Tag Archives: 2005

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw II (2005) Movie Review

October 19, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

This review of Saw II is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

Is Saw II genius for its opening scene, which alludes to the horrifying opening to Luis Bunuel’s surrealist masterpiece Un Chien Andalou? Is Darren Lynn Bousman making some commentary on how art repeats itself, making a bold self-reflexive statement about where the Saw franchise was headed back in 2005?

No. Okay, just checking.

Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is a father and a cop. That’s about all you need to know of his character. Lucky for him (?) he stumbles on Continue reading Saw II (2005) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Calvaire (The Ordeal) (2005) Movie Review

October 9, 2017 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

This review of Fabrice du Welz’ Calvaire is part of the New French Extremity Retrospective series.

Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas) is a singer. He wows crowds at retirement homes, but he wants to make it big. On the road to a big Christmas gig, his car breaks down in the woods. A man (Jean-Luc Couchard) in search for his dog leads Marc to an isolated inn run by a man named Bartel (Jackie Berroyer).

Bartel appears an honest, genial innkeeper. In the morning, he tows Marc’s van to the inn and helps to repair it. But he also Continue reading Calvaire (The Ordeal) (2005) Movie Review →

Box Office Most Wanted

Box Office Most Wanted Ep. 3 – Alone in the Dark

June 27, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Note: Heavy spoilers for Alone in the Dark.

Box Office Most Wanted is a series dedicated to discussing some of the lowest grossing films of all time. The list of films can be found, and are ranked according to, the Box Office Mojo list of the “Worst Openings – Very Wide,” which is to say the lowest grossing opening weekends from films released in 2,000+ theaters domestically (U.S. and Canada).

Alone in the Dark

Release Date – January 28, 2005
Production Budget – $20 million
Size of Release – 2,124 theaters
Opening Weekend Box Office – $2,834,421
Total Box Office – $5,178,569
27th lowest box office opening in a wide release ever

Oh, Uwe Boll, how majestic a creature thou art. Your movies are like nails on a chalkboard personified, and nobody will fund your next movie. You are cinema’s magical unicorn without Continue reading Box Office Most Wanted Ep. 3 – Alone in the Dark →