bmyatt_uk Reviews

Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

Morbidly Fascinating.

[7/10 · 24 May 2004]

Wisconsin death trip is not really a film that can be accused of being "entertaining." entertainment implies that you will sit their gripped by the story and enthralled by the narrative, and this can be applied to most documentaries, such as Bowling for Columbine or Spellbound.

However, Wisconsin death trip is not most documentaries. there is no narrative or story. instead, we are given a litany of deaths and events in the life of a small town in Wisconsin, USA. obviously, this is not going to be the happiest of films.

filmed in a soft black and white, with the exception of some shots of the town in modern times, we are given an insight into the strange events and deaths in the - whose name I forget ^_^;; - over the course of four different seasons.

for some reason, I found this film to be strangely compelling. whilst not having a huge running time, it gave me a morbid curiosity that kept me watching. strangely enough, you do start wanting to see what could possibly happen next in this small town.

In conclusion, whilst it is a slow-paced film, it can be compelling if you let it, and by the end you're wondering how many strange deaths one area can actually suffer.

7/10.

Most Haunted (2002–2019)

I... I can feel, the spirits... Hail Derek Acorah!

[10 February 2004]

possibly one of the funniest series on TV. unfortunately for MH, it isnt actually a comedy. the documentary goes to various locations around the uk, and initially has a fairly objective view of ghost events.

then they bring in Derek. oh dear god. The bloke is so entertaining that, along with Yvette fieldings locked-in-a-dark-room escapades, he carries pretty much the entire series on his own. its hilarious. as soon as he appears, a pack of marlboro sticking out his pocket and a loud shirt, he starts talking about how he can feel the spirits in the room and how they're talking to him. it should be noted that Acorah is an ex-liverpool football player. this could probably explain why he hears voices.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)

It'll make you cheer, it'll make you cry, it'll make you seek psychological help.

[26 November 2003]

***SPOILER WARNING, ALL SHIPS STEER WIDE!!!***

EoE is probably the ultimate ending to an anime series. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the greatest anime series of all time in my opinion, and although the ending was confusing, it was still pretty happy.

End of Evangelion is NOT happy. lets get that straight right from the start. Anno was pressurised into making this series by the fans, who werent exactly kind about it, and, in the words of Amanda Winn-Lee (the voice of rei ayanami and the director of the English Language version) the whole movie is one big f*** you to those fans. oh, Anno gave them everythig they wanted, alright, but not in the WAY they wanted.

We get all the revelations about the characters pasts and relationships. although the scene of Shinji Masturbating over a Comatose Asuka is fairly disturbing, it goes some way to illustrating the state of mind Shinji is in at the start of the movie. to use his own words he is "So f***ed up."

and thats the core of EoE. Shinji is in such and emotionally shattered condition - he has just been forced to kill his friend in Kaworu, Misato and Rei have become so distant they scare him, and Asuka is in a coma, so Shinji is at so low a level as to be open to precisly waht the shadowy group SEELE wants to do with him.

and they want to initiate third impact. yeah, great idea.

so, what funn stuff do you get for your hard earned cash? well, you get Asuka coming back from her coma in a blaze of light, destroy the JSSDF, and shredding a load of mass-produced evangelions in 3-1/2 minutes. you get Shinji finally resolving his own emotional turmoil, and you get all the characters going "SPLAT!" literally.

10/10.

Batman Beyond (1999–2001)

Pretty good.

[26 August 2003]

Sure, it isnt for the puritans, but for someone like me, this series has a great deal of appeal.

allows me to elaborate (hey, this is my review, you dont have a choice!)

Batman of the Future (as it is sold in England) is, as the title implies the tale of a gotham city in the near-far future. instead of the traditional batmobile, you get a fancy hover-craft type thing, and instead of Bruce Wayne, we get some teenage ex-juvey hall would-be crimefighter, who is, in the early epiosdes, scarred emotionally in much the same way that Bruce was in the original storyline.

in terms of most of its story, it aint a patch on the original animation series. but there are definite moments. the emotional pseudo-father relationship beteween Bruce and Terry is a joy to behold at points, and the inclusion of a new Commissioner Gordon - Barbara, AKA Batgirl, was a nice touch, if untrue to the comics.

where this series truly excels is its animation. any Anime fan, like myself, will easilly spot the references to that animation Area. as a previous reviewer mentioned, the cityscape of Gothaam looks disturbingly like the post-apocalyptic Neo-tokyo from Akira, and the inclusion of a gang called the Jokers is a slight nod to both the original Batman villain and the gang from Akira. the animation is amazingly fluid, and in the fight scenes theres a definite amount of anime stylisation.

I like it anyways.

8/10.

