Dec 31, 2010

Due Date, 2010


Due Date, 2010
Director: Todd Philips
Cast: Robert Downey JR., Zach Galifianakis



Stage: Home theatre

Due Date in short: Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) must get to LA in five days to be at the birth of his firstborn. He is about to fly home from Atlanta when his luggage and wallet are sent to LA without him, and he is put on the "no-fly" list. Desperate to get home Peter is forced to accept the offer of Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) to hitch a ride with him cross-country. Peter is about to go on the most terrifying and agonizing journey of his life.



Preps: Hot in cinema, a little less warm in my living room. I only know it by its fame, not by content.


Reality: Yuk. One of the worst movies this year. How come actors accept stupid comedies like this? This one is a Roadtrip wannabe. Not even close to being as funny as that one, that is in my opinion, pretty decent movie. Well, this one will only get on your nerves. Downey in role of this nevrotic guy that urges to come to the labor of his newly born child. Zach in a role of a big child. Should be at least amusing. In my opinion, it underestimates the intelligence of a viewer. Therefore I need to give it a strong disrecommendation. I still feel a bit annoyed for even standing this for 45 minutes. This was at least my level of tolerance, before I shut this one down.

There isn't a good saying deriving from this. Or a good note, that you could appreciate. I strongly believes that it mocks US people and makes fun of their stupidity. At least that is something that would amuse an EU viewer.


My personal rating: 1,0 (you truly won't miss a thing missing this)

Due Date on IMDB

Wall Street 2 - Money never sleeps, 2010


Wall Street 2 - Money never sleeps, 2010
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin



Stage: Home theatre, HD version


Wall Street in short: As the global economy teeters on the brink of disaster, a young Wall Street trader partners with disgraced former Wall Street corporate raider Gordon Gekko on a two-tiered mission: To alert the financial community to the coming doom, and to find out who was responsible for the death of the young trader's mentor.
Preps: I wanted to see the sequel badly ever since the first part. It inspired me into economy and I wanted to feel the broker's thoughts while bidding, selling, buying, and feel the taste of that much money. So, in my case, pretty expected piece that I hardly waited to get my hands upon. Let's see some Wall Street action..



Reality: What is to follow after the brainwash the first part of this movie offered? Absolutely brilliantly set (with many economical mistakes - as my professors claimed at the university and afterwards tried to explain to us, eager students), gave me the inspiration to study economy. It is rare that a movie gives inspiration to a certain profession. It definitely happened for instance in Top Gun, this is another good example of having a movie inspiring people to go to be brokers or at least, economists.

Therefore, the sequel draw my attention for several reasons. And one of the most important ones - to see Douglas in action again. This piece only proves that the man is made of steal. His energy will drive you like on a rollercoaster from the beginning to the steep ending. Broker world is closed for emotions and the people getting on its bus with feelings, tend to get broken along the way. The plot is quite easy to follow, again you are faced with numerous expressions, that are only used in this broker language world and that I am sure most people cannot follow. But you get the main idea how to create a distortion and scam someone.

The cast creates a good synergy - I would put someone else in the role of his daughter. The girl seems to be crying all the time and makes me wonder whether this was made on purpose. There aren't always scenes where she would be crying, although she seems as if on drugs each time she appears.
I absolutely adore the idea to connect the protagonists from the first part (Brolin - Douglas) and I cannot switch the movie off because it progresses all along the way. No time for picnic there, I cannot just go and fetch something from the fridge, I am curious about the next part all the time. Therefore, I strongly encourage future economists or the ones that wanted to be ones, to see this piece, as it will provoke inner spirit again and make you believe in this green entity that all of us are shutting our eyes from - money, but all of us need. But as said at the beginning, broker world, a.k.a. Wall Street, is no place for mushy feelings, mushy people. No place for emotions either. Roll down your sleeves and get into the game :)





My personal rating: 8,0 (made me nostalgic about the first movie and I absolutely love this economical đibrish - talking in words noone seems to understand).

Wall Street on IMDB

Dec 30, 2010

Buried, 2010


Buried, 2010
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Cast: Ryan Reynolds


Stage: home theatre


Buried in short: Waking groggy in pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working as a contractor in Iraq in 2006, slowly realizes he is trapped inside a wooden coffin, buried alive. With his cigarette lighter, he can see the trap he is in, and he quickly realizes that there's not enough air for him to live long. He finds within the coffin a working cellphone, which allows him contact with the outside world. But the outside world proves not to be very helpful at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Paul must rely on his best resource--himself.

