![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaThe Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, film, 2012, dir. Rodrigo Gudiño
After her death, a man inherits his estranged mother's estate. This film has a phenomenal haunted-house atmosphere, aided—with little restraint or dignity—by a cornucopia of creepy statues and religious iconography. The former is easily the film's selling point and is beautifully shot, the latter I found effectively frightening, but the skeletal plot leaves an underwhelming final impression. Not recommended.
Silent Hill, film, 2006, Christophe Gans
A mother is drawn to the ghost town of Silent Hill in order to discover the truth of her adopted daughter's past. Too faithful a reproduction—it harvests such a number of images and figures from the games, and while they're given some in-story justification their main purpose is fanservice. That said, there are some fantastic images and effects on display; they're rarely frightening but frequently have a grotesque beauty which does more credit to the franchise than the lackluster plot or the multiple appearances of Pyramid Head.
Europa Report, film, 2013, dir. Sebastián Cordero
A crewed mission embarks on a distant space journey to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, in hope that water beneath the ice crust may contain alien life. I discovered this film through Caitlín R. Kiernan/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
greygirlbeast (post here), and it reminds me of her work; as such, the premise was more familiar than profound, and it's only the non-linear narrative that gives it complexity. But the film does two things I love: it's willing to tell a fairly delicate story about the risk, allure, and danger of the unknown (I find the premise familiar because it's a type of story I enjoy), and it does so with an unexpected beauty, even bittersweet optimism. Of what I've wanted recently, this was easily my favorite.
Event Horizon, film, 1997, Paul W. S. Anderson
A rescue ship follows the distress signal of the Event Horizon, mankind's first interstellar spacecraft which has been lost for seven years. Hellraiser: In Space, and of about equal quality. Both set and makeup design are creative and delightfully indulgent, but the plot and script grow increasingly lackluster as the film progresses. It's an appropriate cult film, but the overall quality left me wanting.
Dredd, film, 2012, Pete Travis
In a crime-ridden megacity where Judges are the soul law enforcement, the head of a crime family pits herself against one experienced Judge and one rookie in training. This is pretty much exactly what I expected based on what I'd read about it: a remarkably less campy imagining of the source material, grotesquely violent and decently written, with strong and respectfully portrayed female characters. It's gratifying to see a film do what this one does without misstepping; the comic book origins are preserved, but it doesn't feel gratuitous—it feels effective, and surprisingly watchable. Not to my personal taste, but I was impressed.
After her death, a man inherits his estranged mother's estate. This film has a phenomenal haunted-house atmosphere, aided—with little restraint or dignity—by a cornucopia of creepy statues and religious iconography. The former is easily the film's selling point and is beautifully shot, the latter I found effectively frightening, but the skeletal plot leaves an underwhelming final impression. Not recommended.
Silent Hill, film, 2006, Christophe Gans
A mother is drawn to the ghost town of Silent Hill in order to discover the truth of her adopted daughter's past. Too faithful a reproduction—it harvests such a number of images and figures from the games, and while they're given some in-story justification their main purpose is fanservice. That said, there are some fantastic images and effects on display; they're rarely frightening but frequently have a grotesque beauty which does more credit to the franchise than the lackluster plot or the multiple appearances of Pyramid Head.
Europa Report, film, 2013, dir. Sebastián Cordero
A crewed mission embarks on a distant space journey to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, in hope that water beneath the ice crust may contain alien life. I discovered this film through Caitlín R. Kiernan/
greygirlbeast (post here), and it reminds me of her work; as such, the premise was more familiar than profound, and it's only the non-linear narrative that gives it complexity. But the film does two things I love: it's willing to tell a fairly delicate story about the risk, allure, and danger of the unknown (I find the premise familiar because it's a type of story I enjoy), and it does so with an unexpected beauty, even bittersweet optimism. Of what I've wanted recently, this was easily my favorite.Event Horizon, film, 1997, Paul W. S. Anderson
A rescue ship follows the distress signal of the Event Horizon, mankind's first interstellar spacecraft which has been lost for seven years. Hellraiser: In Space, and of about equal quality. Both set and makeup design are creative and delightfully indulgent, but the plot and script grow increasingly lackluster as the film progresses. It's an appropriate cult film, but the overall quality left me wanting.
Dredd, film, 2012, Pete Travis
In a crime-ridden megacity where Judges are the soul law enforcement, the head of a crime family pits herself against one experienced Judge and one rookie in training. This is pretty much exactly what I expected based on what I'd read about it: a remarkably less campy imagining of the source material, grotesquely violent and decently written, with strong and respectfully portrayed female characters. It's gratifying to see a film do what this one does without misstepping; the comic book origins are preserved, but it doesn't feel gratuitous—it feels effective, and surprisingly watchable. Not to my personal taste, but I was impressed.
