There no Bears in the woods anymore

Its been a while but here we go.

The Troll Hunter or Trolljergen from Norway was suggested to me from a dear friend.

The setting, Norway in all its mountainous glory gives the perfect backdrop for this monstrous adventure.

Apparently some film students from a nearby university hear about people disappearing in the woods and decide to make a documentary all about it and that's your perspective..as the cameraman documenting the whole thing.

During their "investigation" they encounter a very strange person, a grizzled mountain man with a face not unlike granite that has about all the personality of a chunk of limestone. BUT this is in no way a bad thing, further down the path of the story we learn why.

True it does seem preposterous to make a movie all about Troll Hunting as the title suggests, considering Trolls are from fairy tales and old folk lore, not exactly a modern theme for a big Hollywood blockbuster. This is exactly why it works (and why its not or should not be remade into a Hollywood Blockbuster)

It takes the sci fi nerd out of the comfort zone of Aliens and Mutants and throws you into a stinking frothing face of something that is so hard not to believe. Especially with the boulder of science to explain certain things to you.

There is only one part of the film that annoys me, but its of little consequence and im hardly few will notice.

As for the script, good story and good interactions with all the characters, nothing ground breaking but its all about the Troll Hunter here.

The CG was fantastically believable almost hitting the Uncanny Valley (3d Term)

Overall 9/10 ...Those of you who do not like subtitles or foreign movies..unlucky.

I am not going to post a trailer up here for it will spoil the film and all its surprises.

Dim the Lights and turn the sound up, you want to hear evey footstep in this adventure.

Buried for 3 Million?

Starring.....Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy a civilian contractor in Iraq, while driving in a convoy a bunch of insurgents ambush and kidnap Paul. Incarcerating him in a coffin sized crate and burying him under 3ft of sand............but we don't get to see that oh no.

We are taken on a 90 minute epic claustrophobic struggle, Incorporating one scene location.....one actor..and a bunch of camera angles that make my head spin. There is one question that i simply must ask.

What was the budget for this movie?

Not because it looks like a low budget production, but because of the simplicity of the story. A guy trapped in a box for the entire length of the movie having a few conversations with idiots on the phone.

Turns out it was $3,000,000. Source Movieweb.com

While that disgusting amount of money "well spent" is sinking into your brain i have to say.

Ryan Reynolds, hell of a good comedian and one hell of a good actor in this acting all kinds of emotions all at once. You wouldnt think there would be many options that have to be made and obstacles overcome while trapped but you would be wrong.

Its horrific, and if it wasnt for Ryan Reynolds good acting i probably would have stopped watching. All the way through the film we begin to learn about Paul, hes not the greatest guy in the world by far, just an average Joe put in a very unusual but deadly situation.

As i said some of the angles are a bit twist for my tastes but there's one shot that makes me laugh. Throughout the film we are shown what a hopeless position Paul is in. Then about halfway through when things look real bad we get this top down shot of Paul just lying there while the camera continues moves further away..with paneling continuing...its trying to be artsy and thought provoking but it doesn't work.



Overall the movie is a good watch with good acting and thoroughly thought provoking.

Even though when Ryan Reynolds chokes on some sand his voice sounds an awful lot like Justin Long in Zakk and Miri make a Porno. 7/10

Defendor Fights back

Back in 2009 a little film came out and by golly was it good.

Unfortunately Defendor did not receive as much media attention as it deserved and in the frequent months has received a small cult following.

Woody Harrelson plays as Arthur Poppington in this tragic superhero comedy, starring with Elias Koteas (The Third Kind, Thin Red Line) and Kat Dennings (40yr old virgin) along with Sandra Oh and Michael Kelly.

The plot although a little thin is just enough to make the story work, but its Woody Harrelson's acting that makes this film come alive. Sure there isnt alot of gun fights and small dark warehouses full of bad guys that need to be taken down, but its the charm of the Characters that turn this very simple film into an all time favourite. The Relationship with Arthur and street girl Angel(Kat) who seems to take advantage due to certain vices begins to understand and realise theres more to the world than her next fix..all thanks to Defendor.

Defendor and late night escapades soon reach the medias attention, the people cant get enough of him. Theres plenty of good public commentary during the film, a normal guy who doesn't use guns and squishes those termites who do.....the bad guys, or at least he tries.

Defendor fights back with an assortment of weaponry you wouldn't find in Batman's arsenal. No Batarang but a jar full of bees will do just as well.

If any of you who watched Kickass and yelled a WTF as the 8 year old girl sliced a man in two and then hacked a bunch of other guys then felt an icky sensation in your stomach like i did then this films for you.

Recipe of Defendor.. Simple Jack(i know its not real), with a dash of Unbreakable and a little bit of Kick Ass without the decapitations.

Hunting for a Red October in January

Written by Mr Clancy and directed by one of my most favourite of directors John Mctiernan, who also directed Predator, Die Hard, Medicine Man, Last Action Hero and the grossly under estimated 13th Warrior.

The Hunt for Red October is a supposedly fictitious story about a state of the art soviet submarine at the end of the cold war. A crew consisting of Sam Niel, Tim Curry and Sean Connery take the helm in steering this film into a classic thriller, drama and action genre.


I don't believe films ever have one genre, instead branching into others to create something unique.

Continuing on.

Alec Baldwin is the star of this movie as Jack Ryan, a CIA Analyst who relunctantly leaves his desk thanks to James Earl Jones to do a little field work out there in the thick of it and try and help avoid a catastrophe that could provoke WWIII . I hate to say it but Baldwin of all the films i have seen him in he has only ever been good in 2, The Edge, and this.

There are some truly remarkable moments in this movie, not just with the visuals but the sound also, considering this film was made in 1990 alot of the mainstream hollywood directors should take note and learn what it is to make a good movie.

Granted this post sounds like a huge tribute to John McTiernan and his work, but seeing as he has made only 12 films since 1986 almost all of which have been instant classics you can understand why.