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The Banger Sisters (2002)
A few pieces missing...
As an aspiring screenwriter, I've received coverage in the past. I thought it would be interesting to critique this film in that format. ie, what a reader would probably say if this was a spec script.
THE BANGER SISTERS
102 Pages
READER: #16
Genre: Comedy Budget: Medium Location(s): Los Angeles/Phoenix Format: Screenplay Circa: Present day
LOGLINE: An ex-groupie travels across the country to re-unite with a woman who once shared her wild lifestyle but has now become a model citizen.
Content summary: There are some nice moments here that touch upon conflicts brought about by generation gaps, but ultimately there are too many unanswered questions. There also isn't a solid antagonist, which in turn doesn't create much of an arc for the lead character.
Recommendation: Pass
Comments: There isn't much rhyme or reason to SUZETTE's character. In the opening scene, she goes from being a jaded defiant bartender who could care less about her job to a pleading employee who wants to stay on when her boss terminates her. If she hates her job so much, why would she beg to have it back? Why does her loss of a job make her want to drop everything and connect with someone that she hasn't seen since the '60's? This is never fully explained. The LAVINIA character, her former best friend and groupie, also needs much more development. What events in her life caused her to reject her past and become the exact opposite of what she was? This is never fully explained either.
There is some good interaction between Suzette and HARRY, an obsessive compulsive writer/control freak who buys her gas in exchange for a ride to Phoenix. The scene where Suzette accidentally runs into Lavinia's daughter HANNAH at the same hotel on the same floor is too convenient, and having the girl drop acid and vomit seems unnecessary. However, it does bring out the gentle, caring side of Suzette's personality, which makes her a more likable character.
The first meeting between Suzette and Lavinia starts to have some depth. Lavinia isn't thrilled to see her long lost friend. When Lavinia tries to reconcile, Harry (and the audience) learn more about their attitudes, and Harry begins to let his guard down around Suzette. He has feelings for her, even though he wouldn't dare admit it.
There needs to be more visual action in the story. As written, most of the scenes are dialogue. The writer uses a car as a visual medium when GINGER (Lavinia's second daughter) is on her way to her driving test. But then we cut to a long scene of talk between Lavinia and Suzette. This is a pattern that holds true for most of the scenes in the script. The dialogue needs to be trimmed and we need to see more events happening.
Lavinia's sudden rebelliousness towards her life comes totally out of the blue. One minute she's sitting at a table acting like her usual uptight self, then in the next she gets dazed and speaks mystical talk about Jim Morrison. Again, there isn't a clear catalyst that causes this shift. It just happens. The remainder of the story plays like a girls night out, and Lavinia starts to have more of an arc than Suzette, who basically stays the same from beginning to end. As the protagonist, her lack of inner and outer growth weakens the structure and makes the story feel less satisfying.
There also isn't a definable antagonist in the script. Lavinia's current lifestyle seems to be an opposing force to Suzette, but this is vague, and its power lessens when Lavinia gives into her impulses and becomes a party girl. Now there doesn't seem to be any antagonist left to defeat.
There is a sense of growth near the end when Hannah gives a moving graduation speech, but there isn't a strong dramatic climax where both the protagonist and antagonist have everything to lose. The ending is a bit of a letdown when Suzette simply walks away from what she traveled so far to find: her friend. It would have been better if they bonded and stayed together instead of separating.
Conclusion: The Suzette character needs to have much more of an arc and there needs to be a stronger, more definable antagonist for this to have a better chance in the marketplace.
Little House on the Prairie: Be My Friend (1978)
There's a secret in the woods...
A young woman by the name of Anna (Lenora May) is enduring multiple hardships. She is pregnant, and the father is presently not part of her life, primarily because of her dad's overzealous and misguided religious beliefs. His rage and controlling behavior stems from his wife leaving the marriage for another man. He believes the devil that was inside his wife is also part of Anna. She's done a good job of hiding her growing stomach from him, but she is about due to deliver and has to act fast. She pretends to go to the creek to fetch water and hides inside a makeshift shelter to give birth. In the meantime, a bad storm starts.
