Open Graves (2009)

This was an interesting idea I saw being advertised on the TV so taped it, starring Eliza Dushku and Mike Vogel and it appeared to be a horror version of Jumanji so I was interested. From the off I knew I was probably going to be disappointed, terrible acting and dodgy loose plot and early on i was actually tempted to switch it off. But anyway the play this game that they are given by a strange man in a wheelchair. Now they appeared to be on a surfing holiday and were interested in weed and beer so why they played a game they had never heard of? But these things must happen for the story to progress.

So the game gives out death cards and the players will die how the card describes it, now the holes start to appear in the story and the film. The effects are that funny they are not even funny, the crabs are terrible and so unbelievable. And the first person dies before the game is finished and then you are at his funeral and nobody else has died and straight away you are like what. So it progresses with some more terrible effects the snakes form nowhere are shocking. You are really just hoping for some cool depths and thinking well there must be a cool twist at the end? The ending is predictable and laughable and really badly thought out as the surfer proves himself to be a dude. The side story of the cop is pointless as well and not that well explored.

So this film is not worth seeing on any level, it is disappointing to see them spend the money on something like this, again it is an interesting idea and in the right hands could have been awesome instead it is a disjointed waste of time, please do not see this 1 star drivel.

True Lies (1994)

So I was doing a mini marathon with Arnold and decided to re-watch the James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis venture in to spy comedy that was True Lies. I knew I had seen this and knew some points but could not remember everything that happened so was interested to see if I would like it. With Tom Arnold, Tia Carrere and Bill Paxton in supporting roles you know that the acting is going to be pretty good and an early role for Eliza Dushku as well.

Your premise is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a spy and Jamie Lee Curtis is his wife and she knows nothing of what he does. The fact that he is saving the world daily and is never home on time is driving a wedge between them and the story unfolds to some interesting points with a terrorist subplot that keeps the action driving on. The premise works quite well you have a transformation performance from Jaimie Lee Curtis and you have Arnold the super spy a role that he fits into but you actually think would never really work as he stands out so much. You have Tom Arnold as the comedy sidekick and Bill Paxton in a role he was born to play the sleazy car salesman. This has James Cameron all over it with the car chase with a helicopter and the fight with the Harrier Jump Jet you can see his love of special effects and fantastical situations. While there are so many levels of unbelievable there is only a little suspension of disbelief required to enjoy the film.

Overall this was a joyous romp of a film that entertained me with the comedy, the acting and the action and effects, I have to say that this is 4 solid stars and several more re-watches along the years, the scene with the lamppost cracks me up.