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*batteries not included (1987)
It's A Good Thing Faye Riley Left That Window Open
This is indeed a very pleasing and heartwarming film though the premise of little flying saucers with miraculous abilities to fix anything that's broken, does seem somewhat silly. It, however, does work with those little flying machines coming across as fun loving and cute.
There's also a good cast of characters here with Frank and Faye Riley at the heart of it all. They're the owners of an old run down apartment building that includes a cafe. After living there for decades, a change has come and it's not for the better. A ruthless cooperation bought up the whole neighborhood so it could be replaced by a large skyscraper.
As the buildings around them are getting demolished into rubble by a construction crew, the Rileys and their tenants stand firm about staying put and refuse to be bribed into vacating the place which causes problems. The company hires a gang of thugs to make their lives hell by harassing them and violently vandalizing the building.
I admit it was hard to stomach watching those brutes bullying and causing trouble towards the elderly Rileys and seeing them viciously smash up their beloved cafe. The police also act powerless towards it all and treat the situation like a lost cause.
All does indeed look bleak until two little flying saucers appear one night through the window and they end up becoming a symbol of hope for the Rileys and their tenants. They're awed by those little technological wonders, most especially when they discovered their power to totally fix the smashed up cafe and any other broken objects laying around the building. They were truly incredible.
It's also eventually discovered that the saucers were a "couple" and who functioned just like living beings. The "female" also gives birth to three smaller saucers with one that apparently "died" but later got fixed and made operational again by one of the tenants, a former boxer named Harry.
Conditions drastically improved around that place with the arrival of the saucer family who also secretly helped out in the cafe whenever it got busy. They lived in perfect harmony with the Rileys and the tenants but the threat of that evil cooperation bent on emptying out that building so it could be torn down, still posed a serious problem.
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy are absolutely terrific as the Rileys with Tandy a standout as Faye who seemingly has dementia and is unable to properly understand all that's going on around her. It doesn't help matters either when she keeps mistakenly thinking that the leader of the hoodlum gang, is her son, Bobby.
If you can accept the elements of a family of flying saucers in this film, it can become a fairly enjoyable and pleasing view though the cruelty of the bad guys can be a bit hard to take. That nastiness, however, is what caused me to root for the Rileys and their tenants even more, hoping they'd finally win the battle against that Goliath of a cooperation. I've always liked this movie and highly recommend it.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
The Weakest Link Out Of The Original Trilogy
These original films out of the whole Star Wars series are indeed iconic and unforgettable. They wowed audiences in an age when primitive analog technology was the rage at the time. They set the standard for highly advanced technology in moviemaking which is highlighted to this day of CGI.
I only wish it had more of a refreshing feel to it rather than digging up old plots that are too similar to Episode IV. Yeah, I refer to the infamous "Death Star".
Sure, it's known that something indestructible such as that huge technological beast has a weakness, and sure enough, that's once again discovered by the rebels on that "Galaxy from a long time ago". Rebels lost their lives infiltrating the Imperial System to get the info for that dangerous menace, but why did they have to make heroic sacrifices for that? Wasn't it already made clear in Episode IV that all you needed to do was fire lasers at the core of that false moon? That was made obvious in the first film.
All the old gang reunites for the inevitable confrontation with the same enemy forces and with Han Solo evidently given not much to do. He's thawed out of carbonite in Jabba the Hutt's desert palace but is not essential to the main plot and is just there to add to the link of good guys. A far cry from the potency of his Indiana Jones persona where he's needed everywhere.
Princess Leah isn't given much to do either except having the highlight of being captured as Jabba's sex slave. She did look good in that metal bikini though there'd be a backlash to that with today's audience. Something like that would suffer from controversy if that was depicted now. Still, it was an intriguing situation she was in. I mean, what guy wouldn't be turned on by that?
I remember this movie was mega-news when it first came out in 1983 and dominated the headlines by showing how devoted Star Wars fans were by camping out at movie theatres to see it right away. I, unfortunately, had no such luxury. I was living in a small and remote Northern town at the time with no movie theater and had to settle for reading the paperback novel instead that I bought from the local grocery store.
Sure, that's a pathetic way to revel in the glory of this film back in 1983, but it sufficed for trying to know the story when it was a major hit at one time. I now have the DVD that I already watched several times before and admit it never gave the excitement like the novel once did.
The notorious "Emperor" makes a grand appearance here, but the freshness and curiosity of that got lost in the prequels years later. The cunning and surprising show of his powers in this old film doesn't have the impact it once did. We already know what he's capable of.
I admit the major low were those primitive teddy bears on the forest moon of Endor which the new Death Star orbited around. It clearly brought this series down to a kindergarten level with those cute things squealing and running around like mice evading a cat or officers from "Animal Control".
The Cartoonish battle they had with the highly advanced technological forces of The Empire was laughable, considering those Ewoks had nothing, but sticks and stones to retaliate with. Still, they were cute, but too cute to be taken seriously. They were evidently targets of a production line for new Star Wars toys.
The major interest was the space battle between the rebels and the imperial ships and that's indeed an exciting part. Han's old friend and former betrayer, Lando Calrissian, handled it with such superb piloting skills with the Millennium Falcon that you can't help but root for the rebels to win, regardless of the odds they were up against.
There's of course, the father-son, situation between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader which hits a melodramatic soap opera level this time around with a more mellow approach than what was depicted in The Empire Strikes Back.
Vader is also not as menacing and evil as he was in the previous two films either. He's more or less a "Yes-Man" towards the emperor once he appears. He does nothing but take orders from "his master" and acts humble towards him.
To sum it up, I do like Return of the Jedi even though it's clearly the weakest entry to the original series. Episodes IV and V brought the "Skywalker Saga" to a zenith, but those prequels and sequels released afterwards were never able to compare to the quality that was once there.
Star Wars was once a breakthrough film for its day, highlighting highly advanced special effects, but now in this era of extreme CGI, it's a yawn. The impact the original films once had with audiences will never be recaptured in the 21st Century. The era of wowing people with new and awe-inspiring film gimmicks doesn't cut it anymore. There's too much of that in movies nowadays.
