The Inaugural 4REELZ BLOG

Hello and welcome to the first ever 4REELZ BLOG! Whenever I digest 4 movies/dvds (old and new) that are not reviewed in our delectable magazine, I will do my own quick'n'easy reviews for this wonderful blog. So here goes...
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FUNNY GAMES by Michael Haneke | 2007 | Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet

WTF: Two spoiled Leopold and Loeb type sociopaths terrorize a wealthy family in their vacation home for the fun of it.

IMHO: I saw the original movie about a year ago, and unlike many a movie snob, I actually prefer this version. Although it is a shot-for-shot and line-for-line remake of the Austrian film made in 1997, I thought the chemistry between Pitt and Corbet was stronger and Tim Roth's portrayal of the terrorized father as much more convincing. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. It is a hard movie to watch, as are most Haneke films, and definitely not for those that need a Hollywood ending.

GRADE: A-
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DELIRIOUS by Michael Fiore | 2006 | Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman, Gina Gershon

WTF: It's a rag to riches story about a homeless hottie (Pitt) that becomes an assistant to a paparazzo (Buscemi), falls in love with a movie star (Lohman), and then gets discovered and turned into a star by a soap opera casting director (Gershon).

IMHO: It's cute and sometimes funny, but overall it's a pretty mediocre movie. I am currently on a Michael Pitt kick, which is the only reason I checked out this straight to DVD release. It pokes fun at celebrities and the media, but the main reason to watch this is to gaze at my future hubbie and Gina Gershon.

GRADE: C+
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DESCENT by Talia Lugacy | 2007 | Rosario Dawson, Chad Faust

WTF: Ridiculously hot college bookworm (Dawson) gets raped, cuts off her hair, experiments with drugs and sex, and then seeks revenge on rapist (Faust).

IMHO: This movie is pretty terrible. The script is weak and the direction is trite. Faust and Dawson are decent actors, but by the time you get to the end of the movie you really wish you watched some reruns of South Park instead. Rosario is smoking, but (at least in the R-rated version) you don't even get to see her boobs, which is, let's be honest, kinda disappointing.

GRADE: D
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RAVENOUS by Antonia Bird | 1999 | Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeffrey Jones

WTF: A disgraced war "hero" (Pearce) gets transferred to a fort in the California mountains. He and the fort's skeleton winter crew rescue a man (Carlyle) that tells them a horrific tale of cannibalism involving a settler party trying to make their way west that get stuck in a cave. When the crew braves the mountains to see if they can rescue the last of the party in the cave, all hell breaks loose.

IMHO: I LOVE this silly movie. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. It's funny as hell, the cast is great, and it's about cannibalism. Need I say more? Oh, and Michael Nyman composed an effectively slapstick yet disturbing score that just adds to this movie's awesomeness.

GRADE: B+
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