Dr. Lamb & Corpse Bride

Dr. Lamb is a movie I've been meaning to see since I first heard about it back in college. Which is strange that it took so long to actually get to it. However, maybe I should have waited a little longer. It was brought up in my true film class, as it's based on a true story of Hong Kong's first serial killer. And it was made in the heyday of Category III shockers. So there's a lot of nudity and gore, but this one adds in necrophilia. So yay for that, I guess. Considering how crappy the movie looks, how terrible the subtitles were (admittedly, it was an all-region DVD, so it clearly was not translated by someone for whom English was their first language), and how misogynistic the movie is (a recurring theme throughout Category III Hong Kong films), the only thing that makes it worth watching (unless you like severed breasts) is Simon Yam, who is very good as the over-the-top killer. Well, depending on your ability to handle crazy, you might think he's terrible. But for a Hong Kong film, he's actually occasionally restrained. Which is almost all you need in a movie like this. Also, what the hell's up with the title? I seem to have entirely missed the reason for it being called Dr. Lamb (apparently, the character is named Lam, which gives sort of half the title). And I just wanted to say that if you're going to use a camera on a tripod, don't act like there's a cameraman who's moving around during a murder scene video when you actually know that the murderer is alone with the victim and a camera on a tripod. Seriously, that just takes me out of a film. Pay attention and try not to screw up. Oh, and seriously, was that child porn? I think it was. What the hell?

Corpse Bride is a very different brand of horror, in that it's horror for the younguns. No gore, no nudity here. Still, the vague sense of darkness is something that Burton's other stop-motion films do perfectly. About the only thing I didn't enjoy immensely in it is the music, which is really not special at all. That said, it's not terrible, nor does it stick out horribly, it's just sort of there. Voice acting was good, Depp didn't seem too Depp-y, Helena Bonham-Carter was only recognizable because I'm very familiar with her voice, and about the only one I didn't like was the Peter Lorre maggot. But that's because Peter Lorre should be the only one who is allowed to do Peter Lorre voices. Meaning no one should do him. Such a cliche. Pick someone else, or, even better, just create a real character. It adds nothing to make the reference.