Rigel (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} rigelkitty) wrote,@ 2008-04-23 20:10:00 |
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Video Reviews (4/23/08)
TV Series: Whose Line Is It Anyway? [UK Version, Seasons 1 & 2] (1988)
Review: It's very simple to take the easy way out and say that if you liked the American version of the series, then you'll also like the original televised British edition, but that wouldn't quite be accurate. For one, the host, Clive Anderson, is a much more sedate, fast-talking, dry-humored individual who tends to rush the program along. The first participants are British, and their senses of humor lean that way tremendously, but the cast turns about half American by the end of season two. Some of the UK personnel are outright hysterical, like Tony Slattery and Josie Lawrence, and their non-UK counterparts that do not appear in the US version, like Mike McShane and Sandy Toksvig. The sets are a bit dreary, there's a lot of less-funny musical games, too-highbrow humor, and repetitious patterns to the shows, but when it's silly, it's very silly, and much more mature-themed and expletive-filled. If you're a fan, these are indispensible, although two complete seasons are a bit much to watch through all at once.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: Duze Zwierze [The Big Animal] (2000)
Review: This short, black and white fable from Poland came through the local independent theaters back in 2000. It took its sweet time getting to DVD, but is a pretty little thing now that it's arrived. Billed as a comedy, it's primarily a drama about a man and wife who come into ownership of an abandoned circus camel in a small, remote eastern european town. The presence of the camel is unique and keeps the slow, unexciting film interesting for its slightly over an hour runtime. The town's reaction reflects the communist influence of the 70s, supressing uniqueness and individualism, as the film is based on a story from that era. There is no definitive resolution, but it ends with at least a gentle ray of hope. A decent and artsy indie.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: The Descent (2005)
Review: I'd been very eager to get my hands on this film because it had been hyped as the scariest movie of the past several years. Its effectiveness is primarily based on the cave in which it takes place, where claustrophobia, silence, lack of escape routes, and natural pitch blackness lend to an atmosphere that can't be similarly replicated in other environments. The first third of the movie, with the exception of one or two shocks, is primarily a girly bonding drama. The second third is spelunking adventure. And the final leg is where all the realistic and creature-feature blood and gore lie. They sure do like their ooga-booga! jump-out-and-scare-ya jolts, but this gets a bit overused and predictable after the halfway mark. The creatures also seem highly reminiscent of the speedy zombies from 28 Days Later. The gore content becomes numbing after a while, even though the sequences get more rapid-fire as it accelerates to the finish. Perhaps it's because a Washington Post review gave away the ending the day it came out, or because the first NetFlix DVD we received stopped playing at the halfway mark, but this wasn't the scariest or goriest film I've ever seen - the director's previous outing, Dog Soldiers, is notably stronger, for example. This is a decent, hardcore, gross-out, creep-fest a little above par due to the location, but it's otherwise pretty standard.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
TV Series: Whose Line Is It Anyway? [UK Version, Seasons 1 & 2] (1988)
Review: It's very simple to take the easy way out and say that if you liked the American version of the series, then you'll also like the original televised British edition, but that wouldn't quite be accurate. For one, the host, Clive Anderson, is a much more sedate, fast-talking, dry-humored individual who tends to rush the program along. The first participants are British, and their senses of humor lean that way tremendously, but the cast turns about half American by the end of season two. Some of the UK personnel are outright hysterical, like Tony Slattery and Josie Lawrence, and their non-UK counterparts that do not appear in the US version, like Mike McShane and Sandy Toksvig. The sets are a bit dreary, there's a lot of less-funny musical games, too-highbrow humor, and repetitious patterns to the shows, but when it's silly, it's very silly, and much more mature-themed and expletive-filled. If you're a fan, these are indispensible, although two complete seasons are a bit much to watch through all at once.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: Duze Zwierze [The Big Animal] (2000)
Review: This short, black and white fable from Poland came through the local independent theaters back in 2000. It took its sweet time getting to DVD, but is a pretty little thing now that it's arrived. Billed as a comedy, it's primarily a drama about a man and wife who come into ownership of an abandoned circus camel in a small, remote eastern european town. The presence of the camel is unique and keeps the slow, unexciting film interesting for its slightly over an hour runtime. The town's reaction reflects the communist influence of the 70s, supressing uniqueness and individualism, as the film is based on a story from that era. There is no definitive resolution, but it ends with at least a gentle ray of hope. A decent and artsy indie.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: The Descent (2005)
Review: I'd been very eager to get my hands on this film because it had been hyped as the scariest movie of the past several years. Its effectiveness is primarily based on the cave in which it takes place, where claustrophobia, silence, lack of escape routes, and natural pitch blackness lend to an atmosphere that can't be similarly replicated in other environments. The first third of the movie, with the exception of one or two shocks, is primarily a girly bonding drama. The second third is spelunking adventure. And the final leg is where all the realistic and creature-feature blood and gore lie. They sure do like their ooga-booga! jump-out-and-scare-ya jolts, but this gets a bit overused and predictable after the halfway mark. The creatures also seem highly reminiscent of the speedy zombies from 28 Days Later. The gore content becomes numbing after a while, even though the sequences get more rapid-fire as it accelerates to the finish. Perhaps it's because a Washington Post review gave away the ending the day it came out, or because the first NetFlix DVD we received stopped playing at the halfway mark, but this wasn't the scariest or goriest film I've ever seen - the director's previous outing, Dog Soldiers, is notably stronger, for example. This is a decent, hardcore, gross-out, creep-fest a little above par due to the location, but it's otherwise pretty standard.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
