Impossible to watch without being aware of the great talent that was snuffed out, but may we all leave such an indelible impression. #RIPLee
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Crow:
When a tragedy precedes the release of a film, it’s hard to avoid becoming maudlin about it or lifting the work onto a pedestal. So it’s important to not canonize the late Brandon Lee or consecrate The Crow. It’s a good movie, not a great movie. That doesn’t mean I don’t love it – I do. But let’s keep our heads about this – it’s a very mixed bag.
The simple fact of the matter – the non-revisionist truth – is that I’d never even heard of Brandon Lee before he died. I guess one of my friends who watched martial arts movies might have mentioned him at some point, but my love of martial arts movies doesn’t extend beyond Big Trouble in Little China, so I would never have seen him in anything. And he wasn’t particularly famous or heralded for his acting. So is the legendary status bestowed on him and the film simply because of his tragic death at age 28? Absolutely not. This is a breakout performance far above anything he’d even hinted at previously, making the accident even more heartbreaking.
The Crow is based on a black & white graphic novel of the same name by James O’Barr. It’s a grim book, and I’m guessing the idea of adapting it into a feature film wasn’t an easy sell.
[schema type=”movie” name=”The Crow” description=”A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée’s murder.” director=”Alex Proyas” actor_1=”Brandon Lee” ]
Less of a fully realized picture than a series of gags, there’s nothing particularly wrong with this one – it just lacks any real purpose…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Addams Family Values:
It’s fine. Really, it is. It’s not bad. It just isn’t really good, either.
The first Addams Family film was really well done and made a boatload of money, so of course there was going to be a sequel. They even set it up at the end of the first picture with the tease that Morticia (Anjelica Huston) was pregnant. So the new movie was certain to be about the Addams baby. That storyline is ok, even if it doesn’t have much stamina.
No, the problem, if there is one is in the sameness of the script. Writer Paul Rudnick did extensive rewrites on the original before taking over sole credit on this picture, and the whole thing just seems a little too familiar. The plot once again revolves around Fester (Christopher Lloyd) and the family is once again separated from him by manipulative outside forces. It’s just kind of lazy.
I suppose another way to look at it is Addams 2.0, taking all the things that went right in the first film and honing them further. And if that was a tv program that would be fine. I guess I just hoped for more.
There is a fantastic subplot about the kids being sent to a summer camp for privileged kids that very nearly makes the entire film worthwhile. Wednesday (Christina Ricci) takes center stage, which is entirely correct, and the cast of campers includes David Krumholtz, Christine Baranski & Peter MacNicol – all wonderful here. The musical production is enough fun to make you forget how lifeless the rest of the picture is.
Definitely worth a watch, Addams Family Values was a bit of a disappointment to me, in no small part due to the fact that so many critics insisted that the sequel was superior to the original. Nonsense…
[schema type=”movie” name=”Addams Family Values” description=”A comical Gothic horror-movie-type family tries to rescue their beloved uncle from his gold-digging new love.” director=”Barry Sonnenfeld” actor_1=”Anjelica Huston” actor_2=”Raul Julia” actor_3=”Christopher Lloyd”]
Wonderful realization of Charles Addams characters with near perfect casting in Sonnenfeld’s directorial debut. Creepy. Kooky. Spooky. Ooky.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Addams Family:
My dad had this old book of Charles Addams’ illustrations. As I recall, the book looked like a third-hand copy from someone who possibly had three hands, all of them clumsy. It was tattered, with a damaged binding and smelled old. To this day I don’t know if it was actually supposed to be like this or was just a poorly cared for yard sale prize. Either would be fitting, because The Addams Family has always felt like some bizarre foundling, while simultaneously being the product of the well-established studio system.
Addams, a cartoonist (often for The New Yorker), based his most famous creations on the old mansions in his childhood home of Westfield, New Jersey and that such a morbid bunch of cartoons should become so popular is a testament to his unique talent. I may never fully understand why television executives thought “hey, this would make a great family tv show”, but I’m glad they did.
