4.3/10
养鬼吃人9:启示录 (2011) 豆瓣 IMDb TMDB 维基数据
Hellraiser: Revelations
2.8 (5 个评分) 导演: Víctor García 演员: 史蒂文·布兰德 / 丹尼尔·布兰
其它标题: Hellraiser: Revelations / 养鬼吃人9
某个晴朗假日,美国青年尼克(Jay Gillespie 饰)和好友史蒂文(Nick Eversman 饰)驱车穿越国境线,打算前往墨西哥的提华纳寻找一次绝佳的艳遇。他们很快便锁定了一个性感尤物,但是突如其来的意外让二人的狂欢设想灰飞烟灭。正当他们垂头丧气之际,某当地人送给二人一个精致的魔方。尼克和史蒂文的命运就此改写,他们也有如人间蒸发一般消失。
尼克和史蒂文的失踪给各自家人莫大的打击,在一次家庭聚会中,艾玛(Tracey Fairaway 饰)从两人的行李中找到了那枚魔方,而浑身是血的史蒂文也突然出现在房间内。家人们对此感到惊奇喜悦,却不知道丁头鬼的魔爪正慢慢伸向他们……
2024年1月7日 看过
2024年1月7日 评论 a review of 养鬼吃人9:启示录 - Oof, so close, yet still pretty dang far. Hot take: this is the first sequel to actually get Hellraiser right. Pinhead and the Cenobites aren't portrayed as your generic slasher villains or putting people through psychological torment to get them to realize their sins and judge their souls. They're once again purveyors of unholy sensation who only lay claim to those hedonistic pleasure seekers foolishly desperate enough summon them. Honestly, all that's holding this back are its rushed, slap-dashed nature and embarrassingly low production values.  This was originally intended to be a remake of the first film, but after spending so long in development it was speedily repurposed into a ninth(!) sequel to keep the rights from expiring. As such, you can see a lot of similarities between the plot here and the 1987 flick. Truth be told, I don't think the script is half-bad outside of a few ridiculous elements like cars magically disappearing or phones conveniently going out (I get the turd son is probably responsible for all that, but come on it's weirdly handled). There's plenty of skinless degenerates trying to escape their fates in the underworld and some very Barker-esque sexual transgressions to make up for it though. It's the poor execution that brings everything down. The gore looks fine, but they clearly didn't have the budget to include more of the supernatural stuff so the action primarily consists of watching two families scream at each other over their dysfunctions and dirty secrets with horrible acting, which is just insufferable. Also, and I feel terrible for saying this because I'm basically and inadvertently insulting a man's face when I don't mean to, but Pinhead now looks seriously goofy following Doug Bradley's departure from the role. Stephan Smith Collins is a normal looking dude irl, yet with a completely shaved head covered in grey paint and a mouth that's awkwardly trying to mime the words that Fred Tatasciore would later lip-sync over, it's hard to not find amusement in his appearance whilst playing the iconic horror villain. A shame as it takes away from the otherwise fantastic ending that sees the character adhering to all the rules Barker established that fans have been missing ever since Hellbound . Another example of how what could have been the first faithful follow-up in years was kneecapped into becoming another unlovable successor by being cheaply made and quickly thrown together. I do have a weird, cautious sense of optimism for the final entry in the franchise after this however, as returning writer (who also takes up the directing role in Judgement ) Gary J. Tunnicliffe does seem to somewhat understand what the property should be. At least, certainly to a greater degree than any of his predecessors did that is
4.3/10
生死格斗 (2006) IMDb 豆瓣 TMDB 维基数据
DOA: Dead or Alive
5.1 (41 个评分) 导演: 元奎 演员: 杰米·普莱斯利 / 戴文青木
其它标题: DOA: Dead or Alive / 死或生
为了追寻哥哥的踪迹,某国公主霞(戴文青木 Devon Aoki 饰)坚持要参加世界上最权威的格斗比赛“生死格斗”,在比赛中,参赛者随时都有丧命的危险,而自己的命只有自己负责。与此同时,女飞贼艾伦(霍莉·瓦兰丝 Holly Valance 饰)、摔跤手蒂娜(杰米·普莱斯利 Jaime Pressly 饰)、游戏主办者的侄女海伦娜(莎拉·卡特 Sarah Carter 饰),以及世界各地的武术高手都收到了比赛的邀请函,一帮野心勃勃的武者向着比赛场地神秘岛进发,他们各有各的隐情,但最终目的都是打倒对手,获得千万奖金。选手们在岛上接受了严格的训练,比赛层层推进,他们闯五关斩六将,但是随着比赛的进行,某些令人不安的真相渐渐的浮出水面,这场比赛真的仅仅是为了决出世界最强武者而举办的吗?
