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The War of the Worlds (1953)
GRANDIOSE...BOMBASTIC...BEAUTIFUL...ONLY FLAW...HEAVY-HANDED RELIGIOSITY (H.G. WELLES was a Well-Known & Outspoken "AGNOSTIC")
This Stunning Entry in the 1st Wave of Post-War Sci-Fi Consistently Makes Top-10 Lists of the Great Science-Fiction Films of All-Time, ever since it Hit Screens and Wowed Audiences in 1953, With the...
Incredible Technicolor Design of Ultra-Modern Space-Craft Displaying Vibrating and Pulsating Weapons of Mass Destruction...
The Overall Presentation Layered with Suspense, Wonder, of an Other-Worldly Picture.
Even Steven Spielberg with His 21st Century Wizardry Could Not Topple this Nail-Biter from its Throne. Certainly the...
Best Version of H. G. Wells Ahead-of-its-Time Story.
The Only Real Burden is the Dated, Obligatory, Overt, Over-the-Top Religiosity. It Permeates the Proceedings on a Regular Basis, and also Brings with a Goodly Amount of Naive Corn-Pone Characters, Dialog, and Sentimentality...
Along with Stereotypical Behavior...Like an Hysterical Female Breaking-Down Again and Again. It also Contains Cliched Rustic Situations...
a Square-Dance with Coke-a-Cola Bottles and 2 Straws...and
Hayseeds Immediately Turning Opportunistic and Capitalistic wanting to Make the Event into a "Road-Side-Attraction"...
and the Now Classic Line, with a "White-Flag' Waving...."Welcome to California".
This is Producer George Pal's Masterpiece.
His 3rd Film, after "Destination Moon" (1950) and "When Worlds Collide" (1951), He went on to Make "The Time Machine" (1960) and others, but Undeniably this is Pal's Crowning Glory.
The SFX were Among the Best of the Post-War Era and were Somewhat Equalized Occasionally but None Never Better.
The Opening "War-Battle" is a Mesmerizing Display...Heart-Pounding, Visceral, Violent, and Disturbing.
Early Sci-Fi Rarely Looked this Good.
Trivial High-Lights Include...Rare, Lengthy, Hi-Def Footage of the Infamous "Flying-Wing", a Boondoggle of Epic Proportion, but it is Really-Cool to Look at...
There's an Homage to Orson Welles (Famous/Infamous) 1938 Radio Broadcast, at about the 1 hr mark...an some Memorably, Dated, Cringe Cold-War Dialog and Attitudes that Will Not be Spoiled Here.
Simply One of the Best and For All Audiences, Young and Old...it is a...
Must See.
Twisters (2024)
FORMULAIC...DULL...REEKS OF RESIDUE FROM THE GENRE...OK IF NOTHING SPECIAL
Far from an Original Idea, or for that Matter a Different Take on the Old-Twist of a Disaster Movie, in Fact, Relies Solely on a Safe and Standard Template for All the Twisting and Shouting Ingredients Found in the Original Block-Buster...
Twister (1996) was the 2nd Grosser of the Year with "Independence Day" at #1.
This Remake, Re-Do, Revisit, Patented Picture has the same Chance as a Windy Downpour Causing a Flood in the Desert.
It's just to Shelf-Worn, Standard-Stuff that Doesn't Stray to Far Off the Beaten-Path of the ("Twister-(Disaster-Movie)-Template").
Adding Only the Addition of Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Stereotypical, Characters, to Make Sure its Awake with its Diverse Crew of Many "Different", as to Not Ring Any Bells, or Step on Any Toes.
The Lead "Meteorologist" is of Course a Woman, because this is Now Knee-Jerk in the Current Decades Long Pendulum Swinging of Inserting Females in Every, used to be Male-Dominated Roles.
Where Women were Usually Back-Up or Back-Ground Depending on how Far You Want the "Way-Back-Machine" to Scrutinize.
She (Daisy Edgar-Jones) Brings Nothing Special to the Role and Her Character is Forced by Previous Trauma to be Reluctant, Hesitant, and Frightened to Get Back in the Hunt 100%.
But the Human Actor/Characters in the Type Almost Always Play Support to the "Real Stars" of the Genre...The Special-Effects, and in this Regard are Nothing Special.
It's Mostly a "Retread" Operation where Nothing Stands-Out or in Any Way Awes Audiences with Same-O Visuals that have been Around Since, Well, Forever.
Nothing to See Here that Audiences Haven't Seen Before and Better Executed to Provide Maximum Rubber-Necking that Sells the Tickets.
The Flirtatious Romance is Dull, the Scientific Gobblety-Gook is Uninteresting and Dull...
the Whole Movie has a Dull Edge and Seems Mechanical. Methodical, and Unwilling to Venture a Smidgen of Outside-the-Box Speculation...
as to WHY these Things, the "Tornados" are becoming More Frequent and More Powerful. No Toe-Stepping Allowed and "Global Warming" or "Climate Change" is Never an Utterance or a Thought and Seems Suspiciously Conspiratorial.
For the Easily Entertained and Those Young Enough to Not Have Overdosed on the Disaster-Movie Genre.... Worth a Watch...
For Others...Missing This isn't Missing Much.
Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
"MARS NEEDS MEN"...BRITISH SCI-FI....CHIC & STODGY AT THE SAME TIME...WONDERFUL WATCH WORKING SOME WONDERS
"MARS NEEDS MEN"...BRITISH SCI-FI.... CHIC & STODGY AT THE SAME TIME...WONDERFUL WATCH WORKING SOME WONDERS
Among its Uncanny Appeal is the Combination of an Ultra-Modern 50's, Kinky-Shining-Leather-Bound, Leggy, Butch-Like "Invader From Mars" alongside Stiff-Lipped Stodgy Scottish-Inn Hostages Set in Their Ways.
Drinking Like Fish and Cursing Alcohol at the Same-Time...and "While were still alive we might as well have a nice cup of tea"...and "There's nothing like a nice cup of tea in a crisis".
The Butting of Really-Cool Low-Budget Light-Blasted SFX...including the "Flying Saucer", the "Robot" (part clunk, but photo-genic with that iconic time-stamped awkward ice-box-bulk).
The Ship Interiors (reminds of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" 1951) with shards of Fractured Lines Revealing Nothing but Sharply Contrasted Outlines of Neo-Deco-Kitch, that are Stunning.
Slamming Visually into Hoary Old Stereotypes Like the "Doubting" Wild-Haired Scientist (Joseph Tomeltry), and a Bombastic Ego-Maniacal Reporter (Hugh McDermont) Reciting Lines So Loud that He seems to be Compensating for the Downed Telephone Hoping His Words will be Heard back in London...
a Wee-Lad, all Freckled, Innocent, (Anthony Richmond) Fearless and more Mature and Grounded than the "Adults" in the Room...
The Innocently Accused Escaped Convict (Peter Reynolds) just Looking for Love and a Place to Hide...
Seems Like its Taking Place in a "Petrified Forrest".
Then there's another Strong Woman, to go with the Slick, Stoic Astro-Babe. Nyah (Patricia Laffan) that Became an Icon of 1950's Glam...
a Strong Matriarch who is the "Boss", Runs the Inn, and Barks Her Orders and the Others Snap to Her Demands.
Hammer's Hazel Court Doesn't Do Much and is Buttoned-Up.
Given All there is to Gleen, the Movie's Short Running Time does seem Talky, Leaden, Deadened and Draggy.
But the Gifts Keep on Giving Until the End, Rekindling the Sparks just when the Film's Fire Needs Stoking.
Isolated Still-Photos are Compelling and Serve to Introduce this Low-Budget British Sci-Fi from the 1950's that were Not all that Common.
