War for the Planet of the Apes (4 Stars)

This film takes place two years after the events in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes". In the previous film the apes won their fight against the citizens of San Francisco. Now they have a more serious opponent, a professionally trained army that's arrived from the North.

But this film shows further developments. The Simian Flu that wiped out more than 99% of the Earth's population has now mutated. It's making people lose their intelligence, starting with their ability to speak. A lot of thought has been put into the rebooted film series. It makes a lot more sense than the last three films of the legacy series.

The battle lines aren't as clear cut as in the last film. The soldiers aren't just fighting against the apes, they're fighting against one another. A second army arrives from the North which believes that the first army is infected with the Simian Flu and wants to destroy it.

Caesar doesn't want war. He wants peace. He thinks that humans and apes can live side by side. There's enough room for everyone. Unfortunately, the humans disagree.

Success Rate:  + 1.3

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Venom: Let there be Carnage (3 Stars)

The Venom films aren't part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Or are they? The final scene of the second film, shown in the middle of the credits, suggests otherwise.

When I saw it in the cinema last year I expressed great disappointment and said I wouldn't buy it on Blu-ray. That was an emotional reaction. I bought it last week as the third film in the Prime Day offer, buy two Marvel films and get one free. I would have bought it eventually anyway. I'm too much of a Marvel fan to skip it. I might even buy "The Eternals", if the price is low enough, but the price will have to be very low to tempt me.

I'll shorten the film's name to "Venom 2". It's a film that I really wanted to like. I was biased in its favour before I saw it in the cinema, and I'm still biased now. I watched it today looking for positive things to say about it. There are a few. Tom Hardy's acting is superb. The fight scenes are good, though not up to the fight scenes in "Spider-Man 3", made way back in 2007. That's about it. The list of negatives is much longer:

• The cinematography is dark and grubby.
• The presence of an ex-girlfriend (Michelle Williams) is annoying.
• The romance between Cletus Kasady and Frances Barrison isn't developed.
• The humour is excessive.

At least, I hope the interaction between Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote is intended to be funny. If not, it's just stupid. The symbiote repeatedly half-emerges from Eddie's body like a ridiculous sock puppet, arguing about what he wants to do. This never happened in the comics. The symbiote was in control and determined what was going to happen. If he wanted to eat a bad guy (or a good guy) he didn't talk about it, he just did it.

Venom should be shown as a cold-blooded killer. The film shouldn't be certificate 12, it should be rated R for violence. Film fans like to criticise "Spider-Man 3", but Sam Raimi got it right. He showed Venom and Eddie Brock feeding off one another's hatred. He also showed the symbiote as a Spider-Man imitator, an aspect missing in the new Venom films.

I shan't write any more about the film. It makes me sad just thinking about it.

Success Rate:  + 2.6

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Venom (5 Stars)

I should have re-watched "Venom" before going to the cinema to watch the sequel on Monday, but in retrospect I'm glad I watched them this way round. It reminded me that "Venom" is an excellent film, in contrast to "Venom 2", which is a mess. Marvel is losing its path. I used to feel excited whenever a new Marvel film was announced. Now I just groan. "Venom 2" was a new low point.

That doesn't mean that there aren't problems with "Venom" itself. Venom (the character) is introduced without any connection to Spider-Man. That's a shame, but I can live with it, because "Venom" (the film) is so good. It's a first class horror film.

Success Rate:  + 6.6

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Venom: Let there be Carnage (3 Stars)

I don't remember when I was so disappointed with a Marvel film. I enjoyed the first Venom film with Tom Hardly greatly, even though it was far removed from any connection with the comics. I expected the sequel to be similar, but it wasn't. The film is less violent. Marvel Studios have tamed down the character. The original film was a 16 certificate in America, whereas the sequel has a 12 certificate. The main problem is the humour. There's too much of it, especially in the first half of the film. Venom was never intended to be a comedy figure, a funny alien from another planet.

"Venom 2", as I prefer to call it, improves when it moves into the main fight scenes in the second half, but there are still repeated silly jokes. As soon as I got home today I read what other reviewers think. Interesting. Most say that it's better than the first film. I don't understand them. Did they watch the same film as me?

I'm in no hurry to buy "Venom 2" on Blu-ray. If it's shown on a streaming service I'll watch it again and write more about it. Until then, it's a film I'd rather forget. Marvel's next film, "The Eternals", is in the cinema next week. I hope it won't be as bad.

