Film Review: Prometheus {{2012}}

When I heard Ridley Scott was making a film that ties in the Alien series. I was very excited because my question really was....what the hell was that thing that had something bust through his chest??  Aliens after all was the first movie that I had a memory to as a child and it really gave that passion into wanting to write or be like Ridley Scott in creating creatures that were very similar to bugs.

Prometheus

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~


The film opens on a planet. The camera pans throughout the planet and it comes across a beautiful cascading waterfall.  Above it in the air is a black floating object...and we all know it's a spaceship of some sorts.  A robed man walks to the edge of the waterfall and watches the ship take off.  He places a container and removes his robe and opens the container.  As the air hits the contents it starts to change.  The pale man drinks it and starts to disintegrate. We watch the black fluid destroy his body and as he falls into the water, we also see the DNA taking on new life.
In Ireland, we see Elizabeth Shaw {{Noomi Rapace}}uncovering a cave and calling for her associate Charlie Holloway{{Logan Marshall-Green}}.  Charlie arrives with Elizabeth and they are both amazed and in awe over the cave drawing that they have found that seems to be the oldest cave drawing of what they have been searching for.  Elizabeth feels it's an invitation of some sorts to follow the giant beings coordinates.
We now come upon the ship and a single inhabitant David {{Michael Fassbender}}that is in a way ease dropping in on Elizabeth's dreams.  David is seen doing activities and learning a strange alien language.  David is also trying to send a transmission and it seems to fail.  In the midst of David's activities, the ship announces they arrive at their threshold.
David walks into a private chamber where we see Meredith Vickers {{Charlize Theron}} doing push ups and orders David to get her a robe.  She asks if everyone is alive and to wake them up.  David wakes them up and tries to console Elizabeth who is throwing up.  David informs her that her body and mind are in a state of shock from the stasis. Charlie tells Elizabeth that they made it as she continues to throw up.
Everyone is in the mess hall getting something to eat.  Meredith is making her rounds as she observes everyone and comes up to Janek {{Idris Elba}}, the captain of the ship as he is decorating a tiny little Christmas tree.  Which establishes a time frame in which they are in.  Meredith has everyone for the mission briefing, where we see a hologram projection Mr. Weyland {{Guy Pearce}}talking about the mission and about David, the android.  When he mentions that David is the closest thing to a son, you can see a bit of disdain in Meredith's eyes.  Charlie and Elizabeth explain to the crew about why they are there and showing drawings of giant beings that are being worshiped.
All these drawings are all from different time eras and regions of earth.  They explain to the crew that these beings are showing a star system that primitive humans wouldn't know about or how to get there.  The crew feel a bit skeptical about these drawings.  Elizabeth explains that these beings are called Engineers and they created us, which is why they are on this mission is to find them on their home world.  Or so they think.  Elizabeth shows that her belief that these things created us made her a zealot to some of the crew.
David calls Charlie and Elizabeth into Meredith's quarters.  Charlie is impressed with her room.  David explains that it is in essence a life boat, where Elizabeth goes into another sector and finds a Medical Pod or Pauling Med-Pod.  Ms. Vickers informs her to not touch anything.  It gives Elizabeth some concern as it is calibrated for by-pass surgery and they question the agenda of Weyland corporation.
Meredith explains to them that she doesn't want them having any contact with their so-called Engineers and to report back to her.  Charlie and Elizabeth are upset with this information.  Meredith informs that since Weyland Corporation funded the project that they would be nothing more than employees and that if they had funded the projected...then the agenda would be theirs.
We see the David, Elizabeth and Charlie talking about the transmission that is not getting any response to.  Charlie gives some banter about David's language lessons and David comes back with cold, calculating facts that seem to impress Elizabeth.
Janek takes them into the planet atmosphere and they found some hot spots on the planet.  They  come across what appears to be a barren planet.  Charlie spots a location that appears to be a flat ridge.  He tells the captain to put it down close to that location.  They arrive and even though the captain warns Charlie about going in the morning.  Charlie seems to feel that since it's Christmas...that he wants to open his presents...hence taking the survey team to scout the area.  
The team preps itself and Elizabeth tells the one of the security detail that this is a scientific expedition, so no weapons are allowed.  He doesn't go with them.  Charlie questions David about wearing a space suit since he is an android.  David explains that his form is to please us and not wearing the suit would defeat the purpose. 
The expedition team departs and arrive at the location.  Fifield {{Sean Harris}}sends out his mapping orbs to graph their location. Inside Prometheus, Janek is surprised by the massive building.  Which shows tons of different corridors.
Granted the one thing about the planet is that 2-minutes without a suit would mean that you could die but inside the location/dome that there is breathable air in there.  Oxygen.  Yes, we have seen in Mission to Mars where Gary Sinise character removes his helmet on faith to breath the air inside a giant white face where the air outside was unbreathable.  Charlie does that against Elizabeth's wishes.
They all remove their helmets and something like that always warrants trouble, especially in an alien location.  Walking through the corridor, they mention the temperature and there is leaking water around.  They all give some banter about it, while David stops and looks at this block of some sorts and touches it.  There is some goopy film/slime like the aliens let out. David is impressed with it.  He operates something and the a whirring light glows through. They start to see a holographic projection like a video feed.  They follow the feed to where it ends and they see one of the things get beheaded.
Janek and Meredith are at awe in Prometheus.  Fifield decides to leaves and takes Milburn {{Rafe Spall}}with him because he doesn't want t be around the gigantic dead body.  As Charlie, Elizabeth and Ford {{Kate Dickie}} examine the body which give or take the body has been dead for about 2-thousand years or so.  David seems to activate the door and they find the decapitated head. As they walk into the room.  We see a step and there is tiny worm like creatures.   David and Charlie walk further and they see tons of canisters.  They see a mural on the ceiling and some type of sculptured mural on the wall. They all realize they change the atmosphere in the room. David realizes the cylinder is having some black organic goo coming out.
Back on Prometheus, they find out a storm is coming that could destroy their suits.  They request a bit of time to bag the head, while David is taking a cylinder with him.  They arrive in time but Elizabeth loses her head and she goes after it.  Charlie worried about her, also goes after her.  Which they are both trapped in this dangerous storm.  David rescues them and brings them back to the ship.  Janek asks where Milburn and Fifield are at.  So he tells the guys that there is a storm and to find a way to keep warm.
Safely aboard they start to do some tests on the head.  They find out that the head is actually under a helmet and have David remove it.  They find new cell growth and try to find out why and to trick it into thinking it's alive, they send electrical volts through it.  Something happens and the face looks like it is in pain and when they contain it.  The head explodes.  They take a genetic sample of the head.
David is in a room talking to some one in a stasis pod.  Where Meredith Vickers stops David outside the door. Questioning what did the person request.  David regretfully tells her that he can not tell her.  Angrily she slams David against the wall and demands to know.  David tells her that the person told him to try harder.  In the lab, they find the DNA is a match.
In another lab, David takes the canister out of a freezer and opens it.  He pulls the contents out and sees another canister tube.  David looks at the content.  David shows up in a room where Charlie is leaning against a pool table.  David asks if he would like a refill in his drink.  Some how Charlie has a bit of a disliking to David.  Which in one point David questions him about his so-called makers and to bad that they are dead.  Charlie had wanted to meet them and get answers as to why we were made.  David asks why ur people made him.  Charlie gives him a very harsh answer of because we could.  David not liking hearing his response asks him what he would do to achieve answers.  Almost as if he is waiting for an invitation.  Charlie mentions he would do anything to find what he seeks. So David pours him a drink.
Back in the dome, Milburn and Fifield find a pile of Engineers.  They mention that they appear to be running from something and that they seem to have something burst out of them.  Janek informs Milburn and Fifield that there is something reading on the orbs.
Elizabeth is doing a report on the hologram and if an outbreak killed them off.  Charlie comes into the room and talks to her.  Elizabeth shows him a DNA strand that means they are the creator of all life on earth. Elizabeth informs in Charlie's rant about anybody can create life that she can't have children and with that...they have sex.
Meredith shows up and looks at the pyramid and wonders how long is it going to take.  Janek and her spark a conversation which leads to sex and how it happens when he asks Meredith if she was a robot.  Meredith's face is that of confusion.
Milburn and Fifield end up in the area where the canisters and see all this black stuff and they start talking about these beings as Gods.  Fifield and Milburn spots a big worm like creature.  It seems that the black goo some how transformed the tiny worms.  Milburn being a biologist is curious about the snake like creature and it gets a hold of his arm and is about to break it.  Fifield tries to help him and cuts the thing.  But the snake-like creature has acid for blood and gets on Fifields mask.  Fifield is about suffocate and his head lands on the ground absorbing the black liquid.  While the worm like creature enters Milburns mouth and kills him.
Morning has happened and Charlie notices something in his eye.  Janek and some of the crew go out to locate Fifield and Milburn.  While David tells them that he would fix the broken probe.  The crew return to the area that they last were at, while David goes to another location and is ordered to upload his feed to Ms. Vickers room.  David finds the probe and opens another door.  He sees tons of canisters and enters another room and cuts Ms. Vickers off from his feed.
They get back to the location of the head.  They find Milburn's body.  Charlie is feeling sick and tells Elizabeth to look in his face.  The snake like creature comes out of Milburn's mouth, while Charlie is carried away in a hurry back to the ship.  Elizabeth orders a full quarantine-fail safe procedures.

