Movie Review Thread

[Mitch Henessey]

Hostel (2005)

**SPOILERS**

Backpacking through Europe, three friends are persuaded by Alexei (Lubomir Bukovy), a local, to go to a town in Slovakia for the best selection of promiscuous young women at a small hostel. The new friend, Oli (Eypor Guojonsson) from Iceland teams up with Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson), the two life-long friends from America, for a wild vacation including drugs, partying, and random hook-ups.

Josh, still trying to get over the recent split with his girlfriend, is pushed by Paxton to have a good time and loosen up, as both guys pair up with two local women named Svetlana (Jane Kaderabkova) and Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova). After a while, Oli disappears, worrying an already suspicious Josh. On the flip-side, Paxton is more concerned with getting the most out of Svetlana and Natalya before returning to America and real life, so Josh agrees to forget about Oli.

But Paxton pressures Sveltana to take him to an “art museum” to find Josh and Oli, after Josh uncharacteristically disappears without saying a word, or leaving a note at the hostel. Svetlana lures Paxton into the art museum, where learns the truth: the art museum is actually a factory, where rich people from all over the world pay money to a secret organization, so they can torture and kill innocent kidnapped victims. Svetlana and Natalya work for the secret organization, as two women, who seduce and drug their unsuspecting male victims for a hefty finder’s fee. Svetlana and Natalya are responsible for Oli’s death, and Josh’s death at the hands of a Dutch Businessman (Jan Vlasak), who engaged the trio in an awkward encounter on the train to Slovakia. Enraged at the sight of Josh’s mangled corpse, and the sadistic Dutch Businessman, who continues to carve out Josh’s chest in front of him, Paxton tries to attack Svetlana, but two goons grab him for the next client awaiting to torture and kill…..

I guess you can give the nod to Jay Hernandez for the best performance in Hostel. Not a clear cut choice, but everyone else either disappears for a significant amount of time, certain characters are limited to here and there appearances, and Josh and Oli don’t make it to the end. Although, if I had to give an award for runner up, it would go to Jan Vlasak. He’s so creepy and malicious, as The Dutch Businessman. Just watching him eat the deli meat with his hands (because The Dutch Businessman prefers to “use his hands”) on the train is enough to make your skin crawl, and touching Josh on his inner thigh to gauge his fear is another good example. Can’t say too much about Kaderabkova and Nedeljakova. They’re believable as the ditzy European women, who are looking for a good time, and that’s about it.

The gang of young hooligans, who terrorize anyone coming into their territory are good for a few laughs during their brief appearances. They savagely beat, steal from, or torment anyone (mainly American tourists), who refuse to pay the tolls, which include money, candy, or bubble gum for passage.

So why is Hostel so scary? Lots of blood and gore, but no real jump scares, or genuinely spooky atmospherics. Well, I guess you could count the dank torture rooms at the factory. Anyway, Hostel is scary, because of the death trap the main characters unknowingly walk into. Think about it. Young American males, and another older and immature man, who behaves like a frat boy, are in Europe with the hopes of having sex with a bunch of young, unsuspecting, and attractive European women. Blinded by their horniness (again, mainly Oli and Paxton), the men are set up, and two members of the trio lose their lives.

It sounds like the alpha male fantasy: go to Amsterdam (using Amsterdam as an example, and the story actually starts out there), get wasted, do a bunch of drugs, and have a series of random one-night stands with willing local women, or prostitutes. That’s why Hostel is scary, because when you stop and think about it, there’s some realism behind the motivations of the main characters, and you CAN make connections between the mindsets of guys like Paxton and other American males, who think the same way. Throw in the underground organization with customers, who pay to kill and torture people, the gruesome deaths of Oli and Josh, and you might think twice about going to Europe for a wild ride.

You can also throw in the real life dynamic of a friend (Paxton) pushing another friend, who’s shy, uptight, and nerdy (Josh wears a fanny pack in the beginning) to go out, and break out of his shell. Unbeknownst to Paxton and Oli, Josh actually turns down a prostitute at a brothel, by walking away from her after she removed her bra. Long story short, Josh freaked out at the thought of having sex with her. Josh sort of had his feel good moment of bursting out of the shell with Svetlana later on, but it’s a short-lived moment, because Josh is drugged by Svetlana and tortured to death by The Dutch Businessman.

Hostel starts out as this harmless story about three guys, who are looking for women, alcohol, and drugs on vacation. Then, everything slowly evolves into Paxton’s deadly fight for survival, while trying to rescue another victim (the woman at the hostel, who lost her friend with Oli, and Paxton returns to rescue her, and cut off her severely damaged eyeball, after a “customer” tortured her).

Hostel will give horror fans everything they ask for, because Eli Roth (the writer and director) doesn’t hold anything back, when it comes to an overflow of blood, gore, nasty torture/death scenes, and just the right amount of nudity (mainly in the beginning). Hostel is capped off with an entertaining suspenseful finale, while Paxton gets his revenge on The Dutch Businessman at the train station by cutting off his fingers on one hand, and slitting his throat. And Paxton uses a car to get revenge on Svetlana, Natalya, and Alexei by running them over, killing the three people, who played a part in the deaths of his friends (well, technically, Svetlana was still alive after Paxton hit her with the car the first time, and two associates from the factory actually killed Svetlana by running her over for a second time).

Strange, because the ending I mentioned above wasn’t the original ending (regarding The Dutch Businessman). The original and fixed ending is on the Director’s Cut DVD or Blu-Ray. In the original ending, Paxton kidnaps The Dutch Businessman's daughter at the train station. Paxton doesn’t kill The Dutch Businessman. Instead, he stands in the middle of the train station holding his daughter’s teddy bear, screaming her name, as Paxton rides away with her on another train. It’s fixed, because on Roth’s original ending in his script before he actually filmed it, Paxton murders The Dutch Businessman’s Daughter at the train station, and he flees the scene afterwards. So Roth changed the ending of Paxton murdering the girl to kidnapping her, because murder was too much. After a lukewarm reception for the finished product from the studio and other producers, Roth decided Paxton kidnapping the little girl was not enough, so he changed the original ending. There was a feeling the audience wanted blood and a gruesome death for The Dutch Businessman, because he murdered Paxton’s best friend. On top of that, every evildoer in Hostel suffers a brutal death, so The Dutch Businessman receiving a free pass would’ve disrupted the continuity

So in the end, Roth came up with the ending of Paxton murdering The Dutch Businessman and escaping (listen to the DVD or Blu-Ray commentary, if you want to actually hear Roth and Tarantino, who is also a producer for Hostel, talk about this), because it was more subtle. Plus, the original ending created too much sympathy for The Dutch Businessman. A wise choice by Roth, because when you look at and compare both endings, Roth’s original ending makes no sense at all.

Rating: 8/10

 

[Hamla305]

Well i thing it must be an interesting movie, sorry dude i am not reading your this essay about the movie because i like the suspense and thrill which can only be seen by watching movie.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Hostel Part II (2007)

**SPOILERS**

Following the events of Hostel, Paxton (Jay Hernandez)is still haunted by his nightmarish vacation in Slovakia. Fearing the wrath of the Elite Hunting Club, the secret organization based in Slovakia, where clients pay to torture and kill kidnapped victims in a murder-for-profit business, Paxton becomes a nervous and paranoid recluse, relying on medication to get through the day. Living with his girlfriend, Stephanie (Jordan Ladd) at her grandmother’s house, Paxton refuses to go to the police, or inform Josh’s mother of her son’s death, because he fears the possibility of the Elite Hunting Club coming back for revenge. Stephanie dismisses Paxton’s fear of the Elite Hunting Club as paranoia, until she finds Paxton’s beheaded body in the kitchen one morning. After his death, an Elite Hunting Club associate takes Paxton’s head to Slovakia as a trophy for the ruthless leader, Sasha (Milan Knazko).

In Italy, Beth (Lauren German), who is rich and can buy “anything” with an inheritance from her deceased mother, and Whitney (Bijou Phillips) are studying art, while the nerdy outcast, Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) tags along. With pressure from a homesick and lonely Lorna, Beth allows her to go on a vacation with Whitney. On the train, Beth, Whitney, and Lorna are persuaded by Axelle (Vera Jordanova), a nude model from the art school, to go to the same death trap hostel in Slovakia, where Paxton, Josh, and Oli met Svetlana and Natalya. Axelle convinces them to try the natural steam springs, enjoy peace and quiet, and without suspecting anything fishy at first, Beth, Whitney, and Lorna believe they made the right choice.

Meanwhile, after Beth, Whitney, and Lorna give their passports to the clerk at the hostel, the clerk uploads their passports, and he submits each profile to biding members of the Elite Hunting Club all around the world on the company’s secret website. In America, Todd (Richard Burgi), a wealthy business man, wins the bids for Beth and Whitney. Todd purchased Whitney for himself, and Beth for his shy and wimpy friend, Stuart (Roger Bart). Todd, eager to know what it feels like to have the killer instinct, pushes a reluctant Stuart to fly with him to Slovakia to torture and kill Beth.

At a local festival, Lorana is lured away and set up by a local named Roman, an associate for the Elite Hunting Club. Shortly after Lorna’s disappearance, Whtiney is taken, and Beth is saved by Axelle and Sasha, as the notorious gang of youg hooligans use sticks to savagely beat Beth in the woods. At Sasha’s mansion, Beth discovers the truth, as more Elite Hunting Club associates arrive to finally take her to the factory: Axelle is responsible for Whitney and Lorna’s disappearances, because she’s one of Sasha’s top associates, who lure innocent tourists and victims into the clutches of the Elite Hunting Club. After noticing the picture of the man, who “stole” Lorna’s iPod (it was a ploy by Axelle to gain Beth, Whitney, and Lorna’s trust, after Axelle “found” the iPod, returning it to Lorna) on the train, Beth tries to run. But she accidentally finds Sasha’s trophy room of human heads (including Paxton’s head), as the Elite Hunting associates take Beth to Stuart at the factory…..

Stronger overall cast than Hostel. Heather Matarazzo is spot on as the shy geek. I didn’t have a problem with her character or performance, but I hated The Divide, and Lauren German probably had the most memorable scene in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake (“he’s a very bad man&#8221. German has a very believable nasty mean streak, when someone pushes her too far, or insults her (the sleazy Italian guy on the train, and Stuart) by using the word “cunt.” The Beth character is kind of dull overall, but German has a few memorable moments, when Beth snaps, and during the end, as she tries to talk Stuart out of killing her (more on that later). Lorna hit the nail on the head, when describing Bijou Phillips’ Whitney by calling her a “raving bitch.” Phillips is entertaining as this catty and flirty yong woman, but her character is annoying after the kidnapping, because Whitney turns into the typical damsel in distress, who screams for help every five seconds.

