I still dislike the Twenty-something characters we follow around, but I love the Monster's attack even more. The panic of the characters caught in the middle of the chaos seems very real. All of the unknowns about the attacking giant make everything even more intriguing.
I'm giving it a half-star upgrade from my original rating a couple of years ago.
This Dutch film tells the story of a woman who disappears from a cafe and her lover who searches for her for the next three years.
This is a slow film without any action to speak of. I never got impatient with it because I was interested to see whether the man finds out what happened to the woman. He does.
In what has to be one of the most shocking endings I've ever seen, "The Vanishing" reveals what it's known for: a dark, merciless conclusion.
"The Terminator" is a great movie but "Terminator 2" expands the story and adds even more action. Every moment that Robert Patrick's T-1000 terminator is on the screen is gold. When the T-1000 is frozen, shattered, and then reformed, it's a Hall-of-Fame Sci-Fi moment.
The music that accompanies the T-1000's appearances on-screen is like an alarm that warning you there's trouble, as if the sight of it running after you at high speed isn't already enough.
I think the biggest kick for me is the T-1000's ability to form "knives and stabbing weapons" (to quote Arnold's T-101), which it uses to kill, pry, torture, etc.
Schwarzenegger is great as the now human-friendly T-101. I love the way his cyborg becomes ultra-aggressive and attacks the T-1000 late in the film. I'm not sure I'm very big on the John Connor character. His behavior is the only thing that dates the film. I think his relationship with the T-101 brings some unwelcome corniness to the ending.
I watched the "Extreme DVD" edition of "Terminator 2" and it adds a number of scenes to the theatrical version that clear up some of the questions I had. For example, in the scene where the T-1000 has Sarah call for John in the steel mill. I always wondered why it didn't just kill Sarah and imitate her voice and appearance. As it turns out this occurs after the T-1000 has been frozen, shattered, and reformed. Several moments in between these events reveals that the liquid terminator is malfunctioning, which could explain why it needed Sarah to call out to John. It isn't just a case of being afraid to kill off main characters after all.
"T2" is another James Cameron classic and if you haven't seen it you're missing out on a great film.
This is one of those cult classic Horror movies that every hardcore fan says you have to see to earn your stripes. I can see some of the reasons for its must-see status. I really like Jessica Harper. She's fantastic and she creates a character that is extremely likable and easy to root for. The visuals are pretty strange but I can't call them impressive. There are some very odd architectural flourishes and some interesting lighting. There's no doubt that some of the artistic decisions of "Suspiria" influenced other movies that came later. But the movie had a cheapness to it. Visually it kept reminding me of "Phantasm" and I don't have a good explanation for that.
The opening murder scene that features the repeated stabbing and then hanging of a student is very violent. It's not the brief quick or jump cut type of killing you see in most slasher movies. This is an extended attack and it is brutal. There was also a scene with a victim jumps into a room to escape an attacker only to find the room is filled with wire! Creatively gruesome to say the least.
"Suspiria" wasn't scary but it was horrific at times. As silly as this sounds, some of the snoring and grunting noises from what was ultimately the most evil character struck me as being creepy. The biggest drawback was the story which most times made little sense. It just seemed like a lot of things happened for no particular reason.
This cult favorite is a classic example of the right way to make campy horror flick. It's filled with laughable characters and funny but very creepy clowns. And speaking of those clowns...Wow! Their costumes and facial expressions are amazing. They look totally convincing, and they are all uniquely different from each other.
About the laughs in this movie, they come from two places, the stupidity of the humans and the clown gags. However, the clown gags make you laugh rather unnervingly because the clowns themselves are so eerie. They kill a variety of ways and I'm not going to spoil it because the kills themselves are so creative. The special effects here are all practical and they are impressive. Check out John Vernon as Officer Mooney and Royal Dano as Farmer Gene Green for further hilarity.
This is an outstanding and scary ghost story. No gore, no ridiculous CGI, just atmosphere, atmosphere and more atmosphere. Director Alejandro Amenabar uses light and shadow, fog and darkness, and a very creepy old mansion to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat.
One thing is certain; the mother, Grace Stewart, is nuts. Nicole Kidman looks exquisite as the protective hen, raising her children in the dim light of candles and lamplight. After the opening credits, the movie begins with a scream and the ending shocks us with a surprise.
