The Witch (R)
"Something VVicked This VVay comes"
In Colonial America, a family is ostracized from their village and forced to live in the dark, deep woods. Soon enough evil things befall them and as they begin to accuse each other of their sins the evil black truth comes to light in the moody yet cultured The Witch.
First and fore most, the Witch attempts to be a period piece, with all actors attempting the proper antique accents. The costume and production design maintain this illusion well, and the impending pall of raw supernatural fear that the family's unrestrained ignorance precludes slowly begins to seep into our experience. Shockingly, there are no morals to preach or symbolic circumstances to glean, but a clean dusky cinematography and naturalistic dialog. The Witch is a supernatural horror story told in ye olde English style, like one they would whisper in the village about not trusting black cats or breaking mirrors. The strength of the acting forces you through their world, one without pittance and mercy. There are many moments, visual and contextual, that shine in the film, however the scene of the mother with the crows alone is one of the best horror moments of the millennium (Kubrick would be proud). Stylized, realized and altogether well presented without a hint of cheese, the Witch will scratch an itch you may not have known you had, probably with a craggly black finger nail.
7 Black Tom Talks out of 10 (GOOD)
Showing posts with label Cult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cult. Show all posts
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Mad Max: Fury Road (R)
"What a Lovely Day!"
In the bombed out dusty future of our world, the remnants of society are banded together in savage attempts to survive the wasteland. Those, like Max, who cling to the past and refuse to submit to the new world are seen as mere untapped resources, lone wolves. And those that revolt against this insane patriarchy are pursued with chrome and bloody exhaust in Post-Apocalyptic godfather George Miller's 30 years in the making follow up to the Mad Max series, Fury Road.
With a character design dregged from the weird fantasies of Brom, vehicle designs that Ratfink would salivate over, a brutal world finally fully realized and minutia-ized, and stunts and action that are in-camera and astonishing to behold, Mad Max returns full throttle and on the red line. This is the kind of film either you know the genre and enjoy immersion or the over-the-top-ness will turn you off and you'll avoid. There are quite a few surprising twists thrown into the mix however, completely shattering the mold that Miller himself invented. CGI is prominent and a bit unwelcome (mostly it looks like for 3D showings and sometimes cheaply). Females now have a more prominent role, lead by Imperator Furiosa (the incomparable Charlize Theron who is well cast as the co-lead of the film). This may in fact turn off some of the muscle car and gear head beer swillers who traditionally enjoy Max films, as Furiosa commands much of the bad-assery on screen, what with the Evil-Dead arm and newly styled savage fem-action hero who somehow retains her femaleness (a woman Max she's not). Grrl Power is the name of the game in Fury Road, and many fans will astound at the backseat driving Max does for most of the film. Now played by Tom Hardy (Mel Gibson is retired in all but name due to his shenanigans), Max almost barely deserves to be in the title. And, unfortunately, Hardy is either not up to filling Gibson's Mad shoes or Miller unwilling to completely allow him to. The character is missing the insane drive and masculinity that Gibson brought the role, and combined with sharing the screen with Theron and having his character's madness upped to actual insanity really hampers one of the great action roles of all time. Perhaps a return of the character to full glory first without all the femme-fatals (sic) would have lessened the sting, but Max almost seems like just another of the interesting side-characters that colorize Miller's Apoc films.
And what colorful characters there are! The ultra-males, the seed saving grandmothers, the War Boys and concubines and Bullet Farmers, all tumor laced and disgusting. One is a stand out, young Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy in X-Men First Class) is a stand out as Nux the sickly War Boy. He has a manic energy and fanaticism that drives the first half and mellows the second, and is a stand out performance. All of the Max films have benefited from villains that you enjoy spending time with and seeing defeated, but Fury Road has so many of these characters whose insane lifestyle you just can't help but admire, who ride into battle like Valkyries with a Rock'N'Roll opera being performed live as they drive (like Wagner gene-spliced with GWAR) with flame throwers spitting and exhaust pipes flaming, that unlike much of the genre of post-apocalypse, Fury Road is a dangerous outback that seems fun to visit (even if no one would want to live there). The first break in the action left the audience winded, and then continued for another hour and a half. Fantastic stuff.
9 Don't Look Thumbs Up out of 10 (GREAT)
Bone-us Haiku
Shotgun eyes at dusk
Lizard skulls and blood bag dust
Chrome fenders eat well.
(Humongus Approved)
"What a Lovely Day!"
In the bombed out dusty future of our world, the remnants of society are banded together in savage attempts to survive the wasteland. Those, like Max, who cling to the past and refuse to submit to the new world are seen as mere untapped resources, lone wolves. And those that revolt against this insane patriarchy are pursued with chrome and bloody exhaust in Post-Apocalyptic godfather George Miller's 30 years in the making follow up to the Mad Max series, Fury Road.
With a character design dregged from the weird fantasies of Brom, vehicle designs that Ratfink would salivate over, a brutal world finally fully realized and minutia-ized, and stunts and action that are in-camera and astonishing to behold, Mad Max returns full throttle and on the red line. This is the kind of film either you know the genre and enjoy immersion or the over-the-top-ness will turn you off and you'll avoid. There are quite a few surprising twists thrown into the mix however, completely shattering the mold that Miller himself invented. CGI is prominent and a bit unwelcome (mostly it looks like for 3D showings and sometimes cheaply). Females now have a more prominent role, lead by Imperator Furiosa (the incomparable Charlize Theron who is well cast as the co-lead of the film). This may in fact turn off some of the muscle car and gear head beer swillers who traditionally enjoy Max films, as Furiosa commands much of the bad-assery on screen, what with the Evil-Dead arm and newly styled savage fem-action hero who somehow retains her femaleness (a woman Max she's not). Grrl Power is the name of the game in Fury Road, and many fans will astound at the backseat driving Max does for most of the film. Now played by Tom Hardy (Mel Gibson is retired in all but name due to his shenanigans), Max almost barely deserves to be in the title. And, unfortunately, Hardy is either not up to filling Gibson's Mad shoes or Miller unwilling to completely allow him to. The character is missing the insane drive and masculinity that Gibson brought the role, and combined with sharing the screen with Theron and having his character's madness upped to actual insanity really hampers one of the great action roles of all time. Perhaps a return of the character to full glory first without all the femme-fatals (sic) would have lessened the sting, but Max almost seems like just another of the interesting side-characters that colorize Miller's Apoc films.
