tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79528402370289251082024-03-18T21:32:28.813-07:00Ed's Blasts From the PastAn Irreverent Look at Action, Horror and ComedyEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.comBlogger528125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-32938767374820777202020-01-08T07:40:00.001-08:002020-01-08T07:40:44.927-08:00Forgotten Films of 1989 Part IVWe finish this series with a few more films from 1989 that deserve more love. Or at the very least, I have a burning need to discuss. <br />
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Before we begin, some of the write ups have appeared elsewhere on the site. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vnTldprWiIKkWUdO4zpPdpf0a2_c1fvGo61dHbXKjEcF3s9iSL_MQMhMFWUM5Ps3XLDD3JIR-0nexOoHfjGYoO3cz5LDpvKn-4yQ4FEJbV16uGwVvyN0JOB0GJhv25g-qByYGJX0Pv0/s1600/Johnny_handsome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="249" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vnTldprWiIKkWUdO4zpPdpf0a2_c1fvGo61dHbXKjEcF3s9iSL_MQMhMFWUM5Ps3XLDD3JIR-0nexOoHfjGYoO3cz5LDpvKn-4yQ4FEJbV16uGwVvyN0JOB0GJhv25g-qByYGJX0Pv0/s400/Johnny_handsome.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
Johnny Handsome is a solid little noir thriller from director Walter
Hill that benefits from a decent script and stellar cast of character
actors. Mickey Rourke plays a disfigured petty thief who is double
crossed by his partners (Ellen Barkin and Lance Henriksen) and is given
reconstructive surgery by a kindly prison doctor played by forest
Whitaker. Upon being released from prison, he sets out looking for
revenge while falling in love with a young woman played by Elizabeth
McGovern and being tailed by a cop played by Morgan Freeman.<br />
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Performances are good across the board as one would expect (I find it
darkly amusing and a little depressing that pre-surgery, Rourke doesn't look much different
under the make-up than he does now just in general with no makeup at
all. Taking up boxing will tend to mess up the face) with Barkin and
Henriksen standing out nicely as the bad guys. They're a nasty pair and
Barkin goes all out with her femme fatale role, making a fairly typical
character type something interesting. A little too hammy at times
(though for the kind of movie this is it works) but still good.
Henriksen is fine as always and the end result ends up being pretty damn
good.<br />
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Christopher Walken's gonzo performance is the main attraction in this
very, very, very loose adaptation of Whitley Streiber's book of the same
title. Playing a rather embellished (to put it mildly) version of the author, Walken is a
sight to behold as he is abducted and experimented on by aliens, at one
point making random pop culture references about them. It's quite a
performance and the fact that it's directed by the same guy who did the
second and third Howling movies makes it even better. It's an amazingly
odd movie. Shocking enough, the real Whitley Streiber was less than enthused with this adaptation.<br />
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Gleefully downbeat dark comedy from Danny DeVito which stars Michael
Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a couple that falls in love and gradually
out of it in the nastiest way imaginable. Douglas and Turner are good
as always and DeVito has a nice supporting turn as a lawyer friend of
Douglas who narrates the film. DeVito does fine in the director's chair
as well, though two hours is probably a little more than the film
really needed. The film is pretty much the textbook definition of a
dark comedy.<br />
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Speaking of dark comedy, Joe Dante's underrated gem <i>The 'Burbs</i> features one of Tom Hanks' most enjoyable comic turns as well as a terrific cast that includes Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern and many others.The plot involves a quiet suburban neighborhood being turned upside down by paranoia when some creepy new neighbors move into a recently sold house. Dante directs with his usual skill, adding a dark satirical tone to the proceedings. <br />
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Rounding things off for now is this compelling thriller from Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill as a couple grieving for the loss of their child. They take a trip on their yacht to get their mind off things only to run into a psychopath played nicely by Billy Zane. Neill ends up stranded on Zane's boat and the film goes from him trying to escape to the cat and mouse game Kidman and Zane are engaging in back on the yacht. Philip Noyce does a nice job keeping things tense and the three leads are all quite good. The end is a little obvious (apparently the studio wanted it less ambiguous than it first was) but overall it is a fine thriller and one of the best of the year.<br />
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1989 was a hell of a great year for movies. So great that I had to cut a few items for time (I wanted to have this up a few weeks ago). I'll get to them at some point in the future but for now, stay tuned for the forgotten films of 1990 as well as some other good stuff.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-55470745552590380422019-12-28T14:04:00.000-08:002019-12-28T14:04:47.287-08:00The Dirty Harry Chronicles: The Enforcer (1976)/Sudden Impact (1983/The Dead Pool (1988)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Finishing off the year with the conclusion of something I wanted to finish a long time ago. <br />
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Seems like I'm doing one of these every two years (not intentionally) but let's move on from the first two Dirty Harry films which I <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-dirty-harry-chronicles-dirty-harry.html">really</a>, <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-dirty-harry-chronicles-magnum-force.html">really</a> like to the third which could be alternately called Dirty Harry 3: Contractual Obligation; the fourth which is solid and the fifth and final one which teeters dangerously on the edge of being so bad its good. Won't be going point by point as with the other two because we're doing three movies, none of which I like enough to do that for. Hell, I'm tossing them all together in one post for a good reason, after all.<br />
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As noted in the intro, <i>The Enforcer</i> feels more like a contractual obligation from Clint than anything he really wanted to do. Harry is back in the saddle again, going up against some garden variety domestic terrorists led by the thoroughly uninteresting Bobby Maxwell who is as thin and cardboard a villain as one could ever hope to find. The bad guys are plotting to kidnap the mayor abut the main focus is on Harry and his partnership with Tyne Daly as a junior officer. The two have a nice chemistry and their dialogue is good but it generally is a bad thing when the most interesting thing in your action movie has nothing to do with the action part of the story for the most part.<br />
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Apart from the B plot with these two, you get some fun moments between Harry and Bradford Dillman as his boss of the week, though he does appear in the next film but as a different character which is weird. There is also an enjoyable bit where Harry breaks up a robbery by driving a car through the store window the bad guys are in and the finale on Alcatraz is decent.<br />
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That aside, this is a tired, formulaic 70's action film (complete with the 70's downer ending as Daly goes the way of most of Harry's partners, an early grave) with a dull villain who is nowhere near a strong enough character to earn the rocket launcher demise he is granted at the end. <i>The Enforcer</i> is my least favorite of the series.<br />
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<i>Sudden Impact</i> marks several firsts for the series. The first one Eastwood directed; the first one from the 80's and the first one to have Sondra Locke Clint's then-girlfriend and frequent co-star for most of the late seventies in it. Locke plays a rape victim hell bent on wasting the gang of thugs who assaulted her and her sister and as luck would have it, Harry ends up investigating the murders. It's an interesting story well told and it ends up being a rather neat variation on the standard rape/revenge film. Clint keeps things moving at a nice clip, maintaining a dark tone for when Locke is onscreen and a somewhat lighter one when Harry is the focus, but never lets things become too heavy as some films of its ilk can get. Put bluntly, you can watch this rape/revenge film and not feel the need to take a shower afterwards.<br />
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That being said, it does have a few flaws as the film sort of fights between being a regular Clint Eastwood movie and telling the actual story it wants to tell. Pat Hingle is okay as the father of the one of the rapists and local police chief though as tends to be the case when he works with Clint, he goes a little overboard at times (his last scene is solid however). Another issue is that, as with the preceding and following films, the main villain is sort of undefined and not terribly interesting. Granted, the main focus is on Locke who is committing the killings Harry is looking into, but it is sort of hard to really enjoy seeing the bastard get what's coming to him when you can barely remember his name. Having Locke need Harry to rescue her at the end is bit of an off beat as well. I probably would have had them both shoot the guy to death and then have Harry let her go as he does in the film but that's just me. Still a solid entry in the series.<br />
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While the story is compelling, the best scene is the obligatory "Harry
does things his own way" scene which sees him bust up a coffee shop hold
up and uttering the famous "Go ahead, make my day" line. It's the best
bit in the film though its really just there to give Harry something to
do in the first fifteen minutes seeing as this really isn't <i>his</i> story per se. The film, while still good, sort of fights to match that scene for the remaining hour and forty minutes.<br />
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The Dead Pool ends things with a film that is both entertainingly dumb and frustratingly perfunctory. Harry is back for one last run, this time pursuing a psycho who is offing celebrities who all happen to be on a 'dead pool' list: a vague competition betting on when certain famous folks will kick off. Clint is his usual grumpy self, growling out lines and shooting bad guys but like the third film, the lack of a solid villain really shoots the film in the leg. Liam Neeson is fine as a flashy red herring of a director but he vanishes from the last act. The real bad guy is essentially a cipher and like Bobby Maxwell in the third one, isn't nearly interesting enough to warrant the over the top spear gun kill that ends him. Still, there are some fun lines, an early role for Jim Carrey and an utterly silly but fun homage to the car chase in <i>Bullitt</i> involving a small remote control car packed with C-4 chasing Harry in his real car. It ends the series with a small pop rather than a big bang but it's enjoyable enough.<br />
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The Dirty Harry films are an interesting quintet of films ranging from provocative 70's cinema to 80's style and flash. The first one is a bona fide classic (though part of it don't hold up so well) and the sequels are a bit of a roller coaster. Clint Eastwood became a mega star off the success of the first two and gradually outgrew the series. Of the two franchises he has been a part of, the Dollars Trilogy is the best series he was involved in, but Dirty Harry is probably his most iconic.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-3350288070687320692019-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:002019-11-18T09:25:06.898-08:00Forgotten Films of 1989 Part IIIBack from the Halloween rush (trying to watch at least one horror movie a day for an entire month can really take it out of a person) and vacation with more from 1989.<br />
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John Lithgow, Teri Garr and Randy Quaid star in this
endearingly dark comedy about love, murder and adultery. Lithgow plays the
co-owner of a meat shop who is in love with the wife (Teri Garr) of his
business partner. Said business partner is an abusive lout and one day, he ends
up locked in the meat freezer overnight in a lovely chain of events that ends with
him dead and Lithgow believing he is responsible. Randy Quaid is also on hand
as a sleazy investigator looking into the crime. The end result is a
satisfying, dark comedy with interesting characters and a breezy pace.
Amusingly enough, Teri Garr would re-team with Bruce McGill who plays her husband
here for a <i>Tales From the Crypt</i> episode with a somewhat similar in premise (in
that they’re stuck in an unhappy marriage with each other and Garr is willing to go to some extreme lengths to be rid of him).</div>
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While not quite as good as the first, <i>Fright Night Part 2</i> is an entertaining, fun sequel. William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall are back from, the original and this time, they are being menaced by Regine (Julie Carmen), sister to the vampire from the first film. While it more or less follows the same story beats as the original, it throws in some fun extras such as the goon squad working for Regine. My favorites are the ginormous guy who likes to eat bugs and the cocky werewolf, played by Brian Thompson and Johnathan Gries respectively.<br />
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The film sadly was screwed out of a good release thanks to a variety of issues including the Lyle and Eric Menendez murders and as a result, finding a decent copy of it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Still, this is a more than worthy sequel that benefits from a good cast, solid directing from Tommy Lee Wallace and some killer special effects.<br />
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Sometimes a high concept comedy is just so endearingly stupid and twisted, it becomes something you just love to watch. I saw this in the theater when it came out and I have to say, it holds up rather well. Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy are two office workers who discover their boss Bernie (Terry Kiser) has been into some shady deals with the mob. After confronting him with evidence they've found linking him to said deals, he invites them to his beach house in the hopes a mob hit man (played by Don Calfa from <i>Return of the Living Dead</i>) will off them. Bernie ends up being the one who is killed and the rest of the film concerns our intrepid, idiotic heroes trying to make it seem like he's still alive to throw off the hit man.<br />
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As noted above, this is a really, really stupid movie with a plot that takes a little too long to get going but it somehow works thanks to some amazing physical work Terry Kiser who manages to steal the show long after his character has been offed. Just about every joke one can do with a corpse that nobody notices is dead is trotted out and in the last third things get really dark in the wackiest way imaginable. It's not high comedy but it does manage to be pretty funny in parts.<br />
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I covered this back when I was doing my My Favorite Era series and once again would recommend you seek this out. Richard Dreyfuss is utterly charming as a compulsive gambler trying to win it big and also hold his marriage together. The story is a little thin but the characters are so appealing (Even Teri Garr who I normally do not enjoy as a performer) that they more than make up for any shortcomings the plot may have.<br />
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This one is the forgotten James Cameron classic. The last film of his not to be a huge hit, <i>The Abyss</i> is the biggest and best of the underwater genre film cycle that ran through the year. The plot concerns the loss of a submarine and the efforts of a team of oil platform workers and the US search and recovery team to retrieve it before the Soviets do. As tends to happen in these movies, something unexpected is found but in this case the threat is not the typical monster one would expect.<br />
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Cameron does a masterful job here (to tell how difficult it was to make this film would take up far more space than I have) balancing character and action with just about every single thing working to perfection. Ed Harris (no relation) and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are good as the estranged couple in charge of the operation. Michael Biehn is creepy and fun as a Navy SEAL who is not doing well underwater and the rest of the cast is solid. The f/x are what really sell the film as not only do we get the terrific CGI water tentacle but the aliens designed by Steve Johnson are delicate works of art.<br />
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<i>The Abyss</i> was lost in the rush of the summer releases in '89 but it holds up as a forgotten gem, especially in the extended cut that runs just under three hours. I've always loved this film. I owned the special edition VHS; it's one of the first DVDs I ever bought (still have the two disc set) and when it comes out on Blu-ray, I'll be the first in line to grab that too.<br />
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Nicolas Cage gets a chance to really let loose for the first time and the end result is this pitch black, sometimes frightening comedy about an insane literary agent who believes he's turning into a vampire after a one night stand. Cage delivers a fearless comic performance here, not being afraid to be the most repulsively unlikable yuppie in film history even at the cost of the audience's sympathy. He sort of comes off as Patrick Bateman if he was more outwardly off his rocker. The rest of the cast does fine but really, they're just there to react to Cage's gradual descent into madness. Two standouts though are Maria Conchita Alonso as a long suffering secretary and Jennifer Beals as the mystery woman who bites Cage and may or not even really exist outside of his mind (I feel she's just a hallucination though the film shows her with another guy at one point but that could also be a product of Cage's damaged brain). <i>Vampire's Kiss</i> is not an easy movie to like (or even watch at times, while Cage is good he's a bit much at times) but it is definitely worth checking out, if only for Cage going nuts.<br />
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I love a good caper comedy and this one certainly gets the
job done. Corbin Bernsen plays a hapless thief who has put together a small group
of crooks with a plan to rob a bank in a small town. Said plan gets derailed
when Bernsen is arrested by two New Jersey cops who have been chasing him and
the majority of film bounces from his character trying to escape the cops the
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Bernsen is solid in a mainly physical role (as in he gets
beaten to hell for most of the movie through no fault but his own) as are Ed O’Neill
and Daniel Roebuck as the none-too-bright cops chasing him and the crooks are
equally entertaining with Fred Gwynne standing out as he tends to do.
