2005/07/16

Fantasia: The Place Promised in our Early Days, R-Point and Ju-On : The Grudge 2

The Place Promised in our Early Days is a beautiful, touching and naive story about a childhood promise that, if fulfilled, could lead to the end of the world as we know it. If you've seen Makoto Shinkai's previous movie, Voices of a Distant Star, you'll feel right at home. Similar tone, similar subject (two innocent lovers torn apart by extraordinary circumstances). It's the same, only better in every way. 8/10.

R-Point is a combination of supernatural horror and war. This movie reminded me a little of The Keep. While watching I felt like I was watching a much older movie. It uses a lot of scary tricks that seemed to work much better in the '80s (bleeding radio anyone?). The acting ranged from adequate to bad. It does have it's scary moments, and some of the low-budget special effects are put to good use. 6/10.

Ju-On : The Grudge 2 is, overall, more of the same as the original Ju-On. The new twist will disturb many I'm sure, especially pregnant women (don't see this movie if you're pregnant, not only because of the stress it creates, but because the subject matter). Creepy as hell, disgusting at times. 7/10. As a side-note, seeing these kinds of film at fantasia may not be a good idea. It seems the crowd find it necessary to laugh most of the time, probably to hide their own fears. Rent and watch before going to bed, if you want to miss a good night's sleep.

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