Preps:
Wanted to see this piece on LIFFE, the movie festival, but I missed it. Heard a great deal about it and wanted to see it badly. Now I get it at home..


Reality: A strong reminder, how little we are to the society and how the importance is being measured as long as we are valuable. To be blackmailed is nothing really new, but to be buried underground, figuring out how long your cellular is going to hold and not being able to get to anyone that could help, is another story indeed. The plot seems vague and empty in the beginning, but later on the movie turns out to be a critic of US staying in Iraq, all the innocent people trying to get money for their service, turning out in hands of terorrists to be blackmailed - the movie is filled with negative pesimism, that can drive the viewer mad in thinking, how did we get this far.

Having governmental bureacreacy up to this level, tailored to serve the citizens, ending up in serving themselves, is simply to ironic to handle. Too much of black humour /irony - or shall we say or admit truth in this piece it will rock your soul. What would you do in order to get out of the box is one thing - Paul in this case can do nothing really important. Who to call, who to say goodbye from.. those are the questions popping in Paul's mind. How unimportant he really is, is shown by the attitude of various institutions that he tries to call. The main idea I am left with is, may I never turn up in a situation like this. With only government with its great attitude to help me or to assist me with something. The administrative procedures that serve themselves are simply too much. Vividly shown in the piece, dramatically cast by Ryan Reynolds.

One of the masterpieces, made on a very static position. It is extremely hard to fill in the movie if you are limited to one position or one location (for instance, brilliant job at Phone Booth). Nevertheless, I keep wondering, what the government is all about. About citizen not, for sure.



My personal rating: 8,0 (a truly unique piece of work, showing us, how little and unimportant we are..)


Buried on IMDB

Buried official page

The Family Stone, 2005


The Family Stone
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Dermot Mulroney



Stage: Home theatre


The Family Stone in short: The Stone family unites in common cause when their favorite son brings his uptight girlfriend home for the Christmas holiday, with plans of proposing. Overwhelmed by the hostile reception, she begs her sister to join her for emotional support, triggering further complications.

Preps: None, I don't think I ever heard of this. I just popped onto this piece when circling around my movie database.


Reality: One of less attractive scenes of all times - the point when a guy brings his high girlfriend to his home, wants her to feel welcome and all sorts of funny activities happen or actions being taken in order to make her feel pleasant or in this case, unpleasant.

One of less attractive in my opinion, because the dialogues lack courage or intelligence, the family simply doesn't seem to fit (they aren't really convincing) and I lack interest in half an hour to see where the piece is taking me. It would be better to invest some more funds into the story and the flow of all the actions, instead of focusing on other things. It is hardly impossible to bring this to a satisfactory ending. I think the only card played here, is the one where the crowd indulges in the bad scenes and bad things that happen to the new girl in town. But it's an undecent way to go. I have seen many better versions than this one - of the same story. I think Meet the parents did a good job in this field and set some standards, that this piece doesn't meet even by far.



My personal rating: 4,0 (there are some amusing scenes, but you will not lack anything if you skip this movie).


The Family Stone on IMDB

Troy, 2004


Troy, 2004
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom



Stage: Home theatre

Troy in short: It is the year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age. Two emerging nations begin to clash after Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnom to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans. But they come to a stop by Hector, Prince of Troy. The whole movie shows their battle struggles, and the foreshadowing of fate in this remake by Wolfgang Petersen of Homer's "The Iliad."


Preps: I have seen this piece several times and it is one of my favourite ones. In terms of genre, the actors, the scenery, the music. Each time I find something new.


Reality: Troy as always inspires me and doesn't leave me breathing up to its end. All the historical or antique fans worldwide will be dragged right in the middle of the movie, historical scenery, beautiful music and powerful cast. You cannot decide which root to follow, which side to take, as they impersonate glory and rage on one side and pride on the other side. A woman to be inbetween as the ultimate reason to kill and to die for. At least to some extent to some of the involved ones, the "management" of the war.

On other side, pure rage and following the leader in ranks, seen violence and harmony in ways the greeks or troyans fight. Beautiful mask, costumography makes me want to be a woman at that point. And in no dream a man. It is simply not realistic to die for honour or to die so you will be written about somewhere in the future. Nowadays, the idea seems outdated, still, in this movie it will dry your brains and leave you with your mouth wide open. What is worth to die and fight for? Love, romance? Country? Your dead relatives? Or the ones, that died side by side fighting with you?

