Now Very Bad…

Tag: 1989

  • Shocker (1989)

    Shocker (1989)

    140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

    In preparation for review, watched yesterday with wife. Conversation went like this, “But I really remember enjoying it in high school”…

    Shocker

    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

    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.

    Shocker

    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…

    Shocker

    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.

    Shocker

    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.

    Poster:

    Trailer:

    Bechdel Test:

    Fail

    The Representation Test Score: D (1 pts)

    (http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

    Shocker Representation Test
    [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” ]

    Main Cast Michael Murphy Lt. Don Parker, Mitch Pileggi Horace Pinker, Peter Berg Jonathan Parker, Sam Scarber Cooper
    Rating R
    Release Date Fri 27 Oct 1989 UTC
    Director Wes Craven
    Genres Comedy, Horror, Thriller
    Plot 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 Shocker
    Runtime 109
    Tagline On October 2, at 6:45 AM mass murderer Horace Pinker was put to death. Now, he’s really mad.
    Writers Wes Craven (written by)
    Year 1989
  • Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989)

    Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989)

    140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

    Joe Johnston’s directorial debut sure takes a long time to get going; feels like 20 minutes of exposition. Pity, cause payoff’s pretty good.

    Honey I Shrunk The Kids

    Spoiler-free Movie Review of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids:

    Let’s be clear: I’m reviewing this solely because it’s the 25th anniversary of the movie (I’m sort of a slave to this anniversary thing – may need to do something about that). Because previously I wouldn’t have been caught dead watching this movie. It came out when I was 16 and an opinionated jerk who probably would have classified this as the nadir of film. Which just further illustrates my snobbery and the perils of same – because Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was not bad at all. In fact, as a 41 year old opinionated jerk, I fully appreciated it for the solid family adventure it is.

    Honey I Shrunk The Kids

    The movie starts off really slowly. It really does – the setup for the actual shrinking event must be 20 minutes of not very interesting exposition. It certainly feels that way, anyways.

    Rick Moranis plays the absent-minded professor, in this movie named Wayne Szalinski. I hardly need tell you what kind of character he is, since this is a standard archetype. The film feels it is necessary, though, so we spend a ton of time learning that his wife is considering leaving him, his colleagues don’t respect him, his inventions are buggy, his relationship with his kids borders on absenteeism, and he fights with his neighbor. The neighbors are similarly over-written as Russ Thompson Sr (Matt Frewer) struggles with his sons, particularly Russ Jr (Thomas Wilson Brown), who doesn’t want anything to do with his father’s interests. Both men are married – to Diane (Marcia Strassman) & Mae (Kristine Sutherland), respectively – but it barely matters since neither woman is given much to do.

    Honey I Shrunk The Kids

    Wayne has built a machine to shrink items but it doesn’t work until a freak accident causes, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture. After a career spent as the technical talent behind some major productions, director Joe Johnston would eventually become quite a good director. With this first foray, however, he needed to learn from the adage “don’t bore us, get to the chorus”. Once we’re actually into the plot, however, the movie picks up nicely and his roots as an effects artist and art director on some of the biggest adventure pictures of all time make for a great foray into fun fantasy, if a bit limited by budget in this instance.

    The four kids – Russ Jr & Ron Thompson (Jared Rushton), Amy (Amy O’Neill) & Nick Szalinski (Robert Oliveri) – must navigate the back yard to get back to the house, all while shrunk to ¼“. This, of course, is where the movie finds its footing and becomes the kind of movie that kids love. Seeing it for the first time, now an adult (ehh, sort of) it didn’t hit me the same way my daughter enjoyed it, but I could absolutely see the quality and the appeal. I’m not going to outline all of the adventures or gags, but it’s good stuff that still works on today’s youth, even though the effects show their age.

    Honey I Shrunk The Kids

    Yes, it’s a Disney movie, with all that implies, but Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a solid, well-made family film that ages better than I would have expected. Might have been more enjoyable with a ten-minute haircut, but that also would have probably reduced the screen time of Matt Frewer, whom I love, so let’s call it square. Recommended.