David operates another hologram memory log and finds out something about the ship and it's contents since he understands the language.  He also sees a constellation of the many planets and finds one of the Engineers alive.
Janek is upset that the door isn't open while Vickers has a blow torch and doesn't allow Charlie on board.  Charlie tempts Vickers into torching him because he has no idea what is wrong with him.  Elizabeth passes out from shock and wakes up with David attempting to take off her father's necklace.  David asks if Elizabeth and Charlie were intimate with each other but cuts off when he finds her pregnant.  She wants to see the fetus especially after David tells her that it isn't a traditional fetus.   David suggests that he put her back in cryostasis until they get back to Earth. David also confesses that he has watched her dreams.  Elizabeth falls asleep under the shot that David gives her.
Ford and another crew member come to take her back to stasis but she pretends to be heavily sedated.  She knocks Ford and the other crew member out and runs to Vickers quarters to the Pauling Med-Pod and finds out that it is calibrated for males only.  She manually over-rides it with the procedure that she needs and has a surgery to remove it.  We see a squid like alien come out of her body and she tries to get away.  Elizabeth assumes that the creature is dead and leaves it in the Med-Pod.
Janek informs the crew that Fifield's camera has popped on just right outside the ship.  When a crew member check it out, Fifield seems to be bent over looking at the ground.  The security detail can not seem to stop the transformed Fifield.  Elizabeth is running around the ship disoriented.  Janek and Chance manages to kill Fifield off and Elizabeth stumbles into Weland's medical quarters.
Elizabeth asks Weyland why was he is on the ship.  Weyland wanted to meet the Engineers to give him longer life.  Since one of them is fund alive. Elizabeth tries to warn Mr. Weyland that this location isn't what they thought it was and Charlie is dead.  Mr. Weyland convinces her in what would Charlie do??  Elizabeth in her room tries to regroup herself in re-believing. 
Janek tells Elizabeth that this planet is a military installation because the Engineers were not stupid enough to create this stuff on their planet.  Janek and Elizabeth agree that what ever happens that they can not let any of those things back to Earth.  Ms. Vickers shows up in Weylands quarters and has a discussion about her being there and how she should have stayed at home.  Which in the end, we find out that Mr. Weyland is Ms. Vickers father.
Elizabeth and David have a conversation about what would happen Weyland is dead and no longer is around to program him.  They return to the place where David encounters the sleeping Engineer.  Elizabeth informs Janek about the cargo hold and they find out that there is a ship under the dome.  David activates the system like the Engineers were doing and informs them that they were in the process of leaving.  Elizabeth finds out that they were leaving to go to Earth...and as David put it "sometimes to create, one must first destroy"  Which means that they were going to destroy life on Earth.
David awakens the Engineer from his sleep.  He stumbles out, where Weyland starts to tell David to ask him a series of questions.  Elizabeth interrupts and starts asking her series of questions. The Engineer seems to be observing the actions of what is going on around him.  Mr. Weyland gets upset and tells his crew member to shut her up and he hits her on her belly inflicting more pain since she just had an alien baby removed.  Mr. Weyland now satisfied that she is quiet tells David to ask him the question.  David communicated with the Engineer and at first the Engineer examines David and realizes he is not human and cracks his head and removing it...using it t hit Mr. Weyland across the head.
The others try to kill off the Engineer and he angrily kills the others off.  He looks and sees Elizabeth escape, but activates his cockpit and gets in and we see the suit form around him like the Space Jockey from Alien.  Elizabeth warns Janek that they are on their way to Earth to destroy it.  Ms. Vickers tells her that they are going home but Elizabeth convinces Janek to destroy the ship.  Janek tells Mrs. Vickers to get in the escape pod so she can be in her life boat or die with him. She escapes in the escape pod.
Janek uses the ship to destroy the ship.  Ms. Vickers and Elizabeth watch the Engineers ship crash to the planet surface killing Ms. Vickers.  Elizabeth enters the life boat and grabs an axe and realizes that the squid like alien has escaped and is moving around.  David contacts her and tells her that the Engineer is on his way to kill her.  He enters the life boat very angry, but Elizabeth opens the Med-Pod room doors and lets the squid like creature to attack him.  The creature is a very form/crude form of face hugger.
She refuels the oxygen in her suit and gets out of the life boat.  David informs her that there is other ships so they can get off the planet.  Upon reaching David, she tells him that she wants to go where they are from  to ask why they changed their mind.  She puts David's head in a bag and lowers his body to the floor below and uses a rover to go back to the dome. She gives a report about not coming back to this planet because their is only death and you see a ship take off. 
Back in the Life boat we see a dead Engineer and something black pops out of the body like a shark fin.  But pops out what appears to be a crude form of the Xenomorph like a baby with sack attached to it.  The thing lets out a yell...and revealing a secondary attached mouth.


~Production Notes~

Directed by Ridley Scott.  Written by Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts. 

Ridley Scott had actually thought about returning to the Alien series in 2002 with creating an actual sequel to the 1979 film  Alien.  Which would have explored more of the Engineers and the deceased Space jockey.  Writing took place in 2009 to create a universe where the Alien origins would be explained.

