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Reviews
Wolf Creek (2005)
Quite a disappointment
I went into this movie expecting a decent film, but not an Oscar winner. The film started slowly, and I didn't mind that. The problem is, the film never got better. It moved along at a snail's pace for the whole first half of the movie, until the "horror" in the horror film finally started.
When a movie starts slowly, usually it develops the characters well and gives you a chance later on in the film to feel for them more than if they were two dimensional. Here, the movie is horridly slow, but we don't end up caring anymore about the characters after the hour is over than we did at the beginning of the film.
If you're expecting the kind of film I was - one that would have some quality jump scenes and would creep you out - you will be sorely disappointed. The villain in the film is not the least bit spooky, only utterly distasteful, and what he does to his victims caused no screams from the audience, just moans and groans.
Here's the worst part of the film: I would expect that if you're going to have a villain who is not scary, but rather only horrifying in what he does, the least you can do is to make the torture scenes intense and captivating. In this movie they are not, and as you're walking out while the credits roll you may very well ask yourself if anyone truly cares what happened to the characters in the movie, because I sure didn't.
Perhaps I am the black sheep by not wanting to go see a movie that has me asking "Why in the world did I just see this?" when I walk out. Perhaps I should not see movies that cause me to think "What does this movie tell me about life and human nature?" Or perhaps not.
Animal (2005)
An important movie that needs to be seen
Ving Rhames has made a very important movie that needs a much wider audience than it has received thus far. The story is that of a man who is living a life on a road to nowhere, with a wife and son (Terrence Howard) but without a clue how to be a husband or father. He ends up in jail, and meets a man (Jim Brown) who changes how he sees himself, those around him, and life itself. He returns only to find that his son has become the very man he once was, and is now trying to forget. What follows is a moving tale about how a father does all he can to make life better for the next generation.
Rhames and Howard are excellent in their lead roles while Chazz Palminteri and Jim Brown are solid support. Though not of the highest cinematic quality, the film serves its purpose well and delivers a message to a young generation in desperate need of guidance. If you want to be moved and provoked to think critically, this movie is the perfect recipe.