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mjconway1
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The Fly II (1989)
Fun, engaging, 80's horror flick!
I think the reason that this movie got some hate was because it didn't have the ultra dark tone of the first. It wasn't trying to do that and I loved it for being its own animal (or insect). Other than the back story, I recommend that viewers not compare this to the original, and watch it as its own story.
As a first time director, Chris Walas does a commendable job. Stoltz and Zuniga are good, the makeup effects are awesome, and the music is fantastic.
The well paced script was written by some very accomplished writers - Mick Garris (Amazing Stories), the Wheat brothers (PITCH BLACK), and Frank Darabont (WALKING DEAD, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE). There is never a dull moment. Several scenes, especially involving dogs, are quite moving. Unlike the downer story of the original, THE FLY 2 sets up characters and liberally serves poetic justice for audience satisfaction
The only thing I find lacking, is that the supporting players, like the scientists and security guys, are a bit wooden. As they are, they make for some nice fly fodder.
Black Mirror: Mazey Day (2023)
Well done, even if it is a horror episode!
I just started binging on Black Mirror. I have seen a couple of good ones in the past, such as Metalhead and USS Callister, which I really enjoyed. I was putting Mazey (not Zazie!) off for later, due to lukewarm ratings (the lowest of the season 6 episodes). Thankfully, a friend recommended it.
Admittedly, this had the potential to better play up the photo technology angle, so a bit of a lost opportunity to make it more Mirror-ish. It does show the chaos a famous person has to endure with the paparazzi.
Zazie Beetz was excellent. The episode had a lot of interesting characters - her roommate, fellow photographers, Mazey herself, and even the guy at the diner were stealing scenes. For the short running time, it was almost too much character building. The story might have benefitted from being more linear (starting with Mazey's film shoot, and going from there), but I still really liked it.
It all really comes together in the frenetic conclusion. I actually preferred this episode to a lot of Black Mirror episodes.
Orphan: First Kill (2022)
Really fun if you suspend your disbelief!
A friend of mine practically dragged me to this movie, but I'm glad that he did. Obviously the actress was 10 or 11, in ORPHAN, but is 25 years old now. I was astonished that the same person was playing a prequel part. Does she look older? Sure, she does, but she's still younger than what she is playing. If you can get past that, this is pretty cool. It works better, if you haven't seen the original in a few years.
I noticed in some comments, people didn't like the trickery being used, such as using a little girl stand in, or framing Esther at a lower height than the adults. In reality, Isabelle Fuhrman is 5' 3". But was made to look even smaller. I actually appreciated the creative effort.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Julia Stiles in this. I liked how she played her part. There are a couple of actors that really pour on the melodrama. Horror movies, like CREEPSHOW, for example, use melodrama to make the audience side against certain characters, so that poetic justice is even more delicious. I liked that who you root against in this movie isn't who you were first expecting!
Malignant (2021)
Starts off kind of ordinary, then... wow!
My wife and I enjoyed THE CONJURING and INSIDIOUS, but she likes serious horror, and probably wouldn't like this one. The characters are shallow, it feels campy, and the reveal is a testosterone infusion. The music sets the mood they are going for. Instead of keeping it stark and serious, the theme is a flashback to repeat melody horror. Think of combining the Pixies' "Where is my Mind" with the themes like HALLOWEEN & PHANTASM.
I watched on HBO Max, after working a long day. I have to admit that my body was fighting how tired I was. That is, until the "wow" part. Then I was wide awake! I even brought my son in, so we could watch the finale again. Now, I want to watch the whole thing again, so I can see the movie from the revealed perspective.
I'm trying not to say anything too specific, but this movie is a mishmash of plodding thriller and thrash horror. Some parts reminded me of physical FX 80's/90's movies like THE HIDDEN, Peter Jackson's DEAD ALIVE (just a little!), and THE TERMINATOR, yet most of it is not that. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. It won me over.
Automation (2019)
A good robot performance
AUTOMATION is a B movie with a heart. That element separates it from low budget sci-fi that has to resort to more exploitive means that vie for your attention. My favorite performance comes from the robot, but that's okay. This movie is about that robot. The voice and mannerisms are well done.
