Django Unchained Review

A very quirky and exhilarating film that is a fine return to form for Quentin Tarantino

I have to admit I'm not Quentin Tarantino's biggest fan, most keep me entertained to a certain degree, he has a certain and very unique ability to make the small details in a film seem so big, but I wouldn't bother to watch most more than once, and I still believe it's true that his best films were his earlier ones, where the budgets were far more constrained, and perhaps less cartoonish in terms of the violence. However Django Unchained is certainly one of Tarantino's finest and most daring film to hit the big screen, and follows on in a similar style to Inglorious Bastards. The film certainly showcases many of the things that you would expect from a Tarantino film, over the top violence, constant swearing, and very well rounded but witty script.

The film is set in 1858, two years before the American Civil war, around the time that the slave trade was still going on, the film first starts in Texas and then eventually to Mississippi. As the namesake suggests, the film is based on a black slave called Django (Jamie Foxx) who is freed by a bounty hunter called Dr King Schultz (Christopher Watlz), from there they begin to hunt down the Brittle brothers, as the film progresses we see the two men work together as a pair of bounty hunters, until the last half of the film where they decide to track down Django's wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who is a slave working on a plantation by the name of 'Candyland', owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), it is also here that we are also introduced to Stephen (Samuel Jackson), who is a servant of sorts to Calvin Candie.

Performances are excellent all round, each actor fulfills each role with perfection, my particular favourite was DiCaprio's as the villain, not only is he menacing but fascinating at the same time, which is a rarity in most antagonists in modern day films. I honestly could not imagine other actors in their place, it's without doubt the film's strongest point.

Visually the film is superb and depicts the time it's set in as I would imagine it would be, and like all Tarantino films a snappy soundtrack is also provided, although some songs do a feel little out of place.

The gunfights in the film, although graphic can't be taken too seriously due to the sheer fact that they are so over the top and laughable at times. But there are parts where the violence is brutal, and where I actually found myself uncomfortable watching, these included whipping, a rather nasty scene involving a bunch of dogs let loose on a slave, and the historically inaccurate 'mandigo' fighting, where two slaves are made to fight one another for entertainment, there's only one scene that is shown but its so utterly brutal it was disturbing. Perhaps it's the subject of slavery that makes it so profound and hard to watch, it only reminds you that isn't too long in the past that such a cruel act of inhumanity existed.

Another aspect of the film that I also felt uncomfortable was the use of the word 'niggar', it actually felt like it was said in just about every other sentence of the script, which is understandable in the sense that it's set around the time of slavery, but what made it worse was the fact it was used in so many ways for comedic effect.

Other slight niggles at the film will include its running time, at nearly three hours long, towards the end it can get very bum numbing. But that said I was never once bored, and the film had my attention throughout, the last third of the film and the finale are when it's at it's best. Tarantino himself pops up in a small cameo role at the end, and provides one of the funniest moments in the entire film.

The film's tagline 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of vengeance' does a pretty good job of summing up the film, as revenge movies go it is one of the best I have ever seen, and for nearly three hours of escapism and entertainment, it provides great value for money and is certainly a step in the right direction for Tarantino.

Verdict- 4/5

  

Texas Chainsaw 3D- Review

A dire re-imagining  to a franchise that is still living on past glory's.

I am a massive fan of all things horror, and when I go into a horror movie I keep an open mind and judge it for what it is. Like most genre films, it's content within the story and film that matters most, and in terms of horror movies (particularly slasher movies) they need to provide a certain tension and suspense, and characters that are more than wallpaper. I would also include an imaginative villain, which the 'Chainsaw' series certainly has.

I knew of the terrible reviews that was given to the film going into it, so I wasn't expecting much, as is usually the case with most other horror films. This isn't the only time that the Texas Chainsaw films have been rebooted, the 2003 remake and the prequel were actually decent in my opinion, and rather entertaining.

The film follows on from the original, and begins showing the house from the original, without spoiling anything the film then jumps forward to the present after a dramatic shoot out scene. The main protagonist is Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario). On receiving a letter that she has inherited an estate from her Grandmother she immediately travels with her friends to Texas. As with the originals, they pick up a hitchhiker on the way, it's when they arrive at the house, where the chainsaw wielding villain hides that the film begins.   

The film itself has been stripped down to the bones, and it's low budget is noticeable, not that you necessarily need a lot of money to make a good horror film. You would think that this could benefit the film, as Mark Kermode mentioned in his BBC review, the original 'Chainsaw' relied very little on buckets of gore, it was it's psychological effect on the audience that worked well and shocked.

The moments of suspense are few and very far between, and end too swiftly to make any impact. Despite this the build up is not too bad, and kept me engaged throughout, but it's when the eventual appearance of Leatherface and the killings begin that the film just falls flat in every way.

It's ironic in an age where horror films seem to be nothing more than a blood fest that Texas Chainsaw 3D comes across as timid, and the death scenes boring and unimaginative. It's made even worse with the fact that none of the characters make you think or feel for them, so once their dead, they are just dead, move on to the next victim. 

Hints of Leatherface's persona and psychique are touched upon when his basement lair is explored, and as the film progresses into the last third there is an aspect to his story that is linked to the beginning of the film. He certainly isn't the brutal beast that appeared in the 2003 remake and prequel, who's menacing appearance on screen was one of the reasons why they worked reasonably well. 