<i>Disorganized Crime </i>is a light, harmless bit of fun that is perfect for a rainy
weekend afternoon viewing.<br />
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One more to go for 1989 and then its onto 1990! Stay tuned. </div>
Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-61501301068453668202019-10-16T07:39:00.000-07:002019-10-16T07:39:04.676-07:00Rawhead Rex (1987)Going to pick the 1989 stuff back up after Halloween so for the next few posts, its horror all the way!<br />
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Been a while since I did one of these so let's take a look at an 80's monster movie plus some extras.<br />
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Let's kick things off with an early adaptation of a Clive Barker short story. While the first adaptation of a Stephen King story was Brian DePalma's
very good <i>Carrie</i> backed by United Artists, good old Clive got George
Pavlou directing a production distributed by Charles Band's Empire
Pictures. Said adaptation was called <i>Transmutations</i> (also known as
<i>Underworld</i> and a film I'd really love to track down) and while it was
not a hit by any means, the company gave Pavlou another Barker project,
our subject today.<br />
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<i>Rawhead Rex</i> is an insanely over the top (the opening credits are just the main character driving casually but from the music you'd think he was outrunning a fireball like the end of every Stallone film in the 90's) tale set in a quint little village in Ireland where a huge pagan demon king runs amok. An American writer gets involved along with his family and much mayhem ensues. Not necessarily great mayhem, but mayhem nonetheless.<br />
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The film is sort of a paint by the numbers monster movie sadly though there are some nice touches here and there. The setting is nice as no matter what the quality of the film may be, it's very hard to make the Irish countryside look like crap. The fact that they are willing to have the main character's kid get killed onscreen more or less is also a bold move. I also have to give credit to Ronan Wilmot who plays the local verger in the village who really goes for it in every scene he's in. It's not exactly a good performance but it sure as hell is memorable. He is driven mad by a vision of the titular beast early on and eventually ends up serving him in one of the most disgusting scenes I have ever seen. Not often a demon baptizes a follower by dropping trou and taking a leak on him but it happens here.<br />
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That is sort of where the good stops as most of the other actors are sort of dull and the monster is a little too goofy to be taken seriously. Described in the short story as basically a seven foot dick with teeth, this creature looks like it would be right at home in an old Roger Corman movie from the 50's. I think it's sort of fun just because it looks so cheesy, but the intent was for it to be pants-wettingly scary. It isn't. The character would pop up later in a four issue arc of the Nightbreed comic book in the 90's.<br />
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While the movie isn't exactly great, the special edition Kino Lorber out out a few years ago is. You get a nice selection of extras and if you are a fan of cheesy 80's horror, you can do a hell of a lot worse than this.<br />
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<br />Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-89543714161659344592019-10-08T14:13:00.000-07:002019-10-08T14:13:38.907-07:00Batman: The Vampire Trilogy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the 90's, prolific comic book writer Doug Moench teamed with Kelley Jones, John Beatty and Malcolm Jones III to create a gorgeous, gruesome trilogy of horror tales featuring my favorite superhero of all time, Batman. Putting him against Dracula was a natural choice and the first story would be a fascinating blend of classic Batman doing his greatest detective on Earth routine with grim Gothic horror.<br />
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It begins with <i>Red Rain</i> as Gotham finds itself with a new problem. Folks are turning up dead with puncture wounds to the neck and the culprit isn't just any old bloodsucker, it's the king of vampires himself along with some allies. In order to fight Dracula, Batman must become a vampire and the end result is a bloody, engaging tale that ends on a nicely grim note. No spoilers if it can be helped here, you really need to read these.<br />
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<i> Bloodstorm</i> picks up where the first installment left off with Batman now a vampire superhero, incorporating his new abilities into his old skill set and teaming with Catwoman. He ends up going up against Joker and much gory mayhem ensues. The ending is even more audacious than that of the first tale with Batman going full-vampire and having to be put down by Alfred. But of course, nothing this crazy awesome ever dies...<br />
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<i>Crimson Mist</i> ends the trilogy by having Batman brought back from the dead, now a little more insane than normal. He ends up taking out all of his old adversaries until Two-Face and Commissioner Gordon team up to stop him once and for all. It's a hell of a finale and a worthy one at that.<br />
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The Batman: Vampire trilogy is one of the best meldings of superhero theatrics and full-blown horror I have ever read. If you are a fan of horror, comics or both you really need to read all three.<br />
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Until next time...Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-41668073348606177562019-10-02T13:17:00.000-07:002019-11-02T10:01:54.169-07:00Forgotten Films of 1989 Part IIA shorter post today but there's good stuff to come.<br />
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Not too many people enjoyed this one that much but I think in some ways its nearly as funny as the original. It's five years later and the Ghostbusters have gone their separate ways thanks to the plot contrivance of the city suing the crap out of them and them essentially being declared frauds.<br />
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Even after everyone saw a huge marshmallow man King Kong his way up an apartment building.<br />
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Yeah.<br />
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Happily, the cast does an acceptable job of making you not really give a crap about all that by just doing what they do best. Bill Murray is still one of the great deadpan comics; Dan Aykroyd is his usual weird self, Harold Ramis does the exposition stuff and everybody else gives their all. Yes, the film is essentially the same plot as the first but I can't hate a film that decides the best way to stop the spirit of a European despot trapped inside a painting from bringing on the end times is wiring up the Statue of Liberty with some mood slime and walking her through the city.<br />
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<i>Ghostbusters II</i> isn't as good as the first but it still has its merits. The cast, as noted, does fine work. The f/x are top notch once more and I can't say no to prime Bill Murray.<br />
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In 1989, the big hit on Broadway was an elaborate version of <i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>. Never one to let a cash cow go unmilked, producers Menahem Golan (using his 21st Century company he started after leaving Cannon) and Harry Alan Towers (to get into his resume would take too long, let's just say he and Cannon were a good match quality wise) concocted this gory horror but somewhat overly serious take on the story.<br />
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Robert Englund does good work in the title role (though the ad campaign cashed in so hard on his Freddy Krueger success that it probably screwed the film's chances for success right out of the gate) and Jill Schoelen is pretty good as the singer the Phantom is obsessed with. There is also a nice supporting role for Bill Nighy as a jerky opera house manager. The best reason to see the film is Englund and the production design as the story can be a little dull in places. It's an interesting watch but is probably not trashy enough to be fun or classy enough to work the way it should. I do sort of like the framing sequences that bookend the film. They take place in modern times (for 1989 at least) and provide the film with an unlikely though entertaining twist ending. A little more cheese in this vein would have made the film even better. If nothing else, its the liveliest sound version of the story.<br />
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In a similar vein is this frankly awesome little chiller starring Jenny Wright as a horror fan who finds herself living the creepy new pulp horror novel she's reading. I, Madman is a cool concept with a solid cast (in addition to Wright, special effects whiz Randall William Cook is fun as the bad guy and Clayton Rohner manages to make the usual dull detective boyfriend somewhat less dull), nice special f/x and a brisk pace. I especially get a kick out of the bad guy cutting pieces of his victim's faces off in order to fix his own horrid features. It's a gross touch that works quite nicely, especially with the rather low key direction from Tibor Takacs who also did the equally fun <i>The Gate</i> in 1987.<br />
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That's all for now, stay tuned for more coming soon.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-3581257499276449582019-09-22T12:10:00.004-07:002019-09-22T12:10:54.993-07:00Fangoria Has Risen From the Grave<i>This is just a quick post to plug the latest issue of Fangoria which is coming out as this is being written as well as just a general welcome back to the magazine. Regular programming will resume shortly.</i> <br />
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A few years ago, I <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2017/06/fangoria-flashbacks-end-yeah-pretty-much.html">eulogized my favorite horror magazine</a> when it looked like it had gone the way of countless other magazines. Fittingly enough, a year ago Fangoria rose from the grave and I rectified a wrong done over twenty years ago by just saying to hell with and subscribing to the darn thing.<br />
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Now a deluxe 100 page volume, the magazine has become more of a journal of the genre than anything else with a quarterly release schedule and what I would imagine is the highest quality paper one can print on.<br />
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The design evokes the old school issues (as in 1979 to 1994) and there are some great, extensive interviews and articles written not just by the staff writers but horror filmmakers themselves. It adds more intimate, personal touch o the magazine that works wonderfully..<br />
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Overall, this reboot is a fitting tribute to what came before as well as a fresh, modern take on the magazine.<br />
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Issue #4 is the first time I've ever had to cover the issue with something else because the image creeped me out too much. And I was reading in the mid-2000's too, folks!<br />
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Issue 5 is chock full of gory goodness with a ton of coverage of the upcoming Creepshow TV series in Shudder. Welcome back, Fango.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-30288522869619966672019-09-20T07:57:00.000-07:002019-09-20T07:57:21.980-07:00Forgotten Films of 1989 Part IBefore I took my break, I was planning to examine 1990 in film month
by month. While I still want to do that, along with some studio deep
dives, I thought it would be fun to check out 1989 first (it being thirty years ago and all) with 1990, 1991 and 1992 to follow later.<br />
<br />
Specifically, we will be
examining some of the lesser known films released over the course of the
year. The ones you go to see because the big hit is sold out or you're
just in the mood for something a little off beat.<br />
<br />
Hundreds
of movies are released every year and while plenty get the credit they
deserve (or scorn in some cases), others are either noted briefly and
ignored or fall through the cracks altogether. With this series I won't
be focusing on the big hits of the year but rather the cinematic roads
less traveled by viewers. We'll get some mainstream films that have
fallen by the wayside or were unjustly (and sometimes justly) trashed,
some obscure indies and maybe even some oddities here and there. Not all
of these films will be good necessarily, but they're worth mentioning
at the very least.<br />
<br />
Let's get rolling with the first part of 1989 in no particular order. Some of these will be films I have covered in the past in which case I may just put my original thoughts in, providing they haven't changed (same goes for the rest of the series).<br />
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Underwater sci-fi/horror was big in 1989 with three major releases plus a handful that went directly to video stores late in the year and into 1990. <i>Leviathan</i> is the best of the outright horror films in the group (we will cover the best later) and probably my favorite, boasting a terrific cast and an interesting creature design from Stan Winston.<br />
<br />
Peter Weller leads the cast as the head of an underwater mining rig who finds himself, along with his crew threatened by an underwater menace born out of a contaminated bottle of vodka they salvage while exploring. I dig this angle since it allows for different things outside of just a big giant monster coming up from the depths, though that can be fun too. The trouble comes from a bottle of vodka laced with something to cause genetic alterations. Characters start to mutate and the final monster is a blend of the victims its gotten a hold of and the typical underwater beast.<br />
<br />
The strongest part of the film is the cast with Weller doing solid work with fine support from guys like Daniel Stern (as the obligatory disagreeable prick any good horror movie needs); Ernie Hudson (though having his character get killed at the last second is unnecessary). Richard Crenna and Hector Elizondo. Everybody has good chemistry with each other and the back and forth between the crew yields some fun moments. I also like how unabashedly lazy the Weller and Crenna characters are. There's something sort of fun about having the crew chief and doctor be not really into their work that's amusing.<br />
<br />
Really the only problem I have with the film is that it sort of goes on auto-pilot once the big monster shows up at the end<i>. </i>It does get a nice sendoff though and for most of the running time <i>Leviathan</i> is a tense, effective little flick.<br />
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As noted in the intro, not all of these films will necessarily be forgotten gems that deserve to be rediscovered and cherished. <i>Dead Bang</i> is an acceptably entertaining but somewhat silly thriller loosely based on real life events. By loosely, the lead character is based on a real guy at the very least. Everything else, hell if I know.<br />
<br />
Don Johnson plays LA County Sheriff investigator Jerry Beck who is hot on the trail of a cop killer. Jerry is your typical 80's movie cop-kinda sloppy, plays by his own rules, has just enough social skills to pass for an acceptable human being. Beck's hunt for the killer gets him involved in a federal case that is targeting a bunch of white supremacists, one of whom is the killer he is looking for.<br />
<br />
That's the basic plot description but what makes the film sort of worth watching are a few oddball elements that just make me shake my head in wonderment while smiling at the same time. First off is Johnson as Beck. He's fine but honestly, he's basically doing his <i>Miami Vice</i> character on the West Coast except he shaves more often and doesn't have Phil Collins and Jan Hammer playing where ever he goes. What sells me on the guy is just how frankly off he is in every way. He has a drinking problem; he interrogates a suspect while hungover and ends up barfing on the guy, a visit with a police psychologist goes to hell when he notices the man looks like Woody Allen, Beck is just a hot mess of a cop. It works, but just barely<br />
<br />
The other element that makes me wonder what the writer was smoking is the William Forsythe character. Forsythe is a very good actor and here he plays an FBI agent assisting Beck (technically the other way around but Don is the star), though how a California-based officer gets permission to go as far out of his jurisdiction as Arizona, let alone Oklahoma is beyond me.<br />
<br />
