Whip It (2009)

Title: Whip It (2009)

Director: Drew Barrymore

Writer: Shauna Cross, based on her book Derby Girl

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Marica Gay Harden, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Eve, Zoe Bell, Bruce Dern

Review:

Kathryn Bigelow, Penelope Spheeris, Amy Heckerling, Sofia Coppola, Sarah Polly, Asia Argento, Nora Ephron, Jodie Foster, Rachel Talalay. What do these names have in common? They are all women. Some of them are actors…and all of them are film directors! 2010 proved to be quite a year for the female director. Kathryn Bigelow, the director of The Hurt Locker (2009) swept the Oscars, taking home two of the most coveted awards, best film of the year, and more importantly, director of the year. This was an important win not only for Bigelow as a director, but for Bigelow as a woman. No woman had won the best director award before; this was a historical first for women and the film community in general.

Drew Barrymore being her own hero

And The Hurt Locker certainly deserved it! It was a great war film. Bigelow had the guts to go and film this movie on freaking location in Jordan, East Asia! But going back to Bigelow’s win as best director, I was personally extremely glad she got it because the film industry is an industry dominated mostly by males. And it shouldn’t be that way. Art needs to have equal representation from both male and females. They each have their own unique way of seeing things. A film made by a woman can be instantly recognizable and set apart from films directed by men. Case in point: Whip It, actress/producer and now director Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut.

Whip It is the story of Bliss Cavendar a teenager who doesn’t exactly know what she wants to do with her life. She is still a teenager, still in school, but she is looking for something that fills her up, something better then the beauty pageants that her mother makes her participate in. Bliss is looking for excitement and speed. Soon, while buying some clothes in a store, she bumps into two roller girls who are passing out flyers for their upcoming roller derby game. Bliss attends the game, she likes what she sees and before you know it she’s participating in the try outs for the team. Will Bliss’s tight ass mom allow her to participate? Will she try to control Bliss’s life? Or will Bliss make up her own mind about things?

So basically, this is one of those movies in which the character is fighting to stay true to herself, stay true to what she loves and makes her happy. The 80’s were filled with movies with a similar theme to this one, where the parents are stuck up tight asses, and the upcoming youngster wants to go against that. The parents want to decide and control the young person’s life, and the youngster will have none of that. Sorry mom and dad, but its time I did things my own way, you’ll survive don’t worry! Ill pay for my wins and looses along the way! It’s my life after all, not yours. I remember Tom Cruise playing a similar role in Risky Business (1983). Breakin’ and Footloose ( both released in 1984) played along with these themes as well. So you can add Whip It to that list of movies, where teenagers say “hell no!” to parents manipulating their lives.

The thing about Whip It is that it didn’t commit the same mistake that a lot of 80’s films of this kind made. The films from the 80’s always made the parents out to be ‘villains’ whom the teenagers always out smarted and ended up making fun off and disrespecting. On this film Marcia Gay Harden plays the role of the uptight mom who wants to control every step that Bliss takes. She is kind of hateful through out the film, trying to make Bliss become the next beauty queen U.S.A., but we also get to see why she feels this way, where she is coming from and why she feels the way she does. Bliss does lie to her at one point to do what she loves (Roller derby!) but then she comes clean and is honest with her mother, explaining to her that this is what she wants to do now, and that it’s an important part of her life. That even though she is not doing what her mom wants her to do with her life, she still loves, admires and respects her for everything she has done for her. The father, played by Bruce Dern is kind of like the middle ground, he loves his daughter to death, but at the same time, its daughter vs. daughter at one point, and he is stuck in the middle. He plays the role of the understanding father, who tries to make mom understand that this is more than just a game for their daughter. She means to take Roller Derby seriously!

Speaking of the game, my hats go down to Drew Barrymore for directing the Roller derby sequences with such aplomb. I mean, when the game gets going, and things start to heat up between the two Roller Derby teams, the camera is right smack in the middle of the action. I liked how Barrymore directed the action sequences, getting in there with the girls. You almost feel as if you are wearing your own pair of skates, going along with the girls. The girls by the way, are a tough group of chicks. Tomboyish and rough in nature, yet retaining their sexiness, amplifying their hotness by ten fold! By the way, all you guys out there, these girls skate on mini skirts. Just sayin’.

