Braddock: Missing in Action III.

Review #2535: Braddock: Missing in Action III.

Cast: 

Chuck Norris (Colonel James Thomas Braddock), Aki Aleong (General Quoc), Roland Harrah III (Van Tan Cang), Yehuda Efroni (Reverend Polanski), Floyd Levine (General Duncan), Miki Kim (Lin Tan Cang), Ron Barker ("Mik" Mikalchek), Jack Rader (CIA Agent Littlejohn), and Keith David (Embassy Gate Captain) Directed by Aaron Norris.

Review: 

We've done this song and dance before. I try to have a bit of historical context with what Norris was doing being in a film like this, I try to wonder if I will find a Norris performance that actually evokes something besides doing a few kicks/shooting bullets and not really much else. You might think, isn't that a bit too derisive? No, because I've had plenty of fun with movies involving Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and in the same year that Braddock: Missing in Action III was released, audiences believed there was a rising action star with Steven Seagal in Above the Law. Where was I? Oh, Braddock. Around this era, at one point in time, Norris was apparently was on top of the video market for action stars. It was the 15th feature film with Norris as the leading star and the first of his two films released that year, with Hero and the Terror coming out seven months later in August that were both distributed by Cannon Pictures; Norris wrote the film with James Bruner. You might wonder what "Amerasians" are that the film is about. Well, it is a term (with its type of double-edged sword along with other terms such as "war babies" and "G.I. babies") that refers to people born in Eastern parts of Asia that had a U.S. military father that happened to be around in the regions of say, Okinawa, South Korea, Vietnam, or the Philippines (the latter country once had over 20 U.S. bases for most of the 20th century). Coincidentally, 1988 was the same year that Congress passed the Amerasian Homecoming Act that allowed Amerasians born between 1962-1976 to apply for immigrant visas for the next four years (children and now their parent, could emigrate). The film was filmed in the Philippines (the irony); during production, four officers (military and police) were killed in a helicopter accident. At the time of its release, Norris believed that this was the best work he had done up until that point (I chuckle at hearing that as someone who hasn't seen Code of Silence [1985] or The Delta Force [1985]). The movie was not a major success with audiences, with Norris accusing Cannon of not doing proper marketing for the movie. Norris was not particularly happy with Cannon, but he kept being around them up until the latter went down the tubes by the time of Hellbound (1994).

You might remember that the second film had him deal with Braddock being thought to be dead by his wife in the second film. Now he is shown to have a wife in 1975 around the fall of Saigon. This happened to be the first feature film directed by Aaron Norris, who had gone from stuntman in the 1970s to associate producer in the next decade, and I'm sure he got to direct the film without any consideration from his older brother (they then worked together on five further theatrical films).* Well, actually he was the one who brought up the whole Amerasian thing to his brother and he was chosen when Joseph Zito* and Jack Smight each fell through. You could make the concession that "oh golly gee, what do you expect from an 80s action movie?" But this movie is just the same lame mediocrity that was present in the last two movies; well, less so with the first film, which at least had time for James Hong and M. Emmet Walsh to show up (the second had Steven Williams*). All you get here is a goofy Australian for all of five minutes and...not much else to offer (okay if you pay attention, you can see a young Keith David). Norris can say lines such as "I don't step on toes, I step on necks" all he wants, but he either can't or won't make scenes involving emotional investment actually matter beyond being a hack's vision of what they think a Clint Eastwood action movie is. Maybe it would make a weird double-header with the other 1988 rescue mission movie Rambo III.

It may interest you to know that Aleong (born in Trinidad and Tobago but moved to Brooklyn when he was 15) was a character actor for over 100 movies before he died in 2025. That is as nice as I can be for a movie that does him no favors besides a middling torture scene (at a certain point, this just seems like someone trying to do horror with the whole "lose balance and they die") and him just going "Braddock!". The one amusing sequence is a part where Braddock is told by a reverend that his wife is alive only to immediately be told by a CIA guy to not trust that guy's info...which just makes Braddock believe the reverend even harder. You get the usual type of dreary moments in the jungle and the inevitable rush to stand on one's feet rather than bend the knee (whether that involves driving the kids and the reverend to tough it out in the jungle or, well, finding a pervert groping a child and deciding to stab and then fire a grenade in said man). I especially love that the climax features everyone just watching as father and son come together in the only way possible: aiming the gun to shoot the perfect shot to kill the helicopter pilot (and also the general). As a whole, Braddock: Missing in Action III is mediocre stuff that does nobody any type of favors even with inklings of an interesting story and the occasional flourish of energy to cap out a middling trilogy.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Actually, he directed just one film without his brother as the star: Platoon Leader in 1988 that had Michael Dudikoff as the star. With a name like that, maybe I should do a Dudikoff Week just for the hell of it.

*What, no love for X? 

You might remember the former as the guy who didn't think Whoopi Goldberg was good enough for Invasion U.S.A. of all things

Shoot to Kill (1988).

Review #2532: Shoot to Kill.

Cast: 

Sidney Poitier (Warren Stantin), Tom Berenger (Jonathan Knox), Kirstie Alley (Sarah Renell), Clancy Brown (Steve), Frederick Coffin (Ralph), Richard Masur (Norman), Andrew Robinson (Harvey), Kevin Scannell (Ben), Michael MacRae (Fournier), Milton Selzer (Mr. Berger), Les Lannom (Sheriff Dave Arnett), and Robert Lesser (Agent Minelli) Directed by Roger Spottiswoode (#171 - Tomorrow Never Dies, #191 - The 6th Day, #1205 - Air America)

Review: 

"The movies I want to make are not people's priority. Nobody would touch them. They cost a lot of money, and studios no longer finance development, so if I didn't pay for them myself they wouldn't happen."

Admittedly, I picked this movie to clear a few obligations of mine, mainly in my director logs (as one does when "this movie or this movie?" is not enough). I came across Roger Spottiswoode and figured, why not talk about one of his movies? The Ottawa-born director was the son of a documentary filmmaker that had made films for the war effort for the National Film Board of Canada. He started his film career as an editor (once stating that his school was in the cutting room), rising from doing work on commercials to being the co-editor of Straw Dogs (1971). He was approached to direct for the first time with the horror film Terror Train (1980), which was a light success. He took over the production of the troubled The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper that came out the following year before doing Under Fire (1983) and The Best of Times (1986), which were not major successes at the time. All of this collides with the return of Sidney Poitier to the big screen, as he had not starred in a film in eleven years (having spent a good chunk of his time directing). The story was written by Harv Zimmel, who in turn co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Burton and Daniel Petrie Jr, with the latter serving as a co-producer. For whatever reason, outside of North America the movie was called "Deadly Pursuit" (one of the working titles was "Mountain King"). Over the next couple of decades, he would direct a variety of films along with ones for television to varying levels of quality such as Turner & Hooch (1989) or And the Band Played On (1993). 

