Very Good, Possibly Better Than Craven's.
Plot: The plot is nearly identical to the classic Nightmare, with a few slight differences on Krueger's origin. That having been said, one of my major gripes with the first one was the ending. Nancy's plan was to simply stop giving Freddy power by not continuing to think about him. This might have worked in a book, but not on the big screen, especially when the last second scare at the end of the that movie completely contradicted it. The ending of this movie worked much better, probably because they now have a better idea of where they want to go with the series.
That said, the plot is far from perfect. As I see it, the plot moved too fast. The original Nightmare gave us an unexpected, unexplainable scare and then waited a good long time to really try and scare us again. In that time we got to latch onto the characters and get to know them. This movie seems to think the audience will get bored if they don't keep having scares every five minutes or so. B
Characters: As expressed in the plot department, this is a major weakness in this movie. We don't spend very long with any of the major characters before they are dispatched. As a result, I can't tell you anything about most of the people in this movie. We don't even get to spend long with Nancy, the survivor girl from the original, as we spend most of the movie over the shoulder of two other characters until they are dispatched.
That said, Jackie Earl Haley's Freddy is terrifying. I don't know if I'm ready to say that he's better than Robert Englund, but he's definitely the best part of this movie and is worth the price of admission on his own, both as dream demon Freddy and the living Freddy.
Lastly, special mention goes out to Clancy Brown. Good to see you in a movie again, Kurgan. Does anyone else remember the fact that he used the pseudonym of “Krueger” when he checked into the hotel in the original Highlander movie?
It's hard to assign a letter grade to this category, as I want to give an A to Jackie Earl Haley and an F to the rest of the characters, so we'll compromise at a C.
Visuals: People who don't like CG are going to disagree with me, but I thought this movie looked amazing. One of my big complaints with the Nightmare franchise is that I never felt that it reached a boiling point, in that Freddy, being a dream demon, never really created a dream world that was all that more terrifying than the real world. The best dream world in the old continuity can probably be found in Freddy vs. Jason or Wes Craven's New Nightmare. This movie's dream world is a bit more dreamlike. The ground turns to liquid, mazes grow out of the ground from nowhere, the laws of physics be damned, and Krueger seems able to do anything his imagination can think of. Granted, it's almost all CG, and practical purists will no doubt cry that it looks fake. To me, this is a choice. You either decide to ride with this movie or you decide to reject it, but the choice is yours. A
Audio: There were enough points where I found myself fighting the urge to cover my ears when I expected to next scare to appear on screen, so I can't think of a better compliment than that. The score is creepy, the original Nightmare theme is reworked effectively, and the Everly Brothers' song “All I Have to do is Dream” makes a very appropriate feeling appearance. B
Overall: This is a very good movie. Is it better than the original? I really can't say right now, as I need to rewatch the original first, but from what I remember I think it gives the first one a run for its money. It does some things worse, but it also fixes some problems that I had with the original. Overall, I give it a B.
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Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Willow – Directed by Ron Howard – 1988
Someone Give Warwick Davis More Work!
Story: This is the archetypal David and Goliath style story of a little man (literally) vs. the big bad. It's also the quest style of fantasy story. It has more than a few similarities to the Lord of the Rings, not to mention some parallels with the story of Moses from Bible, but it does it in it's own way. All around, aside from some startling badass decay, which we'll explore in the acting section, the only real complaint I have with the story is that the ending is not terribly self explanatory. Whenever I make someone watch this movie for the first time, they always turn to me and ask, “What just happened there?” and I do consider this a failure on the part of the movie. They could have explained it after the fact. B
Acting: Val Kilmer is my favorite actor, largely because of this movie, Tombstone, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Spartan, and At First Sight, and while he's really, really good in this movie, I don't understand why he and Joanne Whalley got higher billing that Warwick Davis. Warwick is in nearly every shot of this movie, he's the titular character, and he really was the meat the holds the movie together. I guess it was a marketing decision. Anyhow, Warwick is awesome in this movie and really needs to be given more to do than be a side character in every Star Wars, Harry Potter, or odd ball fantasy movie/miniseries that comes down the pipes. Don't believe me? Watch Ray. He's in it, he's a little man, and it doesn't matter. It doesn't impact the story practically at all. He gives a strong performance and it works.
