GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
atinder
(This is a Remake of Long Weekend (1978)The movies 93 % scene from scenes remake, with some twigs here and there in the movie. I was not fan of the 1978 movies at all, I found it very boring and dull, I thought the remake would be better, I do think remake was little better then the old one.I liked how they didn't didn't really drag the first 30 minutes and start movie faster pace the the fist movie, also enjoyed some scenes they added in this movie, I thought it was very decent scenes. The couple in this movie are not very nice people at all, the nasty one and another and mother nature, I could not get less if they were killed or attacked.The original had one think this movie never had was some good actors, Annoying but they could act unlike this actors who were really wooden in most scenes,The ending of the movie, I thought the ending original was funny, this one even funnier and bit more gory as well/
MBunge
Let me begin this review by being completely honest. When the opening credits rolled and I saw that Jamie Blanks was not only the director but also an executive producer and responsible for both the music and the editing of Nature's Grave, I was not filled with hope of a quality cinema experience. When someone's name is listed 4 times at the start of a movie that was made with a decent budget, it's usually the sign of somebody who thinks way too highly of themselves doing more than they should have. So perhaps my expectations for this motion picture were abnormally low going in, but I found it to be a surprisingly effective and creepy good time. But in the interests of complete honesty, I must also admit that it is very, very, very slow and is centered entirely on two characters it is nearly impossible to give a damn about.Peter (Jim Caviezel) is an American living in Australia with his Aussie wife Carla (Claudia Karmen). You can tell right away there are serious problems in their marriage and Peter has cajoled/pressured his wife into a weekend camping trip at some hidden beach in the middle of nowhere with one of Peter's friends and his girlfriend, seeking some sort of reconciliation. Carla, who dislikes the whole idea of "roughing it" only slightly less than she dislikes Peter at the moment, seems vaguely open to the idea of saving their union but isn't interested in making it easy.After a long drive and a turnoff onto a forest path, bickering most of the way, Peter and Carla arrive at what may or may not be the right beach. They set up camp anyway and try to enjoy themselves. Well, Peter tries. Carla mostly sulks that she's stuck in the woods instead of at some resort. But while the couple's relationship bounces around spoiled attempts at intimacy and hints at a bad history, they face increasing menace from the natural world around them. Eventually, Peter and Carla's personal bond explodes into anger and recriminations, but that's overshadowed by the fact that it seems unlikely they're going to get out of the woods alive.Nature's Grave is highlighted by some great work from director of photography Karl Von Moller. The shots of the woods, the beach, the coastline and the animals that inhabit them are frequently flat out beautiful. The look of this film resembles that of a good nature documentary on cable TV, which reinforces the threat of Mother Nature to Peter and Carla. If it were all shot more cinematically, there'd be a phoniness to it that would undercut the suspension of disbelief. This feels like the real world, which makes Peter, Carla and the danger facing them seem more real as well.I've also got to give Jamie Blanks his due. The music here is great at establishing mood and the editing does yeoman's work at keeping the tension and pace up. It has to because Blanks' direction, while squirmingly on target with his portrayal of a last stand at rescuing a doomed marriage, stumbles over his inability to recognize two glaring weaknesses in Everett DeRoche's script.You've heard of a slow burn? Well, Nature's Grave barely simmers. The first hour or so of this thing is like the first 10 minutes of a normal horror movie. You know, the part where the filmmakers try to create a sense of normalcy before they vivisect someone with a Garden Weasel? Things unfold so leisurely, everything that happens becomes so much more obvious and contrived. There are a couple of scenes that almost come off like anti-littering commercials. The weirdly slack rhythm of Nature's Grave appealed to me, but you wouldn't need to have ADD to get a little antsy waiting for something to happen.The other problem is that, while Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan do some good acting here, Peter is a boorish asshole and Carla is a prickly bitch. These characters are not likable. They are not sympathetic. It's hard to identify with them and that might make it difficult for some viewers to appreciate the slowly growing sense of dread and peril in the movie. At the end, you really only care about whether their dog survives the weekend.Again, maybe I had prepared myself for some grand disaster, but I liked Nature's Grave. Its differences felt like they were deliberate and intended and I appreciated someone trying to create a horror environment and sensibility that didn't follow the same well worn path. This film isn't scary so much as it's creepy and that's a sensation that's often overlooked in this supercharged age. It's definitely not for everyone but some will quite enjoy it.
sunkan_72
*** This review may contain spoilers ***This is clearly one of the worst movies I have seen (and I have seen a lot of movies). Jim Caviezel is normally a very good actor and it isn't his fault that this movie sucks and not really the other actors either.The director and the person that wrote the script had to be on a pretty bad "trip" while doing this movie. I simply can't find anything positive to say about what they created.It's slow It doesn't make sense. The story is thinner than a piece of paper and the dialog, well not anything interesting either. The special effects. They really doesn't show anything, but still it's bad.It's a complete waste of time, see something else....anything really.
lastliberal
I knew I would regret this when I found that the DVD title (Nature's Grave)is different. I would never have tuned into Long Weekend, especially if I knew it was a remake. At least the first one supposedly had some naked charlies; not in this one. In fact, I find it difficult to understand the "R" rating.It stars James Caviezel, better known as Jesus in that movie I would never watch. He is a real jerk. You might use a stronger word. Let's just say that spending a couple of days with him in the wood would indeed be a long weekend - a very very long weekend. You would be tempted to pick up one of his toys and use it.His wife is Claudia Karvan, nice looking, and supposedly one of Austrailia's best actresses. I have not seen her before, though I am tempted to get her first film, Down Under. She was clearly the superior actor in this movie.This was not a horror film. The only instance where is could have been called horror, was too funny. It had to do with a Manatee.Bottom line: two people hate each other and agree to get away for a weekend in the woods with another couple. Other couple doesn't show, and you are stuck with someone you hate. He is a supreme jerk that has no respect for nature or the environment. He gets what's coming to him.