A Treat for those Looking for an Off-Beat Movie from the Prolific American Run of "Classic" Sci-Fi that Started with "The Thing From Another World" (1950).
It Ran Uninterrupted for a Good Dozen Years Providing Oodles of Oddities for Future Generations to Love, Admire, Hate, and Ridicule...
it's No Wonder that the "Movies" were...
"The Most Popular Art-Form of the 20th Century"
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
CULMINATING & CONTINUING THE CINEMATIC-COMIC HISTORY...HYPER NOSTALGIC,,,ULTRA-PROFANE & ULTRA-VIOLENT
The 1st "R" Rating in the MCU (Marvel Comic Universe) of the Many (30 some & counting) Movies, comes with Violence and Profanity of the "Ultra-Type".
The Movie Already Broke Box-Office and Money Making Tallies of the "Wimpified-Rubber-Stamp" PG-13's.
Wary and Afraid of Excluding a Certain Massive Demographic who are more than Willing to Get In Line for the "Theater" Experience and...
Handing Over Bundles of Cash to the "Bottom-Line-Suits" Myopically Focused on Profits...Damn the Artistic Purists. In Fact Damn All the "Arts" if it Means Lower Cash in the Final Count.
It's a Demonstrable and Unwarranted Fear if "Deadpool & Wolverine" is any Measure of an "R" Under-Cutting the Cash-Count Significantly. Once a "Product" Generates Kick-Backs in the Hundreds of Millions, or even a Billion... Surely even the "God" of the Misers Should be Proud to be so Well-Heeled...Surely?
You Would Think. But With the "God Motto...Greed is Good"...Well, there You Go...
Here's Betting the Next 95% of Forthcoming Superhero-Movies will Screen with a PG-13...Hedging and Speculating. It Doesn't Hurt a bit, that "Deadpool & Wolverine" is a Near-Perfect Fan-Service-Feed Gorging, with a Near-Overdose of Everything on the "Menu" at the "Nostalgia" Restaurant, that is Near the also "Keeping it Fresh" Deli.
There are More "Surprises" in this "Balls to the Wall" Mega-Hit (that is if you are NOT a Trailer-Prone idiot that hates surprises and can't resist) than You can Imagine in Your Wildest Fan-Guy/Girl-Fever-Dreams.
You can Count on Having More Fun than a Barrel of Spanking Monkeys...
'Nuff Said.
The Beekeeper (2024)
FUN FOR STATHAM & SUPER-HERO FANS...SAY IT WITH ME..."I WILL NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WEAK & VULNERABLE"
"The Beekeepers", a Super-Elite Group of "War Machines", Created to"Watch the Watchers", Maintaining that the Uppers "Do No Harm" to the "Hive", the "Collective", the "Structure" that is that that "Holds it All-Together" in a Form that is Unique and "All-Important" for a Continuance, albeit Allowing for a Certain Amount of "Evolutionary", and Necessary "Growth".
"The Beekeepers" are Deemed "Outside the Law"...When an FBI Agent (Emmy Raver-Lampman) Confronts and Lectures Statham about His Vigilante Tactics Says..."
Of course these despicable people need to pay for what they have done...that's why we have LAWS...The Beekeeper answers...
"Yes we have LAWS and when they fail...You have ME".
If this all Sounds "Comic-Bookish", it is...
For the Last 30 Years...Comic-Book "Heroes" Like *The Beekeepers" have been More Relevant than Ever Before, Indicating a Certain "Breakdown" or Erosion of Civilization while the Ones Running the Show Seem Impotent, Incompetent or Evil. The System (Hive) is Infected, Infiltrated, and So..."The Beekeepers"
This Thing We Call Life...is Complicated and these Colorful "Myths" are Created as a "Buffer", a Placebo, a Fictionalized Savior Saving us from Powerful Forces Degrading, Destroying, and Damaging the Soul of Humanity, and Civilization and its LAWS are Powerless to Stop the Insanity.
This is Yet Another Entertaining, Cathartic, Creation to Relieve the Pain...It's Better than Some...Worse than Others...Enjoy the Relief, if just for a Little-While, and for that Pain-Killing Asset, and as a "Circus" to Distract...
Worth a Watch.
I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
SCI-FI "SLEEPER"...LOW-KEY "SEX" STORY...THEY'RE HERE TO PROCREATE...DARK & DELIRIOUS
Just Like Val Lewton's Horror Counterpart with the Ludicrous Title "I Walked With a Zombie" (1942), this is a "Shocker" as it Unreels in the Feel of a Fever-Dream, with a Deadly-Serious Tone of Disturbing Doings, Delighting Audiences and Critics Alike.
Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbot are Dire and Dreary as the Plot Unfolds its Secrets Among John Fulton's SFX, Steeped in a Noirsh Overtone of Deep Shadows (both indoor and out) with Only 1 Scene, at a Picnic, that Allows for Much Light to Intrude on the Horrific Story.
But even that Scene Ends with "Death" that Adds Another Layer of the Dreaded Interlopers.
The Creatures, both Full-Body and Eerily Super-Imposed in Flashes of Facial Creepiness are Scary, and the Movie also Features some Gore or Gooy SFX as the Creatures Decompose.
Much can be Made of Multiple Sub-Text if put Under the Movie Microscope Relating to Sex, Marriage (and the fear of), along with Love and Human Emotions.
The Story Borrows from the Decades Best..."Invaders From Mars" (1952) and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) to Name just 2.
But this Film can Hold-Its-Own Along-Side its More Well-Known Contemporaries, Despite Being a Title that Draws Guffaws From the Uninitiated...That is, Until They See this Hidden-Gem.
No One is Laughing as this Dark-Horse Reveals its Dread...and then some.
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)
Fast-Paced Dark & Gritty...Pandemic Starts & Stopped by Post-War Leaders "Science &Government"
The Sudden Force-Filing of Film-Noir into a Hybrid Labeled "Procedural" in Post-War America where "Cops" and other Law-Enforcement Types Gave Way to...
"Your Government Can Do No Wrong" Often Burdened with Cringe-Inducing Prologues with some "Leader" Behind a Desk Reading "Cue-Cards" Riddled with "Looking After You" Platitudes...
Made the Genre that Could be Called "Pure-Film-Noir" Fade-Fast with the More Propagandizing of America.
Fortunately, in this Movie (based on actual events), there was No-Need for Hyperbole, because the Facts Themselves "Sell" the Story Very Well.
New York City and its Citizens" were Desperately Needed to Cooperate, Get Vaccinated, and Get-Together to Stop the Smallpox Pandemic from Wiping Out the Whole Eastern Seaboard.
Made, Almost Simultaneously with Elia Kazan's "Panic in the Streets", the Movie was Held-Back After the Success of the More Prestigious and Better Budgeted Film as to Not "Collide" with Comparisons and Competition.
No Need, this is a Disturbing Film Layered with Claustrophobic Darkness where Deadly Danger and Threatening Shadows are Lurking Everywhere.
Adding to the Paranoia and Suspense, there are "Vaccine Deniers" Protesting and the Critical Numbers of the Dense and Varied Population, the Doses on Hand, all Make the War on Smallpox seem Almost Impossible.
Evelyn Keyes, is the "Carrier" and the Sub-Plot Involves a Criminal-Cheating-Husband (with her sister, no less) and Her Uncanny Stamina to Stay Alive Until She Catches Up with the Cad.
As Good as "Panic in the Streets", and is Definitely...
Worth a Watch.
