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Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
2009 | Drama, Fantasy
6
6.8 (31 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Let’s face it, as children we have all been there, we went a bit wild at some point in our life! We made up our own games and talked to people that we knew were not there, but for us it felt like another world.

It was a world that we could escape to, forget our fears and problems. For Max (Max Records) it is the same, a child with a vivid imagination he is sent to bed without any tea and so he runs away. Climbing into a boat he sails off and lands on an island full of large, if somewhat scarily looking cuddly creatures that make Max their king.

The film itself is based on the book by Maurice Sendak which if anyone had any sort of a childhood it will have been on their book case. The adaptation from book to film is brilliant, although there are a few things missing out.

There will be no forest growing in Max’s room, or the appearance of an aggravated sea monster which rears up beneath Max’s little yacht as he approaches the island. If you look closely enough at the film, and the world and creatures that Max has created you will realise that each creature is a character trait of Max himself.

His main friend on the island is Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) who is Max’s creativeness. As Carol is closest to Max, he also plays the monster who presents the greatest physical challenges, and the anger that threatens to consume him.

KW, is Max’s love for his family in particular his mother and sister, the two people who give him the most structure in his life and who help to become the support that his absent father can’t give him.

The other personalities are Judith (Catherine O’Hara) who is his spitefulness, Ira (Forest Whitaker) his calm side, Alexander (Paul Dano) his insecurity, Douglas (Chris Cooper) his reason, and the mysterious unnamed bull his sadness.

The setting of the island is nothing short of picturesque, with a changing in Max’s mood twinned with the surrounding atmosphere. One minute it’s snowing and then blossom is falling. The overall feel of the film is juvenile, there is the odd way in which the creatures all like to sleep in a pile, to the big dirt clog fight that inevitably ends up with someone getting hurt.

Where The Wild Things Are is a film for anyone who has ever felt like re-living past childhood memories, the ones that our closest to our wild hearts.
  
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
1954 | Horror
8
6.7 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The creature lurks!
In the Amazon jungle, a prehistoric amphibian claw fossil is found prodding local scientists to investigate its origins. They decide on an expedition to gain more information and possibly locate its origins.

The journey is a dangerous one figuring out where to find the mysterious lagoon which is locked in a desolate location within the tropical jungle. Their undersea adventures are met with initial disappoint only locating some interesting plant and animal life.

Within the depths on the lagoon, a strange creature has taken notice of his new guests and is not too happy about it. He lurks submerged within the deep watching and waiting for his opportunity to strike. He ventures close by to gather information and figure out his opponents' vulnerabilities. He also notices the pretty girl among the crew of men.

After a few encounters with the creature, the scientists grow increasingly concerned after the creature has had his way with a few of them, so they attempt to make their escape. Somehow, a large fallen tree is now blocking their path which was clear when they arrived at the lagoon.

There will be an ultimate standoff to secure their release or the demise of the creature.



The look of this film is plain remarkable. This has to be one of the earliest movies to utilize extensive underwater footage and it is very believable. The cinematography for the time period is both beautiful and menacing when needed in glorious black and white.

Obviously, we are talking 1950s special effects here; however, the creature itself stands the test of time. I am not sure how the man in the rubber sit was able to not only see what he was doing, swim quickly in and under water as well as jump into the water while on fire at one point. The mask also was able to move the creature's mouth up and down as well as look like he was breathing while out of the water using his gills. The effect worked really well.

This film was made at a time when the previous Universal Studios monster films had run their course in the 1930s and 1940s, but were not yet into the ultra B movie era in the 1950s and beyond.

If Universal ever gets back to its current "Monster" universe after the mediocre Tom Cruise "Mummy" film, I'm sure the creature will rise again. Until then, enjoy this classic creature gem.

  
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Maddog (122 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies

May 16, 2020  
Joker (2019)
Joker (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama
A must see, even if your not a superhero fan.
I'm a massive Joker fan - always have been ever since I was little, so this may be a little one sided.

So out of all the films he's been involved with this is Joker’s first stand alone movie which I was so excited for. Joker’s back story has of course been talked about for many years as most of his life is unknown and simply everyone is guessing. The film 'Joker' decides to go down the back story of mental health which many believe is the cause of his behaviour.

The film starts off very simple, so much so that you believe you could be watching any other film. You get little hints of the Joker’s mental health issues and how people see him (at one point I felt sorry for him because of everything happening in the movie). As the movie progresses your then thrown into the world and mindset of the Joker himself; you start to see more mental health issues and start to notice the Joker that everyone knows. As the film progresses towards to the end, it creates many moments that leave you questioning your own sanity as you start to wonder what the truth is.

Yes this film has it flaws; it wasn’t quite the stand alone I was hoping for as I thought maybe a lesser well known reason would have been chosen but still the film did well with its chosen plot.

Yes it has 'that song' but in reality I feel it actually helps with the story that's happening. Here's my take; I feel that the song is in fact a hidden message. The song was performed by someone many would call 'a monster' so in truth is this not fitting for Joker? I believe that the playing of this song is Joker showing the audience in only true Joker fashion that 'the monster' he has hidden for so long is finally free.

There are many things I could say about this film but I feel I'd be here forever. In truth, many people don't enjoy this film for whatever their reason, or only enjoy parts. However, I enjoyed all of the film and everything it stands for or represents. As I said at the beginning I'm a Joker fan so this may seem one sided. I will say this though no matter what you may think about the film it’s 100% worth a watch, we can all take something away from this film, even if it's just how well done the movie was made. put together and portrayed.
  
    Beach Buggy Racing

    Beach Buggy Racing

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

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    Drive into an action-packed, surprise-filled world of off-road kart racing mayhem! Race against a...

