Wanted (2008)- Angelina Jolie

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Stars: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman

Genre: Action | Crime | Thriller

MPAA Rating:  (strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality)

Running Time: 110 Mins

Tagline: "Choose Your Destiny"

I will admit that the first time I saw this (back in 08) I really didn’t like it. At the time I felt this movie was nonsensical and overblown. My reasons for feeling that way were due to lack of knowledge on the film’s roots. If you are unfamiliar with the origins of Wanted as I was, then look no further because I will clarify everything. Wanted is based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar, with art by J. G. Jones. As of today I have only perused through pictures online and in comic stores, I have not read nor do I have any intentions of reading them. Just knowing that its based on a graphic novel changes my whole expectation and perspective of the film. So, fast forward to 2012, I re-watch the film, and I look at it in a new light of day. I can say that from waiting to re-watch it and reading a little more about it I can see the film for what it really is: an action fantasy film.

So with that said, let’s get into the actual film and dissect it. Wanted tell the story of a young man named Wesley. Shortly in the film we are introduced to his monotonous life. He works as a sales rep with a boss he can’t stand, has a best friend who is having relations with his girlfriend, and lives in a very low end apartment. So, one can say that his life is not exactly a happy one, right? Not until he finds out he is the son of a professional killer and that he has the same skills as he does. Skills like being able to “zoom” into a target lack a hawk’s eye, being able to shoot a bullet in a curved angle, jump from tall buildings easily, and the list goes on. From the skills mentioned one can’t help to just loosen up and enjoy the movies fantasy tone. Anyway, so Wesley is not only told of his capabilities, but he is told that his father was killed and that he must track down his killer. But before he can go on the search for his father’s killer he must receive the proper training. In comes Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, both members of “The Fraternity”-a group of assassins chosen by fate to eliminate specific individuals to bring balance and order.

Without adding any more, that pretty much sums the introduction to Wanted. From there we find out more about Wesley and his father, we learn a little more about Angelina’s character, and a little plot twists come about every now and then As both an action and fantasy film this movie succeeds, but as a serious/no nonsense movie, it does not. Don’t expect the next Bourne or James bond movie. The tone of this film leans more towards fantasy than reality. But, in no way does it mean it’s not worth the viewing or buying. To be honest, I would have this in my collection; I know I will be watching this one again sometime soon. 

Raptor (2001)- Eric Roberts

Director: Jim Wynorski

Stars: Eric Roberts, Corbin Bernsen and Melissa Brasselle

Genre:  Horror | Sci-Fi | Action

MPAA Rating: R

Running Time: 81 Mins

Tagline: "Fear Will Never Be Extinct"

NO STARS!

Anyone who has seen a Roger Corman movie knows exactly what to expect- typically corny dialogue, and below average special effects. Raptor is by no means an exception to the rule. This movie has some of the corniest dialogue and cheap  animatronic special effects. The only real difference from a Corman movie and any other movie from the the Sci-Fi Channel is that you can actually enjoy a Roger Corman movie for its cheap qualities.

Raptor has as much of a plot as bad episode of Barney the Dinosaur…if that makes any sense. This movie had only one real purpose: to show people getting eaten by dinosaur, all in a funny but gruesome fashion. But aside the violence, the movie has Eric Roberts playing a local sheriff who is sent in to investigate the deaths of three teenagers who were mauled by an animal, little do they know it was acts of a T-Rex…or was it a Velociraptor… I don’t know why they kept changing the size of the dinosaur. Actually, I have a theory why the size was changed…they used stock footage from three other movies known as Carnosaur. So anyway back to the movie, the Sheriff eventually finds out that the animal responsible is a prehistoric creature that was engineered by a mad doctor (Corbin Bensen) from here the plot pretty much diminishes and just follows a group of military trying to eliminate the dinosaurs and being eaten in the process.

I wouldn't recommend Raptor in a million years, I would only use this movie as an example of how to not to make a movie. Now, if your shitfaced or just plain bored by all means go ahead and watch Raptor you will have fun with it’s over the top gore and bad dialogue.  This movie is both available on DVD and VHS through the amazon website. I will leave below a trailer of the movie if anyone is interested . Feel free to leave comments or suggestions below.

