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Reviews
Dagon (2001)
Best Lovecraft Film Yet!
In 1985 director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yunza teamed up to create Re-Animator, the best H.P. Lovecraft adaptation ever. Until now. 2001's Dagon is an absolute masterpiece. The movie blends elements of Lovecraft's Dagon and Shadows Over Innsmouth as it follows the plight of four vactioneers whose yacht capsizes off the coast of Spain. Shooting in a small Spanish fishing town lends the film vital atmosphere (atmosphere Re-Animator lacked), and the near perfect blend of excellent physical effects and CGI top anything the two's earlier films offered. I hope that Dagon is a sign of what's too come from Yunza and Gordon, because this film is a breakthrough. The story involves a town in the grip of a cult that worships dread Cthulhu, a town that is slowly mutating into fishbeasts. The effects here are great, with all the townspeople showing subtle (and not so subtle) demonic stigmata. Some scenes are hilariously funny, others are terrifying. As the movie progresses, things get less and less funny, and more and more terrifying, though a length expository flashback in the middle of the film slows things down (though you'll love it if you're as big a fan of Cthulhu as I am). The best part of the film is Macarena Gomez as the woman who haunts hero Paul's dreams and leads the fish cult's ceremonies. She's gorgeous, but in a very sinister and creepy way, with the most predatory smile this side of a shark.
Zelig (1983)
A Great Mockumentary From The Master
This gem from 1983 pretends to be a documentary following the tale of Leonard Zelig (Allen), a human chameleon writhe ability to become ethnically
and socially similar to whomever he is associating with. Zelig He is exploited by psychiatrists and the media becomes a celebrity due to his ability. The story follows him through from his ignoble beginings, to the height of his popularity to his eventual destruction. The only person who cares for Leonard is Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow), but her concern may not be enough. State if the art editing effectsplace Allen in real newsreel footage with
Josephine baker, Cole Porter, the Yankees and many others.
The technical effects are marvelous. There are old-timey songs about Zelig, and plenty of altered photos. The movie never loses that "This is a true story. This is all real." feel of an actual documentary. Critics who crowed about similar effects in Forrest Gump obviously didn't realize they'd been put to
better use a decade earlier.
The writing is, as always, distinctly Allen. If you like Allen, you'll find him in top form here. While this film avoids zaniness (remember, this is real), it is always clever and witty. The more you know about the early part of last century and about psychology, the more you'll get out of this movie. Most of the humor deals with issues like celebrity, social personae, identity, psychology, the media and, of course, relationships.
De vierde man (1983)
A politically incorrect psychological thriller
An occasionally surrealistic thriller that will push most people's buttons., the 4th Man is sure to offend anyone with a taste for the politically correct. The story's protagonist is a bisexual alcoholic Catholic writer, Gerard (Krabbe), with a seriously twisted sense of imagination. Verhoeven offers up
Gerard has an example of everything wrong with the modern man. He's shiftless, delusional, unable to control his urges, afraid to commit to
meaningful relationships, and utterly apathetic about life in general. As the character himself states at one point, he is a professional liar, unable to recall the truth.
The movie opens with Gerard dreaming of spiders consuming Christ, and then waking to begin the long march to his own destruction. He chases off
one man (a boyfriend presumably), then chases another at a train station. Later, at a lecture, he meets a woman who seems to want to help him, or
perhaps she has more nefarious plans.. She quickly captures Gerard in her web, enticing him with sex and money, having plenty of both. She's also got
secrets, like three dead husbands. Is she lonely, and genuinely looking for someone to nurture - or is she a deadly black widow, luring Gerard to his
death? Will Garard be the 4th man she kills? The woman is Christine (Soutendijk), and Verhoeven does his best to keep you guessing what she's up to.
This is an interesting movie, with a lot of sex and intrigue. It's similar to Verhoeven's<em>Basic instinct</em>, but has a lot more depth, and is certainly more shocking. There's a lot of very strong gay content, which may make some viewers squirm. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent
psychological thrillers, or anyone looking for something entirely new.
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Worst Episode Ever
This movie feels like sitting through an incredibly long episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, except Buffy & the Gang never show up. So it kinda sucks.
The special effects aren't special, the jokes aren't funny, and nothing is scary. I mistook the leads for throwaway victims, and I am deeply offended that they don't both get killed in the first reel. The male lead in particular should have been mangled in a manner both vicious and brutal.
There is a crazy old black lady with clairvoyant powers who knows everything about the monster and explains everything. No, really. And it isn't even
played for laughs. Or maybe it was. Maybe this movie was a joke. If so, it's not funny. It's just this mind-numbing string of cliches and boring dialog. The ceiling made of corpses was cool, but it deserved a much better movie to be in. As it was, it just seemed incredibly hokey.
This movie is just bad. Very very bad. And not even bad in a good way. Just boring and dull and pointless. 1/10