Final Destination 3

“The people who got off the roller coaster are still going to die. Unless we can find a way to stop it.”

Riding a rollercoaster will never be the same again once you have seen the latest entrant in the Final Destination series.

Death has a plan. And we are all part of it, part of a greater plan. When someone disrupts that plan and death is prevented from doing it’s thing… death will do everything in order to finish the job and ensure that the balance of the universe is maintained. Now for the third time, death is foiled by a bunch of High School kids! That can’t be good for the ego, you can be assured that death is not happy.

Fans of the first two Final Destination movies will be familiar with the basic plot. In this film, Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is visiting an amusement park with her boyfriend (Jesse Moss), her best friend (Maggie Ma) and her best friend’s boyfriend Kevin (played by Ryan Merriman). When they get to the rollercoaster, Wendy and Kevin end up sitting together. Strapped in to the rollercoaster, Wendy then has a premonition of them all dying in a massive accident. She kicks up a stink and a group of the kids are escorted off the ride – her boyfriend and best friend are not among these… the disaster happens and everyone left on the ride are all killed. Wendy has saved their lives…but for how long?

“Look, if you ever have to come to my funeral, bring me a PSP or something. That way I'll have something to do.”

Attending the funeral of the first group, Kevin speaks to Wendy and tells her about the other two Final Destination disasters – the plane crash and the traffic accident and how those “saved” from disaster were later killed in bizarre accidents. Initially dismissive, Wendy starts to believe when she reviews the photos from that night which show signs of how people are going to die, at the same time, people start dying in the same order they were sitting on the rollercoaster.

Wendy and Kevin have to work together to try to save the others and themselves from being killed in the most horrific ways imaginable.

Director James Wong, who also directed the first Final Destination movie returns to the franchise and does a great job by keeping the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the entire film. From the opening rollercoaster disaster, the pace of the film rarely slows down. There is much here for both people familiar with the previous Final Destination films and those new to the franchise. Morbid but entertaining, this film could mentally scar you for life!

Enjoyable threequel which delivers handsomely on the demands of the franchise: an attractive cast, inventive direction, a dark sense of humour and increasingly nasty death sequences.


Mary Elizabeth Wanstead (from Sky High) stars as high school senior Wendy, who’s celebrating her imminent graduation at a local amusement park. However, as they’re about to board a rollercoaster, Wendy has a premonition that it’s a rollercoaster of death and freaks out, causing half of the students to get off the ride with her.

When Wendy’s premonition comes true and the rollercoaster kills everyone still on it, her classmate Kevin (Ryan Merriman) goes on the internet and discovers the events of the first two films.


Thankfully, franchise creators James Wong and Glen Morgan have returned for the third instalment and it shows – the script and direction are extremely inventive, ensuring that you’re howling with laughter, even as you cringe in horror at the increasingly gruesome deaths.

Wanstead and Merriman make attractive, likeable leads and the supporting cast create recognisable characters without descending too far into cliché. The effects are superb too, particularly the Rollercoaster of death centrepiece.


The only real flaw in the film is an ending that feels rushed and lacks the inventiveness of the rest of the movie. It also seems as if a couple of shots are missing during a crucial sequence towards the end.


This is an enjoyable threequel that delivers splendidly in terms of laughs, shocks and inventive death scenes. In addition, you’ll never go on a) a rollercoaster or b) a sun-bed ever again. Highly recommended.


Mary Elizabeth Winstead ... Wendy Christensen
Ryan Merriman ... Kevin Fischer
Kris Lemche ... Ian McKinley
Alexz Johnson ... Erin
Sam Easton ... Frankie Cheeks
Jesse Moss ... Jason Wise
Gina Holden ... Carrie Dreyer
Texas Battle ... Lewis Romero
Chelan Simmons ... Ashley Freund
Crystal Lowe ... Ashlyn Halperin
Amanda Crew ... Julie Christensen
Maggie Ma ... Perry
Ecstasia Sanders ... Amber
Jody Racicot ... Bludworth
Patrick Gallagher ... Colquitt

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Based on the series of books by Patrick O'Brian and directed by Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World follows the fate of the crew of the HMS Surprise - a British Naval ship on a frantic search for their adversary, the French Man O' War Acheron during the Napoleonic war.

Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) stars as Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, renowned as a fighting captain in the British Navy. The charismatic Captain rouses the patriotism of the crew while wrestling with issues of honour, pride, duty, sacrifice and loyalty. With the true passion he holds for his vocation, he consistently employs ingenious tactics to engage his prey - a much larger and better-equipped French ship.