The Golden Girls: Sophia's Wedding: Part 1 (1988)
So Many Scenes Packed Into This Two Part Episode
This has got to be the most busiest and event filled installment out of the whole series. A bitterness from Sophia's past comes back to infuriate her once again. Her good friend, Esther Weinstock dies at the age of 88. Sophia refuses to attend her funeral due to the extremely deep grudge she held towards Esther's widower, Max. Sophia and her husband, Salvador, at one time planned on opening a business together with the other couple which failed due to the money getting blown on Max's alleged gambling addiction.
The truth eventually comes out about what really happened and Sophia ends up forgiving and getting too close with Max, which leads to an impending marriage. The sparks end up flying right there with Dorothy who was against her mother marrying another man because it made her feel like her mother was trying to replace her beloved father with somebody else. The conflict finally gets worked out with the wedding going on as planned but with no family members in attendance for it. A group of Elvis Impersonators came instead.
Yeah, the highlight was when Blanche and Rose started up an unauthorized "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love", Elvis Fan Club. The most hilarious moment was when a meeting was held and everyone got awed and excited over a priceless Elvis artifact - a genuine partially eaten pork chop. Dorothy made the mistake of making a joke about it, saying she couldn't believe: "Elvis would leave so much meat on a chop". She ended up getting kicked out of the club over that due to their extremely strict rules about any "derogatory comments made about the King being grounds for automatic dismissal".
More crammed in scenes follow with Sophia and Max following a long held dream by opening up a Pizza-Knish stand at the beach. There was enough content here for a two hour special but it got squeezed into a two part episode instead. It seemed to progress itself into a choppy collection of scenes where so much happens within a limited amount of time.
Still, the genuine laughs continue to be there regardless of it jumping all over the place in quick succession. The quality of the series wasn't lost in this installment but there were quite a few flaws that were noticeable. All in all, I did enjoy this GG outing, I mean that Elvis Fan Club stuff was the most hilarious out of it all. A partially eaten porkchop from Elvis was like finding the Holy Grail from that fanatical crew. Hilarious.
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
I Remember Seeing This At The Theater In 1978
I remember really enjoying it then and ever since, it's always carried a nostalgic vibe for me and was what first introduced me to Tolkien's Middle -Earth. It's just always bothered me though that there was never any sequel. I was so sure one would happen but it never materialized.
That wasn't right considering it just left the viewer hanging with no conclusion to the story. Sure, an animated made-for-TV movie called "The Return Of The King" addressed that a couple of years afterwards, but it wasn't the same. I wanted Bakshi's version to have filled that void instead.
His depiction of Middle-Earth is quite interesting with the use of "rotoscoping" where live action actors and scenes are traced into the animation. The effects do work though it comes across as awkward at times. It seems to not blend in properly with the flow of the animation. An example is when the cartoon hobbits come out clear at the Inn in Bree while the life like human customers all have a reddish tint over them in comparison.
I did view this old film again today and noticed it hasn't aged too well with time. It's also been greatly overshadowed by Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy which makes this one seem so primitive and clunky in comparison.
It was a great effort though for the time it first came out and I remember being impressed when I first saw it as a kid. I always thought the looks of Frodo, Gandalf, Galadriel, Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Aragorn were spot on, but questioned the depiction of the others like Gimli (who was tall for a dwarf), Sam (who looked cheerfully goofy) and Boromir (who looked like he was a Viking). They did a great capture of Gollum though along with the high pitched voice that suited his eccentric traits. He's the one who I always envisioned during those times that I read the book.
The fighting sequences also don't look very effective. The Orcs, in particular, just seem to stand there and wave their weapons around a lot, most especially during the battle scenes in the Mines Of Moria.
For those who never read the book, it would be easy to get confused during the latter half of the film. It moves at a rushed pace with Gandalf supposedly dying in Moria, but later magically returns wearing white with no explanation given for that. Yeah, the movie does indeed leave a lot of questions unanswered and doesn't explain itself as well as it should have. The only way to have satisfied that curiosity before the Peter Jackson films came out was to read the books themselves. I had to do that.
I have always carried a fondness for this old film though and even have the movie poster hanging on my living room wall. It wasn't the best Tolkien adaptation, but it did have somewhat of an impact. Peter Jackson obviously borrowed scenes from it to put into his own trilogy and I picked up on that right away when I first saw "The Fellowship Of The Ring" in 2001. The similarities were so noticeable.
Die unendliche Geschichte III: Rettung aus Phantasien (1994)
Stretching The NeverEnding Story Into A 3rd Film Was A Big Mistake
The very first film from 1984 was visually stunning and of good quality with a memorable title tune. The quality sunk a bit with the sequel, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter and then things get worse with this 3rd trip to Fantasia.
The whole thing looks cheap and comes nowhere close to what the very first two films offered. It's bottom-of-the-barrel filmmaking with a focus placed on the real world this time (to obviously fit the low budget). Jason James Richter is okay as Bastian Bux though he stumbles through the whole story with uncertainty and acts lost for most of the time. He's never sure of what he should do next.
His new stepsister turns out to be a resentful brat with a sour attitude while his meek new stepmother constantly acts self-conscious about how to properly treat him. There's also a continuity error with Bastian's father who became aware of the magic book and Fantasia in the second film, but mysteriously doesn't know about it in this one.
The one character to really stand out though was Jack Black as the evil leader of 'The Nasties'. He really is a good actor and that's apparent in this film where he conveys a highly menacing presence bent on taking control of the magical powers of Fantasia for his own devious purposes.
He and his gang of misfits would've been better suited though in a post-apocalyptic thriller in the same vein as "Mad Max" instead of in this lame G-rated flick. They cause all sorts of mayhem here as school bullies and as possessors of the book of power, but the goal of what they're trying to accomplish out of all that isn't made clear. What other benefits could they have wanted out of the magic besides causing chaos? That's all they seemingly wanted to do.
The characters from Fantasia are also not up to standard. Falkor the dragon is depicted as dimwitted and goofy this time around while those two nagging gnomes are just apparently there for irritation purposes.
That mischievous Baby Rock is also downright annoying, but the Tree Man is bearable. They all accidentally get taken to the real world with Bastian and, wouldn't you know, Halloween conveniently happens so they could all pretend they're trick or treaters in costumes.