And I might be alone in feeling this way, but it’s hard for me to feel sympathy for Lorna‘s death. Whitney and Beth get a few passes from me, because Whitney was blind sided by her abduction, and Beth was the sharp one in the group, always suspicious of everything throughout the movie…..well until she goes to Sasha’s mansion. Of course, Axelle lies about her ties to Sasha, but when Beth is walking up the staircase with Axelle, there’s a GIANT painting of Axelle on the wall. At this point, Beth still had time to escape and run for her life, but for some odd reason, she didn’t notice anything odd about Sasha’s painting of Axelle in HIS mansion? Seriously? Anyway, back to Lorna. Yeah, I get Roman saw an easy target, because she’s lonely and insecure, but come on now. You’re going to trust some strange guy you just met on a boat ride to the middle of nowhere? And when they arrive at the spot, where Lorna is kidnapped and taken to the factory, Roman is suddenly capable of speaking perfect and fluent English? Ugh.

Milan Knazko’s is a perfect fit for the cold-hearted monster Sasha, and what else would you expect from a man, who runs a murder-for-profit business? Jordanova is an enjoyable devious trader, and she gets what’s coming to her at the end. Richard Burgi is an obnoxious and douchey jackass, and Roger Bart’s nerdy and insecure Stuart provides some comic relief….until the drastic character revelations at the very end (more on that later). I’m glad Roth brought back the young gang of hooligans, who are always good for some laughs. Although, I could’ve done without that smug weirdo, who’s a clerk at the hostel (he’s the clerk, who uploads the passports), and for what it’s worth, the older guy with the stylish beard (the guy at the booth, who told Paxton it’s “free,” when Svetlana lured him into the factory) returns for a cameo.

Roth also gives praised Italian director Ruggero Deodato a cameo. He’s the torturer, who literally carves up the guy Whitney met at the hostel, and flirted with afterwards. Roth is a huge fan of Deodato’s work, and he adores Cannibal Holocaust, so the cameo isn’t a big shock. I’ve never actually seen Deodato, and I didn’t even know it was him until Roth pointed it out on the director’s commentary.

Attention to detail. It’s why one of the main reasons why I enjoy Hostel Part II. Remember how Paxton escaped in the original? It’s not that easy the second time around. You have to have a clearance code to leave the torture rooms, AND after that, Elite Hunting associates in the security room are the only ones, who can open the door from the control panel. Whitney tries to escape after attacking the makeup artist, but cage doors block every exit. With Paxton in the original, this wasn’t a problem. That’s one of the reasons why I appreciate the changes in Hostel Part II. Eli Roth changed the environment at the factory, making it harder for the victims to escape, and closing any gaps in logic for the sequel.

Roth also gives us a more in-depth look at the Elite Hunting Club and the members. Roth shows us how the members bid for their victims, the mandatory bloodhound tattoos, each member is given a pager that goes off, when the victim is ready, and the Elite Hunting Club offers discounts for damaged victims. And Roth adds more mystique to the Elite Hunting Club with Paxton explaining Elite Hunting’s ties into everything by having members in governments, hospitals, and police forces all around the world, who constantly keep a watchful eye over everything.
We also learn more about the motivations from Elite Hunting Club members for killing. Todd wants to be a bad ass, and he thinks killing Whitney will help him achieve his goal. But Stuart is pushed into Elite Hunting by Todd.

But Stuart and Todd have two very different revelations in the torture rooms at the factory. Todd FREAKS out, when he accidentally cuts into Whitney’s skull with an electrical saw. Devastated by his actions, Todd tries to runaway, but attack dogs literally tear him to pieces in the elevator. Stuart on the other hand, snaps when Beth says he’s “not that guy.” Stuart, sick of being labeled the nice guy, attacks Beth, and decides to try and kill her after Beth and Todd agreed to escape the factory together. This double twist is a BIG shocker, because throughout the movie, Todd constantly brags about finally getting the chance to kill, and Stuart was petrified at the thought of taking a life.

The gore and violence is more extreme and nasty this time around, and Eli Roth doesn’t hold anything back. Lorna’s death features the most blood, Whitney’s demise is gruesome, because she actually survives Todd’s mistake with the saw, and she’s forced to suffer afterwards. But Beth using a really big pair of scissors to cut off Stuart’s genitals, and toss them to the attack dogs to eat is just….wow. Shocking, grotesque, and a clear cut choice for the number one hard-to-watch moment in this film.

Kudos to Eli Roth for delivering a satisfying sequel to Hostel. So many times we see a lazy and uninspired follow up to a successful, low-budget mainstream horror film, but Hostel Part II doesn’t fall into that category. Roth was able to maintain and enhance the deadly reputation of the Elite Hunting Club, and give Elite Hunting a face by introducing Sasha. Roth also introduce new characters with different backstories and motivations (i.e. the cast of protagonists aren’t limited to a bunch of horny male tourists), and he added some crucial details to the story. The intro with Paxton dreaming about an attack by the Elite Hunting Club in Europe, and then waking up to a real life beheading is just unreal. But in the end, Roth delivers the long-awaited satisfying payoff, as Stuart and Axelle get what they deserve with Beth extracting revenge on both of them (Beth Kills Axell after the gang of young hooligans lure her into the woods and a trip wire. Beth comes out of hiding, and uses an axe to cut off Axell’s head).

Rating: 8/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Hostel Part III (2011)

**SPOILERS**

One night, Travis (Chris Coy) wanders into the room of a vacationing Ukrainian couple at a rundown hostel in Las Vegas. Anka (Evelina Oboza) urges Travis to stay, while Victor (Nickola Shreli) offers him a glass of vodka, but Travis refuses. Instead, Travis gives Anka and Victor a few bottles of beer. But Victor and Anka unknowingly drink drugged beer, causing both of them to pass out afterwards. Travis reveals himself as an Elite Hunting Club associate (Travis is also the right hand man for the Vegas leader/boss) with the mandatory bloodhound tattoo, as more Elite Hunting associates arrive to take Anka and Victor to the Vegas headquarters.

Meanwhile, Using a golf trip as a cover, Carter (Kip Pardue) fools his best friend, Scott (Brian Hallisay) and his soon-to-be wife/girlfriend, Amy (Kelly Thiebaud). Carter actually planned a bachelor party vacation to Las Vegas with Scott’s two friends, Mike (Skyler Stone) and Justin (John Hensley), suffering from a bad leg and having to rely on a crutch, tagging along.

In a casino, the three friends meet two escorts and best friends named Nikki (Zulay Henao) and Kendra (Sarah Habel), who convince them to go to an underground club for a wild and risky party. Refusing to break his promise to Amy after a previous incident of infidelity, Scott turns down Kendra’s offer for sex, disappointing Carter, who payed money up front.

After the club, Mike and Nikki mysteriously disappear together. Worried, Scott, Carter, and Justin team up with Kendra to find Mike and Nikki. Unbeknownst to the search party, Mike and Nikki were taken by Elite Hunting Club associates, and tortured to death in front of Elite Hunting members. With a false text message from Elite Hunting, the search party is lured into the dingy hostel, where Elite Hunting associates gas and kidnap everyone. Waiting in the car, and noticing bagged bodies being dumped into the back of a van, Justin is knocked out by Travis and taken.

At the Elite Hunting headquarters in Vegas, Scott, Kendra, Carter, and Justin are held captive in cages with an angry Victor, who lost Anka during a torture/death show…until Carter reveals his bloodhound tattoo for Elite Hunting members. Carter is freed with the promise of torturing Scott to death by the Vegas headquarters leader, Flemming (Thomas Kretschmann). But Flemming double-crosses Carter, when he orders Scott’s release during the torture show in front of other Elite Hunting members, forcing Carter into a deadly duel with his former best friend.

Mediocre cast at best. Brian Hallisay is a dull and uninteresting leading man, Skyler Stone’s act as the Wildman, who loves to party and fool around on his wife is annoying, and John Hensley is just there. Kip Pardue delivers the best performance, but he couldn’t take things to the next level, when Carter revealed himself as a member of Elite Hunting. The direction of Pardue’s character changed, but I just saw the same guy with no noticeable changes in his character. Remember when Stuart turned on Beth in Part II? You could actually see the changes in Roger Bart, as he transformed into a cold-blooded nutcase. Pardue? Not so much. Nickola Shreli is good for a few laughs, as the rowdy prisoner, who will do anything to get under the skin of the Elite Hunting guards. And it’s not fair to judge Kelly Thiebaud’s Amy, because she only appears at the very beginning and during the finale.

A big step down for the antagonists in this Hostel film. Chris Coy’s Travis is boring. Flemming doesn’t show up until the final stages of Hostel III, but Kretschman doesn’t do anything to make you care about his character. The guards at the Elite Hunting facility in Vegas can’t rise above standard and one-dimensional goon/thug personas, and the torturers for Elite Hunting could’ve been replaced by anyone with some basic acting skills.

Hostel Part III ignores the storylines in the first two films, and we get an inside look at the American side of Elite Hunting with the Las Vegas headquarters. I appreciate the changes here, because the “random group of American tourists unknowingly wandering into a death trap in Slovakia” premise ran its course, and they really milked this premise for all it’s worth in the second film.

At the Las Vegas headquarters, Elite Hunting Club members don’t actually kill the kidnapped victims. They watch torturers or trained killers (they don’t have a proper name) kill the victims in a glass casing during a show. Meanwhile, Elite Hunting Club members bet on the fates of the victims. Elite Hunting members use a “Wheel Of Misfortune” on their computers to select options for potential pleas or reactions from the victim (i.e. begging for one last chance to see their families, begging for their lives, screaming, crying, etc.). The Wheel Of Misfortune can also be used to predict the weapon the professional will use to kill the victim. Whoever comes close or guesses right, wins a cash prize. The Wheel Of Misfortune is a refreshing feature in the latest Hostel installment, and the wheel is a perfect tie-in for the Vegas theme. Also, Elite Hunting members can use their bloodhound tattoos to enter and exit the Vegas headquarters via a scanner.

I’ll give Michael D. Weiss ( the writer) credit for some nice twist and turns and surprises. During the intro, you would automatically assume Victor and Anka are working for Elite Hunting, but Travis revealing himself as the associate was a nice shocker to start off the movie. Weiss also pulls a nice fake out with Kendra and Nikki, deceiving the audience into thinking they might be working for Elite Hunting. I thought Scott was done for, when someone threw a bag over his head at the underground club, but Weiss tricks everyone again, because it was a set up by Carter to kick off Scott’s bachelor party. And Carter revealing himself as a member of Elite Hunting in the cages was the icing on the cake.

But I wasn’t a fan of the reasons behind Carter luring his friends into a death trap, so he can torture Scott to death: Carter wants to torture and kill Scott, so he can have Amy all to himself, and Carter is the one, who told Amy about Scott’s one-night stand. I’m sorry, but I thought the “I want to kill you, because I’ve always wanted to have sex with your girlfriend” twist was incredibly lame.

Overall, Scott Spiegel’s (the director, and he also served as a producer for Hostel I & II, and he‘s also a producer for this film) style is bland, but the suspenseful finale is fun to watch. Covering his tracks, Flemming decides to blow up the Vegas headquarters after Scott calls 911. During the countdown, Scott is forced to fight for his life, Carter escapes, and he locks the gate, so Scott can die in the explosion. Yeah, it was obvious Scott would return for revenge on Carter with Amy’s help, and he did. Still, I was on the edge of my seat, and Carter using Flemming’s body as a cushion to drive over the spikes in the car garage is my top pick for the “OMG!” moment in Hostel III.