Anyhow, back to Val. Madmartigan is probably the loudest, most animated character that Val has ever played, which is cool when you consider that he usually plays very thoughtful, understated characters (like his Ice Man character in Top Gun). He sort of plays this movie's version of Han Solo, the skeptic, smart mouthed fighter. His character does experience a certain level of badass decay as the movie approaches its climax, as he loses his smart mouth in favor of being the generic, noble warrior character. To a certain extent, this understandable, but I would like to have seen him retain more of his personality. That said, his sword fight with Pat Roach more than makes up for this.
Madmartigan may experience badass decay, but not nearly as badly as Sorsha, the character played by Joanne Whalley. She starts out tough as nails with a strong personality. She's got a sword that looks like pain harnessed in steel form, and she's here to kick your ass... until she falls in love with Val Kilmer. After this, she barely gets two lines in for the rest of the movie and also devolves into an idealized sort of warrior woman.
However, I think the real star of this movie is Jean Marsh. Queen Bavmorda is evil and powerful. She's knows magic spells to kill you in many painful ways and a enough of a lacking conscience to use it. When the Nostalgia Chick listed her top lady villains, I was quite disappointed to see that Bavmorda didn't make the list when the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz did (I realize that I'm about to utter blasphemy, but the witch didn't do anything in that movie except laugh in an over the top manner. Oh, and she used flowers to put people to sleep and employed an hour glass of doom, oh the horror!) Her acting is almost over the top, but not quite. She hits her note perfectly.
Lastly, they got the cutest, most expressive baby in the world to play Elora Danan. She smiles and laughs at all the right times. B
Visuals: This movie was really revolutionary at the time for raising the bar on visual effects with the whole process of morphing. The special effects hold up to this day and look better than a lot of digital effects you'll see on a Sci-Fi (or is it Sy Fy?) channel original. Also, may I say that Nockmaar castle is the most evil looking castle ever (sorry Orthanc and Barad-dur). I realize that sixty percent of it is a painting, but seriously I love the look of that castle. A
Sound: The music in this movie is beyond epic, although I know I heard the same music in an ad for Disney's the Three Musketeers, so I don't know who borrowed it from whom. Whatever, it works in this movie. The sound effects are awesome, they completely compliment what we're seeing on screen. A
Overall: This is one of my favorite movies from my childhood, not to mention my favorite NES game. I probably drove my parents crazy between the two of them. However, this is one of the few childhood memories that held up over the years. I definitely can't say the same for the Thundercats. B
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Story: This is the archetypal David and Goliath style story of a little man (literally) vs. the big bad. It's also the quest style of fantasy story. It has more than a few similarities to the Lord of the Rings, not to mention some parallels with the story of Moses from Bible, but it does it in it's own way. All around, aside from some startling badass decay, which we'll explore in the acting section, the only real complaint I have with the story is that the ending is not terribly self explanatory. Whenever I make someone watch this movie for the first time, they always turn to me and ask, “What just happened there?” and I do consider this a failure on the part of the movie. They could have explained it after the fact. B
Acting: Val Kilmer is my favorite actor, largely because of this movie, Tombstone, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Spartan, and At First Sight, and while he's really, really good in this movie, I don't understand why he and Joanne Whalley got higher billing that Warwick Davis. Warwick is in nearly every shot of this movie, he's the titular character, and he really was the meat the holds the movie together. I guess it was a marketing decision. Anyhow, Warwick is awesome in this movie and really needs to be given more to do than be a side character in every Star Wars, Harry Potter, or odd ball fantasy movie/miniseries that comes down the pipes. Don't believe me? Watch Ray. He's in it, he's a little man, and it doesn't matter. It doesn't impact the story practically at all. He gives a strong performance and it works.
Anyhow, back to Val. Madmartigan is probably the loudest, most animated character that Val has ever played, which is cool when you consider that he usually plays very thoughtful, understated characters (like his Ice Man character in Top Gun). He sort of plays this movie's version of Han Solo, the skeptic, smart mouthed fighter. His character does experience a certain level of badass decay as the movie approaches its climax, as he loses his smart mouth in favor of being the generic, noble warrior character. To a certain extent, this understandable, but I would like to have seen him retain more of his personality. That said, his sword fight with Pat Roach more than makes up for this.
Madmartigan may experience badass decay, but not nearly as badly as Sorsha, the character played by Joanne Whalley. She starts out tough as nails with a strong personality. She's got a sword that looks like pain harnessed in steel form, and she's here to kick your ass... until she falls in love with Val Kilmer. After this, she barely gets two lines in for the rest of the movie and also devolves into an idealized sort of warrior woman.
