As far as I'm concerned "Christine" is probably the most cruelly overlooked John Carpenter film. Maybe I'm just a little biased as I'm a big fan of classic cars and Christine is truly a classic. She's a Plymouth Fury complete with big body, big tail fins, big engine, and even a push-button automatic transmission. My parents had a few late '50s, early '60s Mopars, and I remember their high-speed crusing, tire-smoking personalities.
With that bit of nostalgia stated, Carpenter creates a scary bitch of a monster. Christine is a red, sometimes fiery demon. I love the way the car attacks her victims, plowing over and through everything. Jealous and relentless, she'll have her man and no one will stand in her way.
The special effects of Christine "rebuilding" herself are still very convincing. It's so refreshing...no CGI. The most effective card Carpenter plays is the way he builds the suspense. Christine is practically a cobra ready to strike, you're just not sure when. Carpenter films the car beautifully, especially the sequences when she slowly idles, nearly stalking those she sees as a threat to her man Arnie. And speaking of Arnie, Keith Gordon is too physically wimpy in his transformation into "evil" Arnie, but he sells it with his psychotic dedication to the car.
"Christine" is a movie that I can watch over and over again but I don't think I'd ever want to get behind her wheel.
As end-of-the-world tales go, this is one worth watching. Denzel Washington's character is lethal and mysterious and his mission is as noble as they come. You understand right from the beginning that he's required to save the world. You can compare him to Mad Max in the "Road Warrior", but he's not in it for himself.
It's great to see Jennifer Beals in something successful besides "Flashdance" and Gary Oldman is the best in the business. He's great in everything he appears in. There is a lot of violence here and some better than average fight scenes. The film's look is impressive with it's exceedingly grainy visuals and gray, dingy palette. A big deal was made out of the "twist" and the ending of "The Book of Eli". Many felt a line was crossed regarding the Christian themes explored. I found it refreshing because mainstream movies don't have the guts or desire to be anything but secular.
Ang Lee's "Hulk" is nuts. From the comic book panel effect to the insane and possibly chemically-induced performance of Nick Nolte, this seems closest to what a Hulk movie ought to be.
It truly seems as though Bruce Banner's transformations turn him from a normal skin-and-bone human being to an animated monstrosity born into the real world. When he turns Hulk, he looks like an animated freak straight out of a comic book. Call it primitive CGI if you want, but I think it works almost perfectly. It makes the Hulk himself scary. At times it nears "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" levels of "Toontown".
I don't even care about Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly or Sam Elliott. Just give me the scenes with the massive, swollen Hulk leaping across the desert Southwest. His breakout from the military lab, his battle with tanks, his foot race with Army helicopters, it's all just a blast! Not to mention the brutal fight between Hulk and three deformed Nolte-dogs.
The only real drawback for me is an underwhelming ending battle between Hulk and his father, Nolte-thing. It's really hard to see what is happening in this sequence, even on Blu-Ray. The two are fighting in the clouds and underwater, I think. It ends so uneventfully. Maybe a bit to artsy of an attempt to wrap things up.
The fact that Philippe Petit actually walked on a wire for an hour, 1350 feet above the ground is unfathomable enough, but how they had to engineer the tightrope system, get all the materials on site, and rig everything up without detection made it all the more mind-boggling.
Myself being someone who isn't fond of heights, it is inconceivable that any human being would be able to do what Petit did. An amazing and insane accomplishment, for certain.
On the other hand, there was plenty to be creeped out by. Petit had his friends wrapped around his little finger. Everything was geared to his success in fulfilling his dream. It reminded me of the hangers-on that Billy Mitchell used in the documentary "King Of Kong".
This is the unfairly overlooked entry in the Indiana Jones trilogy. No, it's not "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but what the Hell is?!? "Temple of Doom" is about as exciting and well-executed an action flick as you will ever see.
People complain that's it's too violent with its heart-extracting and monkey brain eating excesses, but it goes a thousand miles an hour and THAT is what you buy the action movie ticket for. The realism of jumping out of a plane in an inflatable raft and the roller coaster ore cart ride not withstanding, you won't find a more breath taking ninety minutes of movie watching.
And Willie and Short Round aren't really that bad...
