Double Bill Mini Musings: Undead Nazis and Crime Fighting Geezers...

Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead:
What's it about?
Picking up exactly where the first movie left off, Martin finds himself suspected of murdering his friends at the same time as having to contend with the General Herzog's growing army of zombie Nazis ... and as if that wasn't enough, now he's got Herzog's arm sewn to his body!
Who would I recognise in it?
Vegar Hoel, Martin Starr, Orjan Gamst, Ingrid Haas.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
"The sequel you did Nazi coming" ... if you enjoyed the over-the-top gore antics of Tommy Wirkola's breakout horror comedy you can expect more of the same in this more expansive sequel. It's arguably about five-to-ten minutes too long, but the increased scope adds spectacle. Do you want to see undead Nazis do battle with undead Russians? Look no further. Not only widening its scope in terms of scale, Dead Snow 2 seeks to attract a broader audience by including three American zombie fighters (while maintaining its Norwegian heritage). Packed with plenty of gore-ific gags (think Peter Jackson's Braindead, or Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2) and a bonkers attitude, Dead Snow 2 gives you everything you enjoyed about the first movie, but successfully builds upon it to serve up a heartier meal. Good.

Click "READ MORE" below for The Sweeney...

The Sweeney:
What's it about?
A no-nonsense, rough and tumble specialist police unit crack down hard on armed robbery on the mean streets of London.
Who would I recognise in it?
Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell, Damian Lewis, Steven Mackintosh, Alan Ford.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The idea of a skull-cracking police unit who call everyone "slags" feels a bit out-of-time for the 21st century, this after all being a movie version of the hit 1970s TV show, but it's boisterous fun all the same. It's a bit overlong, with a few extraneous plot elements in need of a bit of tidying up, but the brutish crime fighting holds lasting appeal. I've never seen the original TV show, and was only interested in seeing this movie because there was a Top Gear episode in which they crafted the final car chase sequence, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's not a game changer by any means, but it's a pretty effective slice of cops 'n' robbers gruffness. The centrepiece gunfight through the centre of London echoes the famous gunfight in Michael Mann's Heat, but the overly-smooth camera work goes against the energy of the scene. I'm usually calling for steadier shots in action sequences, but in this case the frame needed livening up - just a little bit - to match the intensity of the shoot out. That little quibble aside, The Sweeney is a stylish cop thriller. Whether it'll appeal to fans of the original TV show I'm not sure, but for the duration it was an entertaining distraction. Good, but circling Alright at times.