After the French ship almost sinks them in an early battle, the ship's surgeon and Aubrey's closest friend Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany - The Heart of Me, A Knight's Tale) cautions him about letting revenge cloud his judgement. With the HMS Surprise badly damaged and much of his crew injured, Aubrey is torn between duty and friendship as he pursues a high-stakes chase across two oceans to intercept and capture his foe, refusing to accept defeat at the hands of the French at any cost. It's a mission that can make his reputation - or destroy Lucky Jack and his crew.

In the course of the Surprise's epic journey, the crew travel the world - from the coast of Brazil to the storm-tossed waters of Cape Horn, south through ice and snow to the far side of the world and across to the remote shores of The Galapagos Islands. A true camaraderie develops between the men with the help of rum, music and the regaling of tall tales!

Despite Peter Weir, it looked like it was gonna be just another big swashbuckler -- Stirring Grandeur made to studio order. Yes, it's a movie that rouses us with big epic shots of the great outdoors, and crowds of soldiers, and reverberating noises of swishing sea and clunks against the sides of the boat. But the characters are deeply involving: Russell Crowe plays Capt. Jack Aubrey, a British seaman determined and strong in his mission to track down a particular French battleship. The movie picks apart his obsessiveness, and while it admires the way he leads his men, it questions his growing ego and what the quest means to him the longer it goes on. In contrast, there's the Paul Bettany character, a scientist who in one extraordinary sequence collects nature samples on the Galapagos Islands, but has to decide what to leave behind as the ship is called once more into searching for battle. The arguments between him and Crowe don't seem like typical leader-and-subordinate confrontations, but have real philosophical edge, and are beautifully played.

Napoleon is winning his way across Europe and the British are trying desperately to fend off his advances. On the high seas, one British ship is following a French ship through the south Atlantic and fighting for survival in Peter Weir's epic Master and Commander: The Fire Side of the World.

Russell Crowe stars as Captain Jack Aubrey, commander of an erstwhile vessel filled with men whose devotion to country is inspirational. He is surrounded by an apt crew including his long-time friend Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). Together, they follow orders from the empire to seek out a ship named Acheron, thought to be trolling the Atlantic off the Brazilian coast. What the sailors find is a lesson in craft and seamanship.

There is a wide array of characters to be found. Crowe does adequately as the Queeg-like captain. Bettany is a welcome treat, giving the best performance in the film. Aside from Midshipman Blakeney played surprisingly well by Max Pirkis, only a couple of other characters develop beyond their stereotypical requirements. Lord of the Rings hobbit Billy Boyd is an interesting addition to the cast, as one of the more prominent crewmen; Jonah-cursed Midshipman Hollom is aptly embodied by Lee Ingleby; and Ian Mercer does a fine job bringing down the overadventurous natures of the ship's captain and doctor as the able boatswain.

Director Peter Weir, whose previous forays behind the camera include the lyrical Dead Poets Society and brilliant The Truman Show , is truly the master and commander of this bit of cinematic art. The film flows from scene to scene with little effort and his screenplay with co-writer John Collee is filled with highly technical and painstakingly researched material. Bringing his knowledge and directorial talent together has made Master and Commander an amazing, spirited journey into passion, honor and self-discovery.

The sets and costumes are of the same caliber as the ones in this year's other high seas adventure Pirates of the Caribbean. Likewise, the cinematography, sound and visual effects are spectacular. Weir has collected a wonderful cadre of artisans to create a world that leaves you feeling like you were a part of it.

The plot avoids being too cliché, clinging not to the formulae of the past but forging a new mold for the future. There is a sufficient amount of homage but it takes a back seat to the realistic and emotional breadth of the whole. We find these two men who have a devotion to one another and to country but each has a unique ambition. The doctor's impetus for adventure is to discover strange new lands and interesting scientific phenomena while the captain tries to follow command, risking the safety of his crew and his friendship with the doctor to pursue his white whale. Their tempers flare and a rift develops between and it takes a grave injury to break their opposition.

Master and Commander paints a vivid portrait of life at sea during the Napoleonic conquest of Europe. It also shows you that the war wasn't isolated to Europe but was present even on The Far Side of the World where the war had, up to that point, little effect.

Moviegoers will find themselves drawn into the story without effort. They will leave the theater feeling empowered by the crew's victories and failures. Master and Commander leaves its audience excited and impressed while simultaneously providing their bombastic and humanistic entertainment.


