Category Archives: Movie

Movie reviews, suggested movies for musicians to view, etc

Movie, Review, Zombies

World War Z (2013)

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World War Z is rated Green Ooze and is one of BagpiperDon’s Favourite Zombie Movies.

I am currently 23 minutes into seeing this film for the first time. Frankly I’m not paying full attention — I’m busy on my laptop working to start my company (yeah … that’s all) — I am, however, forming a few first impressions. Without pulling any punches, I’m trying to figure out how to say that this film delivers … moreover it delivers where the re-make of Red Dawn flat out failed. Yes, I know, neither of the Red Dawn films were zombie flicks — that’s not the point.

I’m impressed by the depiction of chaos and survival once the invader have hit — in Red Dawn the U.S. being invaded by one or more foreign countries whereas in WWZ humanity world wide is being invaded by our favourite plague … ZOMBIES! My impression of the Red Dawn re-make is that it was crafted in part to grab the teeny-boppers who went nutz over hunky werewolves and love-lorn glittering vampires. In other words, the re-Red Dawn survival and tactics would have gotten the Wolverines killed.

Pretty freaky, eh?

In my mind WWZ does a good job of depicting post-catastrophe society and tactics necessary to survive. As Z-films go, this film clearly has money behind it. It gets off to a start quick, and then gives its set-up. The zombies have intense movement and drive which doesn’t seem to be explained (but like I said, I’m not giving it my full 84% focus), at least not as of yet.

I’ve been curious how this might play out; I haven’t read the book but I have heard some of the audio-book. Action, adventure, mystery. There is a journey, but not the typical journey. In a way the zombie chaos is worse than the survivor chaos.

Stylistically speaking, I quite like the movement look that the production achieved for the zombies. Time and time again you seem similar movements from zombies — but in this film not only did the film-makers find a different way for the zombies to move, it ties in with the zombies’ drive, how they work as zombies.

This may be the biggest (stand alone) zombie film made yet.

To avoid this, get to the airport WAY EARLY like your dad.

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Movie, Review, Zombies

Train to Busan (2016)

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Train to Busan, or by its original title “Busanhaeng“, is a South Korean zombie apocalypse action thriller film released in 2016.  The film takes place on a train to Busan, as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out and compromises the safety of the passengers.

Fast moving zombies.  Fast infection.  Zombieism also affects animals (<– very slight spoiler).  Hordes of zombies like in World War Z — and this film could easily be the South Korea part of the WWZ outbreak (same universe).  People on a train feels like Snowpiercer (which if you’re a sci-fi fan and you haven’t seen Snowpiercer you are seriously missing out – IMDB/Wikipedia).  It even has little touches that remind you of Speed.  This has got to be one of the best Z-films I’ve seen since 28 Days Later!  OH YEAH, Train to Busan is rated Green Ooze and is one of BagpiperDon’s Favourite Zombie Movies!

…screw that, MF — this film has Zombies On A Train!

The zombies move in this totally different than any I’ve seen in other films …. and having both been a zombie in a film and having been in a car accident and gotten whiplash, what these actors did not only looks amazing for a zombie film but from my perspective now …. painful.  The Z-film journey element is in this film, but works totally different (well, the way it’s applied maybe one could say ‘re-imagined’) than I’ve seen in previous films.  There’s also something I haven’t seen in zombie films before in how the zombies do and don’t notice non-infected people.  And there were a few old lady wigs.

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Movie, Review, Zombies

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

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PHEW!  For all of my reviews, writing something for The Serpent and the Rainbow is frankly a bit daunting — but let’s do it anyway.  Prepare for a long, drab description in 3 … 2 … 1 …

Synopsis

In 1988, a Harvard doctor by the name of Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) has been hired by a large pharmaceutical corporation to travel to Haiti in 1985 (which is tricky because they don’t supply him with a time machine) to investigate the case of a man who died in 1978 and has apparently returned to life with the aid of a Voodoo drug.  The pharmaceutical corporation wants Dr. Alan to acquire the zombie drug so they can research it; their intent is to mass produce and sell it as a type of “super anesthetic”.  While in Haiti, Dr. Alan hooks up with a brainy local hot chick by the name of Marielle Duchamp (played by Cathy Tyson), then gets mixed up in deception and Voodoo.  Apparently this fictional film is loosely based on the non-fiction book of the same name.

Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson) doing the Safety Dance … either that or she’s tied up. Who knows … it was the 80s!

Or at least to say, if you have a sense of humor, you can interpret this film that way and write big long run-on sentences, because really who reads all of these reviews anyway?
(Although I was told once that a person read, and had a good laugh, my review of the zombie film “Billy Elliot” — yes, it’s a zombie film.)

So on a more serious note… well, somewhat more serious…

This film was budgeted at $7M and made nearly $20M at the box office, so I don’t know if that makes it good but the marketing was good enough to get people to watch it.  I guess Wes Craven was trying to cash-in on his good name and Nightmare on Elm Street success.  Whatever the case, it kind of looks like an 80s film and it definitely feels like an 80s horror-mystery film.  I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to watch this, but if you are looking for something to play while you hang out … well, spin it up.  I’d rate this film Yellow Puss.

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For Every Musician, Movie, Review

The Singing Revolution (2006)

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Between 1986 and 1991 singing was the weapon of choice for the people of Estonia who sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation.  During these years masses of young people, without any political party, gathered in public to sing patriotic songs and to rally for national independence — patriotic songs that had been made forbidden.

People tend not to think of singing when it comes to revolutions, but with the Estonian culture and tradition of song not just tens of thousands but Hundreds Of Thousands gathered to sing and to give their nation a renew spirit.

“The Singing Revolution”, by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty, tells the incredibly moving story of how the people of Estonia peacefully regained their freedom and helped to topple the Soviet empire in the process.

My fellow musicians, If Ever You Question The Importance And The Power Of Our Craft … watch The Singing Revolution.  Imagine a revolution that looks like this with everyone you can see singing…

 

SingingRevolution.com

The Singing Revolution at IMDb.com and Wikipedia …. and for no good apparent reason another page about the same film at Wikipedia.  Go figure.

Movie, Review, Zombies

Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)

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So far as I’m concerned, Return Of The Living Dead Part 2 (1988) is a zombie-film masterpiece –rated Yellow Puss all the way.  And by ‘masterpiece’ I mean that most sarcastically.

It looks and feels very 1980s, which is probably because this film was released on January 8, 1988.  It looks and feels pretty budget.  Why?  According to Wikipedia this gem “…was a minor box office success, making over $9 million at the box office in the United States against its $6.2 million budget.”

The action and horror-humor gags are obvious.  The zombies are semi-aware.  The semi-aware zombies contribute to the obvious gags.  You hear the zombie desire for “BRAINS…” so much you can watch the film and climb the wall at the same time.  There were no gratuitous zombie-movie boobs in this film, which as tired of it as I am, frankly it would have helped this schlock.  Because of this, I thought I’d supply some…

Politicians Fighting AKA semi-aware zombies

Smartest person in the zombie situation is a kid in grade school, which I think is part of the point to this film.

Does that guy kinda look like Michael Jackson? Yeah, I think that was intentional too…

At the end it appears there’s a zombie family dance as the horde is getting killed off.  I’m not sure if that was intentional, but it’s funny to think about it that way.

The one not-so-direct-from-the-film comment I was say …. the source of the zombie outbreak gets into the water supply.  Think about it …. your city, your town, are you on supplied water?

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Movie, Review, Zombies

Wyrmwood – Road of the Dead (2014)

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Last night there was a meteor shower over Australia … then, inexplicably, some people started turning into zombies the following morning … normal types of fuel no longer work, but zombie breath and blood is flammable.

Weird — yeah …

Fun — OI, MATE!

Long/short — this film was a lot of fun, and surely is a film for my Top 10+ List.  Amazingly this film was budgeted at $160,000, and written by brothers Kiah Roache-Turner (director) and Tristan Roache-Turner (producer).

This was a kick because it showed some new ideas — not just with the characters Frank and Barry discovering that zombie blood can be used as a substitute for gasoline.  They take to the road to find Barry’s sister, Brooke.  She’s been nabbed by soldiers and a scientist, and gets injected with a chemical concoction that somehow gives her the ability to control the hungry hordes.  This helps to bring something fresh to zombie-genre after it’s received a heavy flogging in recent years.

