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stanfaliski
Reviews
The Resurrected (1991)
Never judge a movie by its cover!!
My neighbor came by a few nights ago to return a few of my movies he had borrowed, along with a few of his own for me to watch. One was a film from the "Masters of Horror" series, which I will not mention. The other was "The Resurrected". At first, I made the mistake of putting it aside because of the cover art which looked like the typical straight-to-video horror crap that floods the video store.
I didn't check it out 'till the other night when I was watching the original "Halloween" with my girlfriend. We were having a micro-theater presentation of spooky movies on the video projector and I left it up to her to pick out the next feature. Out of "Hostel", "Tourist Trap", "Night of the Living Dead"(Savini), and "The Grudge", she picked this one. She read the back of the case and said it was based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, which isn't saying much due to the quality of adaptations of his work. Then, she said "directed by Dan O'Bannon". Now, that was a name I hadn't heard in a long time. I mean, he is somewhat of a legend.
After just watching "Halloween", it was hard to get into the flow of this movie, but then Chris Sarandon was the evil doctor, and then I realized what I'd missed out on in the nineties. I'm now checking out other flicks from that decade. You should, too.
V for Vendetta (2005)
Good movie, poor adaption.
This movie was difficult to watch the second time. I had read the book and loved it. I envisioned what a movie would be like, with a few tiny liberties. I saw this movie shortly after it was released and tried to hold my criticism from my friends when we walked out. They were blown away and wondering how I didn't feel the same. There are often times when a motion picture adaption of a novel, comic book, or even true events can only be responded with a shrug or slight nod. The comic book series was written as one complete story back in the early eighties by Alan Moore and was a staple in DC Comics' history.
When the movie was being released, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it because of the liberties I was sure they had taken. But, the trailers and reviews had me wanting to see it. My friends, who had never read the book, were excited while I was a little apprehensive. I knew the story could translate into a good movie if done right but didn't want to ruin the vision that the book had given. I decided to partake in some recreational prescriptions before I entered the theater to become a little limber in the viewing.
I'll start with the negative.
I was upset with one of Finch's scenes that totally erases how he found out what happened at the concentration camp. In the book, it is a very serious and emotional part of his role in the story bringing him closer to understanding V. I was fine with the liberties that were taken of the time and place of the events, as the movie was made several years after the story takes place and they obviously wanted it to be modern day. I do like Natalie Portman as an actress but felt they should have just found a good English actress instead of tacking on big names for a title not many people knew about. Being very fond of the book, I have to say that this is a very rushed and weak adaption of Alan Moore's epic story. I appreciated the Wachowski brothers for The Matrix, the sequels left me with blue balls, and I was just about to credit them for having good taste in comics before they made this but have to despise them for cashing in on one of my favorite books
Although, if you've never read the book, you might love this movie. I found myself wishing I had never read the book because as a movie, it is well made, entertaining and thought-provoking.
Hang in there, Alan.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Water? Not the Boogieman I used to know.
This is my 2nd comment on a movie since I've joined this site, and believe me, there are a hundred other movies I'd like to talk about rather than this one. I could start from the title itself, H20. Just saying it to myself makes me want to slap whoever said OK. I'm sorry, but, when someone says H20 in a sentence, I think "water", at least I used to. Now, when someone says it, I think of this terrible movie. I know its an abbreviation for "Halloween: 20 Years later", but, come on, for real. I know the franchise was failing and it would've been easier to promote the film without people turning their heads before they could get the full title out of their mouthes, but for all of us followers of the story it was hard to believe we were about to see something impressive. I overlooked the bad title and gave it a chance. Fortunately, the movie goes by just as fast as saying the title.
I guess I was naive to think the story could get much better. The original film by John Carpenter and its sequel was a great story with a beginning and end. The third was a different story completely that had nothing to do with Michael Myers, which was a great move for being diverse and giving others a chance to tell different stories that take place on Halloween. But, with the first two being box-office champions, and 3 being mediocre, the studio lost interest. So, years later they bring back Michael, which brings back money. At this time, I was old enough to sneak out of bed to watch these movies, and I was mostly in it for the Boogieman. As I got older, so did the Myers story. Part 4 was a decent approach at the continuing story involving Laurie Strode's daughter. Laurie apparently killed herself after her daughter was born and so her little girl is already damaged goods. The ending was a gruesome cliffhanger kind of like the original. Part 5 starts where the other left off and on to the normal killing spree and ends again with another cliffhanger that doesn't get summed up till' years later where there is another decent story that almost has a decent climax except for the fact that he's not dead, which only means he'll get dished up for his 20th anniversary.
And that leads us to this fresh pile of pooh. So, Laurie Strode didn't kill herself but faked her death to avoid the past and the possibility that big bro Michael might have survived and come looking for her. This was also done to protect her son. I'm left to assume that her daughter was just the decoy for her mom and brother. Nice parenting, not to mention excellent continuity. I love how studios are the only ones who forget past story lines, or at least, they think that since they've had a few let downs at the box-office, we just kind of forgot what happened.
Since I can't leave an 0 for a score, I have to give it a 1. I don't mind. I'll give it a 1 for killing Michael the way we knew he could be killed. Chop his freaking head off!!! Enough is enough!!! "WATER! You'll be so scared, you won't be able to watch another Halloween movie!"
Superman Returns (2006)
Satisfaction Garanteed
Nearly twenty years after the release of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, Warner Bros. finally got their stuff together and hired a great team to make a great movie. I still can't believe that it happened. All these years, rumors have been tossed about the new Superman movie. When Joel Schumacher destroyed the Batman films with a deadly glow stick, WB Pictures resorted back to the superhero that made them all that money back at the end of the seventies. First, it was said that Tim Burton and Kevin Smith would team up to make Nic Cage fly. That never happened, and it was probably a good thing(see Kevin Smith's live seminar on DVD). Then, I heard that the guy who directed the Charlie's Angels Movies would take the chair while trying to cast Beyonce as Lois Lane. Once I heard this, I could care less what happened.
One of the few plot lines I had heard of was that it would start from the beginning, turning the back on the original. If that would've happened, I never would've watched it. My earliest childhood memories were of the Superman movies with Christopher Reeves. The first one is a milestone in film history. It had a massive story with good characters and a lot of emotion. When I heard that Bryan Singer had signed on and would continue the original storyline, I new there was hope. I caught the original on AMC late one night and got so wrapped up in the whole thing that I couldn't believe it was made so long ago. The picture quality and the special f/x were so good for its time and it never seemed to ever outdo itself. Much is to be appreciated about that movie and should never be abandoned.
Bryan Singer, apparently, felt the same way. Superman Returns was everything I hoped to experience. The opening titles and musical score took me back. I won't spoil or hype up anything about this film. I'll just say that if you liked Superman: The Movie, or even Superman 2, then this one should do it for you. Rock on, Mr. Singer.