Change Your Image
coughlinm
Reviews
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
stays pretty true to the original.
As far as remakes go this one is pretty good. In fact the movie far more polished than the original. That said, there are some aspects of this film compared to its original that I didn't like. SPOILERS AHEAD! 1. No mutilated lady upstairs. That was an important element in setting the mood of the original film. 2. None of the characters are very likable, ie. Ben seems just as unreasonable as Harry. Tom comes off as a dolt. Judy is whinny, Barbara Has some unexplained childhood mommy issues that lend to her inner rage. The sheriff comes off as a complete unprofessional, in fact the hole posse portrayal as a bunch gun nuts at a sporting event seems quite unrealistic. The sense of urgency doesn't seem to quite match the original film. Everyone seems to act like they are inconvenienced by the situation. Don't get me wrong, the acting is light years ahead of the 68 version, just a little over the top in spots. The most glaring difference is the films conclusion. In the original the irony was that the cellar was after all the safest place. In this film it seems that the outdoors is the safest place.
Billy Jack (1971)
Loved it then but now I've grown up
A runaway girl returns home to tell her policeman father that she is pregnant. Her dad asks, "who's the father". She replies in the most defiant, in your face tone, "the fact is I've been balled by so many guys, I do'not know if the baby is white, black, Chicano, Chinese or Indian". SMACK(the sound of a backhand across the face). Now that is a funny scene. This pretty much sums up the attitude of the movie. We're hippies. You're square. You're lives are normal. We've made a mess of ours. You need to loosen up and be more like us.
I saw this movie At the age of 12 and left the theater thinking about its powerful message. INDIANS CAN REALLY KICK BUTT WHEN THEY'RE TRAINED IN THE MARTIAL ARTS.
Thats right. Lets face it, thats all anyone really wanted to see in this movie. In fact my friends and I use to debate who could kick who's butt, Billy Jack or Bruce Lee. Problem being one was a fictitious character with fictitious skills, the other was the real deal.
Twenty years later I was able to see the movie again on late night t.v. While watching I realized that what seemed to be a great movie in 1974 was actually one of the silliest movies I've ever seen. Its not that the fight scenes were poorly done or that the acting is horrific but the plot of the movie is absurd.
A freedom school(what are they taught there? How to be hippies?)where screwed up kids are indoctrinated with yet even more left-wing hogwash, leaving them with even less of a moral compass.
A spoiled brat town bully who thinks its his job to screw and/or rape his way thru the female population.
A half breed Vietnam vet trained in martial arts, who's job it is to defend the freedom school from said town bully/bullies.
Lets start with the school. They teach a pacifist philosophy and yet they come into town on weekend outing raring to let everybody know they are the counter culture with a stack of chips on there shoulders to boot. Everything about them, passively or not, comes across as confrontational. Word of advise. If you live in a place where the majority does'not really appreciate you're values, STAY UNDER THE RADAR! In 1971 most communities would have been leery of a bunch of hippie types moving in near by and rightfully so. Think of the Manson family and Spawn ranch.
The character of Billy Jack while interesting in concept comes off as way too mellow dramatic. The ice cream store Pr whoop-ass dialog is a good example. In fact the clenched teeth line delivery thru out the movie gets annoying real quick. One Interesting aspect about the first two Billy Jack movies(Born losers/Billy Jack)that I have not seen mentioned is the "plot flip" between the two. In Born Loosers he is actually defending normal straight society against the on slot of the counter culture where as in "Billy Jack" its just the opposite. But I guess Laughlin was just following the trends of exploitation movies of the time. Everything Pr Easyrider = freaks bad. Everything post = freaks good.
From what I understand, Laughlin believed so much in Billy Jack that he thru all his career eggs into the Billy Jack franchise basket. Thats a shame because the movies arn't all that great.
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Piontless and unintelligible...............just like Woody.
I can't remember if I saw this one in the theater or rented it. I hope the latter. I would hate to think I wasted 7 bucks on this piece of crap. Nobody has given me a decent explanation what message Stone is trying to send. What? America loves violence and thats a bad thing, so lets make a horribly violent movie to to make the point? Is that what this excrement is meant to do? Please Olie, go make a film about some dead, drunken rock star or maybe you can make a really long and utterly confusing film about an assassinating. I know! Make a movie about Vietnam. Make a couple of movies about Vietnam. Why don't make Vietnam a running theme in all your movies? That would be Great!!
