VHS-2 (2013)

[much better than the first part]

VHS-2 (2013)

IMDB- 6.4

Rottentomatoes- 69%

RJG Rating- 65

story- 5 Directors ,5 Horror Stories

Directors - Adam Wingard,Eduardo Sánchez&Gregg Hale,Gareth Evans,Jason Eisener,Simon Barrett

Acting overall is below average.All are newbies and first timers ,so nothing much can be expected of them.And plus ,being a horror movie ,all they need to do is scream and die.The worst of the lot ,was Phase1:Clinical Trials.Acting was just completely horrible.

VHS 1 was horrible,but managed to make enough profits to get a sequel.Even though i didnt expect anything from the sequel ,i was surprised at the quality.

Phase1:Clinical Trials-This one is about a guy who gets an eye fitted with a camera for an experiment.It had a good concept ,but thanks to the horrible acting and stupid gimmicks ,the story completely unwinds towards the end.The movie was directed and acted by Adam Wingard (VHS1).It had a slow start and an absurd end.

(story-1.5 ,direction- 2, horror- 3/5)

Ride In the Park -This one was about a cyclist who encounters Zombies.Concept wise it wasnt too clever and it seemed to be trying to get scares just through the gore aspect.The ending was vague and didnt make much sense, but somehow it did wrap up the story nicely.It wasnt scary and had a bit of a tiring repetitiveness to it ,initially.It was directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale (of The Blair Witch Project).

(story-2 ,direction- 2, horror-0/5, gore-3.5/5)

Safe Haven -Now this one was the BEST.This segment was about a group of reporters interviewing a cult leader.From start to finish it was exciting and the end was chilling.Made by Gareth Evans (director of the brilliant Raid Redemption) ,he nicely balanced the cheap aspect of the movie ,vagueness ,and delivered a story that was really horrifying.The camera settings were good and wasnt a hindrance.

(story-4.5 ,direction- 5 ,horror- 4/5, gore-4/5)

Slumber Party/Alien Abduction -This one is what the title is about...Slumber Party ,Alien Abduction.It was ok.The shaky cam was horrible ,and so was the cheap costumes.But it had the scare factor and concept wise was pretty ok.It was directed by Jason Eisener (director of Hobo With a Shotgun).It had bit of a slow start but thankfully it gets rolling quickly

(story-3.5 ,direction-3.5 ,horror- 3.5/5)

Tape 49-This is the main story ,which has 2 investigators ,checking an abandoned house full of tapes.The start was slow ,but it had a good punch at the end.Its directed by Simon Barrett (VHS1).It had a slow start but was much better than the main story of VHS1.The twist at the end was pretty solid too.

(story-3 ,direction- 3, horror- 3/5, gore-2/5)

Overall ,VHS2 is much better than its predecessor in terms of quality.It might not be the best horror movie you might have seen ,but its worth a watch if you are horror fans ,especially the segment Safe Haven.

Acting- 2/5

Story- rating given above

Direction- rating given above

Horror-rating given above

Gore- rating given above

VHS1-https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=526558104037785

Only God Forgives (2013)

[tries to be something its not]

Only God Forgives (2013)

IMDB- 6.4

RottenTomatoes- 35%

RJG Ratings- 25

A mother requests her son to avenge his brothers death.

Starring- Ryan Gosling,Vithaya Pansringarm

Director- Nicolas Winding Refn

The acting is pretty much solid ,but it does have some flaws.Leading the way is Ryan Gosling who gives a very good job.BUT there are flaws which i can only put the blame on the director,more on that later.Vithaya Pansringarm who plays the cop, is brilliant and is the highlight of this movie.He brings peace as well as terror in plenty of scenes.In my opinion ,Vithaya is the lead in this movie rather than Ryan.Kristin Scott is another highlight ,and gives a good performance as a villain.

The story.Its simple but is drowned in a sea of over the top symbolism.The story is at most times wierd and empty.Any signs of a coherent story begins in the second half.The first half is empty with long silent shots.Not to mention the weird dream sequences.The lack of dialogues really kill this movie since it would have made the movie better by 10 times atleast.

The direction by Nicolas is a big fail.He tries to create a movie that boasts of some deep psychological meanings ,but instead creates one long boring violent movie which has nothing good to offer.He made Ryan's character completely useless and one sided.The character could have been armed with some dialogues but instead we have Ryan seriously at the edge of going over the top.The pacing is very slow.The first half is confusing and irrational.Only God Forgives had huge potential but Nicolas ruins it ,with too many silent scenes and unnecessary violence.

On the positive side ,theres some great looking scenes.Like the Ryan vs Vithaya fight ,the interrogation scene at the club,plus some excellent cinematography.But its sad that its wasted in this type of a movie.

Overall ,Only God Forgives is NOT for the casual viewers AT ALL.Fans of Nicolas & Ryan's earlier collaboration DRIVE ,can sit through this.The movie tries so hard to be over the top Artistic ,but it just doesnt match up.

Acting- 2/5

Story- 1.5/5

Direction- 2/5

Action- 3/5

Drama- 2/5

The ABCs of Death (2013)

[disgusting and stupid]

The ABCs of Death (2013)
IMDB- 5.7
Rottentomatoes- 77%
RJG Rating- 05

26 short movies by 26 directors that deal with death.

Staring- Various
Director- Various

Acting in these movies cant be judged much ,since theres absolutely very few minutes that include the art of acting.All were amateurs and no one actually made a mark.