 

Sure, it might be easy to call this one routine, what with it being a buddy thriller in the mountains between two people who get through a few personal disagreements to work together in pursuing one pretty obvious goal. It's a machine of familiar aspects, right down to changing the locale for the final pursuit...and I love stuff like this. It's a fun movie for the execution that it holds in its hand of entertainment, one where you can playfully ask questions about its premise and not feel the need to come up with an answer (or, "cope", if one is younger). Who cares about why just one FBI guy is present to chase a killer when it is so much fun to see the revolving door of moments that come from Poitier and Berenger. It helps that Poitier (who turned 60 in 1987) hasn't lost his touch when it comes to selling the movie with poise that is basically unshakable even when in a different element (as one does when stolen jewels turn into folks having their eyes shot out), and it pairs well with the hardened Berenger (always a charmer*, I would say) for a few chuckles in the crisscross of trying to move forward in a locale that curves on a whim, such as say, a bear encounter. It helps that the movie takes some time to actually reveal just who is the killer is (okay you already can tell by the billing) to pair along with Alley (decent, if not exactly comparable to someone like Brown) and others for a bit of smooth tension, because there is a bit of a mean streak with the body count. Seriously, you get a few people thrown off ledges to pair with an experience that eventually climaxes with shooting a gun in water, it is the kind of movie you slip on at night and just enjoy the ride. Both actors get to run the process of what they know best in their environments without underselling the other person. This was a movie made when films still liked to actually strive for a landscape to look upon with pride (it was mostly filmed in British Columbia, as one does when being set in the Northwest), suffice to say. As a whole, Shoot to Kill is a pleasant thriller for all involved, maneuvering through its 109-minute runtime with a good sense of adventure and fun that doesn't waver in its entertainment value regardless of how familiar it might seem because its charms are too good to resist.

 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Berenger is a sentimental favorite of mine, I think, mainly because I re-watch Major League every year.

*By the way, this movie actually has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Seriously.

Big.

Review #2524: Big. 

Cast: 

Tom Hanks (Adult Josh Baskin; David Moscow as Joshua "Josh" Baskin), Elizabeth Perkins (Susan Lawrence), Robert Loggia (Mr. MacMillan), John Heard (Paul Davenport), Jared Rushton (William "Billy" Francis Kopecki), Jon Lovitz (Scott Brennen), Mercedes Ruehl (Mrs. Baskin), Harvey Miller (David), Debra Jo Rupp (Miss Patterson), and Josh Clark (Mr. Baskin) Directed by Penny Marshall (#1500 - A League of their Own)

Review: 

“I guess I just hide behind things, whether it’s my whining or my sense of humor. Every once in a while I’m decisive--for about a minute. For me, acting was easier, because the gun goes off and you have to go for it. With directing, I know people on movie sets want leadership, but I don’t exude that captain-of-the-ship image. I’d get on the phone with (“Big” producer) Jim Brooks and apologize all the time and say, ‘I’m no good at this. I think if he didn’t know me as well as he did, he would’ve been scared that I was running the movie.”

I had this movie on my shelf for a few years because even with a good reputation, sometimes you just kick something down the road until the time finally comes to actually talk about it, so here is a review about a movie that basically is hard not to like. To start with, Penny Marshall started as a director with the encouragement of her brother Garry while starring on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley, which saw her direct a couple of episodes. She was tapped to make her feature film debut with Peggy Sue Got Married before creative differences* saw her drop out, but she soon got hired to direct Jumpin' Jack Flash [1986] (a movie that was supposed to have Howard Zieff as director) that she basically summarized as the equivalent of "cramming four years of college into one semester." This was the first screenplay for both Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg; he had worked as a fisherman and dabbled in speechwriting she had worked for Amblin Entertainment. Various people were thought of to do the film that ranged from Steven Spielberg with Harrison Ford to eventually finding its way with Marshall, who approached various others and nearly had Robert De Niro tapped to play the title role before it fell through, which opened the door for Hanks. Released in the wake (read: a whole year) of a few films that happened to deal with age-changing with Like Father Like Son (1987), 18 Again! (1988), and Vice Versa (1988), Big was the biggest hit of the bunch, garnering Academy Award nominations for Ross, Spielberg, and Hanks; the success of the film even led to a Broadway musical adaptation. Two versions of the movie exist: the original cut was 104 minutes while you can see on home media an "extended edition" that runs at 130 minutes that basically lends more time to the young and adult characters (for more information, see here).

For a movie that basically is a fairy tale about figuring out the real joys of being a person beyond being "grown up". All childhoods come to an end, but it doesn't mean the joy (whether it involves the company of others or, well, aspirations for bigger things) has to fade away. One of the more important things that Marshall had to focus on was making sure that Hanks "had to be 12, not play at being 12." The movie basically rides on the fact that Hanks has to aim for innocence that isn't just doing a bit for the sake of doing it, particularly since you're spending time first with Moscow and Rushton before getting to the Zoltar machine (without needing too much time spent on what is, well, a wish gone right). Hanks was already pretty well-established a comedy guy (most notably with Bosom Buddies and Splash), but there is something so effective here in how vulnerable he proves himself to be here in the experience of someone who realizes there is more to life than the crushing grind of "things" that also happens to be quite funny. It works just as well for Perkins in the realization that comes in seeing a bit of warmth in the cold place of what people think of adulthood and in business (or in trying to climb up the ladder, if one wants to mechanical about would-be romances). Heard and Loggia each provide a few amusing moments in the contrast between office politics that basically do sound vacant and odd from the perspective of a kid (alternatively, there's a scene where Heard is trying to win really hard at paddleball that basically shows just how childish one can be even in front of people that also is pretty funny). You get a movie with gags about realizing the odds and ends of life through the wide-eyed curiosity of Hanks that also has time to actually have commitment to its charm and light fantasy. Much like a Walking Piano, Big is a worthwhile curiosity that can be played over and over again to find new keys to appreciate from all involved.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*as seen in this article. She was also thought of for Joy of Sex, apparently.

Crossing Delancey.

Review #2521: Crossing Delancey.

Cast: 

Amy Irving (Isabelle Grossman), Peter Riegert (Sam Posner), Reizl Bozyk (Bubbe "Ida" Kantor), Jeroen Krabbé (Anton Maes), Sylvia Miles (Hannah Mandelbaum), George Martin (Lionel), John Bedford Lloyd (Nick), Claudia Silver (Cecelia Monk), David Hyde Pierce (Mark), Rosemary Harris (Pauline Swift), Suzzy Roche (Marilyn Cohen), Amy Wright (Ricki), and Faye Grant (Candyce) Directed by Joan Micklin Silver (#1818 - Hester Street, #1988 - Between the Lines, #2193 - Chilly Scenes of Winter)

Review: 

“The more I’m left alone, the better I do. It isn’t that I think I’m smarter than anyone or anything like that. It’s just what whatever my instincts are, it’s better for me to be able to put those into play in my own work.”