It's not surprising this film wasn't a very successful one. I recall seeing ONE quick preview on TV about its theatrical release in the 1990s and it did look quite good from that brief glimpse, but then it suddenly wasn't playing anymore. I can now see why it had a limited run.
It's no surprise that a NeverEnding Story IV hasn't appeared afterwards. This low grade installment and its subsequent failure is obviously the reason why. A fresh reboot of the series just might happen again someday though.
Little House on the Prairie: Crossed Connections (1979)
The Telephone Has Come To Walnut Grove
Gee, in a horse & carriage era of the 1880s, that sure is a technological feat, considering those "horseless carriages" didn't come along until 10 to 20 years afterwards. The telephone lines get set up there though with (you guessed it!) Harriet Olseson as the operator.
The juicy stories she constantly snooped in on was intriguing stuff indeed, most especially when she found out that Alice Garvey had a 1st husband she never told her current husband about. That was enough to dine on right there and Harriet wasted no time in sharing that.
That spoiled thing, Nellie Oleson, happily spreads the news to Alice's son, Andrew, who tells his pa which caused his pa to confront his wife about it. The sparks fly right there when it's confirmed to be "true".
There's a lot of "soul searching" in this episode with a pioneer family on the verge of breaking up, but further insight into the issue is a source in trying to help remedy it. Secrets that are exposed aren't the easiest things to handle.
The telephone was "the curse" through it all and Jonathan Garvey handles that well, but the power Mrs. Oleson had over snooping in on the private affairs of others, continued. Not everybody in hero township got rid of their phones.
Mrs. Oleson has always been a delicious nuisance throughout the series and she made that prominently noticeable here. The new technology of the phone lines helped her dig further into "juicy stuff" about the locals in her area. She was in her element.
The phone was there to stay though with people like Caroline Ingalls telling Harriet that she "knew she was on the line" whenever a personal call was in progress. Mrs. Oleson was like an annoying mosquito in those primitive communications back then and she obviously heard a lot of intriguing stories to her delight.
If I had been living in a small quiet place like Walnut Grove, I've sure love to hear the ammo Mrs. Oleson carried. It would be exciting, reminiscent of how popular her gossipy newspaper, "The Pen & The Plow" had once been.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The Weakest Entry In the original Star Trek Universe
There have been highs and lows regarding the Star Trek movies and as a fan, I always like to look at the positive perspective of it, but you can't always be pleased. There were powerful moments like in II, IV and VI, but weaker leaks in the other films like in the original "Motion Picture" along with III and V.
There's never been a balance, but it was obvious to see the movie series hit the absolute lowest point with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. This can't be totally bashed though, it had its good points, but at the same time, the bad ones apparently overshadowed that.
It's a "spiritually uplifting" excursion this time around with Spock's half- brother taking over the Enterprise and brainwashing most of the crew into following his "path to righteousness" and "finding their paths to atonement". Heavy duty stuff and which doesn't truly belong in a Star Trek movie.
Those 'spiritual enlightenments' really does cut down on any action which makes it all a mellow affair. There's also a journey to the center of the galaxy to find God while a barbaric starship of Klingons is following behind.
Spock's half-brother, Sybok, comes across as a science fiction version of a healing Jesus with the power to lure people into his belief of searching for an absolute divinity, but it gets tiring after a while.
There's intrigue about the the Enterprise reaching the furthest reaches of the unknown domain of Space, but the climax doesn't hit the potential it should've had. It seemed to have built itself up into something potentially mind boggling, but it fizzles out like a weak volcano instead. At least the next film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, brought the film series up to standard again.
The Black Demon (2023)
Just Constant Undersea Bumps On An Oil Rig And Nothing More
I just watched this tonight and was so disappointed,. There's no major attacks from a giant shark with enormous teeth like the movie previews suggest. There's just a family trapped on an oil rig and acting panicked about the giant megalodon that holds the oil rig under siege.
A rich American guy brings along his Mexican wife and their two kids on an assignment to do an inspection on his company's oil rig off the coast of Mexico. Shady characters emerge here and there with the family running to the oil rig to escape them, They think they found refuge, but the two dedicated Mexican employees still stationed there, think otherwise. They alert the family to the spiritual menaces afoot and which has to do with the megalodon.
It got awakened to "environmental pollution" or something like that due to the rig leaking poisonous oil. As the family and one surviving Mexican employee, act hysterical about the situation, the megalodon (in full CGI and foggy glory) continues to bump against the metal underwater pillars of the rig in order to bring it down. That's all it basically does.
If I had been stranded on that oil rig with them, I would've jumped into the water to use myself as shark bait to bring some suspense and panicked tension to the whole film. That was what it sorely needed.
The giant shark just continues to bang and bang and bang and bang again against the oil rig while the characters scream from above about what to do. With all that hysteria, the shark should've eaten them all to cut down on the noise. That's what it pretty well boils down too,
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
A Compelling, But Tiring Cycle Of Possession
What a massive impact 'The Exorcist" had a half century ago. It was the most talked about film of the 1970s with my friends and I excitedly trading discussions about such a scary topic it carried. We were kids though at the time and were too young to see it and only our parents could. We could only know things from censored TV previews and from what we were told from the adults.
There were other 'Exorcism' sequels afterwards with no major impact the original had, When "Exorcist II - The Heretic" premiered on TV later on after a notorious theatrical release, I just sat there bored as a kid while watching and had trouble getting involved in the whole thing. The only thing to stand out were scenes about riding on a locust in Africa and Linda Blair falling off stage in some Broadway musical she was doing in New York.
There was also " The Exorcist III" back in 1990 which wasn't noteworthy either. I just remember getting creeped out when the patient of a mental hospital raced after the nurse with those large pair of metal scissors to decapitate her. That was the most eeriest scene ever.
Well, years later along comes "Exorcist: The Beginning" back in 2004 which I was able to see at the theatre. I caught the flick on a Saturday afternoon and had trouble in getting friends to join me. I ended up being the ONLY ONE TO SEE IT IN THAT WHOLE THEATRE AUDITORIUM! No one else apparently cared to see it either. I felt like the only one.
