This was an interesting, intelligent series -- something to look forward to on Monday nights. But the network kept pre-empting it for any number of excuses, and I only got to see three episodes. Now it's being canceled? Morons!
Reviews
9 Reviews
Forbidden Planet
(1956)
A magnificent film
17 April 2003
It's amazing that this movie is 47 years old this year! I remember watching it as a boy. Great special effects and electronic soundtrack are ahead of their time. Well-acted, especially by Pidgeon and Nielsen, and a fascinating combination of depth, camp, humor and straight science fiction.
I see this film every time I get the chance. A few years ago, I had the privilege of seeing it outdoors on the big screen at our local art museum. While the print was a bit grainy, the film's power was multiplied by seeing it in this format.
I would recommend this movie to anyone looking for intelligent, yet fun science fiction entertainment. How many sci-fi flicks are based on a Shakespeare play? And Anne Francis is a babe, to boot; the short skirt triumphs over a lack of acting ability!
I see this film every time I get the chance. A few years ago, I had the privilege of seeing it outdoors on the big screen at our local art museum. While the print was a bit grainy, the film's power was multiplied by seeing it in this format.
I would recommend this movie to anyone looking for intelligent, yet fun science fiction entertainment. How many sci-fi flicks are based on a Shakespeare play? And Anne Francis is a babe, to boot; the short skirt triumphs over a lack of acting ability!
Untamed Heart
(1993)
Flawed but perfect
12 January 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Yeah, as a writer I know that my summary line ("Flawed but perfect") is an oxymoron, but this movie succeeds in tugging at your heartstrings despite several gaping plot holes. **POTENTIAL SPOILER** The biggest one involves Adam's (Christian Slater) escape from the hospital ... and nobody seems the slightest bit interested in doing anything about it. It just sort of goes away.
That said, the chemistry between Marisa Tomei and Slater is perfect. (I don't get annoyed, as some commenters do, with his constantly saying "I'm not finished" so much as his total refusal to speak for large expanses of the movie -- no matter how shy you are, it just doesn't seem realistic). But they make a great couple.
Even if the late scene where she's driving him back from the hockey game makes no sense (he's taken on and wasted two thugs, gotten a knife in the gut and survived, generally runs around like a maniac, and now he's just going to fall asleep and ...) it's still poignant.
A classic example of a movie that succeeds in spite of its faults. I'd easily give it an 8. And just to show how un-credible I am, I'd have given it a 9 if it somehow had a happy ending.
That said, the chemistry between Marisa Tomei and Slater is perfect. (I don't get annoyed, as some commenters do, with his constantly saying "I'm not finished" so much as his total refusal to speak for large expanses of the movie -- no matter how shy you are, it just doesn't seem realistic). But they make a great couple.
Even if the late scene where she's driving him back from the hockey game makes no sense (he's taken on and wasted two thugs, gotten a knife in the gut and survived, generally runs around like a maniac, and now he's just going to fall asleep and ...) it's still poignant.
A classic example of a movie that succeeds in spite of its faults. I'd easily give it an 8. And just to show how un-credible I am, I'd have given it a 9 if it somehow had a happy ending.
When Harry Met Sally...
(1989)
One beautiful movie
15 November 2001
I agree with all the superlatives that other reviewers expressed. This is one movie that I can watch over and over. Great performances and chemistry from Crystal and Ryan, a clever plot, and some great devices (interviewing successful couples, the Crystallisms). It never gets stale for me. One of the best relationship-based comedies I've ever seen.
American Beauty
(1999)
Oddly moving
18 February 2000
Seems people are really polarized on this one. Depends on your perspective of life, I guess, and your tolerance for some rough subject matter -- drug use, drug dealing, older man seduces teenager (or vice versa!), latent homosexuality, a murder, etc. Also on your understanding of Zen ... Wes Bentley's character's preoccupation with something blowing in the breeze, Kevin Spacey's character's coming to beatific acceptance of life.
One of my co-workers hated it because of the subject matter. But you have to go beyond that to get to the heart of "American Beauty." I don't approve of drug dealing, and all that, but here those things are used to make very strong and sometimes conflicting points.
This is a movie that says a lot and says it eloquently. I think it's the best film I've seen in quite a while.
I won't go on, but let me say this. For those who didn't like the movie, there's something in one of Spacey's last lines that addresses this -- a very ironic twist, as if he's anticipating that some of the audience won't understand the movie's point.
