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clumsy85
Reviews
South Park: The Ring (2009)
I feel, frankly, disappointed...
Premises for South Park have always been popular culture. However, one of the strengths of the series has always been the subtlety with which the writers showed their opinions towards the subject matter. This lacked both subtlety and real substance.
Amusing moments, no doubt. However, amusing in a chuckling way, not the 'laugh out loud' manner to which South Park fans have become accustomed. The last five minutes of the episode showed some depths of creativity and intelligence, however this did little to reflect the lack of depth of the rest of the episode. Caricaturing was grossly exaggerated, and not in an intelligent way. Over the top. Perhaps unnecessary.
A good idea ruined by an elongated beginning which never quite metamorphosised into a full episode. The major characters were marginalised, focusing too heavily on pop-culture references which could be lost on a large part of the audience.
However, let it be said that Cartman, albehim a peripheral character, was as ever amusing and insightful. What a shame that his intelligence was lost in a maelstrom of OTT zeitgeist humour.
5/10 - perhaps South Park has, as ever, set its standards incredibly high. However, most people should expect more from satirical writers.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Worse than Zombie's 'Halloween'
Now, whilst I never expected Rob Zombie to be anything more than a glorified music video director (and a poor one at that), 'House of 1000 Corpses' is possibly the poorest example of a 'horror' film I have ever had the misfortune to lay eyes upon. Although fanboys/girls can claim that Zombie's film is a 'tribute' to other such luminaries as 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and hearkens back to the very origins of horror, it views more as a poorly executed, shot, edited and acted horror/music video. The quick cuts to black and white shots, interspersed with older footage soon antagonises, but it is the relentless soundtrack that ultimately kills the film faster than Zombie's Michael Myers killed the 'Halloween' franchise. This should by rights be an MTV Halloween special for Cannbibal Corpse fanatics, yet somewhere, somehow, studio execs green-lighted it for a wider audience. Please, please, please avoid like the plague. I couldn't bring myself to watch the end (and I finished 'Friday the Thirteenth: Jason Takes Manhattan).