Reviews
Psycho (1998)
The Ultimate homage. Psycho is the ideal choice...
It's a neat idea to make a replica instead of a remake, and since Hitchcock is known for his meticulous prep., storyboarding and low shooting ratio, and Psycho is universally known for particular shots and sequences, to make a new version of it is I think a touch of brilliance - and boldness. And it works. It was fun and worth the ticket just to see the idea executed. It was a thrill to see the same credits and hear the music. But as well, van Sant portrays a funny 60/98 world and Chris Doyle's cinematography captures it. Vince Vaughn does an admirable job as Norman. Only miss is Anne Heche. But go see it and ENJOY.
Kitchen Party (1997)
Highschool party in repressed household
Intercuts between high school kids at one home, and typical wasp parents drinking at dinner party, which leads to a crisis for all concerned. The satire of white middle class life is old hat, and the teen life presented was done much better by same director in previous, debut effort - The Suburbanators. Skip this, and catch that one instead.
Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
Over-the-top take on the what-to-do-with-the-body theme.
This Ted Kotcheff-directed black comedy takes the dead body theme to the max. Terry Kiser is superlative as the unfortunate Bernie - he manages a ludicrous death smirk that adds an extra absurdity to the ridiculous situations he ends up in. Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman play off each other with lots of energy and friction, successfully pulling off the straight man/wacko guy dynamic. Aside from the hilarity, there's a fluffy romantic subplot, an excellent faux-Bob Marley score by Andy Summers from the Police, and just a touch of warm fuzzy character growth in the end. Well deserved of cult status.