Reviews

Cut opened today in Australia and I went to see it after waiting ages for it to be released.

After the movie finished, I was a little disappointed but now when I think about it, it actually was a good movie. I thought it wasn't as good as Scream but way better than Scream 2, Scream 2 had very little blood or violence which made it very weak but Cut is amazing ecause it gets away with displaying so much blood. It takes a while for the movie to get into the action, but when it does that's when it starts to get interesting. Australian horror movies usually aren't very good (anyone remember Body Melt and Out of The Body?) but Cut is very enjoyable.

Even though the story doesn't make a lot of sense when all is revealed and the ending stinks, Cut is a lot of fun when it comes to the death scenes (which is what people are going to see this for anyway) they are very creative and gross and very hilarious.

When Cut comes to threatres near you, go see it. It won't make much sense, but it will be fun.

Cut doesn't restrain the blood, it's not disturbing, it's intended to be funny, and it is.

You read the summary correctly. This movie is worse than Plan 9 From Outer Space, Halloween 6 or (dare I say it) Leonard Part 6. Never again will I subject myself to such torture. This movie really p***ed me off. The little b*****d does unholy things to adults and gets away with it. He nearly kills Mr Wilson on several occasions and is forgiven for all of them. He ruins what must be hundreds of dollars worth of catered food and is forgiven. He causes Mr Wilson to miss an event which he has waited 40 years for. And when he goes missing, I really hoped that Switchblade Sam would take him away forever. But no, John Hughes once again lets loose with the "Home Alone" style violence and we're supposed to laugh. I didn't. This movie is the worst influence on children. Dennis carries around an illegal weapon and nearly kills people when he uses it. The violence level is very high for a kiddie movie. Warner Bros. Family Entertainment? I don't think so. I rather spend my time watching the horror version, "Mikey", it's much more violent, but not nearly as disturbing.

It's about 3:30 in the morning and I just finished watching Neighbors on TV. I've seen a lot of black comedy movies in my life but none of them have been stranger than this. It wasn't really funny but i did laugh at the following conversation.

ENID: Well Ramona, maybe you're man enough to tell us what happened outside.

RAMONA: He tried to pork me.

Maybe that doesn't seem funny to you but it was to me.

Throughout the whole movie I didn't understand what the hell was going on and why characters did the things they did, especially at the end of it. I can't really recommend Neighbors but I must say I was entertained the whole way through, waiting for the next absurd event.

Yet again, a Dario Argento film that is absolutely horrible the first time, but somehow fantastic the second time you watch it. This phantom is pretty much different from the 1989 effort,starring Robert Englund, that also aimed for gory shocks and mayhem....and failed miserably. Argento's version is much better, never taking itself too seriously and telling a romantic tale that you actually care about. Julian Sands is good as the Phantom, when he learns that his lover Christine loves someone else, he listens to them kiss and he starts to sob, his acting is so good that it almost breaks your heart. Asia Argento is also a nice actress, I didn't care for her much in Trauma (and I've yet to see The Stendhal Syndrome) but her acting here has improved, she is a talented and beautiful actress. Now back to the movie itself, it's the best adaptation I've seen of the story yet, it is violent, but not too much. There's also a great sense of humour. "You will not play in Romeo and Juliet. If you defy me, I will hurt you. Do you understand me you fat cow?"

"How dare you-a speak-a to-a me-a like-a that!"(Italian accent)

The movie is really a lot of fun and I think I have a crush on Kitty Keri, but it's too bad she has her tongue ripped out.

I took a break from my heavy schedule of horror movies to watch this and I must say, I am impressed. Never Been Kissed is the ultimate fantasy comedy. I wish that I had sat up and paid attenion to the trailer when I went to the cinema, then there might have hope that I would have gone to see it. But I didn't, and I really regret it. Not only does this work as a hilarious comedy (Loser printed on the forehead made almost wet myself) but also as a romantic bit of fluff. Of course, the romance here is totally unbelieveable, as is the plot, but for a reason it works. And what is that reason? DREW BARRYMORE!!! One smile from her in this movie and my heart turns to butter! On top of that, she gives what I think is the best performance of her career. She makes us feel extreme sympathy for poor Josie, and she is able to change from being happy and full of smiles to a bubbling, sobbing wreck with a snap of her fingers. The one major drawback, she's way too hot to be accepted as being a nerdy outcast. If I was at her school, I wouldn't be able to contain myself from sticking my tongue down her throat. All in all, I recommend this to everyone.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

PG Sexual References, Drug References, Low Level Course Language.