I believe this to be on the same level as one of my most popular ones - Gladiator. The protagonists are so powerful I think about all of happenning way after end of the movie. Although very long, lasts only a minute in my mind. And I beg for more.


My personal rating: 9,5 (one of the best impersonements of my all time favourite greek heroes and stories)

Troy on IMDB

Troy home page

The Grudge, 2004


The Grudge, 2004
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall



Stage: Home theatre


The Grudge in short: Karen Davis is an American Nurse moves to Tokyo and encounter a supernatural spirit who is vengeful and often possesses its victims. A series of horrifying and mysterious deaths start to occur, with the spirit passing its curse onto each victim. Karen must now find away to break this spell, before she becomes its next victim.


Preps: none in perticular. Another one to follow in my movie line


Reality: Nothing is what it seems. In the movie, the basic plot is easily understood. The essence isn't. In a sense, that you absolutely don't have a clue, what is going on in the house. The whole horror is based on the viewer's imagination, which proves to be a great thing, only done by best horror japanese directors. In this piece, somehow american people are being mocked, I sense this in ways young girl is shown and ways she presumabely intelligently follows the mystery in the house.

In my opinion, a lot of blood doesn't make a horror movie. A lot of unseen and predicted scenes in the eyes of a beholder, well, this makes an excellent movie, filled with terrifying horror. Japanese are the experts in the field and I must admit I have never seen a truly great (remembering type) horror, done by an american director. No disrespect whatsoever, but I see that US is building horror on blood, whereas asian countries build on fear of unknown and unproved.

For this piece.. It is said that houses are being haunted sometimes and noone would like to experience something like that. Being a girl, alone, trapped in a house like that - the mere idea of this makes my blood chill.

Is the house secret revealed? Yes, to some extent it is. After leaving some bodies, burning imagination of a viewer, horrific music (in a good aspect as in a good horror movie) and a cat, running around, to make your body shiver in terror. Briliantly put two-dimensions between a cat transforming into a boy. The leftovers from prior life that went on in this house. The scene is obscure to the point that even a simple walk on the stairs seems difficult to handle (without something terrible happening inbetween).

I am more than impressed by the piece. And the fact, that I recognize "Nathan" from the series Lost, gives me a homerunning feeling.



My personal rating: 6,0 (for the sake of following japanese style of horror - it seems to be more effective than any american horror movie)

The Grudge on IMDB

The official site

Julie and Julia, 2009


Julie & Julia, 2009
Director: Nora Ephron
Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Chris Messina


Stage: Home theatre


Julie and Julia in short: In 1949, Julia Child is in Paris, the wife of a diplomat, wondering how to spend her days. She tries hat making, bridge, and then cooking lessons at Cordon Bleu. There she discovers her passion. In 2002, Julie Powell, about to turn 30 and underemployed with an unpublished novel, decides to cook her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a year and to blog about it. We go back and forth between these stories of two women learning to cook and finding success. Sympathetic, loving husbands support them both, and friendships, too, add zest.


Preps: I have seen this piece at the local theatre one year ago and I urged to see it again as this movie inspired my blog anyway :)


Reality: I am overwhelmed again. Living in France in this matter is something extremely cool and I love the insight the movie gives me. And also exposes the problem the women (housewifes) had when living in a way that only the guy gets to go to work. In much sense, a very realistic picture of the historical France and the way to go active.

On the other hand, present tense shows Amy Adams in a role of a different housewife, with a somehow terrible job (or she is terrible at performing it), that is inlove with cooking. So cooking after a bible of cooking in her opinion, gives her the chance to share experience via net - through a blog. Blogging each day seems a burden after a while, and obsession with cooking drives her friends and boyfriend crazy(as a difference towards french Julia, who is praised by her cooking success all along the way).

It is a genious way to make a cookbook work, in my opinion. Every housewife or at least everyone that cooks has an enormous amount of cooking books, recipes, and there is no way that you are going to cook the book if you don't follow a recipe like it is shown in the movie. To blog about it, makes it even more special. Following Julie in the kitchen seems provocative and revolves weaknesses of a person, wanting her expertize to be acknowledge by a deeper audience, showing respect to all the great chefs along the cooking way. In some sense, truly inspiring piece that I wish to see every now and then. And of course follow the steps shown in the movie.