Some of the scenes in which the Hurl Scouts (as the girls Derby team is called) start playing the game were filmed with real life roller derby girls from the Detroit area, so that adds a whole lot of credibility to the action sequences. The cast of actresses playing the Hurl Scouts is composed of a couple of tough chicks like Juliette Lewis, who has a constant mean face on her, she plays the ‘villain’ of the group, though I wouldn’t really call her a villain. She’s just a 36 year old player trying to keep her place in the game. She adds a level of competitiveness to the game. Real life stunt woman Zoe Bell, who is best known for doing stunts on Quentin Tarantino movies (she doubled for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and played one of the main characters in Death Proof), plays one of the tough as nails girls of the team. To be honest, its Ellen Page who doesn’t seem to fit very well in the middle of all the tough babes on this movie. Page has a fragile demeanor, she doesn’t look tomboyish or rough at all, but that actually works in favor of the film, because she goes into the team none the less.

Zoe Belle in action!

This movie is one of those movies were mostly happy things happen. There is not a lot of room for sadness on this one, Page wants to be a part of the team, and she does. Nothing stops her, it’s like she drops everything to do what she loves, and she makes it. There is a moment around the last half of the movie where its non stop happiness going on, everything works for everybody, and everyone ends up happy. Drew Barrymore was certainly shooting for a film with a positive light vibe to it, and she achieved it. Though that doesn’t mean the girls win the #1 spot like in every other sports film. I enjoyed the fact that this movie promotes the happiness of “being number 2”, cause coming in second place is just as great.

Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

 

Director and Actress getting close and personal

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Title: The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Title: Wes Anderson

Writers: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach based on the childrens book by Roald Dahl

Starring (voices): George Clooney, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe

Review:

Stop motion animation films are a special delight for me as a film fan. They have been with me since my early years, going as far back as my childhood when I would watch those holiday themed stop motion animation films like Mad Monster Party (1967) or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964). Not that I’m that old, but these little stop motion animation movies get replayed a lot on television for years and years. I think they still get some air time during the holidays. But one way or another, stop motion has always been there. Even in those films that mixed both live action and animation. Films like Ray Harryhausen’s famous sword and sandal flicks like Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans (1981). Even well into the 80’s this technique was still being used in live action films to animate monsters and creatures like in Howard the Duck (1986) and Willow (1988). Robocop (1987) and its sequels did it a bit too.

Roald Dahls Book

But special mention has to go to those completely stop motion animated films. One of the earliest American stop motion animation feature length films goes as far back as 1954 with the film Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy. These films kept being produced, but not in large numbers. A lot of work had to go into making these animated wonders. And they were never released theatrically, most of the time, stop motion animated films were made as something to show on tv during the holidays. That all changed with A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). This film was the mother of the big budget theatrical live action animation film. Tim Burton conceived and produced it and Henry Selick directed it. After that film came out, it opened the doors to getting these big budget stop motion projects off the ground and getting theatrical releases. Across the years, they have been released to mostly successful box office results in films like Chicken Run (2000) Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the WereRabbit (2005) The Corpse Bride (2005) and most recently the unforgettable and visually dazzling Coraline (2009).

So here comes Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson’s take on the stop motion animation world. Anderson isn’t a rookie when it comes to using stop motion animation in his films. He used it to animate the strange underwater creatures seen in The Life Aquatic (2005). But Fantastic Mr. Fox is his first fully stop motion animated film. How was it?

The story follows the Mr. Fox and his family and friends as they try to survive in the harsh world. Mr. Fox brings food to the table by stealing from nearby farms. But soon the human farmers realize that it’s the foxes who are stealing from them, so, they device a plan to dig the Fox out of its hole. Can Mr. Fox continue evading the tractors and excavators, or will he eventually get caught by the farmers? Will his family and friends be able to survive?