And what colorful characters there are! The ultra-males, the seed saving grandmothers, the War Boys and concubines and Bullet Farmers, all tumor laced and disgusting. One is a stand out, young Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy in X-Men First Class) is a stand out as Nux the sickly War Boy. He has a manic energy and fanaticism that drives the first half and mellows the second, and is a stand out performance. All of the Max films have benefited from villains that you enjoy spending time with and seeing defeated, but Fury Road has so many of these characters whose insane lifestyle you just can't help but admire, who ride into battle like Valkyries with a Rock'N'Roll opera being performed live as they drive (like Wagner gene-spliced with GWAR) with flame throwers spitting and exhaust pipes flaming, that unlike much of the genre of post-apocalypse, Fury Road is a dangerous outback that seems fun to visit (even if no one would want to live there). The first break in the action left the audience winded, and then continued for another hour and a half. Fantastic stuff.
9 Don't Look Thumbs Up out of 10 (GREAT)
Bone-us Haiku
Shotgun eyes at dusk
Lizard skulls and blood bag dust
Chrome fenders eat well.
(Humongus Approved)
The FP (2011)
The FP (R) - Review
"What's a town with no ducks?"
Delightfully silly parody of the "dance off" movie genre, this ultra low budget farce makes up for its shortcomings with exuberance and dry humor. The FP is short for Frazier Park, and is a city under control of a gang of thugs since local champion BTRO was killed by his rival L Double E a year ago. Killed by playing BEAT BEAT REVOLUTION, a DDR clone with lethal after effects that the youths use to settle conflicts and estrablish the pecking order. When JTRO returns to town looking to avenge his brother, he find The FP has become a shell of its former self, a town where L Double E is in control of the liqour supply, causing a shortage of food for ducks in the park. After some montages and warm up matches, JTRO is finally able to try for revenge, and for love.
The entire movie has a dialect all its own, a sort of surburban white ebonics that is at first intentionally jarring but one soon adjusts and finds it adds to the overall fun and ambience to the film. It takes work to enjoy this, just like all the practicing and teenaged boy sweat one must wade through to get a perfect score on DDR in an arcade, the cost of which is probably pretty close to the overall budget of the film. Tiring, yet with warm glow of energy (and quarters) well spent.
6.5 Eyepatch Heros out of 10 (GOOD)
"What's a town with no ducks?"
Delightfully silly parody of the "dance off" movie genre, this ultra low budget farce makes up for its shortcomings with exuberance and dry humor. The FP is short for Frazier Park, and is a city under control of a gang of thugs since local champion BTRO was killed by his rival L Double E a year ago. Killed by playing BEAT BEAT REVOLUTION, a DDR clone with lethal after effects that the youths use to settle conflicts and estrablish the pecking order. When JTRO returns to town looking to avenge his brother, he find The FP has become a shell of its former self, a town where L Double E is in control of the liqour supply, causing a shortage of food for ducks in the park. After some montages and warm up matches, JTRO is finally able to try for revenge, and for love.
The entire movie has a dialect all its own, a sort of surburban white ebonics that is at first intentionally jarring but one soon adjusts and finds it adds to the overall fun and ambience to the film. It takes work to enjoy this, just like all the practicing and teenaged boy sweat one must wade through to get a perfect score on DDR in an arcade, the cost of which is probably pretty close to the overall budget of the film. Tiring, yet with warm glow of energy (and quarters) well spent.
6.5 Eyepatch Heros out of 10 (GOOD)
Attack The Block (R)
Attack The Block (2011) - Review
"'That's an alien bruv, believe it."
When strange meteorites start falling on a rough South London neighborhood, the local street gangs investigate and find extraterrestrials have landed. They rough up what they find and carry the trophy back to their "block", the apartment building where they live, unbeknownst to them the one they killed was a female, and the bloodthirsty males will come looking for it.
Filmed on location with local kids, Attack The Block's thick Southie accents are almost as unintelligible as the monsters vague gorilla like forms. The aliens are formless, pitchblack with just glowing teeth and flailing limbs to distinguish them. The gang is protecting their home from the E.T. invaders, bloodthirsty mindless animals making their way slowly to the top floor through anything that gets in their way. The block kids are equally viscous and territorial, they see any outsiders (police, citizen or alien) as an unwanted presence that must be expelled. The movie's focus is on "Moses" (they all have street names like that), an emotionally stunted and particularly violent young man who we follow through this scifi adventure. Introduced in the film as a mugger, we slowly come to like Moses as we see beyond his gruff exterior into the inner kid who still lives with his grannie. By the end he has become a local legend, a hero for defeating the aliens with fireworks and saving The Block.
The creatures are unique, though the more you see them the more like under lit muppets they are. The kids around the block are entertaining, rough around the edges and obviously not professional actors, kind of like a deeply accented Goonies with streetcred. The script is anything but ordinary, surprises are always around the corner with a special appearance by Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as the ObiWan of marijuanna dealers. Its all a light romp with a thick patina of hype, pop culture references and thicker language; the humor is definitely present but you just have to read between the lines. A good, entertaining little film with some great ideas but unfortnately a bit small minded The rah rah UK symbolism and general nationalism present here sticks a bit in the throat like bread pudding and the hero worship of an unrepentant antisocial delinquent like Moses doesn't sit quite right. However, on the whole for a small time movie Attack The Block is original, true to its roots and wholesale entertainment. Just like the inhabitants of the Block, the movie can't see beyond its own borders.
7 WTF did that kid say? out of 10 (GOOD)
"'That's an alien bruv, believe it."
When strange meteorites start falling on a rough South London neighborhood, the local street gangs investigate and find extraterrestrials have landed. They rough up what they find and carry the trophy back to their "block", the apartment building where they live, unbeknownst to them the one they killed was a female, and the bloodthirsty males will come looking for it.
Filmed on location with local kids, Attack The Block's thick Southie accents are almost as unintelligible as the monsters vague gorilla like forms. The aliens are formless, pitchblack with just glowing teeth and flailing limbs to distinguish them. The gang is protecting their home from the E.T. invaders, bloodthirsty mindless animals making their way slowly to the top floor through anything that gets in their way. The block kids are equally viscous and territorial, they see any outsiders (police, citizen or alien) as an unwanted presence that must be expelled. The movie's focus is on "Moses" (they all have street names like that), an emotionally stunted and particularly violent young man who we follow through this scifi adventure. Introduced in the film as a mugger, we slowly come to like Moses as we see beyond his gruff exterior into the inner kid who still lives with his grannie. By the end he has become a local legend, a hero for defeating the aliens with fireworks and saving The Block.
The creatures are unique, though the more you see them the more like under lit muppets they are. The kids around the block are entertaining, rough around the edges and obviously not professional actors, kind of like a deeply accented Goonies with streetcred. The script is anything but ordinary, surprises are always around the corner with a special appearance by Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as the ObiWan of marijuanna dealers. Its all a light romp with a thick patina of hype, pop culture references and thicker language; the humor is definitely present but you just have to read between the lines. A good, entertaining little film with some great ideas but unfortnately a bit small minded The rah rah UK symbolism and general nationalism present here sticks a bit in the throat like bread pudding and the hero worship of an unrepentant antisocial delinquent like Moses doesn't sit quite right. However, on the whole for a small time movie Attack The Block is original, true to its roots and wholesale entertainment. Just like the inhabitants of the Block, the movie can't see beyond its own borders.
