Horror Movie Reviews: 28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later (2007)
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots
IMDB: 7.0
RT: 71
Box Office: $64.2 Million (Worldwide)

Summary-

 28 weeks after the outbreak the people infected with the virus have starved to death and a US led NATO force is attempting to resettle London. A carrier of the virus gets into the the facility and the virus starts to spread all over again.




Review (SPOILERS!)-

The opening sequence may be my favorite part of the whole film. It begins with Don (Robert Carlyle) and his wife who are living in a country cottage with some people. They let in a little boy who is on the run from some zombies and they quickly break into the house. There is a desperate scramble to get out of the house and Don leaves his wife and escapes out a window. He then runs across a field to a boat where another one of his group is trying to get out but is bit and turns into a zombie as well. He manages to get out and then it jumps to 28 weeks later. This scene is exhilarating and you really feel the emotions of this guy as he escapes. You see how people will do anything in order to survive, even if it means abandoning your loved ones. We then get information that explains what has occurred since the outbreak of the virus. This is where I start to have issues with this film because it seems like the people in charge are making very stupid decisions. They decide to start resettling people into London even though they have not even decontaminated the entire city let alone the country. I can't imagine the world leaders would be that stupid.

Shit they gone eat me!

We then are introduced to Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) who are kids moving into this new London settlement. It is revealed that they are the children of Don who has been living at this place for a while. He has to tell them that their mom is dead but they are going to start getting back to normal life. We are also introduced to Scarlet (Rose Byrne) who is an Army doctor and Doyle (Jeremy Renner) who is an Army Sniper. Apparently everything is safe as all of the zombies have died off but the Military has not finished getting rid of all the bodies so the citizens are kept in a confined area. Of course once this idea is established the kids instantly leave the safe area in order to find a picture of their mom from their house. They then find their mom hiding in the house and the military comes and finds them. This all seemed a bit farfetched for me. How the hell did she get out of the house in the opening sequence without getting killed? I get why she would go to the family home in London but that also seems like it would have been a long journey on foot.

Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner

She is then brought back to the facility and Scarlet examines her and discovers she is a carrier of the disease but is immune to it. The husband comes back to apologize to her for leaving and when they kiss he is exposed to the virus and changes into a zombie. This starts another outbreak of the virus as he escapes and starts infecting other people. It becomes pure chaos and the Military enacts Code Red which means they have to exterminate the population to prevent the virus from spreading. They start killing all of the civilians and fire bomb the whole complex but the zombies still get out into the rest of the city. The rest of the film follows Scarlet, Doyle, Tammy and Andy as they attempt to survive. Doyle helicopter pilot friend gives him a location that he can be extracted and the group heads for that spot. This whole part of the film is pretty well paced and exciting. You get a lot more zombie killing and violence in this than in the original film which should appeal to some.  

Helicopter vs Zombies

The transition from 2nd to 3rd act is pretty weak as they both kind of flow together. The problem with this is that the final act feels a bit repetitive but the pace is brisk enough that the film doesn't drag. Most of the people in the group get killed but eventually they do manage to get out alive but they leave it open for a sequel as they show zombies loose in front of the Eiffel Tower before the credits roll.

Final Thoughts-

This is a much more polished looking film than the original but the story is a significant step down. The characters are very flat and there really isn't much of a message like the first film. This is a film more about getting from point A to point B and trying to cram in as much blood and scares along the way as it can. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing as the film is very entertaining, I just wish there was a bit more meat to it. I would have liked more plot development about the Military and what they where doing and more about this community they set up. Overall I still had some fun with this movie and would be intrigued to see a third installment in the franchise at some point.

MY RATING-

3 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart    

Horror Movie Reviews: Chris Reviews 28 Days Later

28 Days Later (2002)
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris
IMDB: 7.7
RT: 87
Box Office: $82.7 Million (Worldwide)

Summary- 

After animal rights activists let out infected chimpanzees, a virus sweeps across Great Britain. Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up 28 days after the outbreak to an abandoned London. He meets Selena (Naomie Harris) and together with Frank (Brenadan Gleeson) and his daughter they attempt to find somewhere safe from the infected people.


Review (SPOILERS!)-

I am pretty new to the Zombie genre. I have always had an interest in post apocalyptic films because its a genre my dad likes a lot but I had never seen many zombie films. The Walking Dead was really what sparked my interest and now I really want to dig into this genre. 28 Days Later was a film I had always heard great things about and it looked interesting from the few scenes I had seen.