I liked what Anderson did with this movie. Essentially, he took the story from Roald Dahl children’s book and adapted it to our times, twitched it a bit here and there to make it a bit more contemporary. He fleshed out characters a bit more and gave the film new opening and closing scenes. Its interesting how in this story, a children’s story, the foxes have to steal in order to survive. Things are so harsh, prices are so high that the main characters are forced to survive by taking from the big companies that are bleeding them dry. There’s a song that gets played a few times during the film and it goes like this:

Boggis and Bunce and Bean

One fat, one short, one lean

These horrible crooks, so different in looks

Were nonetheless equally mean

Boggis and Bunce and Bean are the big farmers, producing food for the nation, and bleeding the dry with the prices. It’s why they are called ‘crooks’ in the song. So in a way, having Mr. Fox stealing from them is justified in a strange Robin Hood sort of way. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor. And it is made clear early on in the film that the family is in deed a poor one. A poor but happy one. Still, Mr. Fox wants more for his family, and I can’t say I blame him. He wants more then just living in a hole; he wants to have a place of his own. But will the world allow him that? This is partially what this film is about. The film also comments on the food we eat. Is it good for us? Is that shinny apple in the supermarket really as good as it looks?

But, like any Wes Anderson film (and this is very much a Wes Anderson film) there are some family dynamics involved. It’s the one thing that has always united Wes Anderson’s films; they’re all about family in one way or another. On Fantastic Mr. Fox, there’s tension between Mr. Fox’s son and his nephew, who has had to move in with them because his father can’t take care of him. So there’s some sibling rivalry going on between the two children in the film. Will they ever learn to play along? Mr. Fox is the father, the group leader, the leader of his community, always looking for a way to lead his people to a better situation, but not always finding the best ways to go about it. What I liked about his character is that he was always coming up with some sort of a plan, always looking out for everyone.

The look of the film is reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s previous efforts. That’s the thing about this movie, even though its stop motion animated, it still retains that distinctive visual signature that accompanies an Anderson film. This is probably due to the fact that all of Anderson’s films are visually designed by his own brother, Eric Anderson. So they all have that unifying look to them. Anderson directs this film as if he was directing one of his live action films. His characters are always very articulate, very intelligent, even the children. Like the genius children from The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) or Max Fisher, the talented underachiever in Rushmore (1998) the children in Fantastic Mr. Fox are talented individuals; one of them is almost too talented, overshadowing in some ways the other, creating some tension between the two.

This was a very beautiful film to look at. Stop motion animation allows directors to manipulate ever single frame on screen more easily, so everything we see on screen is exactly what the director had in mind. These are puppets moving to Wes Anderson’s and Roald Dahl whims and ideas. And like any good stop motion animation film, this one is inhabited by many different little creatures that you can feast your eyes upon.

Is it too complicated for children? Is it too intelligent? Is the dialog too complex? You know what? I for once applaud that this film does not talk down to children. Honestly, I’m sick of children movies like Barnyard, where children are treated like retards, and everything is spelled out. Where the film is kept deliberately dumb, and we get the same old “believe in yourself” storyline. There are better things to teach our children then the dumb down crap shown in cineplexes. Same goes for regular films as well. You know what? Let the kids figure it out, let them use their brains more then they are used to. In the long run, they’ll thank you for showing them a film like this one. Never underestimate the young mind of a child!

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Title: The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Director: Grant Heslov

Cast: George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges

Writer: Peter Straughan based on the book by Jon Ronson

Sometimes, things that happen in the real world are a million times stranger then fiction. Take for example “The First Earth Batallion”. The First Earth Batallion was a secret U.S. Military group that was being trained to use psychic powers against the enemy! This group of soldiers was lead by a hippy/new wave activist/environmentalist Jim Channon. Basically, the U.S. Military gave Channon the okay to experiment with the idea of creating an army that could use mental powers in battle. Supposedly, these “warrior monks” were being trained to do all sorts of new agey bullshit like:

- moving things with the power of their minds

- phasing through walls

- seeing into the past or into the future

- talking to spirits

- having out of body experiences

- telepathy

- stopping the heart of an enemy with the powers of the mind

Of course, these soldiers never really developed any of these special powers (big surprise there!) and the project was shelved. I’m actually extremely surprised that the military actually went as far as they did with this whole stupid idea. They actually went ahead and bought hundreds of goats so that the “warrior monks” or Jedi’s (yeah they actually called themselves Jedi Warriors) could try and stop their hearts with the powers of their minds! There were manuals written, there were designs for special warrior monk uniforms, I mean, this thing got out of hand! Strangely enough, some of the psychological warfare tactics did crossover into real life practical use. The U.S. Army has been known to use psychological torture techniques that stem from Channon’s techniques and research. Like for example, the U.S. Army has been known to play the theme song to the Barney children’s television show for hours on end to Iraqi prisoners of war. But most of the other ideas Channon had to offer (like talking to spirits) were completely eliminated. A couple of years down the line, Jon Ronson -an English journalist- wrote a book on the whole thing which ended up being the movie I will be reviewing today. The Men Who Stare at Goats.

