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Content by Daniel Jolley
Reviewer Rank: 16
Helpful Votes:
885
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Reviews Written by
Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA)
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Style over substance makes this "character study" a psychological exercise in futility, Nov 24 2009
I've seen several recent films based upon the lives of prolific serial killers (Bundy, B.T.K., etc.), and none of them have been any good. Dahmer is no exception; in fact, it is worse than the others. I'm afraid I can't buy into any of the artsy-fartsy, pseudo-intellectual spin this film gets in some quarters. Quite frankly, all I saw was a really bad movie. I simply don't see how you can present any kind of story about Jeffrey Dahmer without at least alluding to the fact that the man freaking ate his victims. All the psychological nonsense this movie throws your way with its endless flashbacks and fictionalized recreation of dialogue and events is patently useless because it ignores the most telling and significant of his psychological problems. My problem is not the fact that this film is really just a character study of a troubled young man; rather, it's the fact that it's a very bad character study.
I'm afraid I really have nothing good to say about this film. I wasn't really impressed by Jeremy Renner's performance as Dahmer, I despised the constant flashback loops (which I consider the sole domain of weak directors) throughout the story, and I thought the ambiguous ending pretty much encapsulated everything that was wrong with the entire film. This is a film almost wholly lacking in substance.
Obviously, with the whole cannibalism thing totally off the table, this film barely registers on the blood and gore meter. I don't have a problem with that, especially since I was already well aware of the exceedingly disturbing nature of Jeffrey Dahmer's murderous acts. I do have a problem with the fact that this film really only hints at the scope and depravity of all the murders. If you already know a good bit about Jeffrey Dahmer, you won't learn anything new in this film. If you know nothing about Dahmer going in, you won't know much more about him at the end - but you may think you have some insight into his character. That, in my opinion, is the crux of this film's many problems.
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An engrossing, well-told story -- but it leaves too many questions unanswered, Nov 23 2009
Billed as "vintage John Saul" and a novel that recaptures the energy and power of Suffer the Children, the author's first and best novel, House of Reckoning doesn't succeed at living up to all of the hype. That being said, it is an absorbing and very good read. I don't think Saul will ever get the respect he truly deserves in the horror community, but this man knows how to tell a story and excels at building the most sympathetic of characters. House of Reckoning isn't a novel that's going to sit around on the night table for days once you start reading it; you'll want to finish this book in a matter of a few days. As much as I enjoyed this novel, though, a plethora of nagging questions remain unanswered or less than fully addressed after in the end.
When you pick up a John Saul novel, you know you're going to be reading about good kids placed in horrible situations; the Saul pattern never really changes, a fact which his critics are more than happy to expound upon. Poor Sarah Crane may be the most sympathetic character of them all, though. Six months after her mother died of cancer, Sarah finds herself laid up in the hospital for weeks with a busted leg and hip (a tragedy suffered under some of the most tragic circumstances imaginable) while her father goes to jail for manslaughter. Once she's able to leave the hospital, she is placed with a foster family who treat (and mistreat) her as nothing more than slave labor. As the new, crippled kid at school, she is immediately ostracized. Her only friends are Bettina Philips, a most sympathetic art teacher (whom everyone in town labels a witch) and the designated crazy kid at school, Nick Dunnigan, who hears voices in his head and sees horrible visions. When Sarah is around, though, the voices in Nick's head are silent. The uncanny link between Sarah and Nick is also shared by Bettina - or, to be more precise, the old house in which she lives, which used to be an institution for the criminally insane.
Though never remotely frightening, House of Reckoning does have a share of intense moments, with a few sudden (albeit somewhat predictable) surprises thrown in along the way. Saul packages the whole thing in a tight and pretty bow, but various aspects of the ending just don't ring true. Not only do several questions go unanswered, numbered among those are a couple of last-minute questions you wonder why Saul even raised in the first place. A religious aspect that Saul adds to the story also bothers me, as it is unclear what Saul's point is supposed to be. Sarah's foster family is supposedly ultra-religious in an Old Salem kind of way, but there is no evidence of this in their behavior and actions (especially in regards to Sarah). It's unclear if Saul is attacking Christianity in and of itself (perhaps as a byproduct of his own homosexuality) or just trying to add some unnecessary spice to the story.
