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THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (UK 1958): 6/10
Sequel to CURSE OF FRANK.
And a favourite with the Cahiers crowd. So much subtext. I always thought that it was one of Hammer's most overrated movies, but I'd only ever seen it before on shuddery pink-tinged videotape. The DVD I saw today is much more watchable, but I still think it's a missed opportunity. Cushing is terrific as always and there are some darkly humourous scenes, but on the whole it seems to me to be a Hammer Horror for people who don't like Hammer Horrors. Provocative potential, strangely dull result.
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Posted: |
Aug 29, 2010 - 8:59 PM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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The Girl Next Door -- 6/10
Not a great movie, but the only reason I watched it was for Timothy Olyphant, whose films I'm devouring lately...the guy hits it out of the park every single time. Once again he steals the show with this film and gives it a higher rating than it deserves. He's one of the very few actors who makes me want to see every single movie (or TV show) he's ever done, and I haven't been disappointed by any of his performances yet.
One of the most underrated actors performing today (Deadwood, Justified, Live Free or Die Hard, Coastlines, Go, Scream 2, Dreamcatcher, Catch and Release, Hitman, The Crazies, A Perfect Getaway, Meet Bill, Rock Star)
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Posted: |
Aug 29, 2010 - 10:39 PM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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Hey Dep, I agree with you on the Olyphant. Just started watching season 2 of Deadwood and saw The Crazies recently. He's great as both a hero and a bad guy and was very good in Girl Next Door.
Also, have you seen Dead Set? It's a British TV series, i think 6 episodes that was also boiled down to a 2hr 20 minute movie. It's if there was a Dawn of the Dead type situation but involving survivors in a Big Brother show house. It's very gory and there are some great characters in it.
Next to Catch and Release (which is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful movie--the definition of a "feel-good" film IMO), I think Olyphant's finest hour as leading man was in The Crazies, a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. He really cracked me up as the porn producer in The Girl Next Door tonight. "Stay in school!"
I haven't seen nor heard of Dead Set. Is it available on Netflix? I love good character-driven horror...
I thought Olyphant was awesome in Deadwood but I found the show really dull. I think I'm the only one. It just seemed really slow. Sure, the actors and characters are top-notch, and a great ensemble cast, but the storylines just weren't exciting to me. I guess that's the point...a western that's not all about shootouts and horseback chases, but very realistic character drama. I respect that. I just couldn't get into the show. I do, however, do a mean Calamity Jane impression. 
Question for all: Anyone seen Blindness or G-Force? Two very different films, I know. I'm trying to decide whether to give them a shot.
Any of you Olyphant fans that haven't seen Coastlines, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's a great, quiet character-driven drama with a great cast (Olyphant, Josh Brolin, Josh Lucas, William Forsythe, Sarah Wynter):
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Posted: |
Aug 30, 2010 - 7:47 AM
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By: |
Cryogenix
(Member)
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K-19: The Widowmaker - Up until seeing this, I felt Harrison Ford could do no wrong. What a mess of a film this is. Besides a lulling story, this is absolutely the worst accent acting I've ever heard. Ford's and Neeson's Russian accents were all over the place and they couldn't seem to decide on one. More annoying, though, was that they kept forgetting to use an accent and would simply speak normal, unaccented English every other sentence. When Ford first appeared, I couldn't understand what was going on because he was speaking American English in a room full of Russian commanders. Toward the end of that sequence, he finally said something in a slight Russian accent and I knew the film was in trouble. Just horrible. At times, it seemed like someone else's voice was dubbed over his. Anyway, the lack of a consistent accent on nearly everyone's part made this movie too much of a headache and a chore to finish. The director of this film should be ashamed of himself for allowing this kind of crap to actually make it to film - 3
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Posted: |