In fact, not only did the characters make for a tv show, they made for several, including an animated series, guest appearances on shows as subversive as Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones, as well as having a comeback or two. I guess with that track record that a feature film was inevitable and not as odd as it would be if you pitched the idea today. I strongly doubt that even Tim Burton (originally tapped to direct this film) could walk into a major studio with an idea about a gruesome & possibly supernatural family of arguable sadists and leave with a contract.
Fortunately, in the late 1980’s producer Scott Rudin was able to get a greenlight for The Addams Family from Orion Pictures based on the show’s lasting appeal. Paramount would end up releasing the picture due to Orion’s money problems, but it’s unclear exactly who is to blame for the inclusion of music by MC Hammer…
I wasn’t able to find out why Burton ended up not directing (Batman Returns conflict? Just a guess.) but it left the door open for the incredibly talented cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who made his directorial debut here. His work with filmmakers like the Coen brothers surely provided the experience in making a quirky and dark comedy, but he really takes embraces it here with a fun-loving style that would go on to serve him well in films like Get Shorty & Men In Black. Sonnenfeld was an outstanding DP and even retained that role (if not the title) on The Addams Family when his first two cinematographers left the project. It shows – the irreverent camera work is one of the best features of the film.
Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) & Larry Wilson (Beetlejuice) put together a nice script that preserves the spirit of the show and the cartoons. It really is surprisingly faithful. Enough so that there was a bit of a problem with rights, as the filmmakers had obtained clearances from the Addams estate but not the show directly; the show’s executive producer, David Levy sued for compensation for his ideas from the tv program.
The casting is one of those perfect ensembles that you’re lucky to get once in a blue moon. Raul Julia inhabits Gomez Addams with all the humor that tv actor John Astin once displayed, but with twice the passion. Anjelica Huston absolutely is Morticia, and Christopher Lloyd energetically portrays Uncle Fester. And of course, young Christina Ricci makes Wednesday the most enjoyable character of all.
The plot is fairly good, as far as it goes, providing the characters with something to do while getting on with the real business of being creepy, kooky, mysterious & spooky. Recommended…
[schema type=”movie” name=”The Addams Family” description=”Con artists plan to fleece the eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long lost Uncle Fester.” director=”Barry Sonnenfeld” actor_1=”Anjelica Huston” ]
In preparation for review, watched yesterday with wife. Conversation went like this, “But I really remember enjoying it in high school”…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Shocker:
…And then there are those movies that you shouldn’t revisit. The ones that looked horribly stupid but you watched anyway and found something about them that you liked. If you’re lucky enough to have that occur, don’t press your luck. Be grateful that you were pleasantly surprised and leave it at that. Because I guarantee you that lightning will not strike twice…
Shocker is a slasher horror movie written and directed by Wes Craven, creator of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. It’s the story of Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg), a high school football player and foster child whose town is being ripped apart by a serial killer who is attacking entire families. For some reason Jonathan seems to have some psychic link with the killer and in a dream actually appears at the scene of the killer’s new crime – the killer can actually see Jonathan. Unable to prevent the killing of most of his adoptive family, Jonathan is able to lead his foster father Lt. Don Parker (Michael Murphy) to the killer, Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), who is finally apprehended and sentenced to death by electric chair. Through some bizarre circumstances, Pinker seems to make a deal with a television set and achieve some odd form of immortality that has something to do with electricity. Sometimes. Sometimes he’s just body jumping through physical contact. It’s all a little muddled.
The cast is pretty good, as far as it goes. Watching for the first time in 25 years, I was stunned to see that the psycho who anchors the picture is Mulder & Scully’s boss from The X-Files. Peter Berg (great in A Midnight Clear) is pretty capable as lead here, although I never did figure out how he’s still in high school and also has his own place. Michael Murphy is Michael Murphy, which is always a good thing. Also check out “Theodore” Raimi in an early role.