Most of the Alien world shots were done in Iceland


~Final Thoughts~
I guess this can also be novel length in itself.  There is so much to this movie and if you watch it carefully, most of your questions are answered.  Except for the removed scenes.  That actually blows chunks when you find out the Engineer does briefly speak.  I have read in forums when they ask about Meredith Vickers being a robot as well, because of the way she acted.  If you saw Peter Weyland and his personality.  You can see why she was close to robot emotions, but her eyes spoke more than her words.  She knew that her father was aboard and the agenda was simple.  It was for her father.  Yes, when you see the Medi-Pod being calibrated for a man means that even Meredith wasn't suppose to be there...it was her father's survival boat that lasts 2-years.
When the Engineers are on the way back to Earth when their own biological creations go crazy and killing everyone at the military instillation.  Yes, they gave up their bodies to help create life.  They were selfless in devoting themselves to their cause.  Yes, I know some people would think-that is fucked up that they wanted to wipe out man and put a different species in our place.  But if you look at all the signs...we ended up being a failed life that doesn't even respect life...with all this death and killing and wanting to live forever....
We sort of proved that we are a dangerous species. Yes, their Xenomorphs happen to be deadly but at the same time-they are a pure form.  They hunt to eat and breed in them.  To create more of them.
The black goo that changed you into something just meant that could have been the life altering substance that helped make us.  I love the concept of this movie and it was very self-explanatory to me, but of course when I watch movies...I don't need a Morpheus doing all the explaining.
The one thing about watching the movie...there was sections missing and you find out they are in the deleted scenes and they would have blended well...and said more about the story.  Like why Milburn was so fascinated with the alien snake and he wasn't as afraid as Fifield was when he wanted to take the fuck off.  I know there is tons of questions, but David held some disdain towards his creators and was very robot in his way of becoming free of them.
Most people were expecting a prequel to the Alien series and got disappointed, but I wasn't.  I was glad he went a different direction and more or less introduced the Engineers and a different story line on LV 423 and the message that David kept sending  could have been to the planet LV 426 because they was not getting a response.
LV 426 and his chest being busted could have been from the same infection that spread on LV 423 and he took off but his creatures where ready to be delivered to another planet, but took off because this species was more deadly than the one on LV 423 that was suppose to be delivered to Earth.
There is so many explanations and wonderful theories to play with.  But most movie goers want  everything explained and stop even thinking about what if....or other scenarios of the start of LV 426 and it's beacon.   NO, people want everything handed to them and become lazy.
Prometheus is a movie, I would own in my movie collection because it is very Ridley Scott.  Some people may think it's predictable, but honestly-it follows a movie formula...I thought it was pretty well thought of.

Am I excited for Prometheus 2??  HELL YA!!  I want to see what happens to Elizabeth Shaw and David.


~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually








~Hellz Writer~

Film Review: Drive Angry {{2011}}

Anyone that has seen the commercials to Drive Angry would think it's another movie where Nicolas Cage is just driving a damn car like in Gone in 60 Seconds. The actual movie was not what the commercials depicted and I am glad the cover to this book was not what was on the inside.

Drive Angry

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

Opening we see a red prison and a Rivera and the a very cool narration of how men escape the bars of imprisonment.
Next we see a truck racing  in Laughter, Colorado.  The three men in the truck talk about someone that is chasing them and wondering if he was dead.  They're wrestling a guilty conscious about what they did and knowing this person will make them pay.
Out of no where the car shows up and John Milton {{Nicolas Cage}} Uses his gun to shoot the truck, causing it to have a wreck.  Shoot off one of the arms of the men and robs him.  Shoots another survive and walks over to the truck where the other guy tells him that he will not tell him where they took "her". Where John kills him.  Milton walks over to the guy that he shot in the leg.
He asks for the baby girl and the survivor tell him that she is going to die on the full moon.  As Milton walks away, he shoots the gas leak and it blows up the truck.
Starting the movie credit.
At a diner, Piper {{Amber Heard}} is talking to Norma Jean{{Katy Mixon}} talking about her boyfriend proposing to her. Milton talks to the other waitress about Still water Marsh, but finds out it's in Louisiana. Piper quits her job after her boss sexually harasses her over her giving a hungry family some muffins.  Piper takes off and her car breaks down.  Milton fixes Piper's car after she agrees to give him a ride.
We see a man dressed in a suit walking.  Back at the diner, the owner is laughing as Norma trying to throw the trash away.  "The Accountant" {{William Fitchner}} asks about a traveler and gives Milton's description.  After getting the information he needs, "the Accountant" leaves.
Piper stops at her apartment and lets Milton know that she quit her job, her man, Frank {{Todd Farmer}} is out of work and they just got engaged.  Milton wishes her luck and heads off.  Piper walks in to find Frank cheating on her with Mona Elkins {{Christa Campbell}}.  Milton rescues Piper after Frank hits her on the ground from her going off on him about leaving to Florida.  Frank gets knocked out by an air conditioning unit.
Milton is having flashbacks of his daughter as he is driving Piper's car.  He sees Jonah King {{Billy Burke}} takes her baby and kills her.  As he is driving he sees how Jonah enjoyed killing his daughter.  Piper wakes up and asks if he killed her fiancee, Frank.  Was glad to hear that he didn't kill him.  Milton asks her if he would drive him to Louisiana on her way to Florida, because he was looking for someone. 
At a bar in Oklahoma, Piper and Milton get a drink and a motel room.  Piper hands Candy {{Charlotte Ross}}, the waitress Milton's ID.  Candy laughs because she mentions that his ID is ancient, but agrees to give him the beer any ways.  Piper goes to her motel room and she'll see him at dawn.
Back at Frank's place, he is on the phone with his mom telling her that it was over.  Frank is assuming that the police arrive but opens the door and meets "The Accountant".  "The Accountant" asks him about a traveler.  Frank gives "the Accountant" some information, but tries to man handle "the Accountant" but gets thrown across the room.  Frank grabs a baseball bat and it's used against him with it being broken in two and one of it is used to pin Frank to wall.  "The Accountant" finally gets some answers out of Frank, but eventually kills him.
"The Accountant" walks out the door and meets two troopers, who find Frank dead.  "The Accountant" does a really cool trick with the coin into transforming it into a FBI badge.  He gets the two Troopers to help him find John Milton along with Piper. 
Back at the motel, Piper is pounding the wall to get the couple in the next room to shut up.  Piper sees a man and follows him into an empty bar.  On the news, she sees the bulletin about Colorado issuing a warrant for Jonah King and how this religious Sect killed a married couple and taking their newborn baby girl.  Piper hides as she sees shadows coming into the bar.  Jonah walks in and admires himself on the news.
A crew of men walk in and a man give Piper's and Milton's room.  Johan gives orders to kill Milton.  Milton is having sex with Candy in their room and has an all out gun fight that ends in the life of Piper's little boy toy that was painting her nails from earlier.
Milton and Piper attempt to leave the motel.  "The Accountant" reminds the troopers about their mission when they spot Johan King.  Johan King leaves the motel.  "The Accountant" enters the bar and smells Milton and exits the place.  The Troopers get killed in the process of trying to apprehend Milton. Milton is shocked that Piper killed them.  Piper questions Milton about the situation he got her in.  Milton lets Piper know that the baby girl is his grand-daughter and he is going to get her back.
"The Accountant" pursues them in the troopers car.   Milton and "The Accountant" exchange some banter, before he pulls out an old gun called the "God Killer".  Causing the Troopers car to loose control and go over the bridge.  Milton lets her know that he was someone else and the gun is used on people like him, which states that "The Accountant" isn't from this realm.
Back at the motel, we see the Captain take charge of the crime scene.  Wondering how two Colorado troopers ended up in their state and on the wrong side of a gun fight.
Two guys showed up at the car wreck from the "The Accountant" and gives a very small but brief discussion to the guys.  Informing them of their when their time is up.
Milton tells Piper about how Johan was into Satanic magic and what he did to his daughter.  Piper tells Milton about Johan's van at a church.  Milton goes inside and the people inside look like they are worshiping.  They walk in with Piper, but Milton tells them to let them go and hand them the child.  Johan doesn't want to give him the child because he felt he abandoned his daughter.  His daughter telling everyone that he was dead.  Milton tells Johan some private things that only Johan would know and Jack.  Johan gets pissed and kills Jack and shooting Milton in the eye.
Piper gets pissed and tries to attack Johan, but is brought back by his followers.  Johan decides to keep Piper and they haul her off to an RV, while she is kicking and screaming.  Johan talks to the "appearing" dead body of Milton and let's him know about the femur bone he uses as a cane is actually part of his daughter.  They leave with Piper.  Back at the church, they discuss about burying Milton in the back.  He scares everyone in wondering why he is not dead and shoots them.  Leaves in Piper's car .  He looks in the mirror and puts on sunglasses having a few of them chase after him.
In the RV, Johan sees Milton following them.  Everyone is curious about how he is still alive, but Johan educates them that they have a fight ahead of them.  Piper starts a fight with one of the cult members and manages to shove her out the back window of the RV.  Milton is having a high speed car chase with the other cult members, but manages to get rid of them.  Johan tells Piper that he changes his mind about teaching her and that he plans on killing her.  Piper informs him till that time comes, she was planning on kicking his ass.
Milton is trying to get rid of the other cult members.  As Johan almost has bested Piper, she uses his medallion and stabs him the chest.  Milton knocks out the windshield before Piper jumps on it.  Johan proves that he is a lousy shot while he is shooting to kill not only Milton but Piper causing the car to break down.  Piper is very curious about how Milton is still alive.
Piper starts to put some pieces together that Milton maybe not telling the entire truth.  Milton tells her to help him push the car off the road and to call an old friend of his to help him out.
Back at the church, the only survivor is asking "the Accountant" for some help.  The survivor tells him about the symbol on his chest. "The Accountant" knows of no such pact or the symbol and is curious about what Milton wants with them.  The survivor sort of realizes that this person he is talking to may not be in fact a person at all.
Piper talks to Milton while his old friend, Webster {{David Morse}}is curious to see him alive, when he knows he is dead.  Webster informs Piper that he carried Milton's coffin.  Milton informs Webster about his daughter and that is the reason he is back.  Webster informs Piper about how Milton died, the situation about his love for his daughter. Webster pokes fun at him about the fire and him being home sick, which now entails us that Milton was sent to hell and escaped hell's prison to save his grand-daughter.
Milton explains that fire isn't the worse thing that happened, it's the video feed that is pumped.  It's the torment that you can't do anything to save your daughter.  Webster informs Milton that he can't fix that car but he has a Cheville that he can use to get him to where he needs to be.
Johan King calls the police and gives Milton's location.  Milton tells Webster that he needs to stay behind and whispers something to him about him taking only Piper. Milton does tell Piper that it is going to be dangerous and she goes with anyways.  Milton and Piper are tailed by police officers and the Captain informs his troopers to aim for their tires {{shoot to kill}}
Milton doesn't want to kill Piper, so he stops the car.  On the other end of the road, "The Accountant" drives a truck filled with hydrogen and is very amused...humming to a classic song.  Some nice fancy driving, "the Accountant" gets out of the truck allowing Milton and Piper to escape. "The Accountant" makes the troopers believe he is a FBI agent.  "The Accountant" smells one of Johan King's men and demands that he call Johan and tell him that Milton is dead.
Milton and Piper drive on through to Deacon Tree.  He tells Piper to wait for him as he scopes out the scene.  When he arrives back to the car, Piper is used as bait for "the Accountant" to lure Milton into having a conversation.  Milton pulls out the "Iron God Killer", and informs him that if he shoots him that he would cease to exist, no heaven, no hell.   "The Accountant" pulls a knife on Piper and tells Milton that the road block would have killed Milton.  But "The Accountant" is curious about how Milton left Hell with "the God Killer".  Milton informs him that he just walked in and took it.
Milton is curious as to why "the Accountant" is helping him.  Piper freaks thinking that Johan is going to bring hell on earth.  "The Accountant" informs her that Satan, is the warden of a very large prison and how he hates Satanists that sacrifice children in his honor.  Annoys him greatly.  Milton asks for "the Accountant" to help him, but is informed that either way he wins.  He saves the baby or if Johan kills him.
Johan is preaching to his cult and is about to take kill the baby.  The sound of the car engine disrupts the group and he goes on a shooting spree in killing of Johan King's cult.   The survivor from the beginning and the trooper go up to "the Accountant" and tell him that they are going to live forever.  With the quickness of his coin, "the Accountant" kills them.  Piper takes the God Killer and threatens "the Accountant" but is informed that he didn't steal it to kill him, but to slow him down and she should go to him.
Down below Milton is finishing off the rest of Johan's men.  Some how missing Johan with every bullet.  Milton manages to kill everyone but Johan, the Nanny and Johan's right hand man.
Piper arrives in time to shoot off the God Killer and eliminating Johan's right hand man.  Milton tries to crawl towards the baby, but Johan starts to beat him with his daughter's femur.  We see that Milton's eyes go from the baby to the God Killer on the floor.  Johan tells Milton that the baby's death would be worse than his daughter's death.  Milton tells Johan that he will kill him, but Johan informs him that others have tried but nothing of this world could kill him.
"The Accountant" comes out and distracts Johan as Milton grabs the God Killer and shoots Johan...evaporating him into a hole, leaving his skull behind.  Piper comes to and goes to Milton.  "The Accountant" takes the baby and hands it to Milton, who in turn hands the baby to Piper.  Milton tells Piper that he is finished and asks Piper to care for his grand-daughter.  Piper promises and Milton dies.  She walks to Webster and they both look back and "The Accountant" and Milton are gone.
"The Accountant" walks around a tree and Milton is enjoying some beer out of Johan King's skull.  "The Accountant" summons a car and Milton tells him that if Satan puts him back in that hole that he will get out.  Amused, "the Accountant" states he will be looking forward to that.  They drive through a portal back to hell and across a long bridge that dissolves as they drive closer to the prison. 


