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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Saw VII 3D (Film)

by Anthony O'Connor | October 28, 2010 16:02 | Edited October 28, 2010 17:04

While the graphic violence is there in spades, this is missing a decent plot or interesting characters.

The fact that SAW VII (or SAW 3D) is kind of crappy should come as no real surprise to anyone. Even the hardcore fans are pretty much just into it for the inventive gore scenes. The actual Jigsaw killer (seen in all-too-brief flashbacks, played by Tobin Bell yet again) was killed at the end of SAW III. Rather than use the Friday the 13^th method of resurrecting Jason (with a bolt of lightning in Friday VI) or Elm Street's various shonky rationales for bringing Freddy back - the SAW franchise keeps ret-conning the plot so a bunch of other folks are doing the killing. That would be okay if they followed Jigsaw's rather heavy-handed form of tough love, making people appreciate all they have by putting them through ingenious, grisly tests - but unless you've been following every movie obsessively (and we'll get to you guys in a second) SAW VII is a patchy, sometimes confusing experience.

 

That said, are you really expecting an amazingly fresh and ingenious journey from a flick with the roman numeral "VII" in the title? Even seasoned horror lovers will have to admit that the words "part seven..." are rarely followed with "... was the best one!"

 

So what SAW VII has: graphically violent death sequences. Intestines fly, heads explode and arms are torn off in 3D - and they really ramp up the kill count in this one with pretty decent effects, although the blood seemed a little pink and the 3D added nothing.

 

What SAW VII doesn't have: a decent plot, characters you care about and an ounce of credulity. This is so over-the-top and convoluted it's goofy.

 

Still, teenage boys, stoners and gore-hounds with low expectations may have fun. Anyone expecting a decent ending to the series will not. This, however, is the final SAW in the same way that Friday the 13^th part IV: The Final Chapter was actually the final one, ie. it's not. There are way too many plot strands left dangling - and questions raised in the final act.

 

SAW VII is just as silly and trashy as it looks. If you know that and still want to see it: watch or don't - the choice is yours.