Nude Nuns with Big Guns (2010)

Title - Nude Nuns with Big Guns
Director - Joseph Guzman
Language - English
Genra - Grindhouse, action, nunspolitation (is that even a word)









"Who the F@*k are you" almost every cast member to Sister Sarah.



Right, today's challenge is to review this without having to to change my settings to the ones for a mature audience or offending too many people.
 
Sister Sarah is a nun who has been sent from her convent to a church in Mexico because she sinned, her sin was being caught with another nun.  Unfortunately the church she was sent to is involved with the manufacture and supply of drugs, and prostitution.  When Sister Sarah is caught trying to hide a pack of drugs she is given to the local bike gang who also run the local brothel were she is kept on drugs and raped until she is almost dead which is when she is given to the closest thing the bike gang have to a doctor to either revive or kill.  Mr Foo, the doctor revives Sister Sarah who tells him that she died and saw God who told her:
1) She was not read to died
2)She has to kill all those who are sinning in his name
So Sister Sarah sets out on a mission of revenge against the church & the "Los Muertos" biker gang.

I think I only remember about 5 scenes where everyone has all their clothes on (I'm not complaining, just saying), There's plenty of violence and more than one lesbian (I suppose that should be more than two, one lesbian would have limited appeal).

It is Questioned in the film whether Sister Sarah is really on a mission for God or the Devil or was she just hallucinating from all the drugs. Who she is working for doesn't really matter Sister Sarah is the closest thing 'Nude nuns with Big Guns' to a  morally good character, if you ignore all the killings and lesbianism (I'm not saying being a lesbian is a bad thing but in the context of the film , and as Sister Sarah is a nun it's a bad thing to the other characters).  The only other characters with any redeeming features are Sister Angelina who joins Sister Sarah and becomes her lover, Mr Foo (he may be part of Los Muertos" but he does try to help Sister Sarah and gives her her first set of guns so with out him it would be a  short movie), and a family who just happen to stop for gas at the petrol station run by Los Muerto, I think their there to show just how bad the gang are.  We are given more evidence that Sister Sarah is fighting on Gods side in to ways:
1) she is only ever hit by one bullet (& not at the end of the film as you may expect) but she manges to kill almost everyone whit one shot.
2) the closer to the end of the film we get the whiter & cleaner her habit becomes symbolising the righteousness and purity of Sister Sarah and her cause.

There seems to be a bit of an anti male theme running through Nude Nuns with Big Guns, the only two good characters are lesbians, with one exception all the bad guys are male.  Although both sides use sex to get information Sister Sarah is seen seducing Butch (the female owner of a motel)  and only goes far enough to get the information she wants where as "Las Muertos" have 'Kickstand who specialises in raping people to the information they want and the victim usually end up dead.  The (almost) final scene is also a pretty anti male (or at least anti sex) message that seems to imply that the source of all evil is the penis.

I do have to admit that I did enjoy 'Nude Nuns with Big Guns'  but it is defiantly not suitable for the young or easily offended & here's hoping that the 'To be continued' ending is followed through

Dead Hooker in a trunk (2009)

Title - Dead Hooker in a Trunk
Director - Jen & Sylvia Soska
Language - English
Genre - Action, horror, Grindhouse













One of the first things I noticed about 'Dead Hooker' is that none of the characters are named, the main cast are only known by their stereo type and the other characters are just know as what they are.


The film starts at a party which Junkie and Badass are at, but the story starts the following morning when Geek (Bad ass' sister) is asked to pick up her friend (Goody two Shoes).  After picking up Goody two shoes the group set off to pick up some drugs but on the way they realise there is a strange smell coming from the trunk of the car, when they look they find the body of a dead hooker and a lot of drugs, as Junkie & Bad Ass can't remember much of what happened at the party the night before they decide that they can't risk involving the police so head out to bury the body in the woods.


The four main cast each fill a role of a different stereo type, the Geek, The Junkie, The Bad Ass & the Goody Two Shoes providing a group dynamic that is always in conflict with the Junk & Bad Ass set against the Goody Two Shoes and the Geek but with the added complications of the Geek & the Bad Ass being sister's & of the Geek and Goody Two Shoes relationship


The Group are first pitted against each other when deciding what to do with the body, the Junkie and Bad Ass

want to get rid of it and the Geek and Goody two shoes want to report it to the police.  On the way to bury the body the group cross the police, the mafia & a pimp and are forced to work together (helped along the way by a guest appearance by God)


As 'Dead Hooker' plays out it covers the topic of  what is right, religion and the greater good all mixed with drugs, violence, blood, serial killers, sex & dead hookers.  'Dead Hooker in a Trunk' is over the top, from the main cast playing the typical movie stereo types & everyone they meet (except God) either trying to kill them or sleep with them to the amount of blood and injureys, but it works, no one really believes that hitting someone on the back of the head with a baseball bat would cause their eye to fall out and splat on the ground (we all know it would come out and hang by the optic nerve) but it work for the film, after all films are not real and 'Dead Hooker' is on the right side of over the top action.

