Category: Film and TV

It has become a tradition for movie distributors to use horror films made outside of Hollywood as “filler” in the weeks without major releases. Thanks to this we have been able to discover some hidden gems of the genre, but the truth is that most of these films are garbage. In this review we are going to discover in which of these two categories The Devil’s Conspiracy falls, an intriguing film that opens in Colombia and other Latin American countries on May 11, 2023.

What makes it intriguing? The absurd but striking synopsis of it. The only way to do it justice is to put it here exactly as described in the publicity material for it:

“The world’s most powerful biotech lab has finally succeeded in cloning great historical figures with just a drop of DNA. Since then they have organized clandestine auctions for clones of Michelangelo, Galileo and Vivaldi at prices that only the richest can afford. This laboratory is in the hands of a satanic cult that stole the Shroud of Turin. In other words, they stole the DNA of Christ. They also kidnapped Laura, an American art history student, and killed a priest. The latter, before taking his last breath, begs the archangel Michael to use his body to avoid the unspeakable: the insemination of Laura so that she gives birth to the clone of Christ. A clone that would serve as an ultimate offering to the Devil to return to Earth to make a hell of a mess.”

We cannot deny that this exaggerated, absurd and convoluted concept immediately captures attention. This is a pretty ambitious movie in terms of its plot, but as you probably expected after reading that, the idea was too big for him.

Let’s make the conclusion of this review clear once and for all: The Devil’s Conspiracy is not a good movie.. His main problem is a misguided script that doesn’t know what to do with the characters, is full of silly dialogue, and doesn’t care one bit to offer any plausibility even within its absurd plot. They present the story in a very forced way, shoehorning in the most ridiculous explanations possible for what is happening at the most inopportune moments.

This lends itself to moments of unintentional comedy that make some moments of the film quite entertaining. The clear ignorance of the script about elements such as what is DNA, the Shroud of Turin and even Biblical mythology itself is hilarious due to the absolute seriousness with which they take everything.

The Devil’s Conspiracy is presented as a horror movie. It’s true that it has elements of the genre—including a “wow scare” that causes more laughter than fear—but it also wants to be an action film. The priest possessed by the Archangel Michael has no problem taking a shotgun to face the cultists and the occasional demon. The result is entertaining, but nothing special.

This is a US/Czech Republic co-production made on a very low budget. Surprisingly, it looks better than we expected. We’re unaware of director Nathan Frankowski’s previous work, but he and cinematographer Milan Chadima (Grindhouse, Hostel) do the best they can with their few resources to make the film stand out visually.

The introduction, in which we see Michael chain Lucifer in hell, is quite colorful.. We couldn’t help but notice the inspiration from the video game saga Devil in the design of the Archangel. The scenes in cathedrals, museums and laboratories have a great setting. The view that it offers us of the underworld is very limited, but at least it is distinctive. They even managed to fool us into believing for a while that it was actually filmed in Rome!

In terms of actors, we have Peter Mensah (300, Spartacus) in the role of Miguel, but their appearances add up to less than five minutes. Most performances are mediocre, but there are a couple that deserve a special mention. Eveline Hall embodies the wilder side of Nicholas Cage by playing the villainous Liz with delicious exaggeration. The protagonist Alice Orr-Ewing does the best she can with the lousy script. She excels at times when she is possessed by Lucifer and is allowed to work as if she were a mischievous deadite in a horror movie. evil dead.

The portrayal of that character also leads us to one of the most uncomfortable elements of The Devil’s Conspiracy. In the end, it can all be construed as anti-choice (or ‘pro-life’, as they like to describe themselves) propaganda. The bottom line is that even a pregnancy caused by rape can be a positive thing because “God knows what he’s doing.” This is just an interpretation, but we believe that most likely, the writers simply did not think about what they were saying could mean.

The Devil’s Conspiracy can be fun for the right audience. One who gets “the joke” and what the movie is trying to accomplish. But the truth is, most viewers will probably find it just ridiculous and unnecessarily long because it’s almost two hours long. If you are curious, we recommend that you do not spend money on the cinema and wait for it to reach a streaming platform so that you can see it in the peace of your home, with friends and a few beers.

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A few years ago it seemed that the final part of the adventures of Star-Lord, Rocket, Gamora, Groot, Drax and Mantis was not going to come true. In 2018, The US far-right used old James Gunn tweets taken out of context to convince Disney to fire the writer-director. Thanks to the pressure of his friends, Disney realized she was manipulated and rehired him. Finally, Gunn was able to offer us what in this review we consider one of the best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.

It was necessary to remember those events because of the influence they had on the production of the film. It’s impossible not to see Gunn himself reflected in the story when it’s about a group of friends coming together to save a team member they’re in danger of losing.

