Day of the Dead: Savini's Masterpiece

DAY OF THE DEAD: 1985: +-: Horror:  No one can deny that George A Romero created the zombie genre.  Since today was the season premier of The Walking Dead, I felt it was appropriate to review another Romero movie, Day of the Dead.  


The Walking Dead?  I never heard of it says the Romero zombie...

It's interesting to note that if you were one of the lucky individuals to buy the 1st comic of The Walking Dead, and hold onto it until now, you would be about $2,000 dollars richer.  It is currently THE comic to own, aside from the 1st Action Comic of course. Its impressive increase in value is due to the success of the AMC series.  Feel free to bid on it http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/221437873160?lpid=82 !!


Currently this copy of The Walking Dead  is worth about 2,500.

This is all due to the work of Romero.  I already reviewed Night of the Living Dead, and it's worth noting that Dawn of the Living Dead was also a great movie, but the most debated and controversial of the trio is Day of the Living Dead.  The primary reasons are that critics think the acting was inconsistent and that Romero was trying to inject social commentary by depicting the struggle between the military and science in society.

   
Day of the Dead dealt with more than just zombies.

I will admit that at times I wondered where Romero was going with the movie, because there were periods of lack luster dialogue. The one thing that is on display is the makeup of the zombies.  To this day, I haven't seen better zombies in anything, The Walking Dead included.  They looked incredibly disgusting and utterly revolting and I loved every minute of it.  

   
The zombies looked incredible in Day of the Dead.

Some of the reasons why this movie was different than the others, was that Tom Sivini displayed zombies in different scenarios other than just walking aimlessly with their arms stretched out.  


Sivini applying makeup and final touches to Bub.

The scene when the female lead Lori Cardille goes into the main scientist's lab was a virtual tour de force of amazing makeup, special effects, and modelling.  


Gore, Gore, and more Gore!  The scene in the lab was impressive.

One zombie only had his brain connected to his spine. Another had it's guts spilling out while another unruly zombie had to be drilled in the head to avoid escaping.  It was amazing and considering this movie was made in 1985, it speaks volumes.  This is Sivini's masterpiece for sure! 


Does this shot look familiar?  It's used over and over in The Walking Dead.

The beginning scare was also noteworthy because it caught me off guard and made me jump in my chair.  It was a nice touch to have the hands pop out of the wall during the nightmare sequence.  The music climaxed perfectly and it was one of the memorable parts of the movie.  


This was one of the better scares in the movie!

As mentioned though, the movie is probably the weakest link in the trio in terms of overall execution but it deserves a place on the list of horror fans because the makeup was just that impressive.  It also attempts to give zombies a bit more depth as demonstrated by the character Bub, who begins to re-learn his human habits as part of an experiment.  This part was actually one of the more unique parts of the movie.  He mourns the death of the head scientist, who trains him and feeds him bits of human body parts. Who would have thought that a zombie could have feelings?  


Bub catching up on some reading.


Bub mourning the loss of his buddy.

Day of the Dead attempted to break new ground with the genre and I commend Romero for that.  In many ways, he deserves to have some artistic freedom to explore the boundaries of the zombie genre.  It boasted some of the best makeup ever seen in a zombie movie and it's awesome to see this movie right after Night of the Living Dead.  The ending was by far the least compelling ending of the other Romero movies but it sufficed.  I liked when the zombies ripped apart the general because he really had it coming.    


This scene was particularly gory.  No CGI here!

Some say that there was a change in the budget and the screenplay had to be rewritten. That could account for the inconsistent pace of the movie.  One thing is for sure, they didn't skimp on the makeup and special effects department.  Fans of Tom Sivini shouldn't miss this movie: 72%


The master at work.


Frank Darabont called, he needs some ideas...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDU17qVB-dM

Amazing Spider-Man 2 VS Captain America

  VS  

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN vs CAPTAIN AMERICA: 2014: ACTION: ++:  Summer isn't the same without some blockbusters and now it seems like the superheroes have taken over, especially those of the Marvel Comics variety.  Both movies delivered great visuals and action sequences, but which was more original and packed more of a punch?

Spider-Man 2 began with a short montage of him flying through the air and web-slinging in much the way that the X-Men movie started this year, creating a sort of microcosm of the movie itself.  The effects were excellent and getting a sense for how Spidey moves in the air was thrilling.  However, the use of his own music on his phone and in his dialogue was odd.  How could a super-hero know his own music, especially that from the old cartoon series?  That was for the kids I guess.

Spidey slings while humming his own theme song?  Cheesy?

The stop motion effects were impressive throughout the movie but I missed the darker tone that the first Amazing Spider-Man had. It seemed to be edgier and this one immediately gave you the impression that this was not going to be the case.  Back to campy Spidey with a ton of wise cracks.  Don't get me wrong, this is from the comic, but it didn't necessarily have to follow every action sequence.

Can you just hear the wise crack he's about to say?  

Captain America began without any bells and whistles but get's you ready for a very real and exciting fight scene after he meets a fellow serviceman who becomes an ally running.  Not only that, but he gets picked up by Scarlett Johansson in the new Corvette. Not a bad way to introduce both characters.

The new Corvette and Scarlett, who wouldn't get in?

A new ally arises in Captain America..nice!

The action sequence that follows on the ship didn't disappoint and it was great how they introduced the physics of the shield and how Captain America uses it in combat.  Oh and by the way, he jumps out of an airplane without a parachute.  That line beat all of the cheesy wise cracks in the beginning of Spider Man 2 because it was subtle but effective.

Parachutes aren't necessary for Cap

The plot for Spider Man 2  becomes pretty predictable after Jamie Fox is electrocuted.  It follows many of the other films, even some of the Toby Maguire films, which I know a lot of people want to forget.  It was almost following a blueprint of what was going to happen.  