The agent is named Arthur Kressler and at first, he just comes off as a typically square G-Man. It gets weird though as this guy is uptight to the where he's more hung up on Beck's swearing than the evidence they've just found at one point. Beck echoes the sentiments of all watching by responding to this with "What the fuck is wrong with you?"<br />
<br />
Forsythe makes it work to an extent but the character is so willfully dumb and annoyingly useless that it becomes rather astonishing he can function in <i>any</i> sort of law enforcement agency and it takes me out of the movie. At no point did I believe this was an actual person I was watching. The character is a cartoon in a story that is anything but cartoonish. Really the best thing I can say is that there isn't a contrived bit of business where he and Beck are friends by the end of the whole mess. At least that aspect of the character makes sense.<br />
<br />
Odd characters aside, this is an entertaining diversion directed by veteran director John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer was at a sort of low ebb in his career at this point and this is far from his best effort. He does keep things moving rather nicely though and while the film is one cliche after another, it does manage to be entertaining.<br />
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The sequel to the 1985 hit <i>Fletch</i> was not as warmly received as its predecessor but I've always found it to be just as enjoyable as the first. Chevy Chase is back as intrepid investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher and this time he ends up being drawn into a plot down south involving illegal dumping of toxic waste, murder and a crooked televangelist played by R. Lee Ermey.<br />
<br />
Chase is unflappably cool in the role and while the southern stereotypes the film uses for much of its humor are predictable, they are also quite funny at times. I especially enjoy Hal Holbrook as a pleasant country lawyer in the vein of Andy Griffith as <i>Matlock</i> who, as tends to be the case with Hal Holbrook characters, turns out to have a darker side. Cleavon Little is also entertaining as the gardener for the estate Fletch inherits that sets off the plot.<br />
<br />
<i>Fletch Lives</i> is not quite as good as the first one in terms of the plot but it makes up for it by being reasonably brisk in terms of the pace and quite funny at times.<br />
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Released just in time for Christmas of 1989, <i>Tango & Cash</i> is a film I feel is criminally underrated. A standard buddy cop film in terms of the script, this is livened up by the amazing chemistry Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell have with each other. Bantering back and forth for the entire running time, they take what could have been just another action film and make a covert parody of the entire buddy cop sub-genre. Hell, it ends up being the best comedy Stallone has ever made just by default.<br />
<br />
The film went through a bit of a difficult production with several un-credited directors, script changes, you name it. Despite all this, the film, is a total blast with some fun action beats, lots of funny moments and an endearingly idiotic set of bad guys in Jack Palance as a crime lord with a huge complexity addiction and Brion James sporting a Cockney accent so bad it makes Dick van Dyke in Marry Poppins sound like Michael Caine. It's a wildly entertaining, bonkers ride that closed out the year in true 80's style: with lots of excess and flair.<br />
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Well, I did say mainstream films that fell by the wayside. <i>Licence to Kill</i> is one of the best
underrated gems of the 007 franchise. Timothy Dalton's second outing is
a fast, fun, quite violent revenge thriller that takes the series a
little out of its comfort zone. I wrote about it in great detail <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-favorite-era-licence-to-kill-1989.html">here</a> in my My Favorite Era series so if you want an extended look at it, check it out.<br />
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We end this post with what I like to call <i>The Muppet Show</i> on enough cocaine to kill a small horse. Peter Jackson's second movie is <i>Meet the Feebles</i>, an admirably disgusting, very funny dark musical comedy about a troupe of puppet performers and their many trials and tribulations. We get just about every sort of depravity known to man in this movie, done with some fantastic puppetry and a Sam Peckinpah-esque violent ending. It's the sort of film that kind of defies description. You have to see it for yourself to understand just how insane it is.<br />
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That does it for this part of 1989. More to come soon.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-75692139015965814572019-09-10T07:40:00.000-07:002019-09-10T07:40:13.850-07:00High Strung (1991)Didn't expect to go this long without posting again but a variety of
things kept me from being able to keep this darn blog updated. But my batteries are recharged and to quote Aerosmith, I'm back in the saddle again! Let's kick things off with a little gem I found some time back and was going to use in an upcoming piece but decided to expand into its own thing. It deserves it.<br />
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This may be the most obscure title I've ever
covered. An independently made film shot in 1991 and screened at a few
film festivals in 1992, it ended up getting a home video release in 1996
thanks to the success of one of its co-stars. Spoiler alert, look at
the VHS cover above.<br />
<br />
<i>High Strung</i> comes to us from the comic
mind of Steve Oedekerk. Steve plays Thane Furrows, a deeply
misanthropic, bizarre man with a vast array of hang-ups (he'll only eat cereal and gets furious about the leftover milk after said cereal is gone, refuses to own pets because they might turn on him in a disaster situation, etc.) and has a job writing children's books. Said
books tend to be amusingly inappropriate (a distressingly specific book
on how to start the car if someone is choking on a chicken bone and
there aren't any adults around for instance) and while this plays a
small part in the film, it is still the funniest aspect of the entire thing.<br />
<br />
Most
of the film is given to the long, long rants he tends to go on alone in
his house about whatever small issue is bothering him at the moment whether
it be flies, the simple matter of a book falling behind the couch, the aforementioned concept of owning pets or unwanted phone calls. Peppered in
between the rants are scenes with his one friend (played by
Thomas F. Wilson from Back to the Future), a scene showing he's about to be fired as well as cameos from Fred
Willard and others and creepy visions of a mystery limo driver played by
Jim Carrey.<br />
<br />
Carrey turns out to be Death who has come
for Thane due to him wishing he was dead a few too many times. Carrey is
the highlight of the film, though he only appears for about five
minutes towards the end. He makes the most of it though and basically
walks off with the whole film, even getting a little post-credits scene.<br />
<br />
<i>High
Strung</i> is an inventive, sometimes very funny comedy with only one real
problem. Sadly, the problem is the lead character who would be fine in a
one-off sketch on SNL but for 90 minutes gets a little tiresome after a while. In
fact, him having <i>a</i> friend and <i>a</i> job is maybe the biggest
stretch of credibility in the entire movie though I do applaud the filmmakers for letting him be an unlikable jerk from beginning to end. It's a darkly amusing touch and Oedekerk does a nice job of keeping the guy palatable even when he's being stunningly horrible. Fortunately, he is so defiantly
odd and ridiculous that he remains watchable, as does the rest of the film. It's worth
tracking down. Just keep your expectations in check.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-61240528959962109682018-12-08T22:25:00.002-08:002018-12-08T22:25:32.493-08:00All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hadn't planned on doing a new post until the new year but this morning I saw a horror comedy so genuinely good natured and entertaining that I had to share my thoughts. <i>All the Creatures Were Stirring</i> is a fun, low budget horror anthology from the husband and wife directing/writing team of David and Rebekah McKendry. The wraparound concerns an awkward date at a strange little theater during which we see an office Christmas party that starts off bad and only gets worse; a stranded shopper who gets more than he bargained for when he locks his keys in his car, a fun retelling of <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, a brief tale of revenge as a man who hits a deer while on driving home gets taken out by a certain red nosed vigilante and a delightfully odd and strangely heartwarming tale that concerns aliens, dinner and the true meaning of Christmas.<br />
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The film is nicely written and directed with each segment having its own style (the office party is probably the most dynamic with split screens and other nice visual touches). The performances are all solid with my favorites being Jonathan Kite as the Scrooge stand-in (never seen the redemption at the end played like a mild psychotic break before) and Morgan Peter Brown as the lead in the aliens segment who has a wonderfully deadpan reaction to his alien guests. Granted, having to spend ten years worth of Christmases with these guys would probably wear anyone down so its quite understandable.<br />
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Like all anthologies, some segments are stronger than others (I would have loved to have seen the full breadth of the reindeer revenge but low budgets will do that to you and while the monster in the second segment is cool it would have been interesting to get a little more of the story) but when the film is really cooking (the Scrooge variation and the last segment), it's a real joy to behold.<br />
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<i>All the Creatures Were Stirring</i> is available on streaming services currently and will be released to home video in January. Check it out. It's a fun ride.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-70600723110061866372018-11-05T10:31:00.002-08:002018-11-05T10:31:33.561-08:00Site updateSorry for the delay in posting something. Got some other things I'm working on including something big for the blog. Stay tuned.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-77380690606046174502018-08-11T21:05:00.000-07:002018-09-02T11:26:24.742-07:00The New Line Files: A Nightmare on Friday the 13th StreetWhile New Line could be called many things, chief among them would probably be The House that Freddy Built. To wrap up this series, here is a nice, long, loving look at the horror franchise that brought the studio a ton of success on the big screen and controversy on the small screen, the two films from another franchise it inherited and the team-up film that managed to be just sort of okay despite being in development/production long enough that I went to and graduated college well before the damn thing was ever released.<br />
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I reviewed this one <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-favorite-era-nightmare-on-elm-street.html">way back when</a> and honestly don't have a lot more to say about it. So since this is shaping up to be an epic article already, let's make it quick for this one. It's really, really, really good. Easily the best of the franchise by far. Fast paced, well written and acted and most importantly, scary as hell. Even today, it can send a chill up the spine and is one of the best films of 1984. With that out of the way, let's bring on the sequels!<br />
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The first sequel came out the following year and while it wasn't as well received (though to be fair, finding a good review for a horror movie in this era is like finding Bigfoot) it's still an interesting entry in the series. Full to the brim with homosexual subtext (though there are times when it just becomes text, really), it is nicely directed by Jack Sholder and as usual, Robert Englund does a fine job as Freddy. The script takes a slightly different take on the franchise with Freddy trying to possess a young teen so he can continue to kill and at one point running wild at a pool party. It's a good sequence but Freddy really works better when he's stuck in the dream world and the characters have to come to him. Mark Patton is decent enough as said teen and while the character gets on my nerves, Clu Gulager is solid as the father. In his defense though, being cast as a parent in a Nightmare on Elm Street film is about as thankless a role as an actor could get. All in all, <i>Freddy's Revenge</i> is a solid, if uneven sequel.<br />
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Much better is the third film. <i>Dream Warriors</i> brings back Heather Langenkamp as Nancy who has grown up from the last movie to become a psychiatrist at a mental hospital where Freddy is targeting the last remaining kids of the parents who torched him before the first movie started. John Saxon is also back as her father and overall, it is a considerable step up from the second film. Blessed with a blistering pace, a solid cast playing likable characters (though we still get the obligatory pinhead adults) and a good script from Wes Craven, Frank Darabont and Bruce Wagner, this one is the last time Freddy is scary as subsequent films would see him become more comical than terrifying.<br />
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In addition to the returns of Craven, Langenkamp and Saxon, the film also opens up the mythology of the series a bit with the backstory to Freddy along with him collecting the souls of his victims. We also get Patricia Arquette as a young girl named Kristen who can pull others into her dreams. This is a pretty neat twist that keeps things interesting and of course, the special effects are top notch. There isn't a whole lot more I can say about this one*. <i>Dream Warriors</i> was a sizable hit for the studio and made Freddy an iconic horror villain.<br />
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*Okay, I could mention how Laurence Fishburne has an early role in this one and how its the exact location where <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2016/08/esoterica-xvi-unintentional-hilarity.html">Craig Wasson's career went to die</a> (or at the very least it is the last thing he had a prominent role in that lots of people saw and cared about) but this is already gong to be a long post.<br />
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With the fourth film, Freddy turned from a creepy villain to sort of a comic antihero pop culture icon in what has to be one of the more messed up marketing blitzes in film history. Freddy Krueger merchandise was all over the place in the late 80's. Toys, books, you name it. It's pretty extraordinary, really. In a sort of sick way.<br />
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As for the film itself? Well, <i>The Dream Master</i> is my third favorite of the franchise, though more as a bit of a guilty pleasure than anything else. A wild roller coaster of a movie directed by Renny Harlin, it picks up with the survivors of the third movie being wasted by Krueger one by one after he's brought to life by a dog pissing fire on his grave.<br />
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Yeah, it's just that kind of movie.<br />
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After that, the film goes for broke and pulls out all the stops <i>(because once you have a dog fire-pissing the bad guy back to life it's a little hard to try the subtle approach)</i> and gives us a new character in the form of Alice (Lisa Wilcox) who inherits Kristen's powers after Freddy offs her. After picking off more of Alice's friends as well as her brother, it comes down to a one on one between her and Freddy and amazingly enough, it works pretty damn well. A bit of special effects wizardry later and Freddy is well and truly dead...For now.<br />
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The fourth film was a pretty massive hit for the late summer of 1988, grossing just under 50 million. It is a good example of the late 80's horror movie with effects and dark humor taking the place of silly things like story and character (though we do get a bit here for flavor). Still, it's a flashy, energetic horror film that ends up being satisfying in spite of not being even close to scary.<br />
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After the success of the fourth movie as noted above, Freddy-mania was at its peak with an insane amount of merchandise (some marketed at kids which is pretty messed up). It was decided to turn the film series into a syndicated horror anthology series and the results were... Not so great. While it gave a number of horror directors a shot at some work, it was quickly cancelled after two seasons. Happily though, the crew making it moved onto the much better <i>Tales From the Crypt</i> at HBO.<br />