Hostel III tries to be something different. I respect and admire the efforts here, but unfortunately, Hostel III suffers from your usual straight-to-video horror sequel problems. A mediocre cast, terrible production values, and sub-par special effects (which is strange because Hostel, a mainstream release, had a budget of $4.8 million, and Hostel III‘s budget was an estimated $6 million). Also, why in the name of all things holy is Hostel III dubbed as an “unrated” horror film? Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING in this movie is that extreme, gross, violent, or graphic to warrant an unrated label. The first two Hostel films (especially the second one) are more bloody and nasty, and it’s not even close. The unrated stuff is just another deceiving tagline to lure Hostel die hards to this film. Hostel III has a few nasty death scenes, that’ll make you cringe and squirm (the professional carving and peeling off Mike’s face…yikes), but the third installment in the Hostel franchise is average at best.

Rating: 5/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Predators (2010)

**SPOILERS**​

Abducted and dropped onto the Predator’s alien planet, soldiers, a mercenary, enforcers, a death row inmate, and a doctor are forced to fight for their lives. Taking on the role of a leader, Royce (Adrien Brody) commands the group of Isabelle (Alice Braga), Stans (Walton Goggins), Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), and Edwin (Topher Grace).

After an attack from alien dogs, Royce figures out the puzzle of the kidnapping: everyone brought to the alien planet is live bait for the Predators to hunt and kill in a deadly game. The survivors eventually learn more about the blood feud between the bigger Predators and smaller Predators from a survivor of “ten seasons” named Noland (Laurence Fishburne). Royce tries to figure out a way to escape after Noland mentions a ship, but Royce is forced to use his grenade launcher to signal the Predators for help, when Noland reveals himself as a scavenger.

Adrien Brody is a competent leading man, while Topher Grace and Walton Goggins provide some great comic relief. Rest of the cast ranges from so-so to decent, but nobody is noticeably bad here. Laurence Fishburne’s appearance is limited to cameo status, but Fishburne is hilarious, as the paranoid and insane recluse, who talks to an imaginary friend.

Some people might think of Predators as a stand-alone film in the franchise, but it’s actually a sequel. Remember when Royce pushes Isabelle to tell the truth about the Predator tied up at the campsite? Isabelle recalls Dutch’s (Arnold) report of what he saw during his first and only encounter with a Predator.

Mentioning the 1987 original confirms Predators’ 2010 status as a sequel, and it’s a cool “remember that!” moment for fans of the franchise. They also reintroduce the gruesome “ripping the spine and skull from the back, and raising it in the air like a trophy” kill with Stans’ death. Plus, using themes and music from the original Predator is a great nostalgia touch.

Nimord Antal (the director) and the writers, Alex Livtak and Michael Finch do a good job of introducing their new vision for the Predator franchise, while paying homage to the 1987 original (I’d like to forget Predator 2 ever happened, and I’m glad they ignored it here). The final duel between Royce and the big Predator is reminiscent of Dutch’s battle with the Predator, with Royce covering himself in mud to block the Predator’s heat sensors. And Hanzo’s one on one blade to blade duel with the Predator in the open field reminds me of Billy’s stand against the Predator in the ‘87 film. Billy was tired of running, and just said to hell with it, come and get me. Hanzo pretty much did the same thing after everyone else ran from Noland’s hideout. Hanzo stopped, took off his shirt, turned around, and drew his sword for the battle.

Predators is a breath of fresh air, that pays homage to the original, and gives Predator fans some hope for the future. A lot of bloody and gory action sequences with a hard hitting and nasty final battle between Royce and the large Predator. And I LOVE the twist with Topher Grace turning on Isabelle at the end, and revealing himself as a cold-blooded murderer. Truly a shock, and the twist made Grace’s character look like a real weasel after he played the innocent wimp, and Isabelle risked her life to save his.

Rating: 7/10

 

[i'm a cm punk girl]

White House Down.


I Don't Care What Critics Or Wannabe Critics Say. I loved it.

 

[Dave]

Might as well go over some of the pictures that I have seen recently.

The Hangover: Part 3

I know I am a little late to the party on this one but I actually seen it about a month ago and absolutely loved it.

In all honesty, I didn't really like the second movie, they tried too hard to make it a carbon copy of the first and it fell flat at times. That said, it had it's occasional funny moment that reminded you of how good the series can and has been.

The third one marks a triumphant return to form, if you ask me. I recently seen it with my girlfriend, who is no fan of comedy movies by a long way, and both of us absolutely loved it. The cinema came alive at times during the movie and people were laughing throughout. I guess, when you think about it, that's the mark of a good comedy...

I'm not entirely sure how this film has gone down at the Box Office but it deserves to do better than the second installment at least. It is funny continually and really focuses more on the interesting characters this time around. Let's face it Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong are the highlights of this series and they are truly centered upon in this film. All in all, that can only make for a better film.

In truth, this film is everything you expect it to be from a Hangover flick but with a different dimension added to it. It really does come away from the series in terms of plot but keeps some of the hilarious staples to boot. A thoroughly good comedy.

7.5/10

Man Of Steel ​

In the interest of getting everything out in the open, I must tell you that I really wasn't looking forward to this movie. I thought it was over-hyped and was sure to be underwhelming. But how wrong was I?

In all honesty, this film is just another one in a long line of superhero capers that are adopting a more dark and sinister side to their plot. Batman did it, Spiderman did it and now Superman is doing it. I'm not one to say that it is unoriginal but you can definitely see a trend forming in those kinds of films.

Man Of Steel is actually very good though. As I said, I wasn't excited by the prospect or the trailer but I was more than willing to give it a chance. And I am glad that I did. Henry Cavill is a really good choice for the Man Of Steel role and played it perfectly. Russell Crowe was an awesome addition also.

I don't really have too much more to say that what has already been said. But overall it is a great superhero flick that promises more sequels through the years and could do wonders for Cavill's career.

8/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

She-Wolves Of The Wasteland/Phoenix The Warrior (1988)

**SPOILERS**

After a series of bacteriological wars and the plagues that followed them, Earth is nothing more than a barren wasteland, and the male population was decimated into oblivion. With help from bounty hunters, and her ruthless enforcer, Cobalt (Persis Khambatta), Reverend Mother (Sheila Howard) took control of everything, as ruler of the world. Using her powers and black magic to kill off the remaining men, Reverend Mother made the choice to breed only women within her sperm banks.

One day, Keela (Peggy Sands) is attacked by Reverend Mother’s bounty hunters, but a Sand Trapper named Phoenix (Kathleen Kinmont) saves her. Demanding answers for her protection, Keela tells Phoenix the truth: breeders gave Keela the only male seed on Earth, so Keela can give birth to a male child with the hopes of restoring balance to Earth’s population. Believing in the just cause, Phoenix agrees to protect and watch over Keela. Eventually, Keela gives birth to her son, Skyler (Sklyer Corbett), but under Reverend Mother’s orders, Cobalt and her forces relentlessly pursue Keela, Phoenix, and Skyler.

Five years after Skyler’s birth, Reverend Mother plans to drain Skyler’s life force, so she can strengthen her weakening powers, and become invincible in the process. A rogue male (James H. Emery), who escaped Reverend Mother’s sperm banks, agrees to help Phoenix, Skyler, and Keela reach a desolate island in the sea to escape Reverend Mother’s clutches for good. But the group runs into some trouble while traveling through the Badlands, and Keela decides to risk everything to save a kidnapped Phoenix from Cobalt’s “fight to the death” arena.

Yeah. I understand what She-Wolves Of The Wasteland was going for. They were trying to make a mindless fun B-movie/post-apocalyptic action flick, but the final product is an epic fail on every level imaginable. I won’t be too harsh on the poor production values and noticeable audio problems, because you have to expect that from a B-movie, especially one from the 80’s.

But EVERYTHING else is beyond horrendous. The acting is terrible. Kathleen Kimmont is just a look, and that’s it. She’s the perfect size and build for a bad ass female warrior, but she can’t act. Peggy Sands is somehow worse as Keela, and it sounds like she’s reading her lines from cue cards step by step. Khambatta’s Cobalt is so ridiculous and over the top. Yeah, I know that’s the point, but she’s too cheesy to take seriously, and too brutal to laugh at (Cobalt cuts off the ears of her victims). I don’t think anyone could’ve saved the Reverend Mother character. Bottom line, Reverend Mother’s appearance is too cartoonish for a primary antagonist (she wears a black robe, wrinkly all over, pale, and her body is hooked up to some machine, which is supposed to be a life support system, with a bunch of big wires sticking out on the floor).

Looking for lots of nudity? Well, you should find another movie. She-Wolves Of The Wasteland gives you a few topless scenes, but that’s about it. The most obvious “eye candy only” scene involves two topless women sunbathing or taking a bath (hard to tell what they were doing) under waterfalls. The waterfalls scene goes on for a while, but again, it’s nothing shocking, or gratuitous.

Usually, when it comes to imperfections in B-movies, I look the other way, because B-movies are supposed to be silly fun. But She-Wolves Of The Wasteland pushes everything too far. Poor execution, incompetent directing, horrendous acting, and too many question marks. A short list of some mind-boggling questions:

-Who’s supposed to be the main character? Keela or Phoenix? I guess that’s why they changed the title of the movie (Phoenix The Warrior was the original title), because everything you see on-screen leads you to believe Phoenix is the main character. But on the other hand, Keela is carrying mankind’s last hope. Just another annoying conundrum in the storyline.

- What the hell is a Sand Trapper? They never bother explaining this.

-Okay. Keela is pregnant. BUT you literally can’t see any signs of Keela being pregnant, and a few minutes after she announces her pregnancy to Phoenix, she gives birth out of nowhere?

-What happened to Keela and Skyler? You know, the woman carrying mankind’s last hope, and the kid, who could save the world. The last scene in the movie (which is also the same exact scene used for the intro) shows Phoenix riding a white horse on the beach…..and that’s it. Sorry, B-movie or no B-movie, you can’t just forget about two very important characters, and not give the audience some kind of explanation.

The lame final showdown between Keela, Phoenix, and Reverend Mother was just pitiful. Reverend Mother has Skyler in a cage, and guess what Keela does to stop her? She pulls out the wires to the machine that’s keeping Reverend Mother alive, killing her. So the most dominant and powerful force in the world is killed, because someone pulled a bunch of wires? Ugh. It was a train wreck to sit through, but the preceding battle between Phoenix and Cobalt was better.

She-Wolves Of The Wasteland stays in its own frustrating safe zone. When it comes to nudity, violence, and dialogue (one “cunt” isn’t enough to raise an eyebrow), everything is too tamed to be shocking. And I couldn’t laugh, because the parody performances and writing are atrocious. Hard to think of any redeemable qualities from She-Wolves, so I’m going with a zero.