You might call this a slam-dunk type of movie to go with, if you like the previous efforts of Joan Micklin Silver. Sure, Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979) was butchered by the studio to where it didn't even have the title it wanted until a 1982 re-edit, but she had kept busy in the meantime, doing a handful of TV movies (How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days and Finnegan Begin Again) along with Off-Broadway productions. Silver first heard of the Crossing Delancey play from Susan Sandler, as it started out as a five-person play that Sandler wanted Silver to see and it soon raised her interest to do a film, although there was little interest in making the film due to it apparently being "too ethnic". Steven Spielberg, who was married to Irving at the time, helped get the film to the attention of Warner Bros. and an executive willing to do the movie with Silver. Made on a budget of roughly $4 million, the movie (one where she had final cut privilege, a thing she stated was her favorite part of the experience of making the film) was a light hit with audiences. Silver made three further theatrical films, with the next being Loverboy (1989)

Whether one has heard or experienced the qualms of someone trying to play matchmaker or not, we've all had that experience of trying to figure of what we really want. Basically, it is a movie about someone who has to figure out what they really want from their life, one that is wrapped within the city life of New York and a proud Jewish rom-com identity that unwinds its 97 minute runtime to justify its love story with such charm and the knowledge to just let the story breathe in the feminine perspective. It helps that the movie has plenty of good timing with humor in the variety of characters that come through the Lower East Side (single or otherwise), honestly. There is a tension of trying to figure things out as a "modern girl" that Irving handles with such entertaining grace, mainly because she lays out what she thinks she wants with the right type of timing for a wavering mood. She sees the life (possibly non-Jewish, if you read into that) inhabited by folks such as Krabbe and thinks that is the one she wants to orbit around no matter how much you could see through him quickly (that's not to criticize Krabbe, because he is quite funny here). Incidentally, the one thing that Sandler requested for the film was that it include Peter Riegert (you might remember was in Silver's previous film with Chilly Scenes of Winter). It's easy to see why Riegert* being here is a pretty good choice when you consider the fact that he makes such a warm presence to contribute to such a curious chemistry with Irving, mainly because he plays blue-collar elegance with the type of confidence of who they are and what they like. This was the only film appearance of Reizl Bozyk, the Polish-born actress who had been involved with Yiddish stage from her youth (right up to her death in 1993 at the age of 79, she was set to tour again for Crossing Delancey on stage), and she practically comes off as a pro with how amusing and delightful she proves to those who, well, know about well-meaning old folks. The others are also pretty fascinating, mainly with the amusingly pushy Miles or the one-scene charmer with Harris. Basically, this is a movie for people who need a film to pair with Marty (1955) in terms of exploring what really matters in trying to be happy with another person and actually crossing the path to get there. Is it predictable and schmaltzy? Perhaps, but that's the whole fun of it all, because it is a movie that sees the clash of "modern" sensibilities and ones of tradition and finds hope that they can in fact co-exist hand-in-hand for a winner.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

(belated) Song of the day

*Riegert was in Animal House and The Mask, hell yeah

Pumpkinhead.

Review #2464: Pumpkinhead.

Cast: 

Lance Henriksen (Ed Harley), John D'Aquino (Joel), Jeff East (Chris), Kerry Remsen (Maggie), Kimberly Ross (Kim), Joel Hoffman (Steve "Scratch"), Cynthia Bain (Tracey), Florence Schauffler (Haggis), Matthew Hurley (Billy Harley), Buck Flower (Mr. Wallace), Brian Bremer (Bunt Wallace), Mayim Bialik (Christine Wallace), Lee DeBroux (Tom Harley), Peggy Walton-Walker (Ellie Harley), Madeleine Taylor Holmes (Old Hill Woman), and Tom Woodruff Jr. (Pumpkinhead) Directed by Stan Winston.

Review: 

“It was a small picture, something I thought I could handle as a director; and I felt there was a lot that I could bring to the story. So I told the producers, ‘Yeah, I’ll do the creature — but only if I can direct the movie.’”

Apparently, Pumpkinhead started out as a poem, written by Ed Justin. It was merely a poem about avoiding Pumpkinhead unless one was tired of living or was one of his dead enemies, complete with stating that nothing, not even a guard dog prowling in the yard, would protect from it. Four different people were given writing credits: Mark Patrick Carducci and Gary Gerani wrote the screenplay, while Carducci, Richard C. Weinman and Stan Winston were given credit for the story. Winston expressed interest in directing the movie when asked by the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group about doing the special effects. Winston originally started in Hollywood as an aspiring actor before deciding to aim for makeup work, rising from an apprentice at Walt Disney Studios to having his own company by the 1970s. He won a handful of Emmy Awards in the decade before becoming a perennial Academy Award-nominated name, which started with Heartbeeps (1982) and peaked with Aliens (1986). Winston directed just two films: Pumpkinhead and A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990) but continued to work in effects for films that saw him win four Academy Awards before he died in 2008 at the age of 62. The movie inspired three follow-up films: two for television and one direct-to-video that saw Henriksen reprise his role twice. A remake has been teased for a few years now but nothing has happened as of yet (honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and give new life to the material - what, you want remakes of great horror movies again?). 

Admittedly, it is a bit above average. It has one worthwhile performance in Henriksen to go along with a solid looking monster to hold up a movie that is sometimes satisfying in what comes from one having to actually hear about what revenge really means when dealing with a creature that comes from an old pumpkin patch in a graveyard. Inspired or not, it reminds one of Forbidden Planet (1956), which had "monsters from the id" as a key focus, although it is placed in a movie that has a body count of a few teens that is more about having them be victims of impulse and anger rather than just straight up being people to dispose of like other slashers. It's a movie that has one interested most of the time in its rural atmosphere and occasional nice shots to see for a movie that has an interesting looking monster. It only gets shown in the dark, but it manages to come off so well with what you actually see of it and its movements, managing to come off a creature of vengeance and fear right from the jump, particularly since it doesn't have one of those silly weaknesses that could corral other being of anger but instead inward. Henriksen manages to achieve most of the goals probably set out in a performance meant to built on pain, mostly because he is likable enough to make you understand why someone might inquire about the sacrifices one might take when their pride and joy is put in danger. He makes for a quality doomed figure, one who we want to understand in the vulnerability that comes in looking upon what anger takes a person, which carries a movie where the teens are mostly just fine. The guilt is palpable even with the inevitability that comes with, well, a slasher, although it is curiously one with multiple final people. I like the ending in its swift nature of showing just where vigilante justice can take a person and what it may lead to again for those down the road, whether it involves one or a group to target. As a whole, Pumpkinhead has its peaks and valleys when it comes to entertainment value that you either like for what it is in spectacle or wash away in the sea of slashers. You might find some enjoyment here.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Next up: Tales from the Hood.

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey.

Review #2416: The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey.

Cast: 

Bruce Lyons (Connor), Chris Haywood (Arno), Hamish McFarlane (Griffin), Marshall Napier (Searle), Noel Appleby (Ulf), Paul Livingston (Martin), Sarah Peirse (Linnet), Mark Wheatley (Tog 1), Tony Herbert (Tog 2), Jessica Cardiff-Smith (Esme), and Roy Wesney (Grandpa) Directed by Vincent Ward (#627 - What Dreams May Come)

Review: 

"It's easy to get films made that are more generic. I want my films to be accessible, though I also want to do them on my own terms, and to be about my own concerns as a filmmaker."

