Reviews

How could you screw up a movie based on a beloved television series that is rife with potential comedy and parody of both monster movies and social stigmas?

Rob Zombie has demonstrated how to do just that....sadly.

Rob has proven that he knows how to make movies. While certainly not on the Orson Welles-level, his motion pictures are usually entertaining if not a tad disturbing (I'm OK with that, art should stir the senses), so I am at a loss as to what happened with his effort to bring The Munsters into the 21st Century.

One of the themes of the series was "reverse appearance acceptance": scary is good, normal is "unfortunate". Given the current fad of bizarre body alterations, the Munsters would probably find greater acceptance than when the series first appeared during the "coat and tie" 1960's - which would have been a good repetitive subplot. The "shock" over the "normal neighbors" is a poorly-executed one-and-done in this movie: opportunity missed.

The entire plot or storyline is extraordinarily lame, given Rob's predilection for bizarre stories. Like a watered-down, insipid, half-asleep "first draft" outline that was never finalized. Not sure what was the point of everything being neon colored, including the main characters. A "Young Frankenstein"-type B&W would have been both effective and harken back to the series.

As for the performances, if they were intended in any way to channel Fred Gwynn, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Al Lewis, it did not come across. The affection between Lily and Herman is missing, and frankly Eddie is greatly missed.

There's more, but you get the idea: fans of the series will be put out, and there's really no reason for anyone else to watch it. A shame.

Given that this production was intended as a salute to a century of Disney Animation - an admirable concept - there are actually very few identifiable references to previous productions. Those that are shown are done rather clumsily rather than cleverly, such as "Peter Pan" and "Mary Poppins", but a few make sense like the "Thumper" and "Bambi" cameos. And don't get me started on the numerous potential classic character references which could (and should) have been included.

Oh, what the heck; let's dive into those: a "Cogsworth" clock could have been on a shelf in the castle and a "Lumiere" lamp could have been seen lighting a room. Some Dalmatian dogs or any of the canines or even felines from "Lady And The Tramp" and/or "The Aristocats" could have been easily added to crowd scenes, as well as a number of other classic characters. Since the current company hierarchy would prefer that no one remember "Song Of The South" or "So Dear To My Heart" (ironically two of Walt Disney's favorite movies) it is no surprise none of those animated characters are included.

There are so many characters from so many movies, plus animated shorts, yet only a few from the past 100 years show up. If you are intending on making a movie tribute to Disney animated characters, then DO it. "Wish" could have easily been that movie - the premise and the opportunity was there, but the actual end result is half-hearted, instead of the "Ok look! There's 'Sleeping Beauty'!"-sort of "spot the character reference" production it could have been.

Like if Apollo 11 had aimed for the Moon but instead landed in New Jersey.

While "Wish" in itself is not a bad movie (though the plot is by-the-numbers obvious and none of the written-for-off-Broadway songs will stick in your brain like "Let It Go" or "A Spoonful Of Sugar"), it is not the fun classic Disney tribute it could have been.

If reviews could rate movies in negative numbers, this mind-numbing heap of fetid fecal tomfoolery would rate a Minus-10. At least some of the post-"Alien" clones had some kind of interesting twist; this abomination has the Gaul to try and add some "Hills Have Eyes" and "Road Warrior" riffs before going full high school drama club dropouts with an 8mm movie camera ketchup-covered "monster" effects "Alien" ripoff - all done so incredibly poorly that it astounds my senses to see otherwise-talented actors involved. I hope their checks didn't bounce, because there is no way this turd of a movie could ever be used to advance a career or be used as an "acting legacy" item. Burton Gilliam had no comment on this movie when were together for an event a few years ago; now i understand why. Andrew Stevens is a nice guy and a decent actor, but any acting or directing talent was not apparent on this bomb...and he talked his mother into being in it too! I hope she forgave him.

In case you haven't picked up on it yet, I highly advise anyone to avoid this gawdawful production. You would be better advised to watch back-to-back showings of "Plan Nine From Outer Space" for a week while sitting on a bed of hot coals. I appreciate "B movies", for their low-budget amateur efforts; hell, I even like Cash Flagg's "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed Up Zombies" (especially the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version), but THIS atrocity should have all the copies and negatives burned, buried in salted sand, and everyone involved should erase it from their resumes.

I see several negative reviews, mainly from people comparing this new series to the original animated series (let's pretend that horrible motion picture misstep did not occur), but recreating the animated version scene-by-scene in a live action production would be as stupid as recreating Hitchcock's "Psycho" scene-by-scene....

