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Reviews
Firestarter: Rekindled (2002)
A poorly made sequel.
I did not watch this mini-series with very high expectations; mostly I watched it for the lovely Marguerite Moreau. I was not wrong, while Miss Moreau was effervescent; the plot of this movie was incomprehensible. Some items for your consideration:
-In the final showdown, unlike Firestarter the movie, the place she burns is a town. Weren't those innocent peoples shops and cars being blown up? Why did she do that? Charlie had better temper control as a child. She blew up an `evil' government installation, not someone's town.
-Why didn't she cook Rainbird at any of the many chances she had? I can understand not wanting to hurt someone if you don't have to, but I think that if I feared for my life, I would defend myself first and grapple with the emotional consequences later.
-How do they expect anyone who saw the movie Firestarter to believe that Rainbird survived? This girl could burn cinderblocks when she was five, I think a person who betrayed her she would have immolated.
-Who is watching the X-kids at the end? They are shown back in the company lab. Who took them there? Do the local authorities have any idea about what really happened? The one little boy in particular who `wanted a puppy' is a first order psychopath, with psychic powers. Who is his warder now?
-What exactly what was Dennis Hopper's purpose? I think they should have saved Hopper's salary and used it to hire a better writer. No offense to Dennis Hopper, a personal favorite of mine, but his character detracted from the plot rather than adding to it.
I hope this series does not count against Miss Moreau, I hope to see more of her in the future. She was great in Queen of the Damned.
I loved Malcolm McDowell in the new Fantasy Island. That was a chance for his singular offbeat personality to really shine.
I just think the actors had nothing to work with in this weak, weak script. Too bad they didn't offer me a chance to rewrite; a few minor changes and this could have been much better.
The Advanced Guard (1998)
Pretty Good Sci-Fi
I caught this movie on the Sci-Fi channel, and was pleasantly surprised. It is somewhat formulaic, but if you are a fan of Sci-Fi in general, you may enjoy it. I felt that the cast acted quite well, and the special effects were quite well done for the obviously low budget. All and all, I'm glad I watched it.
Tai-Pan (1986)
It could have been so much more...
As another reviewer put it, this movie was very similar to Dune. Very interesting comparison, since Raffaella De Laurentiis produced them both. This was her first project right after Dune. Both were sweeping epic sagas with multiple intertwined plotlines. Both should have been six or eight hour mini series and not feature films. As with Dune, you will find that if you have not read the book, you will not understand the movie. However, if you have read the book, then the movie isn't all that bad. James Clavell's 'Asian Saga' is one of my favorite book series, so I bought this movie cheap just to see it. The characters are like old friends to me, so I didn't think that the movie was all that bad. I realized while watching it though, that someone who had not read the book would not be able to keep up with all of the plot points. My suggestion to you is to read the book, then watch the movie. You will discover two things; first it's a super good book. Second, this movie had everything going for it in cast and settings; it just had too much story to tell in too short a time. It definitely should have been a six-hour miniseries.
Alien³ (1992)
Heartbreak
Attention: Spoilers for Aliens and Alien 3 follow.
This movie broke my heart. I saw Alien when I was about 11 years old, and dozens of times since. It was one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. We discussed it later in college English, as an update to the classic gothic horror story. When Aliens came out I was 16 and able to drive. I was so enthralled I had to stay and watch it a second time. I long for a chance to take that roller coaster ride again for the first time, but it's not to be. Needless to say, I awaited Alien 3 with baited breath.
It sucked.
Don't get me wrong, the cinematography was beautiful, the movie had a gritty, desolate feel that I really loved. However, I cannot forgive them for blowing the trilogy in my opinion.
I first loved Aliens because of the action, but it's one of those movies that I love more each time I watch it. James Cameron broke the mold! The story had everything! An elite fighting force, that could have easily have fought off the aliens, but Pride goeth before the Fall. After disaster, the core group toughs it out with levelheaded determination to survive. Sigourney Weaver is sublime! She's no Arnold, but she steps up to save the little girl, her daughter figure.
In any case not to go on to long about Aliens, but Alien 3 just throws the triumph of the human spirit of Aliens out the window because it isn't convenient. The noble Hicks, who would have changed the dynamic of Ripley's relationship with the convicts by defending her is killed. Newt, the crux of Ripley's determination in the first movie would be a distraction in this one, is killed. Bishop, who shows us that an "Artificial Person" doesn't have to be a menace, is killed, and replaced with just another evil Company lie to restore our cynicism. It seems that everything that represented triumph in the first movie is cast away on a weak premise.
Here is where I speak to the other Alien series geeks. My number one problem with this movie, how did the egg get on the Sulaco? The only trip up to the ship was the second dropship that Bishop pilots up in the end. The mother alien didn't have an egg under her arm when she stepped out of the elevator, and she left her egg producing section in the reactor! How did the egg in the beginning of the Alien 3 movie get there? Perhaps another alien hid with an egg on the second drop ship, coming out only when the humans entered the cryosleep chambers? If so, how did it overcome it's dronish instincts to defend the queen when Ripley killed her? How did it get to the cryosleep chamber? There must be at least one door between there and the cargo hold. If it could open doors, why didn't the mother alien do so when Ripley ran behind a door to put on the power loader suit?
I just cannot get over my problems with movie 3. Knowing the script battle that went on before this was settled only makes it worse. There could have been 1000 other plots that would have done honor to the 2nd movie, but this wasn't one of them.
I just pretend that it doesn't exist, and dream of the Alien 3 that should have been...
Nankyoku monogatari (1983)
Great Sadness
I loved this movie, but I warn any dog lovers, especially Husky lovers that it is almost unbearably sad. The fact that it is based on a true story only makes it more so. The two lead characters are willing to risk their lives to go back and rescue, but they are not allowed to do so. I would have risked my life for my dogs too, but I cannot imagine how much more powerful the feelings of shame must have been to them, coming from the Japanese culture. It was an interesting glimpse into their culture when the two leads go to confess their shame to the people who bred the dogs for their expedition back in Japan.