Unusually for Marvel, there's no post-credits scene, but there's a very important mid-credits scene. Don't miss it.

Zombieland: Double Tap (5 Stars)

I have to criticise the usually very film literate employees of Metropol, the cinema where I watched this film today. I walked up to the counter, and the girl asked me what film I wanted to see. I tapped the counter twice. The girl asked me again. I tapped the counter another twice. I repeated it a few times, and the girl was flustered. She said she didn't understand me. A woman standing at the next counter, who obviously understood what I meant, started laughing. I had to explain it. Oh well. I got my ticket in the end.

This is my 14th horror film for November 2019. It's a sequel to "Zombieland", which was made 10 years ago, although I didn't watch it until last week. I have to admit that I didn't expect a lot of it. Sequels are a risky affair at the best of times, but the longer the sequel is delayed, the greater the chance that it's a piece of junk spewed out by the film studios when they've run out of original ideas.

I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. It reunites the four members of the original cast, and they're as fresh as ever. No dates are mentioned explicitly, but it seems like they've been on the road for 10 years since the last film. That's necessitated by the ageing of Abigail Breslin, who plays Little Rock in both films. She was only 13 when she appeared in the first film, and she looks a lot older now. The other three actors could have got away with it, with the help of a good makeup artist. Come to think of it, Jesse Eisenberg doesn't need any help, because he doesn't look a day older than he was 10 years ago.

After the boys-vs-girls fighting of the first film, they now get on together. They settle down to live in the White House, which is a cosy family residence. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) even proposes marriage to Wichita (Emma Stone). It's time for them to settle down and raise little zombie killers.

When they finally venture out of the White House, the film returns to the main plot line of the first film: they want to find other survivors. There might not be many, but there are a few out there.

This is a fun film. At first I felt tempted to rate it four stars, but after sitting down at my keyboard I asked myself what makes it less enjoyable than the first film, and I didn't have an answer.

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I'd like to thank whoever it is who's been ordering items using my Amazon links in America. This morning I received another $30 Amazon gift card as my commission. I know it's not a lot, but I greatly appreciate it. I wish more people would do the same in England and Germany. Either use the links in my sidebar on the upper right, or click on the appropriate Amazon link in the box at the bottom of most of my film reviews. (Not this one, sorry). Then go and fill your shopping cart with whatever you want, and order the items as usual. It will make no difference to you, but I'll be paid approximately 5% of the purchase price.

Zombieland (5 Stars)

This is my seventh horror film in November 2019. Don't get it mixed up with "Zombieland: Double Tap", which is in cinemas at the moment. I'm writing about the original 2009 film, which I didn't watch until today. It's not a coincidence that I watched it. It was added to Netflix Germany for the first time last week, and I decided to watch it before I go to see the sequel in the cinema.

It's a fun film throughout, much better than I expected it to be. It takes place a few years after a zombie apocalypse has wiped out almost all of the world's population, or at least almost all of America's population, where the film takes place.

It's also a boys vs girls film. Woody Harrison and Jesse Eisenberg play two tough but naive men fighting to survive in a world full of zombies. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin play two scheming young women who use their female wiles as a means of survival. They manage to con the men not once, not twice but three times before they finally decide it's better to team up with them.

This is a great film that deserves a better review, but I'm so short of time today that I'll have to keep it short and promise to write more next time I watch it.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Venom (5 Stars)

In this film we're kept in suspense. We don't see Stan Lee's cameo until close to the end. In the 11-second scene he's walking his dog in San Francisco. Whether he's supposed to be playing himself or someone else is uncertain, but whoever he is he's knowledgeable. The few words he speaks to Eddie Brock show that he knows he's carrying a symbiote inside him.

The question can be asked whether we can have Venom without Spider-Man. The much criticised "Spider-Man 3" is a more accurate portrayal of both Venom and Eddie Brock. I miss Spider-Man in this film. He should have had at least a brief appearance. Maybe the next film will make up for it.

When watching the film on Blu-ray today I was aware of a B-Movie feeling that I didn't notice in the cinema last year. For a moment I felt inclined to lower the rating, but then I reminded myself that I love B-Movies.

The symbiote jumps from person to person, including Eddie Brock's ex-fiancee Anne. It makes her look sexy. Very, very sexy.