Despite all of my criticisms and the novel's obvious weaknesses, though, I truly enjoyed reading House of Reckoning. It can be frustrating at times to be a John Saul fan, but the good almost always outweighs the bad.
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Brings the wonderment of outer space to vivid life for readers of all ages, Nov 18 2009
When I was a youngster, I was fascinated with science, astronomy in particular. Somewhere along the way, though, I lost that sense of wonderment and followed a life and career path outside of science. So it is that this unique book, Icarus at the Edge of Time, is something of a bittersweet reading experience for me, as it reminds me of the road not taken. Still, I count it a great blessing to once again look upon the vastness of outer space with a childlike wonder of old. Sometimes, a picture can be worth a thousand words, and this book is full of those very kinds of pictures. As you turn the thick pages of this "board book," you are greeted with stunning images of deep space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope - nascent galaxies, luminous supernovae, colorfully stunning nebulae, etc.
If modern-day public education hasn't completely shot its wad, virtually every man, woman, and child is familiar with the ancient myth of Icarus, who fell to his death after failing to heed his father's warning about flying too close to the sun (using the wings Daedalus had fashioned for a daring father and son escape from exile in Crete). The modern-day Icarus of author Brian Greene's story is a brilliant young teen stuck on a ship traveling to Proxima Centauri. Knowing that he will never live long enough to reach the ship's destination, he yearns to temporarily escape his own "exile" and explore something outside the ship on his own. When he learns the ship is changing course to bypass a black hole, he is determined to become the first human being to explore the boundaries of this most incredible of nature's creations. Having designed a powerful engine of his own, Icarus knows he can make the trip and survive, and so he ignores his father's entreaties to return.
This may look and, for the most part, sound like a children's book, but I would be loathe to classify it as such. The story itself may be pretty straightforward, but I doubt many youngsters are going to understand the implications of Einstein's theories that stand at the crux of the narrative. That being said, this is still a book that many a youngster will surely enjoy. It's a great book for parents to share with their children, for readers of all ages can enjoy the fine story and beautiful images - and it may just help inspire a few youngsters to embrace the wonders of science.
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Management
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| Price: CDN$ 24.99 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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A delightful and refreshingly earnest romantic comedy, Nov 8 2009
While her character in Management isnt one of the sweeter and more personable characters shes played, you really just cant go wrong with any Jennifer Aniston movie. Admittedly, I was a little worried about Steve Zahns ability to hold his own alongside her, but he turned in a terrific performance. Its not easy to play a sort of dumb character in a serious, natural, and completely honest manner, but Zahn does it. There are laughs aplenty to be found here, but this is no dumb comedy not by a long shot.
Poor Mike (Zahn) is about as smooth with the ladies as I am. When Sue Claussen (Aniston) checks in at the family-owned hotel where he works as the night manager and janitor, he is immediately smitten and uses the old complimentary wine ruse to try and get to know her. A couple of uncomfortable yet very funny scenes ensue, and we learn that this beautiful woman who is way out of Mikes league is something of a lonely soul herself. That being said, Sue has no thought of ever seeing Mike again until he shows up at her workplace on the other side of the country a few days later. In a seemingly foolhardy and somewhat spontaneous move, Mike has spent all of his money and left his family behind just to come and see her. Sue is less than happy about this unexpected turn of events, but a part of her cant help but be touched by the puppy-dog devotion she has inspired in this strange young man. After returning home, an undeterred Mike sends her letters and poems before chasing after her once again when she moves to the state of Washington to reunite with her old boyfriend (Woody Harrelson). Mike proves himself quite willing to do anything, no matter how crazy, to see her again. Anybody else would come across as a stalker, but Mike is far too genuine and sincere in his unabashed love for this woman to be considered anything of the sort. And no matter what happens, even when all hope is seemingly lost, he still loves Sue in a most beautiful way.
The story is really all about learning to manage your own life. Even when she seemingly has all she thinks she wants and needs, it is really Sue who is screwed up the most. Mike is obviously a dreamer and an eternal optimist, while Sue tries to find happiness in going about her life in a totally pragmatic fashion. Both ultimately learn that sometimes you have to let go of everything in order to find what you have been trying to attain all along. I loved this sweet and quirky romantic comedy. I feel sure that most people will be able to identify themselves with one of the two main characters and maybe even learn something about themselves by enjoying the comedy foibles that make up this most unconventional of romances.
