RED...
Like a retirement age version of The Losers, which came out earlier this year (and also based upon a comic book), it's nothing special but it's a decent slab of fun at the same time. The action is solid, the plot gets the job done, but the real point in this flick is seeing the quality line-up of aging actors get their chompers into a bit of fun - the peak of this being Dame Helen Mirren, in a full evening gown, sternly pulling the trigger of a 50 calibre machine gun - and quite frankly, who doesn't want to see that?
Burke & Hare...
It's all true, except for the bits that aren't. Two of Edinburgh's nastiest historical figures are played for bumbling laughs in John Landis' return to filmmaking after a decade-long hiatus. It's obviously not going to have the cult following vibe of An American Werewolf in London, or the sheer farce-writ-large of The Blues Brothers, but Landis is clearly just out to have fun as he dips his toe back into the Director's profession.
It got an absolutely shocking review in Total Film (a mere 1/5!), but the vitriolic scorn poured over the two Williams is most undeserved. While it's not a real stomper of a laugh-fest, nor a real stormer of a horror flick (it was never supposed to be, aside from a couple of genuine jumps and gross-outs), it's - pardon me for using the term to describe a second movie in a row - a solid slab of entertainment.
Landis' 19th century Edinburgh is intriguing to behold (particularly for me as I was only in Edinburgh a couple of months ago on holiday), and I think the next time I go I'll be seeking out the locations used in the film. However, one of the real, and continuous, joys of the movie is seeing the procession of British comedic talent getting wheeled out for a scene or two each to fulfil all the side roles - again, it's clear as day that Landis is just out to have a bloody good time - to make a bumbling farce out of true horror, and that's exactly how Burke & Hare should be viewed.
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