From the human performers, Elissa Dowling stands out. There is nothing from her that feels forced. She is believable and this roots the movie as she is the main protagonist.
The story is decent and so is the pace. While obviously an indie production, that fact didn't hamper my enjoyment of the movie.
The setting is the near future. There are just enough visuals to convey a familiar city setting with some sci-fi enhancements, but they aren't over the top. Most of the movie transpires in a warehouse and its offices.
There was obviously not a lot to work with, in terms of budget and production, but I appreciate that the filmmakers properly presented the story and the robot. I give it high marks for doing a lot with a little.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
CGI cartoon with no romance or originality!
TERMINATOR 1 & 2 are among my favorite movies. Even more so, they were done with such seriousness and mostly realistic action. DARK FATE totally dumps on the story and characters that those movies built. I'm sure you've read about the spoilers, so I won't cover them.
As for the other TERMINATOR movies, I enjoyed them, even if they couldn't measure up to 1 & 2. I actually liked how part 3 put John Connor in the Presidential bunker. I liked seeing the future in SALVATION, where Connor becomes the leader.
GENYSIS was enjoyable, except for the fact that the story kills John Connor and turns him into an A.I. villain. Still, I would have actually liked to see where that trilogy was going, but it wasn't to be. I think it had more potential than the possible new trilogy that DARK FATE is proposing.
Like a lot of you, I watched the Tim Miller interviews, where he rants about how the other sequels sucked and that he was making a TERMINATOR movie worthy of following the first two. Funny thing is that DARK FATE is worse than any of them, and steals from all of them.
There is no romance story and very little realism. I'm tired of seeing characters jumping around, falling from planes, etc. because CGI allows cartoony actions to happen. The lead character, Dani, was not written in a way where you would actually care for her.
At the most shallow level, I can enjoy the chases and fights in DARK FATE. I'm always keen for TERMINATOR action, but creatively this movie is bankrupt.
Last Girl Standing (2015)
A very interesting ensemble
My rating was waffling between 6 and 7, so I rounded up because I both enjoyed it and respect what was done with a small budget. I had no idea this was a Kickstarter funded movie, until the credits rolled.
I DVR'd this movie, months ago, and like most of the things I record, they sit there, waiting to get deleted or watched later. I originally came to IMDB and saw a lot of reviews stating that this movie was boring or not that good. But, a few positive reviews kept me from deleting it, so it sat...
Last night, I was channel surfing and this movie was on. I was only going to watch a minute or two, but It was right around the part where Nick introduces Camryn to his roommates. I soon realized that I was getting drawn in and was interested in seeing more of these characters, so I loaded up the DVR'd version and started from the beginning. I'm glad I did, otherwise, I would have missed the whole setup!
I got sucked in because of Camryn's predicament and how well fleshed out all the characters were, right down to the boss and complaining customer. Nick's friends include the bitchy, elitist, Maelyn, the compassionate, but clingy, Hannah, the responsible paying roommate and undergrad student, Danielle (also played by someone named Danielle), purist and woodworking artist, Tyler, a likeable moocher, named Griffin, and of course the leads, Nick and Camryn, played by people with the same last name. Was it a brother and sister?
As it turns out the onscreen couple happen to be married in real life. "Whew!"
Nick is a person who could be the killer, or who could just be an empathetic guy, who has his act together. Camryn has survivor's guilt and nightmares. The lead up to the finale was good. While I didn't really like where the story ended up, it made sense. There are some gory moments, but only during a few sequences.
If you snip off the beginning and end of the movie, there is not a lot in the way of horror or action. That's not a fault, as I found the characters and interactions to be interesting and genuine. It was that interaction which motivated me to watch the movie from the beginning. I do agree with another reviewer's point, that the beginning of this movie could have benefited from a few more introductory moments. It still works well, though.
Overall, it was decently produced. Good electronic music score and some cool background songs. The cinematography and editing (particularly some recurring transitions to images of the killer) were pretty good. Nice gore effects. Most of all, I liked the way the director and actors presented these characters.