影片根据热门同名游戏改编而成,以其极高的还原度在广大玩家中引起了共鸣。
2020年5月7日 看过
2020年5月7日 评论 a review of 生死格斗 - Tries to distract you from its sloppy action and bad acting with T 'n' A. While a defining aspect of the Dead or Alive games has always been how sexualized their fighters are, the series has survived on more than just jiggle physics alone. The developers at Team Ninja crafted a genuinely competitive and high-quality battle system that has allowed the franchise to remain one of the most notable names in the genre for years. This film adaptation fails to capture the same thrill of combat however, as the actors seem to have been selected based on their looks and willingness to show some skin as opposed to having any actual skill in martial arts. Leaning more heavily on the sex appeal to try and cover this up wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but there's only so much tantalizing you can do with a PG-13 rating and panning shots over women in swimsuits aren't enough to draw attention away from the flaws when they're this glaring. It fails at being a successful homage to Hong Kong action cinema as I was more interested in a single volleyball sequence that served as a nice reference to Tecmo's pervier spin-off titles than I was in any of the shoddy displays of wire fu. Then there's the story and tone to think about... The plot is about as predictable as you can get. A bunch of competitors get invited to an island tournament and, big surprise, the rich dude throwing it together exploits them for his own ulterior (and incredibly obvious) motives. There are several supporting narratives running alongside this that only serve to muddy things up to the point where it actually feels like there's too much going on and never end up going anywhere interesting. Like, did any time seriously need to be dedicated to watching Zack sexually harass Tina Armstrong? I think not. As often as ridiculousness can be a bad movie's best friend by allowing them to become something stupidly fun, there are plenty in the same vein as this one that go too far with it and look even dorkier than they otherwise would have. The film immediately opens over a terrible CGI palace in what appears to be feudalistic Japan where Devon Aoki is giving a horrendous performance before literally flying over it's walls and revealing she has some kind of futuristic hang glider backpack hidden under her kimono. It's an incredibly jarring way to start things off and to its fault doesn't get any less absurd or goofy from there. Despite all that's wrong with it I can't not give DOA credit for having all female leads. This is far from the height of feminism, but it at least lets the women be strong AND sexy while carrying a style of film usually headlined by men. Sadly, it isn't steamy or well-choreographed enough to act as a good vehicle for them, lagging behind the likes of Lara Croft and Resident Evil to a staggering degree. Not just on the empowerment front, but as a representation of video games onscreen as well. Plus, those films even did a better job of serving their intended purpose of arousing the excitement of teenage boys with more impressive displays of flesh and violence. All that's left for this to offer is disappointment.
4.3/10
The Final Storm (2010) IMDb 维基数据 TMDB
The Final Storm
导演: 乌维·鲍尔 演员: 劳伦·霍利 / 卢克·佩里
其它标题: 더 파이널 스톰 / A Última Tempestade
A stranger named Silas flees from a devastating storm and finds refuge with Tom and Gillian on their farm. While struggling with the Storm, Silas seems to be the only one who can help Tom and Gillian to find their son but there are other more dangerous forces out there, that are waiting for the three.
2020年4月4日 看过
2020年4月4日 评论 a review of - On top of having to deal with the Biblical apocalypse unfolding around them, an isolated family must contend with the arrival of a mysterious stranger named "Silas" who starts making himself a little too at home. At first he's more of an annoying presence as he helps himself to the family's food and begins doing work around their property despite no one asking him to, but quickly turns creepy by trying to play father and husband while butting heads with the actual man of the house. To make things weirder the wife and son seem completely unfazed by their guest's actions even when they clearly cross the line. It is briefly implied that there are some familial issues going on behind the scenes that may be putting them at odds with the father, but it's never explored so there's no explanation as to why they would be so accepting of this weirdo imposing himself into their lives like this. The whole end of days scenario is only in place so that there's some sort of justification behind Silas being able to stay with them in the first place. A clever idea I'll admit, but it ultimately never pays off. The death of world ends up feeling so detached from the main plot it's almost like two movies are going on at once. I do believe it was possible to make the disparate threads come together, but this just wasn't the film to make that happen. The biggest problem with The Final Storm though is that it's boring. Not much actually happens before the finale outside of an unexpectedly eerie trip into town where the characters discover everyone else has disappeared. After that it's right back to the farmhouse for another round of cyclical conversations designed to pad out the running time. All of the excitement takes place at the conclusion. I will say it's very well made. With better acting and production values than just about every one of the director's other works. Unfortunately that doesn't mean much in the face of how dull and nonsensical it all is. I mean, the most noteworthy aspects for me were that a sex scene occurs in literally the first 10 minutes and it having one of the most bizarrely abrupt endings I've ever seen. Outside of that all I can think to talk about are its faults, which should tell you everything you need to know.