Well, I thought a promising reignition was brought back to the franchise with "The Exorcist: Believer", most especially when veterans from the original flick were brought back like Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair. They brought excellent and nostalgic contributions to the whole thing, but that wasn't enough to bring back the shocking impact the possession situation once had. Sure, the movie was intriguing and involving, but was tainted too much with 21st Century CGI and old elements from the first film to make it truly effective.
There's, of course, the well known situation about the exorcism becoming successful or not depending on those who "believe" and those who don't. This has been done so many times before. There is nothing new here.
The Twilight Zone (1959)
Excellent & Eerie Trips Into The Unknown World Of The Paranormal
That's what this show is totally about and keeps you guessing until the answers are found at the end. I got reacquainted with this ancient series again after ordering a collection of episodes online and once more, it's grand entertainment.
I devoured these old shows as a kid whenever they came on TV back in the 1980s and 90s and still do so to this day. It had been years since I saw a lot of them and forgot the details, but after viewing the DVD today, my mind got refreshed. They turned out to be just as good as I recalled them to be.
I admit that the stars of back then were much better actors than the ones of today. There was much more of a sincerity and believability in their performances, unlike the spoiled and politically correct group you get on TV nowadays.
This show only worked in a different era though. The excellent content it carried back then couldn't ever be captured now, not in this day and age of information technology and cell phones.
The characters here end up experiencing a strong feeling of "alienation" and uncertainty as they venture into the unknown vortex of The Twilight Zone. You just don't know what'll happen next and are just as curious as the actors who are caught within it.
There are always surprising twists to the ending of each episode and they're always well done. The one called "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" is riveting, but could never be recaptured in a remake today. It's about the neighbors on a city street falling into paranoia and accusations after mysterious lights gleam over the area, causing a major power outage to hit all electronic devices.
I enjoyed these shows as a kid and still do so to this day via the DVD collection I got. It's timeless and, oh man it still delivers.
Song of the South (1946)
A Seldom Seen And Controversial Disney Classic
This classic film has been out of circulation for years due to Disney wanting to hide the glaring qualities of racism that it carried. Times were different back then though when this feature was made and what was once deemed acceptable isn't that way now. Society and most of it's attitudes have changed, but there are lasting reminders of how things once were, such as in this movie.
I was fortunate to have found the DVD for it online and quickly got it. The first time I saw this film was when it was rereleased to theaters back in 1980. I totally enjoyed it back then, totally unaware of any "racial overtones" it might've carried. I was only a kid at the time though and didn't focus on such things like that, only the entertainment value that it carried.
After viewing it with adult eyes today, however, I can now see what all the fuss was about. The "Ol' South" in Georgia was depicted as an idyllic place where African Americans and whites got along in perfect harmony.
The blacks were made totally subservient to the whites though and it clearly showed. You could constantly see the blacks looking up to and holding white people in high regard and did anything they said without argument.
James Baskett is indeed outstanding as the legendary storyteller, Uncle Remus, and the special effects are at a really awe inspiring level for its time. The live action actors against the animated scenes is extremely well done.
What I enjoyed most of all were those animated sequences with Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear. The Disney masters really did an impressive job though the story involving the "tar baby" hasn't aged well with time. Something like that is totally unacceptable today due to the highly racist quality of it and the name itself. Major lawsuits would fall if something like that was released today in the 21st Century.
All in all, this is an extremely well made film despite the racial scar placed on it. It's also a good curiosity item to see and to check out what all the fuss is about regarding this classic feature.
It was evidently a product of the times way back then in 1946 and in an age when segregation was still in full swing in the Southern United States. It's totally taboo now and had been hard to find for decades, but still, it can eventually turn up somewhere on the market. It'll never go away no matter how much the Disney Corporation wants that.
I honestly admit I don't like the stereotypical depictions of African Americans that it carries or the racist situations that it displays. The white boy becomes good buddies with a black boy on the plantation, but can't even invite him to his birthday party when it's held. What can't be denied though is that this is indeed a Disney classic due to the excellent animation and special effects it contains, but the reputation for racism had caused it to be seldom seen nowadays.
Endless Love (1981)
An Obsessive, But Deranged Love Story
That pretty well sums up this sensationalized soap opera sudser from 1981. It got critically bashed back in the day, but after viewing it recently, I considered it not too bad after all. It caters to what it set out to do and that's to tell a sad love story and it delivers on that.
Yeah, we've all had heartbreak at some time in our lives, but for some, they can't ever let it go and turn to desperate actions in the same vein as "Fatal Attraction" to get who they want.. There's no psychotic killers here though, just a troubled 17 year old boy named David who is obsessed with a 15 year old named Jade Butterfield.
The parents from both sides of the spectrum are the lenient and not overly domineering types who give a lot of freedom to their teenage kids. Jade's parents had the habit of throwing loud teenage parties while David's parents feel he's "man enough" to handle himself and allow him to do whatever he wants.
With all that freedom, David and Jade become extremely close, even to the point of having sex in her parent's house with them knowing about it. That is tolerated for the longest time until Jade's dad becomes concerned about the effects it was having on his daughter. Those late night sessions with David made her tired at school during the day and affected her grades.
Jade's dad eventually puts his foot down and bans David from seeing Jade for the next "30 days". David doesn't take it too well and can't cope with the separation, most especially when another party is thrown at Jade's house and she's gotten cozy with another boy.
Yeah, arson is committed on her house by David while everyone is asleep afterwards, but he realizes the error of his actions and wakes up everyone inside to save them, most especially the love of his life, Jade.
I did read the book at one time and did notice this flick wasn't totally faithful to it. It failed at getting into the depths of David to truly find out why he acted the way he did. There was no true exploration of that at all.
Brooke Shield's is indeed a major beauty in this and Martin Hewitt handles himself well as her obsessive lover who turns to desperate acts to get her, but it doesn't have the impact it should've had. We just see David's anguish about not being able to get her while going through the justice system and serving time in a mental facility.
There's a lot on David's side that doesn't give him any favors in the situation. He's banned from any contact with Jade or her family and is the target of vengeful rage by her angry father. Does that stop him from pursuing the love of his life? Of course not which causes trouble to ignite further.