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And now we come to my least favorite of the franchise. Released the following summer, <i>The Dream Child</i> follows the basic formula of the fourth film with Alice coming back (though living at the end of the day) and having to fight off Freddy again as he targets her unborn child as a way to get back to the real world. A rushed production, this one has a few effective sequences (though some of the f/x were toned down) but is overall a bit of a slog to get through. Everyone is fine enough but the film just feels tired and worn out. Stephen Hopkins tries to give the film a darker tone which does work a little but by this point the tank was running on empty. It's also a little hard to reconcile the try at a darker tone with the cheesy quips Freddy was spewing at this point, to say nothing of the merchandise blitz that was still ongoing at the time.<br />
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After the less than warm reception for the fifth movie, it was decided that the sixth film would be the last of the series and would kill off Freddy for good. You know, just like <i>Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter</i> and <i>Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday</i> were supposed to be the last films for the other big slasher villain of the 80's.<br />
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Released in 1991, <i>Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare</i> is quite simply, not a very good movie. By this point the premise was tired (Freddy uses the last Elm Street kid left to get back to business and his adult daughter (Lisa Zane) ends up going up against him); the special effect while good are also cheesy and in what smacks of desperation on the part of the studio, the final act was shot in 3-D.<br />
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Still, in spite of all this, I sort of get a kick out of the movie. It's well directed by Rachel Talalay; Robert Englund is fun as usual and the end credits feature a nice retrospective of Freddy's greatest hits set to a solid Iggy Pop tune. There are also one or two neat touches like Springwood, Freddy;s usual territory, devolving into a childless PTSD ridden hell hole with delusional adults <i>(though I could have done without Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold in cameos)</i>. It's another one for the guilty pleasure pile. Along with the first and fourth films, I sort of wish I'd seen this on the big screen.<br />
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After this, the franchise was dormant for a few years though New Line did take the opportunity to snag another flailing franchise...<br />
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While all this was going on at New Line, the <i>Friday the 13th</i> sausage factory was running smoothly, if not quite profitably at Paramount. Never proud of their creation, the studio was content to let the series die after the cheesy eighth film in 1989 where Jason doesn't take Manhattan as much as he does what I'm sure a lot of mentally unstable people do while in New York. Show up, see the sights, cause some trouble and have a meltdown.<br />
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New Line picked up the franchise a few years later and in 1993, they belched out <i>Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday</i>. Now as to why they would pick up a franchise only to start off by allegedly ending it, you;re on your own there. I have no idea but they did want to make a film with both Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger and this was their way of kicking it off I guess.<br />
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<i>Jason Goes to Hell</i> is another for the guilty pleasure pile that I sort of wish I saw in the theater. Sure it would have been the rated cut as opposed to the unrated gore fest that makes the film so fun but still! Kane Hodder is back as Jason and this time, he is blown up real good by a swat team in the opening only for his spirit to inhabit a series of people leading to his until now unmentioned half-sister and her daughter and granddaughter. Yes, the premise is a little similar to the 1987 New Line flick <i>The Hidden</i> but the writer hadn't seen the film when he wrote this film.<br />
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The gore is pretty much the main reason to see the movie as the unrated cut has some pretty impressive work from KNB such as bodies being ripped in half, melting heads and just general carnage galore. Jason sports a pretty neat look as well though it sadly only pops up in the first and last scenes. Still, the film is fun (though not in the sense that it's good) and the last shot at the end, while a mere gag also hints at the eventual team-up film rather nicely.<br />
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While Jason was going to Hell, Freddy was making one more return to the big screen, this time with Wes Craven back at the helm. <i>Wes Craven's New Nightmare</i> is an interesting take on the franchise, focusing on the actors who made the film as Wes (playing himself as do Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon and a few others) reveals he's working on a new movie for the series and as it turns out,m Freddy is the personification of an ancient demon that can only be kept captive by storytellers.<br />
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The film is a nice variation on themes Craven would explore two years later in <i>Scream</i>, The effect of fiction on the minds of real people and other things. To an extent, it works a little better than <i>Scream</i> with a more interesting premise but it runs a little long and as tends to be the case, we have to deal with a few annoying characters (the main doctor in the film mainly) which takes a little away from the experience. Still, the third act where Freddy drags Heather into the world of the first film is pretty neat and Robert Englund delivers a really creepy take on the villain, helped by a nice KNB take on the character's general look. He's also entertaining as himself, though that tends to be the case when you;re as cool as he is.<br />
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The film did not do well when it was released in 1994 but it is a solid, interesting entry in the series. The series would lay dormant for nine years as New Line grew from a simple genre film distributor to a fairly big deal. Eventually, Freddy would return...But not before Jason.<br />
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While <i>Freddy vs. Jason</i> languished in development hell, 2002 saw the release of <i>Jason X</i> (New Line had the rights to Jason himself but not the Friday the 13th title, hence the naming of the two flicks from them) which put our masked marauder in space. Generally this isn't a great idea but the end result here is a fun, cheesy romp as Jason and his latest victim get frozen only to be woken up in the distant future (445 years to be precise) on a spaceship so we get <i>Alien/Aliens</i> by way of <i>Friday the 13th</i>.<br />
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This film is sort of review proof as are the other films in the <i>Friday the 13th</i> series. You are either along for the ride or not watching it in the first place. <i>Jason X</i> has some fun kills, good work from Kane Hodder, sadly his last time as Jason and is a perfectly acceptable time waster.<br />
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And finally, we get the big event itself. <i>Freddy vs. Jason</i> went through a insanely long development period, first starting in 1987 and finally ending in 2003 when the final film was made. Several scripts were considered and rejected until finally, we got what has now been readily available for fifteen years.<br />
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Freddy is back, now using Jason as a way to regain his power and of course, the partnership doesn't exactly work out. The teen characters are just there, as are the adults and really the only actors worth not6ing are Robert Englund who is terrific as usual here and Ken Kirzinger who makes for an acceptable Jason Voorhees, though Kane Hodder would have been so cool to have instead.<br />
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Chock full of gore, the film sort of spins its wheels for an hour or so with some good moments here and there before Freddy and Jason finally start duking it out. It's good and to be frank, the end result is about as good a merging of the two franchises as you were going to get. It helps that this is primarily a Nightmare on Elm Street film with Jason used as a plot device. Freddy was always the more interesting character and the simple fact that there is a tangible backstory involving him directly makes things work as well as they do. The film was a pretty decent hit, second only to <i>Return of King</i> in terms of bringing New Line the big bucks in 2003. <br />
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For me, this is truly the end for both franchises as I honestly don;t have much use for the <i>Friday the 13th</i> reboot from 2009 (<i>My Bloody Valentine 3D</i> is a much better movie) and no use at all for the 2010 reboot of <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>.<br />
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This is also the end for the New Line series. The studio would limp on for four years after Freddy vs. Jason before being folded into their parent company, Warner Brothers. They had a hell of a run.<br />
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Stay tuned for more from the blog.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-80493864338093443242018-07-29T11:40:00.000-07:002018-09-02T11:26:01.692-07:00The New Line Files: 1989-1996This was an interesting period for the company as they went from a burgeoning genre film studio bolstered by the success of a horror franchise to a part of Ted Turner's media empire. Naturally there are too many films to cover everything but here is a selection of my favorites along with some guilty pleasures and some stuff in between.<br />
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We kick things off with the wonderfully awful <i>No Holds Barred</i>. Unintentional comedy is the name of the game as Hulk Hogan plays a pro wrestler being pressured into a match with an unstoppable monster of a man. From The Hulkster's attempts at acting to the overacting by Tiny Lister as the bad guy Zeus to the insane amount of sweating everyone seems to be doing throughout the film (seriously, you could fill a small swimming pool), you won't come out of the movie thinking its any good but you will have a good time. It actually makes <i>Road House</i> look like a classy Merchant Ivory production.<br />
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Based on the novel by Whitley Streiber, this stars Christopher Walken as the author himself and if you thought the tale of alien abduction was out there in the book you should see what happens when you put the director of <i>Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf</i> with Walken and tell both guys to just cut loose. It's the sort of film where you continuously look at whatever you're drinking, trying to figure out of someone spiked it with a mild hallucinogen. Streiber was not impressed with this adaptation, largely because he is basically portrayed as a total whack job. <i>Communion</i> is such an oddity that I can't honestly call it good or bad. It just is.<br />
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Covered this in the <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2010/12/screams-from-past-learherface-texas.html">early days of the blog</a>. The third best of the franchise, though that is really damning with faint praise.<br />
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New Line tended to have good luck with franchises during this period as can be seen with this comedy starring the rap duo Kid n' Play. A basic story about some teens trying to throw a house party without getting in trouble, the success of this film led to two theatrically released sequels (Bernie Mac has a funny part in the third movie) and two that went direct to video. <br />
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Stephen King sued to get his name taken off this one (and when you consider what he's let use his name) since it essentially nothing to do with his short story. Still, this is a fitfully interesting science fiction/horror film starring Pierce Brosnan as a scientist who helps a mentally challenged handyman (Jeff Fahey) enhance his intelligence with a virtual reality program. Things go awry, naturally and while the two leads are good the end result is just memorable as being the first big CG heavy film after <i>Terminator 2</i> (when viewed today, the effects, like other films from this era, have a certain charm I find very enjoyable). The film is nowhere near as good as T2, however. A barely connected sequel was released in 1996.<br />
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Far, far better is this Bill Duke directed thriller starring Laurence Fishburne as a cop going undercover to bust drug dealers and Jeff Goldblum as a lawyer who both helps and opposes him. Performances are top notch, the script and direction is great and pretty much everything clicks. This is definitely one to check out.<br />
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Billy Crystal's directorial debut is a heartfelt (though really too schmaltzy) biopic of a fictional comedian he created for <i>Saturday Night Live</i>. Essentially <i>Raging Bull</i> for comics, it is fairly solid with good supporting work from David Paymer as the lead characters brother and while Billy tries a little too hard, the end result is a solid enough comedy/drama.<br />
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1994 was truly the year of Jim Carrey as he had three huge hits that made him a star, two of which were New Line productions.<br />
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First off is this lighter and softer adaptation of a Dark Horse comic that has Jim as a hapless loser who finds an ancient mask that turns him into a maniac who can do anything. Carrey is terrific and I can only imagine how gruesomely enjoyable the film would have been had they stuck to the rather dark nature of the comic. as it is, it is still a very enjoyable movie.<br />
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Carrey finished the year with this very funny comedy in which he and Jeff Daniels play two impressively stupid guys who get involved in a kidnapping scheme. Probably the best comedy from the Farrelly Brothers, this one is wall to wall hilarity.<br />
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David Fincher more than made up for the cluster gang bang that was <i>Alien 3</i> with this haunting serial killer thriller starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. They;re cops in pursuit of a deranged killer who is basing each murder on one of the seven deadly sins. Moody and atmospheric, <i>Seven</i> paints a bleak picture that is both gross and engrossing.<br />
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I covered this <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2017/05/1995-deep-dive-march-and-april.html">last year</a>. It's still a very good movie.<br />
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I covered this <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2014/05/1994-guilty-pleasures.html">cheesy gem a few years ago</a> and as far as riffs on <i>The Most Dangerous Game</i> go, this one is actually pretty good in a really dumb way.<br />
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A notoriously bad movie which was hell on earth to make, this adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic (I believe I'm required by law to call it that) is every bit as bad as its rep suggests. Bad acting (Marlon Brando when he doesn't even care enough to not care in a fun way is not a pretty sight), a scattershot story and an overall sense that people just wanted to get the damn thing over with so they could move on with their lives makes this one a real slog. Unless of course you dig bad movies in which case... Actually no, watch <i>Howling II</i> instead. You'll have a lot more fun.<br />
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This is one I love in spite of myself. You would think that spoofing action films, which usually don;t exactly take themselves too seriously in the first place, would be a recipe for disaster but Loaded Weapon manages to be quite a bit of fun thanks to energetic performances from Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson and the rest of the all-star cast. Taking off <i>Lethal Weapon</i> for the most part, this one is fast and cheap. To my way of thinking, it sort of is the perfect example of a New Line film. Not overly expensive, solid cast, more than likely released during a dump month.<br />