Movies about gigantic monsters don't come along nearly often enough for me, so when "Cloverfield" opened, I was there. This movie offered a fresh perspective on the genre with the entire film shot from the perspective of a victim on the ground. Many people said that the constant motion and jumpy movements gave them headaches or made them feel ill. The “shaky cam” perspective may have been too distracting if you sat too close in the theater.
None of the movie is told from the military’s or scientist’s perspective. There is no explanation as to where the monster came from, what it is or what it wants. It just shows up and starts tearing things up.
It’s interesting that the monster is gigantic, but the only time you see how huge it really is occurs during a newscast playing on a TV and when the guy with the camera ("Hud") happens to pass very closely to the rampaging beast.
There are some great scenes here. The opening panic of the initial attack is captured perfectly. There is also a crazy moment when the main characters run between the monster and the military who are firing at it. It's very intense.
Many will analyze this movie closely for 9/11 symbolism since it takes place in New York. There is a skyscraper collapse and subsequent dust cloud that recalls the WTC disaster. The "decapitation" of the Statue of Liberty symbolizing the attack on liberty. The repeated shouts of "It's Alive" meaning that terrorism isn't dead but alive and well as the creature symbolized. Even the parasites that fall from the beast could be symbolizing biological terrorism.
Actually though, if you don't dig deeply into this movie, you'll have a good time for the thrill ride it provides.
BUILD A DAMNED FENCE!!! Honestly, put up a fence and there would be no reason to get into that sloppy, raising the dead thing.
I've never read this Stephen King book, which from all accounts is amazingly scary. After watching this movie, I wish I had. It's not that this is bad, it's just not that special. There are some eerie moments with the little boy but unfortunately he seems to be the best actor of the bunch. Dale Midkiff as Dr. Creed and his wife, played by Denise Crosby, are horrific...and I don't mean because they are in a Horror movie. They're so bad that they're distracting, which is a problem since they are the main characters. Fred Gwynne is big and stiff, too. But he at least brings some personality to his role.
I liked this until the last 30 minutes or so. The vampires were above average on the "scary" meter, but I think it was because they had piranha teeth and didn't speak English. Unless I missed something, nothing was revealed about where the vampires' came from or if they survived. That unknown made them more interesting.
The last act of the movie is really bloody and violent. I have never seen such a brutal decapitation before...three hacks with an axe. It was excessive and totally took me out of the story. The sunrise scene was awfully corny for a movie that just got done showing me a head hanging from the shoulders by nothing but skin. I don't think the gore loving moviegoers care much for tragically romantic sunrises.
I did like the isolation and it did feel a little "The Thing"-like on that level, which is a plus. I'll have to say I enjoyed at least the first half.
Mulder gets clues from Deep Throat. Mulder finds adult humans in a warehouse who are being kept in glass cabinets. I suppose they are alien/human hybrids since Mr. Serace, a human/alien hybrid with green blood and super strength has already been in the episode. Scully finds an alien/human foetus. Deep Throat is shot and killed in exchange for Mulder's return by Crew Cut Man. Story ends ominously as the Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) stores the fetus in a warehouse at the Pentagon, ala "Raiders of the Lost Ark". They could have actually ended the series here in a very unsolved and mysterious fashion.
Secondary characters in this episode: Deep Throat, Crew Cut Man
I've read a lot of Stephen King but I don't remember this story, which would make sense because this isn't good. The field of grass is cool and the whole evil rock thing is fine. But I'm totally baffled why rock-toucher Ross (Patrick Wilson) turns into an insane killer yet the other rock-toucher, Travis (Harrison Gilbertson), helps girlfriend Becky and little boy Tobin leave the tall grass. Maybe the rock has an adverse effect on realtors but rockers aren't affected as much. Eh...whatever.
The time line confused me and try as I might, I could not figure out when Becky, Cal, Ross, Tobin, or Travis were coming or going. I thought about that time line for a good while but to this point, I have no idea who arrived before who, who showed up after who. Eh...whatever. There was also something significant about the church, I suppose. I just haven't the slightest idea what it might have been. I'm going to just go ahead and assume that I wasn't paying attention and not blame Netflix for creating another crappy movie.
In this episode, the emphasis is on establishing the real-life struggles of the main characters.