Video Violence (1987)- Gary Schwartz

Director: Gary P. Cohen

Stars: Gary Schwartz, Chick Kaplan and Robin Leeds

Genre: Horror

MPAA Rating:

Running Time: 90 Mins

Tagline: "When renting is not enough"

It all began last week Friday when I had the urge to watch a cheesy horror movie. I checked my collection to fulfill this weird urge I had , and In the process I noticed I hadn’t opened my box set of “The Basement”. This boxset which resembled an oversized VHS tape box included a collection of long forgotten and unknown horror flicks on DVD. Of all the movies in the set, I ended up watching a flick titled Video Violence. To my amaze I actually enjoyed this movie, at least I took it for it was: an over the top/corny/and satirical horror movie about excessive violence on films.

The central plot of Video Violence is of a video store owner and his wife trying to convince authorities that gruesome acts of violence are being committed by local residents.  It all commences when the owner of the store receives a tape depicting how one of his employees got brutally murdered while being recorded on camera. The owner attempts to contact the police and demonstrate the evidence of the horrific act. Curiously something always happens along the way that prevents him from proving his claims. I will only mention one the things that happnens, in one of instances, the local sherriff accidentally erases the content in the tape leaving the owner without any proof. Incidentally, the police don’t take him seriously and belive his story is made up do to the lack of evidence. So he is left with little choice but take matters into his own hands.

Along with the owner is his wife, who tries to help her husband prove the validity of his claims.  She notices a trend in the town’s residents: they all come to the video store to rent graphic horror movies instead of a comedy or a drama. This leads her to believe that there is a connection between the movies and the gruesome acts of violence being committed. Without ruining the rest of the movie, the owners eventually get the answers they want…and I will say that the end result is hysterical/satirical/ and exaggerated conclusion. But, curiously enough it works quite well in this movie….in a bizarre sort of way.

In it's totality, this is by no means a great movie; it’s actually very silly and over-the-top. What makes the film work is the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The director of this movie knew exactly what he wanted to do and it works in that bizarre/satirical sort of way. If you are interested in viewing the film I will leave a video below with the full movie along with the trailer. However, if you want to purchase the actual movie you can do so by clicking the link above in the introductory paragraph. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this review, and please don’t forget to comment below.  

Edge of The Axe (1988)-Barton Faulks

Director: José Ramón Larraz

Stars: Barton Faulks, Christina Marie Lane and Page Mosely

Genre:  Horror | Thriller

MPAA Rating: UR

Running Time: 95 Mins

Tagline: None

The 80’s is perhaps remembered as the era that brought the best music to the market. Artist like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston dominated the music industry.  But aside the music, the 80’s will perhaps be best remembered as the era in which slasher films flourished. Year after year, slasher film after slasher film was released theatrically. Undoubtedly the credit goes to John Carpenter’s Halloween; the film that gave rise to popularity the innumerous imitations that came about in the 1980’s.  From all the imitations, the one best remembered is Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday The 13^th. It was this film that opened the door for a load of imitations following the same theme or plot. Typically, the story centered on a group of teenagers going on a road trip or arriving at a camp. From there the youngsters would either get high or start premarital sex and eventually get murdered by a deranged killer in gruesome ways.

This film Edge of The Axe is no exception to the rule. This movie follows that exact same story line, without any variations or alterations.  The flick follows the story of a group of young adults living in a small town where no acts of violence ever take place. But, out of nowhere strange and weird murders start to happen.  No one seems to know who it is, and no one seems to be doing anything about stopping this murder; specifically the town’s Sherriff, who wants to keep everything quite before a commotion occurs.  Believe me when I say that this movie is no exception to the rule, it follows the same formula…only difference is the graphic scenes are bit gorier than your Jason Voorhees film counterpart.

The film isn’t exactly memorable or anything of the sort, but it does the job of entertaining the viewer for the total length running time. Personally I can say that I wasn’t bored while viewing the movie. The only complaint I had while viewing this movie was the fact they didn’t give a background on the killer. Unlike Michael or Jason where you get an idea why they kill people…here it’s pretty random and unexplained. Then again, this movie was very random and pointless to be frank; the only redeeming value you will get is seeing people butchered up in graphic ways.

 

Edge of The Axe has only been made available in the North American market on VHS. Being that this movie is over 20 years old, the quality of the tape suffers gravely. I own a copy of this movie and its beginning to degrade in picture and sound quality. And believe it or not this tape goes for as much as 37 dollars a copy. However, if you are interested in seeing this movie for free you can do so by searching for it on YouTube. I will keep a link below just in case.