Sequel Season
Seen: FAME
I went into this one expecting to hate it. I loved the Fame TV series when I were a nipper, but too many inferior copies (High School Musical, Britannia High, etc.) have poisoned the genre lately. I needn't have worried, though - the gritty, sweaty feel of the original movie is still there, and the performances are all wonderful (if not as memorable as some of the original Kids From Fame songs). The content is a little more lightweight, with a greater emphasis on relationships than issues, but this doesn't detract from the more realistic tone.
Enjoyable. 7/10.
Seen: SAW VI
Recent Saw films have provided diminishing returns, but it seems this franchise has rebounded since the nadir that was Saw IV. The backstory still weighs the story down, and brilliant though Tobin Bell is, it's time his character was laid to rest - let's focus on the new Jigsaw, instead, please. The story of this one was straightforward enough to follow, though, and just as wince-inducing as you'd expect (which is the main requirement). Was a little put out by the inclusion of innocent characters in the traps this time - exactly what the security guard at the insurance firm had done to warrant his fate I cannot imagine - especially since their survival was largely out of their hands (and extremely improbable). Would like to see Jigsaw concentrate on picking victims who deserve their punishment in future.
Suitably gory. 7/10.
I went into this one expecting to hate it. I loved the Fame TV series when I were a nipper, but too many inferior copies (High School Musical, Britannia High, etc.) have poisoned the genre lately. I needn't have worried, though - the gritty, sweaty feel of the original movie is still there, and the performances are all wonderful (if not as memorable as some of the original Kids From Fame songs). The content is a little more lightweight, with a greater emphasis on relationships than issues, but this doesn't detract from the more realistic tone.
Enjoyable. 7/10.
Seen: SAW VI
Recent Saw films have provided diminishing returns, but it seems this franchise has rebounded since the nadir that was Saw IV. The backstory still weighs the story down, and brilliant though Tobin Bell is, it's time his character was laid to rest - let's focus on the new Jigsaw, instead, please. The story of this one was straightforward enough to follow, though, and just as wince-inducing as you'd expect (which is the main requirement). Was a little put out by the inclusion of innocent characters in the traps this time - exactly what the security guard at the insurance firm had done to warrant his fate I cannot imagine - especially since their survival was largely out of their hands (and extremely improbable). Would like to see Jigsaw concentrate on picking victims who deserve their punishment in future.
Suitably gory. 7/10.