Rating: 0/10

 

[LSN80]

The Heat(2013)(R)

[YOUTUBE]ST16k80bDYE[/YOUTUBE]​

*Spoilers:* Sandra Bullock plays Sarah Ashburn, a successful, uptight, arrogant FBI agent who is angling for a promotion based on her success solving crimes, which is high. However, her boss is reluctant, as noone wants to work with her because of her inability to work well with others, so he re-assigns her to Boston instead to work on her people skills and attempt to nail a big-time drug dealer. Ashburn isn't used to working with partners or even making friends, as she lives alone and her closest companion is her neighbor's cat.

Melissa McCarthy plays Shannon Mullins, a local Boston detective with an explosive temper, foul mouth, and a knack for beating up suspects. Her colleagues are afraid of her, and none of them will even talk to her suspects out of genuine fear of what she'll do to them. Her own family, Southies if there ever were ones, hate her, mostly because she put her own brother(Michael Rappaport) in prison for dealing drugs. This is re-enforced as the first time we meet her mother, she drives by where Mullins lives and flicks her off.

Mullins and Ashburn first meet when Ashburn first arrives in Boston at the precinct where Mullins works, and immediately attempts to take charge of the major drug case involving the mysterious Lucien, whose identity is unknown. Her first act is to question a low-level drug-dealer who was brought in by Mullins, which leads to Mullins and Ashburn coming to blows. Feeling it may somehow benefit both, Mullins captain(Marlan Wayans) and Ashburn's boss force the two to partner up to solve the case.

This is an attempt to make a female buddy comedy, and on some levels, it succeeds. At first, the two butt heads with one another, but as the film moves along, they bond as they butt heads with everyone else, good and bad alike. They face jurisdictional hassles with two DEA members, one who predictably turns out to be mysterious drug kingpin. The scenes they do share tangling with the two agents poking fun at one another are funny at times. And when McCarthy's Mullins gets Bullock's Ashburn to finally 'let her hair down' and get drunk, it is fairly hilarious, and she and McCarthy's Mullins play the role of good cop/bad cop quite well. Further, the movie does show the realistic struggles that a woman faces in a male-dominated workplace like law-enforcement without making a big deal out of it.

However, there is little plot here to hold the film together. The movie introduces and then removes villians who could possibly be drug kingpin Lucien like they're in a video game. The few attempts to be dramatic fall flat, such as involving Mullins family, mostly because the other characters in the film aren't presented as people to care about. Rather, they're props to enhance the tension between and later solidify the bond between Mullins and Ashburn.

Speaking of the 'bond' between the two, I give them credit for trying, but I simply coudn't buy into the idea that the two would in any way bond in a personal way on any level. Regardless of what they go through together, the two are just so different that the two of them becoming friends is just a virtual impossibility. Neither is likable for their own reasons, Bullock for her aloofness and arrogance, and McCarthy for her brashness and foul mouth. While Bullock becomes more likable as the film goes on, McCarthy does not. The extent of her comedic "prowess" in this film involves her using the F word towards EVERYONE in almost every sentence that comes out of her mouth. While I understand to some point that it's part of her essential character, it doesn't make her funny. Rather, it seems as if the foulness she projects is where the comedy is supposed to be found, but instead, it makes her seem like a blowhard that is incapable of civility, regardless of the situation.

The Heat isn't a terrible movie, and Bullock and McCarthy do have their moments together. However, a flimsy plot that lacks depth in character development and falls short often times in the comedic department, trading it in for McCarthy's foulness instead. Those factors makes this one to avoid. 4/10

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Some people might think of Predators as a stand-alone film in the franchise, but it’s actually a sequel. Remember when Royce pushes Isabelle to tell the truth about the Predator tied up at the campsite? Isabelle recalls Dutch’s (Arnold) report of what he saw during his first and only encounter with a Predator.

Mentioning the 1987 original confirms Predators’ 2010 status as a sequel, and it’s a cool “remember that!” moment for fans of the franchise. They also reintroduce the gruesome “ripping the spine and skull from the back, and raising it in the air like a trophy” kill with Stans’ death. Plus, using themes and music from the original Predator is a great nostalgia touch.

Nimord Antal (the director) and the writers, Alex Livtak and Michael Finch do a good job of introducing their new vision for the Predator franchise, while paying homage to the 1987 original (I’d like to forget Predator 2 ever happened, and I’m glad they ignored it here). The final duel between Royce and the big Predator is reminiscent of Dutch’s battle with the Predator, with Royce covering himself in mud to block the Predator’s heat sensors. And Hanzo’s one on one blade to blade duel with the Predator in the open field reminds me of Billy’s stand against the Predator in the ‘87 film. Billy was tired of running, and just said to hell with it, come and get me. Hanzo pretty much did the same thing after everyone else ran from Noland’s hideout. Hanzo stopped, took off his shirt, turned around, and drew his sword for the battle.

Predators is a breath of fresh air, that pays homage to the original, and gives Predator fans some hope for the future. A lot of bloody and gory action sequences with a hard hitting and nasty final battle between Royce and the large Predator. And I LOVE the twist with Topher Grace turning on Isabelle at the end, and revealing himself as a cold-blooded murderer. Truly a shock, and the twist made Grace’s character look like a real weasel after he played the innocent wimp, and Isabelle risked her life to save his.

Also, the "smaller" Predator (which is funny because Kevin Peter Hall was taller than all the actors playing the Predators in this movie) was an exact copy of the Predator from the original. They did that as an homage to the original movie, which the director has stated that that is the only movie he used as a reference in how to make a Predator film.

As for the movie, I liked it. Generally, the best way to get a fan base to like a sequel made long after it's last movie is to base it off of the original. See American Reunion.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

See American Reunion.

GREAT example.

I was ready to give up on the American Pie franchise (you can only watch American Wedding so many times), especially after all those shitty "unrated" straight-to-video spin-offs. Horrible, horrible writing and directing, terrible acting, and watching Eugene Levy disgrace himself in each film, as the only connection to the real American Pie films was just pitiful. The straight-to-videos spin-offs tried to compensate with a ton of nudity in each film, but they were still awful films.

But yeah, American Reunion was a fantastic comeback film. Although, the closure stuff might go out the window, because they're working on another theatrical release.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Stake Land (2011)

**SPOILERS**

Unaware of the vampire plague sweeping through the United States, a teenager named Martin (Connor Paolo) and his family work on fixing their only car one night. But a vampire attacker slaughters Martin’s mother, father, and infant sibling. Alone and looking for help, Martin is saved by a loner and ruthless vampire hunter named Mister (Nick Damici). With Mister’s help, Martin gets his first vampire kill by driving a stake through the heart of the vampire, who murdered his family.

Using vampire fangs (vampire fangs can also be used to buy food and other goods, because anyone, who possesses vampire fangs receives the utmost respect) as fare to pass through the blockades in the ravaged and lawless United States, Mister and Martin journey north in hopes of finding the rumored safe haven free of vampires. Along the way, Mister rescues a Sister (Kelly McGillis) from two thugs, and Mister agrees to let The Sister tag along for the trip up north.

But Martin, Mister, and The Sister run into some trouble, when they’re taken hostage by Jebedia Loven (Michael Cerveris), the leader of The Brotherhood, a vicious Christian extremist group that controls most of the post-vampire world in the United States, and The Brotherhood controls the airwaves by pushing their religious propaganda to listeners. Wanting revenge for the death of his sixteen year old son (Mister killed Loven’s son, who happened to be one of the men, who raped and attacked The Sister), Loven decides to leave Mister in the darkness to fight for his life against four vampires, while taking Martin and The Sister as his hostages.

Eventually, Martin and The Sister escape Loven and The Brotherhood. After surviving Loven’s trap, Martin finds Mister first and The Sister makes the trio whole again during a reunion in a new town. After an attack from The Brotherhood, Mister regroups with a new gameplan, allowing a young pregnant woman named Belle (Danielle Harris) and an ex-Marine named Willie (Sean Nelson) to join the team. Mister continues to train Martin against vampire attacks, while teaching him life lessons, but Loven is out for revenge, and will stop at nothing to kill Mister and everyone under his command.

Mister is a hard-ass and a man’s man. Damici’s performance as the rugged hunter is spot on, and he was able to show some believable vulnerability during Mister’s more softer moments (training and mentoring Martin, carrying Belle through the woods, because she was exhausted from too much walking, etc.). Paolo’s Martin is the type of character you want to root for (more on that later). He’s a shy and scared kid, who’s forced to adapt and survive in a hellish situation, and because of his extended screen time (Martin is the main character), I give the nod to Paolo for the second best performance in this film. BUT my runner up would be Harris. Although, her character doesn’t appear until the later stages of the film, and when she finally pops up, Belle doesn’t last long. And Cerveris is decent enough as the primary antagonist, doing the best he could with the “delusional, and self-righteous cult leader” character.

Real character depth and a heartfelt story separate Stake Land from other modern-day low budget horror flicks, that feature tons of blood and nasty gore. Martin is easily the best example of this. Martin is put through hell. He witnesses his entire family die brutal and agonizing deaths, and he’s forced to grow up and become a man FAST, or else he won’t last long in the post-vampire plagued US. Mister refuses to let his softer side get in the way, or cloud any issues 98% of the time, but Martin finds some solace in Belle….until Loven returns as a vampire to attack her. And Martin, refusing to let Belle suffer from Loven’s bites, kills her. Martin’s heart is ripped out and stomped on throughout the movie. And you finally get to see the rewarding moment of triumph for Martin’s pain and suffering at the end, when Martin, using Mister’s training, runs out into the night, and kills a vampire on his own without any help from Mister.

Director Jim Mickle pulls everything together by providing the perfect hopeless and dreary atmosphere, and if you’re a fan of vampire flicks, Stake Land is worth the time. Stake Land is a bloody and gruesome post-apocalyptic vampire film, that features a poignant coming of age story. Another surprise for me this year, because after looking at the movie poster, I was expecting another dull and forgettable gorefest.

Rating: 8/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Fright Night (1985)

**SPOILERS**

Horror movie buff Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) suspects something fishy, when he sees a coffin carried into the basement of his new next door neighbor's house. Charley becomes more suspicious after a series of gruesome murders are reported in the area, one of them being a prostitute, who visited the next door neighbor. Ignoring his girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Amanda Bearse), Charlie starts sleuthing into the mystery of the mysterious and reclusive man next door.

Determined to uncover the truth, Charley ignores a warning from his new neighbor’s caretaker, Billy (Johnathan Stark), turning to his best friend, Ed Thompson, or “Evil Ed” (Stephen Geoffreys) for help. Ed, another passionate horror aficionado, gives Charlie some advice (with the promise of eight dollars) on how to stop vampires, after Charlie witnesses the man next door using his fangs to bite into the neck of a woman one night.

But Charley meets his new neighbor during a surprise visit, after he receives a crucial invitation from Charley’s mother, Judy (Dorothy Fielding). Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) introduces himself as a harmless friend next door, but Charley isn’t fooled by the act.

With everyone around him refusing to believe Jerry is actually a vampire, Charley turns to the star and host of his favorite TV show. Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) stars in Fright Night, as a legendary vampire killer, and he’s out of work after Fright Night is cancelled. Charley tries to convince Peter of Jerry being a vampire, but Peter refuses to listen, until Amy offers Peter a five hundred dollar savings to bond to expose Jerry as a real vampire by using holy water.