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Seriously, if I wanted to drag this series out a bit more I could do a sequel to that <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2014/01/august-month-of-dumping.html">dump month article</a> I did a few years back, focusing solely on releases from this frigging studio.<br />
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Covered this <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2017/05/1995-deep-dive-march-and-april.html">here</a>.<br />
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I've covered this movie so many times it would be pointless to say anything else. So here is the link to <a href="http://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2013/09/blasts-from-past-in-mouth-of-madness.html">my review</a> from a few years ago.<br />
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That covers the majority of New Line. Stay tuned for the finale (I'm aiming for October but it might come earlier) which will cover Freddy Krueger with a little Jason Voorhees thrown in for flavor.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-76016239247560578702018-07-26T14:02:00.001-07:002018-09-02T11:25:35.220-07:00The New Line Files: 1984-1988<i>Sorry for the delay but other things have gotten in the way the last few weeks.</i><br />
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<i>Quick note before we get to it: I've decided to skip the end of New Line as the films I was going to cover just aren't all that great and I don't want to get bogged down with this. With that in mind, let's get to the main event.</i><br />
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Before we get to Freddy Krueger, I want to take a look at the studio's output from 1984 to 1996 outside of that franchise (as well as the <i>Friday the 13th</i> output). I've covered a little of this era elsewhere but there are tons of goodies to be found in this time period... Mainly in the two sections following this one. So let's kick things off with 1984 to 1988.<br />
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John Waters' most mainstream movie is this charming musical comedy from 1988 about a young girl in Baltimore trying to win a dance contest. Waters dials down the raunch to zero while keeping the camp aspects and social commentary he liked to indulge in (Waters regular Divine plays the lead character's mother and race relations in the early 60's are covered) and the end result is a bright, enjoyable movie. New Line would later remake this one with John Travolta in the Divine role.<br />
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New Line had a relatively good track record with releasing Italian genre films. In 1984 they had such "classics" as <i><a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2011/08/blasts-from-past-warriors-of-wasteland.html">Warriors of the Wasteland</a></i> and the second Ator movie which would end up on MST3K (which also featured <i>Escape from the Bronx</i> which New Line put out in 1983) as <i>Cave Dwellers</i>.<br />
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We get another one here with this heavily cut version of Dario Argento's <i>Phenomena</i>. Jennifer Connolly plays a young student at an exclusive private school in Switzerland where a series of brutal murders have been taking place. Aided by a kindly Scottish doctor played by Donald Pleasence (and his pet chimp), she looks into the killings while also exploring her growing psychic control over insects.<br />
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Yeah.<br />
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Argento directs with his usual skill and there are some stunningly gruesome set pieces but it's probably a little too over the top for its own good.<br />
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Back to the stateside stuff, we have this not very good but still somewhat enjoyable 1987 comedy about a homeless musician who is under a gypsy curse that turns him into a demon whenever he gets horny. He falls for a girl while at the same time, New York is being plagued by a series of brutal killings that our lead fears he might be responsible for (the killer turns out to be a huge dork played by Robert Trebor who would later have a supporting role in the 90's Hercules TV series). For the most part, this is a goofy romantic comedy with some demonic slashings thrown in and while the f/x work is nice, the overall effect is dampened by some bad acting (Scott Valentine from <i>Family Ties</i> plays the lead and is just repulsively annoying) and lousy dialogue. Most horror comedies tend to be rather uneven and this one is no exception.<br />
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Two exceptions to this rule, however, are coming up next.<br />
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<i>Critters</i> was the first hit for the studio outside of <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>. Set in a small town in Kansas, it tells the story of an alien invasion of ravenous hairballs while two alien bounty hunters (one of whom who takes the form of a hair band rock star and the other who goes through a few faces throughout the film) pursue them. The cast is pretty solid for a low budget horror comedy with nice turns from Dee Wallace as the mother of the young lead and M. Emmett Walsh as the Sheriff who is always fun to have around.* Don Opper is also solid as Charlie, a booze addled mechanic and as one of the bounty hunters. He ends up being in the other three films in the series along with Terrence Mann as the other bounty hunter.<br />
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<i>*<a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2012/02/blasts-from-past-red-scorpion-1989.html">Red Scorpion</a> notwithstanding</i><br />
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While the cast is fun and the characters are likable, the real stars of the show are the critters themselves (called Crites in the movie). The Chiodo brothers do some fantastic work here (this was one of their early films) and the quality would continue into the sequels as well as <i>Killer Klowns from Outer Space</i>. <i>Critters</i> ended up being a enjoyable success and two years later, a sequel was released.<br />
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The sequel is pretty much more of the same only this time, Mick Garris is at the helm instead of Stephen Herek. The alien fuzzballs are back with the bounty hunters and Charlie in pursuit. As tends to be the case with sequels, its pretty much a case of second verse, same as the first' with a decent cast and some great f/x work. There is a little bit of creativity as at the end all the critters merge into a huge ball that rolls through the small town and the jingle for the restaurant that plays at the end is a real ear worm. Overall, it ends up being just another sequel in a year filled with them*<br />
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<i>*1988 had a ton of horror sequels: This film; Hellraiser II, Friday the 13th Part VIII, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Fright Night Part 2 plus others. Not too shocking the 80's horror boom died shortly into 1989.</i><br />
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We end with one of the most inventive, gleefully enjoyable films of the 80's and one of the best of 1987. Random people ion Los Angeles are going on major crime sprees and it's up to LAPD detective Michael Nouri to stop the madness. He's teamed with an oddball partner played by Kyle MacLachlan who turns out to be an alien from another world hunting a parasite that has been behind the rampages. Jack Sholder does a fine job keeping things moving and the film is an exhilarating blend of sci-fi and action with a dash of horror thrown in for flavor. Pretty much everything about this film works for me.<br />
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This was a growth period for the studio as they gradually made a name for themselves with solid genre films. The ensuing years would see more movies and more variety which we will see in the next installment of this series.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-5292201259179679962018-06-21T09:57:00.000-07:002018-09-02T11:24:27.477-07:00The New Line Files: 1997-2003For six years, 1997-2003, New Line was a pretty consistently successful company with two powerhouse franchises; one rather important one and a nice medley of other hits, plus some notable misses. Before we get to their 84-96 output I do want to cover this period along with the last few years before they were folded into Warner Brothers in 2008. This will be a fairly huge article* (the one covering 04-08 might be too) so strap in, get a snack and enjoy.<br />
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*<i>Jason X</i> and <i>Freddy vs. Jason</i> are being saved for later. <br />
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Our feast begins with this pretty damn fun Jackie Chan vehicle that is actually <i>Police Story IV</i>. Cut down from 110 minutes to about 90, Jackie's hero cop teams up with Interpol to nail a drug runner but gets drawn into a plot involving Russians. Naturally, tons of wild stunts and action scenes ensue. It's not quite the best from the man stateside but it's still pretty damn good.<br />
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Notable for being the first comic book movie with an African-American lead (<i>Steel</i> starring Shaquille O'Neal would be released a few weeks later),<i> Spawn</i> is possibly also one of the cheesiest comic movies of the decade... And that's saying quite a bit. Michael Jai White plays the title character, a special ops soldier who goes to hell after being double crossed by his colleague Wynn (played by Martin Sheen). Seeking revenge, he reluctantly agrees to lean an army against the land of the living only to turn on them and become an antihero. White is fine in the role; Sheen is not that good and even worse are the digital effects which contribute to the cheesy aspects of the film. The f/x used for this films version of the devil stand out as we get a poorly rendered beast with a growly voice and a mouth that never moves. Really the only good thing in the film is John Leguizamo as the demonic Clown who is the main villain. Leguizamo milks the role for all he can and while he's annoying as usual, he's still better than anything else on display. Spawn is a guilty pleasure at best.<br />
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Let's go for some stuff that folks actually liked. <br />
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Barry Levinson directs this dark satiric comedy that stars Dustin Hoffman as a movie producer enlisted by Robert DeNiro to help produce a fake war in order to detract from a sex scandal involving the president. Critically acclaimed, this has a good rep as a smart, sly comedy.<br />
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The other critical hit for the studio was this drama from director Paul Thomas Anderson about the pron industry in the 70's and early 80's. Mark Wahlberg is a young dishwasher who gets involved in the industry and film follows him as he rises to the top (no pun intended) and how his life of excess brings him down. A great cast (this was the most recent comeback film for Burt Reynolds which he squandered) makes this a compelling, somewhat unnerving film.<br />
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Sadly ignored on its release, <i>Dark City</i> is one of the best science fiction films of the last twenty years. A dark neo-noir tale of a man who wakes up not knowing who he is, director Alex Proyas gives us a visually stunning, smart puzzle box of a movie that has a good cast and even better script. It's really a movie you should seek out and view cold. Just a great, underrated gem.<br />
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And now back to the crap.<br />
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I've never been overly fond of this franchise. The first one is okay (though the first death scene after the big plane crash is a plot hole that takes me out of the film and the characters are mostly jackasses) but for the most part the films are prime examples of the Dead Teenager sub genre where you get some loosely drawn characters who exist only to die in gory ways. The concept of fate is a novel touch but these are really just slasher movies minus the slasher. I don't know, maybe they just came around when I was beginning to need a little more from my horror movies than just pure gore. That being said, the last one from 2011 was surprisingly fun.<br />
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This one bears mentioning simply because of what an absolute nightmare of a production it ended up being. Initially a simple romantic comedy, this ended up being a 90 million dollar fiasco that ended up only making 10 million worldwide. Warren Beatty ended up not making a film for fifteen years thanks to this one that started production in 1998 and thanks to delays of all sorts, didn't come out until April of 2001. From what I've read, they needn't have bothered.<br />
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And now for the three big franchises of this period.<br />
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While <i>Wayne's World</i> was a good sleeper hit in 1992, Mike Myers didn't find consistent success until this spy spoof (end even then, within a few years he had worn out his welcome) that is an affectionate send-up of the early James Bond films and the entire 60's culture in general. Myers is fine as both the title character and main villain Dr. Evil though really, both ended up being so over-quoted that they quickly became just obnoxious.<br />
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The second film is probably the best in the series though the extensive reliance on gross-out humor (Myers' Fat Bastard is one of the more repulsive comedic creations ever) makes it age poorly. The late Verne Troyer is fun as Mini-Me though.<br />
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The last entry is really more of the same with Myers now playing four characters, the same gags being thrown around for a third time and tossing Michael Caine as Austin's dad (which admittedly is a good touch as Caine is always good). This would be the last time Myers was really popular as the <i>Shrek</i> series died out and <i>The Love Guru (2008)</i> proved to be one of the worst comedies ever made. Shame as Myers is not without comic talent. It's just that his stuff ages about as well as a carton of milk left out in the sun.<br />
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Whilst <i>Spawn</i> may have been the first superhero film with a black lead actor, <i>Blade</i> was the first one that was any damn good. Based on the Marvel Comics character, it stars Wesley Snipes as a half human/half vampire who hunts vampires and can walk around during the day. New Line did the smart thing in marketing this as more of a Wesley Snipes action movie than a superhero film (by this point the only truly popular ones had been the first two Superman films and the first Batman film) and the end result is a fast paced, violent thrill ride with a solid performance from Snipes and a decent over the top villainous turn from Stephen Dorff. The success of this film would pave the way for the modern run of more serious superhero films starting with <i>X-Men</i> in 2000.<br />
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Equally solid is the first sequel, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Snipes is back, this time fighting against a deranged vampire and his horde of horrific monsters who wish to wipe out human and vampire alike. Not quite as good as the first but better than the third which we will discuss in the next installment of this series. Also, any time Ron Perlman is given something interesting to, it's a good thing.<br />
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And now the main event, the trilogy that brought the studio to the height of success and also led to their downfall. Full reviews of the individual films seems redundant to me as plenty of words have already been spoken and typed so instead, here are my thoughts on the trilogy in general.<br />
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Peter Jackson's brilliant take on the J.R.R. Tolkien story is a fantastic adaptation of not just a story but an entire world to the big screen. Just about everything is top notch from the cast (Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan and Christopher Lee are my personal faves though everyone has their moments) to the production design to the music. Every detail is lovingly crafted and makes for a rich, immersive world for the viewer to get lost in. Honestly, I really can't say much about the movies as their quality sort of speaks for them.<br />
