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The Devil Inside (2012)
Looking for half decent Found Footage?
So yeah, a lot of us are pretty tired of found footage horror movies and yeah, the plot of The Devil Inside (2012) isn't super original.
A possessed woman, Maria Rossi (played by Suzan Crowley) flips out during her exorcism, allegedly murders all those participating, is found not guilty by reason of insanity during the trial, is then locked away inside a hospital and eventually shipped off to another one in Rome. (All of which we learn in basically the first 3 minutes of the movie) Cut to sometime latter, when the now adult daughter of this woman, Isabella (Fernanda Andrade), decides to make a documentary about her mother and travels to Italy, to interview her and visit an exorcism school, where she meets two priests who engage in extra curricular activities that may or may not involve unauthorized exorcisms, since at this school, they apparently frown on that sort of thing, surprisingly.
As expected with this type of movie, creepy stuff is caught on film. What is ultimately important about this type of movie to us, is whether or not that creepy stuff works. Does it work? For the most part, yes it actually does. Quite well at times.
PROS
- A pretty ballsy, if somewhat expected ending.
- Effective opening scene walk through of the aftermath of Maria's failed exorcism. Looks and feels like you are going through a real crime scene.
- Contortionists rule!
- While I've never had a problem with shaky cam, ever, I don't think those who do will have a problem with this movie.
CONS
- That ballsy ending is definitely not for everyone and has turned off a great deal of viewers.
FINAL SCORE
I think we can all agree that the "Found Footage" sub-genre has pretty much worn out it's welcome in 2013, but for all we know, after the dust settles 10-15 years from now, maybe we might be inclined to give this style of cinema a second chance. And I think in that time, when looking back, The Devil Inside (2012) might be considered one of the better found footage movies. As long as they don't make a bunch of sequels ruining the original. Don't get me wrong, The Devil Inside is not great a movie, but if you don't mind watching another found footage movie (I don't blame anyone who does), I do think The Devil Inside is a good movie.
6/10 stars
Kunoichi ninpô-chô: Yagyû gaiden (1998)
It's basically like a live-action Ninja Scroll...so be excited or be leery!
There are so many movies about Ninjas out there in a day and age when obtaining them is the easiest it has ever been. There are dozens upon dozens of flicks with just the word "Ninja" in the title alone, which only makes it more of a daunting task to actually find one that is worth your time. The good news? Not only does this movie feel like you are watching a live- action anime like Ninja Scroll, with all the over- the-top sword induced blood geysers raining across your screen but Lady Ninja (1998) actually stars an eye patch rocking Jubei Yagyu, the protagonist from the anime and novels. So for all you Ninja Scroll, Samurai Reincarnation, Reborn From Hell fans, you might want to check this out for the Jubei action alone. Based on the novel,'Yagyū Ninpōchō'(1964) by Futaro Yamada, the basic plot of the movie centres around legendary real life butt-kicker Jubei (portrayed by Hitoshi Ozawa, who also directs) as he leads the seven female survivors of the Hori clan on a revenge mission against the Seven Spears, acting as their demon protector and donning a gnarly oni mask to conceal his secret identity from the bad guys like a samurai Spiderman.
The quickest way to find out if this movie is for you or not is to ask yourself these three questions;
"Did I like the classic 90's anime Ninja Scroll?"
"Do I like ninja movies in general?"
"Would I like to see a movie where someone has the superpower to be able to absorb a Dragonball Z type energy blast up their who-ha and regurgitate it out of their mouth?"
You now have your answer. You're welcome.
PROS
- Sexy Ninja Magic!
- LOTS of blood (possibly the most I've ever seen in a Ninja flick since the 1983 flick Duel to the Death)
- Starts with the action right away (literally one of the best openers I've seen) and keeps a good pace all the way until the end credits.
- Some very inventive bad guys ("Eyeball Minions" Ninja was a favorite)
CONS
- Possibly TOO SEXY Ninja Magic (a 10 on the creepy raunchy meter sometimes - so a warning to those more sensitive)
- Weird wound logic. Somebody will get sliced one time and multiple blood fountains will pour out from random parts of the body that couldn't possibly have been hit with one swipe of the sword. Or could it?!?
- Confusing subplots. At some point one of the leads starts channeling the spirit of a blind swordsman Zatoichi type character and it is never fully explained why the bad guys can't tell it's this famous person with just their eyes closed pretending to be blind. Worse than Superman simply removing his glasses and slicking his hair back
FINAL SCORE
3/10 stars if you are an average movie goer but if you answered yes to all three questions like myself, Lady Ninja is an easy-
7/10 stars
Aftershock (2012)
A good movie if you are looking for a bad movie
There is obviously a joke to be made about fecal matter and the title of this picture (which has probably happened a million times) but after watching Aftershock...a total disaster "of a" movie, I don't feel like "piling" on. Which might sound mean but I surprisingly did find this movie entertaining in delightful ways I hadn't expected despite how negative this review might come across.
Where to start?
My god is Aftershock a terrible/good movie. I wanted to like this movie so bad but I must have burst out laughing a dozen times at parts of the movie that weren't clearly meant to be laughed at. If it was, Eli and company are actually geniuses.
The enjoyment was mostly due to the fact that they had zero dollars for CGI and decided to use CGI for virtually everything. Some major events you couldn't even tell what was going on cause the CGI was so poorly done to the point of being unrecognizable. Not so much the blood and guts kind of way (which was lacking) but important stuff, like major events that come out looking like something you'd see on SyFy.
But even better (if you are looking for this sort of thing) the combined horrible writing/acting on display, actually kept my interest from start to finish, in a so bad it's good kinda way. With a busy schedule and a short attention span, I have a hard time sitting down for a movie in one viewing but no lie (maybe I was in a really good mood at the time) I watched Aftershock the entire way through on the first try, with only a slight ache in my belly from laughing so hard.
For those interested in what Aftershock was shot with (a C-300) and more importantly what the final outcome looked like, I'm pleased to say the outside daytime shots looked great and the low-light shots were more than passable. Ignoring the fact that there is a lens being used that is probably more expensive than the camera it is attached to, this should inspire a lot of future filmmakers to go out there and make their own movies without the constraint of needing expensive cameras looming over them.
PROS -One or two good twists relating to how one might act during a crisis -Killer untouched locations straight from the actual quake -Shot on a camera cheaper than most cars but doesn't look like it -Eli Roth's over acting is fun to laugh at.
CONS -Virtually no gore in a movie promising gore! A rubber appendage from the dollar store bouncing around the screen for 5 minutes does not a Fulci film it make.
FINAL SCORE I was all set to give it 1/10 for being a technically well shot movie but still horrible, then a 2/10 for making me laugh when I wasn't expecting to but as the final scene approached, I told myself, if the film makers went in the direction where I hoped they were going to go, I'd bump it up another point. And boy did they ever go there. Good job people.
3/10 stars