Charlie's Farm (2014)
Charlie's Farm (2014)
2014 | Horror
Imaginative kills (2 more)
Great special effects
Another cool slasher icob
Tara Reid (0 more)
A head smashing fun romp
Poor Charlie, orpaned at age 9 when his cannibalizing parents were lynched by the locals for murdering and eating the transient workers they hired on their desolate pig farm.
Fast forward 25 years and Tara Reid and her friends are roaming the Australian land in search of urban legend Charlie and his farm. What they find will definitely satisfy the veiwer once they locate the farm and all hell breaks loose.
A good script, excellent effects, and a beast of a killer played with absolute disdain for the trespassing adults by a mountain of a man named Nathan Jones who portrays Charlie with an almost childlike innocence even though he's slaughters his victims he seems to be playing with them, like a kid with a magnifying glass who enjoys burning ants. Jones has played beasts before in films like Troy. And a few years after the release of this he was the monster of a man in Mad Max:Fury Road.
Jones kills(pardon the pun) this role.
I recommend this film for people who enjoy a good slasher flick. Charlie's Farm gives the watcher what they're looking for, and leaves you yearning for one more kill.
  
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla (2014)
2014 | Mystery, Sci-Fi
The cinematics and creature design in this movie is what really sells it. (0 more)
The fact that it is a Godzilla movie with little to no actual Godzilla. (0 more)
Godzilla (2014) Review
Contains spoilers, click to show
Godzilla (2014) was a really good movie, it had a lot action and a lot suspense. However it didn't really contain too many scenes with Godzilla, it had a lot of facial expressions from Aaron Taylor Johnson, and by a lot I mean the same expression. ? <- That one.
The whole movie, I believe was definitely a set up for Godzilla: King of the Monsters due out in 2019, though it could have used a little bit more "monster" in it. I liked it though, but it's missing some key elements to make it Godzilla, but once you get passed the obvious problems with it, it proves to be a really great film. The roar they created for this new take on Godzilla is by far my favorite aside from the 1999 Toho film. America has finally done Godzilla justice however, especially compared to the Matthew Broderick starring Godzilla in the early 2000's whom is now labeled as simply "Zilla." Great film to watch, get caught up before Godzilla: King of the Monsters hits theaters on May 31, 2019.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The First Purge (2018) in Movies

Jun 11, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)  
The First Purge (2018)
The First Purge (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Definitely killed a few brain cells
The concept behind The Purge films is kind of good I guess? (If you don't think about it too hard), but none of them have really delivered much to the horror genre, and this prequel somehow delivers less to the point where it actually takes away from the horror genre!

I found myself disinterested in any of the characters after just a few minutes. So much so, that when the first 'Purge' actually begins, I just found myself thinking 'why?' Why are these characters even taking part, why are so many people taking part (surely they can't all have weird murder boners), why did this film even get passed a storyboard phase, why am I still watching!?

It's just dumb, and not even in a slightly so-dumb-its-good way.
Any scares or horror are completely absent, to the point where the film devolves into a low quality action B-movie rip off of The Raid.

The whole sorry affair just seemed like an excuse for some people to whack some contact lenses in and roam about with 'sinister' grins on their faces, like a pack of 14 year olds who have had one too many cans of Monster Energy.

Won't be watching this one again! ?
  
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Dean (6925 KP) Jun 11, 2019

I agree, so bad compared to the original Purge film.

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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) Jun 11, 2019

I haven't watched the Amazon Prime series yet - maybe that fairs a bit better?

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Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla 1985 (1985) in Movies

Jun 15, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2019)  
Godzilla 1985 (1985)
Godzilla 1985 (1985)
1985 | Fantasy
5
6.1 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A textbook example of how to take a fairly unimpressive film and make it much worse through cack-handed re-editing and intrusive inserted scenes. Godzilla reappears, somehow (the film ignores the events of all the previous sequels); a subplot about Cold War tensions only making the crisis more serious is significantly de-emphasised in favour of making the Russians into bad guys. The Pentagon (filled with Dr Pepper vending machines) call in Godzilla expert Steve Martin (not that one); he is never referred to by his first name, for obvious reasons. He and the senior Pentagon staff proceed to do exactly nothing but discuss events taking place in Tokyo.

The original movie was a laudable attempt to take Godzilla back to basics, let down by a sluggish plot, weak climax, and underwhelming monster (Godzilla appears to have had one martini too many and seems a bit unsteady on his feet). This one has all those problems too, which are only compounded by the way that all the film's interesting ideas kind of get lost in the re-edit. There are still a few decent sequences of Godzilla fighting the JSDF, including a sci-fi flying tank, but this is hard going for the most part.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) in Movies

Mar 24, 2018 (Updated Mar 25, 2018)  
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
1975 | Sci-Fi
6
6.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Final movie in the first Godzilla series often gets some stick for supposedly killing off the original continuity, but is actually not that bad. Bacofoil-wearing aliens team up with mad scientist and his cyborg daughter to conquer the world; there are many opportunities for evil laughter at the planning meetings. The usual strategy of using giant monsters as invasion weapons is employed, despite it having utterly failed in at least five previous movies.

Original director Honda comes back and at least ensures this film has a degree of dignity and craft to it: pretty good monster suits and model work, but the back projection is terrible. There's slightly more focus on character than usual (particularly that of the tragic cyborg girl), which the film seems unsure how to handle. To be honest, one of the main problems is that it's not really about Godzilla any more - he just turns up to fight the bad guys at the end and everyone else takes him for granted. By no means the worst Godzilla movie even of the 1970s, but you can see why Toho decided to take a break. Best line (possibly in the whole of cinema): 'Please kill me - Mechagodzilla's brain is installed in my stomach!'