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Reviews
Seed (2006)
Seed of Evil
SEED is a thoroughly disturbing film -- evoking a truly nihilistic and utterly horrible feeling of dread from the (grotesque) opening shot onwards.
Sparsely lit (although shot very well) with a minimal cast and setting; it conjures the ol' boogie man fear along with the anxiety of being in the dark that has resided in us all from a young age with its antagonist Max Seed, a seemingly unstoppable entity of pure malevolent evil and the cop(s) that try and end his reign of terror.
Using imagery for the pure purpose of upsetting the viewer Uwe Boll has crafted a horror film that is very minimal in its use of gore but very, very frightening in its execution. It's quite likely you'll never have seen a horror film like it.
If you're feeling tough - give this film a try, watch it alone and in the dark...it's a tough film to shake off once its finished.
Chung fung dui: No foh gai tau (1996)
A Great Film
I'm slowly ploughing through as many Hong Kong action films as I can get my hands on and came across this gem - mainly due to Ching Wan Lau who is one of my favourite actors.
Its a great action film although not as OTT as the title might suggest. It moves along at a great pace and is truly enjoyable.
The biggest surprise of this film was the soundtrack. It would appear that Rob Dougan - the guy who did the 'Clubbed To Death' song which was popular in 'The Matrix' has lifted the soundtrack from Big Bullet and compiled it into one of the tracks on his 'Furious Angels' album; the tune in question is called 'Im not driving anymore' and is also the opening tune for the TV series 'Law and Order' AND the opening track on the 'Matrix Reloaded' DVD menu teaser! That really surprised me, due to the sheer conincidence!
Running Scared (2006)
A great 'urban' cowboy film
Without a doubt this is a truly enjoyable and thoroughly rewarding film. It essentially plays like a modern 'cowboy' film - references to John Wayne & even Paul Walker's car in the film is a mustang! And of course, the gun itself - being a revolver...you could quite happily sit their and not scratch past the surface but the film has a lot of depth which is obviously missing from popcorn films in general...
The film takes you on a fantastic journey through the murky depths of the main characters world - and most of it happens through the eyes of a 10 year old kid! The plotting is great, the acting is great (my Paul Walker reservations have been put to sleep after seeing him in this film) the action/camera-work/editing is very impressive - this SHOULD be the type of film Tony Scott & Oliver Stone should be making - balls to the wall movie making that is both brutal, compelling AND amusing! Bravo Wayne Kramer for making a popcorn flick that has re-ignited my interest in cinema!!! now go make some more films!
Shu shan zheng zhuan (2001)
Watch this film regardless of negative reviews...
This Tsui Hark film also seems to get a verbal beating...naturally we can all waste our time banging on about opinions etc...but I was truly astounded after seeing this film...perhaps it is because I'm a Tsui Hark mentalist but this film was nuts on so many levels, so much visual stuff was happening all the time that it really makes you wonder just how someone directs a film like this...I mean compare this to The Phantom Menace which I believe came out about the same time and Legend of Zu beats it hands down...perhaps it is too much for most viewers which is perhaps why Miramax(?) did not give it a general release in the states which I think would have then given it the chance to at least show in SOME cinemas here in the UK...in any case, I liked it and if you have been hearing / reading negative reviews and have not seen it - give it a chance!