gabrielbergmoser Reviews

Saw II (2005)

The Best Thriller Of Its Time

[10/10 · 5 September 2007]

With more gore, more twists, more characters and more plot, Saw II manages to trump even its own predecessor at the thriller game.

Where Saw had rare dull points, Saw II moves quickly. The traps are more gruesome and inventive, and we find ourselves with surprisingly well drawn out characters; and a plot that works fantastically as both a standalone and a sequel that expands on everything that was great about the original. Saw II really establishes the 'Saw Mythology' that fans have come to love, and as a film seems to do everything right. It hits the perfect balance between plot and action, and for the first time Jigsaw really comes into his own as a character, rather than just a scary voice on a tape recorder. Indeed; by the end of the first we still felt we knew nothing about Jigsaw, with only a couple of sparse glimpses of the man.

No such qualms here. The psychological duel between Jigsaw and the haunted Detective Matthews recalls 'Silence of the Lambs' in its brilliance and intensity, and, in what is surely rare for this kind of film, we actually feel something other than annoyance and hatred for our characters. Even the killer seems human and almost likable.

Now when was the last time you can remember a film with such qualities? It was mentioned earlier in this review; need I say more.

I'm not lying. Saw II is that good. Now go watch it.

Hellsing Ultimate (2006–2012)

Hellsing as it always should have been

[8/10 · 7 April 2007]

Violence, blood, gore, vampires, Nazis, bayonets, the Vatican, Hellsing is back, and better than ever. Forget the original series, the one that shamelessly disregarded the brilliant manga. This is that way Hellsing is supposed to be! There are many contributing factors as to why this is so much better than its predecessor. For a start, the animation is amazing. Truly incredible; it has to be seen to be believed. And the music suits the epic madness of the manga perfectly.

The style and direction is fantastic as well, bringing a wild mood the original lacked.

However, it is not without flaws. A truly dreadful dream sequence and its aftermath almost spoils the piece, and you will be left wondering why the hell it was even present.

But ignore that cringe worthy five minutes, and you will have a truly satisfactory Hellsing experience, something you could never get from the original.

Hellsing Ultimate (2006–2012)

Hellsing is back with a vengeance...

[8/10 · 7 April 2007]

Still bathing in the afterglow of the brilliant Hellsing I, we now move on to the second part. So whats on offer? As it turns out, there was something strange about the duel at the end of part I. You see, our heroes were assailed by ghouls, and yet the source vampire was already dead, meaning the ghouls should have been as well. The Hellsing organization has noticed this, and called a meeting of its head council, but a mysterious organization has sent out two deadly assassins and their army to raid and destroy the Hellsing headquarters and everyone in it...

Part II advances on the already great Part I immensely. It is more gruesome, more action packed, and more engaging, introducing more about the world of Hellsing. We get to see a little of Alucards past, as well as more about Integra and Seras, our female protagonists. We also see more of the organization that will become the main villains in future volumes.

The problem is, despite all this, Part II isn't as entertaining as it could be. Yes, the weird humor is a little more suited in this one, but the direction lacks the crazy wildness that made the first one so great. This one isn't quite as good as it could be.

Although the new series is an improvement over the original, it still could be better. But thats not to say it isn't already great. The action is only beginning, and there's a lot to come...

Red Dragon (2002)

Unnecessary

[6/10 · 6 April 2007]

There are many reasons for remaking a classic, apart from just making money. These reasons include contemporary relevance (War of the Worlds), the original was the directors favorite film (King Kong), experimentation (Psycho), re imagining the original (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and a 6/6/06 release date (The Omen). However, one of the worst reasons ever is so that Anthony Hopkins can replace Brian Cox and take the originals place in a classic horror franchise.

Manhunter is a classic, as is The Silence of the Lambs. The problem is that Anthony Hopkins is more well known as Hannibal Lecter, and as such he needs to appear in the 'official' Manhunter remake, rendering the original obsolete in the series.

So how is the film anyway? Well, it goes without saying that Manhunter was far better. As far as remakes go, Red Dragon is OK, but nowhere near as good as the original two.

Anthony Hopkins is terribly overused. His performance is good, but his effect in the previous films came from his hardly appearing.

Edward Norton is good in his simple everyman role, and Harvey Keitel brings a solid supporting character. Ralph Fiennes is an excellent villain, easy to both detest and feel sorry for.

The direction is par, without any of the style of the previous films. The script is very good, keeping close to the novel.

In all, Red Dragon is a good film, but wholly unnecessary. Stick with the brilliant Manhunter.

Hannibal Rising (2007)

Not as bad as people would have you believe

[7/10 · 6 April 2007]

OK, first things first. Hannibal Rising is nowhere near as good as The Silence of the Lambs. The two films are impossible to compare. Now that we have that out of the way, lets look at Hannibal Rising on its own grounds, shall we? Firstly, we'll look at the flaws. Despite being written by Thomas Harris, the original author of all four Hannibal novels, the script is mediocre. Most of it is fine, but there are some moments that could be handled far better. The part where Hannibal gives exposition by talking to his family photo is cringe worthy.

The direction, however, is top notch, as is the acting. Gaspard Ulliel crafts a fantastic young Hannibal. Gong Li is also very good, as is Rhys Ifans.

I could go into more detail, but the fact of the matter is, the good outweighs the bad, making Hannibal Rising a worthy entry to the series.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Overrated

[4/10 · 6 April 2007]

The first thing any horror fan who is wanting to see this needs to know is that its very overrated. I recently brought the DVD expecting something special, as I enjoyed the remake and figured this could only be better. Wrong.

Yes, its filmed in a highly unnerving style, almost like a documentary, but this doesn't work as well as it could. The characters a feebly drawn out; one in particular is so annoying you will actually cheer when he gets sliced up, which, unfortunately, is not until near the end.

However, the moment this character disappears, the film picks up. The last ten minutes are truly disturbing, with a fantastically done 'family dinner' scene, and the final chase.

Its sad when a classic horror film is outdone by its remake, but the truth is TCM 2003 was a far superior film. This one is not really scary or suspenseful at all until the end. To be fair, neither was the remake, but that one was so damn entertaining you didn't care anyway. Too bad the same can't be said here.