The plot of the movie revolves around Rocket. In the previous appearances of the Guardians, this character was reluctant to talk about his past and now we understand why. The tortures he suffered at the hands of The High Evolutionary they left him with enormous trauma and now that past has returned to leave him at death’s door. His friends immediately leave everything behind to find a way to save his life.

But this movie isn’t just about the furriest member of the team. During the mission to save him, the relationship between all the members of this family evolves. Each one discovers important things about himself and his companions. This is the last time we see the Guardians of the Galaxy in movies with this lineup and is a wonderful farewell to some of the most beloved characters in the space fantasy genre..

In previous films, some of the team members were relegated to a purely comedic role. Drax and Mantis, for example, hadn’t had much emotional depth in the previous stories, not even when they starred in their own adventure together. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 keeps up the hilarious personality clashes between them but finally delves into what they really think of each other. Nebula finds herself in an unofficial leadership position in which she must learn to better value her and Groot’s companions… well, Groot is still the link that binds them all.

Peter Quill and Gamora deserve a special mention. It is no secret that we are not big fans of the Star-Lord from the movies —curious, since the one from the video game like a lot—and that has nothing to do with how troublesome actor Chris Pratt can be. We considered him selfish and self centered even when he was being a hero. So we feared the worst from this movie in her relationship with Gamora and imagined him trying to force her to love him like the variant that died in Infinity War did. In fact, things start more or less like this. But surprisingly there comes a point where the two characters evolve and the perspective they have of each other changes for the better.

This is a general thing. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 begins by showing the worst in each of the team members, but then gradually reveals the best in them until it reaches a cathartic ending full of self-discovery. James Gunn knows how to fill his works with humanity and this is possibly the most emotional of his films. Prepare to cry, especially if you are an animal lover.

This is a good point to stop and give a content warning. The scenes of animal abuse in this film can be quite disturbing.. They do not show the worst and it is more than clear that all the creatures are CGI, but there are those who may not be able to tolerate them.

The cause of Rocket’s suffering is The High Evolutionary, which can be the cruelest and irredeemable villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the past, villains like Loki, Killmonger, and even Thanos himself have had elements that elicit some sympathy or even side with them, but this man is utterly despicable. Nigerian actor Chukwudi Iwuji (Murn in the Peacemaker series) plays him as an obsessive man with a god complex. He manages to arouse an unusual hatred for villains in this kind of movie and that makes him something special.

The other villain in the film is Adam Warlock and we have no doubt that it is going to be quite controversial. Although he is very powerful, this is not the cosmic entity from the comics. He’s more of a comedic character and for a good part of the movie we thought he was just here as filler and as a link to one of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 post-credit scenes. But at the end of this story it becomes clear what his purpose was. and it fits very well with the themes of not only this film, but the trilogy. Even so, we know that there are those who are going to strongly oppose the little that is reminiscent of the original character and the absence of his Magus counterpart.

We’ve been talking about the story, themes, and characters for a long time in this review, and we haven’t even touched on one of the strongest aspects of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3: its visual style. In previous films we’ve already noticed how much Gunn was inspired by ’50s pulp’ science fiction, but here that influence comes out in full force. The settings are increasingly colorful and bizarre, almost grotesque. Our favorite is Orgocorp’s Orgosphere, a completely organic space station that’s as fascinating as it is disgusting and full of fun and highly original visual details.

The quality of the CGI or computer generated images is also excellent. Some of the recent Marvel movies have been heavily criticized for lowering the visual quality and while some of these criticisms are exaggerated, there is some truth to them. Fortunately, this film looks incredible in all its aspects and although we love when it resorts to practical effects – not surprisingly, James Gunn began his career in Troma – the CGI characters look more realistic than ever. It’s impossible not to fall in love with young Rocket and his animal friends.It doesn’t matter if they are “false”.

There are few bad things we can say about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 in this review. We would have liked to have seen more of Kraglin and Cosmo, that Adam Warlock’s character had been better developed earlier, and that some scenes had more natural editing. Apart from that, it is excellent in all its aspects including its soundtrack, this time made up mainly of great 90s rock classics.

The Guardians of the Galaxy are one of the most beloved characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We know we’ll see Chris Pratt as Star-Lord again and I’m sure the others will eventually reappear as well. But if it wasn’t like that and this is actually the last appearance of him, we can’t imagine a better farewell.

We are all Groots.

