ZZ Top Live in Texas

The stage looks a bit barren. I suppose they haven't been piling up fortunes since there's nary a hit song or album nowadays. I'm disappointed there are no spinning guitars. The sound separation is also a bitch, with only the leads cutting through, otherwise it's a sonic porridge. The older songs do better, less cluttered and busy. On the other hand, the songs from "Eliminator" sound sludgey because of overworked bass amps and guitar amps. "Rough Boy" also sound completely flat without the drum machines. Less than searing first DVD release from the bearded ones and Beard.

Sukiyaki Western Django

Miike's blend of spaghetti Western and feudal Japan samurais. It works pretty much only on an action level, conjuring a Japanese "Silverado" rather than the beautiful visuals of those Italian productions. The plot is reworking of the Yojimbo and Fistful of Dollars plot, though it diverges. The dialogue is entirely in English, and throws up some oddly clumsy sentences and contextually misused idioms - "You're the second person I want to draw iron at", "I'm all at sea, I don't know". Cinematography is excellent. And the obligatory Quentin Tarantino cameo (he's a huge fan of Miike) is workable and funny.

Conspirators of Pleasure

My first Svankmajer, and a silent one at that. First got wind of him on the various film discussions on Music Babble and on George Starostin's other board. It's pretty alright. Jarring and unconventional, the pleasures sought here are solipsistic and inter-connected. Cool bat-chicken-man notwithstanding, I actually enjoyed the short film "Jabberwocky" more, with quirky stop-motion and nice music. The bits where the next-door neighbours torture each other's doppelgangers are at the very least unsettling. The postwoman stuffing bread balls up her nose and ears beggars explanation, though. Comes also with an inappropriate vintage porn opening sequence. Brothers Quay here I come......

Zombies : The Beginning

An interesting attempt to implant the Aliens story over the Lucio Fulci original. Cheesy as hell but also damn entertaining. The lead character, a chubby Asian Ripley, didn't get enough dough to get her kit off. The acting is atrocious but laughably so... The ending with the zombie brain extracting zombie foetuses is a sight to behold, and outdoes Teruo Ishii's nightmarish visions. Gem of a B-movie, replete with stock footage from "Crimson Tide" and a plagiarised soundtrack.

Halo : The Movie

Bit early for an April Fool's joke, isn't it? These are just cut-scenes from Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 on the Xbox and 360. Not to say it isn't entertaining, but there are skips in the plot due to the action sequences.

Resident Evil : Degeneration

More CGI movies based on games. The plot starts out promisingly enough, with a planeful of zombies crashing into an airport. It slowly degenerates into a pictorial game, though, with an insanely difficult boss zombie to beat. The plot is nothing to shout about, with the usual bad guys - guy with a British accent, crooked politician, Islamic terrorist. Ho-hum. I actually liked Halo's cut-scenes more than this.