Jerry passes the holy water test, because Peter pulled a fast one by using ordinary tap water. But Peter is terrified, when Jerry doesn’t appear in his mirror with the reflection of others. After a while, Jerry convinces Ed to become a vampire, turning him in an alleyway at night. And as Jerry and Amy seek refuge in a local night club, Jerry seduces Amy, taking her hostage at his house. Amy resembles a lost love from Jerry’s past, so Jerry decides to turn Amy into a vampire at his house, with the hopes of Amy becoming his companion. Charley must persuade a reluctant and cowardly Peter to return to Jerry’s house, fight off Billy, destroy Jerry once and for all, and rescue Amy.

Is Jerry Dandridge on your list of great movie characters? Because he’s more than deserving of a spot. Sarandon oozes charisma, as the witty and smooth Casanova, who will do anything to make Charley’s life a living hell. Jerry isn’t some growling lunatic, who runs around ripping out throats, tearing out necks with his fangs or hands, and he doesn’t go on senseless killing sprees. No. Jerry is a cunning and menacing vampire, who outsmarts his adversaries. Dandridge knows how to hit you, where it hurts. Turning Amy and Evil are two prime examples, and you can throw in the surprise visit to Charlie’s mom, and Jerry threatening to kill Charley’s mom. Big contrast from what we see in the overwhelming majority of vampire flicks (i.e. vicious and deranged bloodthirsty cannibals) now a days.

William Ragsdale has his moments as the determined and jumpy hero, who will do anything to save the day, but he’s overshadowed by Sarandon and Roddy McDowall’s Peter Vincent. McDowall provides some good laughs, as this pompous and cowardly televison actor, who‘s down on his luck. Amanda Bearse is known for her memorable battles with Al Bundy as Marcy. For the most part, Amy is your typical high school girlfriend, but Bearse is more deceptive and mean (with some help from makeup), when Amy becomes a vampire. Can’t say too much about Johnathan Stark. He’s believable in the enforcer/bodyguard role, and that’s about it. And who could forget about Stephen Geoffreys’ Evil Ed (“You’re so cool, Brewster!”)? For my money, Ed is the funniest character in Fright Night. Geoffreys plays the quirky and goofy teenage outcast role to perfection, and if you ever look at CM Punk’s current profile photo on his Twitter page, you’ll see the pic of a vampiric Ed after Peter Vincent shoved a cross into his forehead.

Die hards of the franchise will choose Child’s Play (and well, they might have a point, because he directed the best Chucky film), but Fright Night is Tom Holland’s best film as director. Holland, who also wrote the screenplay for this film, keeps the gore and blood to a minimum. It’s just enough to pull a reaction out of you, but the bloody stuff doesn’t reach extreme gross-out levels here. Holland knows when and how to set the moods between subtle and sexy, while weaving in some spooky and chilling nighttime scenes along the way. Fright Night is the crowning achievement in Holland’s career. Unfortunately, he had to be the guy to direct Thinner, and Fatal Beauty was a horrendous action/comedy (the dialogue and jokes are terrible, but Holland still directed that piece of trash).

Fright Night provides the perfect mix of humor and ghostly horror, while addressing the major and important details in vampire mythology (the usual stuff with garlic, sunlight, holy water, crosses, having faith behind the crosses, so they can be effective, and not being allowed inside as a visitor without an invitation). Good cast, memorable characters, superb directing, and a great soundtrack. Fright Night is a true gem from 80’s horror, and it’s one of the best horror comedies ever made.

Rating: 10/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Fright Night Part II (1988)

**SPOILERS**

Three years after the events of Fright Night, Jerry Dandridge and Billy are dead. And with the help of weekly therapy, Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) refuses to believe in the existence of vampires. Charley’s psychiatrist, Dr. Harrison (Ernie Sabella) convinces Charley Jerry Dandridge was nothing more than a “serial murderer,” “cult worshiper,” or “kidnapper,” who tried to harm Amy and Evil Ed.

Trying to move on with his life, Charley throws away all his garlic, wooden stakes, hammers, and almost every cross he owns, holding on to one for emergencies only. Enjoying his life as a college kid and his new girlfriend, Alex (Traci Lind), Charley decides to have a talk with Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) for some closure. Peter was able to get his job back as the host of Fright Night, but a steep decline in ratings could change everything. During the visit at Peter’s apartment complex, Charley notices a series of coffins being hauled inside at night.

After a while, Charley has a bizarre nightmare about one of Peter’s new tenants being a vampire, and sinking her fangs into the shaving wound on his neck. Dr. Harrison urges Charley to forget the nightmare and the vampire woman and move on, but things change after Charley witnesses his friend, Richie (Meritt Butrick) willingly giving his blood to the vampire woman in his dreams and another vampire. With Peter’s help, Charley blows off his concert date with Alex, and he decides to crash the vampire woman’s horror themed party in Peter’s apartment complex.

At the party, Charley can’t find any bite wounds on Richie. And after seducing him with a dance, Charley lets his guard down, as the mysterious woman removes plastic vampire fangs and fake vampire contact lenses, revealing herself as an actress. Charley rushes out of the party after remembering the concert date with Alex, but Peter discovers the real truth after Charley leaves. The woman and her friends don’t appear in Peter’s mirror, and the woman is using her job as an actress to cover up her true identity as a vampire. Peter tries to run away, but the woman confronts him in the staircase, and she reveals herself as Regine Dandridge (Julie Carmen), Jerry’s sister. Regine vows to turn Charley into a vampire for revenge, but she promises to take it easy on Peter, because he’s a “coward.”

Charley and Peter try to come up with a plan to take out Regine, but they’ll have to fight through her entourage of Belle (Russell Clark), another vampire, Bozworth (Brian Thompson), a supernatural being, who survives by eating insects, and he’s Regine’s limo driver, and Louie (Jon Gries), the lone werewolf in the group. Without any warnings, Peter is blindsided, when the producer of Fright Night fires him, and hires Regine as the new host. Peter tries to kill Regine with a stake to the heart, but security foils his plans, and Peter is taken to an insane asylum afterwards.

Meanwhile, Charley is unknowingly turning into a vampire after Regine snuck into his dorm room one night, and bit him on the neck. Louie attacks Charley and Alex in the college’s library, and Charley is arrested after the scuffle. Preparing to complete the final stages of his transformation, Regine eventually recaptures Charley after bailing him out of jail, forcing Alex and Peter to team up and save Charley from Regine’s clutches.

Replacing Chris Sarandon’s Jerry wasn’t an easy task, but Julie Carmen stepped up to the challenge. In a lot of ways, Carmen’s Regine is the female counterpart for Jerry Dandridge. She’s a sexy vixen, who lures Charley into her trap, and like her brother, Regine wants to slowly torture Charley’s soul (i.e. Jerry turning Amy and Ed into vampires) by turning him into a vampire, so he can be her servant for all eternity. She could easily rip out Charley’s throat, or murder him in another gruesome way, but no. Regine takes the slow-burn technique for revenge. Carmen is smooth and devious as Regine, and she brings an alluring presence to the Regine character that commands attention. Carmen is a suitable replacement, and she easily takes the honor for the best performance in this film.

Don’t get me wrong. Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale are still funny and entertaining. McDowall still has his moments, as the jittery and reluctant vampire killer, and Ragsdale takes control of the noble and unlikely hero character again. BUT Peter and Charley didn’t change too much in the sequel (more on that later).

Supporting cast ranges from decent enough to forgettable. Traci Lind is a respectable replacement for Amanda Bearse ’s Amy. Alex looks like your typical hot blonde, but Amy is a humble and nerdy (not too nerdy, though) character. Jon Gries’ Louie is hilarious. He’s this obnoxious tool, who constantly tries to fit into Regine’s entourage as the only werewolf, and Gries’ funniest scenes are with Alex, as Louie tries to steal Charley’s girlfriend. Brian Thompson is genuinely creepy as Bozworth, but I will never forgive Thompson for taking the part as Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Russell Clark has an eccentric look as Belle, but that’s about it. Belle is a mute, and during my first viewing of Fright Night II years ago, I couldn’t tell if Belle was a he or a she. Meritt Butrick’s Richie is a douchebag, and Ernie Sabella’s Dr. Harrison is pretty boring, until Harrison reveals himself as a vampire. It was a good, surprising shock. Too bad Sabella doesn’t last long after his first and only transformation.

Of course, it’s hard to follow in the footsteps of a great original like Fright Night, but Part II deserves some credit for a few attention to detail changes.

1. Regine having an entourage-This was a HUGE change to cover up some holes in logic. Unlike Jerry, Regine has more than one person protecting her, so it’s not so easy to kill her. Charley and Peter have to fight through Belle, Bozworth, Louie, and Richie after Regine and Belle turn Richie into a vampire.

2. Regine doesn’t show the same levels of arrogance her brother showed in the original- Regine turns Charley into a vampire early on, so when Charley sneaks into the apartment complex to kill her, Regine commands Charley to drop the stake. Regine had Charley in the palm of her hands until the end, and Charley couldn’t do anything about it. Jerry had plenty of chances to turn him, but he decided to toy around with Charley instead, and it ended up costing him his life at the end.

3. Charley places communion wafers in the shape of a cross inside inside Regine’s coffin-If you remember the ending in the original, Jerry was able to hide out in his coffin for a little while, as Charley and Peter tried to kill him. But Charley learned from his mistakes, so during the final confrontation with Regine, Charley used the wafers, before Regine (in her bat form) could go inside, and wait out the attack until sunset.

Unfortunately, I can’t forget about the major gaps in logic for Part II.

1. Vampires don’t exist? Seriously???- Yeah, this approach didn’t work for me. Also, it doesn’t help when you open the movie with clips from the original showing Jerry as a vampire and a vampire bat. Sure, Charley and Peter eventually realize vampires are real (again), but trying to seriously convince the audience vampires don’t exist? Just…no.

2. Uh, Regine is Jerry’s sister, right?- I’ve seen this movie a handful of times over the years, so stop me if I’m missing something. But Regine only reveals her identity as Jerry’s sister ONCE. She tells Peter after the party, and guess what? Peter never tells Charley, ever. Regine is going after Charley and Peter, because she wants revenge for her brother’s death. That’s her sole motivation. It’s a huge plot point, and they just ignore it after the one and only time Regine mentions her ties to Jerry, because Charley doesn‘t know Regine is Jerry‘s sister. So instead of the story of a sister plotting revenge, we get “Peter and Charley have to stop and kill another vampire” as the main story. Ugh.

3. Why is Peter a coward again?- Peter found his courage at the end of Fright Night, but for the majority of Part II, he’s the jumpy and scared wimp again? Yeah, Peter finds his courage in a bar after someone unintentionally reminds him of who he really is, but McDowall’s resurgence doesn’t happen until the final stages of the movie.

4. Charley is….just the same guy- His hair looks different, and there’s nothing wrong with Ragsdale’s performance, but Charley is just the same guy we all saw in the original. And it’s painful to watch Charley of all people go through the “vampires aren’t real!” phase for a good chunk of the movie.