I remember that line more than any other in the movie ... if you didn't like the film, it probably slipped right past you and you won't remember it. Go back and see if you can catch this very poignant bit of observation.
One of my co-workers hated it because of the subject matter. But you have to go beyond that to get to the heart of "American Beauty." I don't approve of drug dealing, and all that, but here those things are used to make very strong and sometimes conflicting points.
This is a movie that says a lot and says it eloquently. I think it's the best film I've seen in quite a while.
I won't go on, but let me say this. For those who didn't like the movie, there's something in one of Spacey's last lines that addresses this -- a very ironic twist, as if he's anticipating that some of the audience won't understand the movie's point.
I remember that line more than any other in the movie ... if you didn't like the film, it probably slipped right past you and you won't remember it. Go back and see if you can catch this very poignant bit of observation.
House of Dracula
(1945)
A Sentimental Favorite
28 October 1999
This has one of the more unusual plots I've seen in a horror film, but it's based on good, solid Universal Studios fare: Lots of monsters, pretty heroine, torch-bearing villagers. But my favorite part is Larry Talbot (The Wolf Man) searching for the cure for his lycanthropy. After dying in the original "Wolf Man," he is resurrected and wanders through "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" and "House of Frankenstein" searching for a way to end his affliction. I think first-time viewers will find his search in this particular movie very interesting.
Marquis de Sade's Justine
(1969)
Not "Citizen Kane"
7 September 1999
Watched this one dreary Saturday. Jack Palance turns in an interesting if somewhat wooden performance, but he is one of the only two high points. The other one is seeing the delightful Romina Powers topless ... according to the her birthdate information on the IMDB, she couldn't have been more than 17, maybe younger.
But heck, if seeing a pretty girl topless and watching a mediocre Palance are the only good things you can remember from a movie...
But heck, if seeing a pretty girl topless and watching a mediocre Palance are the only good things you can remember from a movie...
The Blair Witch Project
(1999)
The Blair Witch Mystique: Fiction Well Done
26 August 1999
Such a mystique surrounds "The Blair Witch Project." I don't know why so many people are so hung up on the movie being "real." So what if it's fiction? It's well-done fiction. It didn't take away from "The Fly" for me to know that giant mutant flies don't really exist ... nor did it take away from "The Howling" to know that werewolves don't exist. Why all the squawking about this being truth rather than fiction?
I think the fact that it's filmed with relatively primitive equipment, and in a "realistic" manner, contributes to some people's refusal to believe it's fabrication. Also, while the Internet has hyped many a movie, "Blair Witch" makes more extensive use of this medium (and adds the "Curse of the Blair Witch" special on Sci-Fi.) So some of the more gullible of us, thinking anything we read or see on TV must be true, believe it.
I personally think it's somewhat frightening that we confuse the carefully done websites and the Sci-Fi special -- which dispense mythology specifically created to heighten the Blair Witch experience -- with factual news reporting. Get a grip, people. The websites and the special are absolutely BRILLIANT from the standpoint of adding to the feeling of realism surrounding the movie.
Let's just recognize "The Blair Witch Project" for the groundbreaking, interesting, and scary movie it is. That's sure enough for me!
I think the fact that it's filmed with relatively primitive equipment, and in a "realistic" manner, contributes to some people's refusal to believe it's fabrication. Also, while the Internet has hyped many a movie, "Blair Witch" makes more extensive use of this medium (and adds the "Curse of the Blair Witch" special on Sci-Fi.) So some of the more gullible of us, thinking anything we read or see on TV must be true, believe it.
I personally think it's somewhat frightening that we confuse the carefully done websites and the Sci-Fi special -- which dispense mythology specifically created to heighten the Blair Witch experience -- with factual news reporting. Get a grip, people. The websites and the special are absolutely BRILLIANT from the standpoint of adding to the feeling of realism surrounding the movie.
Let's just recognize "The Blair Witch Project" for the groundbreaking, interesting, and scary movie it is. That's sure enough for me!