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We have known for some time that Toei Animation has three projects in mind for the Saint Seiya franchise (The Knights of the Zodiac). Two of these three projects are already known to us. The first of these Saint Seiya projects is the CGI ‘anime’ series, which debuted on Netflix and later moved on to Crunchyroll. While the second project is the ‘live action’ movie called The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning. These two productions have their approach in common, as Toei Animation hopes to capture the attention of younger audiences.

For this reason both the ‘anime’ series in CGI —to a lesser extent in its first season— as well as the Saint Seiya ‘live action’ movie (The Knights of the Zodiac), take some liberties by adapting Kurumada’s original story.

So, taking into account the above, in our review or criticism we will know if it is worth giving The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning a chance.

The story of the Knight of the Zodiac

The story of The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning is a reimagining of the one seen in Masami Kurumada’s ‘manga’ that debuted in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump on December 3, 1985. In his screen debut big, the story of the Knights of the Zodiac movie centers on Seiya (Mackenyu). He is a young man raised on the street, who is looking for his sister Patricia and to live he participates in clandestine fights. In one of these fights, Seiya awakens a power that was dormant and alerts Guraad (Famke Janssen), who sends his army to capture Seiya. She is the villain of the film, who searches for all humans who possess “cosmo” and Sienna Kiddo (Madison Iseman) to prevent Athena from destroying the world.

Nero (Diego Tinoco) is the Knight of the Phoenix and is introduced to us as one of Guraad’s subordinates.

Seiya manages to escape Guraad’s men with the help of Alman Kiddo (Sean Bean) and Mylock (Mark Dacascos). When they are out of danger, Alman tells Seiya the truth about Sienna and tells him that he is destined to protect her. For hard-core fans of Kurumada’s work, the way the story has been reimagined in Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning—which is closest to what was seen in the first season of the CGI anime. — is one of the big mistakes of the film.

The good and the bad of The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning

Mylock, or Tatsumi in the original version, is proof that some changes are not bad.

As we said at the beginning of our review or criticism of the Knights of the Zodiac movie, this adaptation is made for those who don’t know the ‘anime’ or ‘manga’. With the above, we don’t want to justify the mistakes of the film, but without a doubt it seems wrong to compare it with the source material. Given that the main problem of The good and the bad of The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning It is not the new story, but the script and the rhythm of it. Additionally, some characters like Cassios (Nick Stahl) do not have clear motivations for entering into the conflict. This also extends to the film’s villain, who takes a back seat due to the actions of Nero, the Knight of the Phoenix, played by the American actor of Ecuadorian descent Diego Tinoco.

You may also like: Saint Seiya Next Dimension: the end of the ‘manga’ in chapter 118 could come with the announcement of the ‘anime’
Capricorn and Sagittarius appear at the beginning of the film, but the sanctuary and the twelve houses are not named in the story.

But it’s not all bad, the choreographies of the fights in the movie Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning —directed by Andy Cheng— without being spectacular, they stand out for having nods to the classic ‘anime’ effects, that show the blows with pauses on the screen or camera turns to give the viewer the feeling of power. Thanks to this, the Knights of the Zodiac movie does not fall into the error of the CGI series. However, this does not mean that we do not see energy attacks in the film. These attacks are executed with poses —similar to those of the ‘anime’— and on the back of the knights of Pegasus and Fenix ​​the constellation of each one can be seen. Like this one, there are several nods to the original work in The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning.

Seiya’s armor in the movie has an evolution.

Another of the successes of the movie The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning is the interaction between Seiya with Sienna and Marin. It should be noted that, in a subtle way in the film —as in the original work— the events try to somehow make Marin look like the protagonist’s sister. However, Seiya’s teacher would have deserved more screen time or a better background for her appearance.

Is it worth The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning?

The film features the participation of some of the voice actors from the original ‘anime’.

The Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya – The Beginning is a risky introduction of Masami Kurumada’s story to a new audience, which due to its short duration (137 minutes) has chosen to focus on its protagonist and the beginning of his path to be one of Athena’s protectors. With an inconsistent rhythm and script, the film ends up loading everything on the performance of Mackenyu —who really feels like Seiya— and on the strength of the character Nero or Ikki from Fenix, which in any adaptation of Saint Seiya steals the spotlight.

The film’s music —without reaching the levels of Seiji Yokoyama, composer of the original ‘anime’— complies and the use of ‘Pegasus Fantasy’ at key moments, along with other references to the original work, shows respect —which despite the changes— the production of the film has with ‘manga’ by Masami Kurumada. In summary, The Knights of the Zodiac Saint Seiya – The Beginning is a good starting point for those who are unaware of the history of the Knights of the Zodiac. However, if you are a fan of Kurumada’s work, we recommend watching this live action with an open mind or waiting for the movie to hit one of the streaming platforms.

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