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Bloodfight
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| DVD ~ Shuji Goto |
| Price: CDN$ 5.98 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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You won't get many kicks out of this sad and depressing martial arts film, Nov 5 2009
Bloodfight has to be the most depressing martial arts film I've ever seen. This thing throws on the sackcloth and rolls around in the ashes for a while. Sure, the dramatic events that unfold set the stage for an unlikely comeback by Kai against the younger and all but invincible Chong Lee (Bolo Yeung), but you're not going to come away from Bloodfight with a smile on your face. That's not to say there's no entertainment value to the film, though. Kai's recruitment of Ryu is laughably absurd, and a good bit of unintentional humor can easily be found in the movie's dialogue - which is filmed in bad English to begin with, thus saving Western distributors the chore of badly dubbing the film themselves.
Yasuaki Kurata plays Masahiro Kai, a former champion of the World Championship free-fighting tournament (which actually takes place in a dark and seedy gym on some back street in Hong Kong). A shadow of his former self, Kai runs a ridiculously poor excuse of a gym in hopes of finding a protégé who can follow in his fading footsteps. After his wife leaves him, he seems to get pretty desperate, recruiting a mean and undisciplined local hooligan as his student. I'm not sure how a white dude comes to lead a gang in Hong Kong, especially one as incredibly gay as this one, but the bigger mystery is why Kai would watch a gang of hoodlums terrorize an innocent young lady and then offer to train the guy responsible. Not surprisingly, this little mentor relationship doesn't work out very well - but it does lead him to another young prospect named Ryu Tenmei (Simon Yam). This young man has no desire to train and compete, and the very idea frightens his hot girlfriend to death. Of course, he does end up competing in the big tournament, and let's just say the experience ends pretty badly.
The big fight scene at the end isn't bad at all, but there's a whole lot of bad movie to wade through in order to get that far. By the midpoint of Bloodfight, I was thinking this was quite possibly the worst martial arts movie I had ever seen. The story had gone from boring to downright laughable, the film editor had seemingly thrown in bunches of short and insignificant scenes for apparently no reason, and all of the characters were pretty hard to like. The emotional intensity of the second half of the film definitely leaves an impression on the viewer, though. This isn't the kind of Saturday afternoon matinee film you pop in for ninety minutes of great fun watching crazy kung fu action. Unless you're a real martial arts fan junkie or a fan of Bolo Yeung, you and Bloodfight need never cross one another's paths.
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Doesn't exactly chill you to the bones, Oct 26 2009
Dead of Winter (aka Lost Call) has all the makings of a good, intense movie - but it never truly delivers. Throwing a big surprise in at the last moment doesn't help. You can't make up for a weak story by delivering a surprise questionable ending - when is Hollywood going to figure that out? I know this film is supposedly based on a true story, but I've read about that true story; Dead of Winter may be built upon the same structure of that event, but this is really just an attempt to exploit a tragedy in a failed effort to add a little extra tension to a film that struggles to stand on its own two legs. I don't want to speak too harshly of the film, though, because I have to admit it did a good job of keeping me entertained.
If these two young people had only had their drinks unknowingly laced with LSD, I would really have cared what happened to them after they found themselves lost in the cold, snowy woods. The fact that they also both willingly snorted crystal meth at their friend's New Year's party, though, kept me from establishing a true bond with them and their plight. I didn't want anything bad to happen to the cute girl, Tiffany (Sandra McCoy), but I have to admit I didn't like Kevin (Al Santos) at all. When you think some awful something is attacking you, you don't just run off and leave your girl behind - unless you're Kevin, who did it repeatedly.
So Kevin and Tiffany leave this party in something of a huff and head home on the snowy roads. Hearing and seeing frightening things, they abandon the car and run off into the woods in a panic. Afraid to head back to the car, they decide to trek the rest of the way home through the woods. Naturally, they get lost. They do call 911, but the signal never lasts very long, and the dispatcher has a hard time figuring out where they are because of the crazy things they say - they're lost at their apartment, there are a bunch of "workers" there who don't speak English, etc. Things go from bad to worst out in the woods as Kevin's behavior becomes stranger and stranger.