The films opens with some animal rights activists breaking into an animal testing facility. They plan to release some chimpanzees despite a scientist warning them that they are infected with "Rage". The chimpanzees get out and attack the people and after they are bitten the people turn into blood puking, crazed zombies. It then cuts to "28 Days Later" and Jim waking up in a hospital bed. He gets out of the hospital and starts wandering the streets of London and there is no one in sight. I really liked the cinematography in the opening few scenes but the intentionally bad video quality really bothered me. All of the colors are very muted and the whole film looks like it was shot on a SD Sony Handycam or something. I was able to get passed that later in the film but initially it really bothered me.

Jim wandering through London

After wandering around for a bit he goes into a church and sees bodies laying everywhere. He attempts to talk to the people in there and they try to attack him. He starts to run and is rescued by Selena and another person. They explain the situation to him and then come with him to his house as he wants to know what happened to his parents. He finds out there dead and then during the night they get attacked by some of the zombies and the other guy gets bit and Selena kills him instantly. You find out that it only takes about 15 seconds to start to turn. I really liked that element of the film. It makes encounters with these zombies a lot more intense in that if someone gets blood in their system you have to kill them right away, there is no time to grieve about it.  The first act wraps up with Selena and Jim being rescued by Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and them hearing about a safe zone over the radio and deciding to go for it.

Manchester on Fire

 As they make there way to this safe zone there are a couple of very interesting scenes that I liked. My favorite is when they attempt to go through a tunnel and encounter a huge pileup of cars. They plow through them and get to the other side but get a flat tire. Then hoards of rats start coming towards them as they are running from the zombies. I think that is the most intense tire changing scene I have ever seen as they manage to get the tire changed right as the zombies get to the car. There are also some more lighthearted moments such as the time they go to the grocery story or when they eat lunch and watch the horse running in the countryside. There is a nice balance of horror and happiness although I think I might have preferred to keep the tone darker throughout the whole film. When they finally reach their destination it appears to be abandoned which upsets Frank who is subsequently infected with a drop of blood that gets in his eye. Right as he is starting to change he is shot dead and they are rescued by some military personnel. This begins the third act as they are brought to a house that has become a military stronghold.   

 

The third act is where a lot of the action takes place as we not only see how this military unit fights the zombies but also fighting among the non-infected. I don't want to spoil it too much if you have not yet seen the film but suffice it to say the military guys are not good either. This leads to a violent but somewhat confusing climax. That being said there is a happy and satisfying ending to the film.

Final Thoughts-

If you really want to dig into this film you can find a lot of social commentary and symbolism. For instance when Jim wakes up in the hospital he is completely naked which is supposed to represent him being born into this world. He is innocent but is exposed to horrible violence from the infected and in the third act he becomes violent himself in order to save the people he cares about. Its an interesting social commentary and makes this film a bit more interesting than I thought it was immediately after watching it. That in combination with the solid direction and writing make this an above average horror film for me. Sure I'm not crazy about the video quality aesthetic but that does not detract enough from the film to prevent me from liking it. 

MY RATING-

3.5 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart  

Action Movie Reviews: Chris Reviews Escape Plan

Escape Plan (2013)-
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone
IMDB: 6.8
RT: 49
Box Office: $137.3 Million (Worldwide)

Summary-

Ray Breslin (Stallone) is an expert at breaking out of prisons. He has a company that is usually hired by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test their security. He gets an offer to test a secret prison called The Tomb that contains the worlds most dangerous people captured by the CIA (Terrorists etc.). He is framed and trapped in this prison that was designed based on his ideas of how to make prisons more secure and must work with Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) in order to escape.


Review (SPOILERS!)-

This was a film that I missed in the theaters but was initially very excited about. Unfortunately after some lackluster reviews I put it on the back burner in terms of movies I needed to watch. I wish I hadn't because I really dig this film!

The story starts with Ray Breslin as an inmate in a Prison. He gets himself put into the isolation cell after he starts a fight in the prison yard and begins to work out how to escape. It doesn't take long for him to get out and meet up with his employees Abigal (Amy Ryan) and Hush (50 Cent). After his business partner Lester Clark (Vincent D'Onofrio) explains to the police and the Warden of the Prison what happened, Breslin explains how he escaped. This whole sequence is pretty well paced and quickly establishes everything you need to know about the characters and the situation. I really liked the concept right off the bat even if the actors where a bit stiff.