I am not enjoying this Season Two story line as much as the first, but maybe my patience will pay off. I do really like the characters (Chester, Luz, Henry, etc.). They are worth sticking with, I just hope the "terror" they experience is not just those of the internment camps. That's an interesting thing to explore, as was the stranded crew of the HMS Terror last season, but the paranormal terror is this series's selling point.
By the way, this new-story-per-season Anthology format is a great thing. I have gotten so tired of never-ending story arcs of so many other series.
This was a great season. It was wonderfully shot. The characters were believable and the cast was terrific. I liked that it was based on a real event. It was a great looking period piece. The music was sparse and unsettling. Crozier and Fitzjames were great characters, as were Goodsir and Blanky.
I really liked Stacey and Keith as what appeared to be a happy couple living an unorthodox but contented life. Later, one of the characters disappointed me. Dan Stevens is eerily funny as the "Alo Glo Man". And that closing minute when Stacey stares into the camera, continually breaking the fourth wall, was inspired and unnerving.
James Bond Complete - Movie #3
After watching this again, I still think it's easily the best of the first three 007 entries. It's got the best bad guy, the best henchman, the best evil plot, the most action. The set design by Ken Adam rivals that of "Dr. No". Goldfinger's office unfolds into a huge playset that he can use to demo Operation Grand Slam with other mobsters.
I've been paying attention to the opening credits for each film. This one's opening, accompanied by the theme song, is truly iconic. The tune will never be my favorite, though. I can't handle Shirley Bassey's wailing.
The Aston Martin makes its first appearance and it has to be the pinnacle of gadget-laden cars in movie history.
Yep. This is a lot like "Alien". I'll get that out of the way because that's what nearly everyone says about this movie. It's an easy comparison.
This is a solid, great looking space Horror. It's got star power and some terrific CGI. Actually, it could've used a little less of that star power. I never believed that Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson were anything other than famous actors playing their parts. They never felt like actual astronauts. The alien itself was never really that scary. Because of the way it evolved, its capabilities were always new and this offered no opportunity for safety to the crew. It made for much less tension than it should have because the rules were always new. Make them up as you go never cuts it with me.
I need to make certain that I call out how much I loved the ending. I only watched this movie once, and thinking back, I don't think the director or writers cheated with the conclusion. Personally, it was really ominous and fun to imagine what may have happened next.
I just finished watching this about 10 minutes ago and thought I'd try writing down a few things while still fresh in my mind (for once). This is more of a Drama than Science Fiction or Horror. It's actually more of a love story than anything else and for as seldom as I watch them, I'd prefer that more be like this.
I kind of spoiled it for myself beforehand because I didn't want to believe a lot of the hype. The last thing I wanted to do was watch an overly pretentious, arty film, so I dug into the premise a bit more and in hindsight, I wished I hadn't. There are certainly some surprises here and while they aren't the greatest twists in movie history, I'd have rather gone in without knowing anything.
I thought the two main characters were charming and I liked the dialogue for the most part, but at times it got to be a bit much. Definitely worth watching and I can't believe most people wouldn't like this even if it isn't easy to place in a genre.
I don't think I'm taking it too far by stating that this does for Vampires what "This Is Spinal Tap" did for Heavy Metal bands. It's tough for vampires that are hundreds of years old to live with the drudgery and law enforcement of current times, but somehow this quintet of blood suckers manages. Whether it be by personal slave or a software analyst named Stu, the vampire flatmates keep themselves alive even though they are helpless at nightclubs and on the Internet.
This is a very clever movie, shot documentary-style. There is some gushing blood that is used as a humorous gag a couple of times, but for a movie about vampires, it's surprisingly tame.
I've watched this several times over the years and its stock keeps dropping with me. I initially appreciated its strangeness and better moments, which occur early when the "creeper" is first seen dumping body bags. Once we see more of it, and of Justin Long standing wide-eyed with his mouth gaping, the movie really loses a lot. "Jeepers Creepers" devolves into a shoot-em-up in a police station, ala "Terminator" without the suspense or menace. I don't know what the beast actually is and I could read into it metaphorically, but it's not a movie I care to think about any more than "creepy thing that smells laundry stalks two college kids".
The ending is definitely not a happy one and is actually a bit of a shock.