Okay for everyone. Sex is hardly mentioned, language is infrequent and drugs...."This lovely chocolate cake has a little Vitamin A, Vitamin B, some Vitamins THC..." thats about as far as it goes.

I watched Mac and Me about 5 years ago on a bus trip, during a long and tedious bus ride, this movie seemed to make the trip go faster. It was genuinely fun to watch. Now as I revisit it, I realise with great horror that this movie was funded by McDonald's and The Coca Cola Company. The fact that it cashes in on the E.T phenomenon even makes it worse. That great big dance sequence in the McDonald's restaurant is utterly ridiculous and an alien sipping Coke and recovering from near starvation? That's ludicrous!

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION

PG (No consumer advice provided at time of release)

Yeah, it's great fun for the kiddies, but older people can spot it's evil plan to make people buy things. Honestly, I think it should be banned. Such product placement can't be legal.

There's this strange thing going on with me and Dario Argento's films. Especially with Inferno. I waited two months for my copy of Inferno and then I watched it, waiting to be thrilled. But during Inferno, something happened. I thought to myself, "Why am I watching this? It's not even good!" I finished watching it and put the tape away throughly disappointed. Then, two days later, I was bored and I decided to watch it again. This time, it seemed ten times better, all the pieces fell into place like a giant puzzle and I understood the whole movie. Exactly the same thing happened when I was watching Tenebrae. The thing with Argento movies is that you have to watch the all twice or maybe three times, and pick up on little details that you missed before. That's what I love about his movies. It strange that all the movies of his that everyone hates (Trauma, Opera) are the ones that are so easy to understand, without need for another viewing. But I love all his movies. Argento is right at the top of my favorite directors list.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION

Well, honestly I don't know. Must be an R rating due to violence and stuff. I watching the UK version with all the animal cruelty cut out. But I don't mind, seeing that sort of stuff isn't my cup of tea.

I LOVE LINDA BLAIR!! And who can blame me? She is one of the nicest looking people in films. Sure, she made a lot of bad movies (I'm talking about Bad Blood here) and even worse ones (Savage Streets, The Exorcist II) but however bad the film she's in, she takes it to a higher level. She improves the movie itself. And Hell Night is no exception. Without her, I suppose the movie would be okay, nothing to wet your pants over, but because she's in it, it turns Hell Night into a must-see event! I'm not going to talk about the story because I'm sure the concept was devised in about two minutes, but the thing that makes Hell Night stand out is that it's actually scary, everything that a horror movie should be. And it's also very interesting, for once I didn't look forward to the next stabbing or decapitation but I found myself actually interested in their conversations! As for the death scenes, there's little violence and that's fine with me, it makes the film more acceptable for the faint hearted and gives the film what it deserves, a bigger audience. As for that idiot Leonard Maltin, he wasn't complaining about the lack of nudity and violence in Halloween, was he? Get a life, Leonard. The one problem with it is that some scenes are just too dark, but it doesn't help when I watch a 1982 videotape. I guess that this problem has been fixed on the DVD edition, something that I intend to buy. Finally, for once the killer (and I'm not spoiling anything here, you know it's going to happen) dies an original way. A great ending to a great movie.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION

R18+

Released when I don't even think they had classification here (the R rating on the cover was a sticker) this film is hardly violent, no sex, no nudity, and I don't think there was any bad language, this could easily get away with an M rating.

In our modern times, most movies rely heavily on computer generated effects to create images that are impossible to film. I don't know about you, but I have always found computer effects to look really fake on film. You can go through a whole movie and pick out what's computer and what's not. I really hate it. But The Sixth Sense, as I recall has possibly only one computer effect and everything else is make-up. I really liked this movie, it is a little slow moving at times, I was expecting a big budget thrill ride, but I got something out of that was so much better: I found myself concentrating on the dialogue and story, rather than thrills. It takes a really interesting story and interesting characters to make a classic movie, and I feel that The Sixth Sense has both of these. It's one of those movies at the end where you think, "I really should've seen that last twist coming a mile away." I couldn't see the outcome, as the story could have gone in so many different directions. So if you haven't seen this masterpiece yet, get up and go now! You may find yourself sheding a tear or two at the end. Willis, Collette and Osment seriously need Oscars next year for their impressive work.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

M15+ Medium Level Violence, Supernatural Themes.