However, I think the real star of this movie is Jean Marsh. Queen Bavmorda is evil and powerful. She's knows magic spells to kill you in many painful ways and a enough of a lacking conscience to use it. When the Nostalgia Chick listed her top lady villains, I was quite disappointed to see that Bavmorda didn't make the list when the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz did (I realize that I'm about to utter blasphemy, but the witch didn't do anything in that movie except laugh in an over the top manner. Oh, and she used flowers to put people to sleep and employed an hour glass of doom, oh the horror!) Her acting is almost over the top, but not quite. She hits her note perfectly.
Lastly, they got the cutest, most expressive baby in the world to play Elora Danan. She smiles and laughs at all the right times. B
Visuals: This movie was really revolutionary at the time for raising the bar on visual effects with the whole process of morphing. The special effects hold up to this day and look better than a lot of digital effects you'll see on a Sci-Fi (or is it Sy Fy?) channel original. Also, may I say that Nockmaar castle is the most evil looking castle ever (sorry Orthanc and Barad-dur). I realize that sixty percent of it is a painting, but seriously I love the look of that castle. A
Sound: The music in this movie is beyond epic, although I know I heard the same music in an ad for Disney's the Three Musketeers, so I don't know who borrowed it from whom. Whatever, it works in this movie. The sound effects are awesome, they completely compliment what we're seeing on screen. A
Overall: This is one of my favorite movies from my childhood, not to mention my favorite NES game. I probably drove my parents crazy between the two of them. However, this is one of the few childhood memories that held up over the years. I definitely can't say the same for the Thundercats. B
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
A Serious Man – Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen – 2009
The Coens Do Job
Story: This is the story of Job, set in the 1970's as a bizarre sort of comedy. And, it's really funny. I'm not sure why, as I usually dislike movies where I'm supposed to look feel bad or embarrassed for a genuinely nice fellow like in Meet the Parents or What About Bob, but this one worked for me. Then again, the Coen Bros. Do lots of things that I would probably reject in the hands of some other director (see the epic fail in No Country For Old Men). B
Acting: There were lots of great actors, but I have to give a shout out to Simon Helberg who plays Wolowitz on my current favorite sit-com, the Big Bang Theory. I had no idea that he was in this movie until he appeared on screen, and I was like, “Hey, it's Wolowitz!” Michael Stuhbarg, Sari Lennick, and Richard Kind all do a great job, but I thought the star actor was Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman. He just plays the nicest, most compassionate douche that just slept with your wife and honestly thinks that you should move out of your own house for the good of your children. A
Visuals: This movie was very brown in color, or maybe more of a light tan. Whatever, that color was everywhere. It provided a hazy, should be depressing but oddly light hearted tone to the movie. Well, Mel Brooks always used yellow on the grounds that it was funny color, and it worked. B
Sound: The music fit the general era they were trying to establish, even if they say it was supposed to by 1967 but make reference to an album that didn't come out till the 70's. It was fairly quiet, understated movie. B
Overall: In many ways, this felt like a live action version of Charlie Brown, in that he never gets to kick the football. Ever. In some small way, I kept thinking of the cartoon Invader Zim while watching this, in that the humor comes through watching horrible things in an exaggerated manner. B
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Story: This is the story of Job, set in the 1970's as a bizarre sort of comedy. And, it's really funny. I'm not sure why, as I usually dislike movies where I'm supposed to look feel bad or embarrassed for a genuinely nice fellow like in Meet the Parents or What About Bob, but this one worked for me. Then again, the Coen Bros. Do lots of things that I would probably reject in the hands of some other director (see the epic fail in No Country For Old Men). B
Acting: There were lots of great actors, but I have to give a shout out to Simon Helberg who plays Wolowitz on my current favorite sit-com, the Big Bang Theory. I had no idea that he was in this movie until he appeared on screen, and I was like, “Hey, it's Wolowitz!” Michael Stuhbarg, Sari Lennick, and Richard Kind all do a great job, but I thought the star actor was Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman. He just plays the nicest, most compassionate douche that just slept with your wife and honestly thinks that you should move out of your own house for the good of your children. A
Visuals: This movie was very brown in color, or maybe more of a light tan. Whatever, that color was everywhere. It provided a hazy, should be depressing but oddly light hearted tone to the movie. Well, Mel Brooks always used yellow on the grounds that it was funny color, and it worked. B
Sound: The music fit the general era they were trying to establish, even if they say it was supposed to by 1967 but make reference to an album that didn't come out till the 70's. It was fairly quiet, understated movie. B
Overall: In many ways, this felt like a live action version of Charlie Brown, in that he never gets to kick the football. Ever. In some small way, I kept thinking of the cartoon Invader Zim while watching this, in that the humor comes through watching horrible things in an exaggerated manner. B
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Where the Wild Things Are – Directed by Spike Jonze – 2009
It's a great movie that I absolutely hated.