Tom Hardy is one of my favourite actors. In my eyes he can't do anything wrong. He gives an almost psychotic depth to the character. I hope he'll be allowed to play the character again. Nothing speaks against it. The film was a big box office success, which is enough to green-light a sequel.

Success Rate:  + 6.6

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War for the Planet of the Apes (4 Stars)

This is the third film in the new Planet of the Apes trilogy. It takes place fifteen years after the outbreak of the virus known as Simian Flu, which makes it five years after the second film.

The major plot development in this film is the development of the Simian flu. In the initial outbreak it killed 99.8% of the human race. Now it's having a detrimental effect on the survivors. Intelligence drops rapidly, beginning with the inability to speak. Military leaders are executing those who show these symptoms to stop the plague spreading, but they're fighting a losing battle.

After the defeat of the human community in the last film only a large army base is present in San Francisco, led by a man called Colonel McCullough. Caesar offers peace if they stay away from the woods where the apes live, but the Colonel is determined to wipe out the apes.

In a sneak attack by the army Caesar's wife and older son are killed. Caesar vows revenge on the Colonel, but he doesn't want to involve his people in it. He sends his people away towards Nevada and heads towards the army base alone. Three of his closest companions accompany him against his will.

It's just as well that Caesar separated from his people. When he arrives at the base he sees that the migrating apes have all been captured and are being forced to build camp reinforcements. Most of the film is taken up by the attempts to free them.

Of the three films the third film holds the highest critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know why. I find it slightly weaker than the two preceding films. Nevertheless, it's a competent conclusion to the trilogy. It still hasn't been decided whether there will be any more Planet of the Apes films. The decision will be based on money, and all three films were financial successes, but from an artistic standpoint it would be good to stop now. Look at what happened to the original series, which would have profited from ending after the second film. It's possible that a future fourth film could live up to the high standards reached so far, but is it worth the risk?

Success Rate:  + 1.3

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Venom (5 Stars)

When I go to see a Marvel film in the cinema I usually write a review comparing it with the comics on which it's based. Not this time. As was already clear to be from the trailer, this film is so far removed from the Venom we know in the Spider-Man comics that it's not worth trying to reconcile it with the comics. It's a completely different character who just happens to have the same name and appearance as Venom in the comic books.

Carlton Drake is the CEO of Life Foundation, a company that's exploring space in order to find new worlds for colonisation as a solution to the Earth's overpopulation. That's a noble goal. One of his spacecrafts picks up four alien creatures from a race of symbiotes. Drake sees the symbiotes as a key to mankind's evolutionary development necessary for space travel. The symbiotes need a human host to survive in Earth's atmosphere, but humans need the symbiotes to survive in space.

Eddie Brock is a television reporter in San Francisco. He loses his job after accusing Drake of wrongdoing in an interview, but that isn't the end of his interest in Life Corporation. He breaks into the company to find proof that homeless people are dying as a result of being used in experiments. A symbiote accidentally bonds with Eddie, giving him supernatural strength and agility.

In the comics Venom is a villain. The film portrays him as an anti-hero. He has an appetite for eating living humans, but this can be channelled by only eating men who deserve to die.

I was warned before going to see the film that it had received poor reviews. After watching it for myself I don't understand why. Of the ten members of the Stuttgart film group present this evening, nine of us loved it. This is a fun film with fast moving action. The humour is toned down, not as brash as the comedy in the official Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Hardy, always an excellent actor, plays the role perfectly. This is one of the best films of the year.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (3 Stars)

This film tells the story of Han Solo's early years, including his first meeting with Chewbacca. It continues in the long-standing Star Wars tradition of making films in the wrong order. It also tells us how he was given his name. His birth name was only Han, but he couldn't become a pilot for the Empire without a family name. The recruiting officer invented the name Solo for him.

It's partially a love story. Han is separated from his lover Qi'ra and spends three years searching for her. His love for her is the only thing that keeps him going. When he finally meets her the reaction is lukewarm. She's moved on.

Most of the film is full of fast paced action, guns blazing like in the wild west, but it slows to a snail's pace in the last half hour. It looks to me that the director wanted to slap on a few extra scenes to tie in the film with the rest of the Star Wars films. He would have done better to leave them out.

It's a vapid adventure, with a lot of action that will appeal to teenage boys, but not much of a story behind it. I can only recommend it to hardcore Star Wars fans. That doesn't include me.