I'm not going to spend much time writing what I thought about "Mission: Impossible II. I've seen a lot of movies lately and I'm a completist driven to writing at least something about every movie I see. This movie is not worth spending a lot of time on.
I've not seen many other John Woo-directed films, but if "M:I II" is typical of his output, count me out. The action is way over-the-top and these scenes go on forever. Ethan Hunt is basically a superhero here and this is all about the star power of Tom Cruise. The villain is entirely forgettable and the action scenes are not exciting. I don't remember anything about the plot, which means it was weak, too.
This is one of the most disappointing sequels I can ever recall seeing.
Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston are really pretty good in their roles and seem to know the movie itself is ridiculous. This isn't scary or gory or even the slightest bit suspenseful. It's not good, either. But it's funny and entertaining.
Entertainingly odd and wildly weird is the way that I'd describe this movie. From Charlie's bed-ridden grandparents to the indescribable boat ride to the Oompa Loompas, it's a bizarre but fun film.
Gene Wilder's Wonka disposes of the children who break the rules and only little Charlie Bucket proves worthy of Wonka's reward. Everything is bright and wonderful here for the most part, a land of candy that is still amazing to watch today. Wilder is perfect in every single frame, teetering from nurturer to psychopath between breaths. The monologue he gives on the boat ride is a thing of nightmares and I really like the scene near the end where Wonka loses it in his office with Grandpa Joe. "Good day Sir!!" indeed.
The way that animation is thrown into the mix during the Oompa Loompa songs is delightfully twisted. Moments like these really add to the strange creep factor in an otherwise happy film. This version of Roald Dahl's children's book remains superior over the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" remake.
This remake of a 1960's classic is not classic Carpenter. It's a mostly lifeless retelling with no scares, mediocre acting, and surprisingly few interesting Carpenter touches.
I like the opening scene. In a localized area around the city of Midwich, all of the people and animals fall unconscious. It's really effective and while nothing stands out about the way it happens, it's disturbing to see everyone go down in such a fashion. And frankly, that's where the movie gets less interesting for me and it's far too early for that to happen.
Carpenter doesn't seem to do much to try and scare us. This is pretty much played as sci-fi. There are a few grisly deaths. And no, I don't mean the one where a man is hypnotized into jumping his pickup into a propane tank. One of the main characters dies very early in the runtime and one guy falls unconscious, but unfortunately, face first onto a barbeque grill. In another scene a woman is forced into putting her arm into a pot of boiling water. All of these things are pretty unique but not scary.
The evil children in the movie turn out to be a formidable problem for Midwich, but Christopher Reeve flies to the rescue, not as Superman, but as a doctor. He manages to find a way to counter the hypnotic powers of the youth, but not before they have run up the body count and have progressed to becoming a problem for the entire state government.
Then, there are those children. They walk or sit around for the entire movie, not exactly threatening, but they've got a menacing flavor to them. The child actors are really the problem here, along with a completely strange performance by Kirstie Alley. Talk about a square peg in a round hole. She is totally off-putting as Dr. Susan Verner. She arrogant, cocky, and supposedly smart, but she doesn't sell a single one of those attributes. This doesn't feel like a Carpenter movie. Does it look too polished? Is it because the children are so robotic? There are so many opportunities to polish off the little hellions that aren't capitalized on, that it took me out of the movie.
This movie is utterly ridiculous. I don't even care how good the special effects were or how many of them there were. Actually, it's all CGI so its nothing you haven't seen in every action/adventure movie released in the last five to ten years.
The level to which the main characters escaped the annihilation of the Earth was nothing short of…I can't even think of a word that can explain...the astronomical number of miracles, the sheer volumes of coincidence, the multitudes of dumb luck, that the characters experience.
Everything is so cornball. The characters have no depth. I predicted each and every single thing that was going to happen in the movie. Every single frame has been seen and done better elsewhere. Nothing is original. It's clichéd, it's tired, and it's predictable. Do you want to know what good came out of the end of civilization at the end of this movie? The main character's daughter conquered her fears and no longer wets the bed. The world dies but thankfully a seven year old no longer needs to wear pull-ups. Isn't that wonderful?
Trying to decide what direction to take when expressing an opinion about a film that is so different and so intriguing is tough to do. Random thoughts follow.
