Film & DVD review
An intergalatic masterpiece
By Richard Purden  Serenity
Set 500 years in the future, Serenity tells the tale of the freight carrier Serenity captained by Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and carrying a crew of mercenaries and misfits who struggle to earn their existence by any work they can find — mostly illegal — while staying away from the Alliance who rule the universe and the cannibalistic Reavers who terrify it.
Among the crew are brother and sister Simon (Sean Maher) and River (Summer Glau) who are especially interested in staying away from the Alliance as they are fugitives ever since Simon rescued his sister from their experiments into her mind as she is slightly psychic.
Serenity — as some will know, though many won’t — is the spin-off from Joss Whedon’s criminally short-lived series Firefly which was cancelled two years ago.
Don’t fret — the movie stands wonderfully on its own two feet thanks to a masterful opening 15 minutes and crew introduction.
The beauty of Serenity is the fact that its being sci-fi is entirely incidental — it is an old-fashioned story of the good versus the bad with rich characters, crackling dialogue and a story you can get into. There are no lasers or warp-speeds just a group of people fighting to survive against immeasurable odds.
Smart, engaging and simply brilliant Serenity will appeal to Star Wars fans, John Wayne fans and everyone in-between. You keep flying, we’ll keep watching.
Marc Savage
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Summer Glau and Sean Maher.
Dir: Joss Whedon.
Out nationwide now.
Horror house’s shocking secret
 The GRUDGE
This is an excellent remake of the Japanese classic horror movie Ju-On.
Basically it’s a haunted house tale but with a difference.
Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer) stars as American nurse Karen Davis who has come to work in Tokyo.
Following a series of horrifying and mysterious deaths in the house she is working in she encounters the vengeful, supernatural spirit that is intent on killing all that it comes into contact with.
Now, Gellar must find a way to break this curse or become the next victim of an ancient evil that never dies but forever lives to kill.
Produced by Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi and with original director Takashi Shimizu directing the action there are genuine shocks, scares and horrors aplenty.
The first five minutes alone will have you jumping out of your seat.
Atmospheric settings and moody, dark lighting all add to the suspense that builds and builds until the final climatic ending.
Will Karen be able to solve the riddle and defeat the curse?
Get the DVD and find out.
This is a genuinely good horror movie and well worth investing in.
Phil Savva
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall, Bill Pullman, Kadee Strickland, Ted Raimi.
Directed by Takashi Shimizu.
On sale now. |
