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REVIEWSPREVIEWS: Jeepers Creepers 2
Two years ago, the original Jeepers Creepers arrived on the cine scene and in spite of a largely insipid script, it managed to draw attention due to some nifty direction and good acting. That movie contained some genuinely eerie scenes, succeeding in creating an atmosphere of dread. However, the sequel is a classic example of the sophomore slump.
A half-man, half-beast called the Creeper wakes up after every 23 years from hibernation and goes on a human feeding frenzy for 23 days. It’s day 22, and a busload of college kids ends up stranded on a deserted highway out of cell phone range. Come nightfall, the mayhem erupts with the Creeper selecting students as fodder at its convenience. The gore is kept to a minimum though, and there isn’t much else to the story.
The first film didn’t really focus much on the anatomy of the fiend. Yet the sequel allots more than enough time to the physical features of the beast, not that it contributes anything to the overall effect of the movie.
Jeepers Creepers 2 has managed to raise a few critics’ eyebrows because of the fact that it is directed by a convicted child molester, Victor Salva, and the beast happens to have an appetite specifically for young men and boys. This is the only publicity that this forgettable movie was able to attract.—Saqib Khan
Tomb Raider 2
Angelina Jolie is so buff in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, the creators could easily have named the film “Action Barbie.” Not only does she perform all her own stunts, but she looks like a Barbie doll while doing them.
In this sequel adapted from the video game, Jolie returns as the cocky, highly toned, British-accented adventurer Lady Lara Croft, out to rescue the world from an evil genius (Ciarin Hinds). She participates in computer-graphics heavy action sequences as she attempts to recover stolen artifacts, specifically a “Pandora’s Box”, which brought life to Earth, but was slammed shut before it could also release a plague that could kill mankind. The film’s title refers to the location from where the Pandora’s Box was originally found by an Egyptian pharaoh (clearly inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Throughout her adventures, Croft wears skin-tight, metallic-coloured jumpsuits that would make Catwoman blush. Just as Jolie further toned her body for this film, The Cradle of Life is much leaner than the original 2001 Tomb Raider. There are none of the slow-motion sequences of the first film, nor any filler scenes.
While the film offers nothing new, it’s a stylish adventure that should please the multitude of Croft fans worldwide.—T. U. Dawood
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