~Production Notes~
Drive Angry was directed by Patrick Lussier and written by Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer. Shot in 3-D, Drive Angry was released in February 2011 with mixed reviews.  Grossing over $30 million dollars.

Nicolas Cage liked the idea of having his character's eye shot out, since his previous film-Season of the Witch.  Nicolas Cage had gone to the producers of the film requesting such a thing for his character but was rejected.


~Final Thoughts~
Granted Nicolas Cage had some cross breed of the Sorcerers Apprentice deal going on with his look and attitude and his acting has become very spot on with certain characters like Johnny Depp after he did Jack Sparrow.
I loved the concept of this movie and how hell was more of a prison to keep evil men.  The accountant is really a demon who has to collect the souls that escape...sort of like a bounty hunter.  I know there is things they could have made it better, but it was entertaining as hell.  Yes, it got a bit monotonous about Nick in a car driving angry across several states to get his grand baby back.
William Fichtner's acting as the Accountant really made this film entertaining and giving me reasons to watch this movie over and over again.  I am more of a fan to William Fichtner and love all his roles and it was really nice to see him play the Accountant and yet at times, you really could tell that he wanted to laugh on certain lines.
It is a supernatural high with a demon is tracking a soul that is on a mission to save his grand-daughter....which in God's eyes would have been a cause for reprieve out of hell...but that is my opinion. Everyone knows that self-less acts of kindness gives you access to heaven. 


~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually

~Hellz Writer~

Film Review: The Avengers {{2012}}

Horror movies are awesome, but it always nice to change it up.  It's a double feature of Chris Hemsworth and Joss Whedon in this first ever to assemble a collection of super heroes in the newest addition from Marvel....The Avengers. 

