As you´ve noticed I have not posted any new reviews or interviews in a while. This is because I'm taking a summer break but there will be some minor updates, when I get around. The blog is meant as a hobby but I have reached a point where it feels like it's not just for fun anymore, I spend much of my spare time and a lot of money on the blog (only a fraction of what I'm reviewing are screeners, DVDs that I get sent to me or online screeners that I have access to, the rest I buy). Please note that the blog's not abandoned, but I will come back but I just need to think about what role it should play in my life.
/JL
Alex Lommo (Ville Lähde) is the toughest commando in Nato. He is an ex-commando since he left his job due to the personal reasons and went to his cottage to live in peace. However his old pal from army, Colonel Fägerlund, manages to find him and he has a new mission for Lommo, but a group of terrorist kidnap Fägerlund right in front of Lommo's eyes. Lommo decides to personally find out what is going on... Nato Commando is written and directed by Ville Lähde. There is horrendously bad acting, the camerawork and editing is pretty decent (in effect not good but not too bad) and I must say that the frequent use of slow motion is very annoying. Nato Commando looks very much like a group of friends got together and decided to try to make a feature flick on a shoestring budget and in that way it´s reminiscent of Reckoning Day (2002) and Dragonetti the Ruthless Contract Killer (2010) . The soundtrack is decent. The pace is pretty decent, the running time is 82 minutes, there´s heavy use of flashbacks and I suppose that the purpose of the gratuitous slow motion is to padd out the running time. There´s a lot of both intentional and unintentional comedy in this, and Alex might just be the most unfit commando ever to grace the screen. Nato Commando is very violent, plenty of shootouts, a few fightscenes and there is even a scene where a car is chased by a helicopter gunship. The action isn´t very good and the low budget is evident throughout the flick. There´s gore, some of it is pretty decent, as people get shot, cut, stabbed, pierced through by pitchfork and so on. There are some creature fx, I won´t go into details, the concept is cool but they sure look cheap. There´s plenty of computer rendered fx, used for helicopters, some explosions and so on. There´s brief topless nudity in this.
Support independent filmmaking and get your copy from Horror Shop .
This review is based upon the region all (Region 0) release from Trash Video. It´s uncut and english subtitles are available.
Rating: 1 out of 7. Nato Commando has many flaws, the bad acting, it isn´t very well made and the overuse of slow motion are just a few examples but it is pretty entertaining and is never dull. If you have a soft spot for trashy low budget action you might wanna check this one out.
/JL
Two brothers make a weekendtrip into the woods to their long-abandoned home. Shortly after arrival at the campsite they get ready for the scheduled hunt. But instead the hunters becomes the prey of an insane murderer. Limbless is written, shot, edited and directed by Daniel Konze. The acting is pretty decent, the camerawork and editing is pretty good. The soundtrack is pretty nice. The pace is good, the running time of this backwoods slasher is just 13 minutes. There is some build up but we hardly get to know the main characters before things start happening. The look of the killer is simple but quite effective. Limbless is pretty gory, the highlight is a well-made effect when a character gets his throat cut off. It´s all practical fx, some of it looks good and some looks amateurish but the viewer should keep in mind that this was shot on a shoestring budget. There´s no T & A in this.
Support independent filmmaking and buy your copy from Boredom Production , but be quick, it´s a limited release of only 50 copies.
This review is based upon the region all (Region 0) DVD release from Boredom Production, it´s uncut and english subtitles are available.
Rating: 5 out of 7. Limbless is the first release from Boredom Productions, it has a few flaws, it isn´t perfect but it is entertaining and showcases some of Daniel Konze´s potential as a filmmaker, I look forward to see more from Daniel Konze and his company and in fact they are currently working on a new short titled The Rise of Valhalla which (if everything goes according to plan) will be finished 2015.
/JL
