Evil Dead (2013) review: The most gory film to hit the silver screen....

I'll admit, I've never really sat down to watch the original film in this franchise, The Evil Dead, starring Bruce Campbell. When I tried to, I became too disturbed seeing a woman get raped in the woods via barbed wire. But nonetheless, I went into this remake or reboot, whatever the hell you want to call it in the age of franchises being jump started again, with an open mind.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit I actually really enjoyed this affair. If you're going to do something right, be consistent with the approach, and consistent the filmmakers were, utilizing the best in younger, bad actors, and the utmost gruesome killing and maiming effects I've ever seen on the big screen. Nothing was half-assed here.Too many times I'll see horror films where only a small portion of the film really kicks the violence into full throttle, but once this particular film unleashes the curse of a book the young adult campers find buried in a cabins basement, it's a balls out tour de force of cringing at what you see.

I'll take a step back here to give you a run down of the basic story. A younger woman who is recovering from massive psychological disorder, primarily from drug overdose, is attempting to recover up in the woods, at a not so nice looking cabin with four of her closest friends. These friends consist of her older brother, his girlfriend, a nurse; an incredible nag of a nurse at that, and a classic, awkward geeky guy who looks like he was taken right out of a 70s horror film. It's this geek that decides opening the cursed book, made out of dead skin, with blood stains all over it, is too hard to resist by reading its passages. These are passages where it's made abundantly clear to NOT READ! Uh oh, we have incredibly stupid characters in this movie, where their actions make absolutely no sense. Once he reads them, that's when the film turns into one bad thing happening after another, and upping the ante each time in the beyond disgusting department.

But as I alluded to earlier, if the story and what's on film scaled back at all, and tried to retract the level of gore you were seeing on screen, the end product would have suffered. Instead, director Fede Alvarez not only smacks you in the face with visuals you'd dare never wanna open one eye for, he manages to capture almost a Stanley Kubrick type visual quality (this was mentioned by another reviewer, I'm merely agreeing with this observation) to many of the ugly things you see on screen. He shot many of the scenes from unique angles, and positions you're not used to seeing a camera get put into, and for that, the movie shined.

I'll even go as far as saying the character I thought was going to survive did not, and kept me guessing right up until the end. Now maybe that's because I haven't been a die hard fan of this franchise and know less about the core story behind it, but either way, it was nice being surprised towards the end.

Bottom line, if you're a fan of blood, guts, gore, and all things sadistic, if that sort of thing gives you a wildly inappropriate, yet innocent mental escape for a couple of hours, then go see this film. If any of those things disturb you to where you may not sleep, or flat out just may offend you in general, then DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT go and see this movie.

This is not the most terrifying film you'll ever see, but I guarantee it's one of the most disgusting and gory films you'll ever see. 

Nuff said.

Breakdown, 1997, Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh

 
If someone were to ask me my favorite, underrated and pretty well completely overlooked film of all time, I'd yell "Breakdown". I remember catching this on HBO, circa 1998-1999, when it premiered on a Friday night and I was hooked from beginning to end. The tension, acting, pacing, setting, all played a role in making this one of the best thrillers I've personally ever seen.

So let me give a brief synopsis of the story. Kurt Russell, along with Kathleen Quinlan, play a married couple that's trekking from the east coast through the western side of the country to start a new life, and job. After their new Jeep Grand Cherokee breaks down, that's when the fun begins. Watching the events unfolding as Kurt Russell's character,  Jeff Taylor, frantically tries to piece together what happened to his wife gives the exact sort of tension Harrison Ford's old film, "Frantic" never had and should have had. J.T. Walsh plays a perfect villain, and sadly he died not long after this film hit the silver screen back in 1997. (I believe it may have been his last performance) He was one hell of a character actor. Everyone in this film is convincing, and so convincing I have never looked at long road trips the same. The tagline for this film was "It could happen to you.." and that definitely stuck with me throughout the years. Now everytime I stop at a rest stop, I'm paying full attention to my surroundings, the people, etc.

The reason this film worked for me is the entire film I kept asking myself "how is this going to end?", it kept me guessing and guessing. That's the mark of a good story for my money. I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story, I can only recommend you Netflix this movie. The biggest crime? There's still only a DVD version of this that I'm not even sure is in print anymore. The fact this film hasn't been given the Blu-ray treatment saddens me to no end. Great films deserve the best picture quality for home release, and this is one of them!

Nuff said..

Superman 4: The Batman 66' of Superman Films

Here's the deal, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a guilty pleasure of mine, and has been since I saw it in theaters back in 1987. The actors involved all put forth their best efforts here. Gene Hackman was clearly having a great time getting to play Lex Luthor one final time, and Christopher Reeve embodied exactly what fans wanted from the big, blue boy. As a 7 year old watching this film for the first time it was tough to be bored throughout the entire film.