After everything is established Breslin is offered a very lucrative job to test out a special prison that's privately funded to house some of the worlds most dangerous people. It immediately seems like a bad idea but Breslin goes for it anyway. When he meets the employers things go bad very quickly and he is drugged and wakes up inside the prison. This prison seems very intimidating as all the cells are glass and its in the middle of a large warehouse type room with tons of guards.

Kind of like Magneto's Prison in X-Men

The guards at this prison are brutal as you immediately see them beating the fuck out of people. I guess this is what Guantanamo Bay is like cause it seems like their are no rules for the guards. He then meets Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) who is the soft spoken, clean cut but harsh Warden. Once he gets released into the common area you see all of the typical prison movie tropes (different gangs etc). This is when we get introduced to Rottmayer who immediately takes interest in Breslin. This is where the film really starts to get interesting as Breslin has to figure out the layout of the prison and how it operates. Initially it seems like Rottmayer is to willing to be Breslin's friend which bothered me but there is a reason for it that is revealed at the end. Warden Hobbes realizes that it is Breslin who has brought into the prison and is exited because he based the designs of the prison on the book thathe wrote about prison security. This adds another challenge on top of simply breaking out of the prison.  

Action Legends conversing

The middle act of the film is mostly about Breslin trying to figure out where this prison is which becomes another complication to the story. Then the usual tropes of a prison film of planing the escape which Breslin says there are three important factors to; knowing the layout, knowing the routine and having help from the outside. Throughout the course of this middle act they figure out all three of those which sets the film up for a big finale. The main issue I had with this part of the film is that they have another plotline about Warden Hobbes wanting information about some CIA target that Rottmayer worked for. I didn't really care about that aspect of the story and simply wanted them to focus on the prison escape. That being said at the end of the film you realize that the plot point about this CIA target is pretty important.

Warden Hobbes

The final act where they escape is where all of the action is in the movie. While I think the overall escape plan is murky and not particularly creative it is still pretty exciting. There is a short but brutal fight that I liked between Breslin and the Warden's Henchman who gets thrown down a flight of metal stairs. There is also some shoot out scenes throughout out the prison as they are trying to make their escape. Once they get to the outside of the prison Rottmayer has some friends who come to rescue them in a helicopter which provides Schwarzenegger and opportunity to mow down some bad guys with a machine gun. If your into these types of movies these are the moments that you are waiting for. Then of course you have to have the moment where they kill the bad guy and say one liners. (Schwarzenegger "Have a lovely day asshole!") Once they escape the prison they quickly tie up all the lose ends although I think that is the most forced part of the whole film.

Final Thoughts-

This is clearly not the most original film or even a particularly well written one but the script is good enough to keep you interested. The characters are pretty flat but luckily when you have Stallone and Schwarzenegger you don't need dynamic characters, they just play themselves and we love them for it. The two of them carry this film and make it fun enough to be memorable. I think this is equal to if not better than either of their last solo films (Bullet to the Head, The Last Stand) and is worth watching for all action film fans!

MY RATING-

3 out of 5 

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart

Chris Reviews Monuments Men

I had put this on my list of most anticipated movies of 2014. Unfortunately it got pretty bad reviews so I did not go out and see it right away but I finally got a chance to see it last night. Is it as bad as the critics say or is it an entertaining World War 2 drama?

The Good-

I really liked the concept of this film in theory and the cast looked pretty good as well. I can always find a way to enjoy some aspect of a World War 2 movie and this film is no different. There are a couple of very interesting scenes that will bring you back into the film if you start to get bored. If you are into art there is a lot of interesting stuff in this for you as well. I have no doubt there will be a group of die hard fans of this movie for that reason alone. The soundtrack is also pretty interesting although a bit minimalist for a World War 2 film.  



The Bad- 

Overall this is just a really dull film. The pacing is very slow and it never really builds to anything. Most of the movie is just people wandering around war zones looking for art and occasionally getting killed but without any intensity or emotion. I can handle a slowly paced movie but that was not the only problem. The main issue with this film is that despite having a few interesting scenes it never comes together to make a cohesive story. Another issue is that despite having a pretty good cast the acting was very mediocre although some of that was a result of bad writing. There where numerous dialogue scenes that felt very awkward and forced and the actors where very lethargic and it seemed like they where just going through the motions.