But it's the last fifteen minutes of the film that really kills it, as it descends into an illogical mess and contrived silliness. One particular one liner was very cringey (you will know which one I'm talking about if you chose to see the film). The 3D is non existent, by my own recollections there were only two moments where the effect was used, and one of those was the title opening. I did not have the option to go to a standard screening, but if you can please do, the extra money for the glasses just isn't worth the cost.

The film is not entirely terrible and unwatchable, you'll just be watching the whole thing thinking you would have done things differently, there are the customary pretty ladies which are nice to look at of course, and at 92 minutes long there are certainly worst ways to spend your time.

           

Verdict-1.5/5

Resident Evil 6 (campaign mode) Review

If ever a video game was undone by it's own ambition it would be Resident Evil 6, an entrance into a series whose quality is really beginning to feel questionable

As an avid fan of all things Resident Evil I was really looking forward to Resident Evil 6, long before it was even confirmed in January 2012. When It was revealed it was done so in a full length video trailer and followed on with the 'No Hope left' viral campaign. My first impressions of that trailer were not overwhelming, and much of the problems I predicted then would eventually come true in the final version. With those doubts in mind I was still looking forward to the game, despite some critics reservations I actually really enjoyed Resident Evil 5, it had its flaws but I thought it was a worthy successor to Resident Evil 4.

Resident Evil 6 was released in October so I have come to the game a bit later than I usually do with most other Resident Evil games, but I managed to play through and complete all of the campaign modes over the Christmas holidays. 

The main story is rather formulaic and based around the outbreak of a C-virus, which has been caused by bio terrorist group Neo Umbrella, which spreads across a number of places across the globe. There is an option of three campaigns in the game, these involve the return of BSAA member Chris Redfield and Piers, Raccoon City survivor Leon Kennedy and Helena, the older version of Sherry Birkin (from Resident Evil 2), now a US government agent, who is partnered with mercenary Jake Muller.

All of the campaigns link up to one another in the last third of each one, and they all have their slight differences with one another in terms of game play. But this is where the problem lies, all of the campaigns are action orientated from the first minute to the last, filtered with endless quick time events. One of the biggest complaints that was made about number 5 was the fact that it had been made into too much of an action game with very little thought for exploration. Well Capcom have gone one step further with 6, environments act as nothing more than a setting, constraining the gameplay to a corridor to corridor shooting fest. One aspect that Resident Evil 4 managed to get right was the balance between exploration and action, even number 5 managed to do this to a much lesser extent. Although fun at first, the gameplay in Resident Evil 6 gets to the point where it just becomes tedious, no matter what campaign you're playing.

The same can be said for the relentless quick time events, certain cinematic set pieces in the game brilliantly add to the gaming experience, one particularly memorable moment includes an underwater sea monster, but on the whole they appear far too often for the most simplest of tasks, and break up the flow of the game.

Two of the campaigns are set in two main locations, Chris and Sherry's campaigns are set in the fictional European country of Edonia and the fictional Chinese city of Lanshiang, Leon's campaign begins in the American town of Tall Oaks before he too heads to China. My personal favourite was Sherry and Jake's, not only do they have the best interaction with one another they also have the most interesting story, I also enjoyed the antagonist 'Ustanak', who chases you through the game, it brings back memories of Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. 

Chris Redfield's campaign is the most boring and uninteresting, as it doesn't deviate much from a run and shoot em up. Leon's campaign is sublime in the first half, with the return of slow zombies and moments of suspense in dark rooms and corridors, for a while it brings back nostalgic memories of what Resident Evil once was. But by the time you arrive in China, the campaign turns into a live action movie, as one QTE leads onto another, this happens without any end in sight, you eventually get to the point that you actually want the game to end, which is never good.

Each campaign is about 5-6 hours long, so there is plenty on offer, in many ways the game is just too big, although all three cross into one another I think the game would have been best served with just one long campaign instead of three. Bringing Leon and Chris into the same game seems to have been done to just bring them together, perhaps if they were both in the same campaign together, that might have been intriguing.  

Improvements include the fact you can now move and shoot at the same time, with so many enemies on screen at once, at times it is very helpful. The item system is also an improvement on the previous two games in the series, I liked the fact that your health meter appears as blocks and you can stock up on your inventory.

The graphics are decent enough but hardly push the 360 to its limit, comparing it to Max Payne 3 (which I was playing at the time, and did not complete) it does look very basic in the environmental detail. Enemy design is again good enough but hardly imaginative, aside from the mini bosses and main bosses the game lacks any real tension or sense of fear, the zombies and j'avo just seem like cannon fodder. Classic BOW's in the vein of the lickers and Hunters are missing and it is very evident. Files and documents are no longer in the main part of the game but as extras, which was a big mistake because they add depth to the story of the game, which this game lacks in abundance.

Despite it's flaws Resident Evil 6 is still a good game, one that fans and non-fans will appreciate, but it's still without doubt one of the weakest. It was with Resident Evil 3 that the old style fixed camera angles that the series began to feel dated and needed to freshen up. The same is for number 6, if there is another entry it will need to move the series in a different direction but still attain the essence of what a Resident Evil game is, a suspenseful survival horror that hooks you in from the first minute to the last, preferably with the light off. None of this can be said for Resident Evil 6  

Verdict-6/10