Its been said many times before but its worth repeating; Kubrick created some of the most exciting visuals in movie history. This film is filled with interesting camera movements and angled shots, even when the set is practically claustrophobic. Like the scenes in the bedroom and the pantry. The way the camera follows little Danny around; we are allowed to discover the same horrors as him simultaneously.
"The Shining" is practically the opposite on a scale perspective than "2001". It's small in comparison to the grand "2001". Shelley Duvall as Wendy and Jack Nicholson playing Jack don't appear to be a close couple, and its clear that Wendy has had to deal with an abusive Jack quite often during their marriage.
Even though the acting is great, the shocking imagery is the real star. There is a moment in the movie when Wendy happens upon a ghostly image of a man with another person dressed in a weird dog suit sitting on the edge of a bed. The book makes sense of this shot but in the movie its ambiguous and adds a very creepy moment to an already creepy film.
Visually, "Don't Look Now" is certainly different, almost experimental. But it's so hung up on those visuals that it forgets to bring the story along with it. The film is plodding, but when it moves, it jumps around within the alleys and canals of Venice. It's disorienting to say the least and maybe the location is part of the director's game.
This isn't a scary movie. There are a number of moments when we get a glimpse of a red-coated, ghostly figure that resembles what John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura's (Julie Christie) daughter was wearing when she died. It feels a bit like a predecessor to many of today's Horror movies that feature a scary little girl. There aren't many moments of horror or tension, except for the early death of the girl. Outside of that, Religion is flirted with but it doesn't play any substantial role in the plot.
Julie Christie's joy upon hearing details about her daughter from a blind but psychic woman is a standout moment. She lights up a movie that to this point had been dreary as Hell. She's gorgeous and I had a hard time with Sutherland being paired with her. He's no fun to watch in this movie and the love-making scene with Christie doesn't help. The director goes absolutely Austin Powers in the scene, strategically hiding Sutherland's naughty bits a number of times. Funny is what it is.
The ending was a total letdown. It's sort of makes sense and it's a twist, but it's too much of stretch.
This is atmospheric because of the isolated location and the cosmic elements within the film. The violence is visceral and personal and the fact that there's no way to escape adds to the tension.
There are a couple of conclusions reached by the doctor of the camp that are never followed up on. If you prefer your story points and conclusions all buttoned up, this isn't for you.
There was one point in the movie where a character hears a voice prompting him to "look" out his window, then to "look closer". It's a rare moment when a film actually gives me the creeps these days and for a few seconds, when the character obliges the voice, this one did. After this scene, I liked the surreal, cosmic elements but most events going on within the camp made little sense.
Not a big fan of this and the weakest of the episodes so far. It was basically a retelling of the Twilight Zone's "A Kind of Stopwatch" with some dysfunctional relationships tossed in.
Loved the pace and the music. This episode was strange but only because you just don't see this kind of Science Fiction any more. Quiet, patient and full of wonder. The cinematography is first rate, also. I really liked the odd things placed around the town, in the woods and out in open fields. The robot that is just kind of walking around was very weird, especially because the humans had no concern that it was there.
This first episode had a nice story that ended up being rather sweet. There seems like there will be a variety of stories told with the "Loop" being the common link between them.
This isn't good. It's just using the Watchmen property. Jeremy Irons isn't enough, even though I will miss Tim Blake Nelson. And Don Johnson flashbacks aren't enough. The plot strays way too far from the original dystopian story line, and no amount of baby squid showers are going to remedy that. It was cool to see Hooded Justice in action, but the occasional tip-of-the-hat to the original comic feels manipulative.
If I hear that characters like Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias provide more of a connection to the novel, I might revisit this. But for now, I'm done with it.
The shocking and dour ending of the far superior "Infinity War" gives way to fan service and the tired (and inescapable) time travel trope present in "Endgame". This was predictable. The upsetting and untimely ends that many met in the previous movie were tied up neatly for all that needed to leave the theater in a shiny, happy mood this time around. And worst of all, the amazing Thanos was neutered to near Ronan levels (sans dance off). Oh, and Thor is scuttled, Hulk is de-nutted, and Captain Marvel is just too distracted to save the Earth on her own, which she could do if she weren't so gosh darned busy. Honest, she could do it all by herself. Really.
