Piranha 3D doesn't waste any time in getting to the meat of what kind of movie it is, opening up with Richard Dreyfuss reprising his role as Matt Hooper - that's right Jaws fans. Except now, instead of chasing sharks out in the deep ocean blue, he's enjoying his golden years in retirement: fishing in the middle of a lake, throwing back a few bottles of brew, and even singing to the familiar ditty "Show Me the Way to Go Home" that's playing on his portable radio. Life's good, until one of the bottles falls off the side and plunges into the lake. An underwater seismic event ensues, which creates a large fissure in the bottom of the lake, and unleashes hungry hordes of pre-historic piranha. An unfortunate position for Hooper, who soon becomes the first victim (or snack).
What follows is 85 minutes of pure popcorn fun, provided that you don't have an aversion to copious amounts of nudity and gore. Plenty of flesh is laid bare alright, especially in one titillating underwater sequence that pays direct homage to the steamy tete-a-tete Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon have in the 1983 film The Hunger - even going so far as to include the Flower Duet by Delibes. However, all of this exposed flesh eventually ends up becoming prime rib and flank steak for the piranha: meat-eaters in an otherwise giant fishbowl of a lake that's full of flailing human guppies. Featured in the cast along with Mr. Dreyfuss are Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd, Jerry O'Connell, and Eli Roth (director of Cabin Fever and Hostel).
In summary, I think Alexander Aja has made one hell of a creature feature with Piranha 3D. I thoroughly enjoyed my theatrical experience and found the "3D" aspect of it easy to visually digest - not a chore, where I'm straining my eyes to see the picture through a headache. While this particular film won't get any awards for writing or acting, I like that it embraces its nature as a B-horror tribute and never takes itself too seriously. Definitely worth the price of admission, as long as you keep in mind what you're in for: blood, boobs, and beasts.
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"This Summer 3D Shows Its Teeth"
So boasts the tagline I've been seeing in the Piranha 3D previews for months and, having just returned from a viewing, I can honestly say that it lives up to its claim - especially with Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero heading up the special effects and make-up, and Neville Page on creature design. Of course, I would expect nothing less from Alexandre Aja, whose previous films (such as High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes remake, and Mirrors) have made him one of the most exciting horror directors working in Hollywood today. In fact, he's so good I can even forgive that he helped write and produce P2 . . . but I digress.
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The Daily Grind
1 Comment
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Sunday, 22 August 2010 15:23
posted by John fenton
Dude - What's the difference between boobs and breasts?
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