Skyfall: An authentic Bond film.....

Where to begin? I had my doubts going into this movie after seeing so many good reviews that only served to hype up the film in my mind. I was thankfully proven wrong.

Aston Martin? Check. Excellently choreographed action sequences? Check. Two gorgeous Bond girls to complement Bond? Check. Memorable score? Check. Catchy ending? Check. And memorable villain? Definite check. The best thing this film has going for it is how it injects the classic Bond film feel into various parts of the film from beginning to end.

A brief synopsis of the plot: An important list of all the Mi6 agents has fallen into the wrong hands, and it's up to 007 and M to try and retrieve this list before too many agents are knocked off, one by one. Add to it, the return of a former agent gone mad, played so wildly wacky by Javier Bardem, this film carries much in the department of emotion and tension. Does the plot sound familiar to previous action genre films? It should, but it makes no difference due to the excellent execution by the film's director, Sam Mendes and all those involved with this project. The Cinematography provided by Roger Deakins is dazzling to the eyes, particular during the scenes shot in Shanghai. Speaking of Shanghai, there's one action scene in particular, where it's a maze of lights in a highrise above Shanghai, as Bond moves in for the kill that really hits the spot for this movie, in my opinion. It's not campy Roger Moore Bond, it's spot on Ian Fleming, trained agent in the field ready to do damage Bond. That's the way these films should have been made a long time ago, and thankfully, between the last two entries with Daniel Craig, the two more serious Timothy Dalton entries, and obviously Sean Connery's contributions, this series finally has a nice catalog of mature, spy thrillers.

Having said that, it's also noticeable throughout the film that there was an earnest effort to lighten things up a little more from the previous film. By lighten up, I just mean show more of what fans came to expect in past Bond films.  For starters, the character of Q has returned, the original 1960's Aston Martin even makes an appearance, and lastly, I won't spoil the other example of classic Bond being fused into this picture. This entry had a nice balance between serious, and very subtle moments of tongue and cheek humor. Even better, there's one scene in particular, where Bond is chatting it up with the character named Severine, and as she's smoking her longer cigarette (very similar to the kind smoked in Dr. No) in this Chinese gambling club, you can't help but feel it was a 60s Bond moment placed perfectly in the framework of this modern day version of a James Bond film. It simply works, and if you're a true fan of Bond, I'm not sure how you can't appreciate everything about the scene, from the acting, the flirting, the lighting, and the overall mood. It should also be noted, the one major critique about this film is that the two leading ladies have no chemistry on screen with Daniel Craig. Well, that couldn't be farther from the truth, it's all in the eye contact the three of them share, and it's perfect, simply perfect.

The reviews you've read are true, this Bond film shines in all the right places, and the ending in particular should make you really excited for the next entry. Here's to hoping there's not another 4 year gap between Bond films! Nuff said

Retro review: A View to a Kill--satire at its finest!!!

 I recently decided to throw in A View to a Kill on Blu-ray, since I picked up the Bond 50 boxed set with all of the films. It was barely watchable to say the least. I'm being generous.

I'm not sure what the heck the Bond producers at the time (Cubby Broccoli, and Micheal G. Wilson) were thinking by allowing a geriatric looking Roger Moore come back for one last round as 007, but they're damn lucky it didn't completely backfire on them. This film could have easily been the end of Bond had it bombed financially, and boy it should have bombed in my opinion. There's simply no way to take this entry seriously when Roger Moore was 57 years old, and not only was he not convincing enough to believe he was doing the physical scenes as James Bond, but he looked like he should have been playing the lead Bond girl's father, not a potential love interest! The film plays like it's a satire of itself, and more than makes a big joke out of the character Ian Fleming created decades before. I can't imagine had Ian Fleming was alive to see this film, he'd have been the least bit happy with the direction it took.

The real crime? This film had all the elements needed to make an outstandingly cool Bond film, but was wasted on such an over the hill actor in Roger Moore. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Roger Moore as Bond, particularly when he didn't look like he was pushing 60, but his being in A View to a Kill prevented it from being what it could have been. Having said that, Christopher Walken did a great job playing the lead villain, Max Zorin, and Grace Jones did a nice job as the villain's sidekick, Mayday. In the end, it was wasted simply because Moore wasn't believable as an agent with a License to Kill on screen. The script needed to be altered to eliminate the campy jokes, and over the top humor, along with recasting 007 at the time. Had that been done, it would have been a respectable Bond film. Another head scratcher, the casting of an even older sidekick for Roger Moore's James Bond character, Sir Goddrey Tibbet, played by then way over the hill Patrick Macnee just threw believability out the window with this picture. Several of the scenes early on, when Bond and Tibbet are infiltrating one of Zorin's facilities is silly at best. When the only good thing about a film is its theme song (A View to a Kill, Duran Duran), that's when you know it has major issues across the board.