To Be and to Have (2002)

One of the most touching films I've ever seen.

[15 August 2003]

I didnt want to go and see this film. seriously. I got dragged along to see it in London as part of my media studies course, and me and my friends were determiend to get out of seeing it, any way we possibly could, and go shopping instead.

needless to say, we didnt manage it, and I'm actually pretty glad.

this was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. coming from a family where both my parents are teaching in the same age-range as mr Lopez, this film had a certain mirror-image quality for me, which made it hit even closer to home. Being British, some of tend to look a the French as an Alien species (sorry!) and seeing a French teacher in some of the same situations as my parents of faced was amazingly poignant.

the amount of time and Effort that Lopez put into his teaching was beautiful to behold. his compassion and cool manner makes me think that just about every school in the world can benefit from a teacher like him.

In criticism, however, I do beleive that the editing was used to make it appear that Lopez remained PERMANENTLY calm. I've been with teachers in a classroom situation, and even with a class that small, its impossiblwe to keep your cool all the time. I would have appreciated some scenes of Lopez having to deal with any anger he might have occasionally faced. it might have added even more humanity to his persoanlity, and although I empathises with him, the only pure emotion we see from him is at the end, when the tears in his eyes as his class leaves are painfully apparent.

9/10.

Ringu (1998)

Far superior to the remake. (spoilers)

[1 July 2003]

This film is one of the prime examples of why horror should be taken out of the hands of America. its creepy, touching and downright frightening, without having to rely on the "In-your-face" tactics of the remake.

Unlike "The Ring", in Ringu, the girl in the video, Sadoke, is an almost completely anonymous threat. other than the brief glimpses in the video and the psychic contact in the one flashback, you hardly see or hear her at all until the final scenes.

again, the sequences where the video is watched, which get longer each time they are viewed,are far more effective than the similar scenes in the remake, which just ran straight through.

an excellent horror, that redefined parts of the urban-legend genre. accept no substitutions.

A.D. Police (1999)

Excellent!!

[8 April 2003]

this series isn't given nearly enough credit. as a spin-off from Bubblegum Crisis, it involves the AD police fighting "boomers" - rogue robots, and revolves around an elite unit. it tends to focus more on character development, although there is plenty of action, and the plot that spans the entire series will leave you both sad and happy at the end.

Hades Project Zeorymer (1988– )

Good idea, badly executed. (dubbed version)

[8 April 2003]

Unfortunately, Zeoraima has the downside of being an anime with an excellent plot idea that feels ridiculously rushed. this is a genuine pity, because it deserved to be much better, yet it suffers from bad animation and absolutely atrocious voice acting. the plot works, but only in such a way as is confined by the rest of the anime.

get it on rental - don't waste £15 like I did!

Dog Soldiers (2002)

miles better than trashy american horror.

[10/10 · 31 March 2003]

having been one of the few people in my area who was supporting this movie from the very start, I am glad to say that my support was never unfounded. this film had me gripped from the very beggining, with it's non-stereotyped characters, and atypical action.

although the plot does very closely resemble "aliens", it never once felt cloying, and the same tense atmosphere that made "Blair witch project" so watchable is used to far better effect here. you rarely see the actual werewolves themselves in more than two second flashes, and for this reason their badly made costumes never really dissapoint you. the fact that the film uses very little, if no CG effects in no way detracts from it.

even the "wolf-vision" camera, which would be corny as hell in another film, feels right here, because through it you still manage to empathise with the actual characters of the film, and you do feel like you're being hunted.

once the actual action starts, the film only improves more. the fact that black comedy prevails all the way through the films is part of it's immense charm, and rather than detracting from the action, the nervous comic banter only serves to draw you in even more. you genuninely feel for these characters.

even the more corny scenes (fistfightin an 8-foot tall wolf, anyone?0 fell good, because it's a desperate situation. this moveie feels exactly how it should feel, and proves that you can have a horror movie that doesnt involve a bunch of whining teenagers getting killed by the person who everyone could blatantly see was the killer from the very start of the movie.

10/10

Cowboy Bebop (1998–1999)

one of the ultimates.

[3 March 2003]

if you ever meet one of those people with the compulsive need to put Anime down, just sit them down and make them watch this series. you can pretty much guarantee a conversion. right through this series, you will be astounded at the wry humour, the intense action and brilliant characterisation.

this series has everything. excellent music, dogfighting, kung-fu, gunfights, romance... you name it, cowboy bebop has it.

and the final episode has a gun battle that puts the Matrix's government lobby sequence to shame.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Great, but still feels like the middle chapter.

[14 February 2003]

Two towers is a stunning peice of work, as true to the book as it is possible to be in a film, and a worthy follow-up to "Fellowship".

yet, it's problem is that it still fells like the middle of a trilogy. this has happened before (Empire strikes back was the same). On it's own, as a film, it feels incomplete, yet as a sequel it works.