Aug 30, 2010 - 8:57 AM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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Clash of the Titans (2010) by Louis Leterrier -- I wasn't expecting a grand epic, but I was expecting at least a decent actioner from Leterrier. Nope. This is a joyless, pointless movie, full of badly staged, physics-defying action scenes featuring cartoony CGI, all padded by the occasional arbitrary plot device. The acting in this movie ranges from bland to horrible; none of the characters have any character whatsoever -- the two or three character moments in this movie that aren't awful seem sadly out of place. A fisherman has a bad fishing day, so starts ranting about how someone must stand up to the gods. What? Yep, life is tough, so men declare war on the gods, whatever that means. The movie seems completely unironic when it has its demigod character utter over and over again that he will "do this as a man". Both the people and the rulers of the city of Argos are idiots and probably deserved to be Darwined out of history by the Kraken, which, like Medusa, the movie seems to think either is or isn't a titan. Anyway, there is no reason to see this awful movie. (*)
Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book One – Water (2005) by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko -- As a general thing, I'm not that interested in cartoons. They usually fail to grab me in the way that actors can. But I'd seen enough raving about this show to check it out, and boy am I glad I did. The basic plot is standard boy on a quest to master his powers and stop the unstoppable hordes stuff, but the execution is wonderful. Most of the first half of the season, as the series finds its feet, is amusing but not great, a bit clunky but with lots of potential, but after episode 8 or so it's just on fire. Anyway, don't expect dark and gritty or super complexity, as this is a children's show, but it's a great epic fantasy with likable characters, wonderful creature and technology designs, impressively martial-artsy fighting/magic, and a fine voice cast. Definitely looking forward to the next couple seasons. (****½)
Pontypool (2008) by Bruce McDonald -- I'd heard good things about this one, but was afraid they were just so much hyper as is so often the case. Boy am I glad to be wrong. This movie's fantastic. The film is set almost entirely in a radio station in Pontypool, Canada, where morning radio shock jock Grant Mazzie (Stephen McHattie, think a less gravelly Lance Henriksen) starts getting call-ins about weird happenings in town -- unruly behavior, riots and so forth -- none of which are being officially confirmed. The weirdness and tension escalate, as does the fear and paranoia -- is this just a hoax? Or is something awful going on outside? The movie is largely dialogue driven, but it's tight, and McHattie has a great voice and does a great job with his on-air monologues. The first half of the film is just about perfect; the second half is slightly uneven, with a deus ex machina character who appears to explain somewhat what's going on, but more often than not this is a smart, tight horror film that relies on its characters rather than gore and sex to sell the horror. Highly recommended. One of the best horror films in years. (****½)
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THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (UK 1964): 5/10
Unusual Hammer entry in their series of Frankensteins because it's totally unrelated to the others. Peter Cushing is as great as ever, and there are some nice touches, but the story is a very laboured throwback to the old Universal movies, with the monster a mere cypher used for killing. A bit more "Mummy" than anything else. It's OK, and passes the time, but I don't think it's really as enjoyable as any of the old Universals (even the later monster-mash ones), and, compared to Terence Fisher's directorial approach, Freddie Francis really pales (and I say that after having been lukewarm towards Fisher's overrated REVENGE OF FRANK).
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Posted: |
Aug 30, 2010 - 10:38 AM
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By: |
CinemaScope
(Member)
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THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (UK 1964): 5/10
Unusual Hammer entry in their series of Frankensteins because it's totally unrelated to the others. Peter Cushing is as great as ever, and there are some nice touches, but the story is a very laboured throwback to the old Universal movies, with the monster a mere cypher used for killing. A bit more "Mummy" than anything else. It's OK, and passes the time, but I don't think it's really as enjoyable as any of the old Universals (even the later monster-mash ones), and, compared to Terence Fisher's directorial approach, Freddie Francis really pales (and I say that after having been lukewarm towards Fisher's overrated REVENGE OF FRANK).
A nice lab set, but really sloppy make-up job. And you do need an actor to play the creature, I understand this guy was a wrestler.
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