Cami Cooper is the perfect girl next door, one of those actors that makes you run to imdb because you’re sure they are familiar. (Yes, idiot, she’s in that stupid slasher movie you’ve seen 20 times – this one!) Interestingly, though, in looking her up, I found that she left the biz to become a lobbyist then Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Association to Protect Children – I know nothing about it but it looks interesting. Nice second act…
I’m admittedly no horror expert, but I think Shocker may be the first time that Craven really went for the humor. There is of course always comic relief in his and all horror films – screaming and laughter pair so nicely – but this is a real understanding of how ridiculous horror movie conventions are and Shocker dabbles in the kind of self-deprecation that would be so effective in Scream a few years later.
Shocker is just funny. It plays things straight for the first act, which is solid slasher film material. But it begins to get irreverent in the second act as the killer jumps from body to body to amusing effect. By the third act the thing goes right off the rails and is just ridiculous, but gloriously so.
It really is an odd collection of different feels. By the end you can have completely forgotten just how bloody and grisly the movie was at the outset. This may be why I remember Shocker rather more fondly than it played for me now. There was an exhilarating thrill to slasher movies when I was in high school. That mix of hormones and energy, fueled by too much soda and Chinese food, needed the loud and obvious diversions provided by horror movies. This one was supercharged by the pinnacle (or nadir) of hair metal that 1989 could provide. The tagline for the film is “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, and the film features an adequate if unnecessary Megadeth cover of the Alice Cooper tune. Alice himself appears on a background tv set in one of my favorite moments of zen from this movie – the diner’s tv is recounting the recent grisly murders, but when the bereaved family members walk in the staff thoughtfully turn on something more appropriate – Alice Cooper videos…
That scene is a wonderful sampling of the film – terror with an undercurrent of self-aware mockery. When I tell you that this movie was aggressively promoted in the pages of comic books, you should get a sense of what you’re in for. I can’t say it ranks as highly as some of the horror classics, or even horror comedies like Evil Dead 2 or Bad Taste, but fans of the genre would surely enjoy this one.
[schema type=”movie” name=”Shocker” description=”After being sent to the electric chair, a serial killer uses electricity to come back from the dead and carry out his vengeance on the football player who turned him in to the police.” director=”Wes Craven” actor_1=”Peter Berg” ]
After being sent to the electric chair, a serial killer uses electricity to come back from the dead and carry out his vengeance on the football player who turned him in to the police.
Poster
Runtime
109
Tagline
On October 2, at 6:45 AM mass murderer Horace Pinker was put to death. Now, he’s really mad.
Nearly perfect sci-fi/action film just as good as it was 30 years ago. Streamlined & tight. Best in the series. That’s right, I said it…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Terminator:
30 years ago, in a year already crowded with great movies, Orion Pictures released The Terminator. In the wake of the movie, James Cameron was launched into a career that would soon earn him a place as an A-lister & Ahnold would blast into the stratosphere. It was an amazing movie and enjoyed the reputation it rightly earned.
Then 8 years later, a funny thing happened: The Terminator became suddenly less impressive of a film. What actually occurred is that they released a sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, with legendary special effects, great stunts, a more ambitious story and a newly kick-ass heroine in Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). It was funny and exciting and the original film suddenly looked dated and underachieving.
Everyone fell victim to this bit of revisionism. I remember being reluctant to go see T2 because I couldn’t imagine how they could improve on the original, and then walking out of the theater convinced that the 1984 film was a dinosaur.
On the 30th anniversary of the release of the first film, it’s time to reexamine this movie and revisit this premise and come to the proper conclusion: The Terminator is the best film in the series.
“Are you kidding?”, you say, “T2 was so much better – it’s amazing!” Yes, T2 is amazing – it’s one of the greatest movies in the genre and one of my personal faves. But with clear eyes, The Terminator is a better and more unique film.