The book on which the film is based on

Basically, the movie follows Bob Wilton, an English journalist who decides to go and cover the Iraq war. While there, he encounters Special Forces operator Lyn Cassidy, who lets Bob in on his secret mission involving meeting up with the creator of the “New Earth Battalion” Bill Django. Will they ever meet up with Bill? Is this whole “New Earth Battalion” thing real? Do these guys really have any psychic abilities or super powers? Bob Wilton decides to follow Lyn Cassidy in order to get to the truth.

I found this movie really interesting for various reasons. Number one, I think it’s absolutely bonkers that the U.S. Military was involved in something like this. I mean, come on, talking to spirits? Phasing through walls? To me, this whole thing just proves one thing: the world is under the control of mad men! They actually spent time and money on this thing! In real life! But whatever, that point aside, the movie decides to take a very interesting route as well.

The religious leader of the "New Earth Battalion"

In the film Jeff Bridges plays the role of Bill Django, the man in charge of creating this new kind of warrior for the United States government. And in the film, he functions very much like a religious leader to this military unit. The soldiers have to repeat a prayer; they give themselves entirely to the guidance of Django, they have to congregate. For all intents and purposes Bill Django is their spiritual guide. So right there and then I said, the film is commenting on religion. On cults. Jamestown and Waco Texas instantly popped into mind. And its true, this is precisely what the film comments on. These men all put their trust in Mr. Django’s new agey philosophy and way of life. He tells them that they will all develop these special powers, that they will all be able to achieve these incredible feats, which by the way seem to come straight out of a comic book. But the unit goes with it, because they trust Django. They trust that he knows what he is talking about because he just seems so enlightened. Or maybe he knows how to talk a lot of bull crap really well?

George Clooney plays Lyn Cassady, the follower; the guy who’s put his complete trust in Django’s teachings. The guy who will do whatever Django tells him to. In many ways, Clooney’s Lyn represents the people who will follow a religious leader to the ends of the earth (something Lyn does in the movie by the way) and live and breathe by their leader’s teachings. One could say that Clooney is blindly following Bill, same way many people will blindly follow a religious leader. Cassidy reads fervently from a manual written by Django for his New Earth Battalion, kind of like the same way religious individuals can read from a holy book, like the bible, the Koran or the Book of Mormon. It is aluded in the film that Lyn was looking for something to believe in, and Django, through his New Earth Battalion, gave him exactly what he was looking for. Which is really what happens to a lot of people looking for spiritual guidance through a religion, they are looking for something to believe in, something to guide them and give them peace in this crazy world. Give things a purpose, an answer.

On the film, Django wants to promote peace and love in the world. In Django’s book, the planet and nature are number one. Peace is the real objective of the New Earth Battalion; their main objective is finding resolution to conflict through the use of non lethal methods. All of Django’s teachings are based on these ideals. In my book, these ideals that Django teaches in the film are good and could actually help make the world a better place. I’m all for peace in the world, the unification of the countries, the end of war. But why did Django feel he needed to link fantasy elements (or the "hippy bullshit" as they are referred to in the film) along with these ideals? Phasing through walls and moving things with the power of the mind are a complete fantasy and go in contrast with the other very real teachings he promoted. Teachings about attainable things like peace, love and unification of the world. This is the same thing that happens in some religions, like Scientology for example, where they offer you this whole way of life that can supposedly help you achieve all your goals and dreams.Unfortunately, if you read the fine print you'll find out that you have to also believe alien warlords named Xenu, and in ghost aliens. Oh and add time traveling to that list. Some religions offer people a new positive way of life. Many of them have teachings based on love and compassion, which are all great things in my book. But why do they feel the need to lace that with a bunch of fantasies that don’t have an iota of truth to them? This is something the film addresses as well, I won’t comment any further so you’ll come to your own conclusions after you see the film.

Free the Goats from their mental slavery!