Story: Sometimes a movie comes along that I despise but I also recognize is a legitimately good movie. This is an example of that, so is Monster. This is the story of a little brat who throws major temper tantrums when things don't go exactly his way. When his mom ignores him while entertaining a male guest the kid acts the absolute spawn of hell and when his mother looses her temper with him, he runs away into an imaginary land where wild creatures live. I must compliment the writers for going beyond the book and mapping out a world that a child would imagine. A.
Acting: The acting was pretty good. The kid always made me believe that he was seeing these creatures and this world. The voices all fit the monsters perfectly and Catherine Keener did an excellent job as Max's mother.
Visuals: This movie looked awesome. The use of mostly practical effects with only minimal amounts of digital effects really assisted the overall product. As is standard with any story designed for kids, it contains a significant amount of traumatizing material, my favorites being when Carol rips off another monster's arm and it says, “Carol, that was my favorite arm!” leading them to replace it with a stick. The other being where Max hides in Judith's mouth from Carol. Tell me that isn't nightmare fuel! A
Sound: The music really fit this movie and so did the sound. Not much more to say. A
Overall: Understand that my hatred for this movie stems from my hatred for the kid in this movie. He needed a very good flogging. Did he ever get one? No! Why the mother apologizes to him for her loosing her temper with him. The kid gets away without punishment. Thank you, Hollywood, for encouraging parents to not discipline their children, for not teaching them to obey their authority figures, for letting them know that it's okay to throw temper tantrums, for telling them that mommy and daddy are in the wrong for trying to mold you into a valued member of our society, and I want to thank you adding to the general decay of our society as kids continue to grow up with no sense of discipline or work ethic.
For the record, as of this writing, I have no kids. Upon hearing my thoughts about this movie and my general thoughts on child raising, my sister has threatened to steal any children that I may ever have away from me so that they actually enjoy their childhood. A
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Story: Sometimes a movie comes along that I despise but I also recognize is a legitimately good movie. This is an example of that, so is Monster. This is the story of a little brat who throws major temper tantrums when things don't go exactly his way. When his mom ignores him while entertaining a male guest the kid acts the absolute spawn of hell and when his mother looses her temper with him, he runs away into an imaginary land where wild creatures live. I must compliment the writers for going beyond the book and mapping out a world that a child would imagine. A.
Acting: The acting was pretty good. The kid always made me believe that he was seeing these creatures and this world. The voices all fit the monsters perfectly and Catherine Keener did an excellent job as Max's mother.
Visuals: This movie looked awesome. The use of mostly practical effects with only minimal amounts of digital effects really assisted the overall product. As is standard with any story designed for kids, it contains a significant amount of traumatizing material, my favorites being when Carol rips off another monster's arm and it says, “Carol, that was my favorite arm!” leading them to replace it with a stick. The other being where Max hides in Judith's mouth from Carol. Tell me that isn't nightmare fuel! A
Sound: The music really fit this movie and so did the sound. Not much more to say. A
Overall: Understand that my hatred for this movie stems from my hatred for the kid in this movie. He needed a very good flogging. Did he ever get one? No! Why the mother apologizes to him for her loosing her temper with him. The kid gets away without punishment. Thank you, Hollywood, for encouraging parents to not discipline their children, for not teaching them to obey their authority figures, for letting them know that it's okay to throw temper tantrums, for telling them that mommy and daddy are in the wrong for trying to mold you into a valued member of our society, and I want to thank you adding to the general decay of our society as kids continue to grow up with no sense of discipline or work ethic.
For the record, as of this writing, I have no kids. Upon hearing my thoughts about this movie and my general thoughts on child raising, my sister has threatened to steal any children that I may ever have away from me so that they actually enjoy their childhood. A
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Zombies Anonymous or Last Rites of the Dead – Directed by Marc Fratto – 2006
For B Horror, this is really good!