Wrath of Man (2021)
ATYPICAL 'SUPER-SERIOUS" GUY RITCHIE MOVIE...REVENGE TOLD STRAIGHT...w/JASON STRATHAM
In this 2021 Movie Guy Ritchie Eliminates His Personal-Stylist-Mode that His Fan-Base Adores...That of a Rapid-Fire Extreme of Trash-Talking-Fun.
It, however does have a Considerable Amount of Macho-Needling and Name-Calling, almost all of it in the First-Half.
After That, Things Turn Brutally Cold as the Reason for the One-Man Revenge-Mission, where Jason Stratham in Zombie-Mode Dispatches Possible Participators and Violators as He Seeks Out Sign-Posts and other Connections to the Deed Demanding Payback.
Stratham, the Martial-Arts-Master is Nowhere to be Seen.
But Firearms of Every Sort are Everywhere.
As is His Supreme Confidence to Handle Anything and Everyone Necessary for the Success and Accomplishment of a Complete, Precise, and Delivery of His Mission.
That Includes and Concludes with an "Eye for an Eye" Penalty, that On-the-Surface seems Awkward, Forced, and Superfluous.
It Might be a Sign of a Complete and Total Mental Collapse that was Brought-On by the Personal Trauma that Set Him In-Motion.
Guy-Ritchie Fans are Divided on this Movie.
It is Apart from His Usual Playful, Surreal, Gritty Fun-Stuff Expressionism that Made Him a Recognizable "Auteur".
The Movie can be Disturbing with Stratham Playing Not-a-Hero who is Literally Demonstrating a "Wrath of Man".
Worth a Watch.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
OVER-THE-TOP...NEO-NOIR...2 COMMITTED LEADS & DYNAMIC DISPLAYS OF MODERN SENSIBILITIES
Director Rose Glass is Completely Without Restraint in Her Foray into Lesbian-Life, Gritty Milieus, with a Style that Offers One-Step-Beyond Expectations, and some Surreal Surprises.
The Movie has a "Jim Thompson-Novel" Feel and Appeal...Down and Dirty, and Stretches the Crime Story Over the Limit of the Usual Noir Template.
Sometimes it Seems the Visuals Go too Far and Can Draw Big Laughs that May or May Not be Appropriate for the Type and Do Remove the Viewer from the Real to the Surreal Without Warning and Can Offer a Different Take, but Fanatical-Fans of the Genre May Not Take to it.
A Few Scenes Toward the End Seem Silly and Awkward and Serve No Particular Purpose Other than to Just be "Different". But These Types of Experimental Flourishes are Mostly in the 3rd Act and Do Not Fail the Feel of the Film in the Overall.
Kristen Stewart and Anna Baryshnikov are both Superb as the Lesbian Couple Involved in Murder, Family Failings, and Brutal Confrontations, With Excellent Support from Dave Franco, Katy O" Brien, and Jena Malone, and All.
With Ed Harris Making His Usual Imprint as an Evil Force to be Reckoned.
It's the Bizarre Template that Dominates Amidst the Usual Noir Tropes and Director Rose Puts Pedal to the Metal from the Get-Go, to Make Sure that Her 2nd Movie Gets Noticed.
She Succeeds No Doubt, Because this Neo-Noir is Anything But Ordinary...
It's Extraordinary, Although those Seeking the Genre in its Purest Form are Likely to be Taken-aback by All the Stretching that the Film Brings Along.
It's an Audacious, No-Holds-Barred Anomaly and Seekers of Something Completely Different are Rewarded, and Then Some.
The Crucible (1996)
STILL RELEVANT?......"HANG MIKE PENCE"...TIMES CHANGE BUT REMAIN THE SAME
Based on the Play by Arthur Miller...Premiered January 22, 1953...Miller Adapted His Own Theatrical-Play for the Screen-Play...He has been Quoted as Saying the Film was too Stylized and Cold. Miller was Nominated for an Oscar for the Adaptation of His Own Play...Joan Allen was also a Nominee for "Best Performance in a Supporting Role". Miller's Play Won the "Tony" for "Best of the Year"
No Matter the "Quibbles" about Changing a Few Things of Minor Consequence and Concern.
The Essence of this Dark and Well Documented Abuse of Power, and Mass-Murder was Still Relevant in 1996...The "Witches" were Now Called Communists and McCarthy's Trials was Used Not to Hang but to Harass and Blacklist Victims Accused of a "Political-Point-Of-View" who were Conspiring to Take Over America with Planted Subversive Soldiers of the Anti-Christ...The "Devil's Work".
It was Ultra-Relevant, McCarthy and Miller, Widely Known and Debated in '53. Both Joe McCarthy's Trials and Arthur Miller's Play "The Crucible".
McCarthy was On-the-Tube and Miller was at His Typewriter Crafting a Scathing Indictment, Drawing Parallels that Could Not Be Denied...
Would Become Known Evermore as a "Witch Hunt" and idn't Take a Pulitzer-Prize Playwrite to Know this Instinctively and Appalled at the Gullibility from Fear to American-Citizens to Buy-In and Ferociously Fall-in-Line Behind the Apocracy, Know Matter How Outlandish. McCarthy was Using Politics just as the Witch-Hunters Used Christianity.
In this Particular Episode of Salem Sinking to the Depths, there were 19 in that Small Community that were Hanged Because They Refused to "Confess" Dealings with the Devil.
This is a Fine-Film with a Time-Less Lesson on the Capabilities and the Defaults Always Present in the "Human Condition"...and Eternal Vigilance is Always Necessary.
All this Still Relevant in the 2020's?,,,"HANG MIKE PENCE!"
That Should Send Shivers to All the RIGHTeous.
Trap (2024)
SHYAMALAN SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER..."BOMBED" WITH HIS COMBINATION NEPO-POP-STAR-PROMO & THRILLER
M. Night Shyamalan is Seasoned Enough, Credited Enough, Rich Enough, and a Skilled Survivor of One of the More Rapid Defrocking by Fans and Critics in Hollywood History.
Once Compared to Hitchcock, the Writer-Director Plummeted from "The Red Carpet" After the Fawned-Over Mega-Success, both Financial and Artistic Rewards of the Debut Film "The Sixth Sense" (1999), the 'New-Kid' with the Funny-Name Failed to Come Close to Matching that Movie in Any Way, No Matter How You Slice it.
He Made a Few Interesting Movies in His First-Wave...His 2nd Best to Date, that was a Long-Time Ago, 'Unbreakable" (2000), but After "The Village" (2004), a Run of 4 Flops in a Row Had Fans and Critics "Reeling", but He Continued Making Mediocre to Awful Films.
As of Today He has Had the "Privilege" and Opportunity To Make 22 Well-Budgeted Movies that Run the Gamut of Movie-Making from God-Awful to Mediocre. It Does Seem that "Out-of-the-Gate" Instant Ultra-Success was Not What it Seemed, and Premature to be Kind.
That Brings Us to His Most-Recent Disaster "Trap", Not-At-All Disguised "Promo" for His "Pop-Star" Wannabe Daughter Saleka. A Wise Pop-Culture Player Like Shyamalan Should Have Known that Particular Pairing of "Featuring" Her Stage-Show as Much in the Foreground as the "Serial-Killer" Plot was a Bad-Mix and Wouldn't Go Down Well with the Pouncing a Foregone Conclusion Unless it Turned-Out as a Great Film. The Pouncing has Been Pulverizing and Plentiful, with Good Reason.
No One Won...Everybody Lost...
The Predictable Failing of the Film on Every-Level Imaginable was the Result...
The Premise of the Plot is Far-Fetched to the Extreme...The Severity of Trying to Convey the Brutal Violence of a Serial-Killer's Reputation, Menace, and the Doing of His Deeds, within a PG-13 Movie is Doomed to Fail and at Worst Become Laughable.