Austin Powers: The Spy who shagged me (4½ Stars)

I admit it. The main reason why I decided to watch the Austin Powers trilogy this week is to remember Verne Troyer, the actor who played Mini-Me and died last month. The exact cause of his death isn't clear. Early reports claimed that it was suicide, but the official cause of death has been recorded as alcohol poisoning. The truth is probably a mixture of the two.

Some epitaphs written online say that it's wrong to concentrate on his size, he should just be judged as a man. I understand what they're saying, but it's impossible to write about him without mentioning his size. At 2'8" (81 cm) he was the world's smallest actor. Peter Dinklage (4'5", 135 cm) is a giant in comparison. Verne Troyer's height is what he'll be remembered for. That's an undeniable fact. But we should also remember him as a good actor. After seeing him at his audition Mike Myers was so impressed with Verne's acting ability that he rewrote the script to give him more screen time. How many actors can say that about themselves?

The first film takes place in the 1990's (1997), while the second film takes place in the 1960's (1969). Dr. Evil has invented a time machine, with which he travels back in time to steal Austin Powers' mojo while he was frozen. This mojo is the essence that makes Austin what he is, including his charm, his sexual prowess and his skill as a secret agent. Austin Powers travels back in time using a Back-To-The-Future-ish car to challenge Dr. Evil. He's at a disadvantage because he's already lost his mojo, but he receives assistance from Agent Felicity Shagwell, a swinging, free-loving sixties girl who is the exact female equivalent of Austin himself.

In the first film Mike Myers played two characters, Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. In this film he also plays the evil henchman Fat Bastard. Yes, that's his name. Yes, that's really Mike Myers. He's hardly recognisable under all that make up, body padding and whatever else was used to disguise him.

Because Dr. Evil's son Scott wasn't evil enough to be the successor to the Evil Empire a clone has been made from Dr. Evil's DNA. The clone is Mini-Me, played by Verne Troyer, identical in every respect except for his size. Dr. Evil immediately appoints him his successor. This annoys Scott, who now wants to try to be more evil, but it's too late.

I made a mistake in my last review of "The Spy who shagged me". I claimed that it was a blunder that Mustafa and Number Two magically reappeared after being killed in the first film. I should pay more attention. Mustafa was killed in 1997, so it's not a mistake to see him in 1969. It all makes sense. As for Number Two, he's thrown into a fire pit in the first film, but we never see him die. When he returns in this film he has burn marks on his cheek, so we can assume that he was somehow rescued from the pit. He might have burn marks in other places that his fine suits hide from sight.

Overall the film is just as good as "International Man of Mystery", but I have a few small problems with it. I find the humour with the Fat Bastard character unnecessarily vulgar. I also find it strange the way Elisabeth Hurley's character is removed from the film by the revelation that she was always a fembot. If you watch the first film you can see that this was impossible.

Verne Troyer
January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018

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War for the Planet of the Apes (4 Stars)

I went to see this film badly prepared. I wanted to watch the previous two films first, but I didn't get round to it. I've been too busy watching the fifth season of "Lost". That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

There's a lot that happens in this film, but I'll only mention one thing. The simian flu which wiped out most of the human race has evolved. It now has a new effect on the survivors. It causes the intelligence of the humans to decrease, including taking away the ability to talk. It isn't a gradual development. Anyone who is infected is changed within a day. This is a positive development, as far as the story goes. It's making the new film series prequels to the 1968 original film, "Planet of the Apes". This was canon, and so was its sequel, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes". After that everything deteriorated fast. Making money took priority over making good films.

"War for the Planet of the Apes" isn't intended to be the final part in a trilogy. It's simply another film in a series. A fourth film has already been planned. In an interview Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar in the films, has suggested that there will be five films, but the exact number hasn't yet been decided. Based on the box office success of the newest film there will be no financial hindrances to making more films.

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On another topic: one of my readers has sent me a message telling me that she doesn't find my reviews as good as they were a year ago.

First of all, I'd like to thank her for reading my blog so regularly that she can notice differences. I wish everyone would read my blog every day for a year.

Is it true that my posts aren't as good as they used to be? I don't know. Sometimes I read one of my old posts and I think, "Wow, that was good". Other times I read an old post and feel unhappy that my comments were so superficial. My blog isn't consistent. Sometimes I have a lot to say about a film, sometimes very little. Sometimes I give a detailed description of the plot, sometimes I fly off on a tangent and write about something totally unrelated. My early reviews, 2010 to 2011, were very short. I wrote more once I got into the routine of writing, but even now I sometimes write very little.