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The only things I can find to gripe about are that the third film takes a little long to end and Sean Astin's incessant crying jags get a little old after a while.<br />
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That does it for this installment. Up next, the last few years and then we can get to the stuff in my wheelhouse.<br />
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Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-45373288191648260592018-06-13T11:13:00.000-07:002018-06-13T11:13:00.058-07:00The New Line Files: BF-Before FreddyWhile <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> was New Line's first real breakout mainstream hit, the years before it yielded some quality films as well as some oddities. Here is a selection of some of the more notable entries.<br />
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From the early pickup days comes this utterly bizarre film from Werner Herzog. Featuring an all little person cast, it is the story (I use that term loosely) of a revolution at an isolated institution on a remote island. Herzog is one of the few "arty" directors whose work I actually enjoy (Federico Fellini and Luis Bunuel are the others so I'm nothing if not predictable). He approaches his films with a unique flair and never lets things get too dreary or ponderous. Even the moments where he could get pretentious have a bit of a wink to them, as if he is saying "This is just there to get this into those overpriced art house theaters. I think this is silly too". Here he delivers an odd bit of work with some shocking imagery thrown in.<br />
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The best of their pre-1984 output (and let's be honest, you could put it in the overall top ten for the studio's entire history), this one sort of speaks for itself. Probably more words have been written about this one and its sequels than anything else on the web. Granted most of it was between 1997 and 2000 when the Internet was really still in its larval stage but still! It's a fantastic low budget horror film that is still effective thanks to good direction from Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell making himself an instant cult movie star. I may enjoy the sequels more but this one is still pretty damn great.<br />
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I reviewed this one <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2012/01/blasts-from-past-alone-in-dark-1982.html">six years ago</a> and if nothing else, it has one of the best casts of any slasher film I've ever seen. Jack Palance and Martin Landau are top notch as the main psychos; Donald Pleasence is fun as a doctor and the film is nicely directed by Jack Sholder who would do a few more films for the studio.<br />
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An infamously icky British horror film from 1983 I really would love to see (though not at current asking prices). <i>Xtro</i> tells the sweet, heartwarming tale of a father who is abducted by aliens and upon returning three years later, wishes only for his son to join him. This involves lots of nasty special effects, forced impregnation and gore/nudity. In other words, everything <i>E.T.</i> was not. This spawned a few direct-to-video sequels and has generated a bit of a cult following.<br />
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A fun pickup from Italy, this is the sequel to 1982's <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2012/01/blasts-from-past-1990-bronx-warriors.html">1990: The Bronx Warriors</a>. Mark Gregory returns from the first movie, this time going up against Henry Silva and his government killers who are trying to empty the area of everyone so it can be demolished and rebuilt. Enzo Castellari does his usual solid directing job and there is plenty of action. This was riffed by MST3K in 1996.<br />
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That's all for now, next up in the series we jump ahead for a little while.<br />
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Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-79009247030341900442018-05-26T12:07:00.000-07:002018-06-01T13:11:08.588-07:00The New Line Files: Reboot and Martial Arts MadnessGiven that it's been nearly a year since I last touched this series, I feel the need to give a few quick notes on what the series has been so far and where it will go in the future.<br />
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It began in 1967 when Robert Shaye decided to begin running midnight screenings of obscure genre films and soon shifted into a distribution company. Existing as a high-grade B-movie company for the bulk of its time as a solo entity, it was eventually bought by Ted Turner in 1994 and shortly thereafter carried on separately as a part of Turner's acquisition of Warner Brothers. Reaching the height of success with <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, the studio rather quickly whizzed said success right down its leg and was eventually merged into Warner Brothers where it lives on as a sort of secondary production label to WB productions.<br />
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Thus far, I've covered <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-new-line-files-midnight-madness.html">early releases</a> and <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-new-line-files-island-of-orphaned.html">DTV sequels to films owned by other companies</a> and for the most part, this series will focus on their 1982-1996 output with some stuff from earlier and a little from later.<br />
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Not going to focus too much on the early stuff for two reasons. First of all, a lot of it is stuff I've reviewed elsewhere in a different context and as far as the John Waters stuff goes, I honestly think his stuff is review-proof. You either can sit through it or you can't and with the early stuff, I quite simply can't. I like the guy, I respect his talent, but the films just aren't my thing.<br />
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As for the post-1996 output. There were times during that period when New Line did manage to recapture that go for broke spirit they embraced earlier but for the most part they were just another movie studio. I'm more interested in the time when they just gunned the engine and blasted towards whatever they were going for with gusto. As with my other long form series, not every film will be reviewed in full though I will give special attention to films I deem worthy of longer examinations.<br />
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With that in mind, let's kick things off. Literally.<br />
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Before they hit it big with Robert Englund and the <i>Nightmare on Elm Street</i> films, the big franchise New Line graced the US cinema with Sonny Chiba and his terrific <i>Street Fighter</i> movies (1974 for the first, '75 for the second and 1979 for the third). No Jean-Claude van Damme as an all-American hero, no wonderfully hammy Raul Julia, just 90 minutes of truly brutal martial arts action. New Line got the rights to distribute these from Toei Pictures in Japan and after cutting them down a bit (the uncut versions would be an easy X rating at the time and even cut they're still pretty brutal) unleashed them along with a spinoff on the viewing public.<br />
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Kicking things off, pun entirely intended, is the original that introduces us to Terry, an absolutely ruthless mercenary for hire who finds himself going up against The Yakuza. The plot was threadbare and the action was plentiful (the highlight being Chiba punching a guy so hard that we get cut of an x-ray showing the damage he just inflicted). In other words, the perfect grindhouse feature.<br />
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The tagline says it all as now, Terry is gunning for The Yakuza again, this time helping a character from the first film (who ends up thoroughly kicking the hell out of him and vice versa in a great scene) find out if they are siphoning money from a charity for their own ends. Naturally this turns out to be the case and much chaos ensues. It's about as good as the first with the usual good action from Chiba.<br />
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The last formal entry in the series (a spinoff called <i>Karate Warriors</i> would be put out by someone other than New Line) has Terry squaring off with drug dealers and it goes pretty much like the other two. Not as good as the others but still a solid action movie.<br />
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A spinoff New Line did distribute in 1976 was this revenge flick starring Sue Shiomi (a westernized version of her actual name, Etsuko Shiomi) who had supporting roles in the first and third <i>Street Fighter</i> films and was a regular co-star of Chiba. In it, she plays a young woman called in to replace her brother on the investigation of a drug trafficking operation after he vanishes. She is aided by Chiba as the owner of a marital arts school and the usual mayhem ensues. It plays out sort of like a James Bond film but with a lot more gory violence (as with the others, this was cut considerably for US release). <i>Sister Street Fighter</i> did well enough to warrant a few sequels, none of which have made it to America unless I'm mistaken.<br />
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On the lighter side of the cinematic spectrum, 1990 saw the release of the first <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> film. Aimed at kids (as opposed to the somewhat darker comics though this one has its moments), the film was a huge hit financially though the critics were less than enthused.<br />
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The first sequel followed in 1991 and while the film benefits from having David Warner as a scientist, it also has Vanilla Ice appearing and contributing a song to the soundtrack. Ah, the early 90's. As with the first film, it did well financially but fared poorly from a critical standpoint.<br />
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The bottom fell out in the third one as the titular turtles are sent back to feudal Japan for an adventure that impressed neither moviegoers nor the critics.<br />
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The TMNT franchise did well enough for New Line. They capitalized on the popularity of the brand and made a tidy profit from the venture. But while this franchise was ending for the time being, New Line would move onto quickly to another.<br />
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Probably the best adaptation of a video game to the big screen (though I do enjoy 1994's <i>Street Fighter</i> for what it is), <i>Mortal Kombat</i> took the popular fighting game and turned it into a solid meat and potatoes martial arts film that is essentially <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2015/03/enter-dragon-1973.html"><i>Enter the Dragon</i></a> on steroids with the stakes tramped up. Performances are good enough with Christopher Lambert as a god of thunder and Cary Tagawa as the bad guy. The special effects are enjoyably cheesy as is the dialogue but the action is top notch. <i>Mortal Kombat</i> ended up being a surprise hit in 1995 (quite impressive for a dump month release) and it still remains a fun romp. The less said about the sequel, the better. Most of the roles were re-cast and the charm of the first was missing.<br />
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We end with the film that brought Jackie Chan stateside and brought him success (as opposed to the failed shots at it in the 80's) in America. <i>Rumble in the Bronx</i> is a lean, no frills 90 minute edit of the 106 minute Hong Kong original. I reviewed it in the early days of the blog and loved it then. I still think it's a fun ride and a good primer on the man and his movies.<br />
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Past that, New Line became one of the go-to places for re-releasing Jackie Chan films (the other being Dimension Pictures) and eventually began to release new films from him. On the downside, they were the <i>Rush Hour</i> films which thanks to my not being able to stand Chris Tucker, will go unmentioned in this series.<br />
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New Line had a great deal of success with the martial arts films. The films weren't always top notch (I won't mention <i>Surf Ninjas</i>, ain't a thing on this planet getting me to watch that) but for the most part they had good action and turned a profit.<br />
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Stay tuned for more.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-29198031064901186212018-05-23T10:57:00.000-07:002018-05-23T10:57:58.740-07:00Return of the Jedi: 35 Years Later<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the release of <i>Solo</i> to theaters on Friday, I thought I'd take a look at the film that made me a fan of <i>Star Wars</i> and really, film in general. Thirty five years ago, and believe me that number makes me feel as ancient as time itself, saw the release of <i>Return of the Jedi</i>. I reviewed the film as part of my <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2013/11/my-favorite-era-star-wars-trilogy-1977.html">look at the overall</a> trilogy so a lot of this stuff will be familiar to anyone who has read the initial post (think of this like one of those old Marvel special issues where you get one or two new Spider-Man stories with the rest of the book being reprints). Let's take a closer look with some observations, general musings and overall good memories.<br />
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<ul>
<li>The re-release of this film in 1985 is the first time I ever saw a
movie in the theater. Needless to say, this got me hooked on the action
figures and it was just a snowball effect from there on in.</li>
<li>Of all the Darth Vader entrances, I think the one here might be my
favorite. Just the image of him coming through the steam is utterly
cool to me.</li>
<li>The first forty minutes or so of the film are possibly my favorite in the entire franchise. As with several of the James Bond films, I love to be able to sit back in the theater and just let the movie wash over me.</li>
<li>The stuff in Jabba's palace is a gift from above for a creature
feature fan like me. Jabba is fantastic as are all the other creatures
infesting the palace.</li>
<li>Still have no idea what the point of torturing a droid with hot steel is. Makes a nice segue to the musical number though.</li>
<li>That musical number is still quite the catchy tune. Great way to foreshadow the Rancor as well. I'd say the only thing I really dislike about the special edition version of this film is the musical number they replaced the original with. Well that and the odd decision to throw in a "No" towards the end when one really isn't needed but we're going positive here today so we won't belabor the point.</li>
<li>I get a chuckle out of the realization that the bounty hunter Leia impersonates probably wasn't the most <i>physically</i> intimidating guy in the galaxy, given that he's being impersonated by someone 5'1. Evidently he compensated by being willing to blow up the entire room if he didn't get his way if the thermal detonator is any indication.</li>
<li>I always found it amusing just how little of the plan C-3PO was let
in on. Outside of going to the palace and getting in it seems like Luke
thought "I don't have time to argue with this guy, got other stuff to
do." It carries through to the rest of the movie as well which makes it
even better.</li>
<li>How can you hate a movie that has some sort of frog monster snapping
up a terrified creature as a transition between interior scenes?</li>
<li>Always found it funny how the translation for "Jedi mind trick" in
Jabba's native tongue is... "Jedi mind trick." Well, Lawrence Kasdan
can't do everything, I guess. </li>
<li>It's really a tribute to how good Carrie Fisher was as an actress that she was able to still come off as somewhat regal while sporting a brass bikini. Granted it also helps that she gets to off Jabba while wearing it it still!</li>
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<ul>
<li>I still think the Rancor is one of the coolest creatures designs of
the 80's if not all time. The little bit with the keeper weeping over
it is also great. As noted, the creature design stuff is awesome in general and the above VHS sleeve is from one of the best documentaries on the film I've seen.</li>
<li>The transition from the palace to outside has always been something I
enjoyed. If you're in a dark enough room, the change should be enough
to actually make you wince and back up a little. </li>
<li>The Sarlacc sequence is a great action beat that teaches us a great many things. We learn that a blind
Harrison Ford can still kick your ass, even in other galaxies a
garroting is a valid way to off a gangster and of course, the best way