I admit I deeply love the song for this film by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. It perfectly sets up the mood for this sad teenage romance. I do like this film and most especially the performances by the two leads, but that inner turmoil for their love should've been better explored. This film missed that.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
A Controversial Western
What to say about this notorious western from the 1980s? Well, the cinematography is excellent and so are the vibes of a good cowboy movie with shootings constantly going on and, of course, a perilous stagecoach ride across the frontier. How those people would've benefited from a safe ride upon Greyhound in the 20th century instead.
A potential star is also made of Klinton Spilsbury who does know how to act, but has his voice dubbed over by another actor in the meantime. He was an unknown at the time and was looked upon as potential in making this film a major hit. He, after all, had the "chiseled good looks" and "eyes far apart enough" to look good in the mask. That was evidently why he was chosen to play the lead.
One of those classic outlaws, Butch Cavendish, is made the major outlaw in this film and he's of course, as callous and nasty as he could be. Just tune into any John Wayne western to get the point.
John Reid is the victim turned into crusader in this adaptation of the masked man. He stayed with a native tribe after losing his family after a massacre in the untamed frontier. He managed to keep his hair at a 1980s short length though while his native buddy, Tonto and the rest of the natives, had hair down to their shoulders. That tribe must have had a good barber.
There's shallow dramatics involved and stuff played out like a corny rehearsal with barely any lingering shots of the main character. Whenever they do have it, the scene quickly moves away in a display of choppy editing like it was cut with a chainsaw. It was like the filmmakers were trying to hide something, such as the star not properly carrying the weight of a film like this.
Then there's the "posse" out to bring Butch and his hoodlums to justice with Reid's older brother among them. Yeah, they get massacared with John the sole survivor. John's childhood friend, Tonto, then comes magically wandering by and saves him as he's laying there unconscious among the dead, opening the door for the mythical western hero.
The elements of "Death Wish" then gets thrown in with John seeking justice for that malicious attack against his brother and the others. A very tiring cliche which is one of the major downgrades of this film.
This was a major revival attempt of the legendary Lone Ranger back in the 1980s, but it ended up misfiring instead. Spilsbury had the potential for fully capturing the elements of the character with his appropriate good looks and acting ability, but that potential was never fully explored.
I don't know why that was. It could've been because Spilsbury, himself, wasn't fully embraced in the role or because the filmmakers eventually found insecurities in casting him. Whichever way, this film doesn't carry the potential it could've been given.
The camera obviously doesn't give much time for the main character which says a lot. A far cry from how Clint Eastwood is depicted in western films. There's just quick shots and cut away scenes for Klinton Spilsbury and nothing else to magnify him in this potentially glorified wild west outing.
To sum it up, I don't think this western deserved the backlash it was ultimately given back in 1981. It has it's good points, but the bad points overweigh that which is what led to its downfall.
You have to give credit though to Michael Horse as Tonto who is no longer the subservient "Indian" to the Lone Ranger, but one who is depicted as an "equal". He's no longer "following behind" but is placed in the same caliber as him in ultimately saving the day. You have to give this film credit for giving the right recognition that Native Americans deserve.
This was evidently an honest attempt to revive the legend of the ' Lone Ranger', but controversies and the quality of the film caused it to be a flop instead. Fast forward to 2013 where another Lone Ranger movie tried to revive the franchise, but it failed too.
To sum it up, Clayton Moore was indeed the one and only " Lone Ranger" from classic TV and no amount of revivals can ever capture what he brought to the role. The Lone Ranger is one of a kind.
Out of Rosenheim (1987)
How One Person Changed Bagdad Cafe
I've always been a fan of this pleasing movie and definitely felt the good vibes it gave off while watching it tonight on my DVD player. It's one of those "feel good" films where you can't help, but feel pleased about the transformation one foreign tourist brought to a remote desert café and motel in the Mojave Desert.
There was nothing very pleasing about this 'Bagdad Café' at first. It was a dusty and run down establishment where coffee couldn't even be served. Their coffee maker didn't work anymore. It was owned and operated by an apparently unhappy black couple who bickered a lot until it came to the point where the husband left, leaving his wife to run the place alone.
She does and proves she's not one happy figure. She's cranky all the time and is constantly yelling at her two kids and those who live there. It all looked despairing at first until one day when this mysterious well dressed German woman appears with no car and with just a suitcase.
Brenda was highly suspicious of her and found it unbelievable the woman actually wanted to get a room in her run down business.. She grants that though, but constantly treated the woman with deep suspicion. She even found it odd that her room only carried men's clothes and stuff like shaving equipment.
The German woman, Jasmin, broke up with her husband along their trip down the desert highway. They argued like crazy until she couldn't take it anymore. She set off down the highway with her suitcase, unaware that she accidentally took her husband's instead of her own.
He also had a 'magic box set' in that suitcase which later triggered off the ice to be eventually broken between her and Brenda. It took a while for that to happen.
If there's one thing I like about those rest stops along a highway, is the different amount of people that can be encountered there and this film strongly addresses that. Jack Palance is a highlight as a former set artist for Hollywood who lives in a silver trailer on the grounds and becomes obsessed with painting Jasmin's portrait.
There's also a pretty tattoo artist who ran her business from one of the motel rooms and who the truckers are always pleased on doing business with whenever they stopped their rigs at that place. There was also a young white guy who eventually camped there and flung his boomerang around a lot.
With all those elements strung together, this has turned out to be one pleasing movie. I've always gotten those feel good emotions while watching it. CCH Pounder is terrific as the bitter Brenda who eventually softens up as time goes on. Marianne Sägebrecht is also superb as Jasmin, the unwelcome German woman who eventually fits into that place and changes it around tremendously. She worked magical wonders.
I also love that haunting theme song that plays off and on throughout the movie, perfectly setting the atmosphere for what's going on at Bagdad Café. I sure wouldn't mind staying there after Jasmin miraculously changed the place into a highly popular one. One of my all time favorite films.
The Witches (1990)
Angelica Huston is Delightfully Nasty As The Grand High Witch.