The Host (2006)

Title - The Host
Director - Bong Joon-Ho
Language - Korean
Genre - Horror, Monster, comedy?













There are a few things you need to realise about 'The Host'.  You need to realise that almost every character is an idiot and they are meant to be.  You need to realise that the comedy is meant to be there, it sometimes seems out of place but once you realise it should be there and it's not over acting then you can appreciate it as a necessary part of the film.  You also need to know that there is a lot happening in 'The Host', there are 3 main plot lines which interweave the film, these are:
1) The monster
2) Hyun-seo's survival
3) The Virus
4) Gang-du & his family's search for Hyun-seo

All the plot lines link easily and, with the satirical look at Korea, make 'The Host' different to most of the other monster movies out there.  I will cover the plot lines to give a good look at the film.

1) The Monster -The Monster is mainly a plot device as a pose to an antagonist.  With the exception of the first appearance it is the presence of the monster that is used to move the plot along and not it's actions.
'The Host' starts off on a boat where a lab technician is ordered to pour bottles of formaldehyde down the drains which lead into the Han River.  This scene is never mentioned again and, as know one ever finds out where the monster came from it doesn't really add anything to it.  'The Host' really starts by Introducing Gang-du, his daughter Hyun-seo and his dad.  Gang-du and his dad own a food cart on the bank of the Han River and, whilst delivering food to one of his customers a shape is seen hanging off the near by bridge, as the picnickers watch the shape drops from the bridge and swims towards the bank and the on lookers throw food and beer at it.  The monster then come onto the land and starts chasing down and eating people.  One of the people it grabs is Hyun-seo, and that's almost it for the monster's rampage, we see it a few times and it is refers to but until the last couple of scene's the monster only really does one other important thing and that is...

2) Hyun-seo's survival - the monster does not kill Hyun-seo, instead it leaves her with some other body's in it's lair, it's not clear whether the monster knows that she is alive as it deposits a number of dead body's by her through out the film.  Hyun-seo spend most of the rest of the film trying to find a way out, other survivors and a way to get a message to the out side.

3) The Virus - After the first attack the Government & Army come to take charge, they are interested in anyone who has come into physical contact with the monster as, it is later reveiled, the monster is carrying an unknown virus.  This is one of the first scene's we are shown that it is not just Gang-du and his family that are stupid as the soldier who is trying to calm down the crowd decides that the best way of explaining what is happening to every one is to show them the news, we then watch as the soldier  goes through the channels on the tv only to realise that it is not time for the news.  The virus storyline is one of the main parts of the film and is used to show lack of communication between different groups of people and gives other characters a reason to dismiss facts that don't fit what they think is happening.

4) The Search for Hyun-Seo. Whilst being held awaiting tests for the virus Gang-du receives a phone call from Hyun-seo, this is the first sing that she is still alive.  Gang-du and his dad have been joined by his drunk, jobless brother and his bronze medal archer sister and they break out of the hospital to try and find Hyun-seo.  Hindered by the fact that a reward is put out on them and that they don't know where to look it seems unlikely that they will find Hyun-seo.

                                             *** Spoiler Alert ***
I don't like giving Spoilers but to continue this review I will have to mention some important plot facts so don't read on if you haven't seen the film.

As I've said all the characters except Hyun-seo are stupid, they all have their own ideas of what is happening & what needs to be done, the only charater that knows he is stupid is Gang-du and he is the only one who is right, but know one believes him.

Apart from Gung-du and his family there is the medical team who are looking into the virus, the American army who thing the Koreans are handling the monster and virus wrong and there are three sets of the public, the ones hunting Gang-du for the reward, the ones protesting against the American army's decision to use 'Agent Yellow' to stop the monster.  and the people who panic when some one sneezes after it is broadcast that there is an unknow virus on the loose.

The Korean and American army are so sure that know one has survived the monster attack that they are prepared to ignore the physical evidence of Hyun-seo's phone call.  In the same way the medical team are so convinced that even when they can not find the virus in the victims body's they can not accept that there is not actually a virus.  With all the different sides contradicting each other and the fact that only people who can actually see that there are survivors are idiots the search for Hyun-seo is continually delayed so that by the end of the film the  monster has ran off with Hyun-seo and the only other survivor, the American army release a toxin on an area full of protesters and Gang-du and his family are left to fight the monster alone.

It took me a bit of time to understand the the comedy aspect of the film was meant to be there but the film swing from high emotion to comedy slapstick which actually increases the emotional impact.

When I first saw the monster I thought it was a bit to much 'CG' almost cartoony but as it is only seen in full at the beginning it does not take anything away from the film.

The only other point on this film is what is the Host of the title, is it the monster who is keeping Hyun-seo in its lair or is it Gang-du who is the host of the none existent virus?