Movie Review: Doomsday starring Rhona Mitra and Bob Hoskins 

Despite its B-level campiness, Doomsday is a top-notch feminist horror/sci-fi gorefest. I haven't had this much fun watching a bloody flick since... well, since Director/Writer Neil Marshall's last flick, The Descent. (If you like gory movies - but still want it to have a feminist twist - be sure to check it out.)

For starters, Doomsday stars the fabulous Rhona Mitra as an ass-kicking military Major named Eden Sinclair. She is a bad-ass, chain-smoking military leader who pulls off the role with a haughty - but not whiny - vibe, managing to be beautiful without being sexualized. To top it all off, her character comes complete with a delightfully campy fake eyeball that she can take out, roll down a hallway, and make recordings of her surroundings with. It is awe-freakin'-some - in the way that only a campy, B-level sci-fi flick can be.

In addition to the blood and gore - which is so over the top that it comes off as hilarious rather than disturbing - there are several laugh-worthy moments throughout the film, not the least of which is a scene in which a decapitated head screams while sailing through the air. Marshall is, in a few words, the Tarantino of sci-fi horror, and - in a way - the Joss Whedon of the gore genre. This is not to say that his heroines are necessarily overtly witty or even girly - but it is very clear that he respects gender boundaries and doesn't use a gory movie as an excuse to demoralize women or to create a form of 16-year old boy torture porn. It is quite evident that he loves his craft and - in Tarantino fashion - Doomsday provides a very obvious outlet for Marshall to explore and pay tribute to classic apocalyptic films such as the Mad Max trilogy.

Overall, what impressed me the most about Doomsday was its lead character. Rhona Mitra's stint as Major Sinclair solidly established herself as one of my favorite female protagonists of all time. She was strong and smart, capable and honorable: the perfect heroine. And - most astonishingly - her character wasn't sexed up. She wasn't about tits and ass; she was about kicking ass and taking names. She wore a modest haircut, sensible clothes and shoes, and small stud earrings. And the only part of her body that was shown off was exactly what you'd see if a man had been cast for the role: muscles. (Damn, she's built!) And this is precisely what brings me to the point that Doomsday could easily be considered a feminist movie: at any one point in the film, the lead character could have been of either gender - male or female - with the exact. same. result.

How's that for gender equity?

Okay, so I'm not pretending that Doomsday is a miraculous movie. The plot - which revolves around a virus that kills off most of the population of Scotland and leaves behind some truly psycho human beings - has more than a few holes. But this isn't a movie that is meant to be intellectual; it is a film that must be seen for one reason and one reason only: pure, raw entertainment value. Doomsday isn't for the faint-hearted; if you have trouble watching heads chopped off, bunnies being blown up, rampant cannibalism, and f-bombs a-flying, then this isn't the film for you. Then again, if you're capable of going into the film with your eyes wide open, your brain turned off, and your sense of humor ready to go - then then you'll love Doomsday... camp and all.

• The Daily Dawdler Rating: A-

• Rogue Pictures, Rated R. U.S. Release Date: 03/14/08. Tickets available online at Fandango.com.

• Watch the Trailer: 

   

DVD Review: Beowulf starring Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone, and Angelina Jolie 

It isn't often that a movie is so bad that it makes me want to turn it off after just a few minutes of viewing. The unfortunate part for me, however (and, if you think about it, the good news for you) is that I have to keep on watching, regardless; that's my job.

Here, with the DVD release of Beowulf, this concept truly gave me a run for my money - as, like a bad accident where I can't turn away, I had to keep watching... even though it all made me want to vomit - and in more ways than one.

Let's count, shall we?

• The CGI alone was overdone to the point of distraction... and motion sickness;



• Gore and nudity abound in Beowulf... and not in a good way. Remember the Seinfeld episode that talked about the difference between 'good naked' and 'bad naked'? A CGI rendering of Anthony Hopkins's asscrack is most definitely, hurltasticly 'bad naked'; and



• Any movie that showcases a slobbering, bloodlusted monster that rips humans in half and then guzzles their blood is definitely, in my book, awarded a high yak factor.

Beowulf is at once visually overstimulating and intellectually dull. There is no story to speak of - and even less acting. The characters are just that: one-dimensional characterizations of the actors they once were, each worst than the last - from John Malkovich's smarmy character with a badly enhanced accent, to Anthony Hopkins's barf-worthy skeeziness, to the voice of Ray Winstone being slapped atop a CGI impersonation of an oaf who may as well be sputtering lines like, "Me, Tarzan, You, Jane," and, last - but certainly not least - to Angelina Jolie's character being reduced to a mere soft porn illustration. The movie would have been so much better if the CGI effects had been used in small doses. Instead, director Robert Zemeckis has opted to try for an effect that is utterly disconcerting: the characters look as if you could reach out and touch them - while at the same time harboring a vacant-eyed doll look that is truly haunting. As for the action of the film, gore takes center stage, while the dizzying special effects are just that: worthy of creating motion sickness in even the most stable of stomachs.

With that said, even setting aside my feminist sensibilities, this is one terrible movie. I'll give it a D (that is, instead of an F), but only for visual ingenuity. The rest, my friends, isn't worth the two hours of your life.

• The Daily Dawdler Rating: D

• Paramount Pictures, Unrated. DVD Release Date: 02/26/08. Available online at Amazon.com.

•  Watch the Trailer:

 DVD Review: Gone Baby Gone starring Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman

Gone Baby Gone, the screen adaptation of the book by the same name by Dennis Lehane (author of Mystic River), marks the directorial debut of Hollywood sweetheart Ben Affleck. Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Amy Ryan, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris, this film is about much more than big names and Hollywood influence. It's about Affleck making his mark as a serious Hollywood player - by giving audiences what they really want: true, real entertainment.

The story of Gone Baby Gone revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a little girl. Frustrated that the police aren't doing everything they can, the girl's aunt hires a small private investigation duo (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) to help out the investigation. Soon, the tale gets tangled in a web of twists and turns, truths and untruths - until it's final, tense end. Above all else, Gone Baby Gone will have you riveted to the screen as you try and put together the pieces of what really happened to baby Amanda.

Ultimately, I only had three problems with this movie:

• That Ben Affleck didn't get an Oscar nod for this fantastic first direction effort;



• That his brother, Casey, didn't get an Oscar nod for his absolutely fan-fucking-tastic performance; and



• That Michelle Monaghan was miscast. I love the actress, but wasn't buying her as the Boston native girlfriend-slash-business associate. I'm thinking that someone like, oh, I don't know... Ben Affleck's own wife, Jennifer Garner, could have pulled it off much better.

But even with that one small complaint, Gone Baby Gone is a fabulously scripted, wonderfully directed movie. The pacing is perfect; the perfomances spot-on. (It's no wonder that Amy Ryan, who played the missing girl's mother, got an Oscar nod for her role; she was perfect. And Casey Affleck's performance was simply riveting. ) What I love most about it, however, is that it feels real. The movie - from the story to the performances - made you feel, 100%, that you were right there: in the streets of Boston. It is raw and gritty, thought-provoking and intelligent... just the way I like it. 

• The Daily Dawdler Rating: A

• Miramax Films, Rated R. DVD Release Date: 02/12/08. Available online at Amazon.com.

• Watch the Trailer: