fleur-kelly Reviews

The Fountain (2006)

Death, is not the end.

[10/10 · 22 November 2007]

'The Fountain' wasn't released to theatres here in Australia, so the first time I had heard about it was seeing is as a new release DVD. Because Hugh and Rachael are in it I thought to give it a go.

And after watching it for the first time, I had to watch it again. And thought it was absolutely amazing. I found some of the comments about this movie being gobbledy goop upsetting, because they didn't really interpret the film at all.

The story main focus is on Hugh character Tomas. And has one reality (Dr. Tom Creo trying to find a cure for the cancer which is killing his wife) and two subplot fantasy realities (The first being his wife's story about a Spanish Queen sending her conquistador to find the 'tree of life' in South America. And the second being in the future where he has found the 'tree of life' but it is dying *It represents him trying to fight the truth of the situations which are happening in his life, and his eventual acceptance*).

The tree is symbolic - it is his search of the cure, but it also represents his wife. He is obsessed with finding a cure to save her life as opposed to spending the time loving this wife with the little time she really has left.

Well, I think it's brilliant movie and if you have ever lost someone you know the inner turmoil and guilt that eats inside you, and even thought it is hard accepting the fact that they are gone.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

The Space Between

[28 October 2004]

With the original Resident Evil I thought "Hmmmm, it could have been better but still a great movie"

But with Resident Evil 2 I just felt after watching it... "Hmmmm, they have set the whole story up for just the last 5 minutes of the whole movie to promote then next branch off of Resident Evil"...

I know they had to introduce these new characters like Jill Valentine, Carlos Olivera, Angie Ashford and even have a recap of where Matt was... But couldn't they have just plotted the story line just a bit better so it doesn't feel like the whole movie was just about getting to know them. With RE they focused on the Horror of being trapped with the ever hungry living dead, This time it just focused on the Living contaminated with the Virus and surviving on the anti-virus (Total Yawn)...

If they do have the next branch off (which I think would be extremely good considering how they left the end of this movie) could they just get the extreme advice from the creators of the Original game, and when I say extreme I mean they should just write the whole movie and try to live up to the expectations of Adoring Resident Evil Gamers all over the world.

Blue Spring (2001)

Facing Reality, Growing up is tough

[23 October 2004]

With a Soundtrack from 'Thee Michelle Gun Elephant' that most English Indie Producers would kill for, and amazing cast and crew. Aoi Haru draws us into the lives of Japanese teenagers who aren't so lucky in life, who have to make their own destiny from the left over scraps of others who happen to throw them their way.

Aoi Haru is based in a public all boys school called Asahi High.

A extremely miserable place where teachers don't bother to encourage the boys to excel, gang graffiti tags are everywhere marking their turf, and the yakuza's frequently hang around outside the school trying to recruit young members.

The boys learn early on that if you don't fight for what is yours and what you want, then you better keep your mouth shut and stay out of the way. And even though these boys do act tough and dish out violence like a ice cube down the back of your shirt, the boys feel lost and confused due to the fact they cannot understand why they can not make their dreams come true. Almost feeling forced into the violence and self destruction they create because it will be their only real legacy they can leave behind before they enter the real world and pretty much dead end lives.

On the 25th Graduation ceremony at Asahi High a group of the new seniors head up to the Schools roof for a deadly tradition held by the boys who wish to rule the school. A initiation that involves the boys hanging off the side of the building and seeing how many claps they can do before they give up or just fall to their death when they can't grab the rail in time.

And this time Kujo wins the leadership, which does confuse the other boys abit because he is quiet and constantly deep in thought about things but accept it because he won fair and square.

Even though Kujo does seem to be harmless and gentle, when it comes down to it he can be the most violent member of his gang. Though Kujo is the leader of the gang and his Best friend Aoki adores him deeply, Kujo doesn't really want to change anything. He doesn't want to rip the school apart with violence unless he has to. He just feels lost about not knowing what the future holds and what is beyond High School, and constantly asks his friends what they will do after High School because he secretly doesn't know what to do himself. Which annoys Aoki greatly, because he has all of the power and he doesn't want to do anything with it. With this Aoki decides to break off and turn Asahi High into a living hell for everyone who is unlucky enough to get in his way, which in turn rips these Childhood friends apart.