Tom Holland helped with the screenplay and story this time around, but Tommy Lee Wallace is the director. I haven’t seen every Wallace directed film. In fact, I’ve only seen three: Fright Night II, Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, and It. Wallace tries to capture the essence of Holland’s work behind the camera in the original, and he succeeds for the most part. Fright Night II has a spooky eeriness to it (two great examples would be the scene, where Alex is attacked by a transforming Dr. Harrison at the train tracks, and the scene, where Belle attacks his first victim at the college during nighttime), and Wallace pays homage to the original, when Regine lures Charley into the erotic dance. It’s a wink to the dance between Jerry and Amy at the night club, and using music from the first film was a great touch.

Wallace brings more violence, blood, and gore to Part II, but it’s nothing too extreme. In fact, the only scenes where you can notice the changes are Belle’s attack on the college student, and Bozowrth’s death, when Charley uses Belle’s claws to cut open his stomach, and a bunch of bugs come pouring out.

Fright Night Part II isn’t as bad as most horror sequels, but on the other hand, it’s nothing to brag about. The gaps in logic and Belle’s slow motion roller skating attacks (for some odd reason, Belle has to wear and use roller skates during a few of his attacks, and Wallace shows the roller skating attacks in slow motion. Cool trick, when you see it for the first time, but after that? Not so much.) are annoying, but again, Fright Night Part II isn‘t a bad film.

There’s a noticeable decline in overall quality, but Fright Night set the bar high, and I usually give certain sequels a pass, when it comes to ridiculously high expectations. Plus, we had Julie Carmen filling in for Sarandon, and she didn’t disappoint as the main villain. And Fright Night Part II has some enjoyable hokey 80’s horror comedy humor. Not as funny as the original, but I don’t have any legit complaints about the comedy side of this film.

They’ve already started shooting a remake/sequel for Fright Night (2011), and when it hits home video, I’m HOPING they’ll finally release the original Fright Night Part II on DVD. It’s been out of print for years, and I’m not stupid enough to go on Amazon or Ebay and pay $70 or over $100 for a copy on DVD (the Blu-Ray cover above has to be fake, because there’s no record of Fright Night II having a release on Blu-Ray, ever). On top of that, I’ve heard so many horror stories (complaints about the terrible VHS quality picture) from reading other reviews online from people, who actually own the out of print DVD copy of Fright Night Part II. I’ve seen numerous copies of Fright Night Part II, and yeah, the picture quality is horrendous, so there’s no way I’m throwing down that type of cash to buy a “rare” DVD.

Hopefully, they’ll follow in the footsteps of Silent Night, Deadly Night. When they released the Silent Night remake last year, they re-released the combo pack DVD with the original and Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 to help promote the remake. And on top of that, Part 2 and the combo pack containing Part 2 were out of print for years. Keeping my fingers crossed for a new Fright Night 2 DVD, because I’ve been dying to see Charley and Regine’s dance scene on a bigger screen for years.

[YOUTUBE]8OhLLRS67D0[/YOUTUBE]​

Rating: 6/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Fright Night (2011)

**SPOILERS**

Living in Las Vegas, teenager Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) chooses to leave his nerdy life behind him, and he refuses to believe or listen to “Evil” Ed Lee’s (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) accusations about Charley’s new next door neighbor being a vampire. Charley is more concerned with pleasing and paying attention to his new friends and girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots), so he kicked Ed, his best childhood friend, to the curb. And Ed using the mysterious disappearance of Adam (Will Denton), the third member of the childhood trio of friends, as motivation isn’t enough to persuade Charley.

One night, Jane (Toni Collette), Charley’s mother, introduces Charley and Amy to Jerry (Colin Farrell), the new next door neighbor. Jerry works night construction, and after meeting Jerry face to face, Charley doesn’t notice anything suspicious, so he leaves Ed to solve the vampire mystery by himself. But after Charley leaves Ed alone at night, Jerry stalks Ed, and eventually, Jerry reveals himself as a vampire. Jerry turns Ed, and Charley is uneasy about Ed’s random disappearance. Looking for more answers, Charley goes to Ed’s house, and on Ed’s computer, Charley finds video proof of Jerry being a vampire, because Jerry doesn’t show up on Ed’s recordings.

Fearing for his life, and the safety of his mother and Amy, Charley takes the necessary precautions (carving out wooden stakes, gathering crosses, etc.) for any plans from Jerry. After escaping an attack that leaves Charley’s mother hospitalized, Charley realizes he must deal with Jerry head on. With no else to turn to, Charley visits Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a famed magician and the host of a Vegas stage show called Fright Night. Vincent flat out refuses to help Charley, after he recognizes the symbol from an ancient vampire crest in one of Charley’s pictures. But after some goading, Vincent joins forces with Charley to destroy Jerry, and rescue a kidnapped Amy during a morning stand off.

Chris Sarandon was more of a Cassonva, but Farrell’s Jerry is a cold-hearted dick. Farrell shows flashes of the witty charm we all saw in Sarandon’s Jerry, but Farrell is more menacing, vicious, and cruel. Remember how Jerry turned Amy in the original? Jerry turned Amy in the original, because he saw an opportunity to have a second chance with a woman from his past, and Amy resembled a painting of this woman. But Farrell’s Jerry just turned Amy 2011 to piss Charley off. She was just bait to lure Charley to his death, and Farrell’s Jerry wanted to stick the knife in deeper, by giving Amy a bloody kiss in front of him. Plus, unlike Sarandon’s Jerry, Farrell isn’t dressed up like he’s going to a five star restaurant or an opera concert. No, Farrell’s Jerry has a more casual wardrobe more often than not. Sarandon is still the better Jerry, but Farrell has nothing to be ashamed of, because he provides a confident and smooth performance as Jerry in the remake.

When I first watched Fright Night 2011 in theaters, it kind of pissed me off how they turned Charley into this pseudo hipster, who went out of his way to fit in with the cool kids at high school. But to be fair, after Ed turns into a vampire, Yelchin’s Charley becomes William Ragsdale’s Charley. You know, the nervous wreck, who can’t get anyone to believe in his claims of a vampire living next door to him. Yelchin is solid as the new Charley, and I’m glad they QUICKLY turned the corner with the direction of his character, because it would’ve been annoying as hell to watch, and damn near impossible to root for a hipster brat version of Charley. As far as Charley’s mother goes, Toni Collette’s role as Jane is similar to the role of Charley’s mother in the original: she’s limited to sporadic appearances, and her character doesn’t receive a significant amount of screen time. And Collette fades out of the story, when Jane is hospitalized.

No real complaints about Imogen Poots’ Amy. Amanda Bearse’s Amy had a more humble look, and she was a humble character, who had a few feisty moments every now and then. But Poots is made out to be the hottest girl in school, so that’s a big change character wise. But Mintz-Plasse’s Ed? Ugh. Stephen Geoffreys was actually funny, as the outcast nerd. Plasse on the other hand, is just annoying and unbearable. It’s hard to feel sympathy for Ed, when Charley treats him like the deformed abomination, who would bring shame on you, if you went out in public with it, because Plasse comes off as an unsympathetic nerd. You WOULDN’T feel bad, if someone else was bullying Ed 2011 in real life. Yeah, he’s that annoying.

David Tennant’s Peter Vincent has a bigger ego than Roddy McDowall’s Peter Vincent. He’s a self-absorbed egomaniac, and like McDowall’s Peter Vincnet, Tennant is a coward for the majority of the movie, until he finds his courage for the final showdown at the end. Tennant is hilarious, his character never reaches a too unlikeable point, and coming to Charley’s aid at the end is a great moment of redemption. Oh, and Peter has a girlfriend in the remake. Sandra Vergara portrays Ginger, but her cookie-cutter character never rises above average standards, as a fiery, and bitchy Latin woman.

You’ll always have the complaints from die hard fans of the originals, but it’s impossible to avoid modernization for remakes. In Fright Night 2011, Peter Vincent is the host of a Vegas stage show at a Hard Rock hotel, and he lives on the top floor in a lavish penthouse. A big contrast from Roddy McDowall’s Peter Vincent hosting a Hammer style horror show in the original, and Roddy’s Peter living in a normal apartment. Another noticeable change is, mirrors aren’t used to detect the reflectionless blood-suckers. Jerry is caught, because he doesn’t show up on Ed’s video camera, and of course, Jerry doesn’t appear on the security monitors at the hotel. During the final battle, Charley arms himself with a crossbow, and Peter gives Charley a special metal stake, specifically designed to kill Jerry’s breed of vampire, and turn his victims back to normal. Peter also brings some heavy artillery, using a cannon/gun to fight off Jerry’s minions. Plus, using Peter’s advice, Charley uses fire in the battle with Jerry. In the original, Charley and Jerry relied on crosses and sunlight to kill Jerry. And Peter actually has some history with Jerry in this film, because Jerry is the vampire, who murdered Peter’s parents as a child. Oh, and Farrell isn’t Jerry Dandridge in the remake. He’s just Jerry, no last name.

Fans of the original should be able to pick out a few winks here. During the beginning, Plasse’s Ed tells Charley “You’re so cool Brewster” during an argument. Evil Ed in the original poked fun at Charley with this line, and it’s the closing line of dialogue in the original. As Jerry transforms into his more beastly vampire form in front of Peter at the end, he says “welcome to Fright Night….for real.” Sarandon said this exact line in the original to Roddy’s Peter, but Sarandon was more sarcastic. Farrell on the other hand was more sinister. And it’s brief, but Chris Sarandon has a cameo as a motorist here. Sarandon suffers a gruesome demise at the hands of Farrell’s Jerry, but witnessing the two Jerry’s come face to face was a cool moment for me.

Of course, Fright Night 2011 is A LOT more bloody, nasty, gory, and disgusting than the original. But the deaths, attacks, and gory scenes have a stylish flare, and you can tell director Craig Gillespie put some effort into the demises in Fright Night, because the deaths aren’t limited to a barrage of dead bodies piling on top of one another, and senseless scenes of flesh tearing violence. Fright Night 2011 is a satisfying remake, with some necessary updates, an enjoyable cast (minus Plasse), and the nostalgia winks should please fans of the original.

Rating: 7/10

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

Let's speak Judge Dredd from 1995. Starring Sylvester Stallone.

I actually...didn't mind this film. Sure, it's not good, far from it but it's actually a pretty fun movie to watch because some of the acting is very over-the top, particularly from Stallone and Armand Assante, the main villain. It's one of those films that falls between a serious film and a parody, though the latter I think was unintentional.

The action scenes for the most part are pretty good, if a little dated and cliché. Rob Schneider's character is annoying though, and by annoying, I mean Jar Jar Binks/Short Round annoying. He's suppose to be a hacker, although this is barely expanded upon. There's also some plot-holes too, such as the judges not trying to kill Rico, a guy that has killed 108 judges in 2 days, but who are trying to kill Dredd, who has been convicted of killing 1 reporter. That makes no sense. Some characters aren't fleshed out much at all, such as the Asian scientist for example.