Avengers

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

We open some where in the universe with the Other talking about the Tesseract a mysterious item that humans have and these beings have an ally that they hand over some scepter.
Back on Earth Agent Phil Coulson {{Clark Gregg}} Talking to Director Nick Fury {{Samuel L. Jackson}} talking about the Tesseract is acting up.  Director Fury informs Agent Maria Hill {{Cobie Smulders}} about removing a phase 2 prototype weapons out of the facility. Director Fury talks with Dr. Erik Selvig {{Stellan Skarsgard}} about the Tesseract acting up.  Which we find out it's the cube from Captain America and at the end of Thor.  Director Fury questions Clint Barton/Hawkeye {{Jeremy Renner}} about the information of why the Tesseract is acting up.
Hawkeye gives the foreshadowing that something is activating it on the other side.  When a portal opens and Loki {{Tom Hiddleston}} comes through and using the scepter controls Dr. Selvig and Hawkeye causing Director Fury to destroy the facility, but not before Loki takes the Tesseract and manages to get away despite Director Fury's attempts to stop them.
Director Fury informs Agent Coulson and Agent Hill that they are now at war and leads into the title of the Avengers.
We go to somewhere in Russia where Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow {{Scarlett Johanson}} is appearing to being interrogated and in trouble.  A phone call from Agent Coulson changes all that.  She is informed that Hawkeye/Barton has been compromised.  The funny thing about this scene was when she tells Agent Coulson that she was putting him on hold while kicking the other guys ass and he was very cool and waited proving that she was playing victim. 
Agent Romanoff was told that she is in charge bringing in the big guy which she thought Tony Stark/Iron Man {{Robert Downey Jr.}}, but realized that it was Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk {{Mark Ruffalo}}.  She finds him and tries to convince him to help find the Tesseracts gama radiation signature.
Director Fury talks to a secret council about Loki's act of war.  Which leads to Steve Rogers/Captain America {{Chris Evans}} in a gym trying to release his stress and having flashbacks.  Director Fury hands Steve/Captain America the file about the Tesseract.  Yet, Steve's old fashion values is refreshing in the way he communicates and views how the world should be.
Next we are seeing Tony Stark fixing his newest building with Pepper Potts {{Gwyneth Paltrow}} who not only is his business partner and lover.  Agent Coulson hands Tony a packet which we realize that Miss Potts keeps Tony in line.  Tony Starks character isn't as self absorbed as he has been in his previous films and it maybe due to the romantic relationship.  Jarvis{{Paul Bettany}} appeared more human and less robotic in his conversation with Tony than the previous films.
We find out that Agent Coulson has a deep admiration for Steve/Captain America and has some boyish qualities over mooning over Captain America.  Captain America finds out from Black Widow that Agent Coulson has vintage trading cards and hasn't had the courage to ask for his signature.  Both Captain America and Dr. Banner are shocked about the ship they are on that is now a flying ship.
Loki talks to Dr. Selvig and Hawkeye about what the Tesseract has shown them.  Leading them to a party in Germany where they managed to use a man's eye to get something for the Tesseract.  Loki informs the people that he will rule over them.  As an elderly gentleman stands up to Loki, Captain America shows up to protect him.  Captain America and Loki have a fight until Tony Stark shows up in his elaborate ways helping them out in capturing Loki.
As they are in the ship...a lightening storm enues and appears Thor {{Chris Hemsworth}} and takes Loki away to ask where is the Tesseract. Tony goes after them without listening to Captain America.  Captain America goes after them as well.  Loki and Thor have a conversation and we start to see how Loki has unraveled with his hatred towards his brother.  The one thing that was funny was when Thor tells Loki to listen and Tony yanks him away...causing Loki to say a funny one liner.
Thor revealing that he is taking Loki back to face Asgardian justice. Thor and Tony start to have a royal rumble over getting in each others way.  Captain America tries to stop the fight and be the voice of reason between them.  Loki arrives as a prisoner with a smile on his face as he sees Dr. Banner.
Director Fury talks with Loki while the rest observe the conversation.  The group converse about what Loki has possibly planned.  The one thing that I really didn't get was why the hell did we care about one of the Agents playing a computer game.
Tony uses his suspicions on Director Fury about why he is wanting this energy cube.  Tony uses his annoyance and at the same time flare to try to get others rallied or under their skin.  Tony rubs Steve/Captain America the wrong way, but Dr. Banner convinces him that there is something aloft about why Tony and Dr. Banner were needed.
Agent Coulson comforts Thor with the love of his life and how she was safe.  Thor and Agent Coulson have a candid heart to heart and yet you can see tons of pain in Thor's eyes.  Director Fury allows Thor to focus why does it appear that Loki is the only one on the boat that wants to be there.
Black Widow goes in there to talk to Loki in a pretense of saving Barton/Haweye and has this air that she is hurt over his words.   Trying to find out his play and he indirectly informs her that he is going to use the Hulk on the ship.  There is an argument on between the champions that is caused by the scepter. Forcing them show their true feelings....Tony held some contempt towards Captain America because his father talked about him all the time.....they all showed signs of contempt for each other in a form.
In the midst Hawkeye and his team blast the ship to get the Hulk worked up.  Tony and Steve team up into getting the ship back, while Black Widow tries to get away from the Hulk.  Loki is pleased with what he has done.  Thor tries to protect Black Widow from the Hulk and  they have a battle.  Agent Hill sends a plane to shoot at the Hulk before he does any more damage to the flying ship.
The Hulk falls to the ground, while Loki kills Agent Coulson in front of Thor and sends Thor down in the cage that was built for the Hulk.  Black Widow knocks Hawkeye unconscious recalibrating his mind.  Director Fury talks with Captain America and Tony about Agent Coulson's old fashion dream on wishing to see the Avengers initiative succeed.
Tony returns to his tower and tries to shut down the Tesseract, but knocks Dr. Selvig out.  Tony has his suit removed and converses with Loki for a bit.  Tony has his new suit on and knocks Loki down.  Loki sends forth the army to conquer earth. Thor tries to talk to his brother one final time, but realizes that it's best to help the humans. Finally they all band together and follow Captain America in working as a team.  In the midst of working together, the funniest battle scenes was with the Hulk when he punches Thor as they stood side to side.  And slams the hell out of Loki as he is belittling him.  Leaving him on the floor all beat up.  Iron man uses a nuclear weapon to destroy the control center to the Chitari.  Thor, Captain America and the Hulk stand over a knocked out Iron man.  Tony comes to and talks about going to eat, but first they go to a knocked out Loki.
As in classic Marvel fashion at the end of the credits, you see the Other talking about the failure of Loki.  Yet if you watch the complete end.....you will see the Avengers eating Shawarma restaurant..a first for Marvel to have two post credit scenes.  . 

~Production Notes~
The Avengers was written and directed by Joss Whedon.  Sotry by Zack Penn and Joss Whedon that is naturally based on the Marvel Universe. 
The creation of the Marvel installment of The Avengers took years to plan, starting from year 2005.  Several different changes to the cast line up and so forth.  To type out the entire ordeal would be longer than the movie review.  To say the least we all know how Hollywood operates.  Lots of plans and lots of changes.  The film did very well in the box office and that is the final break down for Hollywood grossing over $1 billion dollars.   


~Final Thoughts~
There was several things that bugged me in the Avengers.  One is that they can't seem to nail a Hulk down.  Yes, CGI rendition of a man in green is easy.  But we have seen several different actors play Bruce Banner and each actor brings something different to the table.  This time around he seemed very whiny and cry-babyish and it wasn't like the last two Bruce Banner.  There was some funny aspects and great one liners that Joss Whedon does project, along with the conflict of learning to work as a team.  We have seen it in the Buffy series to Serenity.
Over all it was a highly entertaining movie and please watching every aspect of the film.  You may miss something if you look to your side.  I know it is something I would add to my movie collection because of the entertaining value that would be nice to see in my collection.

~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually

~Hellz Writer~

Film Review: Lockout {{2012}}

The saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover and this movie appeared to be appealing via the commercials.  So I thought "what the hell? Why not give it a try".  I love watching all sort s of movies.  It's not horror or strange creature flicks....I do enjoy action movies as well. 