Sure, of course New Zealand counts for World cinema, since they do manage to conjure up a few interesting directors and movies from time to time, particularly with this co-production between New Zealand and Australia. Vincent Ward was born in Greytown to a background of farmers (his father] had damaged hands from the war that still maintained his farm). He studied Fine Arts in university but ended up becoming a filmmaker in 1978. He made his feature debut with Vigil (1984) that had come from years of searching for ideal settings to film and in casting; the movie was the first of the country's type to get on the prominent festival circuit. Apparently, the impetus of the next film by Ward started when he tried to cross a German autobahn (a federal controlled-access highway system) and got stranded. Ward wrote the script with Geoff Gapple and Kely Lyons. Made over the course of ten weeks in 1987 with a look that had influence from the Middle Ages (the film utilizes certain shades when it is set in the present day when compared to the black-and-white medieval sequences) to go alongside elaborate shots, the movie only became reality when the Australian Film Commission gave partial funding when the usual way of tax breaks was rejected. Ward didn't exactly become a household name, although it was not really his fault. He was actually the first director tapped to direct Alien 3, as he wrote the treatment that was thoroughly beaten to hell in the final rendition. Instead, Ward followed the Navigator film with Map of the Human Heart (1993). His next batch of films came with What Dreams May Come (1998), River Queen (2005), and Rain of the Children (2008), with the latter being his last released movie. At any rate, he keeps busy with painting and video art.

Whether seen as a fantasy adventure or as seen as movie of keeping one's faith under all circumstances, it is a pretty curious movie that is far more than, well, travelling through time (or do they...). Dream land or not, the atmospheric qualities of the movie come out pretty well in showing the wacked world of a place closed off (in some way) from certain people (one is in 1348, the other, well, in the 20th century), as one does when involving New Zealand, I suppose. It isn't so much that the modern world would look spooky to someone from an older time: nay, it (be it a highway full of many lanes) would look downright hellish, and it really is a bit of destiny to hold it all together for the plight of God and for themselves. The ragtag ensemble is pretty good in conveying the foibles and lingering destiny, mostly on the shoulders of McFarlane, who actually didn't become a regular actor (instead favoring being an assistant director in films and TV), but it is true that they have a wide-eyed appeal here that works for those who understand the zeal that comes in youth. It also reflects well on Lyons (who acted in just one other film), who actually was thought of in mind by one of the co-writers (K.Lyons, who he was married to). It just so happens that the ordinary can look extraordinary in the faces of youth, and that works out to make the ending all the more ironic. It is a moody film that does look really nice while conveying a sense of adventure with its own playing of time and imagery, which does make the 93-minute runtime go off without too many hitches. As a whole, its a movie that reminds one that some folks really believe that faith can override anything, rationales be damned.

 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

Review #2349: I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

Cast: 

Keenen Ivory Wayans (Jack Spade), Bernie Casey (John Slade), Ja'net Dubois (Belle Brown-Spade), Isaac Hayes ("Hammer"), Jim Brown ("Slammer"), Antonio Fargas (Flyguy), Steve James (Joe "Kung Fu Joe"), John Vernon ("Mr. Big"), Dawnn Lewis (Cheryl Spade), Kadeem Hardison (Willie), Damon Wayans (Leonard), Kim Wayans (Nightclub Singer), Nadia Wayans (Bar Patron), Chris Rock (Rib Joint Customer), Anne-Marie Johnson ("Cherry"), and Eve Plumb (Kalinga's Wife) Written and Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Review: 

Nothing really stays out of style, particularly when it comes to silly movies making light of, well, "blaxploitation movies". This was the directorial debut of Keenen Wayans. The second of ten children that grew up in New York. He actually studied engineering on a scholarship at Tuskegee University but found that entertaining his friends at college made him more interested to pursue comedy and dropped out of school. He performed on the stage in both New York and Los Angeles; in collaboration with Robert Townsend, who had helped him learn about the comedy business, the two did Hollywood Shuffle (1987), each appearing in the film along with writing it. The resulting hit got Wayans money to make what became this film. Evidently, it was Eddie Murphy who came up with the original idea (including the title) that Wayans got permission to use for what became this film (which featured the film debuts of his brothers Marlon and Shawn) that eventually became a mild success with audiences. To put it mildly, this would be the first of a handful of movies involving the Wayans family, with several Wayans members being featured on television (In Living Color, most notably) and films, with Keenan directing five further movies, most notably doing the first two Scary Movie films.

 

Some movies are better at the hit-or-miss targeting than others, particularly one that starts with an introduction to "Any Ghetto, U.S.A." It plays with the stuff you would probably already know from previous movies of the decade before (why else cast faces as familiar as Brown?) to varying effect in how much one will chuckle at silly lines and sillier situations for the most evident of setups, whether that involves a certain music choice or an early scene seeing a character be swapped out for a white person when doing a stunt involving kicks. You get the pastiches and chuckle if you like thinking about the fact that people really did just think of the most absurd scenarios for inner city mayhem (I haven't had to see Super Fly [1972], but that apparently has a cocaine dealer who used karate, and the third Shaft movie sent the hero to Africa, just for example). Wayans at least is playing a wannabee hero (i.e. he plays a veteran...secretary) rather than just a bland hero to forget about, and he does relatively well in inspiring some chuckles. You've got your three familiar faces with Casey, Hayes, and Brown that each generate a chuckle in their general timing of just rolling with routine stuff, which mostly involves straight-faced play by Brown that probably works the best among the group, although Hayes comes pretty close with one scene opposite Rock about cheapskates in "oh, yes, that is damn funny". Vernon doesn't exactly have much to do for a role that requires sitting and gruff voicework, but since I happen to like Vernon and his workmanlike precision to hard-assery, I accept it. It might not exactly compare in actual sheer audacity seen in, say, Trouble Man (1972), but it'll still play anyway in throwing gags and people on just for the hell of it. In general, the 89-minute runtime has some silly charm and sillier execution that is funny in parts in rolling with familiar attitudes and just chuckling as if the one thing that matters is just rolling without worrying about stereotypes or whatever people claim to think about for certain comedies. Silly stuff really can just work for me if it at least seems committed to the hustle, basically. It proves an adequate little comedy you might find right up your alley in familiar smooth-talking chuckling vibes, so take that for what it is worth.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Review #2339: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Cast: 

Carmen Maura (Pepa Marcos), Antonio Banderas (Carlos), Julieta Serrano (Lucía), María Barranco (Candela), Rossy de Palma (Marisa), Kiti Mánver (Paulina Morales), Guillermo Montesinos (the taxi driver), Chus Lampreave (the Jehovah's Witness portress), and Fernando Guillén (Iván) Written and Directed by Pedro Almodóvar.

Review: 

"I was trying to talk about abandonment, about misunderstanding between women and men. The idea came from The Human Voice, a play by Jean Cocteau from 1930, but in a very free way. I often start writing with an idea of my own, or someone else’s, and in the process discover something else I really want to write. The first idea disappears – but it has an important place because it’s the thing that pushed you."