There are a lot of those supernatural themes in there, but violence, not really, just a little bit of blood.

I love the films of Full Moon Entertainment, the best still being The Pit and The Pendulum and the worst being Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight. Dollman VS. Demonic Toys falls somewhere inbetween, leaning towards bad. This movie is absolutely ridiculous, a sequel to three of their films (those being Dollman, Demonic Toys and Bad Channels).

But this movie, with all the B-grade charms, still entertained me. I have no clue why, but it just did. The baby doll, looking hopeless compared to Chucky in the animatronic effects department, is riotously funny. The problem with this movie is simply this, it's just not long enough. I have no idea why the film runs 84 minutes in the USA, but here in Australia, it runs a mere 58 minutes. 58 minutes! Good for a cheap laugh or two, and special effects aren't that bad.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

MA15+ Medium Level Course Language and Violence

!! Who handed out this rating?

A few years ago, I caught Scarecrows on tv, at about Midnight. From the first scene, I was gripped by the errie atmosphere and interesting story. I didn't notice at the time that the TV version was cut down quite a bit, as it was so well edited to remove excess gore. I did tape it, but I really wanted a copy of my own. So I found one in the bargain bin at a video shop for five dollars. I remember as I watched it with my mum (or mom to Americans) and she was complaining about it at the end. "God," she said, "why is that damn girl screaming so much?!" Then I showed her the uncut version to reveal the girl had been stabbed right through the arm. "Oh, I never noticed that before" she replied.

But my point is, even when the gore is cut down considerably, what remains is still quite a scary film. I suggest you watch it, as it is one of the great overlooked horror films of the late eighties (by then, horror movies were coming in by the truckload and this film was forgotten.) Terry Plumeri's score never fails to send a shiver down my spine, too!

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

R18+

This was released when no consumer advice was given, but it's rating is well deserved!

Being only 15, I have watched thousands of the most gory horror and slasher films and never felt shocked or repulsed by any of them. And then I watched 8MM. Everything in this film is so explicit, from the dialogue to the violence but does this make this realistic portrayal of the sick world of snuff any good? I don't think so. 8MM scores points for realism, but that's it. I think films are made to entertain, does 8MM entertain? No, it doesn't. It makes audiences feel so sick to their guts that they will never feel the need to ever view this film ever again. But I do think it is an important film that every person will need to view at least once. But it still isn't a good film. "There's no mystery to it, I just LIKE doing it." That line is completely shocking. To think that a normal everyday person can do such things is shocking. 8MM is just an unentertaining film. That's it. And don't even get me started about the music. Ugh! It's terrible!

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION

R18+ Medium Level Violence, Adult Themes, Sexual References.

Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be watching it. I'm not old enough.

I guarantee you, just one hour of Meteorites! (they had to put an exclaimation mark in the title, didn't they) and you will fall asleep from boredom. I strongly believe that this mediocre meteor movie was filmed right here in Australia, as I can spot little Aussie things, like the packaging of chip cups and the fact that it is produced by Village Roadshow. Also, it stars Amiel Daemion, who is well known here for singing the hit song, "Addicted To Bass". In this film, she is flat and her acting range is limited. As for the plot, can you say "rip-off"? The special effects aren't that bad, but the film is so boring that you'll fall asleep before anything happens. And somebody call the props department, the Indian guy is supposed to have his leg trapped, but the block holding it down shakes around a little and lifts up when he moves. Please let this be the last TV produced disaster movie, before I saw this I thought "Volcano: Fire on The Mountain" was bad.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

PG Medium Level Violence, Sexual References

Some diaster violence where you don't really see any impact occurs, as does some teenage sexual antics.

I first watched Miracle Mile about five years ago and I was impressed. It takes a nuclear war worst-case scenerio that gets progressively worse over the films' short 85 minute running time. All of the actors are good, but I didn't find myself focusing on Harry and Julie, but instead the relationship of Julie's parents. I can't help myself, seeing old people in disaster movies breaks my heart. It's a shame that this great film slipped through the cracks and landed in video stores practically unnoticed. Of course, this film is not mainstream, most common audiences would find the downbeat ending a major disappointment, but given the circumstances the characters were in, you can't expect a neat happy ending. Despite that, this is a really good movie, the frantic race against time is exciting, and even though you've seen the movie before and know the final outcome, you still cheer for the characters, in the hope that everything will be OK.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

M15+ Frequent Course Language and Occasional Violence.

