Movie Night! ‘Another Mixed Bag…’ Edition

Taking a spot of annual leave is great, I should really do it more often. I’m no longer looking after my ex’s cat (both the cat and I are very pleased about that) and I’ve been spending a lot of time with my daughters; can’t ask for a lot more than that from a week off ;o)


One thing I haven’t been able to do though is get much reading done. It’s the same old story (no pun intended, unless you liked it…) I’ve got a few books on the go but I haven’t been able to make much headway on any of them. We’ll see if that improves, over the rest of the week, but for now, lets take a look at the films I’ve watched instead. Bit of a mixed bag this time round but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Here goes…


‘Zombeez’ (2023)

When bee hives start dying off and dead bodies start appearing in a small Florida town, the local coroner is forced to team up with the apiologist who left her at the altar years ago, to try and solve this deadly mystery.

It’s well known, in these parts, that if a movie has ‘zombies’ in the title then I will watch it if I haven’t already (and even if I have). I’m also partial to a little misspelling, here and there, and so it was, the other night, that I decided to give ‘Zombeez’ a shot. I really wish I hadn’t now but at least I can tell you not to bother. Unless you like ‘zombie bee’ movies that don’t hit either the ‘horror’ or ‘horror comedy’ targets that is. If that’s your thing then you’re good ;o)

Me though? The concept was there but like I said, the execution didn’t hit the mark. If you can’t make me jump or make me laugh… ‘Zombeez’ swiftly became a film where I just tuned out and had it on in the background. Elesia Marie’s ‘Jess’ was a good lead though.


‘Frontier(s)’ (2007)

In the violent aftermath of a political election, young thieves flee Paris and head into the countryside, looking to hole up somewhere before crossing the border. Beggars can’t be choosers but the gang make a really bad choice and by the next morning, only one of them will be left alive…

I had a copy of ‘Frontier(s)’ on DVD but somehow never got round to watching it, until a couple of nights ago and…

‘Frontier(s)’ isn’t a bad movie at all. You may well have seen this story play out countless times elsewhere but it’s worth sticking with anyway, just to see some really tense moments explode into moments of total gore. The movie purrs along very smoothly and Karina Testa’s ‘Yasmine’ really gives you someone to cheer on. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t help but wonder how likely it would have been that a Nazi was able to settle in France (after the War) but you can’t deny the effectiveness of the end result. It might be a while before I give it another go but I’m glad I finally gave ‘Frontier(s)’ a shot.


‘Quarantine 2: Terminal’ (2011)

Following the events of ‘Quarantine’, a plane is forced to return to LAX after the virus breaks out on board. Lockdown swiftly follows and the surviving passengers and crew must find a way to survive the infected, within the terminal, as well as the armed cordon waiting just outside…

I always enjoy watching the ‘[REC]’ movies but only ever saw the first ‘Quarantine’ so figured it was time I did something about that, watching the sequel last night.

I loved the beginning, with the virus appearing on the plane, but as the action moved into the terminal itself, things slowed right down (understandable, given they’re locked in, but difficult to stick with) and then when the electricity went off and you couldn’t really see what was happening at all… Yeah… Not impressed. I’ll probably stick with the ‘[REC]’ movies in the future.

Comments

  1. Ughhh, I hate when movies "go dark". If the audience can't see clearly what is happening, that would be like a singer mumbling their lines. to me, it says the director isn't trying to please the audience anymore and that he is a bad director ;-)

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    1. I get that sometimes, a movie needs to go dark, to set up a jump scare, but large chunks of 'Quarantine 2' missed the point of a movie which is to visually tell a story. The whole thing just got de-railed when it really didn't need to be. Oh well... :o)

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