No deeper meaning further than the points mentioned above. To have a project to keep you alive and finishing it in a certain amount of time, seems very modern and the way we need to keep our lives, if we decide not to sleep after we start working in business environment.


My personal rating: 9,0 (I am a huge fan of cooking and this is something so inspiring I would like to do it myself)
Julie and Julia on IMDB

Everybody's fine, 2009


Everybody's fine, 2009
Director: Kirk Jones
Cast: Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell





Stage: Home theatre


Everybody's fine in short:Frank Goode lives by himself in Elmira, NY, a recent widower with heart trouble, retired from a factory job, proud of having pushed his adult children toward success. In the summer, all four kids bail on a reunion, so, against doctor's orders, Frank decides to surprise each with a visit. He sets out to see his artist son in New York City, his daughter the ad exec in Chicago, his son the conductor on tour and presently in Denver, and his daughter who's a performer in Vegas. None are as he imagines or hopes. Will they let him see themselves as they are, and can this dad adapt?


Preps: I only know De Niro being a lead cast in this and it's enough for me. As I admire the man, I am sure he doesn't underestimate a movie script and I should be satisfied.


Reality: Well, probably I expect too much of De Niro anyway. It seems that every now and then he goes with the family comedy flow (Fockers, Analyze that, etc), and sometimes it works - sometimes the fall is deep. The comedy part is absolutely brilliant. De Niro has this tremendous grime on his face that I am really nuts about. Therefore it's funny either way you put it. But there's a slight distinction between an amusing comedy and a true intelligent comedy he sometimes performs so brilliantly.

Now, for this piece. A romantic/family comedy/drama - you can find elements of all the stated in this one. He is desperate for kids abandoning him and not really caring about him (the funny side would be in movies that market something completely else - the situation, where the children don't want to leave home and are attached to their parents all the way through life). Here you have five grown ups, that lead their lives, and only after the wife is dead, he decides to take some sort of a roadtrip to prove the point. Everything's fine up to here. Everybody seems fine and even though they don't like the surprise, his soul is somehow satisfied to see them. Underflowing, a story where everything isn't peas and carrots and everything's not fine. The search for the drug addicted brother, the charade the elder daughter plays with her former husband and a rageous son, the dancer in Las Vegas, pretending to be in her own appartment to show daddy some independence and afterwards, proving that it isn't so pink as it sounds (her life)... All sorts of not so trivial understories are circling around the main roadtrip one.

Conclusion won't satisfy those that look for an answer. Do you need to stay in touch with your family or is it just something that is a part of your childhood and after that you are supposed to live independently, regardless of the roots? In some cultures, this is virtually impossible, as the people are brought up to take care after their relatives as long as they live. And in other cultures, like european or american, it seems pretty much normal to lead your own life and to move out as soon as you can. The big distance, however, is only the psychological divide. You can be neighbours and be even more distant. Does De Niro get his satisfaction? I doubt it, as the movie shows deep remorsement about his behaviour when the children were young that lead to the status quo. Will he repay his debt afterwards? Doubtful again, as the children are distant and even the death of the brother doesn't really bring them closer, only more honest.



My personal rating: 6,0 (a good reminder of the virtues you tend to forget in the everyday life)

Everybody's fine on IMDB

Philadelphia, 1993


Philadelphia, 1993
Director: Ron Nyswaner
Cast: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell



Stage: Home TV selection on national AIDS day


Philadelphia in short: Andrew Beckett, a gay lawyer infected with AIDS, is fired from his conservative law firm in fear that they might contract AIDS from him. After Andrew is fired, in a last attempt for peace, he sues his former law firm with the help of a homophobic lawyer, Joe Miller. During the court battle, Miller sees that Beckett is no different than anyone else on the gritty streets of the city of brotherly love, sheds his homophobia and helps Beckett with his case before AIDS overcomes him.


Preps: I have seen this movie several times. And I am a huge fan of Hanks and Washington - I believe I need to see this piece every now and then just as a reminder of what the world can become.


Reality: It's a fact that people with all sorts of handicaps are being handled differently in business environment. How about having AIDS? The virus HIV was in the beginning of the nineties just heading towards an explosion, therefore, the topic was at that time very current and upfront addressing the companies that unlegally fired people with HIV.
Now, with the knowledge we had at that point, there was a lot of fear circling the virus, the infection, possibilities of getting the disease from a person already infected by this.. fear caused prejudice and after that it's just a step away from misjudging the situation and running for your life, whenever there's a person with HIV on the horizon.

