Braindead

Wow this was gory, I still can't sleep because of that end scene. Brain dead or Dead Alive as some call it) is one of Peter Jackson first films, with some calling it his best(Yes, better than lord of the rings no less). Like Evil Dead, it is also one of the goriest films of all time. Made after his commercial failures Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles  which I will not review for it makes even my stomach churn, it too was a failure at the  Box-office. After his success with the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy", audiences were more observant of Jackson's previous work. 
So whats the story, well a zoologist is searching for a certain species of ape on Skull Island(yeah, I know), but he is bitten and is dismembered by his own crew. Later in New Zealand, Paquita falls head over heals in love with a well meaning, scatterbrained Lionel. The only problem with this relationship is that Lionel's mother is constantly trying to keep the two apart. after a date to the zoo, Lionel's mother is bitten and infected by the Rat-monkey. Lionel soon finds out that his mother is dying, but is shocked to find out that she is actually come back to life. From here all the hi-jinks occur. As the body count rises and the splatter levels reach their peak, we are taken on a comedy-horror roller coaster.

I always thought that zombies could get their own genre, but the zombie comedy is one I never foresaw. There are so many zombie comedies around, like Shaun of the dead, Zombieland, warm bodies, Dead snow, Army of darkness, etc. What I like is the gore and effects. I only recommend this for those with a strong stomach. For a low budget, it is amazing to see how far it can stretch. The premise of the zombies is interesting as, though not mentioned, despite decapitation or dismemberment, your just making them stronger in numbers and size. The characters are interesting enough. My favorite is the Kung Fu Vicar who "kicks ass for the lowrd  (no misspelling, I think I worked out how to talk like an Aussie). the romance is interesting as instead of boy falling in love too fast for the girl, it is the opposite way around and her love is not reciprocated. My other favourite line is "party's over" as spoken by Lionel at the climax.

Of coarse there are things I dislike, the acting is sometimes hoaky, some of the scenes look so good that you notice others look really fake. As for those of you who saw Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead", I believe you all to have been disgusted and disturbed by the zombie baby, so you won't be comforted by the fact that there is another one in this and for longer and deadlier. My final qualm is characters to be thrown away. In this movie Lionel visits a very risque vet with quite a bizarre political opinion, he appears just once without being seen again. He is what The Nostalgia Critic might call a "big lipped alligator moment". A scene or moment that appears right out of nowhere, has little to no bearing on the plot(OK maybe he does) and is never mentioned again.

For all its fun, the main point I must get across is that it is not a horror, rather a very extreme type of slapstick. The only moments of fear come from the mother near the end, which is quite terrifying if you ask me. Another point is that I didn't really laugh at some moments as much as I wanted, so some of the humour is a bit off, but it's really worth it for the other jokes. I would recommend it to those not of a nervous disposition or weak stomach. The gore is over the top and the slapstick is very well done. Anyone who likes Peter Jackson will love this.
Premise:*
Direction:1/2
Acting:1/2
Effects:*
Script:1/2
Rating:***1/2 good for a couple of viewings, but only if your up to it!

Directors chair

Well now, today I will do another Directors chair. As I ask the question; Is Joel Schumacher that bad? Now I know you are thinking about my Kubrick, review. But I will tell you now, my opinion of Kubrick is praise and admiration for his work and art and not his methods or techniques.

As for the man in question. I started realizing that people hated, I mean really hated Schumacher for his role as a director. His work on certain films (you know what, but I'll get to it later.) has sealed his faith as one of the worst directors of all time. But really is he? He has been known for placing homosexual undertones or even overtones in some of his films. But in some films he just does well. Examples include “A time to kill, Phone Booth, The Lost Boys, 8 mm and falling down”; all of these were well received or box-office hits. Lost boys is considered to be a landmark vampire film, while Phone booth is a tense psychological thriller (seriously that name sounds so lame, but the film is suspenseful at the same time)

A time to kill is actually one of my favorite films. It’s like all the other courtroom dramas set in a prejudice/racist state of the south, but power house actors bring it so vividly to life. Actors like Sam L Jackson, Kevin Spacey and Matthew McConaughey.

But now the question must be asked, what about the bad movies? My goodness there is a lot. Films like St Elmo’s fire, Batman forever and of course Batman and Robin. I’ll tell the truth, I don’t mind ‘batman forever’ that much. It had some (SOME!) good actors, an interesting introduction to the Riddler, who is one of my favorite Batman villains, and Jim Carry is hilariously over the top. I don’t mean it will be on one of my top ten’s, but still a guilty pleasure. In fact note to self review lost boys and Batman Forever.

But as for his bad films, when they bomb, they really bomb, or rather bat-bomb. Batman and Robin became the official worst batman movie of all time. Poor acting, bad sets, bad props, awful script and dialog. Some say it was a giant step back and it was. It was campy, hoakey and in a way it was a tribute to the 1960’s tv series of old. Maybe it was bad, but does that make him the worst director ever.

Even Phantom of the Opera was poorly received, mainly due to poor script and bad direction.

He is certainly a visual director in tackling elements of fantasy or fiction.  But his tackling as a director can be sometimes flawed.

Be that as it may, it should not be said that Joel Schumacher is one of the worst directors of all time. He has good films and has bad films, maybe he is just a normal director.

Just to avoid any disappointments, I will give you my top five favorite Schumacher films:
5.     Batman Forever, Funny, action and some good acting. OK in my opinion.

4.  The Wiz, he wrote the screenplay and it is personally one of my favorite musicals.

3.  The Lost boys: some cool acting, cool effects and proper vampire lore

 2.  Phone Booth: Tense, well shot (no pun intended) and it has an Irish man in it.

1.  A time to kill: Good drama, good acting and a good ending.

      

So what are is your least favorite director that everybody likes, or your favorite director that everybody hates? Please comment below. Adieu.