Russell Crowe ... Capt. Jack Aubrey
Paul Bettany ... Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon
James D'Arcy ... 1st Lt. Tom Pullings
Edward Woodall ... 2nd Lt. William Mowett
Chris Larkin ... Capt. Howard, Royal Marines
Max Pirkis ... Blakeney, Midshipman
Jack Randall ... Boyle, Midshipman
Max Benitz ... Calamy, Midshipman
Lee Ingleby ... Hollom, Midshipman
Richard Pates ... Williamson, Midshipman
Robert Pugh ... Mr. Allen, Master
Richard McCabe ... Mr. Higgins, Surgeon's Mate
Ian Mercer ... Mr. Hollar, Boatswain
Tony Dolan ... Mr. Lamb, Carpenter
David Threlfall ... Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward

Final Destination 2

After being the only survivor of the crash of Flight 180, Clear Rivers has locked herself away in the perceived safety of a psychiatric hospital, where she lives in constant terror that Death is coming to claim her, as it did all her friends. Clear may be considered crazy, but she's not wrong. Death is moving toward suburban Route 23, heading south. En route to a weekend getaway with her friends, Kimberly Corman watches helplessly as a logging truck careens out of control and loses its deadly payload, setting off a horrifying chain reaction that leaves twisted metal and dead bodies in its wake--including her own. A moment later, Kimberley finds herself still stuck in on-ramp traffic, with a line of commuters she saw die moments before. It was only a vision, but was it a warning? Shocked into action, Kimberly blocks the cars from joining the traffic on Route 23. The commuters begin to honk and complain--until Kimberly's premonition comes true. Death tears up the highway in a massive pile-up, with those left on the on-ramp narrowly escaping with their lives. But Kimberly knows it s not over. Death will not be cheated so easily for this random group of strangers who must join Kimberly in a race against time to do what all but one of the survivors of Flight 180 couldn't--stay alive.

"Final Destination" was one of those female-oriented horror films that many eighties fear fans despise. Very "Scream"-like. High on suspense and plot twists but pretty low in the gore department. Too slick for its own good, some would charge.

Throwing political correctness to the dogs, the sequel serves up one of the goriest mainstream Hollywood films in years, complete with bad dialogue, a ridiculous plot and terrible acting. The only thing it was missing was naked female genitalia to turn it into a full-fledged sleaze-a-thon. As it stands, "FD2" is a campy, mindless sequel that makes up for its lack of Wes Craven-like quality with Tom Savini-like quantity: plenty of creative killings. There's a beheading by elevator, torso slicing by barbed wire fence, death by ladder in the eye, someone gets squashed flat by a pane of glass, a spike through the brain … you name it. Ninety-nine percent of the cast doesn't make it, and the film is given a pretty large cast to play with.

At least it takes the events of the first film into account with its story. The lead character of part 1 is now dead. The events of that film have been memorialized ad nauseum by the news media, which is reporting on the one-year anniversary of the plane crash and subsequent freak accidents of the crash survivors who avoided death by skipping the trip. Now, a new accident has taken place: A bloody pile-up on a highway. A college-age girl (Cook) had a premonition about the disaster, and blocked an on-ramp, preventing a dozen or so people from becoming part of the carnage.

As in the first film, this only leads to a temporary reprieve from the targeted victims. Death has marked them, and is now killing them off, one by one, in freak accidents the likes of which haven't been seen since the Omen series. Eventually, our heroine gets a clue, and in an attempt to cheat death hooks up with the lone survivor from the first film (Larter), named "Clear Rivers" if you can believe that. She has committed herself to an asylum. Tony Todd ("Candyman") has another brief appearance as the mortician who seems to understand what's going on, but will only drop sadistic little hints about what the terrified survivors can and can't do in order to stay alive.

Even more than Part 1, the real star of this movie are the elegantly choreographed freak accidents. They take on an inevitable, comic flavor, and by the end of the movie have devolved into a total gag, but manage to carry what's an otherwise weakly plotted, poorly written movie. Director Ellis (who did second unit work on the Matrix series) makes up for lack of story by pouring on the gore and camp. Unlike Part 1, this isn't a bullet-proof, super-slick, "Scream" knock-off for the "Friends" crowd. "FD2" is sleazy and (literally) gutsy -- a flawed-but-fun fear fest in the tradition of "Jason X" -- only not set in space. Although it's ultimately a success, it does become painfully obvious midway through the film that the Final Destination concept only has so far to go. Hopefully, New Line will spare us another sequel, although given the box office success of this entry, that's probably wishful thinking.

Ali Larter ... Clear Rivers
A.J. Cook ... Kimberly Corman
Michael Landes ... Officer Thomas Burke
Tony Todd ... William Bludworth
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson ... Eugene Dix (as T.C. Carson)
Jonathan Cherry ... Rory Peters
Keegan Connor Tracy ... Kat Jennings
Lynda Boyd ... Nora Carpenter
James Kirk ... Tim Carpenter
David Paetkau ... Evan Lewis
Justina Machado ... Isabella Hudson
Sarah Carter ... Shaina
Alejandro Rae ... Dano (as Alex Rae)
Shaun Sipos ... Frankie
Andrew Airlie ... Mr. Corman