Riddick (2013)
Phoenix Rising!
PITCH BLACK was made for a relatively low budget and became a minor hit. Probably being overconfident, the producers made THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK for over 100 million dollars and it only grossed about half of that at the American box-office. The possibility of a 3rd movie looked bleak....
If you've read the reports of on again off again, production shutdowns, securing a new budget, you would be excused for expecting the worst from the new RIDDICK movie. After CHRONICLES, they really had to pare the budget down. But, this is a labor of love for Vin Diesel (also producer) and writer/director, David Twohy. I'm happy to report that this movie is quite good! I just went to opening day, so I have to guess how this movie will fare. I suspect it will do very well, especially now that Riddick has been around on DVD, as a cartoon and as a video game or two. It's time for this series to go mainstream.
The new movie is a true sequel, so it relies on some of the backstory, introduced in the first two live action movies. For the new viewer, you should first see PITCH BLACK. This introduces the "prisoner," Riddick, who has eyes that can see in the dark, and his captor, a bounty hunter named Johns (Cole Houser).
Next up, see THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. This movie introduces a planet conquering race, the Necromongers (much akin to the Borg). These are the guys in the weird suits, in the new RIDDICK flashbacks. We also learn that Riddick belongs to a race, called Furyans - a bad-ass and defiant people!
Now, that brings us to the third, live action installment, RIDDICK. Riddick is broken and stranded on a desolate planet. We are introduced to some alien species and rocky terrain. This is a "hunter/prey" movie with some pretty cool imagery. I'm not going to give much away - not that there is much to give away, but the pace is good and full of dark fun.
I really have to give props for the production pulling through and giving us a movie that I think is somewhat better than CHRONICLES (which I actually like) and closer to the rawness of PITCH BLACK, even if it is self-derivative. It's a great piece of adventure/sci-fi to close out the summer with.
Stranded (2013)
Miniatures and Practical makeup put this a notch above a SyFy Channel production.
I just watched STRANDED and its Bonus Features. I thought it was alright. It could have been more fun and suspenseful, but the concept is pretty good - meteor shower destroys much of a moon base's functionality and communications, leaving 4 astronauts stranded.
The ensemble is pretty good and each character is different from one another. The actors do a decent job with the material and props they have to work with. One example is how they talk into a communicator/holographic recorder, which is actually an auto-folding book light!!! You know it's a book light, but the actors keep a straight face, anyway. Same with some of the dialogue and character motivations (or lack thereof).
The writing and direction is pretty dodgy (from good to lame), but not unexpected from the man who brought you BATTLEFIELD EARTH! For example: There is an Earth-bound scene that could have had some real potential, but shooting it in daylight reveals a recovery team to be only one Hummer and 4 guys! Smoke and flashlights would have worked wonders - you could have used the same 4 guys, and made them look like a whole squad.
What really stood out for me was the use of miniatures over computer graphics. After reading about how cheap and awful this movie was supposed to be, I was pleasantly surprised with the look of the moon base, drilling machines, escape pod, and another ship that looked very good, in a Nostromo-type of landing. There is some CG, but it is appropriately used for heads up displays and holographs.
There are some creepy moments, involving contagion, a birth and clone replication. Some of the makeup effects are nice and gooey! Nothing mind-blowing, but I was happy to see some competent makeup effects. In other words, this isn't a SyFy computer FX fiasco, so points for that! To sum this up, the mainstream audience probably won't like this, but it's a potentially guilty pleasure for sci-fi/horror geeks, like myself. Just don't expect too much.
Hypothermia (2010)
Good movie, good acting, but that monster..... My, oh my!
My wife and I were really getting into this movie, until we saw the monster. We love Michael Rooker (been following him, since he was a serial killer in HENRY) and the rest of the cast was decent. This movie has a great title, an interesting winter locale for a backdrop and some decent writing.