to escape trouble is to just blow it up real good.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Ian McDiarmid is fantastic as The Emperor, as one would expect. It takes quite a bit to out-evil Darth Vader but he does it.</li>
<li> I like to imagine that after learning Leia is his sister, Luke
thought about that kiss she gave him in the last movie and just threw up
in the bog for about five minutes.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Have to mention the record/storybook because there is a
version (just the sound from the film without a storybook) where Yoda's
voice is slowed down to the point where I thought something was wrong
with my record player when I listened to it as a kid.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Better was a different version I had. That record was pretty good though, nice sound with the audio taken directly from the film.</li>
<li>Not sure how anyone can be shocked at the names Lucas threw out in
the prequels when this one has Admiral Ackbar and the Mon Calamari. Jesus, the design is
cool but the name is a real sort of "We're pressed for time damn it,
think of something, the boss is coming!" decision.</li>
<li>I've always gotten a kick out of the loud grunts of exertion
Harrison Ford lets out whenever he's in a fist fight.Whether it's punching Nazis, tossing stormtroopers around or beating up Gary Oldman before telling him "Get off my plane!", he's doing it with as much gusto as he feels is appropriate. It's right up
there with Roger Moore's groaning in some of his James Bond films and
Arnold Schwarzenegger's grunting. Always felt it added a little
something to his Everyman action guy persona and here it makes sense as
he's trying to toss around guys in heavy armor.</li>
<li>Love the speeder bike chase, just utterly cool and still looks pretty good today. </li>
<li>Of all the vehicle toys out there when I was a kid, I had the
speeder bike, the Tie Fighter Vader used in the first film and the
B-Wing fighter. In spite of all this, I had a relatively happy
childhood. First two were cool though (the B-Wing is cool looking and
the toy was big but it doesn't do a hell of a lot in the film). Is it
obvious I'm still bummed I never got an X-Wing or the Falcon?</li>
<li>I'm not afraid to say it, I don't really mind the Ewoks that much. Are there one or two moments with them that don't work? Yeah, but they
work in the context of the story the filmmakers are trying to tell. Yeah, they are kind of childish and a fairly obvious shot at an easy
action figure. Guess what? The whole franchise was always marketed
towards kids! And as far as the action figure thing goes, pretty much
every movie had them. <i>Alien</i> had them for crying out loud!</li>
<li> Obviously it's hard to tell since he's in a full body suit but I do get a kick out of Warwick Davis as Wicket (our first look at an Ewok and Davis does well with making you like the little furballs) though I really feel he was truly <i>in</i> his character in <i>Leprechaun 4: In Space</i>. Powerful movie, that one. The <i>Lawrence of Arabia</i> of sequels to earthbound horror franchises set in space. Not sure what that makes <i>Jason X</i> but that's not important right now.</li>
<li>The obsessive nature of fans cannot be underestimated, as one has to admit when they realize that considerable effort has gone into identifying which Ewoks were played by which notable little person performer. Pretty sure if the Internet had been around when <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> was in theaters you'd see the same damn thing with the Munchkins.</li>
<li>I also have to give a ton of credit to the performers in the Ewok
suits. Couldn't have been an easy day at work and you actually get a
few really, really good bits of acting here and there, especially from
the aforementioned Warwick Davis and Debbie Lee Carrington as the one Ewok
grieving over the dead one. Both have had pretty solid careers since.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Apparently The Force must be used for knowledge, defense and
levitating your droid when just having him talk you out of being eaten
by a bunch of three foot tall bear creatures doesn't work.</li>
<li>Nice dramatic beat with Luke and Leia. Hamill and Fisher are
actually pretty decent actors. Odd that they can rise above the rather
bad Lucas dialogue and yet Ewan MacGregor and Natalie Portman struggled. Having Lawrence Kasdan onboard does make a hell of difference, I suppose.</li>
<li>I always loved the green lightsaber, it just seemed so much cooler than the blue one Luke was using before.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>The space battle stuff is simply mind blowing, even today. The
sight of all those Tie fighters flying at the screen is still one of the
best visual effects in cinema. I'd say it even tops the stuff in <i>Revenge of the Sith's</i> first twenty minutes.</li>
<li>The fighting down on Endor is fun as well, gotta love seeing the bad
guys get theirs from basic technology. I also get a kick out of
Chewbacca getting behind the controls of a walker and just blasting
everything in his path. As always, the John Williams score adds to things as the moment the tide changes to the good guys has a music cue that makes you want to stand up and cheer.</li>
<li>The filmmakers were very smart to not try and top the lightsaber
duel from the first one, instead making it more of an emotional duel
than a physical one. The finale where Luke loses it is a wonderfully
done bit of filmmaking. Really, the last thirty minutes of the film are just pure, concentrated awesome.</li>
<li>The only true fault I can find is that a few of the actors (Harrison
Ford and Billy Dee Williams to be specific) don't have a hell of a lot
to do. Still, it's not that big a thing as Ford has some fun moments
and Williams gets to be the one to blow up the frigging Death Star after
all!</li>
<li>Oddly enough, the bit where The Emperor blasts Luke with the Force
lightning reminds of me of an old appliance store called The Federated
Group that was around in the 80's. Probably because one time in there I
was distracted by that scene in one of the many TV demo models on
display.</li>
<li>The filmmakers do find a way to top the trench battle though, the race through the innards of the Death Star is just fantastic.</li>
<li>One last little thing on the film before we wrap things up, I love that the last thing we hear before the credits begin is a rather undignified cackle from Leia. I like to think it was Carrie Fisher yukking it up at the end of shooting but it would be hilarious if that was just a plain and simple acting choice on her part. Works either way, really.</li>
</ul>
<i>Return of the Jedi</i> was a massive hit in 1983 and still continues to put a big, stupid grin on my face every time I see it. It's by no means a perfect film, but if I'm being honest I have to say that even with the first two and everything else that has followed, this one is still my favorite of the films.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-81013050502602439302018-05-07T12:24:00.000-07:002018-05-07T12:24:39.582-07:00Avengers: Infinity War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What better way to mark the big return of the blog with a review of the biggest movie of the year?<br />
<br />
<i>Avengers: Infinity War</i> is the first part of the culmination of a ten year journey that began in 2008 with Iron Man. The Avengers, along with Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy are pitted against the mad Titan Thanos who has been collecting stones of unimaginable destructive power and placing them in a glove that once fully assembled, can wipe out half of everything in the universe with the snap of a finger.<br />
<br />
The overall effect of the movie is quite impactful (after viewing it, I felt mildly concussed to be honest) as it grabs you by the throat from the start and never lets go until the shattering ending. Pretty much everyone in the huge cast has one or two great moments save for Chris Evans as Captain America and even then he gets some cool moments at the end. Highlights for me include Robert Downey Jr. once again delivering the goods as Tony Stark/Iron Man; Tom Holland giving the best version of Spider-Man and Josh Brolin as Thanos. Brolin gives us a truly menacing villain (something not all the Marvel movies have been able to do) who is also sort of understandable on a certain level and while his cohorts (four villains whose names are barely mentioned) are fairly interesting, it is Thanos who steals the show.<br />
<br />
Action is quite good throughout with some nice bits of humor here and there to level out the overall darkness of the story. It's not a perfect movie but it damn sure makes me want to see the next one when it comes out in 2019.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-67852386663949765402018-05-07T11:28:00.000-07:002018-05-07T11:28:14.232-07:00Return of the Blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
It's been nine months but I think I'm ready to get back into the reviewing game. Some things will stay the same (the long form projects peppered with standalone posts) but the design of the site will be undergoing a bit of an overhaul.<br />
<br />
I have a few ideas in mind for projects including reviews of more current films; a more streamlined version of the My Favorite Era series, a more <i>focused</i> look at New Line Cinema, more production company deep dives like Touchstone Pictures and some other odds and ends I can get to later. Stay tuned!Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-72260385538444206092017-08-05T22:13:00.001-07:002017-08-05T22:13:04.659-07:00Site UpdateBeen a while since I've posted and to be honest, I think its time for another sabbatical from the blog;. This is not the end but the writer's block has just been hitting me hard as of late. Not sure how long it will last but as a certain cyborg from the future is fond of noting, "I'll be back."Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-32698226750228314542017-07-05T19:44:00.001-07:002017-07-05T19:44:05.910-07:00Coffy (1973)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I sort of want to cover some slightly different ground so starting with this post, you will be seeing more grindhouse/exploitation films reviewed on the site.<br />
<br />
To kick things off, let's go with a double barreled blast of Pam Grier. After doing a series of Women in Prison flicks for Roger Corman (we'll delve into that pool later on), Pam teamed with Jack Hill for two of the leanest, meanest action movies you are likely to find, the first of which we will cover today and the second at a later date. Both films we will be looking at are B-grade action at its best with Pam coming off as a more talented and certainly more attractive Steven Seagal (I'll explain this down below). We got quite a fun (sort of) road to go down so let's kick things off with a cup of <i>Coffy</i>.<br />
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<ul>
</ul>
Right from the start we're in 70's action movie heaven as our heroine is introduced to us as she sends a few bad guys to hell. Nothing says "I am a total bad ass out for revenge" quite like having Coffy introduced as she confronts a drug dealer who put her sister in a coma and his flunky by posing as a desperate junkie, bloodily ventilating the dealer's skull with a shotgun and making the flunky take a fatal overdose. Right off the bat, we get the point that you should never make a Pam Grier action hero angry. You wouldn't like her when she's angry.<br />
<ul>
</ul>
The thing that really makes Pam stand out as an action hero is just how frankly emotional she is willing to get. Generally, you get a cool exterior, maybe some seething rage and a few smart ass quips but here you get an angry, nearly unhinged (she practically has a mental breakdown while killing the flunky) woman out for blood and it's riveting. She even works this into her physicality as we get fight scenes that are not smoothly choreographed like a dance but rather sloppy, undisciplined brawling. Sort of like a real fight, funnily enough.<br />
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This extends to the action stuff as while someone like Stallone or Eastwood will be happy with beating you up and/or shooting you, Pam will go out of her way to make sure you go out in a really, really horrible manner in as much pain as she can make you feel. It really says something that the guy who gets his head blown open at close range can be said to be "let off easy".<br />
<br />
After a little bit of character building where we meet Coffy's former lover who is also a cop and her current beau who is a politician, said cop is crippled and if you thought our hero was pissed off before, now, as a certain Marvel superhero would say, "It's clobberin' time!"<br />
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From there, she goes after a drug dealing pimp and his mob partner, played by Robert DoQui and Allan Arbus respectively. Both are appropriately nasty pieces of work (in other words, both are sadistic and violent and Arbus is a racist, sexist, perverted scumbag) after getting info from a former patient of hers (by way of intimidating the living hell out of her naturally which is easy when you're already a little unhinged to begin with), she goes after the two baddies posing as a Jamaican prostitute.<br />
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What can I say? It's a 70's action movie.<br />
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She manages to overcome the usual obstacles (though Pam can't quite nail the accent but really that sort of adds to the film's charm) including a wild cat fight between her and every hooker in the room at a party(this lands the film most of its nudity quotient); a menacing henchman played by genre vet Sid Haig and even the heartbreak of her boyfriend turning out to be in with the mob and betraying her. Needless to say, this proves to be a poor life decision on his part. Really poor. Hell may have no fury like woman scorned but it is doubly so when she's packing a loaded shotgun and is already more than a little pissed off to begin with.<br />
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<i>Coffy</i> is a gritty, nasty little hunk of action chock full of every politically incorrect 70's movie trope you can think of. There is sleaze, sadism, violence, nudity, you name it and this film gives it to you courtesy of some solid direction from Jack Hill. Hill made a bunch of B-movies and this is probably his best work. Pam Grier holds the thing together with a solid lead performance, giving us a heroine we can get behind. You really want her to obliterate every bad guy she comes across. <i>Coffy</i> is probably the quintessential 70's exploitation flick.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-10885864204922725852017-07-03T17:23:00.001-07:002018-06-01T13:11:07.368-07:00The New Line Files: The Island of Orphaned SequelsWhile most franchises tend to stay with one company, every now and then they move around. This happened with the <i>Friday the 13th</i> series (though we'll discuss that in a different post) and New Line picked up some other abandoned franchises as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh9PdnaS9thP2pNdCtsxYtMjS570FJ1cHjrY2RIK5AhousyRXoXJQxL6KoItmiX90lorU4N8sJTPb1qB6d18h9JZ8uZY25wnlbkFaJoKRPaY1rscu_GPitVahxfbAmaxZLV7ba8lkH7c/s1600/Alligator-II-front1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="835" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh9PdnaS9thP2pNdCtsxYtMjS570FJ1cHjrY2RIK5AhousyRXoXJQxL6KoItmiX90lorU4N8sJTPb1qB6d18h9JZ8uZY25wnlbkFaJoKRPaY1rscu_GPitVahxfbAmaxZLV7ba8lkH7c/s400/Alligator-II-front1.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
As tended to be the case during middle stages of the home video boom, lots of sequels to popular movies ended up being produced strictly for the home viewer. One such case is this misbegotten sequel to the solid creature feature <i>Alligator</i> from 1980. Whereas the original had a good cast of reliable character actors (Robert Forster is fun in the lead and Henry Silva is reliably solid as a gator hunter called in to help), this has a cast of reliable character actors who are given nothing much of note to do. Joseph Bologna and Dee Wallace have been in better films and even Richard Lynch sporting a weak Cajun accent isn't enough to salvage the rather dull, repetitive proceedings. It is essentially the same damn film as the original only with less clever wit (John Sayles wrote the script for the original and by 1991 had a good directing career going) and less gore. Not really worth the time and effort.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinB4cvo62XI8UWbEwQ0wH7oiUBW4wP1xG6kYVtcQ-lVQieDGmIxx10i9rQ79LKWqxT3asl8BXeRikUy1dHuD_xCsRr9RGagzRBS1YT4xXqc1G-KJNvcA7me0pYsaTC51gsC6NSPHzmibk/s1600/THE-BLADE-MASTER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinB4cvo62XI8UWbEwQ0wH7oiUBW4wP1xG6kYVtcQ-lVQieDGmIxx10i9rQ79LKWqxT3asl8BXeRikUy1dHuD_xCsRr9RGagzRBS1YT4xXqc1G-KJNvcA7me0pYsaTC51gsC6NSPHzmibk/s400/THE-BLADE-MASTER.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Whether you want to call it <i>Ator 2</i>; <i>The Blade Master</i> or even <i>Cave