Five Reasons The Terminator is better than Terminator 2:
#1. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn): Reese is an interesting character, a soldier who has volunteered for a one-way trip to the past. A man out of time who must quickly get up to speed in order to fulfill his mission – to risk and likely give his life for a woman he doesn’t know. He’s in a world he can’t possibly understand and is up against an unbeatable machine, but he never loses hope or determination to keep Sarah Connor safe. That – that right there is why this movie works so well. It’s not the fx, it’s the humanity. By contrast, the sequel has no meaningful characters or relationships. Sarah is so excellent of a character, but it really isn’t her picture this time around. Her character arc actually occurred off screen, in between the movies. May be why they did a tv series around her. No, John Connor is our protagonist (and to a not small degree so is the Terminator), which leads us to:
#2. No Edward Furlong. My problem isn’t really with the actor, particularly. It’s the character. It’s even the very idea of the character. The next great sci-fi/action film with a ten-year-old protagonist will be the first. Is there no reason that he couldn’t have been older? I love the attempt to try to have the series timeline mirror ours, but it really doesn’t totally work anyway, so maybe just write a more interesting and less irritating character and let the geeks retcon all this stuff to their hearts content. The underappreciated mixed bag that is Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines showed what would happen if you put an older John Connor in more or less the same situation and it was a much more effective dynamic, even if the film as a whole didn’t quite gel. (Except for the ending – one of the best endings I’ve ever seen…)
#3. The rating. Again, it’s not necessarily that going from an R to a PG-13 is a problem (although I can’t name one instance of this being a good decision), it’s what it represents – a move toward the middle. An attempt to appeal to the largest possible audience, which simply can’t be done without dulling the edge of the material; which leads us to:
#4. No jokes from Ahnold. The jokes are funny. It doesn’t matter. You’re taking a step down the wrong path. By the next film it will degenerate into camp. I laughed when I was supposed to in T2, but time makes that crap dated and cheesy. The only reason that the Louis Tully rule doesn’t apply to the T-800 is that he was the title character in the first picture and can’t really be considered a minor character.
#5. Finally, and most importantly, the run-time. The sequel was 136 minutes in theaters, 153 minutes in the director’s cut. The original by comparison was a half hour shorter at 107 minutes. It’s more tightly paced and just more direct. The pacing perfectly complements the rich but not complicated story.
It is, after all, a great story (although it may not be as original as first thought – author Harlan Ellison received a settlement and on-screen acknowledgment after he successfully demonstrated the possible plagiarism of some of his work on the tv show The Outer Limits – which Cameron proudly named as an influence on the picture). Cameron excels at creating interesting dialogue and personality for minor characters. Some of the effects are dated, but not as much as you might think. The amazing work by the late Stan Winston still holds up very well.
A franchise was practically a necessity with such a rich concept. If later films never quite lived up to the excitement of the original, that’s ok – it’s a hard act to follow, and each successive installment has offered something interesting. With a new film, Terminator: Genisys, in post-production and due for a July 1, 2015 release, the series that Cameron created seems to be stronger than ever.
[schema type=”movie” name=”The Terminator” description=”A human-looking indestructible cyborg is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.” director=”James Cameron” actor_1=”Arnold Schwarzenegger”]
A human-looking indestructible cyborg is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.
Poster
Runtime
107
Tagline
In the Year of Darkness, 2029, the rulers of this planet devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the Future by changing the Past. The plan required something that felt no pity. No pain. No fear. Something unstoppable. They created ‘THE TERMINATOR’
#3. The rating. Again, it’s not necessarily that going from an R to a PG-13 is a problem (although I can’t name one instance of this being a good decision), it’s what it represents – a move toward the middle. An attempt to appeal to the largest possible audience, which simply can’t be done without dulling the edge of the material; which leads us to:
#5. Finally, and most importantly, the run-time. The sequel was 136 minutes in theaters, 153 minutes in the director’s cut. The original by comparison was a half hour shorter at 107 minutes. It’s more tightly paced and just more direct. The pacing perfectly complements the rich but not complicated story.