I've seen this film off and on throughout the years and each time I'm grandly entertained. What especially captivated me were the excellent special effects for this story. That's what made it so riveting. A young boy and his devoted grandma are devastated by the loss of the boy's parents and decide to leave Denmark for England. They settle into a large manor there in the British countryside and later take a vacation to a swank and posh hotel along the coast. It's a luxurious place with it's snooty attitudes and with Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) wonderfully playing the uptight hotel manager. There are vibes of his Mr. Bean character in how he ineptly and clumsily tries to handle any crisis or disturbances to come his way.
Unbeknownst to Luke and his grandma, there are a coven of witches who also checked in and were there for an 'annual convention'. What made it even more intriguing was that the elusive "Grand High Witch" was there herself to lead it. Witches were known to Luke and his grandma though with his grandma aware of the dangers that laid ahead with a coven like that. She had experiences herself with them when she was a girl and warned Luke about how they could be practically found anywhere, even in the most sweetest of ladies. Luke was captivated by her advice and agreed.
Well, sure enough, he encounters them while wandering around the hotel with his pet mice. He finds an empty conference room to train his mice to do circus acts, but then a throng of ladies pour in and fill up the place. He's hidden at the time and is shocked to witness the 'meeting' that unfolds before him as he spies on it. Wigs and shoes are taken off to reveal the identity of the witches. They have bald heads with scabs on them and stumps for feet. They had no toes. The 'Grand Witch' herself removes her disguise of a beautiful woman to reveal how she truly looked. She was hideous.
That witch's meeting is an interesting one where the Grand High Witch reveals a plan to get rid of all the children in England. She created a potion to turn them all into mice and instructed her coven to buy candy stores. She wanted the potion added to chocolates and candies on sale. The witches were ecstatic about such a plan and highly applauded her for that. Luke was eventually discovered from his hiding place and tried to elude the malicious coven by escaping to his grandma's room. All the adults had been placed under a "sleeping spell" at the hotel though during that time and the witches easily captured him and forcibly gave him a few drops of the potion, causing him to turn into a mouse.
Yeah, the excitement increases after that with Luke desperately crawling around the hotel to alert his grandma about what happened and to help set things straight again. There's also another boy at the hotel who got changed and he clearly showed his sole interest was only in food. It was hilarious when his parents finally saw his mouse form and he says, "You always wanted me to lose weight, well, look at me now!"
This is an excellent movie which I already watched a couple of times this week after getting the DVD in the mail. Mai Zetterling is absolutely terrific as the boy's devoted and caring grandma who helps him in his plot to foil the wicked coven in their midst even though he was just a mouse and nothing more. Anjelica Huston though, can't be beat as the devilish Grand High Witch. She was absolutely terrific and totally menacing which made it all the more entertaining.
There's a so-called "re-make" of this film from 2020 that stars Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, but I don't care to ever see that. It could never capture the pleasing aspect of this film from 1990. It's one of a kind. The soup looks good too, but I wouldn't try it.
Lean on Me (1989)
Morgan Freeman Is Absolutely Dominating In This
I watched this old flick tonight on my DVD player and, oh man, it was overwhelming and captivating on how a stern minded principal straightens out an inner city school. It was also touching as well.
The high school depicted was a respectable looking one back in the 1960s, but then the film fast forwards to the 1980s to show how extremely bad it eventually became. The crime, drugs and assaults were common there, but all that changes when Mr. Clark enters the picture as the new principal.
His first actions were to kick out all the 'delinquents' in that place who either stayed on too long at the school or were just plain hoodlums. A young chubby kid was among one of those causalities and it was touching when he later pleaded to Mr. Clark to let him continue going to school there, saying he didn't want his ma to know. A deal is worked out and the kid promises to behave himself which he does.
Mr. Clark worked extreme wonders on that school. He changed it from a crime infested and graffiti covered building to a respectable learning institution. There were, of course, oppositions towards his stern ways and his drill sergeant actions towards getting things done the way he wants.
It was apparent that he cared for the students at that school, but eventually had to learn that he sometimes went too far and had to reign himself in. He had to learn the appreciation of his efforts instead of yelling about how he wanted things done his way all the time.
I'm surprised Morgan Freeman was never nominated for an Oscar for his performance as the tough school principal, Joe Clark. He played the role to a tee and made it captivating in the process. He's one of my favorite actors and he clearly showed his powerful range in this film.
Man of Steel (2013)
A Powerful, but yet, weak Superman version
There's massive destruction going on in this version of the legendary Superhero. There's so much chaos and toppling of buildings in the great city of Metropolis that the insurance for that must've been enormous. Henry Cavill, you have to admit, fits the cape to a tee, but he comes nowhere close to what Christopher Reeve brought to that role.
This time around, Superman takes a long time in understanding the capability of his supreme powers. He's tossed around a lot like a rubber ball while the enemies from Krypton - General Zod and his henchmen, wreck havoc on Earth.
I admit I got tired of all the destruction and mayhem while watching. I also got especially tired of Superman's insecurities on how to save the world and his lack of understanding on what's he's fully capable of.
This comes nowhere close to capturing the majestic charm of the classic Superman films with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. It's more of a fast paced and CGI infested outing with no time to breath. Everything happens so fast.
Henry Cavill is indeed hot stuff as the latest version of the classic Superman, but he can't capture what Christopher Reeve brought to that role. He seems to be just "eye candy" for his attempts and nothing more.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
A Good Nostalgic, But Disturbing View
This is indeed an old retelling of a classic story and I have to admit, it pretty well captures Lewis Carroll's "vision" of Wonderland and the deranged characters within it. The results though, were anything, but enjoyable.
I watched the DVD of this flick tonight for nostalgia's sake, remembering how it came on sometimes during the Christmas Season when I was a little kid. I recall getting engrossed in the visually stunning angle of it back then, but at the same time, was scared of those furry Wonderland characters featured in it.
I definitely felt those old uncomfortable vibes tonight while watching it as an adult. There's never been anything very appealing about this Wonderland and it clearly shows in this film. It always seemed like a warped and deranged place to me.
Those characters seem like they're either high on LSD or 'magic mushrooms'. They also don't make any sense most of the time. It does indeed play out like a dream though with different places appearing and disappearing, sizes growing from small to large and nonsensical things happening, like that Mad Hatter's tea party. Dreams can indeed bring up the most deranged visuals imaginable and this story perfectly captures that.