It's funny to consider the number of filmmakers who went against the wishes of their parents. Born in Calzada de Calatrava in Spain to a winemaker and transcriber, Pedro Almodóvar actually was sent to a religious boarding school as a child because they wanted to put him on the road to being a priest. However, he instead developed a love for the cinema, with a key influence being Luis Buñuel. His upbringing led him to a deep appreciation to the women around him. He moved to Madrid against the wishes of his parents in 1967 but had to teach himself when the National School of cinema got closed by the Franco dictatorship. He worked a variety of jobs, most notably as an administrative assistant with the Spanish phone company Telefónica. He did work in the theatre scene and wrote for newspapers before making his first films in 1974 with a handful of short films made through a Super-8 camera. Through the help of several followers of his work for funds, he made his first feature with Pepi, Luci, Bom in 1980. He steadily made features all throughout the decade before forming his own production company with his brother in 1986. But it was this film (known in its native Spain as "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios"), his seventh as a filmmaker that he received considerable attention beyond his country; he cited the screwball comedies of the 1940s/1950s as key to the origin of the film, which had him garner his first Academy Award nomination. Incidentally, while the film had some inspiration from the play The Human Voice, the influence of the play was already present in Almodóvar's previous film Law of Desire (1987). Over his career (which still goes on even at the age of 75), the two-time Academy Award winning director has made over two dozen films in a wide variety of genres, once describing his cinema as one of "mixed genres" (calling his films camp is kind of funny, since apparently "camp" isn't even a word in his native Spain).

There is something fascinating in the lurid ways one can make a melodrama feel so alive and so dazzling. The energy and passion on screen is quite palpable, particularly for those who like to experience screwball movies that moves along with a spring in its step for 89 minutes with plenty to enjoy in screwy people where the strangest things really can happen suddenly. Complicated people are as weird as you and me because melodrama is present wherever you can look in the pageantry of life, complete with a considerably colorful set with the apartment that dominates most of the setting. This was the last of a string of movies Maura made with Almodóvar (the two had a falling out for years during production), which I'm sure is quite interesting for those watching at the end of that rope. At any rate, she makes for a curious performance when it comes to frantic commitment that rolls along with the other people in strange situations devoured by passion and missed connections. Her weary nature at the growing absurdity (escaped nuts, secretive lawyers, you get the idea) is a funny one to see play out with commitment in the art of suffering and nerves, suffice to say. You've got a couple of upstarts with Barranco, Banderas and de Palma (the former had a few TV productions and shorts behind her, the middle got his start with Almodóvar's Labyrinth of Passion [1982] and the latter had two other movie roles) that do inspire a number of laughs in the charm that arises quickly in their wandering nature that they play right to the point that arises when one knows people that can't help but bring you right into strange chaos when you actually say it aloud. Serrano is usefully deranged to help the contrast between our lovable goofballs and, well, other nuts (to say nothing of Guillén, who pops in and out with exquisite cad energy). The chase sequence near the climax is especially amusing in that delightful sort of manner that comes in frantic energy and timing that even has a good punchline to close it all out in moving on. There are just a handful of lines that just bounce with the disposition of someone who has a pretty good idea of the foibles that come with hang-ups and hanging on that is endearing in all of those chuckles. As a whole, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a pretty fun farce, managing to roll along with curiosity and humor that goes through the eyes of a woman with refreshing commitment and insight for a good time.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

School Daze.

Review #2181: School Daze.

Cast: 

Laurence Fishburne (Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap), Giancarlo Esposito (Julian "Dean Big Brother Almighty" Eaves), Tisha Campbell (Jane Toussaint), Kyme (Rachel Meadows), Joe Seneca (President Harold McPherson), Ellen Holly (Odrie McPherson), Art Evans (Cedar Cloud), Ossie Davis (Coach Odom), Bill Nunn (Grady), Branford Marsalis (Jordan), Kadeem Hardison (Edge), Spike Lee (Darrell "Half-Pint" Dunlap), Darryl M. Bell (Big Brother X-Ray Vision), Joie Lee (Lizzie Life), Alva Rogers (Doris Witherspoon), Jasmine Guy (Dina), and Samuel L. Jackson (Leeds) Produced, Written, and Directed by Spike Lee (#1255 - Do the Right Thing, #1543 - Inside Man, #1643 - Malcolm X, and #1976 - She's Gotta Have It)

Review: 

I don't pretend to know the legacy of certain films, but I do have an interest in the film that comes after one makes their debut feature, particularly if it happens to be one from a director as prominent in black cinema as Spike Lee. School Daze (1988) is curious not only as one released two years after She's Gotta Have It (his formal debut after his student films and shorts, remember) that was followed almost immediately by his third effort in Do the Right Thing one year later. This film was shaped by his experiences that he had when attending Morehouse College (a historically black college in Atlanta) in the late 1970s. Island Pictures, which had distributed Lee's first film, had planned on doing this film as well, but wavering issues in the budget (which finished above $6 million) eventually led to Columbia Pictures acquiring it. Strangely, a movie that talks about sororities and fraternities had a bit of a tough task in finding a place to shoot the film, which included Morehouse (irony?) before Atlanta University was utilized. Apparently, the film had different housing for certain groups of the cast, which led to an unscripted (and filmed) confrontation at a "stepping show". The movie was a modest hit with audiences.

Every so often I have to remember that films of a certain age could actually talk lightly about issues that mattered that seem distinct from now, which starts pretty quickly with a film that starts with someone trying to do a protest about divesting from South Africa. Of course, what really matters for this film is how people treat each other in the facets that come in... colleges and dorms. Within the divides that comes from people of the same color and distinct privileges is a film that also happens to have a few music numbers. I personally don't have any experience with fraternities, but I think we can understand that divides between certain groups and classes is not always black and white as it might seem. Of course, it seems like a fable one tells to try and get people to wake up (almost as if they were in a... daze) to the issues that are mired in the muck beyond arguments over hair. One can say progress has been made in a certain place, but how much of what we say is progress as opposed to being lip service? I liked the movie fine, even though its 121 minute runtime does tend to make one desire the tiniest bit more from its ending, which almost seems to be direct but brief as possibly can be. Fishburne has all the confidence required in a film surrounded by apathy that isn't merely played as a martyr but one with his own biases and charms. The musical numbers are executed with varying effectiveness, but probably the best sequences of the film are in smaller moments. I especially like one scene involving Fishburne and his group going out into town to eat only to confront some locals (which is where Jackson appears briefly) that resent them in their own privileges, because if there is one thing to say about people, it is that there are people who will just look down on anyone who want better for themselves, even to the point of calling them a certain word and say that they'll be like them "just like us". Esposito makes an ideal wannabee with a total absence of awareness for anything but his own group for a distinct act of the public. His narrowmindedness strikes most of all, even with Campbell (and accompanying status in loyalty) right there on the divide of hair and sororities. Amusement is here and there in those selection of scenes for a movie not focused on showing the classroom (Davis having a scene in trying to motivate his football team is a real chuckler). At the end of the day, the black experience is one that cannot be thought as just simple to pin down for easy stereotypes, regardless if one is a college man or not. Living in apathy that just thinks about wallowing in where they are or just being content with a small piece of the action is just not enough when one could also wake up to what's around them. The film is mildly effective in its approach as a whole due to a game cast that makes Lee's second effort at least a useful curiosity to seek out on its own terms.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The Dead Pool.

Review #2162: The Dead Pool.

Cast: 

Clint Eastwood (Inspector Harry Callahan), Patricia Clarkson (Samantha Walker), Liam Neeson (Peter Swan), Evan C. Kim (Inspector Al Quan), David Hunt (Harlan Rook), Michael Currie (Captain Donnelly), Michael Goodwin (Lieutenant Ackerman), Jim Carrey (Johnny Squares), Anthony Charnota (Lou Janero), and Ronnie Claire Edwards (Molly Fisher) Directed by Buddy Van Horn.