But can they fix their friendship before it's too late?

In the end this Movie really is for all the Gofers, Wanna-bes, Dreamers and lost souls out there. Because everyone can relate to at least one of these characters in Aoi Haru

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Clash of the Horror Decades

[1/10 · 11 August 2004]

When you start to Watch the movie you can see what Direction the movie is moving in... Trying to combine the original thrills and chills of 70's Horror movies with the advances of Costumes and technology of today. Rob Zombie's Ideas in this movie were totally going in the right direction. But just the General fighting between the different Decade styles totally throws the whole movie into a pile, lights it on fire and leaves it to burn till you have taken the DVD out of the Player...

Mixing B-grade Actors and D-grade Actors is bound to have throw things out of balance as well, because they kill off most of the B-Grades by the middle of the movie. Sheri Moon's character "Baby" was the most annoying of all of the character, and the only thing that is her saving grace in the eyes of others (men in particular) is the fact that she would be naked or exposed in some scenes.

If you like to watch C to D grade Horror Movies from the 70's and 80's, this movie is for you. But if not, save your money and rent something else... God it feels like any star with millions wants to make their own movie these days these days. Just because you think you have a great idea doesn't mean that people with half a brain are going to shallow it. I think everyone knows there is a difference between Horror and Faux Snuff. And when I heard that Rob Zombie said "I wanted people leaving the cinema feeling bad", I don't think feeling bad about spending $5-$16 on this piece of crap is what Rob meant.

Thunderstruck (2004)

You know what to expect... To be Thunderstruck

[10/10 · 3 August 2004]

Lets face it, this movie was never meant to be "The Godfather: Part 2" or "Lost in Translation". It is totally about how far devoted fans of bands will go for their Idols and their mates. And you know what you are letting yourself in for before you even step up to the Ticket booth and say "2 for the next screening of Thunderstuck please"

Revolving around 4 mates who are keeping a promise to a old friend (Ronnie) who unfortunately was literally struck by thunder when a rogue lighting strike hit him on a golf course. Sonny decides to pull the gang back together and take off with the ashes of Ronnie to the cemetery where Bon Scott grave is so they fulfill their promise to him. Of course They are on the east coast and the cemetery they have to get to is on the west coast, and in the middle is one of the roughest deserts in the world. And of course they have no money for a plane flight over, so what to do?

So Let the Mayhem begin with Sonny "Borrowing" his Dad's most beloved Van for the Trip without telling him first of course. Sonny and Sam Drugging Ben to drag him away from his straight laced supermarket Job. Trying to keep the Cocaine trafficking Lloyd in line who is on the run from the Asian Triad, and being hit on by Petrol station owners. Oh it is never a easy road to keep a promise to your friends cremate ashes which you happened to steal from his Succubus ex-wife. But a Promise is a Promise.

Wasted (2002 TV Movie)

For Parents an Eye Opener, for Teens a dose of Reality

[11 April 2004]

This Movie or should it be called a Fictional Mini Auto Biography based on True events flows evenly all the way through. It's pacing is pretty much like a slow boat to China, but this pace is needed to show people how to spot the signs of a possible Smack addiction with someone they know. Summer Phoenix does a good job narrating the tale of herself, a A+ Student who has a Cocaine addiction and her down on their luck Junky Bestfriends (Played by: Nick Stahl-The Caring Athlete who's home life is going down the toilet and Aaron Paul-The Rich Kid who has nothing but the next hit of smack in mind). But how much more can you say about "Wasted"? Sure it's a educational movie for parents to open their eyes to what their kids might be doing when they go out to parties and what symptoms to look for if their kids do have a addiction. But for kids it's just another dose of Reality and kids are really becoming desensitized to certain serious matters of the world.