Overall, it's by no means a blockbuster hit (it flopped), but I'd recommend it for a good, unintentional laugh. It's by no means a horrific movie, but it's not the Judge Dredd movie that I'd have hoped for (that came in Dredd, which I'll review another time)

Overall: 4/10

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I enjoyed Dredd '95 for being a cheesy and over the top action flick, with some corny one-liners from Stallone and Assante. Never took it seriously, though. Just a guilty pleasure for me. And it's a shame Dredd '12, the better film, had to flop at theaters recently.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Lone Ranger (2013)

**SPOILERS**

In 1869, district attorney John Reid (Armie Hammer) returns to his hometown of Colby, Texas via train ride. On the same train, a nasty and emotionless cannibal outlaw named Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) is being held captive, as he awaits his execution in Colby. In the same car, Tonto (Johnny Depp) is shackled next to Butch. Eventually, Butch escapes the train with the help of his gang, and a hidden gun underneath the floorboards. Tonto escapes to go after Butch, and with John’s help, both men pursue Butch and his gang.

Butch and his gang escape, Tonto disappears, and John reunites with his brother and Colby Ranger, Dan (James Badge Dale) and his son, Danny (Bryant Prince) in Colby. Awkward feelings from a past relationship with Dan’s wife, Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) cause some tension between the two, and Rebecca tries to ignore and fight off advances from the local railroad tycoon, Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson).

Vowing to bring Butch and his gang to justice, Dan puts together a team to go after Butch, and he deputizes John by giving him their father’s old Texas Ranger badge. But Dan, John, and the rest of the team are ambushed by Butch’s gang, after a trader from within the group lures them into a trap. Butch kills Dan by eating his heart, and John is left for dead with the rest of the corpses.

John is resurrected back to life with the help of a ritual from a returning Tonto, and a white spirit horse. John agrees to team up with Tonto, so he can capture Butch, his gang, and the traitor. Using Tonto’s black mask and advice, John assumes the identity of The Lone Ranger. With help from Red Harrington (Helena Bonham Carter), the madam of a brothel, John and Tonto uncover a railroad conspiracy connected to a scheme involving tons of silver on Indian land, and John learns more about Tonto’s motivations for vengeance on Butch after discovering the truth about Tonto’s deadly mistake as a child.

As expected, Johnny Depp delivers another enjoyable kooky and eccentric performance, providing the most laughs as Tonto. I guess you can say the same thing about Helena Bonham Carter’s Red, but she’s limited to sporadic appearances in this one. But yeah, more often than not, you have to expect some weirdo Tim Burton-esque character from Depp and Carter, so it’s not too surprising.

Anyway, Armie Hammer is a good foil for Depp’s rebellious and risktaking Tonto, as the stuck-up lawman, who does everything by the book. Fichtner provides the second best performance for my money. He’s genuinely evil, as the scoundrelly devil outlaw, but his character is undermined by an OBVIOUS twist (more on that later). Tom Wilkinson’s Latham Cole is kind of “meh,” because Cole is your typical greedy American businessman, who’s drunk with power, and of course he wants more money. And no major complaints about Ruth Wilson and Bryant Prince, and and it’s not fair to judge James Badge Dale, because his character doesn’t last long.

Butch was the right primary antagonist….until Latham Cole is revealed as the mastermind behind the silver/railroad scheme. Butch was nasty, vile, and ruthless. I mean, the guy eats body parts to prove his toughness. To make matters worse, the “twist” (if you can even call it that) was so freakin’ obvious. You could EASILY see it coming throughout the movie, and the lazy foreshadowing didn’t help anything. So instead of giving us something different, The Lone Ranger settles for the cliché “greedy, rich white businessman, who’s blinded by power, and his never ending obsession for more money” character. Yeah, I can understand the Cole character being the perfect tie-in for the backdrop of the story involving the oppression and genocide of Native Americans in the old west, but come on. Let’s not kid ourselves here. The Lone Ranger wasn’t trying to be an artsy action/drama. No, this is a popcorn flick.

And speaking of obvious twists, I was glad they didn’t throw in a “Surprise! Danny is actually John’s son!” twist. Throughout the movie, I had an uneasy feeling they were actually going to do this, because Rebecca and John had a thing for each other at one time. The Lone Ranger was loaded clichés, predictable twists, and sappy emotional moments, so they didn’t need to pile John being Danny’s real father on top of that.

Red’s prosthetic gun and leg trick loses its “wow factor” after the first time, and my god they could’ve shaved some time off of the exhausting two hours and twenty-nine minutes runtime. Just when you think The Lone Ranger might be over, it goes on and on for another thirty or forty minutes. Still, with all that said, I enjoyed The Lone Ranger. The entire film is loaded with lots of thrilling, creative, and fun over the top action sequences. Hammer and Depp shared some great chemistry together as the hilarious odd couple, and when it’s all said and done, The Lone Ranger is an entertaining action/comedy, with some good laughs along the way. Again, trim some of the fat off the bloated runtime, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go with a higher score.

Rating: 5/10

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The Wolverine (2013)​

Never really done a full blown review of a flick before so I figured I'd give it a shot. If I ramble on a bit, I apologize and I'll try to keep it to a minimum. Thanks to the fact that I'm friends with the owner of a local theater, I was able to watch the film last night before it's official release. I'll try not to give away too many, if any spoilers, because I know that pisses some people off. Most of it should be just general knowledge stuff anyhow.

As for the film itself, I wasn't all that excited based on what I'd seen from various TV spots so I didn't really know what to expect or hope going into it. I'd been a fan of the character since I was a kid so, I was at least hoping for a decent outing. I found myself very, very pleasantly surprised by the overall effort of this movie and enjoyed it FAR more than I was expecting. The movie is supposed to feel separated and apart from the general happenings of the broader X-Men stuff. With the exception of the various sequences showing Jean Grey, the film completely succeeds. As a result, it felt much more in tune with how comics used to be before cash cow characters, like Wolverine or Superman or Batman, etc., started appearing in half a dozen different comic book series. It's a different approach than what we've seen with Marvel building The Avengers in which all the primary characters have had their own solo film(s) to set up their parts in The Avengers. The film also leaves behind all the various trappings of Wolverine's origin & Weapon X, which I think Fox has been definitely hit & miss with, and gets deeper into the mythos of the character. After all, there's a LOT more of interest to the character than all the Weapon X stuff & the origin of his life and I'm so glad to see that they finally realized that.

The movie is generally based on the first Wolverine mini-series that was helmed by famed writers & artists Chris Claremont & Frank Miller in late 1982. As you'd expect, a lot of it has been changed to have a more updated feel, but I thought the overall feel of the movie captured what they were ultimately going for. Jackman nails the character overall in the movie. He's always done a good job as Wolverine but this is really the first time that a film has really been able to capture the kind of isolation and weariness that's become a central aspect of the character. In this film the X-Men seem to have broken up, it's set after X-Men 3, and Wolverine seems lost & without purpose. He's endured a lot in his life, FAR more than anyone should have to be, and that comes across really well in the movie without going over the top. For all intents & purposes, Wolverine is immortal and while that sounds great to just about everybody; the movie touches on what a personal burden it probably would be. Again, it doesn't go over the top but it does enough to serve as a central aspect of the movie.

If you're looking for tons of explosions and massively over the top fight scenes, then you'll be disappointed in the movie. Personally, I loved the action in the movie and it had much more of an old school action film feel. There are a few over the top elements of some of the fight scenes, I don't think you can have this genre of a movie otherwise, but the movie isn't overloaded with it. For instance, there aren't tons of CGI generated monsters or machines, no cities being obliterated by massive laser canons, etc. We've seen a lot of that kind of stuff in comic book films recently, not that I don't enjoy the big epic special effects stuff 'cuz I do, but it was really refreshing to see a big budget film break away from that mold. The aspect of the Silver Samurai for this movie is kind of corny and cartoony, but I preferred it to what I was expecting when the premise for the movie was first announced. For instance, during the time in which Claremont was writing the X-Men, Wolverine seemed to fluctuate extremely often between being able to take on someone like the Hulk to being able to be beaten by ordinary people.

The overall acting in the film was solid in my eyes. Again, Jackman truly nails the character and there's still room to go even deeper in future films. There are a few characters that seem to be there mostly for background purposes, like most of the cast for Man of Steel in my opinion, but there are a good number of engaging characters. No massive standouts apart from Jackson, but he has really solid chemistry with the female characters.

All in all, I was just hoping for a solid action movie with a decent plot but I thought the movie delivered much more. The story was a lot deeper than I expected and the simplicity of it overall was really refreshing. It's not about saving the world, alien invaders or issues in regard to comparison of mutant rights to the rights of minorities in the real world. It doesn't have the plot of a most big budget blockbusters and that's a huge element of its charm for me. In that sense, it's probably not a "traditional" superhero film either, which fits in perfectly because the Wolverine character has never been a "traditional" superhero either. He's too violent, too jaded, too deeply troubled and too imperfect.

Score: 9/10

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Let's speak Judge Dredd from 1995. Starring Sylvester Stallone.

I actually...didn't mind this film. Sure, it's not good, far from it but it's actually a pretty fun movie to watch because some of the acting is very over-the top, particularly from Stallone and Armand Assante, the main villain. It's one of those films that falls between a serious film and a parody, though the latter I think was unintentional.

The action scenes for the most part are pretty good, if a little dated and cliché. Rob Schneider's character is annoying though, and by annoying, I mean Jar Jar Binks/Short Round annoying. He's suppose to be a hacker, although this is barely expanded upon. There's also some plot-holes too, such as the judges not trying to kill Rico, a guy that has killed 108 judges in 2 days, but who are trying to kill Dredd, who has been convicted of killing 1 reporter. That makes no sense. Some characters aren't fleshed out much at all, such as the Asian scientist for example.

Overall, it's by no means a blockbuster hit (it flopped), but I'd recommend it for a good, unintentional laugh. It's by no means a horrific movie, but it's not the Judge Dredd movie that I'd have hoped for (that came in Dredd, which I'll review another time)

Overall: 4/10

I enjoyed Dredd '95 for being a cheesy and over the top action flick, with some corny one-liners from Stallone and Assante. Never took it seriously, though. Just a guilty pleasure for me. And it's a shame Dredd '12, the better film, had to flop at theaters recently.

I love the new Dredd. I saw it twice in theaters. He's got the kind of character where the story should be as simple as possible. And I maintain that a Wolverine movie like that would be much better than anything they've put out.

Mitch, have you ever reviewed the House movies?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Mitch, have you ever reviewed the House movies?

Which House films are you talking about? I'm guessing you're talking about the old horror comedy series, with one, unrelated "serious" film thrown in? Or are you talking about the seventies Japanese horror film House? House 2008?

As far as reviewing goes, the answer to all the above would be no. The Japanese House film I saw once years ago, and that was because some all-things horror book I read a while ago mentioned it. Barely remember the movie itself. House 2008 I've never seen, and from what I remember, the House horror comedies weren't anything special. And Lance Henriksen had the lead role in House III (another name for it, but I forget what it was), right?

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Which House films are you talking about? I'm guessing you're talking about the old horror comedy series, with one, unrelated "serious" film thrown in? Or are you talking about the seventies Japanese horror film House? House 2008?