Oh, wait....someone actually did that, didn't they? And see how well THAT turned out?

I greatly enjoyed the original Nickelodeon series, and we have re-watched it many times, so it was with some trepidation that we began watching this series. It quickly became apparent that the people involved with this new series have the same affection for the original as we do. The casting is spot-on (although I do miss Mako's grown as Uncle Iroh), the storyline rings true, the performances are outstanding, and the effects - which bring "bending" to life - are fabulous.

The only problem: the wait for the next season of episodes. One of my primary gauges of success for a motion picture or a series is whether I am wishing for more at the conclusion (still wishing for a sequel to "Master And Commander"!); this first season definitely "set the hook" and has us wanting more!

Recognizing that this movie has been done before - "The Italian Job" (both versions), "Tower Heist", and even the "Mission: Impossible" and "Fast & Furious" franchises - "Lift" is still a worthy entry with some 21st Century touches, and enough "how are they going to do it?" suspense to make the denouement worth the wait. As pointed out by other reviewers there isn't much chemistry between the characters, and little is said to indicate how the gang came together (or why they have such allegiance to each other), but I applaud Kevin Hart for eschewing his usual manic schtick (though he is very good at it) for a more laid back serious performance. One of my yardsticks for measuring a motion picture's value is "Was I glad I spent that time?" In this case I was. In fact, I am looking forward to seeing it again.

If you like poorly dubbed unrealistic soap operas, then you'll love this series. For everyone else, "As The Crow Flies" (there is a great deal of nonsensical animal behavior references) is viable only if there are no other options. The storyline is absurd, there are no likable characters (moral compasses spin like tops), and the social media and television technology/culture is so far removed from reality as to be rendered pointless. Perhaps there is some cultural disconnect - these things may be the norm in Turkey, though I doubt it - and the translation used in the English scripts seems to indicate some conceptual stumbles, but such issues have been successfully managed with other productions released for countries outside their origin....why not with this one?

It's quite an accomplishment to take complicated historical events, make them compelling and entertaining, as well as artistic. Ron Howard did it with "Apollo 13", Steven Spielberg with "Saving Private Ryan", and Christopher Nolan has done it with "Oppenheimer". Even if you have read the book on which this motion picture is based and have a knowledge of history, this movie will be enlightening and thought-provoking. In addition, the performances by an amazing cast (Cillian Murphy's first starring role, now certainty not his last), remarkable direction and cinematography make this the must-see feature of 2023.

I was busy with my own productions when "Domino Principle" was released, and a friend literally said "don't bother", so it was 45 years until I finally saw this movie - and now I understand the warning.

How can you take an intriguing premise, mix in Gene Hackman, Richard Widmark, Eli Wallach, and even Mickey Rooney (who has proven he can be a great dramatic actor, and who is largely wasted here), and screw it up this badly? With the right character and script, Candice Bergman can be terrific.....this movie provides neither and you can feel the struggle to make it work.

And there are plot holes big enough to comfortably fly an airbus through. Speaking of flying, about the only thing I did enjoy was seeing the twin-engine Marine Bell UH-1 executing treetop-level maneuvers. But if a relatively short sequence involving an aircraft is the highlight of a movie with the afore-mentioned cast, that is a huge red flag.

There are opportunities missed that a better screenplay and cohesive direction would have fixed. As it is, this motion picture is a mess - unless you are a student of movie production and are taking notes on how NOT to make a movie.

The denouement is absolutely absurd, but is appropriate given the complete misfire of everything preceding it. I should have heeded my friend's warning, so for your benefit, allow me to repeat: "don't bother".

I have tried to think of something positive to say about this movie, and I cannot think of a single thing. I enjoyed the over-the-top riff on the slasher genre with Zombie's "House Of A 1,000 Corpses", and I appreciate his efforts to "update" classic horror productions, but this was such an incredible misstep that it defies description. Usually a remake pays some degree of homage to the original, or - at the very least - utilizes the same basic storyline. If you didn't know the title of this movie and didn't recognize character names, you would never connect it to the Carpenter original. About the only way anyone could find any viewing pleasure in this movie would be under the influence of powerful conscious-altering medications. Better yet, just go read a book; any book. Even a AAA Trip-Tik from Newark to Poughkeepsie would be preferable.

Sure it's an offbeat premise and sure the plot lines are predictable, but sometimes you just want something entertaining to help forget the woes of the world. While it is certainly aimed at a younger audience, this 64-year old found the movie to be entertaining and very enjoyable - not to mention memorable (the music will live in your head for a while much like "The Greatest Showman" - same music writing team). As for the rest of our "review crew", our 7-year old and his class buddy loved it, our 12-year old liked it very much, while our 15-year old (who also loved "The Greatest Showman") wants to buy the soundtrack and the movie when it is released on DVD (yes, I firmly believe in physical purchases and not the ethereal streaming). My bride liked it too, so a solid "thumbs up" from us!