Fellowship was the better film, but this is still a worthy part of the saga.

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)

a decent plot, marred by unnecesary scenes.

[16 January 2003]

urutsukidoji has a good plot. the philosophy behind it is suprisingly subtle, very deep, and well thought out.

unfortunately, the whole anime is marred by the fact that the director and writers seemed to be compelled to fill the screen with a ridiculous amount of Demonic sex-scenes. there was no need for them, and athe only one thats even vaguely nescessary in the scope of things is the scene between Akemi and Nagumo.

aside from that, this is an excellent Anime, and whilst it should not be watched by under 18's, its worht seeing just to say you have...... it makes more sense if you're drunk though.

Akira (1988)

An AMAZING work of animation.

[6 January 2003]

Akira, even the dubbed version, is possibly one of the greatest animes in the known universe. The post-apocalyptic story, set in the beautifully realised Neo-Tokyo of Kaneda and Tetsuo, and their battle manages to convey the sense of scale in the whole movie.

Then of course, it has the coolest bike in the history of any movie, animated or otherwise.

My only, relatively minor complaint, is that at times the animation and colours tend to look a little... washed out, and pale.

...oh, and Kaneda's pink shirt as well.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995–1996)

for once, a reviewer that doesnt feel the need to flame Gundam wing

[4 December 2002]

It saddened me to see the number of people panning this excellent series on this site. Gundam wing, for me, was possibly one of the best anime's I have ever see, and YES I have seen the original series.

GW's charm lies not in it's battles, but in the evolution of it's characters. sure, fanboy-puritans could aruge that they are merely vacuous pretty-boys, but I put this down to annoyance that this excellent series managed to be more popular than it's predecessors.

The characters of GW all start out with certain mannersn and opinions, yet as they move through the show, their personalities develop. Heero, for example, starts off as a cold, cruel and calculating individual, trained from birth to be the "Perfect soldier". throughout the series, he rediscovers the humanity that had been so brutally drummed out of him, through his relationship with possibly one of the most unjustly hated female characters in the anime world.

Yes, I like Relena. she's a strong character, stays true to her morals, and suffers dilemmas and hardships that any other teenager of her age does. the relationship between this pair develops gradually.

and the Battle-Philosophy! there is so much moral dilemma in this series you could use it as a test for a debating group. the definition of enemy changes repeatedly throughout the series as loyalties change and situations vary.

the battle scenes are fun, the dialogue is excellent, the dubbing is pretty good...

all in all, the only thing I could find about to complain on was the fact that the voices for the dub sound far older than the actual characters do, Zechs in particular.

If you want a fun series that will make you think if you want it to, and show the moral dilemmas that could easilly be related to today, watch Gundam Wing. you might be pleasantly surprised.

Show Me Love (1998)

A surprisingly touching film.

[3 December 2002]

I watched this film as part of my media studies course. when our teacher told us we were going to be watching a Swedish subtitle movie about a teenage lesbian love story in a small town, I must admit that I felt some trepidation. Being one of only two males in my class, I couldnt really comment without being labelled a pervert, so I sat down and watched the movie in its entireity.

what I found was a remarkebly touching film about growing up in small-town sweden. the two main characters start off as completely opposite ends of the social scale, and gradually grow together towards the films penultimate scene.

the whole movie looks like real life. it appears to have been filmed on a camcorder, which only adds to the sense of realism apparent throughout the movie.

touching, romantic, and a surprisingly accurate representation of teenage life, Fucking Amal is a movie I would reccomend to anyone.

...of course, another advantagoe of it is that you can openly stand up and admit that you've watched a film about teenage lesbians without be ridiculed.

2002 (2001)

An amazingly cool introduction to HKmovies...

[25 November 2002]

Caution! this review may contain spoilers!

2002, or as it can be named, "Ghostbusters with martial arts" is possibly one of the most entertaining and enjoyable movies I have ever seen. the fight scenes were amazingly stylised and choreagraphed, and the story...

the basic plot is that of the spcial department in the hong-kong police, code named 2002. supplied with special equipment, such as vision drops (Ghosts become visible for five minutes) and the ghostbuster gun, which coats the bullet in the shooter's own blood.