    Poster:

    Trailer:

    Bechdel Test:

    Pass

    The Representation Test Score: B (7 pts)

    Honey I Shrunk The Kids Representation Test

    (http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/) [schema type=”movie” url=”http://movies.disney.com/honey-i-shrunk-the-kids” name=”Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” description=”The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.” director=”Joe Johnston” actor_1=”Rick Moranis” actor_2=”Matt Frewer” ]

    Main Cast Rick Moranis Wayne Szalinski, Matt Frewer Big Russ Thompson, Marcia Strassman Diane Szalinski, Kristine Sutherland Mae Thompson
    Rating PG
    Release Date Fri 23 Jun 1989 UTC
    Director Joe Johnston
    Genres Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
    Plot The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
    Poster Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
    Runtime 93
    Tagline The most astonishing, innovative, backyard adventure of all time!
    Writers Stuart Gordon (story) &, Brian Yuzna (story) …
    Year 1989
  • Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

    Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

    140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

    Shocking, layered, magical, transporting masterpiece – Gus Van Sant burst onto scene with a wholly original film that blew everyone away…

    Drugstore Cowboy

    Spoiler-free Movie Review of Drugstore Cowboy:

    One of the great things about cinema is the ability to peel back the curtain to show the audience something they may have never seen before and expose them to entire ways of life that are completely foreign. Gus Van Sant’s 1989 masterpiece Drugstore Cowboy paints a portrait of the drug lifestyle that is completely unique to anything that had come before and helped to usher in a new age for independent film.

    Drugstore Cowboy

    The story by Van Sant and Daniel Yost is based on the then unpublished autobiography of long-time drug addict James Fogle, who robbed drugstores to support his habit. The screenplay follows the character of Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) and his wife Dianne (Kelly Lynch) as they try to keep the high going in Portland, Oregon in 1971 by robbing drugstores with the help of junior junkie couple Rick (James LeGros) & Nadine (Heather Graham in her 2nd film).

    Drugstore Cowboy

    Bob and his young protégés are constantly trying to stay high and ahead of the law, pursued by the dogged Detective Gentry (James Remar), whose desire to lock up Bob is matched by an almost fatherly concern for the young thief. Among fellow low-life junkies and cops, can Bob make a change in his life?

    Drugstore Cowboy

    The picture is just so good. There’s gritty realism and gallows humor mixed evenly with drug euphoria and dramatic excellence. It’s a fascinating portrait of addiction and low-life thievery in the 1970’s, but the story is really timeless. When the superstitious Bob is driven out of town, Drugstore Cowboy turns into a road picture for its second act, which keeps it very fresh.

    Drugstore Cowboy

    The acting is uniformly excellent. This is Dillon’s favorite of his films – it’s certainly his best performance and arguably reinvented him as a serious actor for the second act of his career. All of the supporting players shine in their own way, with Lynch being particularly sympathetic and impressive. There is a small part by William S. Burroughs that is spellbinding and led me into a huge Burroughs phase after seeing him first here.

    Drugstore Cowboy

    The film covers the depravity of the junkie lifestyle with unflinching realism but also no small amount of humor. Bob is incredibly charismatic and it’s easy to find the romance in the lifestyle depicted. But Van Sant displays a great sense of timing and tone in the way he contrasts the highs and lows. It was really refreshing and eye-opening at the time, and still plays.

    Drugstore Cowboy

    Probably Van Sant’s best picture, Drugstore Cowboy is just as unique as it was on this day 25 years ago. This is a film with something to say and continues to be relevant and important despite the period setting of the tale. Highly recommended…

    Drugstore Cowboy

    Poster:

    Trailer:

    Bechdel Test:

    Pass

    The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)

    (http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

    Drugstore Cowboy Representation Test
    [schema type=”movie” name=”Drugstore Cowboy” description=”The story follows Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) and his crew of drug addicts as they travel across the U.S. Pacific Northwest in 1971, supporting their habit by robbing pharmacies and hospitals. After a tragedy strikes the group, Bob decides to try to “go straight”, but finds that there is more to extricating himself from the drug user’s lifestyle than just giving up drugs.” director=”Gus Van Sant” actor_1=”Matt Dillon” actor_2=”Kelly Lynch”]

    Main Cast Matt Dillon Bob, Kelly Lynch Dianne, James Le Gros Rick, Heather Graham Nadine
    Rating R
    Release Date Sun 01 Oct 1989 UTC
    Director Gus Van Sant (as Gus Van Sant Jr.)
    Genres Crime, Drama
    Plot A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.
    Poster Drugstore Cowboy
    Runtime 102
    Tagline
    Writers James Fogle (novel), Gus Van Sant (as Gus Van Sant Jr.) (screenplay) …
    Year 1989
  • The Abyss (1989)

    The Abyss (1989)

    140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

    More than a little unclear, it is nonetheless a fascinating & thrilling underwater sci-fi adventure. Great story & even better execution…

    The Abyss

    Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Abyss:

    The Abyss is one of those films that may be remembered solely for their special effects. Indeed, when I was putting together this post, after much consideration I realized I had to use the water tentacle “face” as the featured image as it is so indelibly linked with the film. Until now I never actually sat through the whole picture, and that scene is more or less the only bit of the film I was familiar with as a result.