It now makes perfect sense why with the following film, The Living Daylights, the producers were more than happy to allow then newly cast Bond, Timothy Dalton, to make the character of 007 a serious, no nonsense 00 agent. There was even talk that it was Roger Moore (at the time of A View to a Kills release) who resigned from the role, and for his own reasons, but come on, can you imagine him coming back for yet another film, 2 years later? I know I can't. A View to a Kill really was like The Naked Gun franchise merging with the Bond universe, only in the worst way possible.

Nuff said...

Moonrise Kingdom: Varying degrees of nostalgia..

 If you've never seen a Wes Anderson film before, brace yourself, you just may not enjoy it. I'm going to go out on a limb and say you better be good friends with the intellectual side of your brain. You need to be able to appreciate the small things in his movies, particularly with the main characters involved. There's definitely a dry humor at work not only in this film but his previous films, and if you can dig in to such wit, I'm sure you'll thoroughly enjoy the film.

Having said that, this is an intriguing film all around, regardless of the notes it may or may not hit on with humor. I also feel like it's the kind of film you must see more than a few times to pick up on all the subtle nuances that are on the screen. To sum up the plot, a boy named Sam, who is apart of a boy-scout platoon, goes missing and all in the name of falling in love with a local girl. The visuals and aura are what make this film work for me, along with some very convincing acting all around. There's also added charm by setting this film in the 60's, and getting to see the characters in an environment where one is not picking up their Iphone every 40 seconds to see if another character in the film messaged them. You may even find yourself getting nostalgic for a time when we all didn't have quite as many distractions and were able to be in the moment with those around us; much like you'll see with the characters of this film.

The acting is solid all-around. Ed Norton plays the boy scout platoon leader, Scout Master Ward. Bill Murray plays the father of Suzy, who flees with Sam. Bruce Willis plays the cop in this local New England town, named Captain Sharp, and I must mention the ageless Bob Balaban, who narrates the film at different points in the beginning and end. I'm beginning to think he (Balaban) never ages.
Last but not least, the film would never have worked if not for the acting chops of the two young lovers, played by Kara Hayward, and Jared Gilman. There's some key moments in the first leg of the film where they're isolated together, by a lake, and their chemistry works. It's just that simple.

Overall, if you want a nice escape into a world that not only doesn't exist anymore being that it's the 2000s, but also because it's a world that only Wes Anderson could create in his films, give this one a try.

Nuff said

E.T.: Still a gem 30 years later....

 I remember watching this film as a kid but never truly grasping the themes of this classic: Friendship/Companionship/Loyalty, etc. But the simple magic presented on the screen of seeing this young kid who befriends a being from another planet was enough to keep me entertained from start to finish. And then when I turned 21, it was re-released in theaters just about everywhere in the US. I remember going to see it with a close friend, a fellow "dude" if you will, and being completely caught off guard at just how sad the ending was. It hits you right in the gut, that this child who has bonded to a being from another world, is about to lose a friend. Add to it, the absolutely majestic and emotional John Williams soundtrack, and you have the perfect recipe to make an entire theater weep like it's a funeral. It's simply one of those films that reminds you it's OK to think like a kid, and become nostalgic for the imagination your childhood was filled with.

I'm going to simplify the plot for all of you. An alien is left stranded on earth by his fellow alien pals, the government takes an interest in these E.T.'s, all the while a younger kid named Elliot allows his new alien pal to hang out and take shelter at his mom's house. Like any plot that needs to move forward, conflict arises, but in the form of the government wanting to capture E.T. The ending? Not going to spoil it for those of you who for some insane reason haven't seen this classic. Overall this story should remind all of us what it means to go to bat for a true friend, and the great lengths we sometimes have to go to ensure you take care of those who matter most in your life. Somehow director Steven Spielberg captures this theme the best I've ever seen captured in a film. What's ironic is that it's not dealing with a human to human friendship, it's with a human and non-human friendship story arc.

Watching it nearly ten years later on Blu-ray it's become apparent to me that nothing has changed. It's still a tear-jerker, and still tackles the themes of friendship and loyalty without losing the same punch it packed years ago. Even better, it looks brilliant on Blu-ray. If it can look epic while projected onto a white wall, about 90" size, I can't imagine how crystal clear it's going to look on your TV. Oh, and it doesn't hurt it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Great cinematography, great soundtrack, well acted, well directed, and still holds up some 30 years after its initial release.

All around, if you haven't seen this film, go get it! But be warned in advance, don't be so sure it won't strike a cord emotionally, it's been known to make grown men cry like school girls!

Nuff said....