7 WTF did that kid say? out of 10 (GOOD)
The Revenant (2009)
The Revenant (R)
"Roommates of the Dead"
Humor/Gore fans rejoice because experienced SFX man Kerry Prior has written and directed the best intelligent bromance horror flick since Shaun of the Dead. Shot in and around Hollywood (on an obviously low budget), the film features great practical and CGI effects and some wildly humorous performances, particularly the friendship between Chris Wylde and David Anders (Alias). Shot and killed in the Middle East war, Bart (Anders) wakes up in his grave, and asks his best friend Joey (Wylde) for help. They find out being undead isn’t like it is in the movies and begin a nightly rampage in search of human blood through the neon midnight streets of Hollyweird. The situations are snappy, the ideas are fresh and smart, and the cast and crew are young and willing to throw it all on the canvas and see what sticks. Unfortunately some of what’s left clinging there isn’t pretty. Racial stereotypes are a played up to an uncomfortable degree sometimes, the female roles are empty and obviously underwritten (however, Jacy King shines and makes the best of her few scenes as the hippy nurse Matty), it suffers from “look how cool we are” just a little too long (it could also have about 5-10 minutes of fat trimmed from its runtime without pain) and quite a few of the green screen effects simply fell off the ugly “SyFy original” movie of the week. The big shoot-out that ends this film in particular has glaringly bad compositing and rush-it-out-the-door decisions that are wince inducing. But these few flaws do not detract from the incredibly entertaining and humor-filled pearl that is The Revenant, especially considering its low-budget indie-film roots, the obvious zeal and camaraderie of the cast, and the quality work of the writer/ director who put it all together piece by dismembered piece.
7 throat massagers out of 10 (GOOD)
"Roommates of the Dead"
Humor/Gore fans rejoice because experienced SFX man Kerry Prior has written and directed the best intelligent bromance horror flick since Shaun of the Dead. Shot in and around Hollywood (on an obviously low budget), the film features great practical and CGI effects and some wildly humorous performances, particularly the friendship between Chris Wylde and David Anders (Alias). Shot and killed in the Middle East war, Bart (Anders) wakes up in his grave, and asks his best friend Joey (Wylde) for help. They find out being undead isn’t like it is in the movies and begin a nightly rampage in search of human blood through the neon midnight streets of Hollyweird. The situations are snappy, the ideas are fresh and smart, and the cast and crew are young and willing to throw it all on the canvas and see what sticks. Unfortunately some of what’s left clinging there isn’t pretty. Racial stereotypes are a played up to an uncomfortable degree sometimes, the female roles are empty and obviously underwritten (however, Jacy King shines and makes the best of her few scenes as the hippy nurse Matty), it suffers from “look how cool we are” just a little too long (it could also have about 5-10 minutes of fat trimmed from its runtime without pain) and quite a few of the green screen effects simply fell off the ugly “SyFy original” movie of the week. The big shoot-out that ends this film in particular has glaringly bad compositing and rush-it-out-the-door decisions that are wince inducing. But these few flaws do not detract from the incredibly entertaining and humor-filled pearl that is The Revenant, especially considering its low-budget indie-film roots, the obvious zeal and camaraderie of the cast, and the quality work of the writer/ director who put it all together piece by dismembered piece.
7 throat massagers out of 10 (GOOD)
Trick 'R Treat (2008)
Trick 'R Treat (R)
"Smell our Feet"
Anthology of horror centering around a town's Halloween celebrations, with intertwining stories with a little sack headed trick 'r treater tying them all together, Trick 'R Treat was shelved by a studio and then pushed to the video market without a wide release, where horror hungry cult fans found it and began carrying it around from door to door.
Despite a good cast and a great grasp of the holiday's bumps and scares, the film devolves quickly into horror tropes and is short on real originality (and good looking SFX). Structured kind of like a Tarratino narrative, with pieces hodge-podging and crossing paths, Trick 'R Treat unfortunately never obtains scary, and some moments are so eye rolling that you'll be reaching for the John Carpenter DVDs to get you back on track to creepy town. While the theme and inside jokes make the film re-watchable, this movie is more like those icky sweets your grandma still insists on handing out than the full size Snickers everyone wants. It's the Candy Corn of Halloween movies, and sure some people lap them up, but others can see their fructose flaws and would rather leave it at the bottom of the bag for their siblings with less discerning tastes.
4 That Guy From Happiness was the most convincing part out of 10 (BAD)
Crank (2006)
Crank (R)
"Crank it up!"
Jason Statham is Chelios, a loveable former L.A. hitman that receives a lethal dose of "the Chinese Shit," a poison that is slowing down his heart and slowly killing him unless he can keep moving, keep running, keep his heart lurching as he speeds around town on the bend for revenge and trying to keep his stoner girlfriend safe in directors Neveldine/Taylors wild entertaining freshman effort Crank, an action comedy that is a nonstop all-downhill rollercoaster with the brakes removed and the operator on seriously messed up drugs as the camera zooms and distorts, the filmmaker's love of video games and action movie quips apparent even as they reinvent the genre with so many so-over the top moments it will make your grandchildren's grandchildren blush even as they cheer the amazing mishmosh of music and kinetic camera work nailed to a razor thin plot that not only trumps action film classics in speed and versatility, but does it smartly like Tarantino with a coke hangover for even when you think you have this film figured out it finds other gears, other fumes to huff as it blasts and lampoons itself with a gregarious finale that not only delivers on it's premise of leaving Chelios, but leaves the audience hopelessly hooked on exotic junk that they have little hope of finding again.
8 Flared Nostril Police Drawings in Chinatown out of 10 (GREAT)
"Crank it up!"
Jason Statham is Chelios, a loveable former L.A. hitman that receives a lethal dose of "the Chinese Shit," a poison that is slowing down his heart and slowly killing him unless he can keep moving, keep running, keep his heart lurching as he speeds around town on the bend for revenge and trying to keep his stoner girlfriend safe in directors Neveldine/Taylors wild entertaining freshman effort Crank, an action comedy that is a nonstop all-downhill rollercoaster with the brakes removed and the operator on seriously messed up drugs as the camera zooms and distorts, the filmmaker's love of video games and action movie quips apparent even as they reinvent the genre with so many so-over the top moments it will make your grandchildren's grandchildren blush even as they cheer the amazing mishmosh of music and kinetic camera work nailed to a razor thin plot that not only trumps action film classics in speed and versatility, but does it smartly like Tarantino with a coke hangover for even when you think you have this film figured out it finds other gears, other fumes to huff as it blasts and lampoons itself with a gregarious finale that not only delivers on it's premise of leaving Chelios, but leaves the audience hopelessly hooked on exotic junk that they have little hope of finding again.