Story: Quick synopsis since this is a lesser known movie: The dead in this world don't stay dead, they come back as zombies, but not zombies in the traditional sense that they are mindless corpses with only the drive to eat and a basic fight or flight response. These zombies retail all the intelligence and memories of the living. That said, they do eat raw meat. The can get by just eating raw ground chuck but they are stricken with headaches that only go away when they eat the still warm flesh of humans. The living aren't okay with this and zombies are treated as second class citizens who are usually fired from their jobs for being zombies and sometimes executed by humans who are afraid of them. This leads to an industry of cosmetic products designed to hide the fact that a person is a zombie.
So, it is in this world that we meet our main protagonist, Angie, who is killed by an abusive boyfriend. She then tries to go about her”life” as if nothing happened and tries to hide the fact that she's a zombie. It should come as no surprise that this turns into a metaphor for being different and encourages people to stop conforming and be themselves.
I was surprised that this was more serious than humorous, given the title, but it actually has some really strong themes and ideas presented. There are some laughs sprinkled throughout, but I don't think I'd call it a comedy. The first half of this movie was absolutely genius, but the second half faltered a little bit. I have to give it a B.
Acting: I have to give props to Gina Ramsden for playing a very effective girl next door sort of character. Christa McNamee plays an absolutely terrifying Commandant who leads death squads against zombies. Most of the rest of the cast does a pretty good job, and by pretty good I mean pretty good for a Hollywood movie. By B horror standards, they are phenomenal. B
Visuals: I watch a lot of bad horror movies and have a fairly strong stomach, but this one made me want to gag a few times. Granted, I think I was fighting a virus when I watched it, so it may have just been me instead of the movie. Anyhow, this is a gross movie. I wouldn't advise eating anything when you watch it. Also, the whole world looks dirty and depressingly gross. This was no doubt by design, so I have to give props. B
Sound: This was probably the weakest link in the chain. The sound was much better than some B horror movies, but there was almost constantly a hiss in the background that comes from poor sound equipment. The music also didn't leave a huge impression on me either. C
Overall: This may be one of the few B horror movies that I actually give a B to. It should have been shorter and losses steam in the second half, but it's still much, much better than the rest of the horror crap that's out there. I got my copy used from Blockbuster for about five bucks and I think it's worth paying up to twelve dollars for this movie (that includes shipping if you should decide to order it). If you're into indie horror, I have to believe you'll enjoy this movie. B
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Story: Quick synopsis since this is a lesser known movie: The dead in this world don't stay dead, they come back as zombies, but not zombies in the traditional sense that they are mindless corpses with only the drive to eat and a basic fight or flight response. These zombies retail all the intelligence and memories of the living. That said, they do eat raw meat. The can get by just eating raw ground chuck but they are stricken with headaches that only go away when they eat the still warm flesh of humans. The living aren't okay with this and zombies are treated as second class citizens who are usually fired from their jobs for being zombies and sometimes executed by humans who are afraid of them. This leads to an industry of cosmetic products designed to hide the fact that a person is a zombie.
So, it is in this world that we meet our main protagonist, Angie, who is killed by an abusive boyfriend. She then tries to go about her”life” as if nothing happened and tries to hide the fact that she's a zombie. It should come as no surprise that this turns into a metaphor for being different and encourages people to stop conforming and be themselves.
I was surprised that this was more serious than humorous, given the title, but it actually has some really strong themes and ideas presented. There are some laughs sprinkled throughout, but I don't think I'd call it a comedy. The first half of this movie was absolutely genius, but the second half faltered a little bit. I have to give it a B.
Acting: I have to give props to Gina Ramsden for playing a very effective girl next door sort of character. Christa McNamee plays an absolutely terrifying Commandant who leads death squads against zombies. Most of the rest of the cast does a pretty good job, and by pretty good I mean pretty good for a Hollywood movie. By B horror standards, they are phenomenal. B
Visuals: I watch a lot of bad horror movies and have a fairly strong stomach, but this one made me want to gag a few times. Granted, I think I was fighting a virus when I watched it, so it may have just been me instead of the movie. Anyhow, this is a gross movie. I wouldn't advise eating anything when you watch it. Also, the whole world looks dirty and depressingly gross. This was no doubt by design, so I have to give props. B
Sound: This was probably the weakest link in the chain. The sound was much better than some B horror movies, but there was almost constantly a hiss in the background that comes from poor sound equipment. The music also didn't leave a huge impression on me either. C
Overall: This may be one of the few B horror movies that I actually give a B to. It should have been shorter and losses steam in the second half, but it's still much, much better than the rest of the horror crap that's out there. I got my copy used from Blockbuster for about five bucks and I think it's worth paying up to twelve dollars for this movie (that includes shipping if you should decide to order it). If you're into indie horror, I have to believe you'll enjoy this movie. B
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Changeling – Directed by Clint Eastwood – 2008
Confessions of a JMS-aholic...