When this episode debuted I was 7 years old, and fascinated with monsters and science fiction; and this episode scared the smut out of me! Shambling, unstoppable Frankenstein-like robot running amok with that Theramin-laced Bernard Herrmann "Day The Earth Stood Still" music as icing on the fear cake. Now, after spending decades in motion picture and television production, I can appreciate the "goofiness" of the robot and the episode itself, and be amused at the low bar of terror perception was at that young age. It's still fun to watch if you are a fan of the genre, but with all the other increasingly-terrifying productions over the past six decades, this shouldn't prompt anyone to hide behind their father's Laz-E-Boy recliner.....

This production is an interesting premise in search of a bigger budget, better writing, better direction, better acting, better effects.....you get the idea. The basic concept is not new - think "Skynet" in the "Terminator" series - but the twist is worth exploring. Unfortunately it's not executed very well here. However this is a good movie to watch and make notes on what not to do when making a movie.

Apparently this short is not completely lost, as another reviewer states, as I just watched it on YouTube. The original U. S. release or the master negative may be lost, but there is at least one version on the internet.

Overall I thought this movie was good fun, something for a single viewing but not to put on a "Favorites" list for repeated viewing. In a nod to the title, it does feel like "Mistakes Were Made" in production; the movie feels incomplete. Like a car missing a seat, rear view mirror, a radio, and a tire. Whether some key scenes were left out, or cut for time, there is a sense that with appropriate tweaking this movie could have been much better. Additional background into what prompted this child to create the fantasy world he put himself in; why a polar bear?; what is the obsession with Russian spies?; what's up with the scarf? There are many things hinted at or teased, but we are not shown the reason for them. The potential is there, and other movies have used similar plot devices successfully, but like my car analogy there are parts missing.

In addition to some nostalgic affection for this turkey - and it IS a turkey - I appreciate any film maker with a "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" attitude. I first saw this movie on a Saturday afternoon "creature feature" on television; it immediately became one of my fave "so bad, but I like it anyway" films. Later when I started shooting my own 8mm "backyard epics" I appreciated the no-budget, amateur-actor Ed Wood-like one-take-even-if-the-prop-fell-over method of making films even more so. While having a decent budget, talented crew and actors is more satisfying (and lucrative), I maintain a deep affection for "guerrilla film making". If you can, watch the MST3K version: it is GOLD.

It is easy to not treasure something special until it is gone; such is the case with this special. Not only one of better Presidents (and a marvelous orator), but look around the room at the talent treasures no longer with us: Sinatra, Martin, Steve and Eydie, Monty Hall, Red Skelton, Jimmy Stewart, Burt Reynolds, Alec Trebek, and many more. Who are their modern counterparts? There are none. The "evolution of talent" these people went through no longer exists. If you are 30-plus, watch and be dazzled with memories. If you are under 30 try to appreciate the marvelous talents these people had, and shared with us.

Reborn? I don't recall seeing Vlad the Impaler, much less see him "reborn" like he was in many Hammer Studios movies. This thing has no direction, no perceptible plot, sleepwalking acting, and adds nothing to the vampire genre. If you are brave enough to subject yourself to this atrocity, don't be surprised if you discover the words "What the hell did I just watch?" as this turkey comes to an abrupt, unsatisfying and perplexing conclusion.

It was an era when a great many decisions were made by the then-socially-acceptable recreational pharmaceuticals, and I suspect a quantity of product from Columbia was consumed during pre-production of "Saturn 3". It's difficult to imagine a movie with quality actors like Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel involved turning out so bad otherwise. I'm one of the few tripods who did not lose their minds over Farrah Fawcett, but I can appreciate why so many did, and if you are among that group, you will enjoy this movie. If you enjoy good acting by anyone - and expect it from Douglas and Keitel - you will be disappointed. As for the effects, after "Star Wars" there was no reason for any movie to have cheesy FX. A great deal of money was spent on the sets and the robot, which are both large and "busy" but not very believable - like a discotheque designer's idea of future space structures. Did I mention the lame "been-there-done-that" plot? Best not to mention it, and others have summed it up well enough. Bottom line: if you want to see how NOT to make a movie, or if you had a Farrah poster on your bedroom wall, add this one to your list. Otherwise find something else to invest your time in.