His Name, by the Way is..."The Butcher"...
That's a Title that Becomes Farcical Filmed with a PG-13. Josh Hartnett Gives it a Try...
But No Cigar, it was Impossible the way the Director Frames the Whole Thing.
Female-Pop-Star...13 Year Old Girls...Swaying and Singing Along.
The Only Way This is Going to Succeed is Farce, Satire, or Parody.
The Movie is Dead-Serious. That is to Say, As Dead-Serious as a Family-Fun-Concert Show Should Be. The Tone is All-Over-the-Map. None of it Convincing, Thrilling or the Least-Bit Intriguing.
The Movie Feels Artificial, Pre-Fabricated, and Insincere.
M. Night Shyamalan's 23rd, and Counting, Movie is Not His Worst, but is a Contender for that Dishonor.
You Go "Night"...and Apologize to Your Daughter.
Teenage Zombies (1959)
MORE EXEMPLARY EVIDENCE THAT "JERRY WARREN" IS A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR THE "WORST DIRECTOR EVER"
"Ed Wood" Movies have Charm..."Ed Wood' Movies are Fun..."Ed Wood" Movies Explode with Examples of a Film-Maker In-Love with His "Art".
"Jerry Warren" Movies are Stagnant..."Jerry Warren" Movies are Flat..."Jerry Warren" Movies Drag..."Jerry Warren" Movies Reek of Shallow, Detached, Anemia..."Jerry Warren" Movies aren't just "Bad", they are God-Awful, Terrible, and Unwatchable.
"Teenage Zombies" is an Excellent Example. The Young-Actors do Try and Add some "Life" to this "Pseudo-Zombie Movie" but seem On-Their-Own with "Direction" or a "Director" Absent.
There is an Excessive Amount of Standing Around Motionless, while Reading Lines about a Story that is Convoluted, Incoherent, and Uninteresting.
There's Mention of 'Mind-Control", Hydrogen-Bombs, "They", and the "Kitchen-Sink" and Not Much of it Connects or Makes Much Sense.
The Sets are All Super-Cramped, Like it is Taking-Place in a "Play-House" in Someone's Back-Yard.
The Outdoor Scenes Consist of Endless Shots of a Shore-Line and Boats Motoring To and Fro, the Running Joke seems to be Something about "Water-Skiing' of "Horse-Back-Riding" or Something.
"Ivan", the Hunchback, Walks Hither and Yon, with a Grunt, Maybe, it's Hard to Tell because the "Sound" is also Among the Awful.
The Kids are "Perky" and Give it Their All During a Fight that Resembles a Game of "Twister", that Goes On For Far too Long.
The "Thespian" Adults are Pathetic...Pondering, Stiff, and Barely Respond to Each Other Beyond Reciting What's On the Page.
71 Min. Of Pure Boredom, a Grueling, Grating, Get-Through. One of the Worst Movies, that Can't Muster a Minuscule Minute of Entertainment.
The Pit at the Bottom of the Barrel.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
IF THIS HAD BEEN THE 1ST MOVIE...THE SERIES WOULD NOT EXIST...DISMAL DIRGE...LACKLUSTER
As it is the 3rd in the Over-Rated Trilogy, the Absolute Worst of the 3.
A Severe Series Come-Down for Fans of the Not-So-Great, but at Least Watchable and Semi-Suspenseful, One-Note Dirge (don't include any more, because, you know)...Shush...
Less is More...Quiet, More Thrilling, More Thought-Provoking...
What the...? Give it a Rest, Take a Nap, When You Sleep You Can't Make Any Noise (unless you snore loudly).
It's All so Pretentious, in this World Today of "Booming" Cinema...
We Will Play to the Opposite, Counter Programming, if You Will, that Alone Will Draw Attention to the Movie and its "Rebellious" Style and Method...that is the Lone, Laconic, Laborious Note.
Well, it Worked and the 1st Movie was a Surprise Low-Budget Hit and a Sequel was Rushed Before Anyone in the Audience Noticed...
It is a Gimmick.
It Darkly Disguised and Propped-Up the Lackluster Story and Events that Stretched Minimalism to the Breaking-Point.
But by the Coming of the Highly-Anticipated Sequel More and More Viewers were Catching On.
That there is Nothing Here to Shout (Shush) About...
but a Lot to Levy Questions Concerning the Plot...even after 3 Movies, there is a lot Left Unanswered, Unveiled, and Remain Absent Any Noise with Regards to......Everything.
Like, Maybe Anything, Something About the Aliens.
The Movies are Dead-Silent, and Offer Nothing Not-a-Thing , about the Invaders, Their Mission, Their Existence, Their Everything.
More Gimmickry Here...Hopelessly Dying Protagonist.
Hoping Everybody with "Heart-Break", after They Stop Weeping, will Come Back for the 4th Movie and Get Something, Anything...
About What the Hell is Going On, Who is it Going On With...Oh Forget About it, If Not by Now, Never.
By the End of Mediocre Movie #3 and the Film-Makers are Still Cowering in the Corner, Speechless by the Shock that They Scored a Big-Hit,
and are Afraid to Admit that People and the Critics Bought the One-Note Scam...
Didn't They "Enjoy" the Death-Bound, Protagonist on Her Way to a Really-Quiet-Place, While Her Siamese-Twin Feline Friend Helps Capture the Hearts and Emotions of the Audience.
You Expected More About the Story or the Background of those Ambiguous Predators, Lurking Everywhere, Offering Nothing but a Ferocious Bite.
Sorry..."We've Got Nothing More Up Our Sleeve, We Already Played that One-Note Counter-Programming Card-Thing. You Wanted More?"
After They Make a Run on the Banks, Collecting Their Ill-Gotten-Gains, Profiting From Nothing More than a Wink.
Next,-Time...We can Expect some High Promotional
Ballyhoo...Like,
Step-Right-Up, All will be Revealed...Buy Your Advanced Tickets Now.
But Expect Nothing...Anticipate Nothing...Those Behind this Scam Probably will be On Their Way to Destinations Unknown and the 4th-Movie Will Most Likely be...
Something, Anything, that They can Get-Away With.
But will Most Likely be...Still Absent Something, Anything Beyond Repetition and Freezing Everyone into a Coma...
You Can't Make Any Noise in a Coma (stop that thing from Beeping).
After this 3rd Movie it's Clear that the Film-Makers are Out-Of-Their-Depths in a Thinking-Man Genre...
and Should Seek Employment at the "Lifetime Network", or Maybe at a Carnival where Sleight-of-Hand Hucksters Still Exist.
That is What these Con-Artists, Pretending to be Film-Artists Offer.
Good-Luck and Good-Riddance.
Twins of Evil (1971)
'IF IT'S A HAMMER FILM...IT'S WORTH A WATCH"...BETTER LATE THAN NEVER...WANING YEARS...BUT STILL
A Bit Sad to Watch the Great "Hammer Studio" Struggling to Stay Relevant When the Odds are Stacked Against...
Like Mickey Mantle in that Last Year (1968)...Battling....210 After 17 Years Above .300 Reduced to that Statistical-Divide (in Baseball Stats are everything)...Arbitrarily Separating the "Greats" from the "Almost Great" (in that era)..."The Mick" Now Retiring with a Lifetime of...298...
or Dan Marino Putting on the Aqua-Blue #13 in His Remaining 5 Years, and Obeying Orders from a Distant and Detached Head-Coach Jimmy Johnson...Marino Handing Off to Mediocre Running Backs for 5 Straight Season. The Results were 5 Straight Seasons, On-the-Ground "Running" with Awful Results. A Dictate by the Uncaring, it seems the Brain-Dead Johnson, was Unaware or Simply a Simpleton that His QB was the Most Prolific, by far, Pure Passer, at the Time in NFL History, Holding Every "Passing" Title "Lifetime".