Anna returns to their home happy and relieved that her baby has been born. Things start to get a bit questionable here. It's unclear where she's getting all these bottles, or how she got the animal skins out of the house to cover the hole her baby was hidden in without her father noticing they were gone. He constantly keeps her under his thumb, yet these missing objects are overlooked? And the scene where the stick Laura throws into the creek that dislodges a bottle which "happens" to stop at the point she's halted at to look at a bullfrog is too convenient. Although Charles gives Laura the third degree for coming home late, she returns to the creek and receives a loch of Anna's hair and later a photograph. Armed with this new evidence, Laura is more determined then ever to find this mysterious friend. Another plot hole is present when Charles asks her point blank about why finding Anna is so important and she simply replies "I don't know". She must have some reason in mind, or else why would she disobey him and go through all this? Laura and Charles trek for miles along the creek. Anna is hiding in the woods and spots them. Her baby starts to cry and they find her hidden in a hole with another note. Laura bonds instantly with "Grace", her new name for the (apparently) abandoned child. They take the infant home and care for it. Charles visits Doc Baker and discovers a town on a map where Anna might be. After questioning a preacher/fire chief, he finds the child's father, who is still very much in love with Anna. He joins in the search. Anna leads a pretty isolated life far out in the middle of nowhere. After traveling for about a week they still have found no trace of her. But bad luck strikes when Anna's father accidentally sees them while going through the woods. He runs back and confronts Anna, accusing her of seeing the father this whole time, and going off about how the devil has brought upon this incident. In a rage he throws a lantern and the house catches on fire. He blocks Anna as she races to the front door, claiming that "sinners" must burn in the fires of hell. She pushes him off and he hits his head on the way down. As the flames rise, she drags his unconscious body out of the house, and the next day Charles and Anna's lost love find her. They leave, but Charles stay with her father.
When he comes to, he sees that Anna has gone and says that the devil has won. Charles urges him to leave the house, which has been burned to the ground, but he refuses. Charles returns home and Laura tearfully returns Grace to Anna in a scene that is so bittersweet that it would melt Ebenezer Scrooge's heart. With the exception of a few minor glitches, the entire cast puts in a great performance, especially Laura. And Lenore is a wonderfully complex actress who really brought her role in the show to life. It's a shame she didn't become a more permanent fixture on the show, like Albert Ingalls did over time.
Biohazard 2 (1998)
Zombie party in Racoon City...
After a brief explanation of the destruction of the mansion in the first Resident Evil, you can enter Racoon city as either Claire Redfield, who is looking for her missing brother Chris, or Leon Kennedy, a cop on his first day of work. Claire meets Leon after running from a zombie in a cafe. Leon meets her after trying to escape from a horde of the flesh eating creatures. Both of them, no matter which mission you choose (Claire or Leon's) end up in Robert Kendo's gun shop. After trying to hit on Claire ("Sorry about that babe") I felt a sense of karma in the game when the zombies crashed through the window and ate him alive. It's a zombie bloodbath in the streets, and then things slow down a bit when you reach the police station, where most of the adventure takes place. You'll meet a few characters along the way: Claire runs into Sherry Birkin, the daughter of William and Annette, who are primarily responsible for the new virus that's turning everyone into zombies. After Umbrella sends soldiers in to try and steal William's virus samples, he is shot by them and injects the virus into his own body. As the game progresses he becomes bigger, uglier and stronger. Claire is confronted by Chief Irons, a secret ally of Umbrella with a twisted sense of art appreciation. Irons has been infected by the mutated William and literally explodes in front of Claire. In the meantime, Leon has become friends with Ada Wong, a dark haired beauty in a red dress who is yet another agent trying to obtain the virus. She and Leon become romantic, but sadly, the relationship is doomed. After being shot by Annette, she flips over a rail and Leon holds onto her with one hand. Desperately urging her to save herself, she replies that "it's too late" and lets go, plunging to her death. In the end of the first mission, Claire injects a vaccine into an infected Sherry and she comes around just fine. Leon goes to the front of the train and bids Ada a fond farewell. In the second mission, both Leon and Claire have to deal with an indestructible tyrant as well as Birkin. The story line still runs through the police station and underground lab. But the most significant change is in the ending. It picks up where the first one left off, and this time the tyrant has turned into an enormous freak of nature. After its demise, Claire, Leon and Sherry are in broad daylight, which is one of the few times RE characters have been seen like this. Claire vows to find Chris and the story comes to an end...for now. This game is far superior to the first one and also the Resident Evil: Survivor game that came later. Another great addition was the character tofu. Trying to get this pink block through the zombie gauntlet would test the skill of even the most hardcore RE veteran.