Lockout

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

The opening of the film we find, Snow {{Guy Pearce}} being questioned and hit over the murder of undercover agent Frank Armstrong.  Secret Service Director Scott Langral {{Peter Stormare}} keeps getting a series of off the wall banter and horrible jokes.
There is a flash back scene about what happened with the death of Frank Armstrong and a mystery case that Snow managed to give to his friend/contact Mace.  When Langral finally threatens him with incarcerated on the maximum security space prison MS One.  Snow's Agent friend Harry Shaw {{Lennie James}} learns that Mace has the case and tries to locate him.
Granted, Emilie Warnock {{Maggie Grace}} daughter of the US President Warnock, is doing a good-will mission to MS One to investigate that they are being used to uncover the deep space exploration tactics but by using the prisoners.  The Warden tells that she will talk to a couple of prisoners and go ahead and green light the project.  They go into this interrogation where they question a derange prisoner, Hydell {{Joesph Gilgun}}.  But of course like normal when they say there is no weapons beyond a certain point.  The stupid bodyguard, Hock {{Jacky Ido}} who gets a bit heated when Hydell gets unruly about answering Emilie's questions. Of course Hydell gets Hocks gun and bam!! A blast!!  Very predictable.
Naturally it becomes very predictable after that.  Hydell has the technician release all the prisoners.  Alex, {{Vincent Regan}} Hydell's older brother takes control of the situation and turning all the technicians and including Emilie hostages.
Langral goes to President Warnock about the situation.  Shaw convinces President Warnock and Langral to send Snow to retrieve Emilie.  At first Snow doesn't agree till Shaw let's him know that Mace happens to be there, because when he last saw Mace...he was at the train station.  Granted it's the whole shit happens.  Mace puts the case in a locker and tries to get away gracefully, but accidentally kills/shots a cop when he gets bumped into by a fellow pedestrian and the gun falls to the floor.
Langral sends someone to try to do a negotiation about getting Emilie, but that fails and they send in Snow.  Emilie and Hock get away and get trapped in a room.  Hock has to take his own life to save Emilie giving her more oxygen.  Snow rescues her, but naturally in this bad attitude that makes me believe I have seen this behavior before.  Of course every the times I have seen this movie to get a better understanding of the acting and so forth.  I think Brad Pitt has played this sort of character before and when I see Snow, I think of Brad Pitt versus Guy Pearce.
Snow takes Emilie to get her leg better, but finds out that Alex has informed all the prisoners on MS One that she is the Presidents daughter. Snow drags her along with him and hides her identity with a prison make over and then drags her to find Mace.  They find Mace, but he is experiencing dementia because of the stasis and it's really strange because he wasn't under stasis too long.  Snow tries to get the information out of him about the missing case but of course the International Space Station crashes into MS One because the Warden isn't there to control it since he was shot into space.
Since the International Space Station crashed into MS One, there is a little problem that causes Mace to be killed but revealing in a incoherent manner the whereabouts of the case. Snow is devastated and takes Emilie to the escape pod to realize it was really a one-way ticket for one person.  That Langral had sent him to his death.  Snow playing anti-hero sends Emilie away, but of course he acts shocked that she isn't on there.  But Emilie uses the information that Mace told her where the case is and using herself as leverage that her father wouldn't destroy MS One if she was on it to help rescue the other hostages.
Hydell contacts Emilie while Alex is on a hunting trip to find her and threatens to kill the hostages if she doesn't allow her whereabouts known.  Snow tells her not to give her location but as any stupid uppity-class would do is give the whereabouts and Hydell kills them all.  Emilie is torn by the actions and confesses to Snow that Mace didn't tell her where the case is.
Snow and Emilie discover that the hostages were not innocent and they was using the prisoners as illegal test subjects.  Alex finds them and takes Emilie after shooting Snow and leaving him for dead.  Which is typical. When Alex learns that Hydell has killed all of the hostages, he beats Hydell and contacts the President threatening to allow Hydell and the prison population to rape Emilie if they are not released. The President refuses to allow a siege and risk Emilie, causing Langral to temporarily relieve him of his command. Langral orders the destruction of MS One.
Hydell tries to rape Emilie as promised, but is stopped by Alex. Infuriated he stabs Alex in the heart causing him to die. Emilie fights back and Hydell attempts to stab her, but he is incapacitated by Snow. Snow and Emilie flee from the prisoners and Hydell. Meanwhile Langral's men plant a bomb on the prison. Snow and Emilie use space suits and jump from the ship as it detonates, destroying the prison. The suits allow the pair to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land safely in New York City.
Snow is arrested. Emilie later realizes that Mace's seemingly incoherent rambling was the location of and password needed to access the locker where Frank's briefcase is being held. Armed with the briefcase, Snow meets with Shaw. Shaw immediately unlocks it to see the evidence, but finds it empty.
Snow allows Shaw to know that he is amazed that Shaw knows the combination of the briefcase.  Shaw is revealed as the mole and arrested, but is marked with Frank's lighter under the left eye for being a rat.. Snow is released and his possessions returned. Snow finds a memory card containing the real secret information hidden within it. Emilie meets Snow and teases him, having learned his first name is Marion. The pair walk away together giving each other wise cracks.

~Production Notes~
Lockout also known as MS One: Maximum Security is a 2012 French Science Fiction film that is directed by James Mather and Stephen St. Leger  Written by James Mather, Stephen St. Leger and Luc Besson. Most of the filming took place in Belgrade, Serbia and was released in April 2010 in the US. 


~Final Thoughts~
This film was very lack luster and upon reviewing the film for the first time, I felt like I had already seen this.  Guy Pearce's character Snow was so predictable and as I watched it.  I couldn't help but think that Brad Pitt would have played a better asshole.
I knew what was going to happen before it happened...and I really found myself looking at the clock as to when it was going to end.  Yes, there was some funny one-liners but it wasn't enough.  Agents getting double crossed as been played hard by the Mission Impossible movies with Tom Cruise which all have been some bad rendition of Snake Plisskin bbeing double crossed and still comes out. 

~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually

~Hellz Writer~

Film Review: Cabin in the Woods {{2012}}

Horror movies are great especially with the twist.  I love the commercials when I saw Cabin in the woods. It wasn't your average horror movie that keeps repeating itself.  I had to give it a chance.