Most of the love showered on "Endgame" comes courtesy of the filmmakers pulling the tears out of the audience in the far too frequent dramatic character moments built upon the foundation of the last 11 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It all felt very manipulative. Ultimately, the past MCU films benefit the success of "Endgame" more than it deserves.
I wonder if Crozier stayed with the Intuit people because of loyalty and guilt of losing his crew or if he was eluding the possibility of some kind of criminal charges once he returned home? Mr. Hickey ended up being so gloves-off nuts that his impact and death in the final episode was tempered. The tuunbaq was an original monster with a very strange appearance. Its semi-human facial features were actually off-putting. I wonder if the tuunbaq was weakened by Mr. Blanky's vest of forks? Dr. Goodsir's suicide/self-sacrifice was brutal in the extreme.
Another of the early series's classics. This does plenty to move the story arc along and there's more of Jared Harris (as Mr. Jones).
Mr. Jones makes Olivia pass a test to diffuse a bomb that will seal peoples' orifices (you read that right!) if it explodes. Walter's typewriter suggests that he wrote the ZFT book.
Pretty gross story about a guy who dates heavier women and then eats them by excreting a substance on them. Scully is tough as nails in this and you can see her character become an equal to Mulder. She really takes charge.
Secondary characters in this episode: None
Great opening teaser. Really terrific way to kick off the series. I'm a sucker for crazy science and conspiracy stuff, so my objectivity is clouded right from the start.
Passengers on plane are dissolved. Agent Scott translucent.
I've got to stick with this because of my love of the history of Godzilla in the movies and my appreciation for the beast's rediscovery in modern cinema and TV. But honestly, the pouting Randas and May the queen of snark are so, so pathetic...it's hard to keep watching. And as impossible as it is for me to admit, I don't think even Kurt Russell can save this mess.
I will admit to fast-forwarding through the Kentaro and May hookup flashbacks. I could not care less about them.
This is one of the very best Godzilla movies ever made. There's a really good human story and every moment that Godzilla is on-screen is great. The post-WWII setting absolutely adds to the desperation of the main characters and the dread of having to once again survive an attacking force, this time in the form of a beast that isn't protecting the Earth or any such nonsense. Godzilla is a force of nature (or science) that doesn't care about anything or anyone.
The only drawbacks of this movie are an irritatingly manipulative moment (tugboats) and a couple of unbelievably coincidental reunions.
I enjoyed the performances of the entire cast, especially Tim Blake Nelson, who's gold in everything. The Rod Serling-like intro by Del Toro is fun. The story itself is a take on one of those dull reality shows where people get put into situations where they just argue with each other. Thankfully, that whole storage wars aspect is over in mere moments. Nelson as bitter curmudgeon, having to work with two strange eccentric people is satisfying. It would be great if the monster aspect of this first episode carries over into the rest of the episodes.
This was quite an experience. There aren't many occasions when a film keeps me off-balance like this one did. I was never really sure where the story was going. The two lead characters are overwhelmingly creepy, or more accurately, gross. Sean Harris is especially amazing as a dysfunctional man (Philip) who was once a puppeteer who entertained children. Umm...hopefully not with the spider puppet he carries around all the time. Parents...avoid puppet shows!
This film has a practically apocalyptical look, with everything appearing dirty, dilapidated and broken. There are times when the spider puppet haunts Philip that are as frightening as anything I can remember watching over the last few years. The only negatives were a few jump scares that were totally unnecessary, especially as Possum scares most when at its deliberate pace.
This will be a tough watch for most movie goers as there's no one to cheer for and there's not a laugh in site. This is a dark, dank psychological Horror film focused on the fallout and destruction of lives due to child abuse. It's ugly and almost otherworldly, but I couldn't look away.
I'm giving this one more point than Part One because something explodes. Kidding aside, I was actually getting angry because the attempts to build up drama about the conspiracy being an inside job at the FBI was so lame. The reveal of spreading alien DNA by way of contaminating the water supply is just dull.
