Change Your Image
mattbromagin
Reviews
Time of the Apes (1985)
This is the greatest movie of all time.
Thrill as Johnny doesn't care! Be amazed as Caroline transforms from Johnny's next door neighbor to little sister and then back to next door neighbor again pending what the movie decides at any given moment! Where did Johnny get that baseball jacket and where did the "old west" shoot out come from!?" Is that Ape really named GAY BAR!? Yeah, it is! And what human decided Gay Bar had a big heart despite him spending the majority of his life hunting and killing humans until only one human was left which is the human that told Gay Bar he had a big heart? What the hell is that UFO all about? And how did the Japanese nurse pull the explanation completely out of her ass while riding in a jeep!? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THIS MOVIE! Everyone in the world must see this. Seriously. See it. I didn't make any of that up.
Justice League of America (1997)
Oh man...this show was disgustingly awesome.
or O out of 10!
I've only seen this show knowing it was a terrible failed television show that had never even seen the airing of its pilot. I came into it with a sense of humor and expecting nothing.
The Atom using his powers to limbo under doors...Barry Allen in the guise of Wally West...Guy Gardner...a RESPONSIBLE Green Lantern. Not to mention the fact that it was a bunch of twenty-somethings living in a sweet loft and sharing wacky adventures...but...oh man...they had a cornucopia of craaaaaaazy powers! It was like...Saved by the Bell: The College Years with super-powers...and they tried to air this on prime time CBS. You know...alongside...Murder She Wrote or something.
And no one could forget (provided you dug up a dub at a comic convention or caught it on youtube) the hilarious Martian Manhunter prosthetics.
The funny thing is...the Adam West Batman series originally aired as an adult comedy but gained a fan-base as a children's live-action series. If CBS decided to re-air the episodes with that kind of marketing...it could work. Had I seen this show when I was six years old I would have loved it.
Again. It goes both ways. If you go into this show expecting an ironically hilarious failed series, it is GOLDEN. If you go into it with expectations that reflect the comic book series... ... ... ... you will hate yourself for letting this show ever be a part of your life. Seriously, if you want a legitimate Justice League series...it is THAT bad.
Generation X (1996)
Twelve Years later...still pull out the old dubbed copy.
Let me preface the review by saying that I give it an 8 out 0f 10 within context. This was a made for TV movie that I think was to be a predecessor or a nifty little copycat of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It did a great job with that. I'm not saying this made for TV movie is up there with Citizen Kane. I also look at it from the perspective of a fellow that tries to collect strange and unusual movies/TV shows.
It was loosely based on a Marvel comic in the X-Men line which was a variation of an earlier comic called New Mutants. Think "Degrassi" with super-powers.
For what it was...it was great. No real complaints. Fox added characters to replace ones they had to take away that wouldn't work on film (with a TV budget), it was the first X-Men movie if you think about it (a group of mutants that attend Xaviers School for Gifted Mutants), and it had strong ties to the X-Men universe had the original intentions gone through (this was a pilot for a live action Saturday morning kids show). I had heard ABC picked the show up after the movie bombed on Fox, but I've never seen an "episode" besides the Fox movie.
If you're the kind of person that seeks out rare comic based television shows or movies (such as CBS's Justice League live action series or that god awful Roger Corman Fantastic Four flick) you will absolutely love this and it will probably exceed expectations. If you're a casual browser and said "OH MY GOD! FOX MADE AN X-MEN MADE FOR TV MOVIE! I HAVE TO SEE THIS! I BET IT'S AWESOME!"...well...you'll probably be disappointed.
If it means anything, the girl that played Jubilee was spot on for the character and Matt Frewer did play a rather cool villain. Finola Hughes IS the White Queen as far as I'm concerned. Good enough acting across the board. Everyone did their part well and it made up for the smaller budget and cheesy subject matter.
Tin Man (2007)
It was..OK?
I'm a little conflicted with this miniseries.
I watched it as it aired and thought it was pretty cool. Perhaps the wait for each installment created anticipation in me. Once I purchased the movie...it seemed kind of "ho-hum".
The acting was "eh", despite a great cast. The CGI directing was phenomenal for a television miniseries on a barely-scraping-by network.
Some of my complaints are strange. Aside from obvious things like expecting more out of Zooey Deschanel and Alan Cumming; there were a lot of things from the director I may have a gripe about.
The first is, the scientists for Azkadalia (the wicked witch in this adaptation) looked just like Krank of the film "The City of Lost Children". Aside and second from this, the direction and cinematography used for scenes in Azkadalia's castle were similar to "The City of..." as well. Then, and thirdly, we hit the last Act of the miniseries and lo-and-behold; there is a brain in a machine almost copyright infringement worthy as that of the brain in a machine in City of Lost Children. I went through the special features of the Tin Man DVD and didn't find one instance of anyone saying they were paying homage to Juenet and Caro's film, The City of Lost Children. It felt kind of cheap to me.
Why? Because I could direct a movie using blatant rip-offs from other movies I liked. Now, to make a movie with a true, unique and individual vision...that takes talent. A talent the director of Tin Man doesn't seem to have. I look him up on IMDb and he doesn't seem to have gotten out of Television Hell. Right where he belongs.
Now, as far as the movie goes, everyone in it is a phenomenal actor...but they didn't show it in this miniseries. I think they may have read the script. the script was great. You could tell it was written by someone who has read the Oz books, seen the Oz films, and re-imagined it in a unique way. It was both a sequel and a remake. However, when paired with this deplorable directer, the actors really weren't given a lot of room to show any strength. If Mystery Science Theater 3000 were still a show...they'd eventually be forced to watch Tin Man.
If you read the Oz books as a child, you'll love this. If you liked the Wizard of Oz movie as a child...you would be okay with this. If you appreciate film on a level beyond watching a movie and eating popcorn...you probably need to stay away from this thing.