Change Your Image
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTMyMTY0NzkzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODAzMTY2MTE@._V1_SY100_SX100_.jpg)
canopic1
Reviews
Gothic (1986)
Stylish and Opulant
Ken Russell hit his stride as a visualist in the late 80s with his sexual horror romps "Lair of the White Worm" and "Gothic". "Gothic" covers the story the Romantic Poets Lord Byron & Percy Shelley, Shelley's wife Mary as well as their companions and the evening that lead to the creation of Frankenstein and the Victorian vampire tale. Russell uses an 80s MTV aesthetic combined with lavish period set pieces and bizarre horror elements to create a rock star world that the poets would have surely be drawn to if they had lived 150 years later. On top of this Russell successfully integrates Henry Fuseli's ( an early love interest of Mary Shelley's mother) painting masterpiece "The Nightmare" into his film. This piece of art caused such a sensation when unveiled in 1782 that it can really be considered the first great horror franchise so it's very cool to see it come to life on screen and such surrealism sets Gothic apart from "Haunted Summer" and "Rowing in the Wind".... 2 pretty good contemporary efforts that also cover Byron and Shelley's Swiss exploits.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
big step up but a long way to go
Surprise- Hayden Christiansen was not as bad as I feared. However, the CGI effects were as distracting as expected. In my opinion creature effects hit their pinnacle in the 80s with films like Dragonslayer and Aliens. Nothing in the past 20 years can surpass those in realism. The CGI characters in SW 2 were just not tangible or believable. Yoda was the closest thing to a success in this area but he looked like Sonic the Hedgehog during his duel (even though that was the most entertaining sequence in the film.) Overall all SW 2 was such a vast improvement over Phantom Menace that you have to be somewhat pleased but it is still is light years behind Empire which it desperately sought to emulate (protector and princess fall in love, severed limbs, asteroid chases, etc). Maybe its the Byzantine politics instead of rag tag heroes trying to oppose the ultimate bad guy. It's hard to figure out who you should hate.
The Mangler 2 (2002)
The Ultimate Sin
I know bad movies. Hell, I make them. But the creators of Mangler 2.0 have committed the ultimate movie sin. They've made a picture that is not only derivative but absolutely boring. They've taken elements from The Lawnmower Man, Hellraiser and every teen slasher movie and combined them into one uninteresting mess. I feel sorry for the cast who tried valiantly but what did they have to work with? Even Lance Henrikson fell on his face. The best part of the film was looking at Daniella Evangelista. Why in the world would the producers want her to keep her clothes on!?!