Mulder has disappeared because he was warned he'd be killed...I guess? He almost died in every episode of the show that came before so this makes no sense. At the time of airing, everyone that watched the show knew that Duchovny wouldn't return for Season 9. They had to explain that away somehow.
Scully's baby William is showing hints of superpowers because as an infant, he's making the mobile above his bed rotate. This moves Scully to action as she joins Doggett and Reyes in the investigation of the alien DNA lab aboard a ship. The answer of course, proves to be just out of reach as the trio has to exit the ship early or be killed by a bomb that's about to go off.
Please, for all that is sacred, bring on the monster-of-the-week episodes! I can't take any more of the story arc.
Secondary characters in this episode: Kersh, AD Brad Follmer, Shannon McMahon, Lone Gunmen, Knowle Rohrer
You'd think that setting this in a city would make the greater potential kills of the Predator even more threatening, but that would be wrong. There's never really a sense of the Predator stalking victims, it just drops in and kills drug dealers, because they have weapons.
Every character in this movie is on speed AND caffeine. Why are they all spastic? Is it the L.A. heat? Everyone is sweating profusely, too. It's really annoying. The shootout between the police and the drug gang is way over the top and impossible to determine why there aren't dead bodies lying three deep with all the shots being fired.
Danny Glover is no Arnold Schwarzeneggar. He's tough but not a badass like Arnold's character "Dutch" was in the original. The Predator that Glover battles must have just gotten his hunting license. In fact, Los Angeles is like a game farm compared to the jungle where the first Predator battled Dutch. It would be pretty simple to hunt animals in a game farm, so the Predator of this movie isn't making his safari much of an adventure.
There are two things that really save this movie. The practical effects associated with look of the Predator. It remains an iconic alien creation. And the final battle on the rooftops between Glover and the alien is entertaining.
The mood that is set by the opening scene is incredible. It's shot in the pouring rain with a few of the main characters taking shelter in the rubble of the Rashomon city gate. The characters retell the story of a murder that they all witnessed to some extent and they each have a different version of what happened. This plot is interesting but now, seventy years later, just isn't as impactful as it likely was back then. However, it's still intriguing and keeps you guessing.
The most interesting thing about the film for me was the mood and how artistic all of the directorial choices were. It's black and white, but there's so much depth and contrast. It looks amazing.
I've seen this so many times and I never tire of it. Carpenter and Cundey shot an amazing looking film. They were so patient in setting everything up and not afraid that their audience would lose interest. Love the tributes to Howard Hawks's "The Thing" and to "Forbidden Planet".
Horror movies WERE better back then.
The series gets worse. Michael isn't dead (surprise!!) and little Jamie's having visions of Michael's presence again. Dr. Loomis continually pesters Jamie to tell him where Michael is, but she's too frightened to do so. Or it could be that she can't understand what the Hell he is saying because his voice sounds like he's been gargling battery acid. And why is he smothering her all the time? Everytime he talks to her he is about two inches from her face. In fact, everyone seems to do that in this movie. Why was everybody so close to one another? It made me claustrophobic.
Rachel's back (for a while anyway), and the story ends up following a new girl named Tina around. She's typical late 80's, Cyndi Lauper-ish, girls-just-wanna-have-fun sort of annoying. She parties with her friends on Halloween as the body count around her rises.
I'm trying to write up something interesting about this movie but I was just bored with it. There were a couple of things that struck me as completely odd or maybe just stupid. One of them was two cops whose appearance was paired with some loopy carnival-style music when they first showed up. They weren't funny or particularly goofy. They were more bland so I didn't get what the filmmakers were attempting to accomplish. Another off the wall decision was to have Michael drive a muscle car around. It just never approached scary and was totally out of character because he used it to scare Tina. Michael doesn't scare people, he just attacks and kills them.
Aw, forget it. I've said more about "Halloween 5" than it deserves.
For a found footage movie that wants you to believe that fashion models like to explore underground catacombs, this was pretty good.
The gates of Hell concept was eerie and there was some chilling moments with things walking around in the tunnels, although it probably happened more times than it needed to. There weren't that many jump scares, seven according to wheresthejump.com (2 major, 5 minor and it's funny there's a website that actually counts them and tells you when they occur).
