The first scene, a black and white introduction to a Jokeresque clown; but don’t call him that; named Doom Head, is intense. 31, named after the game of death five unlucky protagonists find themselves in, mostly falters from there. It’s Rob Zombie’s version of Saw; some people are actually killed with chainsaws; perhaps a sign the filmmaker is running out of ideas.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
Quentin Tarantino says he wants to retire after ten movies. This is number nine. If he were to ask me what I think he should do to end his career on a high note, I’d sum it up with one word; suspense. That’s what makes his best movies; Inglourious Basterds and Jackie Brown; the classics they are. They’re filled almost to the brim with moments of suspense.
There’s a scene in Hollywood in which one of its two leading men; Brad Pitt as stuntman Cliff Booth; drives a sexy hitchhiker girl to Spahn Movie Ranch, where she says she lives. She invites him on the premises to meet her hippie friends. The tension that follows could be cut with a knife, but it leads nowhere. The suspense doesn’t return until the movie is about to end.
That ending, in which members of Charles Manson’s killer cult target Cliff and his famous actor buddy Rick Dalton; Leonardo DiCaprio as the other leading man; is violent and enthralling. Most of what comes before it is relatively uneventful. A lot of the movie is spent watching Dalton act in movies that are more entertaining than the one you’re watching.
my rating : 3 of 5
2019
The Devil’s Rejects, also known as The Firefly Clan, are a family of Satanic killers. They slay people at will and store their body parts in the confines of their country home. This movie serves as both a homage and a documentary of their lives.
As mean and violent as they are, they carry a sinister charm, especially the Baby sister. She’s like the kid in school who sicced her big brother on innocent boys and got turned on by the sight of the blood. That brother is scary. So is the father.
Some of the acting is flawed. Sheri Moon has the tendency to come across unconvincingly in her role and there’s a scene in which a crying kid looks like he’s laughing, but there is plenty of evil entertainment to be found amidst the wackiness.
my rating : 4 of 5
2005