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The Great American Snuff Film, a review by Jimmy

Title: The Great American Snuff Film
Year: 2003
Director: Sean Tretta
Rating: R
Length: 1h26
Video:  Wide Screen
Audio:  English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Mike Marsh - Grone
Ryan Hutman - Roy
Melinda Lorenz - Patti
Holi Tavernier - Sarah
Jason Dinger - Chuck

Plot:
Based on the journals of serial killer William Allen Grone, "the great american snuff film" despicts a series of events involving the kidnapping, torture, and eventual "snuff" film murders of two young women in 1995. While the film is a dramatization of the events, it is told trough Grone's personal journal entrie's. The viewer experiences the brutal nature of this mad man : first hand. This disturbing journey concludes with actual footage from is film.

Extras:
Making of
Extra "Snuff"
Trailer
Audio Commentary
Music Video

I don't write a long introduction for this review since I've bought this movie for the exact same reason than the precedent reviewed : giving a chance to a new director.

This movie prove me something : God doesn't hate me  This movie is not bad. I've bought this one one year ago and it was unwatched since than (certainly a record for me), but I didn't feel an emergency to see it because of the cover. The production was a low budget affair (2000 US$ according to the commentary), but it doesn't look like it at all. The cast is good (too good for one of them, but more about that later) and the effects are effective and realist. What I mean by the last statement is that the director don't overuse the gore (like Hostel) and that give a more credible look. The director use two way for showing the movie, the first is the conventional way (not on digital and it's surprising for the budget) and the second, use for the footage filmed by the killers, is in a box (don't really know the good term, but the film is presented only in the center of the screen with all the four sides cut). The only negative thing that I can say about the film is the music choice, I don't think that "techno" is a really appropriate music for those kind of movies but it's only a personal preference.

After I've wrote all of this, the rest of my review will surprise you. I don't really recommand it, yes it's a well made movie but I don't think that I will be able to watch it another time. I know that it's just a movie, but it look to real to me. Everything is fake and it's very clear after the extra, but like I've said one of the actress give a too much realistic performance and that's made feeling bad while I was watching. I can say without a doubt that the director succeed with is first movie and I will buy his next production without hesitation.

Rating : 3.5/5

Trailer

(From My review - unseen and unwatched january marathon on January 21st, 2008)

Bear Island, a review by GSyren

Bear Island (5-035822-012233)

Canada 1979 | Released 2013-03-11 on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

113 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono

Directed by Don Sharp and starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Barbara Parkins

My thoughts about Bear Island:

At some point in my youth I must have read Bear Island, but I have absolutely no memory of it. I know that the movie is "loosely based on" the book. Can MacLean's writing be improved on? Certainly. Does this script do that? I doubt it, MacLean's book can't have been that bad! With so many good actors, this should be a great movie. But alas, no. Sir Christopher Lee is pretty much wasted in his role. The same can be said for Richard Widmark, who I really liked in his earlier roles. Perhaps the script and the direction are to be blamed. The script certainly left many unanswered questions, like - What were those weather researchers actually supposed to be doing on Bear Island? We never saw any researching. - Why would NATO insist on radio silence from a research party? - If there was a NATO installation on the island, why was the research station so far from it? and also why does Bear Island in the movie look nothing

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on November 29th, 2015)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Life on Mars


Out Here in the Fields
After an accident, NYPD detective Sam Tyler inexplicably finds himself back in 1973, where he must help solve a murder that is eerily similar to a case he was investigating in 2008.

My Thoughts:
I know this series is an American version of a series from the UK... but I never seen the original UK version so I can not compare this one to that. What I can do is tell you about this show as it stands on it's own. This pilot epiosde is a very good introduction to the characters. It has a very good, entertaining story that keeps your intrest throughout the entire episode. I like that his 2008 partner is played by Lisa Bonet (Denise on The Cosby Show)... and they made it clear how important she is to him. I also like how they do not make it clear if he is crazy, in the hospital in a coma dreaming it all or if he really somehow traveled through time. Even though the evidence points in a certain way you don't know for sure. This is the first time I seen this show since it originally aired in 2008... so it is fun watching this again now... as there is so much I forgotten about this show since then!

My Rating:
NOTE: This review was taken from my marathon thread from a while back.

(From Pete's Pilots on February 24th, 2010)