Nevertheless, it's still illegal to fire people based on their handicap, disease and Philadelphia was the first really notorius movie that caused dilemma and spread a different message, with regards to people with AIDS. Now, in present time, the amount of knowledge of the disease is much extensive and there are ways to cure it long after receiving it. Up to 30 years, the doctors say. In 1993 the estimated time was only 10 years. It's quite unique how the topic and the misbehaviour was prosecuted in this movie, giving a positive example to all following cases and all the companies that would undergo the same struggle. To look from the economical point of view, the customers don't want to interact with people with AIDS and it would seem quite natural to let them go. But it's illegal. Why not forcing them to leave (either based on their conscience or framing them, like this movie shows). Now, is it up to the company to look from a human perspective, or should it follow simple economy logic? Up to the viewer here to decide, nevertheless, I have a sense that the company exposed in the movie wasn't sorry of letting Hanks go, but they were so so sorry they were caught.

The piece accompanies a good music and a great stage. You will enjoy the moral dilemmas exposed here and it will make you think about shaking hands with a person with AIDS and not having any prejudice while doing it.



My personal rating: 8,5
(a truly unique piece, the first of its kind that sets grounds for judging this sort of behaviour towards people that have AIDS)


Philly on IMDB

Nothing but the truth, 2008


Nothing but the truth, 2008
Director: Rod Lurie
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga



Stage: Home theatre


Nothing but the truth in short: Thinking Pulitzer Prize and hoping to bring down a President, D.C. political columnist Rachel Armstrong writes that the President ignored the findings of a covert CIA operative when ordering air strikes against Venezuela. Rachel names the agent, Erica Van Doren, a woman whose young daughter is in Rachel's son's class at school. The government moves quickly to force Rachel to name her source. She's jailed for contempt when she refuses. She won't change her mind, and the days add up. Chaos descends on Van Doren's life as well. First Amendment versus national security, marriage and motherhood versus separation. What's the value of a principle?


Preps: I don't know the movie, but I reckon since the cast seems more than decent, it should be a finer piece. Also, the title is intriguing.


Reality: The movie makes a strong point when following someone's principles and to what extent. The journalist that doesn't want to reveal a source is treated normalwise as a saint and noone can make him/her tell about the source. But not when it's in the interest of a state. Which in my opinion can happen every time the state makes up its mind that it's this perticular case that drives danger to society.

The movie could be a relic to all the journalists that have been treated similar, but to the normal crowd perspective, it's simply unfair to go to that level with principles to neglect all the aspects of the family this journalist has.
The following of the idealism is so severe that when she stays in the prison for such a long time, the crowd outside forgets about this case and it's only her, living this horrible reality behind the bars, that gives a damn about the idea. When idealism is overrun by time, the crowd / people are merciless - noone cares and noone will do anything about it. All that has been a great idea, just vaporizes in void. In this movie, the journalist takes the burdon of media messiah - however, even though she is praised, she is also soon forgotten. Like the people fighting for some sort of a cause in political emprisonment in Ireland, for instance. There are a lot of ways to make a point. But if you try to make it, maybe you should reconsider how many people you are dragging into this and whether it's also worth losing a family over a dead body - or a principle in this sense.


My personal rating: 6,5 (it will make you think about your principles and how much they are worth to you. Philosophically speaking, the movie is worth seeing).


Nothing but the truth on IMDB

Dark Matter, 2007


Dark Matter, 2007
Director: Shi-Zheng Chen
Cast: Meryl Streep, Ye Liu, Peng Chi


Stage: Home theatre, TV selection of a random Wednesday evening


Dark Matter in short: Liu Xing is a scholarship boy from China, newly arrived in Salt Lake City, a graduate student in cosmology, in Utah to study in Professor Reiser's prestigious program. Back in China, Liu Xing's parents are proud of him, and he dedicates himself to fulfilling their hopes. All the graduate students in the program work on projects that extend and further Reiser's model of the origins of the universe. Liu Xing does well until his own theories move him away from Reiser's. Will Reiser and the department recognize Liu Xing's brilliance? Can the young man's benefactor, Joanna Silver, intercede?


Preps: None in perticular, as I don't know the movie, nor the cast. I might be surprised in positive way, as normalwise, the selection on Wednesday suits my taste.