From 26 movies/clips ,you would expect a good number of them to hit the mark ,especially considering horror aspect works exceptionally well in short duration.But unfortunately if you see this movie expecting horror or good film making ,you are in for a huge disappointment.The 26 clips are arranged according to the alphabet and heres my short review on each of them.

A is for Apocalypse ( movie-1/5 ,gore-1/5)
B is for Bigfoot ( movie-2/5 )
C is for Cycle ( movie-2/5)
D is for Dogfight ( movie-4/5)
E is for Exterminate ( movie-2/5)
F is for Fart ( movie-0/5)
G is for Gravity ( movie-0/5)
H is for Hyrdo-Electric Diffusion ( movie-0.5/5 )
I is for Ingrown ( movie-0/5)
J is for Jidai-geki ( movie-2/5 ,comedy-3/5)
K is for Klutz ( movie-2/5 ,comedy-1.5/5)
L is for Libido ( movie-3/5 ,gore-3/5)
M is for Miscarriage ( movie-0/5)
N is for Nuptials ( movie-3/5 ,comedy-2.5/5)
O is for Orgasm ( movie-0/5 )
P is for Pressure ( movie-4/5 ,gore-4/5)
Q is for Quack ( movie-2/5 ,comedy-2/5)
R is for Removed ( movie-1/5 ,gore-3/5)
S is for Speed ( movie-1/5)
T is for Toilet ( movie-1.5/5 ,horror-2/5)
U is for Unearthed ( movie-2/5 ,horror-1/5)
V is for Vagitus ( movie-2/5 )
W is for WTF ( movie-0/5)
X is for XXL ( movie-1/5 ,gore-3/5)
Y is for Youngbuck ( movie-0.5/5 )
Z is for Zetsumetsu ( movie-0/5 ,gore-2/5)

Other than a select few such as Dogfight and Pressure the rest score only on gore factor.And out of the remaining 24 ,majority make no sense at all.As you can see ,none even qualify as horror movies.The makers think horror only contains just gore and nudity.A big fail.

The direction of most have been worst.Out of the bunch ,only Pressure has been made with any sense at all.The main directors of the movie ,or whoever had the idea of ABCs have failed miserably.Movies like Fart,WTF ,Ingrown make you go 'what just happened there?'. Writing a disclaimer saying they had no say in any of the clips is a poor excuse.

Overall ,ABCs is a good idea gone rotten.Skip it and forget it.

Acting- 1/5
Story- 0.25/5
Direction-0.25/5
Horror-0/5
Gore- 4/5

Goon (2012)

[a bloody movie]

Goon (2012)
IMDB- 7.0
Rotten Tomatoes- 83
RJG Rating- 90

A bouncer gets to join an ice hockey team as an enforcer.

Starring- Seann William,Jay Baruchel,Alison Pill,Liev Schreiber
Director- Michael Dowse

Goon is based on the real life story of Doug Smith who also co-wrote the book on which the movie is adapted from.

Seann William Scott (more popularly known as Stifler from the American Pie series) plays the lead role.He gives a decent performance and is a likeable character.Jay Baruchel has a short but funny role and he shines in it.Liev Schreiber & Alison Pill too give a good performance.

Story is short and sweet.It paints a full picture about the lead character and manages to keep the audience engaged.

Direction is also good.Goon cant be fully pushed off into the comic genre.It has its moments of drama and romance too and doesnt go slapstick on either.As for the sport scenes ,all are excellent.The climax is thrilling,since the final confrontation had been anticipated from the beginning itself.And the fight doesnt disappoint.The movie is bloody from start to finish,so be prepared for them.As a sports movie it has some good scenes on team spirit and so on.

Overall,Goon is a great movie if you are into sports and bloody fights.

Acting- 4/5
Story- 4/5
Direction- 4/5
Action- 5/5
Thriller- 4.5/5
Gore- 5/5
Comedy- 4/5

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

[mindless action movie]

Conan the Barbarian (2011)
IMDB- 5.2
Rotten tomatoes- 23
RJG Rating- 30

Conan ,a barbarian ,seeks vengence against a mighty ruler.

Starring- Jason Momoa,Rachel Nichols,Stephen Lang,Rose McGowan
Director- Marcus Nispel

Conan is the reboot of the 1982 movie of the same name which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Jason Momoa takes up the role of Conan.He is fit for the role ,all muscle & very less acting.The movie being a hack and slash movie theres not much need for any acting.Its all just glares and grunts and blood spurting out at the slightest touch.The supporting cast arent too great either.Rose McGowan's over acting is torturous.

Story is straight forward ,but its also filled with cliches of all kinds.Its highly predictable and any advances to bring a twist fails badly.The original story of Conan has its roots in magic ,monsters and so on.The movie spends most its time showing battles and sword fights ,but towards the end the writers seemed to have remembered that they forgot to add any magic or monsters.And so we have one or two scenes that involve Conan fighting monsters and sorcery,which uptill then didnt seem to exist.

Direction was very poor.The pace of the movie is slow and it rarely gets exciting.The running time of the movie seemed too long.And the overdose of fighting scenes can get boring towards the end.

Overall,this movie is strictly for action lovers but even they would find this boring.

Acting- 1.5/5
Story- 2/5
Direction- 1/5
Action- 3.5/5
Thriller- 2/5