Let's get Daniel Day-Lewis's performance out of the way. He's remarkable here as Daniel Plainview. He's intelligent, ruthless, vicious, and greedy. There's literally nothing to like about him. Paul Dano is Eli Sunday, a crooked preacher who is the primary rival of Plainview. Eli is also unlikeable. He's greedy, manipulative, and naive. The story centers around these two characters and their mistrust and hatred of one another.
Plainview has a son and there is an event that occurs around the halfway point of the film that builds some sympathy for Plainview, but we end up hating him even more as Plainview rejects his son because he will be unable to run Plainview's company when he's dead. It's really cruel, but it makes perfect sense. From what we know about Plainview, it's entirely consistent with his character's traits.
The story starts humbly with Plainview digging for gold and growing his oil business to the point where he can have anything he wants. However, what he wants is to destroy his competition. Competition is what drives him. Some will watch this film and decide that this is a commentary on the ills of Capitalism and Religion. Those that pay less attention will believe it to be a finger-pointing parable about the evils of "Big Oil". But this is a story about a man whose competitive spirit could ultimately destroy him.
The film is beautiful to look at and is appropriately slow moving. It takes it's time to build and when it does, things get very tense. The ending is sudden but appropriate and allows the viewer to finish Plainview's life story on their own.
This J.J. Abrams directed Mission Impossible entry is the best one of the first three. It watches less like a star vehicle for Tom Cruise and more like a team mission with other characters contributing. Oh sure, Cruise's character Ethan Hunt does a lot of things on his own, but he'd be screwed without his band of spies, primarily Luther played by Ving Rhames. Not all of his cohorts were killed during the mission so there was no predicting who would be dead meat before the movie ended. There are a number of thrilling action sequences and a couple of surprising twists which you'd expect from Abrams, the creator of the "Lost" TV series.
"Thunderball" is an average entry in the 007 franchise. Connery plays a downright brutal Bond, dishing out plenty of punishment to the SPECTRE henchmen and killing quite a number of other baddies. He's also quite a showoff here; making what has got to be record time with the ladies and memorably playing dumb while shooting trap with Largo. This features the jetpack escape in the opening scene, which is cool but pointless.
Largo as SPECTRE #2 is a lukewarm villain and his threat to use two nuclear bombs on cities unless he gets paid a ransom is lame. He's a bank robber, basically. Bond's mission was made more enjoyable by the help he got from other agents and the CIA. It played a bit like the squad from the "Mission: Impossible" series.
"Thunderball" features plenty of underwater action and the climax of the movie features an underwater war followed by a brawl onboard the Disco Volante. The boat narrowly misses smashing against the rocks so many times that it becomes truly silly and the film is so sped up that it's laughable.
It seems like much of the movie is spent following Bond either scuba diving or flying around in a helicopter looking for clues. There was a scene where Bond is being pursued by henchmen during a parade that drags on forever.
Of course, the Bond women in this film range from tough to spunky to naive, but they are among the most beautiful group in the Bond films. Fiona, Patricia, and Domino are integral to the movie.
This is the weakest of the first four 007 films.
This is what amounts to a high-profile grindhouse flick or B-movie. Much has been made of this taking a left turn half way through to the point of it becoming two different movies. The cast of stars seem to be having an awfully good time.
I like the ending quite a bit and it's funny that George Clooney never became an action hero because he played an awfully good one here. It's a movie full of gore and copious violence but it's done for laughs which is the key to its success.
The reputation of this movie has been built on the final 20 minutes: a truly frightening alien experimentation scene. However there is a good story here and some pretty sharp dialogue and characterizations. The mountain setting and the small town feel really saturates the film. You don't have to be a UFO believer to appreciate "Fire In The Sky".
I had a lot of fun with "Dog Soldiers". It's action-packed from start to finish with great British dialogue and quips. It's got a very likable hero. Actually there are multiple heroes and they all have their own great moments. It's bloody, even gory, and it tells a really good werewolf origin story.
The werewolf transformation scenes are mostly hidden from the viewer, no doubt because they couldn't recreate them or the budget wouldn't allow it. The werewolves are a bit rubbery looking and they aren't shown in extended shots but they are edited into the movie really well and are intimidating and relentless.
The action starts right away and does not let up. The sense of isolation is overwhelming at times. I saw a critic describe this as the "British werewolf equivalent of "Aliens"" and that is a pretty on-the-nose description.
