movie – What is real?
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Most of the high school stuff.
Final Thoughts – This is a real mixed bag of a superhero movie, it could have been fantastic, only it gets too carried away dealing with the high school world which does drag things down.
 
Overall: Entertaining enough.
Rating
  
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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies

Jun 27, 2019 (Updated Jun 28, 2019)  
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
The action, cast, and effects. (0 more)
A Truly Amazing And Enjoyable Spider-Man
Sony and Marvel Studios have rounded out Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in grand style with “Spider-man: Far From Home”. The film picks up shortly after the events of “Avengers: Endgame”, and finds Peter Parker (Tom Holland), attempting to deal with the aftermath of the final battle with Thanos and picking up his life as best as he is able.

As such; Peter is looking forward to a European trip as not only is his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) coming along; but Peter also wants to use this trip to get closer to MJ (Zendaya) and express his feelings for her.
While the early part of the trip starts off as you would expect for a bunch of teens experiencing Venice for the first time; Peter soon finds himself struggling to save the day and keep his alter ego a secret when a dangerous Elemental creature attacks the city.

With the help of a powered individual named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal); Peter is able to stop the attack but with the arrival of Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Peter learns that there are bigger attacks on the way and that his skills are being pressed into service for the greater good.

This causes a great deal of conflict for Peter as after his recent experiences with the Avengers; he simply wants to enjoy a vacation as a 16 year old and feels that he needs time to have a life and recover from his recent ordeals.

As if this was not enough to deal with; Peter has also been entrusted with an unexpected gift which gives him access to new technology but also comes with a heavy sense of responsibility that forces him to question if he is truly up to the expectations that have been put upon him by Fury and society as a whole.

While Peter and Fury attempt to balance the delicate situation to their mutual advantage; a shocking turn of events happens, forcing Peter to step up and risk everything to save his friends and the public from a much larger threat than he imagined.
The film is a dynamic thrill ride that in a summer that has largely been filled with disappointments following “Avengers: Endgame”; delivers the goods.

The cast is great and the film mixes the action and humor of the character well as we get everything that fans have come to expect from the series.

The visuals are amazing and the audience was cheering for the twistingly nimble and gravity defying moves of the title character as well as laughing at the surprising amount of humor that is in the film which supports the action sequences well.

Holland truly owns the role as he encompasses the duality and conflict of the character so well. For all the quips and bravado Spider-man has; he is still an awkward and confused teen who deals with everyday issues despite having tremendous abilities and lives in a world filled with dangers most could never fathom.

The supporting cast is amazingly strong and it was so nice to see Jon Favreau back as Happy as he works so well within the Marvel Universe. There are two bonus scenes in the credits and rather than act as a bit of fun filler, they are filled with many surprise moments and cameos which not only delight; but setup some very interesting consequences and opportunities down the road when Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe resumes.

5 stars out of 5

http://sknr.net/2019/06/27/spider-man-far-from-home/
  
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Dean (6921 KP) Jul 1, 2019

Has it been released yet, thought it was tomorrow?

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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) Jul 1, 2019

Press saw it last Wednesday. It opens tomorrow.

Dead Alive (1993)
Dead Alive (1993)
1993 | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Have you seen the lawnmower scene? Gruesome!
Before Peter Jackson became the mega-awesome A-list director he is today, he made several small films in New Zealand including this one.

When a poisonous rat monkey gets brought to the mainland, its lethal bite causes mayhem in a young man's life. He know has to deal with the growing weirdness at his house while he pursues the girl of his dreams.

Saying this movie is over the top is one of the largest understatements of all time. If you combine Evil Dead, Dawn of the Dead and The Toxic Avenger you still wouldn't come close to the campy goodness of this film.

The gore is definitely extreme, but very cheeky and comical. The demon baby is also especially hilarious.

If you ask me nicely, you can come to my house and watch this with me!

  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Dec 15, 2019

Great film, one of my all time favorites.