The Last Supper (1995)
Refreshing message
Sorry BANSHEEFAN, but you obviously don't understand this films message. Let me help you out.
This is not a Pro-left-wing/anti-right-wing movie.
This is not a pro-assassination movie. Not even in a funny way.
This film is an indictment of extremism whether it be left or right-wing.
THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS!
The characters in this film could also easily be a metaphor for Stalinism, Pol Pot, nazi-ism or any other fanatical, murderous ISM you choose. This movie is so refreshing in that there is finally a Hollywood movie that dares show liberals as the true antagonists and conservatives(with the exception of Bill Paxtons character) as the- more or less- victims. The film is funny and yet scary in the sense that there are people I know personally that are so self righteous(just like the films central characters)in their beliefs, that they cannot conceive of anyone having the right to an opposing view. The movie conveys this attitude so well. The question asked about Killing Hitler before he had a chance to come to power is a valid one, and may validly be answered in the self defense killing of the first "victim", but as killing becomes easier to the house-mates, they begin to see Hitler in anyone with a different view point. Finally, any small deviation from the accepted point of view, justifies a death sentence. They have become Hitler.
Hope this helps.
The Wicker Man (1973)
Very haunting and disturbing
Before I go on with my review of this film, I would like to say that I find some of the comments made by some of the neon pagan reviewers are simply amazing. I get the feeling that these people think that the behavior of the people of Summerisle is ultimately justified. So Christianity imposed itself on pagans a thousand years ago, GET OVER IT!! In my opinion, if a place like Summerisle ever did exist, a mass B52 napalm attack on the island and all its residence would be in order.
ON WITH MY REVIEW.
I rented this movie in 1984 and the effect it had on me after watching it lasted for two days. This film really toyed with my emotions. I guess its the way the film dragged me from disliking the character of Sgt. Howie and feeling the peaceful people of Summerisle as being a bit "picked on", to ultimately feeling pity for Howie and utter contempt for the islanders. This is one of the brilliant things about this film. Its ability to transform your feelings towards the characters is subtle but still noticeable. If you start watching this movie you will get hooked and drawn in but may wish you had not been. And as the film begins its dash towards its climax, we realize along with Sgt. Howie, that he has made a horrible mistake in coming to Summerisle. This has one of the most jaw dropping and disturbing endings in movie history. Similar in affect that the climax of LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR had on unsuspecting audiences. Before there was the USUAL SUSPECTS, before there was THE SIXTH SENSE, there was THE WICKER MAN. A VERY VERY WELL DONE FILM!
Creature from Black Lake (1976)
Lots of suspense
This movie was to be the last respectful BIGFOOT movie to come out for along time. Hollywood had already begun turning the topic into a pop culture joke starting with the SIX MILLION DOLLER MAN/BIGFOOT travesty. This would eventually lead to the E.T.-ing of our favorite bipedal primate with films like HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS. Hairy hominids just didn't seem very scary following this film. This movie stars one ticked off sasquatch. Even more so than his cousin in the previous film, LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK. The story is about two anthropology students on a trip to investigate a supposed swamp creature in OIL CITY LA. The chills and suspense are plenty, there is a lot of comic relief, especially from veteran actors Jack Elam and Dub Taylor and the acting is miles above The acting in BOGGY CREEK. There is however one major flaw in the script. So much so that I even noticed it when I first saw the movie at age fourteen. You see, in real life most bigfoot investigators spend their entire lives searching for the beast and end up at best finding a few hairs or maybe a foot print or two. I know this is only a Fictional movie but our two main characters seem to be running into this creature constantly from the moment they hit town. This seems even more glaring when you add the fact that most of locals, who presumably have lived there all their lives, have never seen the monster. These two (lucky?) guys have three encounters with the creature, on three consecutive nights, in three different locations, presumably miles apart. You begin to wonder who's searching for who. The movie's continuity would seem smoother if one or two of these three particular encounters were with different characters, and the two main characters show up later to investigate. These issues shouldn't take away from the overall entertainment value of the film, they just seemed obvious to me. If your into all things crypto-, see this movie. Its the last really scary bigfoot flick.
The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)
WILLIE NELSON???? hmmmmmmmmm.