In light of the ending, I feel that some of the overall story elements are rather flimsily connected to one another, and a number of obvious yet unanswered questions arise as to the whole situation this couple found themselves in. The film does muster up a couple of creepy moments, one of which features a beautifully subtle and perfectly executed shot that you may not notice if you aren't paying attention at the time, but the story just isn't strong enough to carry this film all the way through. The end result is an average horror/thriller that will entertain you but probably won't exceed your expectations.
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A fascinating premise but a somewhat passionless read, Oct 15 2009
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is a very good and enjoyable read, but I must admit it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Perhaps I was a bit too intrigued by the premise. I'll read anything connected to the Salem Witch Trials, and here we have a novel - written by an historian - promising to offer a different take on the controversial subject, one that not only proffers the idea that there could be an element of truth to the colonial witchcraft charges but also offers up the prospect of an actual witch's spellbook lying in wait in some forgotten repository. And get this - first-time novelist Katherine Howe is actually related to two of the Salem women accused of witchcraft, Elizabeth Howe and Elizabeth Proctor. Having done postgraduate work in history myself, I know the exhilaration of pouring through rare primary documents in search of heretofore unknown facts or discoveries, and I was thoroughly prepared to revel in the protagonist's search for any and all of Deliverance Dane's centuries-old writings. Unfortunately, the novel never developed into a true page-turner for me.
Doctoral candidate in history Connie Goodwin finds herself charged with spending a summer in Marblehead, Massachusetts, readying her grandmother's house for sale. The old, abandoned place is a mess, but the discovery of a mysterious key with an unfamiliar name stashed inside it in an old Bible sets Connie on a path of discovery and potential scholarship. Her advisor and mentor back at Harvard is exceedingly excited about the prospect of what she might find, but the road to discovery increasingly becomes more personal to Connie as she proceeds with her search. Plenty of evidence of ties to the unknown Deliverance Dane goes unnoticed by Connie, and the reader learns Deliverance's story long before the protagonist does - both of which tend to undermine the reader's fascination with Connie's search for truth.
The story just seems to lack a strong sense of passion or intensity underneath the surface, and it does tend to wander at times away from its foundation. I don't have a problem with the budding romance that develops in these pages, but some may feel that it sometimes wanders somewhat astray from the book's central subject matter. What I expected to be one of the novel's most significant chapters wasn't even included, as we're only informed of a crucial event after the fact. Then there is the prime conflict in the story, which I felt required much more explanation regarding its origins.
One relative strength of the novel is the author's attempt to portray life in colonial Salem as it really was, which is a clear byproduct of the author's dedication to history. Some of the details may get a tad tedious to some readers, but I actually felt that Deliverance Dane was a more complete and real character than Connie turned out to be, and that's a bit of a problem because Connie is the main character. Still, it's an interesting read and an impressive debut novel, and it does offer a refreshingly different viewpoint on the lives of some of the "cunning" women caught up in the madness of the Salem Witch Trials.
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The best of the Nature Unleashed films, Oct 15 2009
These Nature Unleashed films aren't exactly the gold standard of disaster movies, but this Fire entry is a darn good movie. I mean, this movie has a little bit of everything - cave-ins, deadly falls, motorcycle stunts (and accidents), fistfights, explosions, helicopter rescue missions, and of course one hell of a big fire. Heck, surviving a raging forest fire is the easy part for the poor dopes who find themselves in the wrong forest and the wrong time. There is one questionable aspect of the film, but I won't complain too much about that because it keeps things exciting all the way to the end. And the acting, particularly that of Bryan Genesse, is actually pretty good. One thing is certain: this is a much better film than Nature Unleashed: Avalanche and Earthquake: Nature Unleashed.
