Tag Archives: Woods

Off The Radar: The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

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Roze-Rating: 5 / 5

It’s everything a film should be, it’s fun, scary and the right amount of freaky. In terms of total theater experience Cabin in the Woods is the perfect example of how to execute that without taking itself too seriously. It is no exaggeration when I say that you will experience so many emotions just in the hour and a half run time. You’ll feel suspense, fear, laughter, disgust and maybe the odd “WTF?”. On the surface it feels and looks like a typical horror flick. There’s even the cliched group of characters you so often get in these type of films. We have the jock, the nerd, the party girl, the stoner and of course the black guy. But when we are introduced to them, we know something is off as they are all academic and actually care about their studies… whaaaat? Yes on the surface they look cliched but that first introduction to their intellectual personalities is what makes us care for them so much (you’ll see). As the movie progresses we get a real sense of the satirical approach to these characters and the genre in general which makes it hilarious but opens our eyes to the “logic” we so often see in these films.

What makes this film so special is it’s unpredictability. I mean if you judge a book by its cover then you probably wouldn’t think that with this film, even the film title is cliched. My advice when watching it is to have an open mind and enjoy the chaos. This is honestly the best horror flick I’ve seen and will be in my best films of all time list. It’s about time we got a truly innovative, fun movie. Mainstream film makers should strive to produce pieces of gold like Cabin in the Woods. If you’re still not interested in seeing this film, I have one word for you… “Merman”.

Hello Ladies (Season 1)

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Roze-Verdict: If you’re a fan of Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant projects then this awkward, cringy-worthy piece of comedy will find a place in your heart.

Hello Ladies follows Stuart Pritchard an Englishman hoping to find the woman of his dreams in the city of Angels, only problem is that his standards maybe too high for his own good.

Starring;

  • Stephen Merchant as Stuart Pritchard
  • Christine Woods as Jessica Vanderhoff
  • Nate Torrence as Wade Bailey
  • Kevin Weisman as Kives
  • Kyle Mooney as Rory

I was pretty psyched when I came across this show on the world wide web, finally a show where Steve Merchant isn’t cast behind Ricky Gervais’s shadow (despite his height). Seemed like it was a bout time that he got a chance to star in something as the lead. Merchant has this typical British brand of humor which I can’t get enough of, he’s charismatic and incredibly witty which comes through in this comedy. Although maybe not as confidently as his British shows, which is fair enough due to a new target audience. It would be completely understandable if an American was to hate this show because this form of awkward, cringy, comedy with and anti-hero is quite unusual. I just hope it gets the chance for at least a second season.

It’s more than just a comedy, it has a lot of sad moments due to its relatable theme. We get a lot of moments where we might think “I’ve been there”, I mean we all get lonely and this show brings out a lot of those unpleasant memories. Luckily we get the chance to repress these memories during scenes where we can think at least it wasn’t as bad as that (Merchant having to buy drinks for a group of strangers in his efforts to pick up a girl, ouch). I find the sad scenes quite humbling at times because I can reflect off it ultimately turning into something I value a lot in the show.

The jokes are smart and sometimes slapstick, very rarely cheap which is refreshing to see. I quite like cheap laughs because I laugh at almost anything involving genitalia so I don’t complain but when you laugh at something which you either have never seen or rarely see, it makes it a lot more funnier and you feel good about it after. At first during the first couple of episodes I didn’t quite like that combination of comedy and drama within a show but when you accept it then you enjoy it for what it is.

As for sub plots and other characters, they hold up well and have a lot of potential if season 2 does go through. I wouldn’t say they were all engaging in this season but if there’s laughs then a comedy is a success in my eyes. Of course we all have different tastes in comedy, but if you’ve never heard of Steve Merchant and you want a good “what not to do” guide to dating then this would be a good place to start.