The department, initially, consists of a man-ghost partnership (with Sam Lee fulfilling his irritating sidekick quota.) but after the ghost in the partnership is reincarnated (with an amazingly surreal sequence of Sam swimming down the birth canal, surrounded by sperm.) Tide (nick Tse) is left to find a new partner.

supposedly, all the partners in 2002 are pre-ordained by fate, and when Tide meets heis new partner, Fung, events start to click into place.

however, the emotions of real-life are starting to intrude on Tides life, and before long, he's starting to want more than just ghosthunting.

that about sums it up without TOO much spoiling. I actually found this movie to be immensely emotional, with the romantic stories taking far greater precedence over the action for the middle part of the movie. the whole film focused more on the human element than that of simple eye-candy.

when the fighting did start, however, it started with a BANG. blows are exchanged at ligtening speed, making movies like the Matrix seem to be PERMANENTLY in slow motion!

Forget the Matrix. come and see a REAL martial arts movie.

Manhunter (1986)

Loving Every MINUTE!!!!

[22 September 2002]

Okay, first things first, admittedly, i havent finished this movie yet, but thats becasue i'm watching it in school.

but what I have seen has taken my breath away.

Brian Cox is here doing what is probably the definitve performance of Hannibal Lecter. whereas Anthony Hopkins plays Lecter's sinister aspects all up front, Cox is more scary purely for the fact that those aspects are subdued. Lecter actually seems like a normal guy, which makes the fact that he kills and eats people all the more frightening.

theres also the way that Will Graham can get inside Serial Killer's heads. the worst thing is, he cant prevent Lecter getting into HIS.

Reign of Fire (2002)

Good, if your not expecting great things...

[18 September 2002]

Ah, preconceptions. as i look at the reviews for this movie, I see a lot of people ranting about how they

"Wanted to see places getting destroyed, and big explosions!"

well, wake up. that isnt what the movie is about. The Dragons, whilst the baddies of the peice, arent the main characters. the main highlight of the film is the rivalry between Quinn and Van Zan. these two characters are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Van Zan is the typical american "Action Guy!" running around, shooting the living hell out of everything.

Quinn, on the other hand, is a British guy. not the typical american movie british guy, Oh no. he's a man whose had to lead a group of people in trying to survive in a world that has been taken over by creatures that can destroy them easilly.

(wow, a British Hero. Who'da thunk?)

I liked this movie. it wasnt big, it wasnt groundbreaking, but it was fun.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995)

ah, sweet nostalgic bliss... (spoilers)

[29 August 2002]

after a lull of almost five years, I finally got back to watching this movie today.

god, but I had forgotten how Power Rangers could be both bad and good at the same time.

When I was about 9/10 years old, Power rangers first hit the shores of England, on a massive wave of hype that has been vritually unparralleled since. it heralded the coming of a virtual tidal wave of imitations, (beetleborgs, Vr troopers etc...)

although the series, with it's spandex costumes, and VIBRANT colours had me hooked almost instantly, the movie promised so much more. for a start, they BLATANTLY had a bigger budget than the series, so the costumes and effects, for the time were top-notch.

Let's face it, everyone at that time wanted to be one of the rangers. personally, I always wanted to be Tommy. not least becasue he got to snog Kimberly.

now, at the dizzying age of 17, I sit down and watch a film that I havent watched since i was twelve years old. "Power Rangers: the Movie!"

even as those first, INCREDIBLY corny crawl-lines scrolled across the screen, I couldnt help but snigger. the movies gloss had indeed faded as my cynicism had increased, but I still enjoyed myself watching it. even when i was happily taking the mic out of the lines...

(kimberly being carried by a bird-thing 100ft in the air)

Tommy: hold on Kimberly!

Me: yeah, cos she just feels like letting go right about now...

and loving the fact that, Despite the teenagers wearing the same colours as their Ranger costumes NO-ONE FIGURED OUT WHO THEY WERE, I still found it immensely fun.

For me, power rangers will always be connected to a time when I was a lot less world wise, and a lot less cynical about it. this movie is the only link I have left to that, and to the first celebrity I EVER had a crush on, Amy Jo Johnson.

for that, I can never bring myself to flame this movie, because when it boils down to it, it's a part of something that I really loved. even if it was inordinately rubbish, with a really bad script.

oh, and I can watch it again so i can remind myself of just how fit Amy Jo is. ^_^

Airborne (1998)

how can anything be this rubbish? (bit of a spoiler)

[15 June 2002]

at first glance, from looking at the box, this film seems like a good, if generic action thriller, and in my opinon had three things going for it:

1) Sean Bean (My Favourite actor)

2) a seemingly okay plot: Bio-terrorism, special forces, arms dealers, the stuff of good fun.

3) Steve Guttenberg (Who is always entertaining)

Withing 15 minutes of the start, I was thinking "Why, god, WHY?"

The first attack on the plane went well. Sean Bean as a bad guy was to be expected. It went downhill from there. it was predictable, the acting was attrocious, even from Sean, in his oh, three lines before he got killed.

how bad can one film GET???