8 Flared Nostril Police Drawings in Chinatown out of 10 (GREAT)
Primer (2004)
Primer (R) - Review
"See Jack Time Travel"
When the lack of audible audio in your film contributes to the palpable tension already causing your viewers to shred their fingernails you have the paradox that is Primer. When a garage startup of engineers stumble upon the confusing probability of time travel, they quickly begin to self implode as the crisscrossing timelines and power plays lead to stress induced head aches for the home viewer. Complicated doesn't begin to explain the plot that is purposely left vague by the filmmakers to not only lead to audience self-discovery but to plug holes left by its enormously small budget. You certainly won't be "talked down to" by the filmmakers, in fact many will feel like they've missed the conversation entirely! You have to strive to understand what is happening just as your ears have to strain to hear what is being said, leading to a movie that is equally frustrating as it is satisfying when you feel you "get it", even if its a couple days after viewin. This is a daunting math problem of a film that has achieved a deeply cult status through an understanding that something can be more than the sum of it's parts, especially when there are unknown variables involved.
6 Menacing Storage Units out of 10 (GOOD)
"See Jack Time Travel"
When the lack of audible audio in your film contributes to the palpable tension already causing your viewers to shred their fingernails you have the paradox that is Primer. When a garage startup of engineers stumble upon the confusing probability of time travel, they quickly begin to self implode as the crisscrossing timelines and power plays lead to stress induced head aches for the home viewer. Complicated doesn't begin to explain the plot that is purposely left vague by the filmmakers to not only lead to audience self-discovery but to plug holes left by its enormously small budget. You certainly won't be "talked down to" by the filmmakers, in fact many will feel like they've missed the conversation entirely! You have to strive to understand what is happening just as your ears have to strain to hear what is being said, leading to a movie that is equally frustrating as it is satisfying when you feel you "get it", even if its a couple days after viewin. This is a daunting math problem of a film that has achieved a deeply cult status through an understanding that something can be more than the sum of it's parts, especially when there are unknown variables involved.
6 Menacing Storage Units out of 10 (GOOD)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Dazed and Confused (R) - Review
"Lots of people talkin', few of them know"
School is out in Texas and as the teens and young adults begin their revelry on the darkening streets a group of friends and acquaintances begin to coalesce and intermingle and inebriate a story emerges of coming of age and friendship in one night in 1976 Austin.
Richard Linklater (Slacker, Bernie) brings his directorial microscope to bear on his young adulthood in Weirdtown, TX USA. Drugs, sex, Aerosmith concerts and partying all night all summer are the norms for these children of the post-love generation. It is a fascinating for an outsider to watch, a social study on an almost unrecognizable American society where grads have sacred rituals and kids don't text their mothers when they are out past 10. An amazingly large and talented cast of then up an comers light up the camera including Milla Jovovich, Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck as a overly aggressive spankhappy zealot and Matthew Mcconaughey as the grown up slacker sex fiend everyone wishes (at the time) they could grow up to be. A night in the life of these teens rings true to an America that once was, whether you are too old or too young to have remembered it takes away nothing from it's charm. The lenses on these rose tinted glasses are thick as coke bottles, but they make you sound like John Lennon and look just like a young Steven Tyler.
9 Pop Tops out of 10 (GREAT)
"Lots of people talkin', few of them know"
School is out in Texas and as the teens and young adults begin their revelry on the darkening streets a group of friends and acquaintances begin to coalesce and intermingle and inebriate a story emerges of coming of age and friendship in one night in 1976 Austin.
Richard Linklater (Slacker, Bernie) brings his directorial microscope to bear on his young adulthood in Weirdtown, TX USA. Drugs, sex, Aerosmith concerts and partying all night all summer are the norms for these children of the post-love generation. It is a fascinating for an outsider to watch, a social study on an almost unrecognizable American society where grads have sacred rituals and kids don't text their mothers when they are out past 10. An amazingly large and talented cast of then up an comers light up the camera including Milla Jovovich, Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck as a overly aggressive spankhappy zealot and Matthew Mcconaughey as the grown up slacker sex fiend everyone wishes (at the time) they could grow up to be. A night in the life of these teens rings true to an America that once was, whether you are too old or too young to have remembered it takes away nothing from it's charm. The lenses on these rose tinted glasses are thick as coke bottles, but they make you sound like John Lennon and look just like a young Steven Tyler.
9 Pop Tops out of 10 (GREAT)
Bad Boy Bubby (1993)
Bad Boy Bubby (NR) - Review
"If You See Kay"
A 35 year old man with mental issues, trapped his whole life in a single room by his sexually abusive mother, breaks free and enters into modern Australia with a suitcase and a knack for immitation. He finds murder, love, jail, atheisim and rock n' roll in this exceptionally experimental film from director/screenwriter Rolf De Heer.
Bubby is brought to life by Aussie actor Nicholas Hope, and what starts off so offputting and strange miraculously becomes welcome and charming. Bubby is basically a kid at heart (and in brain), and as he starts to adjust to his environs and finds friends we can root for him and his adventures in our adult world (stick with it cat lovers). It's a world brought to life by over 30 individual cinematographers, who scene by scene and completely without input from each other depict Bubby's mercurial emotions (it's not as jarring as it sounds). Speaking of sounds, those were recorded to give insight into Bubby's world view too (the mics were worn by the actor over each ear and are played back in stereo from his perspective only). Both of these experimental (and highly professional) audio/video tricks are not glaringly obvious to viewers but lend an unique presence to the film by allowing the A/V to protray the moods and emotions of Bubby that he himself, stunted as he is, is unable to show.
Bad Boy Bubby is a fascinating character study which goes happily into the dark corners of religion, euthenasia, sub cultures and the handicapped that most films would be too scared to touch with a 100 foot Shrimp boat. An authentic and purely Australian Art film, BBB deserves more attention than it's current Weirdo Film Cult status, but due to that same status is safely off the radar from censors and when watched Bubby is a pleasant surprise-shock to the bored old system.
7.5 Rolls of Shrink Wrap out of 10 (GOOD)
"If You See Kay"
A 35 year old man with mental issues, trapped his whole life in a single room by his sexually abusive mother, breaks free and enters into modern Australia with a suitcase and a knack for immitation. He finds murder, love, jail, atheisim and rock n' roll in this exceptionally experimental film from director/screenwriter Rolf De Heer.
