Ever since that tantalising tease of Freddy dragging Jason down to hell at the end of the ninth Friday the 13th, avid fans of both series' have been waiting expectantly for the monster mash-up to end all monster mash-ups. New Line Cinema took their time, the first draft of the script was written back in 1993, and every draft since has included a variety of different ideas including Jason being put on trail for his crimes, telekinetic heroines and Freddy and Jason duking it out in hell with Hellraiser's Pinhead gettilng involved too. The idea they settled on is a more basic one. Freddy Krueger has been forgotten around Elm Street and so, in order to get the fear spreading again, he resurrects Jason Voorhees to start slicing and dicing the citizens of Elm Street. However, Jason gets carried away and becomes the more feared of the two. So Freddy has to take matters into his own razor-fingered hands and do battle with Jason. It re-establishes the mythology of both series', picking up where Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday left off (parts 6 and 9 respectively), ignoring Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Jason X entirely (ironic since they were the two best sequels). Fan's of either franchise will find much to enjoy within Freddy Vs Jason. There are plenty of in-jokes and references to the previous films (the return of the Freddy worm!), and this films has everything you loved about them; Stupid, annoying American teens (including Destinys Child singer Kelly Rowland) getting severed and impaled by Jason and Freddy, while capturing the tone and feel of both respective franchises. Jason does his thing and Freddy does his (mainly bad puns). I personally got more of a thrill out of seeing the two horror icons teaming up as opposed to battling each other, but that was cool too. Is this film any good? No probably not, but I'm blinded by my geekish love of both of these franchises and so I lapped up everything Freddy Vs Jason had to offer. One for the fans only I think.
cosmobrown's Reviews
Displaying Review 21 - 25 of 44 in total
-
-
Fresh off the critical failure of The Godfather Part 3, Francis Ford Coppola set out to retrieve his reputation with this adaptation of Bram Stokerâ??s novel Dracula. He assembled a starry cast; Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder (who had famously dropped out... (read more) Fresh off the critical failure of The Godfather Part 3, Francis Ford Coppola set out to retrieve his reputation with this adaptation of Bram Stokerâ??s novel Dracula. He assembled a starry cast; Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder (who had famously dropped out of the Godfather Part 3 due to exhaustion, leading to the Sofia Coppola debacle), hot young thing Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins, fresh from his Oscar success. So where did it all go wrong? Well, tonally and thematically the film is a mess. It feels like various different movies spliced together. It looks beautiful though. Coppola and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus creating a stunning look, draped in Gothic beauty, and Coppola seemingly knows his film history, borrowing liberally from vampire films of the past, particularly Nosferatu. The acting is a mixed bag. Keanu Reeves is uncomfortably out of his depth, struggling constantly with an English accent, while Anthony Hopkins hams it up as Van Helsing. The bright spark though is Gary Oldman, completely immersing himself in the role, even when buried under prosthetics and wigs. He makes Dracula a horrific character, while also finding added layers of pathos and sadness. Itâ??s a shame the film is such a mess though.
-
Matthew Vaughn had been the producer on Guy Ritchie's early films (you know, the good ones), but finally stepped out of his shadow with his directorial debut, Layer Cake. Seemingly very similar in content to Ritchie's films, Layer Cake is actually different, and all the better for it. It shares many of the same factors; colourful language, gangsters, but Vaughn has succesfully been able to stamp his own authority on the genre, and make it feel fresh. Effortlessly slick, stylish and cool, Layer Cake actually feels grounded in reality (unlike Ritchie's cockney caricatures), and it's a story which grabs you and keeps you held tight for it's entirety. Vaughn shows himself to be a master visualist and story-teller, while the screenplay from J.J. Connolly (adapted from his own novel) is complex but manageable, with enough twists and revelations to keep you guessing right until the end. Daniel Craig is awesome in the lead role (a kind of dry run for Bond), while the rest of the cast is packed out with brilliant supporting players (Kenneth Cranham, Michael Gambon, Sienna Miller). Layer Cake is an assured and impressive debut feature film, able to take that most hackneyed of genres (the British gangster film) and breath some fresh life into it. Nice work.
-
Television adaptations are becoming rife in Hollywood these days. Mission:Impossible, Starsky and Hutch, Bewitched, Dukes of Hazzard; the list goes on. The latest addition to this list is Get Smart, based on the 60's series co-created by Mel Brooks, and i can happily confirm that this will join Starsky and Hutch at the top of the TV-to-film adaptations comedy pantheon. Very much in the spirit of The Naked Gun (not surprising considering Peter Segal directed Get Smart and Naked Gun 3), Get Smart is silly slapstick fun. Steve Carell is perfect as Maxwell Smart, playing the kind of loveable loser he's made a career out of, while Anne Hathaway kicks ass and looks beautiful, and they spark off each well. Dwayne "no longer The Rock" Johnson is effortlessly cool, funny and suave, while Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp and Borat's Ken Davatian provide reliable and entertaining support. This film does tread similar paths as other spy comedies, but is able to sidestep the clichés and feels funny and fresh regardless. Add to that plenty of cool action scenes, hilarious visual and verbal gags and a superb comedic cast, and you have the surprise package of 2008. The sight of Steve Carell fighting the 7 foot 2 inch WWE wrestler The Great Khali is a beautiful sight indeed
-
Stephen King's and George A. Romero's tribute to the horror anthology comic books they grew up loving, Creepshow is a gaudy, silly but affectionately made horror/comedy. It consists of 5 stories, ranging from the good ("Something to Tide you Over") to the odd ("Father's Day") to the not-so-good ("The Lonesome Death of Jody Verrill"). "Something to Tide you Over" has the novelty of a pre-comedy Leslie Neilsen going nose-to-nose with Ted Danson, while "Father's Day" features some shlocky but fun effects work from Tom Savini (and a young Ed Harris). "The Lonesome Death of Jody Verrill" has a fairly awful lead performance from Stephen King which screams self-absorption, but generally Creepshow is a lot of fun, with suitably hammy performances all round, some gore courtesy of Savini and enough laughs to satisfy. Very enjoyable.