Yes it Happens to the Greats. Due to Circumstances or Cycles, Dumb Luck, or Diminished Talent, or in Marino's Case...Marching-Orders from Above...the Inevitable End, Sometimes Unpleasant, to Everything and Everybody. Dignity is Hoped For, but Not Always Forthcoming.
This is "America" and "Americans" Love Sports Analogies......and Movies.
Hammer Studios Changed the Course of the Mighty Film Industry World-Wide. Creatively Flowing Forth from What has Been (and the most profitable).
After 1957, the Play-Book for "Horror-Movies" had to be Updated to Reflect this "Juggernaut", that was Forged by "Hammer" with their "Modern" Updates of the Universal Classics...
with Reverence, Respect, Color, Sex, and a Studio Full of Talent...
"Universal Studios" Gave Birth, on the Cusp of the "Sound Era" with a "New"Style". Embracing Expressionism and Gothic Grotesqueness that were so Artistically Impressive. "Universal" Dominated the "Horror" Genre for 15 Years.
Trivia too Has a Place Among Film-Fans...
One Might Observe a Synchronicity in Retrospect. "Hammer" too was at the Top of the "Horror-Genre", those Same 15 Years.
Then Again, the Inevitable...With Little Fanfare the Once Dominant "Hammer-Studio" Faded into the Dark of Night.
Leaving a Legacy of Great Movies in its Wake of Wonder that Entertained and Pleased a Generation of Movie-Fans, and Etched on Celluloid.
That will Survive as Long as Movie-Buffs Continue to Care, Want to be Entertained, and More, by Devotees who Love Movies.
"The Most Popular Art-Form of the 20th Century.
The Studio, Shortly After "Twins of Evil"..."Hammer" would be "Dead and Buried" (Pun Intended),
but in True-Form, would be Summoned and Resurrected along with that Attractive Archive, so New-Folks could be Amazed that a Lowly British B-Movie Studio would Behead the Majors and Become Head of a Film-Genre World-Wide,
Take Over the Throne and Rule for a Decade and a Half, and that would Become Known as the "Hammer-Years" by Historians of Cinema and Pop-Culture, Especially those Focused on the Horror and Sci-Fi Genres of Cinema.
This Movie Was Not as Profoundly Bad as the "Mickey Mantle" or "Dan Marino" Aforementioned Example, Preparing to Retire from the Game.
It's More Like a Sign-Post, a Hint that the "Game" would Say Farewell to the Slow-Death of the "House of Hammer" and Move-On.
Peter Cushing was There Through it All. Totally in Love and Devoted to His Beloved Life-Long Wife, just Before Filming Started, Passed Away. You can See that He Used his Overwhelming Grief, as He Began His Career Without His Partner and Best Friend By His Side.
He Seems to be Channeling all that Painful Negativity into His Against-Type Role as the Another Side of "Evil"...that of the Sanctioned, "Legal-Evil".
This Peter Cushing Role as "Gustav Weil (pronounced "Vile") may be His Best Performance in a Long Career.
Another, More Frivolous Attraction and Metaphor for the Titlular-Title (Pun Intended) "Twins of Evil" are the Literal "Twins" in the Form of Two 19 Year Old Lovelies,
Fresh From the Glossy Centerfold of a 1970 Issue of "Playboy Magazine",
Known Separately as Mary and Madeleine, but Collectively as, "The Collinson Twins"...They Two Might be Surmised as the Titular-Title (Pun Intended).
"If it's a Hammer Film...It's Worth a Watch"...
You Never Know who will Show Up and You can Count On that Great "Hammer Style" to be Present and Accounted For.
Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
FANTASTIC FILM-NOIR-LOVECRAFT-HORROR-HYBRID...MAGICAL MOVIE ART-CRAFT ACROSS THE BOARD...HBO ORIGINAL (1991)
1948 Hollywood in an Alternate Universe
Down for the Count "Gumshoe" Harry Phillip Lovecraft (Fred Ward) has a Promising Payday in the Form of a New Client who Wants to Recover a Rare Book (Necronomicon).
By the Way, in this "Parallel Reality", Every-One Conjures "Magic" Every-Day, Like People use "Cell-Phones" Today, to Gain Access to Everything. But Not Our Hero Harry.
He Likes His Soul and He is Not in the Market to Sell.
This is a Rather Hit and Miss Sub-Genre..."Horror-Comedy"...and Movie-Magicians and Craftsmen Proceed with Caution. The Audacious Amalgamation of Lovecraft and Marlowe is Risky in the Extreme.
But HBO Made a Movie with a Sharp Script, Spot-On Late 40's Los Angeles Vibe and Visuals, a Pitch-Perfect Cast,
SFX and Monster Make-Up Fittingly Lured and B-Movie Monsters and Assorted Other-Worldly Creatures and Crazy Characters, Straight Out of Imaginative Mythos that has Been Providing Off-Beat and Fringe Fiction and Flourishing Forever.
The Movie is Locked in a Prison...a Hidden-Gem Hell. It has Only Received a Quicky VHS Release, Long Out-of-Print, Since Then...
No Physical-Media...Nothing...Nada...Zero...Zilch. This is a Profound Mystery in "Fandom". A Cold-Case, this was Made by HBO in 1991.
It Shouldn't be Difficult to Find Out WTF, and Find a Solution and Get this Neglected Artifact Back Where it Belongs.
Artful Movies Need to be On-Display for Public Entertainment and Appreciation.
Definitely, by Any Measure a Successful Movie Brimming with B-Movie Bravado and a "Treat" According to "Most" who have had the Rare Privilege.
Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht (1979)
WERNER HERZOG & KLAUS KINSKI RISE AGAIN...MOODY...CREEPY...COLORFUL...RAT-INFESTED...NASTY...POETIC PICTURE
Around 1979 Saw "Dracula" Return From the Grave in a Number of Films..."Dracula" (1979)..."Love at First Bite (1979)..."Nocturna" (1979)..."Dracula Blows His Cool" (1979)...Among Other Vampire Movies..."Thirst" (1979)...and "Salem's Lot" (1979).
Klaus Kinski's "Nosferatu" Likeness could Surely Be Max Shreck's Original Vampire (named "Nosferatu" in the 1922 Version because the Bram Stoker Estate Sued to make it so), an "Undead" Creature 50+ Years Later, the Same but Not the Same.
The Max Shreck Persona "Lives" in Popular-Culture.
Director Herzog's Dips Divinely in His Artistic Repertoire to Paint a Modern-Aesthetic Over-Layed to Represent Modernity (Colorfully Surreal) while Masterfully Retaining a "Ghostly-Imagery" of the German Expressionist Silent-Movie Ancestor, that is an Icon of 20th Century Film-History.
While the Original Obviously Contained No "Voice or Vocals", Kinksi's Utterances Seem to be a "Replica". Now that's Talent.
The Movie Sets Itself Apart with the Illusionary, Illustrations from the Imagination of the Always Amazing Visuals and Styles that the Auteur Displays in All His Films. A Cinema Maverick to the End.
In the End Herzog is Quoted as Saying, when Asked About the Volatile Reputation of Klaus Kinski, His On-Set Tantrums and Bad-Behavior...Herzog Answered..."Well the 1,000 Rats that Infest the Picture...Behaved Better."
Dracula, Vampires, and Blood-Suckers Have Been so Prevalent in Motion Picture History that it Really Does Take Something "Special" to Stand-Out.
Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu the Vampyre" is just that..."SOMETHING SPECIAL"
Last Night in Soho (2021)
RAZZLE-DAZZLE-HORROR-SHOW...NEON BLOOD-SOAKED GLOW...TRIPPY & DISTURBING...SLIGHT 3rd ACT PLUNGE
Writer-Director, Edgar Wright Still Maintaining the "High" that Fans Expect from the "Show" that He Offers Routinely.
Creations Vibrating, Stimulating, and In-Your-Brain-Face, that Showcase and Ooze an Artist in Love with His Art.
Exhibiting Essence of Pop-Culture Flourishes, like His "Put-On-the-Map" Movie "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), through His Recent "Baby Driver" (2017) Hit.
Movies with Modern-Mayhem-Madness that Certify a "Bang for-the-Buck" Reward. Certainly a Cash-In as Rich as Any Film-Maker Working Today.
He Loves and Often Mimics and Pays Homage to the Color of Pop-Culture, Not just from His Generation but, He Argues Sometimes to a Fault, the Glories from the Past, Including but Not Only the "Swinging 60's".
That Stunning Youth-Powered Time-Changer that Left Its Mark by Steam-Rolling the Status-Quo of Outdated Paradigms with Restrictive Rules that Created the Generation-Gap.
It was a Schism Historically so Woefully-Wide it Collapsed. Creating an Opening for Descent and Declaring "For What It's Worth" Fresh Philosophies and Beliefs that Changed the World. Where Stiff and Sticklers for Conventions No-Longer Applied.
It is an Ambitious, Audacious Look-Back on England's "Soho" District in the 1960's that was Bubbling-Over with Energy Supplied by Youthful Exuberance, with a "Little Help From Some Friends".
A Place that was Ripe with Activity, Not All of it Healthy and Some of it Deadly, both Figuratively and Literally. Crime was Rampant and Vice-Crime even More So.
The Story is of a Virginal Lamb Encountering Wolves Devouring Easy Prey. Not All She Witnesses Can Be Certain because She has a History of Hallucinatory Visions and Disturbing Breaks from Reality.
She is Sucked-In to a "Hither and Yon" Existence Far Removed from Her Rural and Isolated Upbringing and She has No Defense and Little Organic Resistance Against Such Scary-Monsters,
The 3rd Act where Everything has Come Unglued with Reveals and Multi-Monster Attacks, She is Overwhelmed Amidst an "Army of the Dead".
It is the Most Chaotic of the Proceedings Culminating in, Perhaps, what Paul McCartney Termed, Coming Down from an Acid-High..."The Plunge", and its Devastating Tax on the "Expanded Mind" that Results in a Let-Down of Epic Proportion.
This Might Not Explain Why the Ending is Not as Good an Experience as What Came Before, but it Might be as Good an Explanation as any.
The Film Just Could Not Maintain its "Masterpiece" of Showmanship that was Experienced in the Beginning and Middle of this Mind-Blowing Movie.
Short Cut to Hell (1957)
UNREMARKABLE "BY THE BOOK" REDO OF..."THIS GUN FOR HIRE" (1942)...CAGNEY ONLY DIRECTOR CREDIT...WATCHABLE
As a Favor for a "Producer-Friend" Legendary Actor James Cagney, in His "Senior Years" Slipped into the "Director Chair", as can be Witnessed in the Prologue with "Cagney" and His Name-Back Chair, Turns to the Camera and the Audience and Talks About "Making a Movie" for about a Minute, Emphasizing its "Unknown" Lead Actors...Robert Ivers and Georgann Johnson...
It's Notable that His Optimistic "Positive-Push" Did Nothing to Help, as the 2 Thespians went Virtually Invisible or Background for the Remainder...
Cagney's "B-Movie" Star Robert Ivers (29 Credits) did a Couple Dozen TV Shows and a Spattering of Movies with His Final Appearance, TVs "12 O' Clock High" in 1966...
Georgann Johnson with (121 Credits, Mostly TV) was More Productive Ending Her Career with TVs "Cold Case" (2007).
But It is Ivers, Stepping in the Alan Ladd "Gun for Hire" Role, that Manages to Match the "Chilling" Hit-Man Persona and is More Effective than His Co-Star...
Georgann Fails to Match the Veronica Lake Portrayal as the Empathetic and Helpful "Acquaintance" of the Fleeing "Gun-Man" that He Meets on the Train. Although She Does Try-Hard and is OK.
Cagney's Direction is Uninspired Mostly, with the Brightly-Lit Movie Counter-Productive to the "Dark-Doings".
There is a WOW of a Finale Inside a Vibrating Industrial-Plant that is "Humming" at High-Speed, Perhaps a Metaphor for the Post-War Mega-Productivity Within the Bowels of America, it is Visually a 'Stunner".
The Final Analysis is a Mediocre Affair, Engaging Enough, with a Few Pre-Violent-Induced Films, that Feels "Ahead of its Time".
It Maintains the Trend More Emphasis on the "Bad-Abusive-Home" = "Breeding-Ground for Criminals", Therapeutic Sensitivity that Gained Psychological Momentum, a Trope of Film-Noir, and Became a Trend in Hollywood After WWII.
The Killer's Opposing-Side is, Once Again, Shown by His Affection for Furry Cats.
A Not-Bad "Remake" but Did Not "Cover" the Seminal "This Gun for Hire", it was and is Too Iconic and Justifiably One of the "Start-Ups" for Film-Noir, with Ladd and Lake Becoming "Super-Stars", and that Legacy Strongly Imprinted on Hollywood-History and is Indelible.
Superman III (1983)
"SUPERMAN": (THE MOVIE) & SUPERMAN II...SUPERMAN'S POST-MODERN ENTRY INTO FILM...NEAR FLAWLESS...THEN? OOPS...
For "Superman 3 & 4"...The Producers, in Their "Infinite Pop-Culture-Wisdom and Insight", Insisted that Comic-Book Material is Not Above "Low-Brow-Art".
Would Not and Could-Not Rise-Above its "Comics"-are for-"Children" Mantra, and Should Remain an Un-Serious Art-Form and Not Pretend to be Otherwise.
By the Mid-70's the Counter-Culture had Re-Evaluated that Non-Progressive Attitude...
That was the Major Catapult for "Marvel Comics", in the Early 60's, that Literally Wrote the New (Comic-Book),
Took-Off, Leaving DC (Superman) in the Dust with a Powerful Presentation Demonstrating "The Marvel Way" a Simply-Saying that "Comic-Books" have Come-of-Age, Grown-Up and the Possibilities of Boundless Creativity and Financial Rewards Totally Unimagined. Were Manifesting in Real-Time.
The New-Direction Solidified and Demonstrated its New-Found Freedom that was Flourishing.
It Started Way Back in 1962 and was, By Now, the "State of the Art" at the Time "Superman" Found "New-Life" in the Movies.
It was so Well Known and Defined in Pop-Culture, and it is a Big Mystery Why the "Superman" Producers Didn't Get the Memo or if They Did, Chose to Ignore it.
Comics had Been Successfully Redefined Exiting the Stagnant and Stifling "World-View" Operating in "Comic-Dom" Rescuing and Releasing the "Art-Form" from its Atrophied Existence , and that All Started 20 Years Before.
The "Superman" Producers were so "Pig-Headed", They Fired Richard Donner because He Wanted to "Play it Straight".
Coming on Board Half-Way Through the Second Movie, Comedy/Slapstick Specialist Richard Lester,
and He Continued with This Unwise, "Silly-Season" 3rd Movie, Giving the "Suits" What They Wanted...
Trouble Was...Nobody Else Wanted this Misguided Template...Nobody, and "Nobody" was Right. We have "Superman III" and "Superman IV" that Proves the Point.