Bubby is brought to life by Aussie actor Nicholas Hope, and what starts off so offputting and strange miraculously becomes welcome and charming. Bubby is basically a kid at heart (and in brain), and as he starts to adjust to his environs and finds friends we can root for him and his adventures in our adult world (stick with it cat lovers). It's a world brought to life by over 30 individual cinematographers, who scene by scene and completely without input from each other depict Bubby's mercurial emotions (it's not as jarring as it sounds). Speaking of sounds, those were recorded to give insight into Bubby's world view too (the mics were worn by the actor over each ear and are played back in stereo from his perspective only). Both of these experimental (and highly professional) audio/video tricks are not glaringly obvious to viewers but lend an unique presence to the film by allowing the A/V to protray the moods and emotions of Bubby that he himself, stunted as he is, is unable to show.
Bad Boy Bubby is a fascinating character study which goes happily into the dark corners of religion, euthenasia, sub cultures and the handicapped that most films would be too scared to touch with a 100 foot Shrimp boat. An authentic and purely Australian Art film, BBB deserves more attention than it's current Weirdo Film Cult status, but due to that same status is safely off the radar from censors and when watched Bubby is a pleasant surprise-shock to the bored old system.
7.5 Rolls of Shrink Wrap out of 10 (GOOD)
Miracle Mile (1988)
Miracle Mile (R)
"Forget everything you just heard, and go back to sleep"
A young man suddenly finds the love of his life in the Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits museum. His perfect day turns into nightmarish night as he oversleeps his alarm and misses their first date. It goes from bad to worse (and leaves stereotypical story telling behind) as he answers an incessantly ringing Telephone outside a midnight diner in writer/director Steven De Jamatt's pre-apocalyptic film Miracle Mile.
This is not your usual new romance in danger film. Playing off the decades Atomic annihilation hysteria that gripped the United States since the 50s, Miracle Mile pulls of a miraculous feat of low budget enrapture. The visuals are brightly stunning neon at night, the scripting is highly literate and the acting is wonderful characterization. The leads Anthony Edwards (Top Gun) and Mare Winningham (St. Elmos Fire) have a dynamically palpable chemistry, and their LA late night co-stars are an ensemble casting wetdream of top-tier character actors and soon-to-be stars. The twists and turns of the story follow a twisting dream logic that leads you down nightmarish tunnels while holding your hand with a warm, friendly hopefulness. All the while featuring an under-your-skin soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, Miracle Mile is a film that encapsulates that final fearful decade of the Cold War. The obvious love and attention on a shoestring budget makes the film more than just an admirable yet forgotten cult classic, but instead something to be studied and revered. And where it homages other LA psychedelic jaw droppers like Day of the Locust, it's immense influence on more modern day LA epics like Drive, Magnolia or Crash are unmistakable.
Miracle Mile lives up to its name and reputation with its own optimistic nerdy charm in the face of the utter bleakness of humanities fate.
It is uniquely of the 1980s, by the 1980s, and simply one of the best of the 1980s.
9.5 Goose with a Trombone, Coals into Diamonds out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)
"Forget everything you just heard, and go back to sleep"
A young man suddenly finds the love of his life in the Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits museum. His perfect day turns into nightmarish night as he oversleeps his alarm and misses their first date. It goes from bad to worse (and leaves stereotypical story telling behind) as he answers an incessantly ringing Telephone outside a midnight diner in writer/director Steven De Jamatt's pre-apocalyptic film Miracle Mile.
This is not your usual new romance in danger film. Playing off the decades Atomic annihilation hysteria that gripped the United States since the 50s, Miracle Mile pulls of a miraculous feat of low budget enrapture. The visuals are brightly stunning neon at night, the scripting is highly literate and the acting is wonderful characterization. The leads Anthony Edwards (Top Gun) and Mare Winningham (St. Elmos Fire) have a dynamically palpable chemistry, and their LA late night co-stars are an ensemble casting wetdream of top-tier character actors and soon-to-be stars. The twists and turns of the story follow a twisting dream logic that leads you down nightmarish tunnels while holding your hand with a warm, friendly hopefulness. All the while featuring an under-your-skin soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, Miracle Mile is a film that encapsulates that final fearful decade of the Cold War. The obvious love and attention on a shoestring budget makes the film more than just an admirable yet forgotten cult classic, but instead something to be studied and revered. And where it homages other LA psychedelic jaw droppers like Day of the Locust, it's immense influence on more modern day LA epics like Drive, Magnolia or Crash are unmistakable.
Miracle Mile lives up to its name and reputation with its own optimistic nerdy charm in the face of the utter bleakness of humanities fate.
It is uniquely of the 1980s, by the 1980s, and simply one of the best of the 1980s.
9.5 Goose with a Trombone, Coals into Diamonds out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)
Hell Comes To Frog Town (1988)
Hell Comes To Frog Town (R) - Review
"You are One Weird Dude."
Sam Hell, the last sterile man in the post frog-alyptic wasteland of America, is forced by commando female nurses into a quest to rescue some fertile women from the slimy clutches of the mutant amphibious denizens of Frogtown. You see after the last nuclear war the birth rates have bottomed out, sterile US citizens are the norm and Hell's gotta do his duty to single"handedly" get the good ole USA back into fighting shape, if he can get past all the 6 foot frogmen.
Roddy Piper (Hell) broke out of his WWF stereotype in 1988 with the release of both the SciFi masterpiece They Live and campy cult classic Hell Comes To Frog Town. The latter defines BMovie nirvana, a low budget riot of fun with everything you need from 1980s midnight movies: cornball dialogue with amazing over acting, a much better plot and leading man than anyone was expecting, far superior makeup effects than the obvious low budget should allow for and just a touch of that genuine 80s sleaze to go along with its ample braun and distorted brains.
Hell Comes To Frog Town is the midnight junk food that you do not need but relish completely from start to finish.
7 Dances of the Three Snakes out of 10 (GOOD)
"You are One Weird Dude."
Sam Hell, the last sterile man in the post frog-alyptic wasteland of America, is forced by commando female nurses into a quest to rescue some fertile women from the slimy clutches of the mutant amphibious denizens of Frogtown. You see after the last nuclear war the birth rates have bottomed out, sterile US citizens are the norm and Hell's gotta do his duty to single"handedly" get the good ole USA back into fighting shape, if he can get past all the 6 foot frogmen.
Roddy Piper (Hell) broke out of his WWF stereotype in 1988 with the release of both the SciFi masterpiece They Live and campy cult classic Hell Comes To Frog Town. The latter defines BMovie nirvana, a low budget riot of fun with everything you need from 1980s midnight movies: cornball dialogue with amazing over acting, a much better plot and leading man than anyone was expecting, far superior makeup effects than the obvious low budget should allow for and just a touch of that genuine 80s sleaze to go along with its ample braun and distorted brains.
Hell Comes To Frog Town is the midnight junk food that you do not need but relish completely from start to finish.