This is the first movie in a long time that I've heard a character mutter the dreaded C-word.

I saw trailers for this film and they were funny so I rented this movie. WHAT A MISTAKE! This movie is terrible, I only laughed about 2 times during the whole course of it. Three lovely women, Courtney Love, Kate Hudson and Martha Plimpton nearly save this film but the script is just so unfunny that it hurts me to think that these talented actors would sign up for such a film. Be warned: this film is a tepid, pathetic bore.

Australian Classification:

M15+ Medium Level Course Language, Sexual References.

Jeez, nearly every sentence had the word "F**K" in it.

Shock Treatment is an extremely strange movie, the plot is all over the place, the songs are weird and the confusion factor for the viewer is high. But Shock Treatment is a good movie. Forget everything about RHPS, there are no singing tranvestites or Meat Loaf getting hacked to bits with an axe, Shock Treatment is very different. It is a funny satire about how television has become an obsession. It's also about Brad and Janet Majors, who become contestants on a show called Marriage Maze and Brad is committed into a mental asylum, placed convieniently inside the TV studio. It's funny to see most of the cast return for a great big musical full of memorable songs. But a warning to the gay community, one song contains the lyrics.."Faggots are maggots-thank god I'm a man!"

Australian Classification

PG

No consumer advice but it really doesn't need any. There's nothing that troubling.

Over here in Australia, Jerry Springer was not a popular show. I was screened for about a month, before being dropped. This is a film where Australian distributors Columbia Tristar(!!) wisely decided to have no theatrical release whatsoever. This really isn't a movie for the big screen. Few would enjoy it because of Springer's lack of popularity down under. But, I must say I enjoyed it, not because of Springer (who was acting badly by the way) but because of the two sets of people it was focusing on. By the end, where they're all on the show (it takes a looooooong time to get there) things get crazy and all hell breaks loose. It isn't a bad film, it's just that there is a lot in there that is boring. I would have liked to see more of the confrontation on Jerry's show, which is of course, why all the viewers in real life watch it.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION

MA15+ Adult themes, Medium Level Sex Scenes, Medium Level Course Language.

I don't have a clue why some say it should have been given an NC-17 in the U.S. Over here you only have to be 15 and the only troubling thing about it is the oral sex scene which is a bit excessive.

After the first two films were so dark and mean that they had the potential to scare little children, this third film changed everything, making it very very campy, but entertaining. I don't think anything can beat the first two, but Batman Forever is actually quite a good movie. Sure, it appeals to children, but adults and fans of the original series can find laughter in little jokes that are scattered around here and there, "Holy rusted metal, Batman!"

Again, the UK version shows what their censors will do to a movie, luckily, here in Australia, nothing was toned down for a lower rating.

Batman Forever is a not bad movie, pity that Batman and Robin was made, with Alicia Silverstone's bad acting and George Clooney's blandness.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

PG Parental Guidence (Medium Level Violence)

It's got some mean spirited violence, but nowhere near as bad as the first two.

I saw the second half of this when it was on TV. There was heaps of nudity, but I could point out what was missing even without seeing the complete film. So, one day, I saw it down the local video shop and I decided to go the whole hog and see the uncut version. I have to make a confession. I really liked Showgirls. Not for one minute did I take it seriously. I didn't laugh at it, in spite of all it's faults, but when Berkley and Gershon (two extremely beautiful women) struck up a conversation on their shared love of dog food, I threw in the towel and cracked up. The nudity does get annoying after the first hour and that rape scene was totally repulsive (Molly was the only character worth caring about). But it was great fun to watch and it will one day become a camp classic. Great soundtrack, great photography, movies don't get much better than this.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

R18+ Sexually Explicit Language,Nudity,Violence,Sexual Scenes.

(This version is uncut so be prepared for loads of breasts.)