    The Abyss

    Having now watched it properly (I caught bits and pieces over the years) I think it is a real shame that the legacy of the film has been reduced to its effects. The movie is a whole lot more than a test kitchen for Terminator 2.

    The Abyss

    In some ways, James Cameron’s film isn’t terribly original. It could certainly be argued that the movie is a typical sci-fi actioner, but underwater. It certainly does follow many action film conventions, and I think the plot of the picture is significantly weakened when you reflect on just how much it relies on the action taking place on the edge of a cliff. It quite literally is a cliffhanger picture, with the only variation being the location of the cliff as part of an underwater trench. But it is an unique story, even if it does follow some well-traveled paths to get there.

    The Abyss

    An American nuclear submarine crashes following a run-in with an unidentified floating object and for reasons that are explained quickly and not entirely satisfactorily, the rescue is entrusted to an underwater oil drilling team. They’ll be supervised by a crack team of Navy SEALS (who can somehow get to the area when the regular military rescue team cannot), led by Lieutenant Hiram Coffey (Cameron regular Michael Biehn), who have their own (not entirely explained) agenda.

    The Abyss

    The drilling operation works something like this: the Benthic Explorer, on the surface is attached via some type of umbilical tether to the underwater drilling platform the Deep Core, over 500 meters beneath the surface. This was a little confusing to me, not being even moderately familiar with this technology. Generally that wouldn’t be a problem, but the interaction between the two vessels is a fairly major plot point and its one area where I felt the movie really failed. I’m not a huge fan of scenes of obvious exposition, but sometimes they are really necessary. A two minute scene showing a diagram of the connection or a map would have been hugely helpful. There’s a huge storm coming that affects everything, not to mention a potential military incident between the US & Russia over the recovery of the sunken ship due to its location, yet I never really had a clear idea where this all was taking place. A year after The Abyss, one of the greatest cold-war naval films of all time, The Hunt for Red October, did a fantastic job of illustrating its concepts with excellent exposition. I wonder if the filmmakers took any lessons from this film.

    The Abyss

    The human element of the story is ably handled by Virgil “Bud” Brigman (Ed Harris) and Dr. Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), estranged spouses in charge of different areas of the drilling and rescue operation. The two actors have a nice chemistry, but the show is pretty much stolen by Michael Biehn. The studio unsuccessfully lobbied to get him a Best Supporting Actor nomination, which he absolutely deserved. His Lt. Coffey is suffering from high pressure nervous syndrome, and had a more marquee actor turned in this paranoid performance they certainly would have been recognized.

    The Abyss

    I haven’t even really gotten into what happens in the story, including the sci-fi elements, because they really are better experienced firsthand. If you’ve somehow avoided knowing what happens for 25 years (I did) I’m not going to be the one to spoil it. The story and the film are very good. It’s an exciting adventure story and the underwater setting makes for a great picture.

    Unfortunately, the ending bites. This is almost certainly explained by the severe trimming the picture underwent to get to a more reasonable runtime of 140 minutes. The Special Edition cut of the film that made it to video restores another half an hour of footage that apparently makes a huge difference in rounding out the ending. I’ll try to screen it and update this review soon.

    The Abyss

    Cameron and DP Mikael Salomon do a great  job of creating the claustrophobic feel of the underwater setting, with an early sequence as the rescue crew boards the stricken submarine particularly noteworthy. Salomon shoots a scene from the first person perspective of crewman Jammer Willis, with his labored breathing intensifying, and it is one of the most tense and suspenseful sequences I’ve ever seen.

    Apparently it was a nightmare shoot, with actors breaking down and nearly drowning on occasion, and the film is probably single-handedly responsible for Cameron’s reputation as a very difficult director to work with. The final product is wonderful, though.

    The Abyss

    The Abyss is a unique film and another great example of James Cameron’s singular vision. The film stops short of being the greatest underwater picture of all time – I don’t think anything will ever top Das Boot – but it’s right up there. Had the filmmakers been allowed to make the longer picture they intended, the theatrical cut would likely be a much more complete film. As it stands, it is a very good if somewhat confused film with an unsatisfying and simplistic ending. Gorgeous visuals in a unique setting make this easily recommended.