Review: 

Sure, there might be something to say about how the Dirty Harry series managed to end at probably the right time. This was the fifth and final film with Eastwood in the series as originally devised in the previous decade of the 1970s by Harry Julian Fink and R.M. Fink. Say what you will about how the film is in some sort of manner of "politics", the film was a popular one of its time and of now because, well, people do go to watch handily crafted films of action and suspense done right. Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976) and Sudden Impact (1983) were all adequate sequels to the original, even if they had their varying qualities of definition that ranged to a middling climatic punch to headline-drawing confrontations with smart remarks or heightened contrasts in the pursuit of "justice". I'm just more surprised I didn't turn cynical with any of the sequels, but it probably has something to do with the slap-bang touch that comes with that passiveness of Eastwood as the one constant, because even the directors aren't the same through and through. This was the second of three films directed by Buddy Van Horn, who had served as a second unit director on Magnum Force (1973) and had directed Eastwood in Any Which Way You Can (1980) among other various things; Van Horn's third and final effort was with Eastwood in Pink Cadillac (1989), the action-comedy flop. The screenplay (written entirely by people who never wrote a film again) was done by Steve Sharon while the story was done by Sharon, Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw. The latter two had served as scientific advisors on Eastwood's Firefox (1982) and consultants on Brainstorm (1983) but are perhaps best known for their book on life extension and smart drug movements in Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach.

It probably is a bit tough to seek out a ranking of where the sequel films lie when compared to each other, but one can at least say this one was decent enough for Eastwood to not think about going for another one. You have time to dwell on Guns N' Roses appearing in music and literal form to go with toy car bombs, a young Neeson and Carrey (one going around saying "luv" for dialogue at time and it isn't the comedian saying it) and you get the idea. Getting to 58 and still seeming at home with quips and general dry ways of handling the material is not a bad place to be if you are Clint Eastwood. It wouldn't be his last one of the action genre or the buddy stuff, because he would do variations on it with films such as The Rookie two years later. And yet, well, he is still the professional you usually see in his films (directed or what have you), which is that particular type of dryness that cares about the facts over fluff of the moment. Clarkson does fine in the rapport of media with cops that at least isn't too much of patronizing schtick. Not to spoil anything, but one really might be disappointed in just who the villain is when it comes to presence, but this isn't that new when talking about Dirty Harry sequels, but at least the climax gives some useful cat-and-mouse trickery. I sure could have had more Neeson when it comes to trying to deal in spectacle and obsession in scuzzyness. I suppose seeing nuts that want to be on television or take down folks in delusion sounds about right. The chase sequence involving little dialogue and one particular idea of dealing with explosives does the job without becoming silly. Granted, the film doesn't exactly have the best way of handling its threat to our hero, particularly with a runtime of just 91 minutes, but it all still comes together. The people that dig films like this when it comes to fun slam-bang films (with some sort of message this time around involving the media doing things like you'd see coming from the media) will be fine here while the ones who probably weren't too big on Eastwood as a whole know exactly what they have to pick at here with an inferior sequel that might make them think they are watching A View to a Kill (okay, Eastwood and Moore were each near 60 and each film is set in the Bay Area...). In a sea of decent Dirty Harry sequels, you can't go wrong with any of them as acceptable films for a look around procedure and what can be bent in the idea of justice when it comes to the cloying hands of bureaucracy and eyes all around. As such, The Dead Pool is totally fine for entertainment.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Redux: Die Hard.

Redux Review #014: Die Hard.

Cast: 

Bruce Willis (John McClane), Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber), Alexander Godunov (Karl), Bonnie Bedelia (Holly Gennaro-McClane), Reginald VelJohnson (Al Powell), Paul Gleason (Dwayne T. Robinson), De'voreaux White (Argyle), William Atherton (Richard Thornburg), Clarence Gilyard (Theo), Hart Bochner (Harry Ellis), and James Shigeta (Joseph Takagi) Directed by John McTiernan.

Review: 

From my review on December 22, 2010: 

This film brings exuberant joy and all the fun and bang in a 2-hour action packed film set on Christmas Eve. The acting is alright considering this an action film an all, with fine action and some decent suspense. Willis is the standout with a decent performance that would jump-start his career. This film would begin a franchise, which I will attempt to cover soon.

It's one of the best action films ever made. How much is there to say about Die Hard in the 35 years that have passed since its release? How many times can one watch the film and find new ways and things to examine? Well, you would be surprised. I actually can't believe I only thought the film was just a 9/10 as a teenager, particularly since it was one of those films that endure in the memory for quite some time. Probably one thing that didn't come to mind the first time I saw it is that it was actually based on a 1979 novel called Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp (a writer who also dabbled in a detective agency in his youth). The author had written the book as a follow-up to his previous procedural novel in The Detective, with this being inspired by a dream he had about men chasing each other through a building...after he had saw the 1974 film The Towering Inferno. I'm sure you can see those similarities and differences pop up: an aging ex-NYPD detective is being chased by terrorists (led by a man named "Tony the Red" Gruber) and tries to save his daughter (a Ms. Gennaro) through stunts such as crawling through ducts while LAPD cops can only listen to him on the radio (the book is told all in POV of the detective). Jeb Stuart was tasked to write a screenplay with that in mind (as proposed to him by Lloyd Levin, who had been trying to get development done for it at 20th Century Fox), which would be pitched as "Rambo in a building". Of course, for Stuart, the real big thing to making it a useful screenplay was as he put it, "about a thirty-year-old who should have said he’s sorry to his wife and something really bad happens.” Written with undertones of thriller and the Western genres, Fox went right in with this for a target of Summer 1988, although Steven E. de Souza was tasked with doing a few re-writes as an experienced writer of blending action and comedy. de Souza (a Philadelphia native) went from story editing in television to producing TV to film writing with stuff such as Arnold's Wrecking Co. (1973), 48 Hrs. (1982), and Commando (1985). Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver produced the film and had such a good time with John McTiernan when he did Predator (1987) for them that he was brought in to direct this film, provided that he put "some joy in it". It was the third theatrical film for the director and a hit that he returned to for the third film of what became a franchise: Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013).