Richard Pryor is as "Unfunny" as Richard Pryor can be.
Robert Vaughn is Utterly Ineffective as a Super-Villain and Plays an Uninteresting, Witless Megalomaniac and is a Non-Entity, a Vacant Suit with His Sister an Equal Non-Entity.
The Ending is Cheap-Looking Tin-Foil, Wire-Work, and Pulsating Light Bulbs and Beams.
The Best Part of this Near-Embarrassment is when "Bizarro-Superman" Comes to Life because Superman is Exposed to some "Weak" Kryptonite.
A Theme (Jekyll & Hyde Superman) that Showed-Up in the Silver-Age about Once-a-Year. It is Hands-Down the High-Light of the Movie.
Wolfs (2024)
AWKWARD & FLAT...UNFUNNY THRILL-LESS & MESSY
There is Something Very Odd About this "Apple-TV+" Original with Mega-Stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Something Feels Very Odd, and Off From the Opening Scene and Throughout this Vacant Dramatic-Comedic-Thrilling "Romp".
From the Long Foot-Chase Through the City where Our Reluctant Team-Up of "Cleaners" (Clooney and Pitt) Pursue the "Resurrected" Dead-Body (Austin Abrahams) that Needed "Cleaning' is No-Longer-Dead and Sprints Around in His Underwear, Up and Down Buildings, Fire-Escapes, and Assorted City-Scapes with the Skill of "Spider-Man", that is Never Explained or Referenced Thereafter.
That's just in the 1st Act with Much More Brain-Straining Mayhem to Follow.
Like the "Wedding" where Our Anti-Heroes Participate in One of the Most Cringe-Inducing Dance-Numbers Ever in a Major Motion Picture.
The "Jokes" are Anemic, and Repetitive, the Twists Involve such Cerebral-Catastrophes as a "Frank Sinatra" Obsessed Character that Lives Awash in "Old-Blue-Eyes" Memorabilia.
This, Again, is another Absurdity that is Never Referenced, Explained and One Guesses it is just a Post-Modern Quirky-Thing to Make the Movie Look "Hip".
This Miss-Fire Can Not be Described as Anything but a Flaccid Failure, in Fact it Can't be Described At All in Terms that Make Much Sense.
Its Assumed that this is the "Point"...
It's Just a "Fun-Thing" with No Teeth, No Charm, and Flops Around Until it's Over and the Collective Audience Releases a Collective...."Whaaaa?... Hughhhh?... That's it?"
Yep...That's All Folks!!!!
Civil War (2024)
AMBIGUOUS...APOLITICAL...ASS-HOLES RUNNING AMOK...HIGH-LIGHT LACKING "DISASTER-FLICK"
Ultimately the 'Disappointment of the Year'...
to Say the Least, in Terms of Anything Anticipated, Remotely Thought-Provoking or Problem-Solving for Anyone Seeking Answers to Divert a Dying Democracy, that One Could Call......"Culled From the Headlines".
An Apropos Description, Considering the Audience is On-Board with "Journalists", in an Attempt to Stage a Neutral Vantage-Point with Regards to the, You Know, the "Civil War".
Existentially it's the Literal "Battle-Ground" for the Survival or Not of the Democratic-Republic Aptly and Optimistically Named, Considering Recent Events, the "UNITED-States of America".
The Film, in the Final Analysis, is an Unwelcome and Misguided, "Entertainment"...
Containing Virtually Nothing of Substance, Insight, Cause, or Helpful about the Unfolding of the Broadening Separation of American Cousins, "Countrymen", and Citizens.
Brother O' Brother
There is 1 Scary, Frightening Scene that is a Power-House Demonstration of a "Mind-Set" that can Justify "Murder" and the Execution of Anyone who was "From Anywhere" Outside the "Border" of America.
It is a Chilling, Singular, Micro-Focus-Fact of the Warping Devastation, Up-Close, Personal, and in Hi-Def that Illustrates what is...
UN-Hinged, Unforgivable, and Underlines the Chaos and Calamity, Taking Place in Real-Time...
Amidst a Scenario that is of a Dying Democracy, where Death is in the Air, On the Ground, and the Stench is Everywhere and Effects Everyone.
A Movie-Mis-Step...a Falsely-Advertised, False-Hope that is a "Bait and Switch".
In Reality this is a Very Troubling Time, with Very Troubled People, Fearing What's to Come.
Good-Souls Looking Everywhere for Solutions, Insight, Information, with Hope, Beyond Hope, for Something, Anything, to Guide America and its People to a Different Path and Avoid Catastrophe...
This is Surely Nothing More than "Capitalizing" on that Fear and is Shamefully Presented with Nothing More to Offer those Seekers...
than Video-Game Fodder that has been "Done to Death", and Not the Deterrent and Desperate Warning it Could Have Been to Help Avoid the Country's Direction, Before its Too Late to Turn-Back.
Those Responsible for the Marketing of this Movie, at This-Time, Using the Current-Events as a Come-On, Buy a Ticket for a Front-Row-Seat to the Future..."It is Murder"...
the "Exploitation" of the Sad-Event is Self-Serving and Embarrassing.
Out of Sight (1998)
1 OF THE OVER-RATED SODERBERGH'S BEST...GREAT CAST...SNAPPY NEO-NOIR
As is Often the Case, with "Low-Medium-Budget" Films, the Film-Makers Produce Movies that are Artistically More Clever and Engaging with the Necessary Creative-Juices on High.
The Results can, and sometimes are, Aesthetically Richer, More Organic, Flavorful, and Surprisingly Paint a Captivating Style.
Mega-Ultra-Budget Movies, Traditionally, Tend to Make it too "Easy" and Demonstrate that Big-Money is Not Always the Answer to Better-Movies.
In this Movie, George Clooney, a "Movie-Star", as Opposed to an "Actor", His Detractors would Argue, is Eye-Candy" Personified, but here Shines as a Quick-Witted, Easy-Going Charmer...
The Aforementioned "Star" as Opposed to "Actor" is also Often Used Against the Underrated Actress Jennifer Lopez who Takes Tons of Heat from "Critics",
but Delivers the Other-Half Coupling with Clooney and the Result is a Different Slant on the Romance Genre.
This is a Movie that has an Overload of Talent that Comes Together, Firing on All-Cylinders,
and Creates a Neo-Noir that is Simply One of the Best in the Genre.
Scott Frank, a Proven Master of Dialog-Driven Screenplays Writes Another Winner...
Like His Underrated "Dead Again" (1991), the Kenneth Brannah Directed, Noir-Blended Supernatural Thriller,
He Adopted the Script from the "Hollywood Hip" and Trendy Elmore Leonard Book of the Same Name.
Absolutely Vibrating Support of Cast-of-Characters Featuring...Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Steve Zahn, Albert Brooks, Ving Rhames, and Others.
The Movie is Full of Fun, and is Entertainment-Gold in the "Date-Movie" Category...
it Transcends Taking the "Some-of-its Parts" and Becomes a Fantastic Film, that is an Easy Watch.
A Lovable, Edgy Rom-Thrill that is Movie-Making for the Masses that Doesn't Descend to the Usual Death-Trappings of Dumb-Down Dullness.
This is an Unusually Smart and Sassy Movie that Almost Immediately Drew Flattering Comparisons to, at the Time, as an Ultra-Hot Quentin Tarantino Type.
A Creative, Post-Modern "Hipness" that Started a New-Wave that Solidified and is Alive and Well Today.
Film-Fans are Applauding Appreciatively.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
BRUTALLY BROW-BEATEN BY EVERYONE...COLORFUL, CHEEZY, & SILLY "SILVER-AGE" SUPERMAN COMIC CLONE
Critically, One Could Argue on the Side of an Awful Movie Wasting Money, Talent, and Everyone's Time.