I'm going to break from my usual format for the purpose of reviewing this movie. From Captain Power to the Real Ghostbusters to Babylon 5 to his run on the comic book Spider-man, J. Michael Straczynski is not so much my favorite writer as he is my writing God. So, when I heard that a major motion picture, written by him, was being produced by originally Ron Howard, then Clint Eastwood and that A listers like John Malkovich and Angelina Jolie were going to be in it, not to mention Jeffrey Donovan, the star of Burn Notice, were going to be involved in it, I was excited and nervous beyond all hell. I'm not really a sports fan, but the feeling I had is the way I think a fan feels when they find out their home town team is playing for the World Series or the Superbowl. I was excited because JMS was finally going to break into Hollywood. I was nervous because, well what if it sucked? I mean, I loved JMS's work on TV shows, but while the Babylon 5's made for TV movies weren't bad, they were nowhere near as good as the show itself. I was worried that JMS might not be able to pull off a movie. Furthermore, a lot of hands end up touching movies before they get produced. I wanted to see my home town team win, not get humiliated. So, I was nervous.
Also, I was confused. The movie was called Changeling, which to me, the Star Trek nerd, is the alien species that Odo from Deep Space Nine. I couldn't believe for the life of me that all these A-listers signed on for a sci-fi movie, despite the fact that JMS had made his name writing sci-fi. Then I heard it was based on a true story. This confused me even further.
But, all my anxiousness didn't stop me from being a one man advertisement team for this movie. I bugged and threatened and bargained with all my friends to go see this one when it finally came out. In retrospect I think some of them might have decided to skip it because I was annoying them that badly.
Well, the movie came out... and it was amazingly good! I mean, I know I'm a JMS whore, but it really, really was awesomely good. The cast was awesome, the visuals were awesome, the music was awesome, everything about it was freaking awesome, and the writing was beautifully, magically awesome!
My only minor complaint with the movie is that JMS may have been too faithful to history and might have shortened the end by combining a few scenes. But, seriously, this is definitely my pick for best movie of 2008, and probably ranked number two or three of the decade, following Finding Neverland and (500) Days of Summer. A!!
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
I'm going to break from my usual format for the purpose of reviewing this movie. From Captain Power to the Real Ghostbusters to Babylon 5 to his run on the comic book Spider-man, J. Michael Straczynski is not so much my favorite writer as he is my writing God. So, when I heard that a major motion picture, written by him, was being produced by originally Ron Howard, then Clint Eastwood and that A listers like John Malkovich and Angelina Jolie were going to be in it, not to mention Jeffrey Donovan, the star of Burn Notice, were going to be involved in it, I was excited and nervous beyond all hell. I'm not really a sports fan, but the feeling I had is the way I think a fan feels when they find out their home town team is playing for the World Series or the Superbowl. I was excited because JMS was finally going to break into Hollywood. I was nervous because, well what if it sucked? I mean, I loved JMS's work on TV shows, but while the Babylon 5's made for TV movies weren't bad, they were nowhere near as good as the show itself. I was worried that JMS might not be able to pull off a movie. Furthermore, a lot of hands end up touching movies before they get produced. I wanted to see my home town team win, not get humiliated. So, I was nervous.
Also, I was confused. The movie was called Changeling, which to me, the Star Trek nerd, is the alien species that Odo from Deep Space Nine. I couldn't believe for the life of me that all these A-listers signed on for a sci-fi movie, despite the fact that JMS had made his name writing sci-fi. Then I heard it was based on a true story. This confused me even further.
But, all my anxiousness didn't stop me from being a one man advertisement team for this movie. I bugged and threatened and bargained with all my friends to go see this one when it finally came out. In retrospect I think some of them might have decided to skip it because I was annoying them that badly.