Everywhere you look and listen with this film is a success on every level, particularly for its genre. 132 minutes never has seemed so swift for a fun thriller that is so crisp in its execution that it could be watched on any day of the year. You could just make a list of people to give credit for it being a success that would seem like a laundry list that goes from McTiernan to the cinematographer in Jan de Bont (himself a future action director) to music cues from Michael Kamen (who initially resisted the idea of McTiernan to have Beethoven's Symphony No. 9) to Stuart & de Souza to a well-rounded cast from top to bottom that grows upon every viewing. Willis (born in West Germany but raised in New Jersey) had exactly two film credits: Blind Date (1987) and Sunset (1988) to go with his most prominent role as an actor at that time in the TV show Moonlighting, which had run from 1985 to early 1989 (the production of the film and the last episodes of the show were an ordeal to film back-to-back for Willis, obviously). The laundry list of people who rejected the lead role before Willis could make its own comedy: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burt Reynolds, Al Pacino, etc, etc. Willis is basically playing a Western hero that would be right at home for those who like High Noon (1952), complete with that interesting sense of vulnerability that comes through in all of the obscenities and observations. He does kick ass, but he is also one man left to dig out of the mud, and this makes for a compelling action thriller. If it was only him, the film would be pretty good, but having Rickman there to counter Willis with his composed nature of cutting charm and style is the best thing imaginable. He was a Tony Award-nominated actor in his forties that had to get over his doubts of having this serve as his debut into film. Can you think of a better background to go with a film debut like this? I sure can't think of many. He walks through the film with such sharp timing and dress sense (standing out from the others, which includes a former ballet dancer-turned-actor in Godunov) that can even make a solid attempt at an American accent. The highlight scene is a tough one to nail down, because he maneuvers the thriller angle with no sense of drying away from what could've just been nailed-down cliches from lesser actors so well. I think the scene where he is listing "demands" involving freeing a bunch of prisoners as if he was reading them off a magazine that he happened to glance at is probably him at his peak in terms of commanding presence and illusion without turning it into just a routine. Sure, there are plenty of action films to enjoy when it comes to the routines of slam-bang things or choice phrases, but one cherishes those character-driven ones so much more when you really do care about how it all goes down in stakes and in execution. With such time spent to praise Willis and Rickman, it might be easy to say they dominate over the other cast members. But they prove just as special in support when it comes to that specific nature of balance with Willis (and because of the nature of filming and in general when it comes to the rewrites). VelJohnson and Gleason make watching the terror down below matter in perspective when it comes to doubts and fears. One needs those vocal interactions between VelJohnson and Willis to accentuate the struggle that comes in "one vs. the world" to make it all matter just as much as seeing Bedelia react to the dread building around her or a blowhard in relief with the immeasurable Gleason and Atherton. Simply put: you might be able to assemble an entertaining film of some kind even if you split the cast in two. Like an inferno, it burns to a fever pitch that can't be extinguished easily or copied so easily. The irony of a pitch of "Rambo in a building" for this film is that its success would see other films being likened as "Die Hard on a [X]" when it came to an everyman dealing with terror on say, a bus or a battleship. In the end, this is a wonderful film for the season of anytime because it is timeless and effective on every level required, from its lead actors to its director to its sense of scale and sense of timing that makes you remember why you find the need to go back to it every now and then as you would expect from a classic.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

The Blob (1988).

Review #2136: The Blob.

Cast: 

Kevin Dillon (Brian Flagg), Shawnee Smith (Megan "Meg" Penny), Donovan Leitch (Paul Taylor), Jeffrey DeMunn (Sheriff Herb Geller), Candy Clark (Fran Hewitt), Joe Seneca (Dr. Christopher Meddows), Del Close (Reverend Meeker), Sharon Spelman (Mrs. Margaret Penny), Beau Billingslea (Moss Woodley), Art LaFleur (Pharmacist/Tom Penny), Ricky Paull Goldin (Scott Jeskey), Paul McCrane (Deputy Bill Briggs), Michael Kenworthy (Kevin Penny), Douglas Emerson (Eddie Beckner), Robert Axelrod (Jennings), and Bill Moseley (The Soldier in the Sewer) Directed by Chuck Russell (#157 - The Mask and #649 - A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)

Review: 

"Maybe it was a mistake to do a remake of The Blob with a sense of humor. I thought that would be an entertaining interpretation. … Unfortunately, it was released late in a very hectic summer filled with big films and it didn't have a particularly good ad campaign."

As you may remember, the 1958 film The Blob was a neat little film directed by Irvin Yeaworth that saw a script arise from Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson based on a story that was suggested by Irving H. Millgate to producer Jack H. Harris, a film distributor in his first production that probably was inspired by the discovery of "star jelly" in Pennsylvania in 1950. You probably know that, well, it was a success that was a classic example of drive-in enjoyment that seems practically critic-proof when it comes to the very fact that one really can't pick apart a film with such a silly title and such red blobby fun. Inevitably, a remake had to come (well, there was a "sequel" with Beware! The Blob in 1972 that had Harris as producer, but who cares about sequels that turn into a comedy with Larry Hagman as director?), but three decades is a pretty decent amount of time for one to await a remake, particularly since it has been 35 years since this film and no one has managed to get a second remake of the Blob despite rumblings for years and years. The remake script was done by Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont, each of whom had been involved with the previous year production of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, as directed by first-timer Russell. The Park Ridge native from Illinois had been a writer and director of one-act plays when studying at the University of Illinois before graduation led to him becoming an assistant director and production manager while working his way up to film, with his first film credit having been a co-credit in writing and producing for Dreamscape (1984). Russell has attempted to branch out in various genres in a lengthy career (to varying degrees of audience attention), but his horror stuff has certainly lent the most interest of curiosity. This is true for a film that used a good deal of puppetry with its title threat, as realized by various people such as makeup man Tony Gardner and creature coordinators Lyle Conway and Stuart Ziff. One way that they accomplished the effect was with a "Blob Quilt" that came from silk bags filled with Methacil that made for quite the effect when it came to dissolving people; a good deal of puppetry was also used. Somehow, the film was a flop on original release, not quite making back its $10 million budget.

Honestly, the remake might be just as good as the original film. 95 minutes seem to bounce away under the dissolving eyes of terror in the creature shown to us alongside the paranoia that comes in a time where one wouldn't simply see government figures as the easy force of benevolence. Oh sure, it is a film mostly for those who like to see a faster moving terror of slime that packs tentacles, but it is a much more interesting film because of its perfect timing when it comes to effects-laden filmmaking. This is the kind of movie for folks who dig Body Snatchers (1993), if you know what I mean. Smith and Dillon make a suitable pair of leads to carry the experience when it comes to reacting against ever-shifting terror, which work well for the cliches required (screams, or the totally-a-rebel delinquent, you get the idea) because they have a good stab at it rather than letting the material roll them over. Besides, the fact that the acid dissolves someone that looks to be one of the leads early (well, sometimes you can crib from better horror films when it means something cool). Seneca is the adversary in terms of "people are expendable" that is at least presented with relative ease rather than distractions. Bottom line, I enjoy the way the blob asorbs folks, whether that involves a person trying to get pulled out only to see their arm rip off or to cap off a standoff. The ending to the film in terms of how to resolve a blob that goes around absorbing people like jello is mostly the same in being repelled by the cold, although it is as open-ended as before, since the last one had one of those "The End?" cards and this one involves a remnant of the stuff still around. Too bad there isn't more Close, because one can't have enough weirdo priests thinking about the "end of Days" (mention that phrase to a random guy at church and see where that goes). Anyway, it's a fun film that I enjoyed when it comes to its pacing that shows a worthy threat in its creature to make itself worth watching as a second go of "The Blob" that deserved better attention back then.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next up: Final Destination 2.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Review #2105: Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Cast: 

Grant Cramer (Mike Tobacco), Suzanne Snyder (Debbie Stone), John Allen Nelson (Dave Hansen), John Vernon (Curtis Mooney), Michael S. Siegel (Rich Terenzi), Peter Licassi (Paul Terenzi), Royal Dano (Farmer Gene Green), Charles Chiodo (Jojo the Klownzilla), and Christopher Titus (Bob McReed) Directed by Stephen Chiodo.