What kills it is the monster. Interestingly, the documentary shows the crew marveling at how it looks, but the body looks a lot like a wetsuit with arm flaps and claws on the finned feet. The head has constantly exposed teeth and big eyes. Aside from the teeth opening and closing, it is very static. It doesn't help that the performer moves like a man, when on the ice. In the water, he swims like Patrick Duffy did in the MAN FROM ATLANTIS television show.
I know I'm going on about the monster, but it really was laughable. My suggestion would be to make it a flesh color, with darker patterns mixed in. Cover it with scales and add some open/close lips to that mouth. Have it move on all fours and some seaweed type of appendages hanging from it.
Guy in the suit aside, the movie was well made and had some nice CG shots of something big swimming under the ice where the actors were standing. The monster POV shots and title sequence were nice. What really worked was the idea of a family trapped in the middle of a frozen lake. I commend Michael Rooker for working on a small production, while giving it his usual strong effort. This could have been a minor classic.
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Less novel, but better than original in many ways
Often when Hollywood orders a sequel, the magic that made the original stand out is lost (BLAIR WITCH PROJECT 2 and other sequels). Producer, Oren Peli, does not write or direct this follow up to his creation, but the new director and writers bring the same "feel" and sense of dread that made PARANORMAL ACTIVITY work.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY polarized audiences. Many couldn't sleep after viewing, while others found it boring. Sure we can blame A.D.D., Fast Info culture and non-belief (LOL!!), but the main reason that many people didn't like the first was because.....they hated Micah's character! Though I liked his brashness, he really irritated a lot of people and his actions were questionable. The good news is that PARANORMAL 2 has a very good character dynamic, that many should find more believable. The acting is quite good and who can't help but feel for the innocents (non-actors) - a German Shepard and a two year old boy?
SOME SPOILERS in the following paragraphs:
If you are a fan of the first, you should really appreciate this effort. In fact, some who didn't like the original will like this, as there are physical attacks that play out on screen, as opposed to "nothing really happens." "Ghost Hunters" and "Destination Truth" this is not - you know, the old "What the hell was that?!!" Go to commercial....Five minutes later - oh, Josh just slipped when he saw a cat. :>)
Like the first, this takes a while to build up (good horror will do this - THE SIXTH SENSE, ALIEN, EXORCIST, HALLOWEEN, etc.), but more actually happens this time (double the possessions, double the dragging), because more characters are involved. You also have the benefit of seeing both movie's scenarios (Katie and Micah/Katie's sister's family) intertwine and explain the events of the first movie - the burnt photo of Katie, why attacks shifted to Katie's house, where bloody Katie went, etc. You get the beginning and endings of both, yet a disturbing open end that could lead to part three.
END SPOILERS
I like "shaky cam" movies, but not the shaky camera! PARANORMAL 1 was smart to use a tripod, half the time. This movie takes it a step further by using multiple security cameras, so you can jump to the action in any room and it's steady. The step-daughter, dad, etc. use the hand-held camera just enough to make you uneasy. Compared to BLAIR WITCH, REC (remade as QUARANTINE in U.S.) and CLOVERFIELD, this is not at all hard on the eyes. You can leave the Dramamine tablets at home! Bravo!
Contagion (2010)
SPECIES meets THE BLOB
I saw an exclusive showing of BIO SLIME at the Las Vegas IndieMeet. Of all the features, this one had viewers asking "How much was the budget on this?" It had some polish on it, especially in the effects area.
Storywise, BIO SLIME is as basic as a horror flick gets - all the characters are trapped in an apartment building with the creature waiting just outside. Some of the occupants are interesting. You have the starving artist, who is facing eviction. He lives next to a porn producer, who shoots movies in his apartment. This provides plenty of naked girls, as potential monster food! BIO SLIME feels like a Sy Fy Channel feature. The impressive monster effects are the real star of this movie. Worth a look, if you're into slimy horror flicks!
District 9 (2009)
One part of a great sci-fi year
I just got back from seeing this and thought it was good - as in a solid 7 out of 10 good. There are a lot of perfect ratings, which I think has to do with people not expecting much going into it. The previews do a great job of not giving the drama away. To me a 9 or a 10 would be ALIEN, ALIENS or the first two TERMINATOR flicks.
