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daveh182
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13 Sins (2014)
Worth a watch
****May contain mild spoilers will not give away major plot holes or ending****
This is an American remake of 13 beloved. A Thai film which received much praise (at the time of writing I have not watched this version but I will be going back to check it out).
From what I've read there are differences between the two films in regards to the challenges laid before from the Thai vs the American version. with the latter being more toned down for a wider audience.
The film starts as a curious one the first 10 mins are a waste I was ready to turn it off as it tries to set the scene with low value production, terrible acting and poor direction.
It tries to skip to the meat and veg of the film but I urge you to stay with the film the good part is coming soon.
The story follow Elliot Brindle (Mark Webber - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)who is a down on his luck sales man with a large family to support and a baby on the way after losing his job he receives an anonymous phone call offering him large sums of cash for doing what seems menial tasks, 13 to be precise and they take some strange twists and turns.
He soons finds out that it is legitimate if he completes the ever more challenging tasks the sums of money on offer are credited to his bank account.
Things start to take a turn around 35 mins into a 92 minute film when Elliot's morality is called into question and soon finds out he is in something to which he cannot stop or risk losing everything he has worked for and a criminal conviction from here the stakes keep getting higher and higher.
The film actually reminds me of the PS3 exclusive game "Heavy Rain" in the way the tasks are delivered and how sadistic some scenes can be.
Acting in the latter half of the film seems to improve and characters who mostly are not given much time to grow in the film seem to fill their roles a lot better. Elliot's change of pace as he is seemingly more confident in his new role whilst on the run from the police being headed up by Ron Pearlman.
The film gets more intriguing as it goes on with myself always wondering what else could they make him do for large amounts of cash and how can he handle doing such acts.
As Elliot struggles to quit he finds himself locked in a race against time to find who or what is doing this to him.
The big twist is a reasonable one and you may see it coming by the time the 12th challenge is complete.
The ending is quite predictable the story is a good one but I feel not given enough time to grow, another 20 - 30 minuets to allow some of the more interesting challenges to take different twists and it could really set the film apart.
That's not to say the film isn't good it is, it's slightly let down by some linear acting.
Saw IV (2007)
Turns down the gore and up the drama
Now you might think that from my title I'm going to slate Saw 4, well I'm not.
Like most I'm an avid fan of the series and when Halloween rolls around I'm always wondering will it be good how you keep a genre like Horror fresh.
Well they done it again while don't get me wrong there is a lot of gore in there its seems a lot more toned down and more apportite for the film instead of just torture torture torture, which I feel really helps the film develop into its own skin.
The story line focuses more on jigsaw's back story this time round and how he became to who he was at the end of Saw 3, this allowment of character development I feel is vital to the story as we have always wanted to know more about the man behind the machine.
The story also focuses on Rigg and his story into the sick world of Saw, this film picks up where Saw 3 left off so its the same thing that Jeff went through he has to try help other people decide their own fate.
The ending is a good one but obviously never as good as the first one its safe to say I doubt they will ever be able to recapture what they had to begin with.
My advice for anyone still waiting to watch this film is keep an open mind about it and never set expectations too high because this is a good film and you should really give it a try before dismissing it.
Are You Scared? (2006)
Steer Clear, well clear
This film follows the idea of saw trap some people in a room see how far they will go to save themselves.
This is nothing more than a rip off of Saw and Cube, the acting was terrible all very over the top and very stereotypical, the direction and writing is laughable, the traps them self's haven't been thought through properly, and the ones they did use were not only stupid to the point that you feel insulted, it feels like they have dumbed the film down on purpose.
I like to try and leave a good comment where i can and thinking back to the film i really can't.
Watching this film really makes you enjoy Saw and Cube sooo much more because how anyone can really enjoy this film is beyond me.
My advice steer clear you could spend your money on a lot better.