Cabin in the Woods

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

Opening credits begin with scenes of old pictures of sacrifices through out the history of man, leading into seeing two coworkers, Gary Sitterson {{Richard Jenkins}} and Steve Hadley {{Bradley Whitford}} talking about Hadley's wife baby proofing his home as they are going through the whole fertility process. The way it opens is different, just two people doing their job while talking about the boring mundane parts of their lives.  A fellow coworker, Wendy Lin {{Amy Acker}}comes from behind them reporting that another location has gone south.  They converse with each other and talk about how a scenario went south due to Chems department fault.  Which gives some seriousness of their job.  While Stitterson and Hadley joke it off and not to worry that they know what they are doing.
As Hadley is talking to Stitterson about coming over to liberate his cabinets....Hadley realizes that Stitterson is ignoring him.  Slapping on the old school credits.  Nothing fancy, just big bold red letters of Cabin in the woods.
Next we see college student Dana Polk {{Kristen Connolly}} packing.  She grabs her sketchbook and opens it up to a profile of a man.  Her friend & roommate Jules Louden {{Anna Hutchison}}, tears the picture out causing Dana noticing her newly dyed blonde hair.  Jules rips the picture out and gives that whole she wants her friend to get laid this weekend.  Dana informs Jules that is not what she is insisting upon.  Jules places this bikini in her bag and takes out books and tells her that this is suppose to be a fun weekend and no more learning.
Jules boyfriend Curt Vaughan {{Chris Hemsworth}} enters the room by throwing a football.  The girls move out of the way, while the football flies out the window and is caught by Holden McCrea {{Jesse Williams}}, the other college student that Curt and Jules are setting Dana up with.
The friends are all geared up to go to this cabin that Curt's cousin bought and putting their things into an RV called "The Rambler".  Which their fifth and final friend Marty Miklaski {{Fran Kranz}} shows up with a thermal coffee bong. They all debate about bringing the giant bong in "the Rambler", but Marty transforms it back down to the thermal coffee mug.  Everyone gets excited about leaving and they head out.  On the top of the house as "The Rambler" drives off is an agent informing that "the nest was empty"
Back to the work place.  Stitterson and Hadley is greeted by a security officer Daniel Truman {{Brian White}, who is very military strict.  Hadley and Stitterson tries to joke with Truman. They also ask if Truman knows what's going on and that being informed is different than being prepared.
It moves over to the friends in "The Rambler"  and they are bantering about society like everyone of us does.  The group ends up at this old gas station to get gas and ask for directions.  Seemingly typical for every horror movie.  The old guy is very rude to the group and the group leaves.  Headed to the cabin.
We return to Stitterson and Hadley globally locating their subjects.  And we see them drive through a tunnel where a beautiful hawk or falcon is flying and crashes into an electronic invisible force field...killing it.  But the group is unawares of it.
The group ends up at the Buckner place or according to Curt, his newly bought cousins country home.  The team looks the place over.  Settling in.
The technicians have the vitals and stats of the five registered and Lin informs them of how they are making Jules dumb with her hair dye that is seeping gradually through the head...giving the old age comedy of dumb blonde, but they are wanting to increase libido giving the fuel to horny dumb blonde in typical horror movie scenarios.  There is a room change and they also inform other technicians that Holden and Dana did a room change.
The friends have fun in the water, being the typical young college students. Where they go back to the control room.  Truman is fairly disgusted with what he is seeing on the actions of Stitterson and Hadley.  Finding out they are betting on the demise of the five friends.  Hadley and Stitterson tries to explain to Truman about the actions of free will and how it's all part of the system.  How there is a harbinger of doom...warning the group, but it's the choice to ignore him or abide by his warnings and turn back home.  How the friends need to choose their demise by the collection of monsters in their stables.
The friends all get into the whole roles in their chemically induced alter egos.  They play a game of Truth or Dare...where Jules shows off that whorish personality...when it comes to Dana, she also picks dare...and the technicians slam the cellar door open.  Where in every horror movie, they all say it's the wind and everyone seems to agree in the group leaving the audience to be "are you fucking kidding me?"...which gave Marty that everybody feel.  He found it to be a bit odd, but everyone ignored him because he was on the reefer.
Dana goes down stairs on the dare and screams when she sees a portrait of a girl.  The rest of the friends come downstairs and examine the items.
Each person grabs an item and starts to play with it.  Dana grabs everyone's attention with an old diary of Patience Buckner, whose family was consumed with their own religion of pain. Inside is an incantation in Latin and everyone knows to not read the Latin.  Marty hears a voice whispering to read and it sort of fuels the whole reason of why anyone would want to read that.  Curt acts very macho with pushing Marty away about being a baby when he tries to stop Dana.  Causing the Buckner zombie family to be unleashed.
In the control room, maintenance wins the betting pool of who would be conjured. Zombie redneck torture family....which Stitterson has to explain to another technician about the differences of regular zombies and these kind.
We go back to the kids as they watch Jules do a very sultry dance.  Marty is sitting there a bit confused as is Dana.  Marty tries to give them his theory but Curt whisks Jules outside for some alone time.  Marty tries to talk to Dana about his paranoid rantings of what is going on.  Yet, one moment is his coherent in his rants and the next he is talking like a regular pothead.
Inside the lab, the technicians are dealing with the technical aspects of temperature control to create the right mood for the right aspect.  As Jules and Curt are about to get it on.  Truman scowls at the fact that Stitterson and Hadley request to see Jules breasts.  Stitterson and Hadley explain to Truman that they are not the only ones watching this and they need to keep their customers happy.
Jules and Curt are enjoying themselves when the Buckners come in and stab Jules in the hand.  Curt gets off and tries to help when he is stabbed in the shoulder.  Jules is taken a good distance away from Curt and he watches in horror as they behead her.  In the lab, they make a prayer and destroy a vial of blood that goes through the cracks of a symbol of a woman on a wall.
In Marty's room, he is reading a book and hears a whisper of a woman saying what he needs to do.  Marty flips out and in the end...announces that he is going for a walk, the exact words the voices the said.  Marty passes Dana and Holden and informs her that Holden has a "husband bulge"...one of the funniest lines of the movie. Dana is acting like a complete virgin and even had caught herself from how she was speaking. Marty goes outside and realizes there is no stars outside.  Curt bumps into him and tells him to get back inside.  Curt slams a zombie girl to the ground.
Curt and Marty go inside and Holden grabs Curt and tries to control him.  Dana is wondering where Jules is and wants to go outside....where one of the Buckners is standing and throws something at Dana who catches it and sees it's Jules head.  She screams and Curt runs and pushes the door close.  All the friends push the door close keeping the Buckners out.
Curt at first tells the group that they need to barracked themselves in and stick together.  Hadley gets upset, but Stitterson uses some gas and puts Curt to say that he was wrong and the group should split up and cover more ground.  The only one that doesn't agree is Marty.  Before he can say anything else...one of the Buckners bust through.  Curt putting on the alpha male..tells everyone to run to their room.
Where the lab seals them all shut in their.  Marty flips out and accidentally drops a lamp on the ground and sees a hidden camera and pulls the wire.  He sits down by the window thinking he is on a reality TV show.  Hadley rushes to call Chem department to pump some chemical in his room, but Stitterson stops him and informs him that another Buckner is on his way.
Holden, Dana and Curt manage to get out of the house and into "The Rambler", but after informing Dana that Marty is gone.  They do what everyone has always thought of when they watch a horror movie...and get the hell out of there.  Lin yells at Hadley and finds out that the tunnel has not blown.  Stitterson then makes a mad dash to another department to ensure that the tunnel is blown.
When the Curt, Dana and Holden almost make it...out the tunnel...it blows.  Forcing them to reverse and go back.  They talk for a minute and giving Curt the idea to jump with his dirt bike to get to the other side and get help.  As he does, Curt manages to hit the invisible force field and plummets to his death. Dana starts to think of what Marty was raving about.
Holden and Dana get back in "The Rambler" and try to find another way out of there.  In the midst of Holden trying to bring Dana back from the brink of loosing it in that classic horror movie style of "no matter what, we need to stick together" he gets a nice gash to the throat.  Causing Dana to scream frantically and "The rambler" crashing into the lake.
Back in the lab, Stitterson, Lin and Hadley all are having a drink.  Truman is confused with Dana still being alive. Hadley tells Truman that the virgin is last and optional for the ritual...but all that matters is that she suffers and that she did.  As Hadley starts to show a softer side, he is interrupted when his fellow coworkers come in to celebrate.  One of the Buckners finds Dana and starts to torment her.
Stitterson goes to the other department and tells them that they did give him a scare.  Which they inform him of some news that there was a power-reroute to upstairs.  And the ominous red phone rings.  Leading the Technicians to realize that something had gone wrong in the ritual and someone has survived.  We see Marty save Dana from the Buckner and run with her to the grave.  Where it leads to the underground cube.  They get in the cube and are moved around the stable and seeing all the monsters.

The Technicians are frantically looking for them.  Dana sees this Pinhead looking demon holding a round ball, the same ball that Curt was playing with.  She flips out with knowing that they made them chose how they died.  Lin comes in and informs that the clean up crew didn't give all the drug induced weed to Marty and what ever he is smoking has made him immune.  Hadley doesn't care because he is trying to find them and is ordering someone to shoot "the Fool" first but if they get a clear shot of "The Virgin" to take her out as well, but "The Fool" had to go first.
Dana and Marty overhear the voice of the Director {{Sigourney Weaver}} informing them about how things should have gone.  But Dana is angry and releases the "Purge" button releasing the army of nightmares upon the facility.  We see a variety of creatures come out and kill the employees.  Dana and Marty try to get away from the army of nightmares.  Hadley had gotten his wish in seeing a Merman, but in the old age saying be careful what you wish for.  The Merman ate him.
When Dana and Marty reach beneath the facility and see the stone markings on the wall.  It all starts to make sense.  The Director comes up and further explains the ritual to them and how they have to die.  The Whore {{Jules}} is corrupt, she has to die first. The Athlete {{Curt}}, The Scholar {{Holden}}, The Fool {{Marty}} and last is the Virgin {{Dana}}...the virgin death is determined by fate to live or die.
Dana questions the fact that she is not a virgin.  The Director shrugs and says that they use what they have to work with.  She further explains to them that the "Ancient Ones" are Giant Gods that use to roam this earth.  and it's their job to keep them in eternal slumber or everyone on earth would suffer.  Each culture has a different way, but they all have failed. 
Marty objects to him dying and Dana points the gun at him.  She apologizes to Marty and Marty aslo apologizes, but Dana gets mauled by a werewolf.  Marty saves her by shooting the werewolf away.  Dana lays on the ground bleeding, where the Director takes that chance to try and kill Marty. Patience Buckner shows up and kills the Director with the axe to the head.  Marty pushes them over the edge.
Marty goes over to Dana and asks how she is feeling.  Dana informs him that she is fading.  They smoke some weed and discuss that Curt more likely doesn't have a cousin.  And then they discuss how awesome it would be to see Giant Evil Gods.  The facility starts shaking and a giant hand pops out of the ground destroying the cabin and slam....the red lettering of Cabin in the woods....