The girl who played Alice is perfectly cast and gives a great performance. She's a great singer too and brings a sugary sweetness to it all, but the eerie atmosphere of Wonderland overshadows all that, like she was an angel in an insane asylum.
This is indeed a well made movie with stunning special effects for it's time and it moves at such a rapid rate, that there's no time to be bored. The imaginative sets and vast array of costumes are also an added bonus. It can be a visual feast to the eyes at times.
I admit I would've enjoyed this classic flick a lot more as a child and later as an adult if only the characters in Wonderland weren't so unappealing and seemingly in need of psychiatric help. It's always seemed that way to me, they were also really scary at times, like they came from "The Island of Dr. Moreau".
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
There's No End To Those Large Evil Global Corporations
I viewed this alleged end to the franchise tonight and found it mediocre to the extreme. Sure, it feeds into what dinosaur hungry audiences are expecting, but it offers nothing new and is a tiring retread of prehistory running amok in these modern times.
I admit I felt bored at the beginning when scenes jumped all over the world with Jurassic World characters and Jurassic Park veterans getting introduced into the story to create a thread of what's going on. It was nice to see that combo happening, but things don't perk up until halfway through the flick.
This time the evil corp. Is called 'Biosyn Genetics' which tampers with nature in more ways than one and predictably causes self destruction in the process. There's, of course, a ruthless CEO of that company who tries to profiteer from this age of large reptiles. Needless to say, that backfires just like other hungry investments before it.
There's indeed a large adventure here though where escaping vicious dinosaurs is the major element, but without any intention of killing off any of them. I almost expected the ending credits to say, "No dinosaurs were harmed during the making of this film".
I found the scenes with Owen Grady and Claire Dearing the major highlights of this movie. They have the best action scenes while the veterans from Jurassic Park are in more tamed down dilemmas. I guess it's due to their ages.
Yeah, there's eventually destruction everywhere and a new genetically modified dinosaur thrown in for good measure. Those evil corporations never seem to learn. I'm surprised the global economy hasn't gotten bankrupt with those humungous investments into dinosaur modifications and creating gigantic sanctuaries for those beasts.
I admit I'm a fan of the Jurassic franchise, but after 30 years of dinosaurs on the loose, it's pretty well worn itself out. I have no doubt a new reboot to the series will eventually happen. People don't easily get tired of dinosaurs.
Krull (1983)
A Good Fantasy Outing For The Time
I remember seeing this particular film at the movie theatre when it came out in 1983. I really enjoyed it back then and didn't know of the cold reception it got from critics. I wasn't old enough to know better anyway. I was just entertained. Well, fast forward to 40 years later and I've viewed this film again last night on my DVD player and it has all the memories I remember it of having. There are all the elements here of a good fantasy sci-fi outing with beautiful castles, an equally beautiful damsel in distress and a dashing hero who does everything he can to save her. The villain though, feels more like he's encased in a TV screen instead of being a full threatening danger.
This evil being has an amphibious appearance and seems to have too much red lipstick on his mouth. Not much is known about him, just that he's there to capture a lovely princess and to be with her for "power" and not "love". He travels to a planet in a spacecraft that looks like a tall rocky mountain that enables it to blend in with the rocky terrain of that place .He then has these soldiers with heavy amour on, to launch a raid on the castle where the hero and princess are in the middle of being wed. The laser guns and sophisticated technology against the medieval civilization of that world made it easy for the place to be attacked.
There's a major massacre in that castle with the hero miraculously surviving it all. His aim after that, of course, is to save the woman he loves against that extra-terrestrial evil that is camouflaged in its mountainous looking base. He's helped by a wise old man with special powers and a team of bandits who reluctantly agree to assist in this quest. There's also a guy with metaphoric abilities who joins in as well as a one eyed cyclops. That's an overwhelming good team and you can't help, but notice that Liam Neeson is a part of the pack. As an A-list actor now, it's amusing seeing him in this type of flick and with a limited appearance. There's no way now he'd make an appearance in a silly adventure story like this, but it was, after all, the beginning of his movie star career.
Yes, now that I'm looking at this old entertaining flick from decades ago, I see now with more mature eyes that it's all a mild and silly affair with primitive special effects which was pretty well the norm back in the day. The latter part is intriguing and exciting though where the hero and his posse penetrate the fortress. There's a maze of rocky entrances and passageways to deal with and guards who squeal and turn into snakes that dig into the ground after they're killed. I still can't figure out the subterranean place those evil reptiles were seemingly headed.
As for the villain, he appears like he's in an MTV video and looks phony to boot. He roars a lot and turns his body left and right to appear menacing, but is plainly a rip off from those phony Godzilla movies with rubber costumes. This was entertaining fodder when I was a kid, but it doesn't hold any gel now. It still has it's good qualities though and does what it sets out to do which is entertain even though those with more mature minds won't agree.
Spider from the Attic (2021)
For A Viewer With Arachnophobia, The CGI Spiders Aren't Scary
I admit I do suffer from arachnophobia and always get a chill whenever creepy crawlies are the main feature in a film. I got totally freaked out when I went and saw "Arachnophobia" at the theater back in 1990. That cunning and sly spider featured in that film totally horrified me. I didn't feel anything here though. I mean, how scary are spiders that are clearly CGI?! The stupidity of the characters also play a role.
A group of ladies, with one of them on the edge of pregnancy along with her boyfriend, go investigate a large remote manor in the British countryside. They want to launch an exploitation news report to gather ratings and find the juice they're looking for, but put their own lives in peril in the process. There are spiderwebs all over the place in that large manor and the discovery that a large mutant spider is on the loose on the premises. Did that stop them? No, of course not. They prowl around and look under beds and cautiously open doors to other rooms to find the beast(s).
The thought never occurred to them to leave that manor, but no, they stay put and then chaos erupts. The pregnant woman, of course, goes into labor during the tense moments and, of course, has an encounter with one of the evil arachnids. It's an anguishing and terrifying ordeal for them all with the spiders never seeming to attack. I guess it's because they're all CGI and harmless.