The Blair Witch Project
(1999)
The Witching Hour (well, 87 minutes)
20 August 1999
I used to review books and movies professionally, so I hope my comments will add a few fresh perspectives. First, let me say that it's obvious that this is not the kind of movie that everyone will like. People biased against seeing horror films won't; people who want technical perfection in the filmmaking process won't; people who want an airtight and tightly wound plot won't. And I agree that the film has its problems - lots of gratuitous profanity, a tendency to drag about two-thirds through, and some plot points that aren't entirely clear. For example, I didn't tie in how some of the residents' brief comments in the beginning affected the movie's ending (and various other events). But they do impact it. Maybe I just need to be hit over the head, but I didn't get it the first time around.
All that said: I love `The Blair Witch Project.' Took me two viewings to really appreciate it. The first time, I found it fascinating and the second time, I found it scary, especially when I `got' the ending. Scariest movie ever? No. But for a combination of scary and interestingly done, it scores big points.
Unlike some reviewers, I found the acting very realistic. Some of the negative reviews I've read cite problems: The actors wouldn't have done this or that, usually. One reviewer said student filmmakers are very savvy these days, and the filming wouldn't have been that rough around the edges. He said this totally spoiled the movie for him. Lighten up all fiction, and especially horror fiction, requires suspension of disbelief. And horror films are notorious for having plot holes, unlikely things happening, and people going where they shouldn't. In fact, in a lot of horror flicks, if people acted realistically there would be no plot! And obviously fake studio-lot trees and dry-ice `fog' certainly didn't keep `The Wolf Man' from being a horror classic, at least not for me.
I also disagree that finding out how the film was made or that it isn't a true story make it a lesser experience. Sure didn't for me. And I'm glad to see some other comments here that tell me I'm not the only one with the `hangover' effect it ran across my mind for days after I saw it. By the nature of its filming, Blair Witch gets a little vague in its plot sometimes, but it more than makes up for this with its freshness and genuine thrills.
I also appreciate the intricate Internet and TV framework of mythology what negative reviewers call `hype' -- that's been built up around the movie. I think it's a stroke of genius.
There's talk of a sequel. Personally, I'd like to see a `prequel' built around the Blair Witch mythology created on the film's home page and in the Sci-Fi special, `Curse of the Blair Witch.'
All in all, I'd rate this right up there with `The Exorcist' and the original version of `The Haunting' as the best of the post-1960 horror films. Although each has its own special brand of horror, each keeps its place well secured in my memory. As to those who are disappointed that they didn't `see the witch' or needed some presence to scare them, blame modern horror cinema for spoiling them with special effects and gore. Those who don't like the film for these reasons would never `get' a classic ghost story.
All that said: I love `The Blair Witch Project.' Took me two viewings to really appreciate it. The first time, I found it fascinating and the second time, I found it scary, especially when I `got' the ending. Scariest movie ever? No. But for a combination of scary and interestingly done, it scores big points.
Unlike some reviewers, I found the acting very realistic. Some of the negative reviews I've read cite problems: The actors wouldn't have done this or that, usually. One reviewer said student filmmakers are very savvy these days, and the filming wouldn't have been that rough around the edges. He said this totally spoiled the movie for him. Lighten up all fiction, and especially horror fiction, requires suspension of disbelief. And horror films are notorious for having plot holes, unlikely things happening, and people going where they shouldn't. In fact, in a lot of horror flicks, if people acted realistically there would be no plot! And obviously fake studio-lot trees and dry-ice `fog' certainly didn't keep `The Wolf Man' from being a horror classic, at least not for me.
I also disagree that finding out how the film was made or that it isn't a true story make it a lesser experience. Sure didn't for me. And I'm glad to see some other comments here that tell me I'm not the only one with the `hangover' effect it ran across my mind for days after I saw it. By the nature of its filming, Blair Witch gets a little vague in its plot sometimes, but it more than makes up for this with its freshness and genuine thrills.
I also appreciate the intricate Internet and TV framework of mythology what negative reviewers call `hype' -- that's been built up around the movie. I think it's a stroke of genius.
There's talk of a sequel. Personally, I'd like to see a `prequel' built around the Blair Witch mythology created on the film's home page and in the Sci-Fi special, `Curse of the Blair Witch.'
All in all, I'd rate this right up there with `The Exorcist' and the original version of `The Haunting' as the best of the post-1960 horror films. Although each has its own special brand of horror, each keeps its place well secured in my memory. As to those who are disappointed that they didn't `see the witch' or needed some presence to scare them, blame modern horror cinema for spoiling them with special effects and gore. Those who don't like the film for these reasons would never `get' a classic ghost story.
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