The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children. Please see my previous post on why films of this ilk are reviewed on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online.
Carriers (2009), PG-13
GENRE: Horror, Science Fiction
ACTORS: Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Emily VanCamp, Kiernan Shipka , Christopher Meloni, Dale Malley, Stacy Marie Warden, Dylan Kenin, Josh Berry
RATING: PG-13
PARENTAL NOTE:Not intended for children. Bad language and questionable situations. Violence.
INTENDED AUDIENCE:This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others.
GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) Uncle Josh1 once quipped that all paths lead to the grave. In CARRIERS, as in THE ROAD (another recently released on DVD end of the world story), it turns out that ALMOST ALL paths and/or roads lead to the grave.2 However, ALL paths do seem to lead to the beach. The plot of CARRIERS isn’t so exceptional. Four people on a road trip to the Pacific Ocean try to avoid catching a highly contagious virus which has killed off most of the human population. Their adventures, reactions, and the folks they meet along the path make an entertaining tale.
Cal Stewart (1856-1919) was a pioneer in vaudeville and early sound recordings. He is best remembered for his comic monologues in which he played “Uncle Josh” Weathersby, a resident of a mythical New England farming town called “Punkin Center.” ↩
Of course, no one in these movies literally makes to an actual grave. The people who die mainly just drop and rot where the body lies (instances of cannibalism excluded). ↩
The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children, and probably not for most other people either. Actually, I had strong reservations about even posting this review, for reasons mentioned below. Suffice it to say, this movie has a lot of moral problems. Please see my previous post on why films of this ilk are reviewed on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online.
Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette
GENRE: Thriller / Action
ACTORS: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Saul Rubinek, Bronson Pinchot, Michael Rapaport, Tom Sizemore. Also a brief appearance by the top grossing actor of all time, Samuel L. Jackson.
PARENTAL NOTE:Not intended for children or teenagers. Bad language and questionable situations. Violence. Sex. Gangsters. Prostitution. Drug usage and sale. Brief nudity. If you can think of any other bad element found in movies, it’s probably in TRUE ROMANCE too, and I just forgot to mention it. The overriding message in this film is: Crime Pays!
INTENDED AUDIENCE:This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and will almost certainly not be appreciated by others. I’m sure the film makers think this movie is appropriate for adults. I’m not sure that it is.
GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) The two leading characters (played by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette) meet in a theater, sleep together that night and get married the next day. They end up with a suitcase full of drugs and are on the run, a half step ahead of the gangsters whose drugs they stole, and the cops.
REVIEW: This film has a lot to offer for fans of the genre. Lots of action. Shooting, fights, reckless car driving, etc. The acting is superb. My review standards are much more foregiving than most Christian film critics. I can look past the cursing (almost non-stop in this movie). I can look past the gratuitous violence, which is, again, almost non-stop. I can see past the initial illicit relationship. Whether their marriage the first day after meeting “cures” the immoral relationship, or just compounds it, is debatable. This film has some really evil characters, balanced by some really likable characters. There are even some characters we can both love and hate. The problem presented with this film is that even the really “nice” people are drug dealers. And without giving any spoilers, it’s fair to say that their life of crime definately DID PAY! This is just the sort of film that respectible Christians say Hollywood should not make. For good reason–it’s trash. Yet, even as trash, it is2 completely entertaining.
RECOMMENDATION:This is an “Action” movie. Many people will be highly offended by every movie in this genre because of the violence, bad language and other questionable elements, as mentioned above. Except for the extreme bad moral message that crime does pay, I could easily rate this movie with 4 or 5 stars. As it is, I’m hard pressed to recommend it for your casual viewing at all.
RATING (out of 5 stars):★★★★★
MOVIE RATING SYSTEM:
Start with zero (0) out of five (5) possible STARS
Add one STAR if it looks like the movie was made by professional film makers–not 4 or 5 guys with a camcorder.
Add one STAR if the film has a story, theme or plot (optional for horror and/or zombie movies); or if the movie makes any sense.
Add additional STARS for special effects, acting, good moral message(s), realistic zombies, scariness, interesting theme or plot and the like.
Subtract STARS for extreme bad acting, COMPLETELY awful themes/messages, overall INCREDIBLE trashiness, graphic and persistent lewdness, and the like.
The “Director’s Cut” which I rented from Netflix was UNRATED. ↩
The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children, and probably not for most other people either. Please see my previous post on why zombie films are reviewed on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online. HOWEVER, even as a fan of the zombie genre, my advice on this movie is, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!
Zombies of Mass Destruction
GENRE: Hard to say. It’s an Anti-Christian rant with a zombie theme.
ACTORS: Janette Armand, Doug Fahl, Cooper Hopkins, Bill Johns, Russell Hodgkinson, Ali Hamedani, Cornelia Moore, James Mesher, Linda Jensen, Victoria Drake
RATING: R
PARENTAL NOTE:Not intended for children. Bad language and questionable situations. Violence. Offensive to several groups, including a strong anti-Christian theme.
INTENDED AUDIENCE:This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others.
GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) The usual. There is no real plot to speak of in Zombies of Mass Destruction, although having a plot is generally not a prerequisite to a good zombie movie. Zombies get loose. The surviving humans cope. Most of them get bit and turn into zombies. A few get disemboweled in classic zombie fashion.
REVIEW: I am a Christian who loves zombie movies. However, this film is not so much a zombie movie, as it is an Anti-Christian rant, with a zombie theme. Seriously, you can’t be too thin-skinned if you want to enjoy zombie movies. Many zombie movies depict characters questioning their faith, or have some less than flattering reference to the church. However, in the case of Zombies of Mass Destruction most of the movie is devoted to showing how bad and evil Christians are; and to demonstrate that neither Christians nor Christ Himself have any relevance or worth. Continue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: Zombies of Mass Destruction (2009)”