Well, the movie came out... and it was amazingly good! I mean, I know I'm a JMS whore, but it really, really was awesomely good. The cast was awesome, the visuals were awesome, the music was awesome, everything about it was freaking awesome, and the writing was beautifully, magically awesome!
My only minor complaint with the movie is that JMS may have been too faithful to history and might have shortened the end by combining a few scenes. But, seriously, this is definitely my pick for best movie of 2008, and probably ranked number two or three of the decade, following Finding Neverland and (500) Days of Summer. A!!
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
They Live – Directed by Jon Carpenter – 1988
Cheesy, but some of the best one liners ever!
Story: Aliens invade and a guy fights them with guns while spouting one liners. Seriously, what more do you want? Carpenter spends a lot of time jumping up and down on his soapbox, with the hidden messages on the money and the billboards being oh so subtle (“This is your god!”), but it's done in such a cheesy, over the top way that it becomes quite hilarious. There are a few moments of plot induced stupidity, mainly coming from the bum who turns out to be working with the aliens not noticing that Piper's face was on TV as being wanted when he takes Piper inside the alien base. C
Acting: Roddy Piper does an excellent job of playing a very understated character at the beginning of this movie. Then once he notices the aliens around him he starts spouting one liners in an over the top fashion. In many ways it felt like his character had split personalities. I also love the fact that the first offensive move he does in this movie is a good old fashioned clothesline from pro wrestling. Keith David is probably the star actor of this movie, unless you count the fight between him and Roddy which was probably the real star of this movie, just ask South Park (Cripple Fight!). C
Visuals: Okay, this movie looked awesome. The special effects are a bit dated, but they more or less hold up to this day. The differences between the real world and the world seen through the glasses are awesome. John Carpenter is and will always be one of my favorite directors and this one was pretty good, although his love for long shots cost the scene of the cops beating up people in the back alley. That scene needed some creative editing and rapid cuts to make the hits look like they were actually impacting the victims. B
Sound: Carpenter loves synthesizers, as shown by this movie, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness. In this one we get the blues as played through a synth, which makes for an eerie sound. No foleys kicked me out of the movie, so all around we're good. A
Overall: This is a really stupid movie and I love it. It has become a bit hard to find these days, and if you consider yourself a fan or Carpenter and/or Evil Dead 2, then this movie is worth hunting down. I'd be willing to pay up to fifteen dollars for a good copy or a buck or two for a used VHS copy somewhere. C
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
Story: Aliens invade and a guy fights them with guns while spouting one liners. Seriously, what more do you want? Carpenter spends a lot of time jumping up and down on his soapbox, with the hidden messages on the money and the billboards being oh so subtle (“This is your god!”), but it's done in such a cheesy, over the top way that it becomes quite hilarious. There are a few moments of plot induced stupidity, mainly coming from the bum who turns out to be working with the aliens not noticing that Piper's face was on TV as being wanted when he takes Piper inside the alien base. C
Acting: Roddy Piper does an excellent job of playing a very understated character at the beginning of this movie. Then once he notices the aliens around him he starts spouting one liners in an over the top fashion. In many ways it felt like his character had split personalities. I also love the fact that the first offensive move he does in this movie is a good old fashioned clothesline from pro wrestling. Keith David is probably the star actor of this movie, unless you count the fight between him and Roddy which was probably the real star of this movie, just ask South Park (Cripple Fight!). C
Visuals: Okay, this movie looked awesome. The special effects are a bit dated, but they more or less hold up to this day. The differences between the real world and the world seen through the glasses are awesome. John Carpenter is and will always be one of my favorite directors and this one was pretty good, although his love for long shots cost the scene of the cops beating up people in the back alley. That scene needed some creative editing and rapid cuts to make the hits look like they were actually impacting the victims. B
Sound: Carpenter loves synthesizers, as shown by this movie, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness. In this one we get the blues as played through a synth, which makes for an eerie sound. No foleys kicked me out of the movie, so all around we're good. A
Overall: This is a really stupid movie and I love it. It has become a bit hard to find these days, and if you consider yourself a fan or Carpenter and/or Evil Dead 2, then this movie is worth hunting down. I'd be willing to pay up to fifteen dollars for a good copy or a buck or two for a used VHS copy somewhere. C
Tacmovies: We're not failed film students who bitterly criticize successful movies... really... sniffle... so, um... yeah, ahem: Follow our reviews on blogspot, flixter, imdb, yahoo movies, and youtube.
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