“We hunted it into extinction… Now it’s hunting us.”
Ain’t that always the way? When will we ever learn.
This is a modern day B-Movie with a message and a bonus: Tom Skerrit in saucepan armour. The script is actually entertaining though a bit heavy handed, with amusing little twists on the usual monster movie moments and the occasional groaner of a joke. The acting teeters on the edge of excess, though characters seem honest in their stereotypicality. There’s a mad scientist, a bitchy hardass female agent, a yokel sherrif, alien invaders, and of course a multitude of delicious teenagers to eat and stomp and mangle when the monster runs amok.
Flickr Commons Image by Hawkoffire
The real wooly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was a docile, flower-eating creature. Herds of these great animals (10ft tall at the shoulder) roamed through North America during the Late Pleistocene Epoch before being hunted to extinction several thousand years ago. Really, that’s a good thing, because had they met any Colonial North Americans, surely they would have have been captured, costumed, and forced to perform in a circus for our amusement and edification.
I don’t exactly have a rating system for movies (that’s all arbitrary anyway), but this is what I call a “Saturday Morning Movie.” Perfect for watching in your PJs with a bowl of popcorn for breakfast. Even though witnessing an Ice Age Mammoth on steroids rampaging through the community was really cool, my favourite scene is probably the severed hand doing sign language in the microwave.
P. S. “Ont-day Ust-tray Ese-thay Overnment-gay Ooges-stay.”
If you cannot handle blood and gore or over-the-top sexual themes, do not watch this movie. If, on the other hand, you tend toward morbid fascination, and you’re okay with watching parts of the movie through your fingers, you’ll be intrigued and amazed at this Japanese cinematic freakshow. Nobody does splatter horror drama like the Japanese. And the sexual fetishism . . . just, hold on to your seats, folks.
It’s a crazy future in the city of Tokyo, where the police regularly combat mechanized mutants called Engineers. Cut off a limb, and it sprouts anew, miraculously transformed into badass weaponry. Ruka is a beautiful cop, an Engineer Hunter with a samauri sword, and she knows how to use it. That’s a good thing, because this movie begins with an epic battle, and the bloodshed doesn’t stop there. It seems like it doesn’t stop ever, except during the “comic relief” of pop-style commercials for teenage cutters.
Visit the website or watch the trailer on YouTube**.
**Note: It gives away some of the better splatter effect scenes.
In an interview with Twitch, Director Yoshihiro Nishimura explains that since his youth the “distorted human bodies depicted in some of Dali’s paintings” have inspired creativity in him. That surreal and twisted sense of reality is evident in his work. If snail-girl doesn’t get to you, croc-girl just might. In order to develop the screenplay for Tokyo Gore Police, he revisited his independent film Anatomia Extinction (made ten years prior).
Yoshihiro Nishimura is well known for his work in special effects make-up, and Twitch also informs that Machine Girl director Noboru Iguchi (who directed the commercials in Gore Police) will be working with Nishimura on a new project called Drill Bra Sisters. I’m sure it both lifts and separates.
This was the perfect thing to see for a Saturday Matinee. It was utterly enjoyable and emotionally stimulating. Yes, I cried at a Star Trek movie. I also laughed and had a few scares, too. All good fun.
I’ve watched pretty much every episode of the original Star Trek TV series, plus the cartoon, and I was faithful to the Next Generation series. I think I’ve seen all the movies, though my memory is sketchy on a couple of them. I even watched most of Deep Space Nine, but by the time Voyager and Enterprise came along, I was pretty much Trekked out. Still, I reckon it’s safe to say I’m a fan.
Two standout scenes for me were the first attempt to destroy the Romulan drill and Kirk’s trek through the snowy wilds on an M-class planet. Space battles are great and all, but not really my thing. I like those little moments that create a memorable widening of the pupils and a sharp intake of breath.
You may recognize this Vulcan as the cold-hearted Syler from the TV series Heroes. He really embraced the true spirit of Spock as a character and the resemblance is uncanny.
Somebody said there was no evidence of strong women in the film. I disagree. There were plenty, but the only one with some time to develop was Uhura. I thought Zoe Saldana did an excellent job as the no fuss, none-of-your-business communications expert. Ooh and she’s in a juicy secret relationship with a certain commander!
This was the backstory that most interested me, and Chris Pine did an admirable job of portraying the brilliant but arrogant farm boy turned space crusader. Big props to Jimmy Bennet for being a kick ass young boy Kirk.
I didn’t recognize Karl Urban, but as soon as he came on screen I knew he was McCoy. All the right sass and brass for a Chief Medical Officer.
It was late in the film, and I’d almost forgotten about Scotty, but boy was I ever glad to see him! Scotty was one of my favourite characters, and Simon totally pegged him. It was gleeful to hear him say, “I’m givin’ her all she’s got!” You might remember Simon from Shaun of the Dead.
I always liked Sulu. He’s a good man to have around, because this Sulu carries one hell of a switchblade. It took me a minute to recognize John Cho (from Harold and Kumar). How fun to see him in this role!
Chekov is so freakin’ adoreable. That accent . . . what is it about that accent? Planet Wulcan. Kiptin Kerk. If he came over for dinner, I’d totally make some piroshkis.