Review: 

“We wanted to do to the toilet what Alfred Hitchcock did to the shower.”

I'm sure you have a grasp on a film with a title that distinct for a film so often labeled among the cult favorites, particularly ones that celebrate their 35th anniversary this year. Made as a homage to films such as The Blob (1958), this was the brainchild of the Chiodo brothers (Stephen, Charles & Edward), who had worked on various effects in films of the 1980s that dealt with either clay models, creature input, or stop motion, which could range from short sequences such as working on the "6000 SUX sequence" in RoboCop (1987) to critter design for Critters (1986). As such, the film was written by Charles and Stephen while the two produced it with their brother Edward, and it was they who came up with the idea of adding "from Outer Space" to the title so that people would not think it was a straight slasher movie. They did provide a few effects for the film, such as the miniature set for the sequence at the end involving "Klownzilla", which was played by one of the brothers in a suit when a lack of time meant it couldn't be done with stop motion. The film was distributed by Trans World Entertainment, which is probably more known for the credit scandal that bankrupted them in the 1990s rather than their feature films, which apparently didn't help the fate of this film on initial release. However, time has been extremely kind to this film to the point that plans for a follow-up or even a video game based on the film have been in talks for years; the Chiodo brothers have kept busy from time to time on certain jobs, whether that involved the opening sequence for Elf (2003) or Alien Xmas (2020). 

It is the kind of film you watch for the goofy charm that emanates in seemingly every scene, one that manages the tightrope act of strait-laced folks engaging with a high body count that arises from the alien threat that have such a wonderful look to them. Apparently, the look was so good that some of the costuming would be re-used for Ernest Scared Stupid (1991). I think the feature manages such a breezy and enjoyable atmosphere because it doesn't stumble in being exactly what you would think comes from a movie that sees folks driving in an ice cream truck in the belief that they could attract girls or clowns doing shadow puppets to a crowd that later eats them. The funny thing is that when compared to something like the B-movie tribute Night of the Creeps (1986), Killer Klowns strikes for an even more obvious tone but somehow proves more successful in general enjoyment. It has a feeling of an offbeat cartoon at times within its look that comes with scenes shot involving the lair of the Klowns (which involve plenty of cocoons). I had a feeling there was going to be a gag or two involving klowns and gags, and sure enough, I enjoyed chuckling at a live balloon dog. Honestly, I can at least see why someone would be afraid of a clown even it sounds a bit silly (as a kid, I had other fears, like the 20th Century Fox opening or, uh, sunflowers). The main trio (Cramer-Snyder-Nelson) is charmingly one-note, managing to not distract the proceedings while inspiring a few light moments of banter. They may be vaguely young adults, but they are tolerable young adults. If there ever was an actor who rolled right along with being the hardass to play for laughs, Vernon would be the one to cite in the best of ways, all things considered. Siegel and Licassi make for a few relief moments of chuckles (well, the whole film is full of them, but still). The climax is goofy and about on par when you have a man in a suit and a big top to go with pies. In general, the 88-minute runtime is efficient for a charming feature of gnarly klowns creating havoc is one that proves that sometimes you really can catch lightning in a bottle when it comes to slasher amusement with the enduring element of energetic imagination above all else.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next up: Hammer strikes double with Dracula and Frankenstein...1970 style.

Above the Law (1988).

Review #2038: Above the Law.

Cast: 

Steven Seagal (Sergeant Nicolo "Nico" Toscani), Pam Grier (Detective Delores "Jacks" Jackson), Henry Silva (CIA Agent Kurt Zagon), Ron Dean (Detective Lukich), Sharon Stone (Sara Toscani), Gene Barge (Detective Henderson), Chelcie Ross (CIA Agent Nelson Fox), Ronnie Barron (CIA Bartender), Nicholas Kusenko (FBI Agent Neeley), and Gregory Alan Williams (FBI Agent Halloran) Directed by Andrew Davis (#176 - The Fugitive, #187 - Holes, and #1877 - Under Siege)

Review: 

"The whole motivation behind me doing this film was my trying to make up for all the things I've seen-and done. I'm tired of seeing us try to destabilize governments, prop up dictators and get involved with drug smugglers and crooks."

Admittedly, it is hard to look at an action star unless you start with their very first film just to see where things could go from that point. This also applies to the director at times too, if you think about it. There apparently is a rumor that the career of Steven Seagal started because one guy in Michael Ovitz really thought that the man that instructed him in aikido could be in films. Of course, since Ovitz happened to be the founder of Creative Artists Agency, sometimes it really does help to have friends in high places. Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan but moved to Fullerton, California when he was five years old. After his teenage years (spent between a local dojo and playing rock music), he became interested in Japan and lived between there and the U.S. for years (he taught at a dojo in Japan due to marriage). Seagal has claimed at times to have been close to CIA agents when living in Japan teaching aikido (along with setting up safe houses for the Shah of Iran in 1979), but who the hell knows? Seagal did have some film experience before this film with a total of three credits, which was as stunt coordinator in The Challenge (1982), martial arts instructor in Never Say Never Again (1983) and choreographer in A View to a Kill (1985). The screenplay was done by Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett, and Andrew Davis, while Seagal and Davis (who also served as producers) co-wrote the story, and it would be the last one Seagal was given a writing credit for until his direct-to-video days years later. Davis, a Chicago native, was actually a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before he became interested in film. He made his feature debut with Stony Island (1978), a musical drama that featured his brother Richard alongside a depiction of his hometown and musicians. The Final Terror (1983) failed to find a distributor for years, but his third film in Code of Silence (1985), featuring Chuck Norris in a crime action feature, was both a hit and one that pegged him as an action director.

Strangely enough, the movie does show pretty well just how a screen presence Steven Seagal could be from the very get go, one that utilizes its 99-minute runtime for a solid conspiracy feature that invites the viewer to see an action star come out of the blue with efficient nature. In lesser hands, it might have come off as a bizarre attempt at making a "Soldier of Fortune" magazine come to life, but Davis and company have stocked interesting characters and atmosphere that make this a film with interest in what it wants to say that comes off as sincere (for an action film anyway) and not fanatical. Seagal is a good reason for it, because there is something about his screen presence that manages to show his aikido skills along with a sobering presence that shows him kick ass but also look more than just a caricature trying to play a "Chicago cop with Italian roots". In other words, he stands on his own two feet to kick as a star, one that isn't so much about quips or rampant violence (not that those are bad things of course). The sequence involving the bombing in a church is probably a good scene to gauge just what Seagal can do within mounting levels of tension, or perhaps the sequence near the end with Ross about just who isn't above one's "law" is just as useful to highlight. Silva makes for a quality adversarial presence in those bits that he slithers onto screen, which relies more on terror lurking around, even if the lone fight sequence can only go one way. Grier makes a solid partner to bounce off Seagal in the procedural bits (Dean and Barge seem right at home there anyways), while Stone (a few years away from star prominence) makes quality weary support with Seagal. Of course, since my favorite presence to see is Ross in a delightfully scuzzy man on the side, your milage may vary. Released in a time where secret wars of the CIA could be read in book form in public, Above the Law maintains a steady pace in action and narrative that makes for a credible and solid first venture for its star and a neat feature for Davis to maintain consistency as an action director.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.