This isn't too gory, but if you're squeamish it will bother you. The actors weren't as annoying as most twenty-somethings are in the Movies, and the main character (Scarlett) was actually easy to pull for.
There were a few times that the camera was placed in impossible locations to capture what it did, but it wasn't egregious. I was surprised by the way this concluded because it wasn't the usual modern Horror movie ending.
The characters in this movie are so bland and cookie-cutter that Rinko Kikuchi (as Mako Mori) seems Oscar-worthy. Not sure why John Boyega is as big of a deal as he is and Scott Eastwood looks like his Dad, so there's that. The group of cadets in this movie are sickeningly spunky and angst-y. Only ten-year olds could possibly be interested in them.
The story is dumb and even with all the ridiculous tech on display, I still refuse to believe the feisty teenage cadet (Amara) could have designed, much less assembled, her Jaeger "Scrapper". When Jake and Amara are reentering Earth's atmosphere inside of a red-hot Gypsy, why didn't they burn up? The front shield is busted out. The city destruction action loses all of its impact because the jaegars themselves destroy skyscrapers with reckless abandon. Something else lost is scale. The jaegars and kaiju are big but the shots of them are too tight. Pull the camera away from the city and show the beasts from a distance (like the shot of Surtur destroying Asgard in "Thor: Ragnarok").
The quality of the CGI effects were definitely better than most movies, and the jaegar designs are inspired. The kaiju creations were few and far between and were not the focus of the action as in Del Toro's original. I have to give an extra star for a twist that occurs with a main character that I didn't see coming.
I'm a big fan of giant monster movies, even though they are usually pretty bad. "Pacific Rim: Uprising" is better than the worst of the genre, but the choice to make it super kid-friendly has pretty much leveled the world Del Toro created.
I just re-watched the theatrical version of this. It's included on a bonus disc of an old DVD set that I have of the original trilogy. It was such a treat to see the film again, as it was initially released. I don't want to get hung up on nostalgia, but it was a bit like stepping back in time, back to the old Vogue Theater in my small central Minnesota town. Yep. Stage, curtains, balcony...the works. I was 16 years old at the time and excited like never before to see a movie.
I'd forgotten the stop-motion goodness of Han and Luke riding Tauntauns on ice planet Hoth. The intimidating thunder of the Imperial Walkers as they attacked the rebel base. The fierce light saber battle between Luke and Darth Vader. The Millennium Falcon was practically a main character, too.
There's some real corn here. The sexual tension between Han and Leia is super juvenile, but it's funny. The suave hustle that Lando puts on Leia. "Laugh it up, Fuzzball!".
The visual effects, which were ground-breaking at the time, look mostly dated now. The matte paintings, green screen, and stop-motion show their age. But those things didn't negatively affect my enjoyment of this at all. The story is so simple and the characters so rich that anyone who dismisses this wonderful film based on dated effects is someone I don't want to share a movie-going experience with.
This is a true cinematic classic. I don't know that I would ever call it better than its predecessor ("A New Hope") but it's certainly its equal.
The first half of this movie is really good. A corpse is found buried beneath a home. Everyone in the house is dead but police think it looks like the dead family was trying to get out. The police bring the "Jane Doe" corpse to a morgue where the protagonists, played by Hirsch and Cox, proceed to dissect it. They gradually uncover the mystery of the dead body and it's by far the most intriguing portion of the movie.
As the story progresses, it turns into more of a haunted house flick, albeit an entertaining one. There are a couple of deaths along the way that tick up the body count. One of them is an animal death which seems to occur only to bolster sympathy for Cox and Hirsch. This was likely thought necessary for those character's perils later.
There are some sustained scares but it's nothing too frightening. Only a couple of jump scares happen...nice to see that trend lessening. If you're averse to gore, especially surgical gore, you may want to steer clear of this.
The ending was decent. Nothing mind boggling, but the best fit given the tone of the rest of the story.
Overall, this was a nice surprise. It was better than expected.
I haven't seen many films with this much visual imagination on display. The detail of the worlds is amazing. The story wasn't great, in fact, I can barely remember it. Valerian and Laureline weren't as bad as rumored. They seemed a little young, maybe. Pretty, but pretty forgettable, too.