Silent Hill (1999)
From light to dark and...?
The story line of Silent Hill begins believably, which to me was a welcome change from the being thrown into zombies and various monster plots that were prevalent in horror games at the time. Harry Mason is an everyman type of character, an ordinary citizen lead into Silent Hill by the mysterious disappearance of his daughter Cheryl. Dream sequences are relied on a bit too heavily, especially near the end where Harry keeps waking up from one nightmare after another. But in the beginning the story is a tightly woven tale about Harry exploring the eerie atmosphere of thick fog with falling snow, abandoned cars, and vacant buildings that make everything just seem a little too quiet.
The first character he meets, Cybil, is a police officer who is subtle and surprisingly calm about where she is. With the exception of a possession that turns her against Harry in the latter half of the game, she is his strongest ally. Dahlia is the town looney who he comes across in the Balkan church. She speaks in riddles which for the most part sound nuts until later on when the pieces of the story fit together. The game doesn't really get spooky until the sun eclipses and Harry faces the dark side of Silent Hill. Pint sized demon children with knives are the most common enemy, and like zombies, they can only do severe damage if they gang up on you. What's more unsettling is the ghastly appearance of the halls and rooms Harry goes through. Rust, blood colored fungus, and no light except for the one he's carrying.
Dr. Mason is antagonistic towards Harry, especially when he finds him holding a red bottle of strange fluid in a garage. The last main character he meets is Lisa Garland, a terrified nurse who is trapped in the dark side of Silent Hill in a hospital. Harry offers to take her along with him, but for some strange reason she refuses, thinking that she belongs in this hospital from hell alone. When they meet later, Lisa hemorrhages into a sorrowful death. It would have been better if Harry was able to save her because there were so many interesting dynamics to their relationship that could've been explored. How would she/they have worked together to survive in Silent Hill? What would have become of them after the demon was defeated? She was way to good a character to leave sitting in a hospital just waiting to die more or less. The final battle is good and playing to see all the different endings made the game a true winner. The best weapon Harry can obtain is a laser like gun that can hit targets at long distances. And I was so curious to find out what was behind that locked door on the right side of the hall in the house where the three keys worked that it was kind of disappointing when all that was inside there was a samurai sword. I think other Silent Hill versions after this one were scarier, but this first installment was a strong effort from Konami.
La venganza de la momia (1975)
An abundance of gore but little else...
It became very apparent to me from the beginning that this low budget horror film catered to an audience that liked to watch gorgeous women being cut, tortured, bled to death, and civilians of both sexes getting their skulls crushed. Unlike most films of this nature, there wasn't an abundance of sex, which would have upped the shock to morbid desire rating a notch or two. But nevertheless, the graphic highlight of this film is a painstakingly detailed 3 to 4 minutes of four young damsels in distress having their throats slashed open by Naschy and Helga.
The blood flows freely in this scene, after a brief period of hyperventilation by the victims as their heads are being pulled to one side so their jugulars can be slit. Then come the guttural screams as red crimson flows down the front of their chests and expire while they are still chained to the wall. This is more repulsive then horrifying, since their near lifeless bodies don't convulse, and the whole incident is just one big mess.
Add to this mixture a lame resurrection scene, a few crushed skulls and the demise of the mummy by fire no less, and what you have is a flick that should have died in flames like the mummy. The shocking attempt at gore in this one can't make up for the weak storyline. Don't watch this one after dinner, especially if it's spaghetti smothered in red sauce.