7 Dances of the Three Snakes out of 10 (GOOD)
Brain Damage (1988)
Brain Damage (NR) - Review
"DARE to Stay Off Parasites"
From the Midnight Movie madness of Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case) comes Brain Damage, the simple story of a boy (Brian) who has a cartoonish parasite symbiotically attached to the back of his neck that feeds Brian's brain addictive hallucinogenics in order to keep itself well fed on fresh human brains. Alymer is the little creature and star of the film. It talks, it sings, it tells jokes and it feeds the protagonist enough drugs to blow his mind and keep it blown. Dark humor and icky gore abounds, it can almost be seen as a gonzo "horror of drugs"after school special, though most kids will enjoy it too much for it to succeed. As low browed as it is low budgeted, Brain Damage might cause you to lose some braincells as you wonder what were the filmmakers smokin' when they thought this up (and subsequently thank them for it).
6.5 Hokey GoodOld Fashioned Special Effects out of 10 (GOOD)
"DARE to Stay Off Parasites"
From the Midnight Movie madness of Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case) comes Brain Damage, the simple story of a boy (Brian) who has a cartoonish parasite symbiotically attached to the back of his neck that feeds Brian's brain addictive hallucinogenics in order to keep itself well fed on fresh human brains. Alymer is the little creature and star of the film. It talks, it sings, it tells jokes and it feeds the protagonist enough drugs to blow his mind and keep it blown. Dark humor and icky gore abounds, it can almost be seen as a gonzo "horror of drugs"after school special, though most kids will enjoy it too much for it to succeed. As low browed as it is low budgeted, Brain Damage might cause you to lose some braincells as you wonder what were the filmmakers smokin' when they thought this up (and subsequently thank them for it).
6.5 Hokey GoodOld Fashioned Special Effects out of 10 (GOOD)
Street Trash (1987)
Street Trash (NR) - Review
"...stinks, of beauty!"
The lives of New York's 1980 era hobos comes into bizarre focus in this black comedy/horror flick from first time director and future legend of Steadicam operation Jame Muro. The stellar camera is a huge benefit to a film so intent on slumming, with the majority of scenes taking place in a junkyard brimming with disgusting wino characters it somehow keeps it fun. Don't think this is a movie you can predict scene by scene due to its shlockbuster image, the movie intelligently mashes together story threads with a deft eye on the unpredictable (though some of the fat could stand to be edited). Scenes will fly by focused on the humor of hobo life, the hobo-king/vietnam vet with flashbacks, the violent cop with a job to do, the NY mafia with its image to protect, all somehow loosely tied to a crate of expired liqour called Viper that leaves you with an instantaneously killer hangover. The moral envelope is pushed hard, taboos are broken with as much glee as the cameraman has in inventively flowing through the scenes ala Raimi's Dead trilogy. Showcasing the exaggerated life on the street in an unexpected manner, Street Trash lives up to its name (and cult status) by glamorously living in the neon puss filled gutter that it joyfully pisses in.
7.5 Chickens in your Pants out of 10
"...stinks, of beauty!"
The lives of New York's 1980 era hobos comes into bizarre focus in this black comedy/horror flick from first time director and future legend of Steadicam operation Jame Muro. The stellar camera is a huge benefit to a film so intent on slumming, with the majority of scenes taking place in a junkyard brimming with disgusting wino characters it somehow keeps it fun. Don't think this is a movie you can predict scene by scene due to its shlockbuster image, the movie intelligently mashes together story threads with a deft eye on the unpredictable (though some of the fat could stand to be edited). Scenes will fly by focused on the humor of hobo life, the hobo-king/vietnam vet with flashbacks, the violent cop with a job to do, the NY mafia with its image to protect, all somehow loosely tied to a crate of expired liqour called Viper that leaves you with an instantaneously killer hangover. The moral envelope is pushed hard, taboos are broken with as much glee as the cameraman has in inventively flowing through the scenes ala Raimi's Dead trilogy. Showcasing the exaggerated life on the street in an unexpected manner, Street Trash lives up to its name (and cult status) by glamorously living in the neon puss filled gutter that it joyfully pisses in.
7.5 Chickens in your Pants out of 10
Miami Connection (1987)
Miami Connection (R) - Review
"D.A.R.E. to keep Ninjas off drugs"
A new drug cartel has set up shop in 1980s Miami, and their violence and depravity knows no bounds. These ninjas on cocaine are about to rule the streets, and only the synthrock groove of local martial arts and musical group Dragon Sound can stop the madness!
Lost for over 20 years, Miami Connection has gained cult status thanks to a Drafthouse films rerelease in 2012. The film was purchased on ebay for $50 and ran for a couple midnight showings, where its infectious violence, 1980s dance scene music, neon laden visuals and happy go lucky attitudes caught on like wildfire there and spread to the internet, saved from obscurity.
The movie is the brain child of martial artist Y.K. Kim, a self help guru and master of taekwondo and friend of Korean director Park Woo-sang. Kim, a tireless self promoter, wanted a larger platform to philosophize and show off his talents. Recruiting his students and shooting in authentic Florida locales, the film revolves around a group of orphans lead by Kim who perform martial arts and music together until they are confronted by a deadly army of motorcycle ninjas who are trying to smuggle cocaine into the country. Entire sections of the movie are disjointed and surreal, there is an apparent reel of shakily performed taekwondo practice footage all done in slo motion that can only be included here to pad run time, show off real martial arts and setup situations for the big finale. The synthdrum heavy soundtrack is catchy, which is good since Miami Connection teeters into music video territory with whole entire songs being performed on stage by the band ala Purple Rain. The evil ninjas, joined by outlandishly characterized local ruffians, are miffed by Dragon Sound's snubbings (and the datings of their sisters) and begin an all out rumble in the jungle (or perhaps a tromp in the swamp is more appropriate), an emotional all out war expertly paced and choreographed by Park and Kim, delivering a satisfyingly brutal conclusion.
The orphans are the heroes and stars here and what with the atrociously amateur acting and insanely bizarre character subplots these good guys brazenly outshine some of Hollywood's recent attempts at making a "so bad its good, on purpose" film. This is "so good its good, on purpose" on a shoestring budget (but still with fun gore effects and good action), with a group of guys who were obviously friends of a likeable and enigmatic (though barely intelligible) Korean-born but all American entrepreneur/Grand Master guru. The result is pure joy, kids playing ninjas in a swamp and slashing each other with katanas, people jumping up and down on stage pretending they can play an instrument, people way over emoting on screen while the rock track blares and the neon burns. This movie is everything that was right in the world of the 80s, made by a man who didn't know what he was doing but doing it so well, instilling in it a precocious love of martial arts and a philosophically positive attitude that everything will work out (especially if you reshoot the ending!).
Miami Connection is a retro80s sugar high whose only comedown happens when the movie ends and you notice no one is wearing legwarmers anymore.