4.3/10
环太平洋:雷霆再起 (2018) Eggplant.place 豆瓣 TMDB Min reol IMDb 维基数据
Pacific Rim: Uprising
5.0 (484 个评分) 导演: 斯蒂文·S·迪奈特 演员: 约翰·博耶加 / 卡莉·史派妮
其它标题: Pacific Rim: Uprising / 环太平洋2
在对抗外星人的入侵并成功封住虫洞的十年后,人类从废墟中站起来。他们忘记了恐惧,纵情狂欢,其中便包括斯特克·潘特考斯特将军的儿子杰克(约翰·博耶加 John Boyega 饰)。在一次偷到废弃机甲零件的过程中,他偶然遭遇以一己之力组装迷你机甲的少女阿玛拉(卡莉·史派妮 Cailee Spaeny 饰)。此后,在姐姐森麻子(菊地凛子 饰)的安排下,杰克和阿玛拉莫玉兰基地接受机甲驾驶员的培训工作。与此同时,总部位于上海的邵氏集团,在总裁邵丽雯(景甜 饰)的主持下,正致力于以无人机甲取代传统机甲。就在这关键时刻,一个与复仇流浪者极其相似的黑色机甲突然出现,并向人类展开了无情杀戮。
人们发现,遥远的外星“先驱”仍在蠢蠢欲动,时刻等待着消灭地球人的时机……
2018年8月4日 看过
2018年8月4日 评论 a review of 环太平洋:雷霆再起 - The question in the back of everyone's mind when this sequel was announced was whether or not it had any chance of working without Guillermo del Toro in the cockpit. I mean we're talking about a movie where giant robots fought giant monsters and absurd plot devices were floating all over the place. The only reason it succeeded was because of del Toro's passion for the project. With Uprising he serves only as a producer and his lack of presence is most certainly felt. This is a huge step back in quality and one of the most baffling films I've ever seen. The first Pacific Rim had a pretty definitive ending and you can tell the writers really struggled to come up with some way to keep things going. The story is simply a mess. There are some massive plot holes and moments that take suspension of disbelief an entirely new dimension. Sometimes all I could do was look at the screen and say " WHAT? ". To top things off it's not all that interesting either. The whole thing comes off as an incredibly boring and convoluted anime filler arc. Something went wrong with the editing as well. Uprising has some of the most jarring transitions I've ever seen. There's a scene in here where a character is hanging up a coat and then out of nowhere a huge battle is taking place. I ended up rewinding because I thought the DVD skipped. This kind of thing happens several times, making the narrative much less cohesive. A lot more work should have gone into the characters. The majority of the cast gets almost zero screen time. Even the main love interest is only in like two scenes. So just about everyone goes underdeveloped. John Boyega is the one saving grace of the movie. It really shouldn't have taken him as long as Star Wars to get famous. I swear it's like nobody but me and Nina Gold watched Attack the Block. Nice to see they gave him a better haircut than the one he has as Finn. His costar Scott Eastwood has apparently mastered the "who farted?" face. It's his only expression in the entire film. The amount of representation onscreen is great. So nice to see such a large Asian presence in a big Hollywood release. For a movie all about grand creature battles the action isn't even that good. It does look nice. The environments have a distinct anime feel and the destruction is reminiscent of a Power Rangers Megazord fight. The Kaiju also look great. Still having that distinctly imaginative del Toro style. There's just nothing all that memorable to the showdowns. There are a few scenes where moves are reused from earlier in the film. Such as the motion Boyega and Eastwood use activate their Jaegers' retractable sword. It's a little too obvious to just be me nitpicking. I didn't think Uprising would live up to it's predecessor, but I did at least expect to have a decent time with some glorious destruction the way I do with most mindless blockbusters. Never could I have imagined it being this bad. It's so poorly written and shoddily put together that I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it actually saw a wide-release. Much less the fact that it's meant to be the start of a new cinematic universe. This is last year's The Mummy happening all over again, only slightly less terrible. If you really need your Kaiju fix and can't wait for American Godzilla's return next year then allow me to recommend Rampage over this as it is by far the better of this year's two giant monster movies.
4.3/10