Well, what can I say except WOW! This is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. It's simply amazing how such an effective movie was made on such a low budget. I have read other comments saying that the acting wasn't all that good but I thought it was magnificent. One person I am interested in is the woman who plays the doctor, she play the part of the paranoid person perfectly. Is the cube really the enemy or is it each-other they should be looking out for? This movie caused me to ask so many questions, most of them went unanswered but this is fine. The less explained the better, this allows me to discuss different possibilites of what it all means with other viewers, I love it when a movie does this to me. At the end, I wanted more. I wanted a sequel, but of course, this wouldn't work as it would destroy the first. I hope they leave this film as is. No more explanation is needed. I will be watching the future work Vincenzo Natali and all of the actors (the only one I was already familiar with is Martin Hewlett from PIN). I love this film, I will add it to my DVD collection and treasure it. Definitly ranks it my top five, #2, beaten only by Heavenly Creatures. 10 out of 10!!

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

M15+ MEDIUM LEVEL VIOLENCE,MEDIUM LEVEL COURSE LANGUAGE

Enough gore to keep gore hounds happy and some very unsettling violence. Language consists mainly of F-words.

Words cannot explain my delight, when I came across a movie named Soccer Dog. It was yet another in the long line of animal athlete films (Air Bud, Air Bud 2, Ed, for example). Starring Olivia D'Abo an always pleasant actress, this film attempts to tell the story of a dog that plays soccer. Many can spot who sponsered the movie, Adidas, as their logos are emblazoned on the front of everything, shoes, shirts, socks, billboards, they may as well had started the movie by stating that it was an adidas production in the opening credits.

As far as bad movies go, this is by far the worst. As easy as the concept of a soccer playing is to swallow, I just didn't enjoy myself. This is cheap, music sounds like a half-assed cross breed between techno and jazz and the special effects were not very special. If a sequel is to follow, god help us all.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

PG Adult Themes.

Frankenhooker, a lovable piece of Z grade comedy horror fluff that Australian distributors CBS/FOX video would love to forget.

The story of Frankenhooker revolves around Jeffrey Franken, a strange wannabe doctor who like to bore holes into his head with a drill when times get tough. And who can blame him, his fiance died in a freak accident involving a lawnmower and his mother isn't all that caring. EXAMPLE:

Jeffrey rambles on about how his life is meaningless without his girlfriend and about his frequent rejections from medical schools for about five minutes. His mother replies, "Well, do you want a sandwich?"

Yet nobody thinks about how strange it is at his fathers birthday party that he keeps a giant brain (complete with huge eye) in a glass container in the kitchen.

Jeffrey steals the head of his girlfriend and the police are rather baffled. The press hound him....

"Do you know where your dead fiance's head is?"

"I don't know, last time I saw it it was flying through the air or something. Leave me alone with my grief!"

But Jeffrey won't be grief-stricken for long. He hires some hookers and they smoke Jeffrey's own creation, "Supercrack" and they subsequently explode. He takes the body parts and fixes them to his dead gal's head and re-animates her. She is alive, but is a monstrous creation, the hooker parts of her take over and she heads to the streets to ask people if they 'wanna date' or 'lookin for some action.'

It's all very hilarious, the highlight being the exploding hookers. The frequent nudity feels right at home in this film. But I have one complaint, there is not enough Frankenhooker action. The movie spends about an hour setting everything up before letting her loose on the unsuspecting public for the last 20 minutes or so.

Don't take this seriously. I didn't and I enjoyed it.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

M 15+ Horror, Occasiional Course Language and Nudity.

I knew this movie was going to be good and I was right. It's been a few months since I last saw a horror movie at the cinema, so I chose Carrie 2 over our new Australian movie Two Hands.

I sat down with a friend and talked until the previews were over (they were for LIFE and IDLE HANDS) and then the movie started.

At first I sensed a problem. The musical score at the beginning was almost John Carpenter-esque and I find that really annoying (I love his movies, hate his music.) But the problem is corrected later in the movie.

Another problem is, why would everyone hate Rachel? She's beautiful! A minor glitch in the casting department, but Emily was great.

It kept me waiting. I turned to my friend every five minutes and asked, "Where's the violence? This movie is supposed to have high level violence! Where the hell is it?" Oh boy, was I wrong.

The last 20 minutes was jam-packed full of guts, blood and gore. It was so intense, I had a really sick feeling in my stomach. It has been a long time since a movie last made me feel sick. But I enjoyed it.

The shock ending was expected, it made me jump, not because of what I saw, but because I was sitting under one of the rear speakers where all the noise came from.

The movie is mostly boring until the end, but those last minutes really make up for it. 8 out of 10!

Australian Classification:

MA 15+ (For 15 year olds and over only) HIGH LEVEL VIOLENCE, HORROR THEMES.