I first saw this movie in 1973 at a drive-in. I was 11 years old at the time, and I'll quote from the film, "IT SCARED ME THEN AND IT SCARES ME NOW." Well maybe not that much now,but some of the things that made this movie scary then are still pretty effective today.
WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In the beginning of the film there is a scene where a young boy is running thru a field. It's perhaps late afternoon. He's running along the edge of some woods maybe 60 yards away. He comes to a barbed wire fence and begins to climb. halfway over he freezes and stares towards the woods. He thinks he heard a slight growl coming from the tree line. He continues on and eventually comes to a small store where he finds the landlord of the property he lives on. He tells the man that he was sent by his mother to tell him of a wildman in the woods near their home. The man tells the boy that there's no such thing and sends him home. The boy runs back the way he came. As he's nearing his home he suddenly stops and stares wide eyed at the woods. This time a horrible and inhuman scream can be heard coming from just beyond the tree line. He runs inside his house and stares out the window towards the woods...........
For some reason, this is one of the most chilling scenes of the movie. On the surface it doesn't seem like much but believe me, this scene aways makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. This movie uses the on location gloomy atmosphere of the countryside to make its point and does it well. Most of the "actors" are citizens of Fouke AK. themselves so the acting is not so good. What we see of the "MONSTER" is usually in the distance or a hairy leg or arm. Its the viewers imagination thats gets the adrenaline going. There are spots in the center of the film that tend to drag, but this is also where some of the unintentionally funny stuff happens also. Like the songs. they're really a hoot. The one song "LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK" sounds suspiciously like Willie Nelson singing. Maybe under a different name? You never know... All in all this movie does a pretty good job at providing the chills. It may seem hokey in parts but it beats having to listen to HEATHER, JOSH and MIKE(BLAIR WITCH)screaming at each other for ninety minutes.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
slackers lost in the woods.
I saw this film when it was first released back in 1999. I will also admit that I was taken in by the enormous hype surrounding the film. In fact that was the main reason I went to see it, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So, as I left the Theadora 90 minutes later, I could not help to feel conflicted. Its not that I thought that The Blair Witch Project was a bad movie, Not at all. In fact there is some truly spooky things going on in this movie. The creepiness of the woods with all the wig snapping and such. The "witch" ramping up the psychological warfare on our three "comrads"; this was quite effective movie making. I guess my problem with the movie was that I felt I wasted seven bucks on a fake documentary that pretends to be real that I already know is fake. Even If I didn't know this was a fake before hand, some of the acting is so over the top I could have figured it out easily. Is it just me or did Heather, Josh and Mike come off as thorougher unlikable? So much so that when they finally met they'r demise, my gut reaction was-"OH WELL." I pariticulary found Heather a foul mouthed little snot. One more F bomb and I was going to reach into the screen and slap her face. All that said, this is still a not too bad movie. If you can get past the endlessly irritating ideologue, this film does have it moments.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Still creeps me out!
I have always believed that atmosphere is far more effective than visual shock value in presenting a truly scary movie. In this respect NOTLD is the scariest, creepiest movie ever made. Even if the scenes of ghouls feasting on human flesh (shocking by 1968 movie standards but tame by todays)had been eliminated and simply implied, this would still be a frightening little gem. Like I said, this movie is fueled by 100% atmosphere. Everything Romero does in this movies direction adds to its sense of dread, be it the black and white filming , the gloomy rural Pennsylvania location or the stock music, all ad to the movies power. From start to finish the tension never lets up and there is nothing in the movie that allow for release. There is no romantic interlude no comic relief. NOTHING. The viewer is left feeling as hopeless as the doomed, trapped occupants of the farmhouse. Had Romero been a Hollywood director, working for a big studio, this film would have never seen the light of day in its current form. It just didn't fit the accepted formula for horror films at that time. This all the more makes the low budget and independent nature of the film so important. Had this been a Hollywood release, it would probably have been just another lame horror movie with a nice formulaic and comfortable ending. One of the few weak points in the script that should have been left out is the explanation for the undead phenomena. In fact Romero never tread that ground again in any of his follow up "dead" movies. The whole Venus probe thing just seemed too simplistic and easy an explanation. No explanation would be scarier. In all this is probably the greatest horror movie of all time. A timeless classic.