My popular post list isn't a reflection on which posts are my best. Usually more than half of the posts concern films that I watched over the last few weeks. It encourages me that my newest posts are the most popular, because that shows me that I have regular readers who check out my new reviews. Looking at the popular post list today, six of the posts are recent posts. The other four are probably successful as a matter of luck, because the posts just happen to contain the keywords that people are searching for.

I've written 2516 posts, including this one. Some of them are better than others. That's natural. I'm no Roger Ebert and I'm no Joe Bob Briggs. They're my two favourite film reviewers. All I can say is that my reviews come from my heart. If you read my blog you'll get to know me.

Austin Powers: The Spy who shagged me (4¾ Stars)

"The spy who shagged me" was the second and most successful film in the Austin Powers trilogy. Despite its box office success it was judged less favourably by the critics than the first film. The main criticism is that it was less original and repeated the same jokes. I'm sorry, dear critics, you just don't get it. Sequels to comedy films always repeat the same jokes. That's what the public expects.

Nevertheless, there are some changes from the first film. They're actually logical progressions. In the first film the actor/comedian Mike Myers played two characters, Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. In this film he plays a third character, the Scotsman Fat Bastard. In this film a new enemy is introduced, the miniature clone of Dr. Evil, Mini-Me. The relationship between Dr. Evil and his son Scott is further explored.

That's not to say that the film doesn't have faults. Mustafa and Number Two both died in the first film, but they magically re-appear in this film without explanation. It's not a problem that Austin's wife Vanessa turns out to be a fembot, but it's dissatisfying that Basil Exposition says that he knew all along she wasn't human. Strange. I find the character Fat Bastard so disgusting that he almost puts me off the film. Despite all this, the faults are only enough to merit the deduction of a quarter star. It's still a very good film.

Now you see me (4 Stars)

I've been fascinated by this film for over a year, partly because of the glowing praise from my guest writer Dakota. Click here for her review. I must admit that although I enjoyed watching it for the first time today I didn't see it as the towering masterpiece she claims it is. The film, which is about a team of dazzling high-tech magicians, does have a few unexpected plot twists, but I don't see them as the result of the viewer being distracted by magic. They're just normal plot twists, like the ones that we've seen in good mystery films for decades.

The scale of the magic tricks is staggering. While standing on a stage in Las Vegas they rob a bank in Paris and give the money to the audience. How did they do it? Morgan Freeman, forever typecast as a wise adviser, explains the trick to the police. The magicians are arrested, but of course, as skilled tricksters they have left no evidence to connect themselves to the crime. The magicians have to be released, but they promise to perform even bigger tricks and encourage the police to watch them. As they boldly claim, "The closer you look, the less you'll see".

Now You See Me [Guest Writer] (5 Stars)

Come in close, closer. Because the more you think you see the easier it will be to fool you. Because what is seeing? You’re looking but what you’re really doing is filtering, interrupting, searching for meaning. My job is to take that most precious of gifts you give me, your attention, and use it against you. Come in close. Closer, because the closer you look the less you see!

This is how the movie opens. These words will become a theme throughout the movie and will continue to run through your mind long after the movie is over.

When I saw the trailer for this movie I thought it would be one I would enjoy because of Woody Harrelson and Morgan Freeman. I quickly found out that the entire cast made this movie worth watching. Jesse Eisenberg and Isla Fisher's characters are stand outs in the movie. I had just watched 21 Jump Street a few days before without even realizing that Dave Franco was in both movies. This young man is the younger brother of James Franco and he is a delight to watch on screen. In my opinion he stole the movie in 21 Jump Street and while in Now You See Me surrounded by seasoned actors such as Sir Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo and the other 3 actors portraying the illusionists known as the Four Horsemen he stands out in his role. I look forward to watching his career in the upcoming years.

The plot of this movie is simple. An unknown person brings these four illusionists together to perform as the Four Horsemen of Magic. In their act they pull off bank heists and reward their audiences with the money. Watching the movie we get to not only be amazed by the illusions they perform, but by the investigation going on trying to prove they are criminals. I thought twice during the movie I had figured out who had brought them together and who was behind everything. It was almost the end of the movie and I had looked close at everything that had happened in the movie and in my mind this time I knew who was behind the entire plot. I had made a mistake they warned me about in the beginning of the movie, the closer I looked the less I was seeing. It was not until the person behind everything was revealed at the very end did I realize this.