I like my eye candy, even if it's only a tracking shot of a desolate ROAD WARRIOR landscape. My main DISTRICT 9 criticism is the shaky cam, washed out, docu-style shooting. Considering the setting is a slum, this approach looks even worse. I would have preferred smooth photography and shadowy lighting. Now, that doesn't keep me from enjoying BLAIR WITCH or CLOVERFIELD, but I think of how much more I would enjoy these movies without that docu-style gimmick. Granted, this camera work is nowhere near as disorienting as those two, but I can't say that I want to eagerly revisit this world of shaky slum shots. The movie is like SLUM DOG ALIEN MILLIONAIRE!
Some people are in awe of this being "only" a 30 million dollar movie. Did you expect Peter Jackson to ratchet up the WETA bill on his own production, or go with the low bid? There are no 20 million dollar actors in this. The aliens and effects are the stars of the movie, supported by a cast of unknowns. That's a good thing, because if the lead character was played by Tom Cruise, you would have certain anticipations. With the character of Wikus Van De Merwe, you don't know what to expect and that's the way it should be.
What worked best about this movie was how the storytelling would paint the main character into a corner and arc him out of it. It's a classic polar transformation. What is equally impressive is the morphing of the aliens into something we ultimately care about.
I like a lot of sci-fi and horror, so where does DISTRICT 9 sit for the year? I have to admit that I enjoyed STAR TREK a lot more. I would put this one in the mix with TERMINATOR: SALVATION and OUTLANDER. I really enjoyed those, more than probably most people. (I wouldn't ever expect McG to direct to the level of James Cameron, so no disappointment on my end.) Those movies are all easy on the eyes, whereas DISTRICT 9's superior characterization is counterbalanced by ugly backgrounds and photography. (I don't care how intentional that is, it made me enjoy it less than its potential.) TRANSFORMERS 2 was shallow fun, but sits near the bottom of my list. I still have to see WOLVERINE, but am not expecting much from it. EDEN LOG was just okay and if I had to pick on a movie, it would be DANTE 01, which was beautiful to look at, but bored me to tears. I haven't seen MUTANT CHRONICLES and some others.
I'm anxiously awaiting PANDORUM, SURROGATES, DAYBREAKERS and the year end biggie,...James Cameron's AVATAR. Cameron's movies are what most modern sci-fi is compared to, so I'm anxious to see if he can live up to the hype after his long hiatus. I think DISTRICT 9 will probably end up as one of my favorite top 3 or 4 sci-fi movies for 2009, which is a good showing.
Altered (2006)
Solid alien horror flick
This movie isn't for everyone, but if you like movies like FEAST, ABOMINABLE, SLITHER and THE DESCENT, then you're in for a treat! I give THE DESCENT (my favorite movie, last year) a slight edge, but I liked the faster paced ALTERED more than any other horror movie, of the past couple of years. No time is wasted getting started with the thrills.
I was impressed with Eduardo Sanchez's directing. I'm convinced that the creepy setup of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was no fluke! Some scenes with a welding mask are extremely effective, as are many others.
It's nice to see creature flicks done with physical effects and very little CGI. If you want CGI creatures, go watch VAN HELSING or THE MUMMY.
There are a couple of cliché things in ALTERED, but it's all scary and fun. The makeup effects are both good and over the top. Remember the short-lived alien flashback in A FIRE IN THE SKY? This movie gives you that terror, for the whole length of the movie.
Loved it!!!
Kisses and Caroms (2006)
Monkey Boy antics!
This indie sex comedy lives up to its billing. Kisses and Caroms builds up to a humorous and satisfactory climax. There is quite an array of offbeat characters that enter in and out of the Billiards store! For something that was made on the ultra-cheap, I was impressed with the production value; excellent sound, good lighting and all around technically competent.
The DVD has an excellent menu system, including a "Flash" tease. I also loved the play on Dreamworks' opening logo! "Helium" was a nice bonus, as well.
As some others have commented, I would like to see where Mr. Rocca's career goes. It seems that he has the smarts and creativity to pull off something special.