In February 2015 a sequel was announced with a potential return of the original actors, with the release proposed for early 2017.  The Roache-Turner brothers later announced that their next project would in fact be the Wyrmwood sequel in the form of a 10-episode TV series titled “Wyrmwood: Chronicles of the Dead“.  The team released a short teaser for the series on 19 May 2017, featuring Gallagher and Bradey reprising their roles as Barry and Brooke.

Not bad for a crowdfunded film where no one got paid (HOORAY FOR DIY) and made this film as a labor of love for 3+ years.

Wyrmwood at IMDb and Wikipedia

Here’s the trailer…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESob6LPkA0

But why bother with that when you can watch the whole movie…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrsJrTjt6e8

Movie, Review, Zombies

Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies (2015)

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Navy Seals vs. Zombies, Navy Seals vs. Zombies
AKA Navy Seals vs. Zombies

After a deadly zombie outbreak in Louisiana, a team of highly skilled U.S. Navy SEALs are sent into  Baton Rouge to rescue the Vice President.  Embarking on the battle of their lives, they must fight for the city and their survival against an army of the undead.

That sounds pretty good right?  For zombie films it sounds par for course — and let’s face it, Z-film par has a history of being schlocky.  While I have seen worse (not to mention better, Much BETTER), this seems to be a throw-back to 1970s and 1980s schlock.

B-film SEALs
The guys — ready to go fishing!

Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies came up when I searched my local library system’s website for all-things ‘zombie’.  Surprisingly, enough other people where interested it took weeks to become first in the cue.  Watching this, I give it a Yellow Puss rating.  Don’t break your neck to see this film — if you are a zombie fan with a couple of hours to kill on the weekend and need to recharge your batteries, crash your couch and check it out.

I'd date her
Who needs a good script when there’s at least one pretty girl in the film

This is a film with C-string actors and a B-string script working in an industry that is well known for being tough with rare breaks.  It seems that this is such a B-film that they couldn’t cast an actor as the president — he had to be the vice president.  Frequently the dialogue lags, but then if the timing was better then this wouldn’t be a 97 minute film.  Between the costumes, props, and language the main characters give just enough of the right vibe to feel like Navy SEALs.  They even have operator beards, however I have never heard of an operator pony tail.  As for the zombies, they move fast, their makeup is pretty rabid, and when they attack they have their moments of intensity.

On a personal note…
Affliction Z - Patient Zero by L.T. Ryan
I loved to pick this up, I hated when I needed to put it down … but I fella has to sleep sometime.

Around the time of viewing Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies I was finishing reading “Affliction Z: Patient Zero” by L.T. Ryan.  In his book a team of SEALs are dropped into Nigeria to rescue a group of U.S. Army Rangers who went in earlier — and like the SEALs in this film, they get surprised by zombie afflicted people.  While this film is so-so, it gave a visual representation of similar fiction (just that I’ve enjoyed L.T. Ryan’s book much more)

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Movie, Review, Zombies

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

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Christmas is drawing near and things are melting down in the town of Bailey Downs … and at best, I rate A Christmas Horror Story as Yellow Puss.

A Christmas Horror Story clearly resides among its own as a B-film.  It attempts to interweave four horror stories, each of which to varying degrees have little if anything to do with Christmas myth.

If you pay closer attention to this pot-boiler than I did, allegedly the framework of these stories are tied together by a character named DJ Dangerous Dan — a lonely late-night radio personality, waxing on about how he loves Xmas while hitting the eggnog while getting understandably abandoned by the radio station staff.

Hi Bill!

DJ Dan is played by none other than James T. Kirk — clearly a retirement job following his service as Captain aboard the infamous Starship Enterprise … who is probably the only actor you will recognize.

First Story – Three teens break into their school to investigate two murders that occurred the previous year. They mysteriously get locked in the basement  and then — SURPRISE — the horror begins!  This story has nothing to do with Christmas.

Second Story – A husband, wife, and their son go into the woods to chop down a Christmas tree.  The son wanders off and gets switched for a changeling who mimics him and then — SURPRISE — the horror begins!  Aside from the Pagany changeling and Christmas tree, this story too has nothing to do with Christmas.  In other words, these first two stories are just FILLER to justify bringing William Shatner into the film and to bolster the other two stories into a 107 minute B-movie made in Canada.