Summary-

This is a film that had a lot of potential as an old school World War 2 men on a mission movie. Instead it is an awkward, slowly paced drama about art that just happens to take place during World War 2. It's not a horrible film, just a disappointing and forgettable one.

MY RATING-

2.5 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart  

Chris Reviews Robocop

The original Robocop is one of the best Sci-fi/Action movies of all time and is my personal favorite movie. So obviously there was little chance that a modern remake was going to top the original for me. The real question was whether I hated it or not. Is this just another terrible remake that has become so common in the film industry today or a solid restart to a Robocop franchise?

The Good-

Well the first bit of good news is that the film is not terrible. Director Jose Padilha (Elite Squad) proves that he knows how to do action as the film is littered with slick looking action sequences. The film also attempts to tackle the drone issue albeit clumsily. I actually really liked the opening scene where it shows how the United States has used robots and drones to pacify the rest of the world and specifically in Tehran.I also enjoyed Samuel Jackson in this who is fun as the host of a TV show that is constantly pushing for robotics to become legal for police use in the United States.

The Bad-

The cast is pretty bland overall with the exception of Samuel Jackson. Joel Kinnaman is pretty lame and generic as Alex Murphy and the film spends a lot of time with him and his family. They go to great lengths to show Alex Murphy before and then his transformation into Robocop. This seems like a great idea on paper but it feels really forced and is made worse by the boring performances by Kinnaman and his family. The worst aspect of this film though are the villains. It seems like the writers couldn't make up their minds about who they wanted to be the villain. There is the bad arms dealer guy who has zero development and you know nothing about him except for being told he is a bad guy. Then you have Michael Keaton as the CEO of OCP who seems like he is trying to help but then he instantly turns bad. His motivations are very simplistic but they are constantly changing and the character really just doesn't make any sense. There is also Mattox (Jackie Earle Haley) who is in charge of the drones at OCP and hates Robocop because he is human. I think that is my main issue with this film in that they tried to make it all about Murphy's transformation into Robocop and then put no thought into the actual crime story. The story essentially becomes a 5th graders interpretation of the original movies story.

Summary-

I tried really hard to look at this movie objectively and not in comparison to the original. From that perspective this is a middle of the road modern action film that will likely entertain the average moviegoer as it hits all the beats it should. From the perspective of a huge fan of the original this is a forgettable attempt to remake a classic. You can't remake a Paul Verhoeven movie, he has such a unique style and skill at social satire that can't be matched. They tried to do it with Total Recall in 2012 and this film doesn't get any closer to achieving that goal. Instead of paying the 8 bucks to go see this in theaters, go to amazon and buy the remastered version of the original on blu-ray.

MY RATING- 

2.5 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart    

Chris Reviews The Lego Movie

There are always those movies that come out and catch you completely by surprise. I remember hearing about this film last year and I just rolled by eyes and thought it was going to be another corporation trying to make a movie that promotes their toys. Then a few days ago the reviews started to come in and they were glowing and helped convince me to give the film a chance. Was it a beginning of the year surprise or just another corporate cash grab? Obviously you should read below to find out......

The Good-

This is a surprisingly good animated film! The story is pretty damn good as far as kids movies go and there is enough social commentary  to make it more than just mindless entertainment. It really tries to push across the idea that everybody is creative and useful in their own way and that even when other people may seem weird we shouldn't criticize them. At least that's the message that I got out of the film. There is a lot of other messages that you can pull out of it as well and there are quite a few adult jokes to keep the parents entertained. In fact there were times that this felt more like a movie for adults than kids as some of the themes were pretty mature. I also really enjoyed the voice acting by Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Charlie Day, Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett not to mention the numerous cameos. Not only was the story and voice acting pretty good but the visuals were excellent as well. The animation was slick and there were some pretty engaging action sequences.

The Bad-

This is still a movie about Legos and I could feel myself being urged to buy some, so don't think that this movie was not a cash grab because it is. I also felt like the film got a bit preachy at times and handled some of the themes clumsily but that's about the only problems I have with this film. 

Summary-

It's always nice to have a movie that you thought was going to be terrible be surprisingly good. If you enjoy animated movies and are looking for something that is well written, funny and has a message than you definitely should check this out. The Lego Movie is well worth a watch for people of all ages!

MY RATING-

4 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart