Season Of The Witch (2011)

With Bad Lieutenant and KickAss as well as other stuff but mainly the above, Nicholas Cage was on a good streak last year. With forgettable tut like Season of the Witch, he may as well hope the skids are as cosy as when he left them.
I make no bones about the Nicholas Cage I Like on celluloid- the balls-out, pin-drop pupils, bad jokes, strutting, 'menk-tal' one,the sensitive but tough family man one can run the marathon.
Now I know the guy's got kids and needs to pick up a check but can't imagine he made that much on a film made in Eastern Europe and where Ron Pearlman is the second lead (no offence Ron. ); he decided to make this off his own back, that is certain.
I'm sure it has to do with the fact he likes all this swords and scorcery BS and I can take it, when it's done well but there's nothing at all original about this film- there's something about the church trying witches at the time of the Crusades or something going on.. I wasn't paying a heckload of attention. They have to transport a suspected witch to somewhere because... Some guff.
On the the other hand, a lot of goodly British actors are picking up a cheque like Stephen Graham and Stephen Campbell Moore and the whole reason for the rental, the man himself- Robert Sheehan. Honestly, i could tell this movie would be a schnore but I knew he was in it and well that was enough for me, but for some dumb reason- they're all talking in these generalised American accents!? Sheesh- what gives? They throw him no meaty bones and thereby he's grasping at straws for stuff to do.
But more fool me for expecting something decent from an obviously undecent film. This film makes Drive Angry look like A Clockwork Orange and Drive Angry was a greesy demo showing reel for hard R rated 3D exploitation flicks (I still think of it fondly)...

I watched Season Of The Witch (2011) on BluRay, via LoveFilm.
My 2011 in Movies will return with Howl (2010)...

Drive Angry 3D (2011)

To be honest, I don't care for the quote unquote 'good' or pure 3d movies like Avatar or Tron. 
You know what I'd say was the best 3d movie ever made? That Pirahna joint from last year. It was everything you wanted from a 3d ... anything. It was booby, gory, schlocky fluff and what's wrong with that? Life might not be bloodthirsty fish and fake tits but it's hardly a Merchant/Ivory production and who wants to see that in 3d?
So it is with no trepidation I visit the cinema to watch Drive Angry. I don't want to see kids movie-Nicholas Cage. I want utro whacked Nicholas Cage. The Nicholas Cage of Bad Lieutenant, surely the antithesis of all or any of his performances.
The good news is that this movie pretty much kicks any ass, it comes in contact with for the 1st half; it is a lot of fun to watch as shit explodes and 57 varieties of shit is kicked. The voluptuous Katy Mixon of East Bound and Down turns up for 5mins, Amber Heard gets to talk some great Tarantino-type shit; it's funky and weird but it's silly and fun.
William Fincher has never quite clicked in a film for me. I mean he's like the quintessential 'guy who was in that film I saw'- I can't remember any films he's been in but I know he's been on tons; he was the Bank Manager in The Dark Knight but after that I'm blank. Well, he's great in this- it's like he's found his niche as the quirky unstoppable tracker from Hell.
Also weirdly Patrick Luissier turns in a non-hacky bit of 'party & bullshit'. He started off as Wes Craven's editor and protégée but he did well here; looks pretty good- overlit sets.which are necessary for 3d and he has put too much story in the broth either. I'm beginning to learn that if you have a very basic story that you want to tell or 'high concept' as Don Simpson would have coined it, it allows you to do fun extraneous shit and then go back to the story and know you won't lose your place. But as you may have twigged, it like every fast ride- it's not long before you run outta gas. The film just goes to being 'by the numbers' and not the silly shit from earlier. It's like Cage can't keep up his kickass routine sits the last half out and they stop playing with the 3d too it seems. The 3d here is pretty aight not great, not bad. 
If you could go see it without y'all do that.
It was as good as I expected it to be and that's all I ask BUT there is one scene, which has to be one of the best of the year in terms of action and out'n'out exploitation. It was like 5mins of cinematic glory where sight and soundtrack click perfectly.
And that was a pleasant surprise...


I watched Drive Angry 3D at the cinema.
My 2011 In Movies will return with Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)...