Third Story – A yuppie family of four visit their elderly aunt and behave poorly.  This attracts the attention of Krampus and while on their way home they are picked off one at a time.  This is the first portion of the story where the filmmakers take liberties with Krampus mythos …. but then HolloWood has given us far worse.   As a result this story has a little to do with Christmas.

Fourth Story – A fittingly Nordic-looking Santa Claus is at his workshop preparing for a busy Christmas when he discovers that his elves and Mrs. Claus have turned into zombies.  He manages to kill them all and then for an unapparent reason Santa is then forced to fight Krampus.  This is where the filmmakers quite unfortunately took the most gross liberties with the Krampus character (AKA Black Peter).  Krampus gets turned into a villain — white hats, black hats … everyone needs a villain — the problem though is that in Krampus mythos he is only a threat to bad kids/people.  In fact, Krampus and St. Nick have always worked together — on Krampusnacht (Krampus night) around December 5th he arrived to punish children who have misbehaved while of course Saint Nicholas would reward well-behaved children with gifts.  In other words, when Krampus became suppressed his tasks were given to Santa who would ‘make his list of who’s naughty and nice’.

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For Every Musician, Movie, Review

Joyeux Noël AKA Merry Christmas (2005)

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I’ve wanted to watch the 2005 film “Joyeux Noël” (AKA Merry Christmas) for years — finally got to and I’m very glad I did!  One could easily say that every piper, every musician, and every person ought to.

We all know the setting…

The Great War, which of course later came to be known as World War I and lasted from 28July1914 to 11November1918.  It is viewed as being the first modern war and the most destructive.

Scottish soldiers in a WWI trench
Emerging from the trenches with Silent Night in the film.

During the first year of the war there were a number of informal and unauthorized “Christmas truces“, where men on both sides of the Western Front line stopped fighting to celebrate the holiday … and in some cases met in the middle to celebrate together.  Joyeux Noël is a dramatization of a group of French, Scottish, and German soldiers.  Having heard Silent Night on bagpipes from trench and the singing of the classic song by a German vocalist in another trench, they rose and met on No Man’s Land in one of these truces.

Maybe I think too much, this gets listed as an anti-war film.  I’m not always sure what makes a song or a film (etc) an anti-war piece — or to say, some are more obvious and direct than others.  What I am clear on is that Joyeux Noël shows that we as different cultures can set aside our differences, meet together peacefully, and share what we have in common.  To me some of the significance of this film has to do with universal languages — among those I believe are math and music.  As musicians we bring people together — in good times, in bad times, and bridging our different languages.  The lyrics may sound different but the music is the same.

Here are my side-notes on this film — in other words, these are the not important things I observed …

To me this film looked great — the costumes were good, there were four languages in this film (so long as you count the priest delivering a sermon in Latin), the acting was good, and so far as I could tell everything was period correct.  According to Wikipedia, Joyeux Noël had a budget of $22 million and brought in only $17,709,155 at the box office.  This happens — a well made film with a beautiful message … clearly it did not go unnoticed, and from when I’ve talked about wanting to see it the film apparently resonates in the collective conscious … but I’m saddened that this didn’t get as much notice in the theater that it profited let alone broke even.

As a musician I of course enjoy seeing when singers and instrumentalists are given focus in a film or in a TV show — especially when pipes are featured in a film.  I’m also accustom to these not actually featuring singers or musicians. In the case of this film the actors-not-singing is glaringly obvious — the lip syncing is painful.  The bagpiping in this film is also synced (pipe-synced?), which is understandable — finding actors who play bagpipes is uncommon (yep, sorry — Viggo Mortensen doesn’t actually play pipes in Captain Fantastic, although the filmmakers did a very good job of making it look like he did and Viggo trained hard to look as-so).  The pipe-syncing is both good & bad in Joyeux Noël.  When pipers start playing and then stop playing but the tune continues … that’s bad.  However, at times in this film the actors-not-pipers are seen playing and they actually do a considerably accurate job of appearing to play … so to some extent these guys actually trained — WOW!

The one other hang-up I had, or call it that if you will — there were four sets of bagpipes in the film.  Four clearly bran new, shiny sets of pipes.  I find it hard to imagine that pipes exposed to such conditions would be in such good shape, but this is a small thing so let’s look past it.

Okay, before I get any more into the weeds, let’s just say this — Joyeux Noël was a heck of a film — see it, it well deserves its time in the sun.

Joyeux Noël AKA Merry Christmas

Make no mistake, this is not a buddy-comedy film

 

Movie, Review, Zombies

Rammbock Berlin Undead (2011)

Once again, a review in note vrs essay form by DPScobie
Rated – Yellow Puss

I think this is the first non-English-language zombie film I’ve seen. When I saw this on the library shelf I grabbed it up precisely for that reason — in this case, Germany. Personally, I watch DVDs with the subtitles on because I find I follow the story better — I’m glad that this DVD also had English audio over-dub. Also, I found that I had a hard time doing what I usually do while watching movies — type or work on a small hand project — I really had to just-watch the film. Yeah, I know, actually ‘watch a film’ — what a concept — it’s how I prefer to view films and spend my viewing time.

Things are looking up!

Zombie bite + angry victim = another zombie
Potentially the human immune system can beat the zombie infection over time providing the victim stays calm while their body beats the infection

The zombies are rather rabid, including frothing and drooling at the mouth

Initially this doesn’t have The Journey” element (for the first 54 minutes of the film) — instead the people are trapped in their apartments

The zombies are repelled by strobes because their retina’s are sensitive to the light

Has a bit of a 28 Days Later vibe to it — like this is the B-team in the same story line or what’s going on around the same time but in Germany

When in a zombie apocalypse, find a nice guy in a gray sweater — he’ll take a dive for you

I’m unclear if there are supposed to be some comedic elements — this could be the difference in the timing between the original German execution and the English over-dubs

She’s not your mother anymore!!!

Deals with the personal experience of a person changing from a human to a zombie

Shows people who aren’t able to handle the stress and emotions of the catastrophe, killing themselves in various ways

The film is shorter than what I’m used to — it ends (goes to credits) around 58 minutes

There’s a fun and campy video in the bonus features — a PSA on zombie identification and eradication

ENGLISH DIALOG
Ladies and gentlemen, The German parliament has authorized the immediate use of military force. A state of emergency has been declared according to article 35 of the constitution. It is now clear that a pervasive epidemic is spreading via a virus of unknown origin. The pathogen is thought to be transmitted by bodily fluids exchanged through bites from infected individuals. Within hours or perhaps minutes the virus spreads through the body. Infection does not mean a full blown illness. The pathogen only enters the brain when the body releases adrenaline. I repeat, adrenaline released under strong emotional stress activates the illness. If you think you may be infected, it is very important to stay clam. Stay away from others and, if possible, sedate yourself. There are indications that the immune system can conquer the disease if the illness remains dormant. If illness develops, seek safety away from the infected person. Under no circumstances should one attract their attention, even if they are family members or friends. Remain calm. If you are in an urban area do not try to leave on your own. All major traffic routes have been blocked. The army is preparing to evacuate large cities via waterways. Stay in a safe place. Barricade your doors and windows. Keep your radios on. As information becomes available this station will broadcast the latest updates. You are urged to stay tuned and, as we stated earlier, remain calm. Authorities are working to find a solution to the crisis and medical personnel are treating infected victims at make-shift crisis centers across the city.

SUBTITLES
a pervasive epidemic is spreading
via a virus of unknown origin
The pathogen
is transmitted by bodily fluids
via bites and bleeding wounds.
Within minutes or hours, the virus spreads
through the body.
Infection does not mean
a full blown illness.
The pathogen only enters the brain
when the body releases adrenaline.
I repeat, adrenaline released under strong emotional stress
activates the illness.
If you think you may be infected, it is very important to stay clam.
Stay away from others.
If possible, sedate yourself.
There are indications that the immune system
can conquer the disease if the illness remains dormant.
If illness develops, seek safety
away from the infected person.
Under no circumstances
should one attract attention,
even if they are family members or friends.
Remain calm.
If you are in an urban area do not try to leave on your own.
All major traffic routes have been blocked.
The army
is preparing to evacuate large cities via waterways.
Stay in a safe place. Barricade your doors and windows.
Keep your radios on.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The German parliament has authorized immediate use of military force.
A state of emergency has been declared according to article 35 of the constitution

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Hard to kill?!?!
You weren’t kidding!!!