~Production Notes~
Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy and of such great films as Serenity, helped co-write the script with Cloverfield screenwriter Drew Goddard. With a budget estimated over $30 million that began filming in March 2009 and ended in May 2009.   Whedon's goals was trying to reawaken the horror genre, since a lot of it has gone to almost to a horror torture porn. 

~Final Thoughts~

I love horror movies and yes, the lot of them with the need to have an abundant amounts of sex in it...almost feels like the snuff film.  Torture, porn, nudity and people like this.  People have removed the classic ambiance and replaced it with torment and sex.  I can say it's fine in some cases, but not all the time.  People have become jaded with the fact that there is not enough torture in a movie...to way too much torment and torture.  In Cabin in the Woods...really gave us insight to the age old horror formula...."The System"...and we see the System has been in place and it would be awesome that all these horror stories are to placate Ancient Gods that need torment and suffering to keep them in eternal slumber or we would be destroyed.  It's original and witty and some of the one-liners are awesome.  Something that movies are suppose to be.  I know this movie had mixed reviews, but it is something I would own in my library to watch over and over...and I would pick this film over any of the Saw films and that says a lot.  Cabin in the woods has some classic horror elements in it...that made it predictable and in a way...it was classic predictability that was like comfort food for the horror soul.  

~Ratings~

~Hellz Writer~

Film Review: Mediatrix ((2011}}

There is something about Indie films that just screams "Watch me".  Of course I have been following Cory J. Udler's trail of bread crumbs since 2009.  There is the saying believe in your friends to see them soar about it all...well maybe that's my saying.  Of course, when I heard about this project I would have loved to participated in a grander scope than doing a film review, but Cory being the sweetheart wanted me to care for my young child.  It's a treat for me to being able to review this.....

Mediatrix

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

It opens with  "This is all true".
Granted opening up with a Wyatt {{ Matt Ukena}} and Mary Ann {{Paula Duerksen}} having sex while the there is suppose to be a seance down.  Mary Ann and her mother {{Heather Renken}} exchange words about her lifestyle. We get a little flash back on what happened to little Mary Ann which led her becoming a whore as an adult. 
The filming is a cross between old 70's, 80's and some 90's.  Mary Ann...does the whole helping of the lost soul, but steals her ID.  8-weeks later, she decides to fake a pregnancy and even extortion money from poor patsy Wyatt.  You sort of feel sorry for him being duped into thinking he fathered a child.
Mary Ann tells her mother that she has been called by the spirits and leaves.  She taunts a Hobo,  but goes stays with Carrie {{Kaylee Williams}} and William Brackett {{Michael Katzenberger}}, where she deceives Carrie by cutting into her hands making her believe she has the Stigmata.  Carrie calls Father Foster {{Tom Lodewyck}} and informs him about Mary.
Strange as it is that Brackett's don't mind Mary doing her drugs, till you find out that William is having sex with Mary Ann.  It got a bit confusing that there was another house guest or was there??  Despite that they appear to be religious, the two ladies staying in the room are smoking, doing drugs and so forth.
The Brackett get a couple of uncalled visitors while they are gone....where Stu {{Greg Johnson}} and Gabriel {{Joe Hollow}} come rummaging through the house.  Stu looks like he can be easily swayed with his mental problems.  Mary has them do a little deal for drugs or sex, which you can tell or assume that they went with deal number 2.
Mary starts to show her devious side when she gives William a heart attack by combining drugs.  Gabriel and Stu show up.  Carrie has basically lost her mind because she believes her husband was a nonbeliever and was struck down giving Mary Ann all legal duties to her home.  Granted you still don't really understand about the other woman, who happens to be the Virgin Mary {{Shannon Lark}} is a delusion that Mary Ann sees.  It got a bit confusing if she was an illusion or if she was sharing the room as a living being.
Mary has Stu have sex with Carrie and making her believe that it was the Angel Michael and she will be given birth to the new messiah.  Father Foster  is told that Carrie has been given the savior of the world since her husband has been in a coma state as a vegetable.  Mary Ann has started to gather a following and made many people believe that she giving the world the divine word.
Father Foster knows the truth and hires someone to help him to expose her.  Granted Stu and Gabriel have become her devoted followers doing her every bidding.  When it is time, they kill William just before they reveal to him that Mary Ann had planned for him to see all the her plans come to fruition.  Father Foster and his reporter friend {{Andy Schatner}} show up and get caught.  Granted the reporter gets killed off and Father Foster gets his face bashed by Mary Ann...and I am serious this is one sick bitch.



At the end, Gabriel hands her a little baby boy.  Which makes me believe there is going to be a part 2.   


~Production Notes~
Written Paula Duerksen and Cory J. Udler.  Directed by Cory J. Udler.  Mediatrix is the 3rd film by Shalenn Productions.  Even though Mediatrix has been estimated at $150,000 it was actually shot around $6,000.  The most expensive movie that Cory has yet filmed to date.

 ~Ask the Director~ 

Hellz Writer: You have mentioned that this was based on a true story. What inspired you to write about it??

Cory: The inspiration came from and IDS2 shoot with Paula Duerksen, she played the hooker that Greg Johnson butchers in a bathroom. She's from Oklahoma, we have been friends for a while, and we wanted to get her into the movie. She was phenomenal. I wanted to take her on a cool tour of weird Wisconsin stuff, so I took her to Plainfield to see all the Ed Gein stuff, and then to the Mediatrix of Peace shrine in Necedah. On the way back we started to talk about how that story would make a great exploitation movie, and we put some of the pieces together and a year later we shot it.

Hellz Writer: What drives you to write/direct films that are considered "Controversy"?

Cory: I've always loved doing creative things. I've been in radio, done music, writing, television, pro wrestling. And ever since I was like 12 or 13 I've wanted to make a "weird" movie. So, when I went back to school in my late 20's, I discovered filming and editing and that was that. What really inspired me to make the kind of movies I make was a show called "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" hosted by Jonathan Ross. It was a cable show that featured Ted V Mikels, HG Lewis, John Waters, Ed Wood, etc. It was an hour long feature and I fell in complete love with it. To this day those are still my favorite filmmakers.

Hellz Writer: What future works are in stored deep within??

Cory: Currently I am working on a short called "Ed Gein: DDS" starring Judith O'Dea from Night of the Living Dead. It's a short film that'll be part of a larger feature film called "Hole In The Wall" featuring work from Derrick Carey and Frank Anderson. Don't know when that'll be out, but probably year's end or early next year. And I am shooting IDS Rising, which is the Incest Death Squad prequel/sequel. Hoping to premiere that in October. I am also working with Ted V Mikels on our 3rd script together, this one, tentatively is called "Paranormal Extremes: text messages from the dead", and it's going to be wild. That's a dream come true, writing with Ted and calling Ted a friend. And my next film project won't be until next year, and I know exactly what it is, but I don't want to talk too much about it until I have a script!

~Final Thoughts~
I have seen Cory's films and I must say that they do get more twisted and bizarre by the moment, but at least the filmmaking has gotten better and better with each passing movie.  It's a learn process, but this one surely bites the "What the fuck" bullet.  I had to watch the damn thing 3-times to make sense of it.  It gets into your head as if you are seeing the Virgin Mary as an actual being or as an illusion.  I don't know but I think I am in need of some serious fucking therapy after this.  There was minor flaws to it, but I think for the budget and so forth it is only understandable.

You may purchase his movie on his website



~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually

~Hellz Writer~