This is generally how I prefer sequels to be done. Halloween 2 picks up directly where the original left off, bringing back most of the original characters (those that survived) from Halloween and setting them up for a new round of terror. Most of the action this time out takes place at the local hospital, which makes for a great place for a horror flick. … Continue reading Halloween 2 Review
What an unnerving film—and just in time for Halloween too. ‘Black Mass’ is an interesting exercise in genre bending/blending. There are really two films playing simultaneously. The first is the historical account of real life gangster James “Whitey” Bulger—a sociopathic killer who used his political connections to reign over South Boston (Southie) for several decades. This offers nothing new to the well-trodden ‘gangster’ genre and … Continue reading Black Mass Review
Notorious dream slayer Freddy Krueger has been dormant for years now in the little neighborhood of Elm Street. Business just ain’t what it used to be as teenagers just don’t really seem that afraid anymore, which, as the story goes greatly reduces his powers. Not one to take this lying down, he decides to lure old Hockey Puss himself out of hibernation to get the … Continue reading Freddy vs. Jason Review
The folks at Digital Dream Door have this movie at number 35 on their list of the 100 worst movies ever made. In his review of this movie Roger Ebert echoes the meta qualities of a quote of one of the characters who, right before being eviscerated by a giant space vacuum screams “This sucks on so many levels!”… I have to say while I … Continue reading Jason X Review
This was the first movie of the series to be filmed by New Line Cinema, and boy did they take some liberties here. Like I said in one of the earlier reviews, this was basically Friday the 13th’s version of “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch”, that being a disconnected mess that has almost no continuity with the rest of the series whatsoever (not that … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 9: Jason Goes to Hell Review
The last of the original Paramount series, this movie suffers from a couple of things. First of all, the budget for the movie was drastically cut, and so many scenes that were to be set in New York, such as Jason in Madison Square Garden, Jason in Central Park etc, had to be cut, and more scenes of Jason on the cruise ship were included. … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan Review
Until the 2009 reboot, this was last traditional Friday the 13th movie that would be made for over two decades. Every movie after this featured an outrageous gimmick of some kind such as Jason in New York, Jason in Space, Jason as a body jumping Hell Baby (yeah…) but here it’s just good old hockey puss in his natural element, near Camp Crystal Lake dispatching … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood Review
The third and final installment of the Tommy Jarvis trilogy (with each movie featuring a different actor in the role) goes out with a bang. Thom Mathews is by far my favorite actor to have played this particular protagonist in the entire series. He has a great every-man sort of quality to him, and is far more likable than the usual machete fodder that populate … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 6: Jason Lives Review
That final chapter idea of part four thankfully was an empty threat. However, until ‘Jason Goes to Hell’ came out, Friday the 13th Part 5 was the closest thing this franchise had to a “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” type installment—basically, one that most fans of the series tend to purposefully ignore. If you only edited so that the killer actually was (spoiler alert … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 5: A New Beginning Review
Friday The 13th Part 4 tells the story of Jason Voorhees heroic effort to spare us all from the career of Corey Feldman. The fourth installment in this series was also supposed to be the last, hence the name “Final Chapter”. With that in mind the creators of this movie went all out in making about as good as a by the numbers Jason flick … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter Review
Friday the 13th part 3 is one of my favorites of the entire franchise. My wife and I watched this in glorious 3D with the little cardboard glasses, and were having a laugh a minute. This movie has a lot of firsts for the series. Most iconically, it is the first film to have the killer dawn the legendary goalie’s mask. I say the killer … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 3 Review
If the first film in this series was “respectable schlock” this one was just pure schlock, and the series itself was still in the midst of finding its niche. Friday the 13th Part 2 is as straight of a by the numbers slasher flick as you could imagine. The introduction of the Jason Voorhees character (in unexplained grown up form) is the most historically relevant … Continue reading Friday The 13th Part 2 Review
I recently bought the entire F13 series on the cheap in several 5 dollar DVD double features, and the wife and I have been watching a couple every week. It is interesting now watching these movies that I used to stay up late watching as a kid. These movies were designed to be seen on dates, or in big group settings, and so I found … Continue reading Friday The 13th Review
Kill Bill Volume 2 is kind of the yin to Kill Bill Volume 1’s yang (or vice versa). Unlike the first film which was pretty much one action sequence after another with brief moments to set up the next ones, this movie stops occasionally to let the characters—even the villains have their moments of reverence to make their just desserts that much more meaningful/conflicted when … Continue reading Kill Bill Volume 2 Review
Here is a movie that lives or dies on style alone. The story is as simple as it gets, and makes no pretense about existing as anything other than a device to bring us gobs and gobs of sword play and one liners. Uma Thurman is one pissed off Bride on a mission to skewer all the dirty SOBs who murdered her groom and left … Continue reading Kill Bill Volume 1 Review
This movie is to a dull suburbanite family existence, what Office Space was for a dull corporate office job—a fascinating glimpse at what it may be like to escape, with a reminder of the cost one would have to pay. People often forget that “American Beauty” is a comedy, because of how dark and deep it is willing to go, but it is, and at … Continue reading American Beauty Review
This review contains spoilers. SPOILERS I SAY! If you haven’t seen it, just move it along here folks. Now, onto business. Cast Away is a great movie that could have been an even better movie, in my opinion, if they lopped off more from both the beginning and closing sections of the movie. Tom Hanks plays a UPS man who is every Tom Hanks cliché … Continue reading Cast Away Review
Gangs of New York represents the kind of old school cinematic excess such as Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments, with massive sets and thousands of extras, but with a modern arsenal of special effects to give it a little extra oomph. Daniel Day Lewis plays Bill the Butcher, the old school gangster kingpin of New York in the 1860s. Lewis plays Bill as a … Continue reading Gangs of New York Review
Ben is a divorced screenwriter, recently fired, who has given up on life altogether. A chronic alcoholic, he has decided to take what money he has left and go to Vegas where he plans on drinking himself into an oblivion. Along the way he meets a Vegas hooker named Sera (Elizabeth Shoe) who takes pity on him, and he on her, and they begin a … Continue reading Leaving Las Vegas Review
Road House is one of the best lousy movies of all time. It can be enjoyed on many levels too, such as the “Plan 9 From Outer Space” laugh yourself silly at how lousy it is level, the standard “turn off your brain” action movie level, a time capsule of goofy 1980s clothing and hairstyles level, and even a pseudo philosophical level too! That’s more … Continue reading Road House Review