Bryan Genesse plays Jake, a forest ranger who puts the lie to any notions that forest rangers do nothing but look at trees all day. First, he narrowly escapes death trying to save some idiots looking for gold in an abandoned, condemned mine. Then, six months later, he rappels down from a helicopter to help a group of dumb kids who had egged on a biker novice to try a jump that he (and especially his now broken leg) couldn't handle. Actually, most of the blame falls on the shoulders of Marcus (Ross McCall), one of the most arrogant and self-infatuated individuals I've come across in some time. He fights Jake (both literally and figuratively) all the way as they begin to try and transport the injured Chris (Josh Cohen) out of the forest. Their overland journey is soon complicated by evidence of fire somewhere behind them, then in front of them, and then on both sides. It eventually becomes obvious that this is no natural forest fire that is inexorably trying to trap them in its midst.
All kinds of great action takes place throughout the rest of the movie, as this ultimate bad day from hell just keeps throwing danger and excitement at these guys and girls. One aspect of the drama does get a little ridiculous by the end, but it makes for great drama of the "what else can go possibly go wrong?" variety. I actually thought this would be the least interesting of the Nature Unleashed movies - compared to earthquakes and avalanches, a fire almost seems mundane - but I was dead wrong on that score. If you see just one of the Nature Unleashed films, this is the one to see.
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Maybe this wasn't the best place to build a luxurious hotel, Oct 13 2009
Avalanches are some bad business - and they're bad for business, particularly if you are building a luxurious hotel at the base of a high mountain threatening to slide off its shelf and come crashing down on top of you. It's a subject that lends itself well to cinematic treatment, and I think this particular effort, Nature Unleashed: Avalanche, really isn't that bad of a film, especially given the project's budget. The acting isn't all that bad for the most part, and the storyline and subplots are average yet solid. It's not a film I would go out of my way to see, but there are certainly worse ways to spend an hour and a half. And I'm happy to say that this whole disaster goes down without the words "global warming" being mentioned at all.
You can't blame nature completely for this disaster because it is helped along significantly by stupid people being stupid. On the other hand, the catastrophe was inevitable given the geological conditions of the snow peaks in the area. One woman knows just how real the danger is (and just how hard it is to survive an avalanche), but no one wants to listen to her - not the mayor of the town at the mountain base and certainly not the men putting the finishing touches on a brand new luxurious resort running up fast against a deadline for completion. Even after a series of powerful and damaging avalanches take place, the scientist's warning of a super-avalanche fall on deaf ears for the most part.
Of course, you have to have at least one clichéd love story in play, but at least that is complemented by another subplot involving the builder of the hotel and his daughter. One positive aspect of the film is its relative success at maintaining a strong degree of tension up until the very end. There are a series of increasingly dangerous avalanches building up to the proverbial Big One, and massive mounds of soft snow aren't the safest places to conduct rescue missions, either. I can't say the whole story isn't wholly predictable because it is, but the end result is still a decent movie.
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Bad filmmaking unleashed, Oct 12 2009
High on the list of things you don't want to bring together are Russian nuclear plants and earthquakes - unless you want to make a disaster film. Just make sure your writer and director understand that you want a disaster film rather than a film disaster. Okay, maybe film disaster is a little too strong of a phrase, but Nature Unleashed: Earthquake is an average film at best. I don't know about the earthquake, but the movie hits at least a 9.0 on the Richter scale of film clichés. Divorced husband and wife forced together to deal with an unprecedented disaster - check; kids separated and in imminent danger if not rescued - check; boorish, uncaring nuclear plant manager who ignores all safety measures and cares only about his own survival - check. And let's not forget the desperate, last-minute, seat-of-your-pants, brainstorm idea to try and somehow prevent a complete meltdown of the core of the shoddily-engineered plant. As for the special effects -well, they're just lousy for the most part, including the scenes reportedly borrowed or stolen from other films.
I could actually summarize the plot here, but it's really not worth the effort. Even if you've never seen a single film in this genre, the whole story is ridiculously predictable from start to finish. Andy Hurst's script is tedious to the extreme, and Tibor Takács just compounds the great faults in the story and dialogue with his paint-by-numbers directing. This really isn't even an earthquake movie, as far as I'm concerned. Sure, there are tremors and finally a major earthquake that set the central events in motion, but the real story revolves around the classic Russian engineering of the Chernobyl-esque nuclear plant and the possibility of the exceedingly unnatural disaster of a nuclear core meltdown. Nature Unleashed: Earthquake is really more about man's folly than nature's fury.
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