Reality: The movie strikes with a true and ironic story of a young person wanting to suceed - based on his previous region or location, he comes from, also something inspiring. There are a lot of asian students arriving in EU or USA educational institutions, willing to work harder, try longer, dedicate all of their time in order to achieve the education and in the end, being much more grateful than most of local students. In Asia, education is something that is worth as much as being a millionaire. I also believe, the charma or dare I say, the mindset is completely different as oppose to european or US standard. Therefore, in the end, the students tend to be much more successful just because of this mindset. Normally, they would have a sponsor - in this piece, briliantly cast of Meryl Streep, naive and supportive, as I would see them without knowing any in person - but they often strike me as optimists, following an inner reason to support students from other cultures. In this case, she dedicates her life to Chinese students for the simple fact that she likes and is inspired by China in general.

The movie exposes another problem all students are facing - failure to admit that the scholar or student exceeded his tutor. This happens all the time and in some sense doesn't stimulate science at all, it does have the antieffect. In this piece the student cannot understand, how he came from the top position in tutor's or menthor's mind to the last. The brilliance, through which Liu gets to his ideas and to his discovery that he pursues, is absolutely unique. For ordinary people (with normal ways of interaction, thinking, etc, the process of creating unique and breathtaking ideas is simply something you cannot dare to imagine. In the movie, it reveals, that the breathtaking ideas in some cases can be driven by a simple every day task like cooking.
The main dissappointment, deriving from unability to at least listen to Liu (from his menthor) and furthermore, not confirming the thesis for Ph.D, is devastating to the student, it makes him fall down on his knees, not knowing what to do, lying to the parents that have a "famous son" on the other side of the world. On one hand, the escape from normal asian life that he tries to avoid or surpress, on the other hand, the unability to make the menthor listen and praise another science discovery.
The downfall unikely shows how a person can be destroyed externally and also internally, burying his soul over a thing he cannot bring out in the open. Dark Matter in this sense appears obscure and ununderstandable to the viewer, absolutely something too profound to understand. But you get the sense it must be something too scientific to handle for a normal human being.


My personal rating: 6,0 (a classic "wannabe this person" movie, but only in the first part. The second part of the movie will break your heart).

Dark matter on IMDB

Dec 7, 2010

The Human Centipede (First Sequence), 2009


The Human Centipede (The First Sequence), 2009
Director: Tom Six
Cast: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. WIlliams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura




The Human Centipede in short: Two pretty but ditsy American girls are on a road trip through Europe. In Germany, they end up alone at night with a broken car in the woods. They search for help and find an isolated villa. The next day, they awaken to find themselves trapped in a terrifying makeshift basement hospital along with a Japanese man. An older German man identifies himself as a retired surgeon specialized in separating Siamese twins. However, his three "patients" are not about to be separated but joined together in a horrific operation. He plans to be the first person to connect people via their gastric systems. By doing so, he plans to bring to life his sick lifetime fantasy, the human centipede.


Stage: home theatre, late night selection


Preps: A recommendation makes me see this - not knowing anything about it. However the title sounds disgusting and yet intrigues my imagination

Reality: At the beginning, everything seems clean and without confusion. Two really stupidly acting girls wind up in Germany, and afterwards, lost in the forest. Find their way to a house somewhere in the woods and like Hansel and Gretel - they are lured into the house by a mad scientist.
The horrifying story that follows with the pure fantasy world of a deraged scientist, is actually a horrible upgrade of the mentioned fairy tale. However, the victims don't get to be burned in the oven, they get to be stitched together in a humble pet, eating their own shit and lacking their knee caps. This piece is definitely for a good stomach and for the viewers without prejudice or with the ability not to fall into the scenes for real. Imagining this could be happening somewhere for real and that we have such crappy pieces of human beings in the world, can make you even cry and can touch your soul in depths you never thought it can be touched. The movie was hard to swallow and hard to follow up to its end. Which isn't really the ending - I truly believe it will have the sequel (and let's forget for a moment that it's already pointed out in the title) - the way this movie ends, reminds me of the Saw saga somehow. The idea, followed here, is as wacky and sick, as those in the Saw are. But.. here we have the fairy tale add-on - the people, trapped in this, are here by coincidence, whereas in the Saw they were there to pay their debts to their souls.

The idea of making one being out of three and making them have the same gastric system, eating shit from each other, is sick beyond belief.


My personal rating: 6,0 (watch it if you have a good stomach. Apart from the interesting and horrific idea, there's nothing edible in the movie.. and made me cry.)





The Human Centipede on IMDB

The Centipede home page