As far as reviewing goes, the answer to all the above would be no. The Japanese House film I saw once years ago, and that was because some all-things horror book I read a while ago mentioned it. Barely remember the movie itself. House 2008 I've never seen, and from what I remember, the House horror comedies weren't anything special. And Lance Henriksen had the lead role in House III (another name for it, but I forget what it was), right?

I was referring to House (1986) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091223/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 and House 2: The Second Story (1987) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093220/?ref_=tt_rec_tti

I was more curious than anything. I remember as a kid seeing them in the movie store when we'd go and I was just curious. Figured you might know since you're a big horror buff.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Ah, so you are talking about the horror comedies. Like I said, I barely remember them, but I might give them a watch in the coming months. And I looked on IMDB, Lance Henriksen is the star of the "serious one." That's enough to get some interest out of me, and Steve Miner (to hell with Friday The 13th Part II and III, he doesn't get enough credit for his work in H20) directed the first one, so yeah I'll probably find some time to track down the House films soon enough.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I looked on Lance Henriksen's filmography. I didn't spot any titles that stuck out.

And I never realized they were supposed to be comedies. Though, looking at the trivia on House II, all it has is a statement saying how it's barely considered horror.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Informers (2008)

**SPOILERS**

So the story is broken into a series of separate storylines. Characters from different storylines have some interaction with each other every now and then, so I’ll do another “separate synopses and my thoughts after each one” breakdown. The Informers is set in various cities throughout Los Angeles in 1983.

Bruce’s Death​

One night at a party, Bruce (Fernando Consagra) strolls out into the street, and is killed by a speeding driver. His “friends” attended the funeral, and afterwards, Graham (Jon Foster), a drug dealer, Martin (Austin Nichols), an egotistical bisexual rock video producer and a prostitute, Tim (Lou Taylor Pucci), and Raymond (Aaron Himelstein) are sitting outside on the patio of the hotel, where the funeral is being held. But instead of reminiscing about good times with Bruce, Martin decides to bask in the glory of Bruce’s death by mocking his memory with unflattering stories, including the true stories of Bruce sleeping with Graham’s promiscuous girlfriend, Christie (Amber Heard). Raymond is disgusted by the lack of respect for Bruce’s memory, breaks down in tears, and Graham follows him to the bathroom for comfort.

My Thoughts: The problem with the opening moments for The Informers is, NOTHING catches your attention to the point, where you’ll be interested enough to stick around for the rest of the movie. Plus, they introduce the audience to the long list of very unlikeable characters from the start. Tim is whining about a vacation to Hawaii. Graham KNOWS his girlfriend is cheating on him, but he tries to play it off like it’s not a big deal. Raymond is blubbering like a baby for a guy, who clearly hated his guts (during the party Bruce shoved him in the chest, because Raymond was following him around too much), and Martin is just a tool. And why did they put so much emphasis on Bruce’s death? After he’s smacked by the car, and after the funeral, his character is never mentioned again.

Graham knows Christie is sleeping with other guys, doesn’t like it, but he still won’t do anything about it​

Christie enjoys Martin as one of her more consistent and likeable sex partners outside of Graham, and Christie is pretty open about her promiscuity. But Graham’s feelings for Christie cause some friction in the consensual and friendly love triangle.

My Thoughts: The mind-numbing stupidity in this storyline is just too much. There’s a scene, where Graham is watching this orgy involving Christie…..and he just stands there with this horrified look on his face? Eh, if Christie’s “open relationship” lifestyle is bothering you THAT much, why don’t you just leave her? I don’t get it. Graham cleans up his act, and you quickly realize Christie is in the wrong here, but it’s hard to feel any sympathy for Graham, because he’s such an inept crybaby. Oh, and on top of that, Martin calls Graham out for sleeping around with other women during the beginning, so again, why should I feel bad for Graham? In a lot of ways, he is/was just as bad as Christie.

Uncle Pete comes to visit, and he brings Mary with him​

Peter (Mickey Rourke) is looking for a place to lay low, until the heat from some bad people dies down. Without giving him a choice in the matter, Peter hides out at his nephew Jack’s (Brad Renfro) house in Los Angeles. Jack is worried about Peter’s presence possibly jeopardizing his job as a doorman at Christie’s apartment complex, and Peter doesn’t help matters, because he brings a kidnapped teenager named Mary (Angela Sarafayan) with him. To make the situation worse, Peter abducts another young kid one day, so he can make more money in a kidnap and trade for cash business. But Jack makes a fatal mistake that will change his life forever, when he refuses to hand over the kid to the people, who paid Peter.

My Thoughts: Well, this is probably the best storyline in The Informers. Unlike all the other storylines, Pete and Jack’s stroryline actually has some intrigue to it. You wonder what might happen, if Peter, Jack, and Mary stick around for the bad guys to come back. You wonder if Jack will finally find the courage to stand up to Peter, and finally tell him “no.“ Enough is enough. And you kind of feel sorry for Jack, because Peter comes out of nowhere, and ruins his life. Plus, Mickey Rourke delivers one of the best performances in this film.

Bryan Metro​

Bryan Metro (Mel Raido) is a hot and wildy popular rock musician, who’s currently on tour. But along the way, Bryan succumbs to his addictions to drugs, alcoholism, and a shameful habit of sleeping with underage groupies. Bryan’s trusted bandmate, friend, and manager, Roger (Rhys Ifans) tries to secure a deal for a movie, that would put Bryan in the starring role, but Bryan’s problems and a broken relationship with Nina Metro (Simone Kessell), his ex-wife and the mother of his only child, could derail any chances of a positive future.

My Thoughts: Bryan Metro is easily the most despicable character in this movie. He’s a grown man, who sleeps with young male and female teenagers, he beats women, and he’s a terrible father. Need an example of how creepy Bryan Metro is? During the meeting for the B-movie with a rep from the studio, Bryan is attracted to this teenage girl, who’s watching TV in the bedroom of his hotel room. Metro loses intrest in the meeting, and he becomes infatuated with the girl, when she smiles at him, showing Metro her braces. Yeah, kind of hard to feel sympathy for Metro, when he’s on the phone yelling at Nina for a chance to speak with his kid, because he’s such a scumbag.

Tim Price and Les Price​

Living with his mother, Tim’s parents are divorced, and against his will, Tim is forced to go on a vacation to Hawaii with his father Les (Chris Isaak). Tim still has bitter feelings towards his father, and the already strained relationship becomes worse in Hawaii.

My Thoughts: Yes, Les is an obnoxious man child, who hits on women half his age, but Tim is still annoying, as the whiny and immature spoiled brat. “This sucks! I’m going to Hawaii for a vacation, and my dad is paying for everything! What a jerk!” Seriously? So yeah, The Informers major problem of having one too many unlikeable characters rears its ugly head again here, because I didn’t want to support either Tim or Les.

William and Laura’s broken marriage​

Depressed, and addicted to prescription pills, Laura Sloan (Kim Basinger) agrees to a proposal from her estranged husband and wealthy movie producer, William Sloan (Billy Bob Thornton) for William to move back into their mansion, so they can live together. William wants a second chance after having an affair with Cheryl Moore (Winona Ryder), a popular local news anchorwoman, but Laura must end her sexual relationship with Martin. Meanwhile, William has doubts after some old feelings for Cheryl resurface, and the situation becomes more tense, when William pursues Cheryl at a restaurant during a celebratory dinner with the Sloan’s children, Graham and Susan (Cameron Goodman).

My Thoughts: ……okay. So Laura is sleeping with Martin (her son‘s best friend), and on top of that, it’s heavily implied Martin and Laura had a regular and ongoing sexual relationship during William’s affair with Cheryl. So why should I feel sympathy for Laura, as this broken and depressed woman? William is a selfish douchebag, but Laura is no saint either. And Susan could’ve provided some much needed positive light in the murky darkness of characters for The Informers, but Goodman doesn’t receive a significant amount of screen time here.

Summary​

The veterans take the cake here, because Rourke and Basinger deliver the best performances. Amber Heard is just eye candy, because during most of her appearances in this film, she’s either topless, completely naked, or having sex. Billy Bob Thornton is seemingly bored, with an unengaging and lifeless performance. And Winona Ryder is just going through the motions during her limited screen time. Brad Renfro’s Jack is probably the only guy in this entire film, who you can feel some sympathy for, but Renfro’s performance isn’t convincing, at all (I cringed, when Jack tried to put on a tough guy face in front of his uncle Pete, and said “I’m gonna cut his fucking throat”). On a side note, I had no idea Renfro died of a heroin overdose a handful of years ago. Always thought he had some potential (he was pretty solid in Bully), and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out a reason for not seeing him in any movies recently. But after researching, I learned about his problems with drugs and alcohol. Performance wise, the rest of the cast is not worth mentioning at all.

The Informers doesn’t give the audience any likeable characters to support or root for. Too many whining and spoiled rich kids, pedophiles, stupid people, self-absorbed junkies, and egomaniacs. And the writers ruin any semi-likeable characters. Yes, Bryan Metro is a piece of trash, but Nina is one of Martin’s clients, and she allows her young son to play with and bond with Martin?

The final scene of the movie shows Christie laying on the beach, and she’s CLEARLY dying (presumably from AIDS), because a fly lands on her cold and pale body, and she doesn’t even feel it. This scene was suppose to generate some sympathy for Christie, as Graham gives her one final kiss good-bye. But yeah, it’s kind of hard to feel sympathy for someone, who CONSTANTLY and carelessly has unprotected sex throughout the movie, and refuses to go to the doctor for help at the end.

William and Laura’s finale for their storyline was SO incredibly stupid. So Laura calls William out for trying to make another move on Cheryl. William eventually admits it during an argument, but Laura agrees to go with William to a banquet, and after that, William has to move out (again), and get out of Laura’s life forever. And get this, the main reason for William wanting to go to the banquet is so he can see Cheryl in person again. And Laura agrees, because she wants to have a final face to face confrontation with Cheryl. But here’s the swerve! William and Laura arrive at the banquet, but Laura never gets out of the limo. She catches Cheryl with one glimpse from inside the limo, closes the door, and leaves William at the banquet by himself, as the limo drives away. Okay. Hold on a minute. Laura could’ve avoided this whole mess by simply choosing to stay at home. And William had plenty of chances to see Cheryl face to face without Laura. So why on Earth did they have to go together? I don’t get it.

Any social commentary for the consequences of unprotected sex, AIDS, and the outbreak of STDs in the gay community is overshadowed by an overload of dreary and overly dramatic storylines. And the best performances from Rourke and Basinger are undermined by two unlikable (especially Rourke’s Peter, because it’s implied he has a sexual relationship with Mary) characters. The Informers is a depressing, ugly, and miserable ensemble film with too many scumbag characters, and the stroylines culminate into a series of unfulfilling and underwhelming finales. An awful , awful film, and to think they almost added a supernatural element to this one. Brandon Routh was suppose to play a vampire in another sub-plot (the vampire was in the book, and The Informers is based on the same book with the same title), but those plans were scrapped. I don’t think it’s possible, but there’s a good chance the vampire sub-plot would’ve dug a deeper grave for The Informers.

Rating: 0/10