I have talked about this movie non-stop since watching it and recommended it to everyone that will listen. It is a movie that will appeal to children, teenagers, adults and grandparents. I mean who does not love magic!! Just remember while watching not to look too closely.

Seven Psychopaths (4 Stars)

Marty is a Hollywood screenwriter suffering from writer's block. He's writing a script called "Seven Psychopaths", but apart from the film's title he has written nothing; he doesn't even have names or backgrounds for the psychopaths in his story. Marty's best friend Billy is an unemployed actor who believes in Marty's talent and does his best to encourage him. He puts a classified ad in a Los Angeles weekly magazine asking for psychopaths and serial killers to visit Marty to be interviewed.

That would be enough meat for a plot in itself, but there are further complications. Billy has a part-time job. Together with a partner he steals dogs from rich people and returns them for the reward, claiming that he "found" them. This works well until he steals a Shih Tzu from a gangster who hunts him down. Far from being scared, Billy suggests that the manhunt and the final showdown should be used as an inspiration for Marty's script. He drives Marty into the desert to witness the action.

At times the story is difficult to follow. It's difficult to tell which of the psychopaths are real and which are fictional characters in the screenplay. Even when a character seems to be fictional we later discover that he's based on a real life character. At first I tried to count the real psychopaths, but it got too complicated. In some cases one fictional character was based on more than one real life character. The film studios felt the need to name the seven and made the absolutely awful film poster that I've included below. The poster includes Marty (third from left) who isn't one of the psychopaths. Neither of the two women in the poster are psychopaths. I wouldn't classify the gangster (on the right) as a psychopath either, but that's arguable. Not that it really matters. It's still a good film, worth watching.

Natural Born Killers (5 Stars)

Believe it or not, I didn't like this film when I first saw it, many years ago. I found it too chaotic.Watching it today I have to say that it's the chaos that makes it appealing. My only problem with the film is that I have difficulty understanding portions of the dialogue. My DVD edition doesn't have subtitles to help me. That's wrong. All DVDs should have subtitles. Woody Harrelson's Texas accent causes me problems when he lets himself go, and Robert Downey Jr. just talks too hectically for me to follow him in the later parts of the film.

Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis play a young couple, Mickey and Mallory, who meet and fall in love. They then go on a killing spree, for no other reason than because it's fun. Their wild lifestyle makes them famous, and when they're arrested a live interview is arranged with Mickey only a few weeks before his planned execution.

Beneath the overt brutality and violence it's a love story, and also a commentary on our modern society. It's not unusual for killers to enjoy popularity. In the 1970's Andreas Baader and his fellow terrorists were admired by more than a quarter of Germans under 30. But the twist in this story is that the two become media celebrities. Director Oliver Stone and writer Quentin Tarantino are holding up a mirror to show how shallow television audiences have become, revelling in murder. Robert Downey Jr. plays the part of Wayne Gale, the host of the tv show "American Maniacs". After showing the slaughter of many prison guards and inmates on live television during Mickey and Mallory's escape from prison he willingly poses for his own execution to be broadcast live.

A beautiful film with supernatural undertones. These are obvious in the scene in the Indian's home, but there's something else that I wouldn't have noticed if not for watching an interview with Oliver Stone. In the prison scene Mickey and Mallory are led to freedom by an inmate called Owen. But this isn't the first time he appears in the film. He appears in scenes throughout the film standing in the background watching over the two killers and keeping them safe. He's not a guardian angel, he's more of a guardian demon. This is most obvious in the opening scene where he's sitting in a diner holding a newspaper with the headline "666 Deaths". He fades away before the killing starts. In the alternate ending Owen says he has "come out of the fire". He asks if he can accompany Mickey and Mallory forever, and when they refuse he kills them. (No, that's not a spoiler, it doesn't happen in the ending used in the film).

I love Juliette Lewis as an actress, but she seems to have "disappeared" over the last 15 years. Apart from this film she had two major roles, in "Cape Fear" (1991) and "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996). Since then she's been in a lot of films, but only minor roles. Maybe it's deliberate, because she wants to concentrate on her singing career? Whatever the reason, I miss her.

Click here to view the trailer.