Beauty and the Beast
I hadn’t actually seen this film until a week ago on the train down to London, and it was worth waiting for. Especially with the new one out now – I wanted to see the original first. It was truly charming, and the songs were wonderful, though I did know most of the songs anyway. I’m not sure if I quite understood some bits, but I’ll very happily watch it again.
8/10
The Wicker Man (1973)
Following a discussion with Diogo and Hils about the potential name of SW8 being ‘The Wicker Man’, and how inappropriate it is for a ride in a family theme park, I said I’d never seen the film before. It subsequently went on. Ended up watching the director’s cut, too, with some extra 15 minutes of footage. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a bizarre film, what with the focus on paganism, and for those who haven’t watched it before, the twist at the end is a shocker. One thing I will say about it, though, is that Christopher Lee is excellent as Lord Summerisle – he even said that he felt The Wicker Man was his best film. As the credits rolled, I then realised just how bad an idea it would be for Towers to go for a ride themed around something like this! Still, it’s a great film. A subtle horror, I felt, with that twist at the end, and I think it’s one that needs to be watched more than once to get a better understanding of it. Not in a bad way, mind! I almost want to watch the 2006 version with Nicholas Cage now. Just to see how truly awful it is.
8/10
Team America: World Police
This is frankly one of the most bizarre films I’ve seen. It’s so blatantly obvious that it was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame. So many parodies…As soon as ‘Everyone Has AIDS’ started, I was laughing away! Another really good film.
8/10
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Seriously, what needs to be said about this film? The best way to watch it is by having a swear-along. Again, it’s a parody of a few musicals, though it does raise some serious issues about freedom of speech and censorship, which is typical of South Park.
8.5/10
Troll 2
I…Just…What? The concept of the film isn’t too bad, but the execution is just completely and utterly diabolical. The dialogue is wooden and stilted, and the acting is pretty horrific. The best actor in the entire film was the little boy. There’s honestly no wonder why this film is considered to be one of the worst films ever made. I want to call it ‘so bad it’s good’, but I just can’t. It’s more ‘so bad it’s hilariously bad’.
2/10. And that’s me being generous! By far the worst film I've ever seen.
Braindead
I’ve never really been one for zombie films – mainly because my parents just wouldn’t have let me anywhere near them as I was growing up. It was made by Peter Jackson back in 1992, and admittedly bombed at the box office, but then came to prominence again following the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. All I’m going to say is the following: rat-monkey bite; zombies; tranquilisers; housewarming party; lawnmower. When it got to the gory bits, I mainly laughed (especially with the bit when the baby fell into the blender, which perhaps gives an insight into my mind
), but I’ll admit I did get a little bit squeamish at times. And at least the film did kinda have a happy ending with Lionel and Paquita walking off together!
7/10