A Severe Disrespect and Neglect of Comic-History's 1st Super-Hero...
Where at the Dawn of World War II, Probably Subconsciously, but Maybe Not, the World was Offered an Antithesis to the Madness of Global Slaughter by Megalomaniacs...
Heavily Bank-Rolled, Cunning, and Ruthless...Leading Hordes of Sheepal to Do "Devil-Work" and Cause Countless People Immense Suffering and Loss.
It Certainly Would Take a "God" or an "Alien", "Who Came to Earth with Powers and Abilities Far Beyond Those of Mortal Men".
To have a Fighting-Chance of Defeating Such an All-Encompassing Lunacy and Degradation of the Planet and People.
So, a Fictional Character was Created from the Imagination of Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster...
that would have an Enormous Impact in the Realm of Mythology...
Might Even be Compared to Another "Savior" of Mankind who "Walked-the-Earth" 2,000 Years Ago.
The Analogy has been Convincingly Vetted Ever Since "Action Comics #1"...the Similarities of "Superman" and "Jesus Christ".
So Yea, the "Blue-Boy-Boy-Scout" Does Deserve His Due.
But by the Mid-50's the Parent Company that Delivered the New-Born Archetype to the Masses...
Certainly had Lost All "Respect" and "Devotion" for its "Best-Selling-Role-Model".
One Only has to Look at the Stories and Characterization in those "Silver-Age" Comics and a Serious, Mindful, Format was Glaringly Absent and Replaced with "Science-Fiction-Silly"...
Above and Beyond what Even an Almost Indestructible "Demi-God" Could Withstand Without Humiliation and Embarrassment.
This is Being Said, Because that's what "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace", Looks and Feels Like.
No Serious Respect for the Character and His Place on the Planet.
It's Literally All Done for Cheap Laughs, Despite the Story of "Nuclear Weapons" and the Elimination of...
by Our "Savior" whose Task is to Stop Us Humans from a Nuclear-Holocaust and the Possible Destruction of Earth.
The Movie Has All the Signs and Earmarks of Superman's Post WWII Life and Exploits..."Krypto" The Wonder Dog" Anyone?
It's Uncanny How Stunningly Similar the Movie Reflects that Era of Superman's Run...The Decline had Begun.
For that Reason the Movie is Remarkably "Retro" and With That has a Certain Charm and Nostalgia that Can be Enjoyed Entertainment.
And Chris Reeve as "Superman" and Gene Hackman as "Lex Luthor" are Worth the Price of Admission.
The Whale (2022)
AVOIDS "FAT-SHAMING"...FOCUSES ON A "HERO-UNDERNEATH"...SIDE-STEPS THE "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM"...FOR A MORE "PLEASANT" PICTURE
Extreme, Morbid-Obesity, at First-Glance, Seems to be the Subject, Title, and Lead-Character in a Film Focusing on the "Problem" that is Increasingly On-the-Rise and Threatens the Very Structure and Form of Homo-Sapiens that has Existed Since Man Walked Upright...
But Hold-On
The Central Morbidly-Obese "Charlie" Character is Defined Almost Always as a Good-Hearted, Lonely, Articulate, Caring Human-Being Beneath the 600lbs of Blubber.
Also, the Movie Looks the Other Way Frequently, Like Adding to the Scenario the Most Famous Whale of All...
Let's Talk "Moby Dick", because there is Nothing Strange about What We Have Here. That Appalling Exterior is Almost of Secondary Concern to the Story.
Instead of Pointing to the More Crucial Existential Harm and Threat to Most of the Citizens of America...
Obesity and the Evil, Deadly Demands it Propagates on the People in Question. Those Unfortunates with a Self-Inflicted Damaging Behavior (Folks are not being Force-Fed).
The Individuals Inhabiting an Abused Body Burdened with Literally the "Extreme-Extra-Weight" Added to the Exteriors Task of Housing the Heart, Soul, and Mind.
A Foisted Foreign Invader, as Deadly as a Virus or an Invading Army.
The Play, the Movie, the Script and Story, Looks the Other Way as if the Abomination is an Hallucination, a Mirage, or is No Different than an Odd Fashion-Statement.
So "Charlie" (the Whale), His Life and Times, Focuses on His Estranged Daughter, Not Abandoned by a Selfish Desire to Eat, and Eat, and Eat.
But Because He Preferred to Take-Off with His "Gay-Lover".
It's the Same with the Wife, for the Same Reason. None of this has Anything to Do with His 600lb Behemoth of a Body.
The Movie is so Full of Other-Things that His Suicide by "Gorging" is Secondary to All that is Happening.
What is the Point in Having such a Grotesque Character at the Center and Abandon the Grotesque for Other Less Life-Threatening and Easier to Face "Facts-of-Life".
This by a Film-Maker that Loves to "Take Chances"?
But Here, He Makes a Movie that has the Opportunity to Address Crucial Concerns that, in some way or another, Touches Everyone in America.
A Celebrated Nonconformist Artist......Looks the Other Way.
He Makes a Movie that Could Have Been Made by any Hollywood Hack,
Not Willing to Go There and Involve Itself in a Truly Suppressed or Ignored Story that Needs to be Told.
Darren Argonfsky, for the First-Time...Has COPPED-OUT.
Note...100 million adults have obesity, and more than 22 million adults have severe obesity.
The Wolfman (2010)
CURSED BIG-BUDGET STUDIO SLOP...BUT THE BEAST-MAN CLASSIC-STATUS WILL BE WITH US FOREVER
Benicio Del Toro (huge original Fan) Surely Looks the Part, as Did the Big-Brutish Lon Chaney Jr.
Anthony Hopkins, Master of Subtle-Genius-Malevolence, is a No-Brainer.
Emily Blunt is a "Progressive" Woman in the Culturally and Scientific "Backswoodian-Era", Immediately Transforms Her Love from Brother-to-Brother in a Heart-Beat,
and the Script Makes the Curt Siodmak Story Transition Without Interference.
Rick Baker's Award-Winning SFX and Make-Up Took the Years Oscar,
and the Film Not Only Honor's the Original Universal Movie, along with Nods to "Werewolf of London" (1935, Years ahead of the over-shadowing 1940 Movie) but also the Style and Make-Up of Hammer's "Curse of the Werewolf" (1960).
There's More Gore and Blood-Letting than All of the "Werewolf" Movies to Date Combined.
So What, Exactly, is so"Bad" About this Movie that it Turned-Off Fans and Critics Alike?
The Answer is...Objectively...Nothing...Another Easy-Answer is...
The Time-Lapse of the "Tale" and the Multitudes of "The Wolf-Man" and its Various Story-Character-Driven Psychology of Schizophrenia and the Yin-Yang of the Human-Soul has a Long-List of Titles, Styles, and "Takes",
It 's a Classic Battle of Inner-Demons that Cannot be Denied its Mystery and Telling with Each Passing Generation.
The Challenge to 21st Century Story-Telling, is to Make the "Classic" Fresh and Engaging for "New" Audiences, and Still be "True-to-the-Tale"
In Doing So, the "New" Movie-Makers Chose, Early On, that All Color Needs to be Muted, Drained, and Shown the Door. Technicolor...Good-Riddens.
What We Got Here People is Sepia-Toned Madness, All Looks the Same...
Like a Previously Color-Photo Left Out in the Sun Too Long. The Cynical New-Display is "Bleakness"...Look at that Poster...Is that "Bleak-Enough" For Ya?
That's What Passes for "Artfulness" in the New-Age where CGI, "Artistically-Speaking", is "The New".
Cinematic-History Will Not be Kind.