    Poster:

    Trailer:

    Bechdel Test:

    Pass

    The Representation Test Score: B (7 pts)

    (http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

    The Abyss Representation Test
    [schema type=”movie” name=”The Abyss” description=”A civilian diving team are enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.” director=”James Cameron” actor_1=”Ed Harris” actor_2=”Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio” actor_3=”Michael Biehn” ]

    Main Cast Ed Harris Virgil ‘Bud’ Brigman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Lindsey Brigman, Michael Biehn Lt. Hiram Coffey, Leo Burmester Catfish De Vries
    Rating PG-13
    Release Date Wed 09 Aug 1989 UTC
    Director James Cameron
    Genres Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
    Plot A civilian diving team are enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
    Poster The Abyss
    Runtime 139
    Tagline A place on earth more awesome than anywhere in space.
    Writers James Cameron (written by)
    Year 1989
  • Weekend at Bernies (1989)

    Weekend at Bernies (1989)

    140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

    Actually better than I expected – no one more surprised than me. I’m not sure I’d say that I liked it, but it’s pretty good at what it does.

    weekend at bernies_promo

    Spoiler-free Movie Review of Weekend at Bernies:

    I’d hate for you to think I watched this movie and reviewed it just so I could watch Catherine Mary Stewart and put lots of pictures of her in this review. It’s totally true, of course, I’d just hate for you to think it…

    Weekend at Bernies

    The truth is that this one was on my list since it was going to be 25 years old on July 5th and I’d never gotten around to seeing it. I frankly had no interest in seeing it before now, but I’m choosing to use the opportunity of these anniversaries to see some things I might not otherwise. Besides, Barney Stinson from the tv series How I Met Your Mother kept going on about it in a running gag so I felt it was probably worth a watch.

    Weekend at Bernies

    Weekend at Bernie’s looked perfectly stupid when it was released, so it was easy to skip, and I certainly didn’t expect much when I finally watched it. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the movie, though.

    Oh, it is definitely stupid, don’t get me wrong. I don’t know, though, I found it sort of impressive in the way it just kind of went for it. It was really effective in going for madcap silliness. Stupid movies that try to be zany and wild often achieve neither, feeling calculated, safe and just dumb. This one just squeaked over the line because the slightly morbid premise. Black comedies are a tricky business; you need them to feel somewhat dangerous or it doesn’t really work. Weekend at Bernie’s has just enough of an edge to make it kind of enjoyable.

    Weekend at Bernies

    What doesn’t work is that the plot is really convoluted. Larry Wilson (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard Parker (Jonathan Silverman) are shlubs at an insurance company, and of course you have the dynamic that one of them is rigid and uptight and one of them is a lazy party guy. Richard can’t summon the courage to talk to the beautiful temp Gwen Saunders (Catherine Mary Stewart) and when he does he keeps getting caught out in lies he tells to impress her. While working over the weekend he uncovers a case of fraud that the guys bring to their boss Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser), who invites the pair to his Hamptons home for Labor Day weekend to go over the numbers. In fact, Bernie is the one skimming from the company and he chooses this fairly involved ruse in order to have the boys killed. For this Bernie enlists the help of a mobster named Vito (Louis Giambalvo) that he is working with, when not having an affair with Vito’s girlfriend. Vito sends his hitman Paulie (Don Calfa) to whack Bernie instead, which will be discovered (much) later through an unlikely sequence with an answering machine and a fake suicide note. The story, like Bernie’s plan, is absurdly over-complicated. I’ve barely begun to list the different things that occur in this 97 minute movie. It’s all too much. This would have been much more effective with a much shorter, more streamlined approach. It might have made a very effective tv show.

    Weekend at Bernies

    While the premise is absurd, and so is the movie, I kind of enjoyed Weekend at Bernie’s and understand why it has a lot of fans. It certainly will never get a second viewing by me, but I know it’s a cult classic for a lot of people and I can see that. I realize that there was a sequel, but my interest only goes so far. I can’t imagine how they made a second one with the same actors and am sort of afraid to look it up. Besides, I do know that Catherine Mary Stewart isn’t in it…#dealkiller…

    Weekend at Bernies
    You want one more picture of Catherine Mary Stewart? Ok, but this is the last one…
    Poster:

    Trailer:

    Bechdel Test:

    Fail

    The Representation Test Score: D (3 pts)

    (http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

    Weekend at Bernies Representation Test
    [schema type=”movie” name=”Weekend at Bernie’s” description=”A pair of losers try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, but the murderer is out to “finish him off.”” director=”Ted Kotcheff” actor_1=”Andrew McCarthy” actor_2=”Jonathan Silverman” actor_3=”Catherine Mary Stewart” ]

    Main Cast Andrew McCarthy Larry Wilson, Jonathan Silverman Richard Parker, Catherine Mary Stewart Gwen Saunders, Terry Kiser Bernie Lomax
    Rating PG-13
    Release Date Wed 05 Jul 1989 UTC
    Director Ted Kotcheff
    Genres Comedy
    Plot A pair of losers try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, but the murderer is out to “finish him off.”
    Poster Weekend at Bernie's
    Runtime 97
    Tagline Bernie Lomax would be the perfect host, except for one small thing. He’s dead. [USA Theatrical]
    Writers Robert Klane (written by)
    Year 1989