Dwellers</i>, this is one of the more enjoyable Italian sword and sorcery
flicks to come in the wake of <i>Conan the Barbarian</i> (Nrew Line picked up quite a few flicks like this in their early 80's period). Endlessly silly (the
barbarian hero fights invisible bad guys and makes a hang glider), this
provided the meat for my favorite Joel Hodgson era episode of MST3K.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTFoRqrayK9QcM5KXbbEn0f9mSR5dTZbLSLi4yoHROZp0pf2_JFEbizB68UxfHElkAg94giCOiT9K-qqS9rostMFelFk_m16I6dzYWFknZjudNBAihrl9kUpQkClmiIzLHzmaWpxDD48/s1600/514QSAB2BPL._SY445_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="244" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTFoRqrayK9QcM5KXbbEn0f9mSR5dTZbLSLi4yoHROZp0pf2_JFEbizB68UxfHElkAg94giCOiT9K-qqS9rostMFelFk_m16I6dzYWFknZjudNBAihrl9kUpQkClmiIzLHzmaWpxDD48/s400/514QSAB2BPL._SY445_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
The first two entries in the <i>House</i> franchise are among my favorite flicks from the latter days of New World Pictures (though given how bad many of their films were that's not saying a lot). Quirky and weird, they have an offbeat charm to them and show how to do a horror comedy right. The third (sort of) entry was the rather terrible slasher <i>The Horror Show</i> (even the presence of Lance Henriksen and Brion James aren't enough for me here) and in 1992, New Line got in league with producer Sean Cunningham for this fourth and, to date, final entry in the series.<br />
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William Katt returns in his role from the original but that's really the only connection to the rest of the series one can find. Katt dies in a car wreck and his widow has to solve his murder (his brother-in-law set it up to buy the titular house for a dwarf mobster) as supernatural goings on are... Well, going on. It's sort of okay in an in one ear, out the other way. The talking pizza gag is decent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc6wRP_tIXwRAZIvpCtZl8cmIeTALnMs6YUNgGILJK5-ZTlZWkgK1diNg45vbUW_R_VYuQxNmoBRgbbHU1UdRF9FPj2WHcQrwh_oLRvqGGT4IT92NyOnEedlmPM85pR-n6ONEZcoWBhg4/s1600/NIGHT-SIEGE-PROJECT-SHADOWCHASER-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc6wRP_tIXwRAZIvpCtZl8cmIeTALnMs6YUNgGILJK5-ZTlZWkgK1diNg45vbUW_R_VYuQxNmoBRgbbHU1UdRF9FPj2WHcQrwh_oLRvqGGT4IT92NyOnEedlmPM85pR-n6ONEZcoWBhg4/s400/NIGHT-SIEGE-PROJECT-SHADOWCHASER-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
In 1992, some bright spark got the idea to take <i>Die Hard</i> and <i>The Terminator</i> and violently hulk-smash them into one movie. The end result was a nutty little flick called <i>Project: Shadowchaser</i> that starred Martin Kove in the Bruce Willis role only this time he's been cryogenically frozen, Meg Foster in the Linda Hamilton role and Frank Zagarino as the killer android who also is the leader of a team of terrorists who take over a hospital that is located in an office high rise.<br />
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Yeah.<br />
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Two years later, the android was back, this time threatening to nuke the world. I'd love to see it but not for the amount I'd have to pay, same goes for the third film which puts the franchise into space, because that always works out well.* Honestly, they're pretty much your average DTV action films from the mid 90's. More than like the trailers before the actual film on the video tape were more of a draw. At least the box look cool.<br />
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<i>*Actually, I rather like Leprechaun 4 and Jason X as guilty pleasures but still!</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2TMMZeV0NeGRzRApzYXUJ7WEdXuHQ41ZhAy6aP0EWIuJpkX1XqfEm8QRQigwyDJpkZa1OmGBlA3KqISTBiqTpg_xz1CqrEHavwzFHnZHA7h8UJRcucdSMr_3ZzP0i7clNuh_88wiK6U/s1600/leatherface-texas+chainsaw+massacre+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2TMMZeV0NeGRzRApzYXUJ7WEdXuHQ41ZhAy6aP0EWIuJpkX1XqfEm8QRQigwyDJpkZa1OmGBlA3KqISTBiqTpg_xz1CqrEHavwzFHnZHA7h8UJRcucdSMr_3ZzP0i7clNuh_88wiK6U/s400/leatherface-texas+chainsaw+massacre+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This was one of the first films I <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2010/12/screams-from-past-learherface-texas.html">covered on the blog</a> and honestly, there isn't a whole lot more I can say about it. The unrated version is the one to see if you must watch it. Outside of that... really not much. I sort of dig the New Line releases that came on on RCA/Columbia Home Video though, before they got their own label.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHreXoubF8Sq-8ryx4Nz6m3UquphMl4oj5IdU52WnVzI09yFBRFHI-Blrw3NhX5ZrZpW1Nt8NC1lr7ZCMX51iU6AisIu3_a1uYvf2llGpBCquwqNhVGic2DUz-k0Ea6u95P5RUN66lYs/s1600/texas+chainsaw+massacre+3+leatherface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="696" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHreXoubF8Sq-8ryx4Nz6m3UquphMl4oj5IdU52WnVzI09yFBRFHI-Blrw3NhX5ZrZpW1Nt8NC1lr7ZCMX51iU6AisIu3_a1uYvf2llGpBCquwqNhVGic2DUz-k0Ea6u95P5RUN66lYs/s400/texas+chainsaw+massacre+3+leatherface.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Though the New Line Home Video release has its charm as well.<br />
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New Line had initially purchased the rights to the <i>Texas Chainsaw</i>
franchise in order to make more of them along the lines of their
<i>Nightmare on Elm Street</i> success but alas, all that ended up happening
was the really terrible fourth entry that is one of the more bizarrely
bad movies I've encountered. Honestly if it wasn't for the early
appearances of Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, this film would
have been forgotten quite rapidly. Columbia handled the film for the most part (I think New Line was just involved in the initial screenings) but New Line would end up back at it seven years later (oh we'll get to that, believe me)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1rFXrFrGdg-rP8W4A5dZokII5yXj3Xe0Otake2cKu2Ggb3bXkXjJxFNkn15E0wp6gGREkYUti8li5UlZIEN6lskeLaOQhg-y55L6tfkzMovsuj4jmuIjXUu9gn2KIUuimPPr7OvfxUQ/s1600/howling+new+moon+rising+vhs+front+%2526+back2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="752" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1rFXrFrGdg-rP8W4A5dZokII5yXj3Xe0Otake2cKu2Ggb3bXkXjJxFNkn15E0wp6gGREkYUti8li5UlZIEN6lskeLaOQhg-y55L6tfkzMovsuj4jmuIjXUu9gn2KIUuimPPr7OvfxUQ/s400/howling+new+moon+rising+vhs+front+%2526+back2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Finally, we hit rock bottom for the <i>Howling</i> series with this seventh... You know what? I'm not even sure this qualifies as a genuine movie! I <a href="https://popcultureshack.blogspot.com/2014/09/blasts-from-past-howling-2-4-and-7.html">covered this abomination</a> along with two other Howling sequels a few years back so to summarize: It's just plain terrible. A dull, utterly pointless vanity project for the director/star/bunch of other things Clive Turner who manages to do what not even the second film could do, kill the franchise stone dead.<br />
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I think that's enough for now. Stay tuned for more (hopefully better movies) at a later date.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-2043633827408762862017-06-27T13:28:00.002-07:002018-06-01T13:11:07.446-07:00The New Line Files: Midnight MadnessAs noted in the intro, New Line began its life as your average, everyday independent film distributor with re-releases of dubbed foreign films but it really found success in midnight screenings of cult movies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBaNRjJewuhc9rdaqEdxAH5h_D5a-nmRhYVY-X0XOtYHIR8F63ms-w0eGIM8b7pP4cFLl871QjG262fGbhf3al-z8IRGOV8hbdXjbrBoEmQVBivapIGVMeVkPQY8yWgPRaCKNpbQ1HDA/s1600/ReeferMadnessPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="198" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBaNRjJewuhc9rdaqEdxAH5h_D5a-nmRhYVY-X0XOtYHIR8F63ms-w0eGIM8b7pP4cFLl871QjG262fGbhf3al-z8IRGOV8hbdXjbrBoEmQVBivapIGVMeVkPQY8yWgPRaCKNpbQ1HDA/s400/ReeferMadnessPoster.jpg" width="264" /></a></div>
One of the all time great bad movies, <i>Reefer Madness</i> is a supremely silly propaganda piece from the 30's about pot and its effect on the youth of America. Initially made by a church group, this ended up on the exploitation circuit in the 30's and went unseen until the early 70's when New Line got a hold of it in 1973 and began midnight screenings. It made them a ton of money and is still probably one of the funnier anti-drug films ever made.<br />
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Whilst <i>Reefer Madness</i> is fairly easy to enjoy as a comedy, the other three movies I want to cover are more of a gut-punch experience in different ways.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvV9UTbdDnpF_76xr3352egRrhrHFXCz8SQDAqQxUWu2vEwF0QDtzXOElKMyqBDECCljdWque_TXA_dBzYs-az9_JJyto-Y7yS6SmBV-ddNLljkUDUuCg1sWTReCFX4-gLplQ6ZsSmrBs/s1600/NIGHT-OF-THE-LIVING-DEAD-MEDIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvV9UTbdDnpF_76xr3352egRrhrHFXCz8SQDAqQxUWu2vEwF0QDtzXOElKMyqBDECCljdWque_TXA_dBzYs-az9_JJyto-Y7yS6SmBV-ddNLljkUDUuCg1sWTReCFX4-gLplQ6ZsSmrBs/s400/NIGHT-OF-THE-LIVING-DEAD-MEDIA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Nearly 50 years later and George Romero's debut film is still an effective sledgehammer of a horror film. The first "zombie apocalypse" movie, this came out at just the right time during the most turbulent part of the sixties, 1968. Amidst all the chaos and strife of the year (it really says something about how bad that year sucked that most of the positive highlights for that year were found on the big screen). In its own way, the film perfectly encapsulates everything people were pissed off about during that time: race issues, war, probably somewhere a guy watched this and thought to himself "Boy, if only my annoying brother would get eaten by zombies"<br />
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Reviewing the movie seems somewhat redundant (I'm certain every movie review site on the net has at least indicated an opinion about this one) so I'll just nod towards every rave review this film has ever gotten and say "Yeah, pretty much."<br />
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Though I'll always love <i>Dawn of the Dead</i> more. Just saying. The original is more of a gut punch, however. New Line handled the 1978 re-release, appropriately enough since <i>Dawn</i> came out the same year..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzpRdIhwN_yI15xdMsIxmocEEV8mbvRWodFpHxCzwORnX7bk_-DA8TpFViDKascw-f2aDAlau_a2jm8xL4sMGKkejHvFpqJXR0IrMBHnPRE_26QvCOIHy7IIe-Rp-pvA_mMhGwcKZytY/s1600/THE-TEXAS-CHAINSAW-MASSACRE-MEDIA-HOME-ENTERTAINMENT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzpRdIhwN_yI15xdMsIxmocEEV8mbvRWodFpHxCzwORnX7bk_-DA8TpFViDKascw-f2aDAlau_a2jm8xL4sMGKkejHvFpqJXR0IrMBHnPRE_26QvCOIHy7IIe-Rp-pvA_mMhGwcKZytY/s400/THE-TEXAS-CHAINSAW-MASSACRE-MEDIA-HOME-ENTERTAINMENT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Speaking of gut punch horror experiences, <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i>! Tobe Hooper really delivered one of the strongest 70's horror films ever with this sparse, minimalist yet really unsettling proto-slasher about some kids who run afoul of a deranged killers in the middle of nowhere. Apart from the first sequel, it really never got better than this for the franchise with its deliberate pacing at the start (Leatherface doesn't show up until about 36 minutes into the 83 minute running time) and intense final third. It still works pretty well today, the lack of really seeing anything gory (plenty of implied stuff though and there is blood here and there throughout) giving it an almost novel feel when set against the stuff released now.<br />
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Unless I'm mistaken, New Line handled the re-releases in 1980, 1981 and 1983. They would also have the rights to the franchise starting with the third film and ending a few years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dr54a2jB4Ih3eBbD-KphykHm0i5dYo0eSgLhHEJIqmmweToNSf_NW3qfQsCjma0t7P-k1V-JdHU8VfaeJcl9XT8QRlJ1j15yeBiZCGwzLFG_qrH34Ja2E5anzSottSTd6vx6ynkX8Go/s1600/Pink_Flamingos_%25281972%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="334" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dr54a2jB4Ih3eBbD-KphykHm0i5dYo0eSgLhHEJIqmmweToNSf_NW3qfQsCjma0t7P-k1V-JdHU8VfaeJcl9XT8QRlJ1j15yeBiZCGwzLFG_qrH34Ja2E5anzSottSTd6vx6ynkX8Go/s400/Pink_Flamingos_%25281972%2529.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
Lastly is <i>Pink Flamingos</i>*, probably the ultimate John Waters bad taste comedy. Waters is one of the more successful independent filmmakers of all time with a string of endearingly disgusting films in the 70's and some lighter fare in the late 80's/early 90's. To describe this movie adequately, I'd have to take my personal standard of keeping things family friendly and flush it down the toilet. Let's just say that it has just about every single politically incorrect, perverse, generally disgusting thing you can imagine with the exception of somebody ordering lettuce on a breakfast sandwich. Pretty sure that'll get you snuffed in Baltimore.<br />
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*I wasn't able to actually watch this but I will cover one or two Waters flicks later on in the series.<br />
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New Line really made a good start for itself going this route. They would continue to pick and choose their stuff pretty carefully for the most part into the 80's, a practice that would eventually get them a decent degree of success.<br />
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Stay tuned for more New Line goodness. Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7952840237028925108.post-65085763388917509832017-06-27T11:05:00.002-07:002017-06-27T11:05:27.597-07:00Fangoria Flashbacks: The end? Yeah, pretty much.Been a while since I last wrote on my favorite horror magazine but given that they're pretty much dead now (the usual suspects: ad revenue issues, a revolving door of editors and staff, the simple fact that print magazines have been slowly dying for years), I thought I'd give one last tribute.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqt9D4_YVC3fR8j5Sa3131KuMA7G4jQibbTav95zcfna9Q2S3YUJZLc4AhAdU3v20JBHlPZHch4Ro0Ej-L6E9TdK1tiFx2WS2IFAF9DbibC1NKFT47mL2fRx8o4bl9X81Zvlj93eRPeNs/s1600/fango344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="451" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqt9D4_YVC3fR8j5Sa3131KuMA7G4jQibbTav95zcfna9Q2S3YUJZLc4AhAdU3v20JBHlPZHch4Ro0Ej-L6E9TdK1tiFx2WS2IFAF9DbibC1NKFT47mL2fRx8o4bl9X81Zvlj93eRPeNs/s400/fango344.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
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Their last print issue was #344 with the last four issues being released online only I(and even then, sporadically). They had a hell of a run too from their shaky start in 1979 to their meteoric rise in the 80's with a goopy mix of well written, bloody articles on the latest horror films mixed with a genuine affection for the earlier stuff as well. They cruised through the 90's for the most part with more of the solid retrospective articles whilst also keeping up with the mainstream and indie horror scene.<br />
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Things began to dip in the 2000's but they hung in there for an impressive amount time, outlasting their sister publication Starlog by nearly ten years and it was only in February of this year that an official announcement was made though they are trying to get the ad revenue to continue. As I said, a hell of a run.<br />
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To finish this off, here's a selection of some of my favorite covers from one of the best horror magazines ever published.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQC_JstaCrQsE4WJnR3tEnkeYAzznfATPf88kox_yXxF5kWgV93U8cYi8fdldXJdJtpwyUT3o0-ojqR2dSjv2toIyMAxykmEOGGDsvDW413JvYcEfhtDECZcLoVMDFBrBSPmzFKvONCfQ/s1600/fango001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="443" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQC_JstaCrQsE4WJnR3tEnkeYAzznfATPf88kox_yXxF5kWgV93U8cYi8fdldXJdJtpwyUT3o0-ojqR2dSjv2toIyMAxykmEOGGDsvDW413JvYcEfhtDECZcLoVMDFBrBSPmzFKvONCfQ/s400/fango001.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8wxodjVKQmBfTpgG7j8ZL-mXv3IlRxferE3IX6K-fZEK60gjWIQJGPcIxTRGoDPdvUv5VJ7ZHWaReBK-WeoH38qHpMNmMLMbvfB6cmvUzZIYFOtKRtiagtr2KXwq2pOMrf6PgprmmIM/s1600/Fangoria-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="558" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8wxodjVKQmBfTpgG7j8ZL-mXv3IlRxferE3IX6K-fZEK60gjWIQJGPcIxTRGoDPdvUv5VJ7ZHWaReBK-WeoH38qHpMNmMLMbvfB6cmvUzZIYFOtKRtiagtr2KXwq2pOMrf6PgprmmIM/s400/Fangoria-logo.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1979-2017</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thanks for the ride, guys. It was fantastic.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936818849749255253noreply@blogger.com0