8 Songs about Ninjas out of 10 (GREAT)
"D.A.R.E. to keep Ninjas off drugs"
A new drug cartel has set up shop in 1980s Miami, and their violence and depravity knows no bounds. These ninjas on cocaine are about to rule the streets, and only the synthrock groove of local martial arts and musical group Dragon Sound can stop the madness!
Lost for over 20 years, Miami Connection has gained cult status thanks to a Drafthouse films rerelease in 2012. The film was purchased on ebay for $50 and ran for a couple midnight showings, where its infectious violence, 1980s dance scene music, neon laden visuals and happy go lucky attitudes caught on like wildfire there and spread to the internet, saved from obscurity.
The movie is the brain child of martial artist Y.K. Kim, a self help guru and master of taekwondo and friend of Korean director Park Woo-sang. Kim, a tireless self promoter, wanted a larger platform to philosophize and show off his talents. Recruiting his students and shooting in authentic Florida locales, the film revolves around a group of orphans lead by Kim who perform martial arts and music together until they are confronted by a deadly army of motorcycle ninjas who are trying to smuggle cocaine into the country. Entire sections of the movie are disjointed and surreal, there is an apparent reel of shakily performed taekwondo practice footage all done in slo motion that can only be included here to pad run time, show off real martial arts and setup situations for the big finale. The synthdrum heavy soundtrack is catchy, which is good since Miami Connection teeters into music video territory with whole entire songs being performed on stage by the band ala Purple Rain. The evil ninjas, joined by outlandishly characterized local ruffians, are miffed by Dragon Sound's snubbings (and the datings of their sisters) and begin an all out rumble in the jungle (or perhaps a tromp in the swamp is more appropriate), an emotional all out war expertly paced and choreographed by Park and Kim, delivering a satisfyingly brutal conclusion.
The orphans are the heroes and stars here and what with the atrociously amateur acting and insanely bizarre character subplots these good guys brazenly outshine some of Hollywood's recent attempts at making a "so bad its good, on purpose" film. This is "so good its good, on purpose" on a shoestring budget (but still with fun gore effects and good action), with a group of guys who were obviously friends of a likeable and enigmatic (though barely intelligible) Korean-born but all American entrepreneur/Grand Master guru. The result is pure joy, kids playing ninjas in a swamp and slashing each other with katanas, people jumping up and down on stage pretending they can play an instrument, people way over emoting on screen while the rock track blares and the neon burns. This movie is everything that was right in the world of the 80s, made by a man who didn't know what he was doing but doing it so well, instilling in it a precocious love of martial arts and a philosophically positive attitude that everything will work out (especially if you reshoot the ending!).
Miami Connection is a retro80s sugar high whose only comedown happens when the movie ends and you notice no one is wearing legwarmers anymore.
8 Songs about Ninjas out of 10 (GREAT)
Anguish (1986)
Anguish (R)
"The EYES have it"
An Italian Gialo with ideas to spare, Anguish starts as a typical 80s slasher with a penchant for eye-torture and hypnosis, when suddenly the story pulls out to be about the theater patrons watching that film with events inside and surrounding the theater mirroring the on screen schlock with realistic tension and violence. The movie resembles a Russian Matryoshka nesting doll, with films within films and meanings within themselves. More than the sum of its parts, this critic only wishes this could be viewed in a darkened cinema where the theater scares could actually creep up on you.
Starring the incomparable little lady from Poltergeist (Zelda Rubenstien) as the psychotic mother who is brainwashing her son to kill kill kill, the movie jumps on and off screen with an admirable craft that has to be seen to be believed. The Italian crew both attain an authentic 80s nostalgia while creating a 1980s American street scene from scratch in some European town. Hypnotic on and off the screen.
8 New Meanings to "The Eyes Have It" out of 10 (GREAT)
"The EYES have it"
An Italian Gialo with ideas to spare, Anguish starts as a typical 80s slasher with a penchant for eye-torture and hypnosis, when suddenly the story pulls out to be about the theater patrons watching that film with events inside and surrounding the theater mirroring the on screen schlock with realistic tension and violence. The movie resembles a Russian Matryoshka nesting doll, with films within films and meanings within themselves. More than the sum of its parts, this critic only wishes this could be viewed in a darkened cinema where the theater scares could actually creep up on you.
Starring the incomparable little lady from Poltergeist (Zelda Rubenstien) as the psychotic mother who is brainwashing her son to kill kill kill, the movie jumps on and off screen with an admirable craft that has to be seen to be believed. The Italian crew both attain an authentic 80s nostalgia while creating a 1980s American street scene from scratch in some European town. Hypnotic on and off the screen.
8 New Meanings to "The Eyes Have It" out of 10 (GREAT)
Troll (1986)
Troll (R) - Review
"Short people got, no reason to live"
A family moves into a slipshod San Francisco apartment, unaware that it is haunted by a supernatural Troll hellbent on taking over the complex (sure why not). The equally neurotic and eclectic tenants all soon fall under its spell as it zaps them with a green magic ring and vines start growing from the walls after it has taken over the family's young daughter, Wendy. Only her kid brother Harry Potter Jr. attributes her bizarre evil behavior with the stunted freak roaming the halls, and with the help of the good witch upstairs attempts to fight the corruption and get his sister back.
This film mixes creepy with surreal quite well, and looks better than it sounds. The titular troll has good makeup and effects, the sets are minimal yet adequate, the acting ranges from fun campy to over the top campy (watch for Law & Order's Micheal Moriarty as dear old clueless beer loving dad). Downright freakshow plot is elevated by its voracious need to entertain in the face of it's shortcomings and has achieved a well-deserved cult status as a fun little midnight movie.
6 Short People with beards out of 10 (GOOD)
"Short people got, no reason to live"
A family moves into a slipshod San Francisco apartment, unaware that it is haunted by a supernatural Troll hellbent on taking over the complex (sure why not). The equally neurotic and eclectic tenants all soon fall under its spell as it zaps them with a green magic ring and vines start growing from the walls after it has taken over the family's young daughter, Wendy. Only her kid brother Harry Potter Jr. attributes her bizarre evil behavior with the stunted freak roaming the halls, and with the help of the good witch upstairs attempts to fight the corruption and get his sister back.
This film mixes creepy with surreal quite well, and looks better than it sounds. The titular troll has good makeup and effects, the sets are minimal yet adequate, the acting ranges from fun campy to over the top campy (watch for Law & Order's Micheal Moriarty as dear old clueless beer loving dad). Downright freakshow plot is elevated by its voracious need to entertain in the face of it's shortcomings and has achieved a well-deserved cult status as a fun little midnight movie.
6 Short People with beards out of 10 (GOOD)
After Hours (1985)
After Hours (R)
"8% is a bitch!"