This is a lame horror movie with barely any action. The spiders aren't menacing at all and don't leap and bite like in other films. They're just spotted while the characters wither in terror and then run to escape them. They might as well have put put cartoon spiders drawn by elementary school students into the film instead. That would've had a better impact.
Interlaced (2018)
A Horror Movie That Keeps You Guessing
That's what it pretty well boiled down too while I watched this flick tonight online. There's this boy who had a younger sister disappear mysteriously in the woods while a family BBQ was going on at a home in a wooded area.
A year later the boy wants to go out into a camping excursion on his own with "the approval of his parents"! His mother drives him to her "seemingly ex-husband's" large house out in the wilderness and then the boy takes off from there.
I didn't know what to make out of this. The father is out hunting and leaves a note at the door, telling his son that the back door was accessible for having root beer and food in the kitchen, but the boy picks up his camping gear and just heads off into the wilderness instead
There are ancient graves dotted in the area evidently from colonial times and there are signs that a menacing presence is within there in the woods. For the boy to enter all that is like he was willingly falling into a mouse trap.
He sets up his tent and falls asleep and when the darkness later descends, enters a night of shocks and horrors. He sees his younger sister off and on and rescues her before bringing her back to the tent, but she mysteriously disappears again after he falls asleep and finds her later reappearing again.
It all plays out like a "Nightmare On Elm Street" type of situation where you don't know what's real or what is not. You can't help, but keeping thinking, "is he finding the ghost of his sister?" or if "he's a ghost himself?"
There are no explanations given though and everything plays out at a visual level. You have to find answers for what you see. I admit the boy was a good actor even though he didn't act as surprised as he should've been during the shocking moments. I give it a passing grade though. This horror movie continues to leave me guessing.
Flight 666 (2018)
Terror In The Skies Once Again
There's no "Snakes On A Plane" in this film. There's not even an airplane malfunction or terrorist attack like in the 'Airport' movies from the 1970s. It all has to do with the supernatural and fairly succeeds on that level. A wicked thunderstorm, of course, enhances the eerie setting where the passengers act nervous about the turbulence while the flight attendants comfort them. It's a tense situation where some of the passengers seemingly start to go "mad" about what they're seeing in the washroom and out the windows. There are grotesque visions afoot and it's all brushed off at first as panic about the thunderstorm, but later on, there's a realization that something sinister is going on.
I thought the military beefcake known as Austin would take a handle on the uncontrollable spooks that were happening. He seemed to easily take control whenever the passengers reached a hysteria, but it was the equally beefy police detective known as Thad who took command of things. Austin wasn't really given much to do even though he carried the potential. I thought he should have. It was like having Arnold Schwarzenegger standing idly by while the action reaches a zenith.
It eventually plays out like an Agatha Christie-who-done-it with the realization that two murdered women were haunting the plane and were trying to reveal who it was that murdered them. This movie was clever, I thought I had the identity of the killer pegged, but was proven totally wrong afterwards. You just have to follow along until the answer comes towards the end.
I admit I've always liked these "panic in the skies" type of flicks and this one delivers though it definitely isn't high caliber regarding a true airline disaster. It's more or less a ghost story in the same vein as "The Amityville Horror", but takes place on a jet instead of a haunted house. This movie isn't the best, but it delivers on dishing out shocks and thrills in the horror genre. I just wish Austin was the hero out of it all. He was so HOT.
Beneath (2013)
Feeding The Fish
Let's see, what do we have here. There's six young people on a party retreat at a lake with one of them knowing the dangerous menace that lays in the water.
There are the arrogant jocks, the typical beauty queens and, of course, the nerd, among them all who set out to have a good time. They all get into a rowboat and paddle across a lake to reach the other side for some fun.
There ends up being a large man-eating fish in those waters that constantly bumps into their boat until it starts to leak. The threat of that killer fish and the hysterical panic of those on the boat, then comes into effect.
There's a lot of screaming and desperation among them all and loyalties are lost. There are votes to see who gets thrown to the fish so the others could paddle to safety. They all turn on one another in the most cruelest of ways which causes a lot of intense conflict.
It's all a "you did me wrong and deserve to die" type of scenario and there was evidence of overreacting about it as well. The killer fish, which looked peculiarly like a paper mache fish I once made in elementary school, does come across as dangerous and menacing, but after a while, the effect wears off. The raging drama on the boat overshadows the dangers below the waters
That boat never seems to sink no matter how much they bail out the water and pause every so often to argue about the danger they're under. They do paddle a lot too with their hands after losing their oars, but never seem to get any closer to the shore. They're always in the middle of the lake.
Yeah, a futile situation and one that gets tiring after a while. There are no heroes here. It's all a "feed them to the creature so I can be saved" type of deal. If I was trapped on a boat with a crew like that, I'd throw myself to the fish.
Ouija Seance: The Final Game (2018)
A Major Bore-Fest
This had all the potential of building itself up into a major thrill ride, but it didn't. There's all the ingredients of a good horror story where a bunch of young people are in a secluded house out in the woods with an evil spiritual presence to deal with. There's the eerie atmosphere surrounding the whole thing, but nothing pretty well happens during most of the movie. Sure, they release a "demonic presence" by using a wooden Ouija Board they find in a mysterious room in the house. We don't get to see much of that demon though except for a few shadows on the walls. It's more of a "psychology horror" with barely any supernatural elements thrown in.
There's a lot of talk involved and also conflict in romantic relationships as well as one eerie character who is the caretaker of the place, but the horror shocks just aren't there. It just drags on and on relentlessly until you can't wait to reach the end. That old house in Italy carries a lot of mystery, especially to the young woman who inherited it from her grandma who recently died. She admitted she didn't know anything at all about her deceased mother, her grandmother or about that house, but soon grows to discover that her family history was saturated with witchcraft and Satanism.
There's an obvious discovery about that in the "secret room" where the characters discover old hardcover books with spells and demonic illustrations in them. Still, they continue to act like they don't know what's going on even though it's obvious what's actually happening. They also find an Ouija Board and, of course, take to using it during a night of drinking and having fun. Do the portals of hell open after that? No, it's more talk, talk, talk, and trying to figure out what's going on. I was on the edge-of-my-seat at the beginning but felt bored later on. This had no major shocks at all for a good horror movie. A total dud.