Search

Search only in certain items:

    R

    ReSlice

    Music

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Audio Slice Machine ### celebrating update: 33% off for a limited time ### Slice your audio...

    My Town : Pets

    My Town : Pets

    Games and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    *** Pay once & Play forever + receive FREE updates! No ads and no IAP *** If you have a pet or are...

    FRAMED

    FRAMED

    Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    FRAMED is a multi-award winning noir-puzzle game where you re-arrange panels of an animated comic...

40x40

Mike Wilder (20 KP) rated Rage (2009) in Movies

May 30, 2018  
Rage (2009)
Rage (2009)
2009 | Drama
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
If you get the option to see this film you really should take the chance.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I started out making a blog for movie reviews a short while ago for the purpose of making reviews for fans. However, I didn't expect to be sent films to review so soon. I was put in touch with film maker Chris Witherspoon, he is promoting an independent film that he wrote, produced, directed and starred in called Rage. He sent me a copy and asked if I would review it for him. Happily I accepted. This is what being a film critic and reviewer is all about. Then I started to think, an independent film? There are a lot of them around and a lot of them are made by people that believe they possess the talent and ability to make a film, but in reality they fall far short of the mark. To get a good and unbiased opinion of the film I only watched the trailer for it, I left all the promotional material I received alone. The film arrived and with a fair amount of trepidation I put it on.

The film is about Dennis, a struggling writer with a loving wife Crystal (Audrey Walker) and a mistress Dana (Anna Lodej). Heading out one day he encounters a figure on a motorcycle in a car park. Pushing the encounter to one side he meets up with Dana. During the meeting he tells her that he loves his wife and breaks off the affair. She doesn't take it all that well. Once back in his car he encounters the biker again and this time the biker scratches his car and rides off. This leads to a game of cat and mouse, where at first Dennis hunts the biker down but the confrontations escalate and Dennis is soon in fear for his life. He now believes that the biker is a former boyfriend of his now ex-lover out for revenge. The biker arrives at Dennis's home and things turn deadly.

I went into this with a very open mind. I knew this was an independent film and I didn't expect too much from it. I find this is the best way to view new films. The film started off well with good introductions to the main characters but by the time the second encounter with the biker happened I found myself drawn in to the film. I forgot all about reviewing the film and got engrossed into the story. The film finished and not for a single moment did I feel bored. The pacing of the film is great, the story progresses well and the characters are well written and acted. The biker is menacing and all the more so because you don't really know his motives. The direction is professional and makes good use of lighting and colouring. The effects are very well utilised during the films climax. But the best thing about the movie was the way the story kept you guessing. I thought I had the plot figured out about 5 different times but each time I was wrong. That's what makes a good thriller/horror. There is one particular scene that was emotionally hard to watch but its place in the film drives the story and the terror forward to a new level.

You can see with this film that Chris Witherspoon is a very talented film maker. I wish him luck and hope this film has the desired effect and someone takes a chance on his abilities. I would love to see what he could to with a studio backing him. After all Spielberg started out with a movie called Duel about a truck pursuing and terrorising someone.

If you get the chance to see this film you really should take the chance. If you do you will see the start of hopefully a very successful film maker.
  
Clue (1985)
Clue (1985)
1985 | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
I wish I could remember the first time I saw Clue. It has been one of my favourites for years. Tim Curry as Wadsworth and Lesley Ann Warren as Miss Scarlet will always be the highlight of this for me. Looking at my sense of humour these days I see a lot of things I recognise from these older films that I grew up with.



FUN FACT - CASTING: Jonathan Lynn said that Carrie Fisher was originally cast as Miss Scarlet but went into rehab four days before filming began, so Warren was given the role instead.

Generally all round the cast is great and they all bring something memorable to their characters.

FUN FACT - COLOURS: The character's colourful monikers match with the colour of their playing pieces in the board game and their cars in the movie.

I'm not going to lie, the fact that they didn't wear their colours has always bothered me. Evidently they're all wearing the "opposite" of their colours... I'm not sure I care for that idea if I'm honest.

I can't put my finger on what I love so much about Clue. It's just so easy to watch. From the moment Wadsworth gives that dog a withering look to the triumphant ending it's just brilliant to watch. I can't think of a moment that I dislike, and trying to pick a favourite moment? Forget it. I'd just have to present you with the entire movie with ending C.

FUN FACT - ENDINGS: While there are three endings to the film that you can see on the blu-ray/DVD, there was actually a fourth one filmed where Wadsworth revealed that he had actually poisoned everyone earlier in the evening. It's still in the novelisation but was never shown.

There are so many laughs throughout and while I've seen it so often that I don't laugh out loud as much it still brings a smile to my face. I enjoy the slightly madcap interactions and the overly dramatic reactions.

Tim Curry really is amazing, I think basically all of us would agree with that. (Well apart from one person I found online who has evidently never liked anything he's been in.) This movie could be used as his emotional resume. I don't think there are any he missed!



FUN FACT - CASTING: Lynn was set to cast Leonard Rossiter (Rigsby from Rising Damp) as Wadsworth but he sadly passed away before production started. His second choice was Rowan Atkinson but the studio were worried he was too much of an unknown in the states at the time.

While I can definitely see Rossiter in his role I really can't imagine him having the same impact on screen. Curry's flamboyancy definitely lifted the film to pole position among comedies.

Watching Clue of course makes me want to watch Murder By Death which has a very similar feel, although not quite so manic towards the end.

"It's my defense mechanism!" - Miss Scarlet

Isn't it though!?



What you should do

I know older films aren't for everyone but Clue is amazingly fun and I feel like everyone need to see it, and if you don't love it... just tell me that you did in a text message so I can't tell you're lying to me.

Note: I brought a special edition of Clue from HMV. It was a blu-ray copy in a retro VHS type box. It also came with a small poster, a collectors card, a sticker and a DVD copy. It's fun and it's different, but ultimately that version really isn't worth the money. I would just get the cheapest thing that you can. The quality difference of the blu-ray isn't worth it and the VHS box gimmick is nice in theory but disappointing in reality.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

Secret passageways in a house? Erm, yes please!
  
    n-Track 8

    n-Track 8

    Music and Productivity

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Record and playback a virtually unlimited number of audio and MIDI tracks, mix them during playback...