George Clooney shines as the Lieutenant Lyn Cassidy. He plays his character in a very goofy absent minded manner; a guy who has gone a bit coo-coo with Django’s teachings. He believes it all to be true, and in some ways this helps him get through life, and in others, it doesn’t. He often times gets into a lot of trouble because he thinks he has these special abilities. But also, by just thinking he has them helps him as well. In this way the film comments on how religion can become sort of a psychological comfort cushion. You think you got somebody watching over you, you feel more confident, you dare to achieve more. That’s fine and dandy, but me, I rather rely on my own inner strength and confidence to achieve things then in some mystical invisible being that’s supposed there yet we never see or hear. I guess some people need that additional psychological back up, and all those perfect pre-packaged shinny answers to everything, so as they say, more power to them. I like to live with my feet firmly placed on reaffirming reality. You want to tell me that love, peace and companion are things we have to live by? Sure, Ill buy that for a dollar. Just leave all the new agey hippy bullshit out of it!

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

#1 Horror Anthologies over at The Death Rattle!

Fellow Blogger Aaron from the horror review blog The Death Rattle has been working in collaboration with yours truly, The Film Connoisseur to come up with the top five horror anthology films. We've been counting them down for the past five days...and now, finally we have each come up with our #1 choices for top horror anthologies! If your interested in seeing which ones we've been mentioning for the last couple of days, and our #1 choice, head on over to The Death Rattle and see which ones we came up with. Aaron gives his pick, and I give mine!

Let me just say its been great participating on this top five along with Aaron, its been a great experience, I hope to repeat it again some day, and hey, maybe I'll do one of these with another fellow blogger soon, so be on the look out for that. 

Also, look forward to a bunch of reviews Ill be posting this week, Ive been watching movies like a mad man and I will soon be posting some new reviews, starting this Monday with my review for The Men Who Stare at Goats. 

Thanks to all you guys and gals out there reading! This has been your host, The Film Connoisseur, reporting from the blogosphere, over and out. 

Dead Snow (2009)

Title: Dead Snow (2009) 

Director: Tommy Wirkola

Writer: Stig Frode Henriksen, Tommy Wirkola

Review: 

The Nazi Zombie sub-genre was never one of the best sub-genres in horror. Theres a reason why there are so few of these nazi zombie movies out there. Now, I don't think this has to do with people not liking nazi-zombie movies. I think it has to do with the fact that the nazi-zombie movies that have gotten made simply aren't very good films. For example, take Zombie Lake directed by Jean Rollin in 1981. The story with this one is that a group of nazi's were killed and buried in a lake. A couple of years later, they are revived and the come back to get revenge upon the town that laid them to rest. The problem with this film is that its so boring! The zombies themselves look like they simply have green paint on their faces! It simply wasn't a good zombie film. The cover of the film is a whole lot better then the movie itself, so I guess that says a lot about the movie. It was simply an excuse to show naked girls skinny dipping in a lake. The movie feels more like soft porn then anything else. Its the kind of movie that feels like it was made by a group of pornographers looking to get out of the porn business by making a legitimate movie. In other words, the film stinks. 

Another example of the nazi-zombie genre is Shock Waves (1977). This one was directed by Kevin Wiederhorn, the guy responsible for directing Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988). Thing about Shock Waves is that its considered to be the best of the nazi-zombie movies. Which is strangely true, but its only the best because the others that came before it were so bad. Shock Waves is a shockingly boring affair. Though the movie does have its virtues. For example the thing I like the most about it is the cinematography. Those images of the zombies emerging from the water are awesome! The zombies have these goggles attached to their faces that makes them look even creepier. One thing that Shock Waves got right was the look of the nazi zombies. But striking images aside, the films major flaw is its pacing. Characters end up in an abandoned mansion in an isolated island. A cool setting in deed, everything looks so abandoned. But aside from a spooky setting, and some nifty looking zombies, the film is so slow you will be bored to tears. One other good thing the film has about it is that Peter Cushing stars in it in an extended cameo. He is the one responsible for telling us the background story for the nazis. So, Shock Waves, though visually interesting at times is still not a great nazi-zombie film.

And heres what always bothered me about Nazi-zombie movies: they have such a cool premise, yet somehow they always fail to live up to it. Think about it, the supernatural roots of the nazi movement, the undead, those scary looking nazi uniforms. I mean, right there, you got all you need to make a cool movie if you do it right. Unfortunately, these nazi zombie movies always end up being a freaking bore. Another fine example of just how boring nazi zombie movies can be is Oasis of the Zombies (1981) directed by Jesus Franco. So in essence what Im trying to say here is the nazi zombie movies have never really been all that great. Until now. Until Dead Snow! Literally, without a shred of a doubt I can say that this is the best nazi zombie movie ever made to date! The movie isn't a masterpiece (for reasons I will go into soon) but it doesn't commit the same mistakes previous zombie movies made in the past. Its not boring at all!

Premise for Dead Snow has a group of friends going to the mountains of Norway for a little rest and relaxation. Basically, people start playing in the snow, they run around in their snow mobiles at high speeds, they have snow ball battles, you know, your basic "fun times" montage type of deal. While there, an old man comes into the cabin suddenly and starts telling the group all about this group of nazi's that were killed and buried somewhere in the area, and that its all real, it happened, and you better watch out. Your basic "these woods are haunted" "this town is cursed" type of character. Pretty soon, the old dudes story is confirmed. Nazi zombies begin to come out of their graves and attack the group of youngsters.

Anybody seen Ash? Wheres Bobby Joe?

First, Im going to go into the bad elements of the film. Which weren't really all that many. My main gripe with Dead Snow is that its opening sequences feel way to much like other movies. What I really want to say is that this film is sucking Evil Dead II's dick all the way. I mean, fine, your a fan of Sam Raimi and his movies, thats great kid. But do you have to shove it into our faces every five seconds? The script has characters referencing a bunch of films at one moment, talking all about Evil  Dead I and II, April Fools Day (1986) and Friday the 13th. Not to mention that the token movie buff character in the film is wearing a Dead Alive t-shirt through out the whole film! So this is the kind of movie that is constantly reminding us where its influences come from. And trust me, you will notice this director just LOVES Sam Raimi. The film follows step by step the whole set up for the Evil Dead films. Lets see: 

- Characters driving up to a lonely cabin in the woods and talking all sorts of bullshit along the way? Check! 

- Characters having fun in the cabin, drinking, making out with each other? Check! 

- The evil threat comes from the woods? Check! 

- The Cabin has a tool shed in the backyard, where the characters get among other things a chainsaw? Check! 

- A character chops off his hand (actually his whole arm) with a chainsaw because he was bitten? Check!

So these are just some of the similarities this film has with Evil Dead I and II. The film also feeds off of other famous horror films like John Carpenter's The Fog (1980). There is this whole backstory about how the nazi zombies are looking for their gold, and they will stop at nothing to get their gold. Actually, in that way its also similar also to the Leprechaun movies, but never mind that. So basically, this movie has a lame sort of back story to it involving gold hungry zombies. One thing I never got about movies like The Fog and this one is: exactly what do these zombies want with their gold? Go shopping for new nazi uniforms or something? But whatever, I just went with it because this backstory is really just an excuse to see some cool looking nazi zombies, and the mayhem that ensues while the good guys try to stop them. So, did this movie deliver in that department at least? My answer to that question would be a resounding "Hell Yeah!"

Dead Snow  delivers where it matters when it comes to nazi zombie movies! First off, the nazi zombies themselves look freaking awesome! The movie does take a while before the nazi zombies actually do show up. I counted 45 minutes before things really got moving. Thats the one thing I didn't like about it, you have to go through all this predictable set up phase of the movie (which pretty much takes 45 minutes to develop) before we get to what we came here to see: Nazi Zombies! But I tell you, once the movie gets going, it only gets better and better. This movie will have you cheering by the time it finishes. There is enough zombie mayhem to satisfy the biggest zombie fan (thats me!). One amazing sequence has the leader of the nazi zombies give out this supernatural yell that wakes up all other nazi zombies that are laying around buried in the snow! Suddenly were dealing with a freaking army of nazi zombies! Great moment right there. This actually had me clapping quite a few times saying "well done! well done!" The gore is simply fantastic in certain moments, you wont be disappointed there. 

One of the things I loved the most about this movie was the make up effects for the zombies. They simply look awesome. I think what makes it work is the black and white look they have to them. They are pale and have black bruises and blood stains all over their faces, plus, that nazi uniform simply makes them look even cooler. So in essence, this movie is very inspired by other horror films, and it shows, but by the time we get to the nazi zombies, and the mayhem that accompanies them, this film more then makes up for all its flaws. The film simply gets better as it progresses, till by the last frames you will be cheering it on. This film has set the standard for nazi zombie movies, who will be next in line to up the ante?  

Rating: 4 out of 5