A yuppie in New York working a dead end job gets a promising phone number from a young lady in a diner, setting off a bizarre chain of events in Soho that keeps him up all night amidst a paranoid nightmare in Martin Scorsese's funniest black comedy After Hours.
Featuring an all star cast of character actors, heavily featuring beautiful 80s actresses all playing ding-bat nutjobs like the stunning Rosanna Arquette (whom he'd feature in his masterpiece part of New York Stories a few years later), with lead Griffin Dunne (American Werewolf in London) pinballing between skirts in the early hours of the morning on a desperate chase for poon-nanny and subway-fare home. The freaks come out at night, as do the paranoid, the psychos and the vigilante neighborhood watches apparently. The unfortunate chain of events keep getting weirder and darker as the denizens of this New York City burrough stay up later and later. If you ever wanted to see a Scorsese film featuring a weasle of a protagonist running for his life from a merrily tinkling Ice Cream truck, this is it. It's light, it's dark, it's funky, it's also a Scorsese flick featuring a weaselly protagonist running for his life from a merrily tinkling Ice Cream truck, so big draws all around.
Meanwhile Scorsese's signature camera moves are turned up to eleven. The complicated tracking shots, swish pans, push ins and zooms are in mass effect, almost a comedic echo of Hitchcock's nervous noir lens. Comedy has never been his strong suit, but seeming to learn his lesson from The King of Comedy, the script and visuals sail through the zany lives and oddities on screen with an unconventional abandon and tightly edited. The whip crash never leaves a dull somber moment, the dialogue's twists and turns veer from wry amusement to laugh out loud absurdity. It all balances out and works, with its lovely quick pace and short run time, into one of Scorsese's most successful and efficient, yet overlooked, pieces of cinema art. After Hours is his deepest foray into the surreal yet funny world of his favorite city; woe unto those who stumble into that world of artists, thieves and degenerates. The Night Owls that stalk those streets don't suffer trespassers lightly.
8.5 Rat Traps, Beehives & Cream Cheese Bagel Paperweights out of 10 (GREAT)
The Last Dragon (1985)
The Last Dragon (PG-13) - Review
"Kiss my Converse!"
A thick slice of 1980s cheese, The Last Dragon is a amalgam of MoTown and Martial Arts, a musical reverse-exploitation film from the sunnier side of the century. Bruce Leroy (newbie actor Taimak) has almost reached enlightenment through kung fu, like his idol Bruce Lee. He wears coolie hats around his hood of New York City and fights injustice in the form of Sho'Nuff, the lambastic Shogun of Harlem. Lots of music video moments and pretty high class martial arts happen throughout the film, with Leroy trying to keep his lady love and baby brother out of Sho'Nuff's hands. The final confrontation where the mystical Glow powers arise is not to be missed. Famous for its cultishness and musical soundtrack, everyone can find something to love about the film, even if for the ham & eggs acting or the heavy 80s goodtime nostalgia.
7 Reused Scenes from Bruce Lee Movies out of 10 (GOOD)
"Kiss my Converse!"
A thick slice of 1980s cheese, The Last Dragon is a amalgam of MoTown and Martial Arts, a musical reverse-exploitation film from the sunnier side of the century. Bruce Leroy (newbie actor Taimak) has almost reached enlightenment through kung fu, like his idol Bruce Lee. He wears coolie hats around his hood of New York City and fights injustice in the form of Sho'Nuff, the lambastic Shogun of Harlem. Lots of music video moments and pretty high class martial arts happen throughout the film, with Leroy trying to keep his lady love and baby brother out of Sho'Nuff's hands. The final confrontation where the mystical Glow powers arise is not to be missed. Famous for its cultishness and musical soundtrack, everyone can find something to love about the film, even if for the ham & eggs acting or the heavy 80s goodtime nostalgia.
7 Reused Scenes from Bruce Lee Movies out of 10 (GOOD)
The Deadly Spawn (1983)
The Deadly Spawn (R) - Review
"ET Spawn Home"
Independant Horror films have always been a haven for those who wish to break into the Film industry. George Romero with his Living Dead series, Sam Raimi and the Evil Dead, all began by creating midnight masterpieces to scare the tar out of audience, but more importantly take their money. The Deadly Spawn is a distant cousin of this process, a charming zero budgeted diamond in the rough overlooked for decades.
Meteors fall to earth containing the Deadly Spawn. They begin to devour the local residents, and the teenage kids must band together to survive, yadda yadda The Blob yadda yadda Little Shop. The appeal of this movie is not the horror movie tropes it fetishisticaly (and articulately) abides by, but in fact its the ones it eschews. The plot of the film is entirely unpredicatable and delightfully surprising at every turn. No one is safe from the toothy blind menace, not even a granny cooked vegetarian smorgasbord! The creatures themselves are amateurish yet authentic looking, their teeth supposedly handmade by a local dentist. As the little devils grow so does the bloody violence. Smart cliche-busting ideas, thick coats of elbow grease and amatuer zeal soak the entire production making it a highly enjoyable experience as you root for the cast and the crew. The ending screams "Hollywood, are you paying attention? I'm better than most of your huge budgeted snorefests, lets make sequels together!", a cry that fell on deaf ears (or were they chewed off?).
7 No Way Should It Be This Good out of 10 (GOOD)
"ET Spawn Home"
Independant Horror films have always been a haven for those who wish to break into the Film industry. George Romero with his Living Dead series, Sam Raimi and the Evil Dead, all began by creating midnight masterpieces to scare the tar out of audience, but more importantly take their money. The Deadly Spawn is a distant cousin of this process, a charming zero budgeted diamond in the rough overlooked for decades.
Meteors fall to earth containing the Deadly Spawn. They begin to devour the local residents, and the teenage kids must band together to survive, yadda yadda The Blob yadda yadda Little Shop. The appeal of this movie is not the horror movie tropes it fetishisticaly (and articulately) abides by, but in fact its the ones it eschews. The plot of the film is entirely unpredicatable and delightfully surprising at every turn. No one is safe from the toothy blind menace, not even a granny cooked vegetarian smorgasbord! The creatures themselves are amateurish yet authentic looking, their teeth supposedly handmade by a local dentist. As the little devils grow so does the bloody violence. Smart cliche-busting ideas, thick coats of elbow grease and amatuer zeal soak the entire production making it a highly enjoyable experience as you root for the cast and the crew. The ending screams "Hollywood, are you paying attention? I'm better than most of your huge budgeted snorefests, lets make sequels together!", a cry that fell on deaf ears (or were they chewed off?).
7 No Way Should It Be This Good out of 10 (GOOD)
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About Me
- Kevin Gasaway via HardDrawn
- Turlock, California, United States
- Media and Reviews by Kevin Gasaway