Soon to be a villain, Jamie Fox starts off very poorly.

Here is the plot in a nutshell: New villain arises, receives special powers by some freak accident, and then decides to go after Spider Man.  In this case, the reasons are very confusing.  First he idolizes him and then he hates him because he forgets his name, on his birthday?  I don't remember that from the comics.  

Come on..who wrote this?  Oh, it was re-written by Roberto Orti, or something.  Yes, re-written.  Never a good sign.  That's why Stan Lee appeared early in the film and was never seen again. Early cameo, then he's outta there.

Spidey, first I idolize you, then I hate you.  It's my Birthday Dammit!

The fighting scene in Times Square for Spider Man 2 was excellent and a definite high point in the movie.  The effects of the buildings losing power, the authenticity of the stores, and the stop motion was superb.  The special effects team should be praised for that portion.

The Time Square scene was done with excellent effects!

The Captain America action sequences weren't anything to disregard because they had plenty of great effects and felt more physically possible.  I especially loved it when he single highhandedly takes on a huge airship and turns it into rubble using only his shield and his quick reflexes.

This scene was awesome!  

I felt that the plot was better organized in Captain America with the use of Samuel L Jackson as Fury because it maintained some level of a twist while keeping you on your toes as to who should be trusted and who shouldn't be.  The scene where Fury is in the armored vehicle getting barraged by bullets was outstanding.

I loved this part of Captain America!

Do you want to see my identification officer?

The love interest part with Gwen and Spidey was alright, but I thought that the chemistry between Toby and Gwen was better in the previous Spider-Man version. Nothing beats that scene where Spidey gives her the first kiss while dangling on the web.  In the new Spidey, it just seems a bit hot and cold and doesn't have consistency.  What little chemistry there was in Captain America, even if it was tense, seemed to work better because again, it seemed more organic.

Spidey and Gwen have communication issues and little chemistry.

Now there's some chemistry, even if it's a bit strained, there's eye contact at least!

Case and point is when Cap and Scarlett have to kiss on the elevator.  That put the part where Spidey writes "I love you" on the Brooklyn Bridge to shame.  That was so cheesy it made me cringe.  Again, maybe it was for the kids. 

What, no exclamation point!  FAIL!

The villains in both movies were on equal grounds, neither was really compelling or made you hate them.  There was definitely more of a connection between the villain in Captain America than in Spider Man because they both fought on the same squad in their previous lives.  That made the conflict more visceral and engaging.

 OR 

Other than that the rest is academic. To me the Amazing Spider-Man series was meant to draw AWAY from the previous version with Toby, but in this one it went right back to the camp and cheese.  Captain America stayed true to it's roots and delivered a more consistent flow of action and suspense, with some sexual tension.  

Oh and throwing in the Hobgoblin in the end to round out the action in Spider Man seemed like a good idea, but it just fizzled as the scene only lasted like 5 minutes. 

There was just not enough Hobgoblin.  Save it for the sequel I guess.

This was an epic battle.

I liked the Hobgoblin.  He was great in the comic.  Again, it's obvious this movie is just setting up another sequel and following in the footsteps of the previous Spider-Man movies, which I think is a mistake.  

Spidey lost his edge, but he is still a favorite for the kids.  

So Spidey lost his edge and Captain America sharpened his shield.  I guess that's the way of the world.  Amazing Spider-Man 2 79%

Captain America 83%

"We knew we would win this comparison, no problem!"

The Power of an Idea: V for Vendetta

V FOR VENDETTA:  2005: ++: THR/ ACT:  "Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V." 

Once V utters this statement, you know what you're in for with this highly acclaimed movie.  Drawing various parallels from the Count of Monte Crisco, The Phantom of the Opera, and of course Guy Fawkes, the character "V" is played extremely well by Hugo Weaving, from the Matrix series.  For those who don't know, he was the "Smith" character. 


The origins of V- worth a read!

Critics and viewers alike had enormous expectations for V  and it doesn't disappoint.  Based on the 1983 comic, the dipiction of a dystopia/ totalitarian state is executed supremely well.  Think of 1984  and you get the idea.  What I liked best about this movie was the way in which the action flows naturally and doesn't jar you or create inconsistencies as you see in many movies in the action/ thriller genre.

(An Ironic Twist)


When I think of this movie, I think of the Matrix and that's not a coincidence because many of the same people were involved in it's creation including the Wachowsky brothers.  
Natalie Portman was a natural for the role of Evey, which is an interesting name because it has E, the 5th letter in the alphabet and V.  The letter 5 has great significance in the graphic novel and this isn't downplayed in the movie.  The roman numeral "V" itself means "5".  Another parallel to "5" are the fingermen, who act as a kind of brut squad that torment and supervise the public. 



Give Natalie Portman credit, she actually shaved her head for this movie.  

Standout scenes are when V blows up the Bailey, confronts Creedy in the greenhouse (to the sound of Beethoven's 5th no less), when he kills the overweight, glutton Prothero in the bathroom and when Evey displays the mirror's inscription from Faust, which also had various "Vs'" in it.  I also enjoyed the last scene but I won't give that away to ruin the surprise. 


Since an "idea" can't be killed, V took this role upon himself.  Many people also take on the role of V, especially Gordon Dietrich who says himself he is "V" in the kitchen.  This is foreshadowing.  He is right, if you consider "V" a symbol of rebellion against injustice.  This manifests at the end when the Guy Fawkes masks are worn by the public uprising against the tyranny of the Norsefire.  The "Occupy" movement and the "Anonymous" hacker group have taken this symbolism as well and even wear the masks.  This movie shouldn't be missed::::95%