EllisDee Reviews

Disturbing Behavior (1998)

Pretty decent thriller despite the stereotypes

[7/10 · 17 January 1999]

The protagonist is the one normal character in this whole movie. I'm defining "normal" as in "does not fall into any of the dysfunctional teenage groups." All the other teenagers, as Gavin points out, fall into one of the following stereotypes:

a) the muscle-car freaks b) the skateboard punks c) the geeks d) the jocks & cheerleaders, or e) the drug user misfits

Meanwhile, the adults are all either a) clueless, b) crazy, or c) crooked.

What ever happened to "none of the above"?

Once I learned to bear with this movie malady, I found it to have a rather above-average plot as far as contemporary horror/thriller flicks go. A mad scientist is fulfilling his vision of perfect students by planting chips in their heads. Since most of the adults are clueless, he pulls it off nicely. The 'roid rage angle briefly mentioned in the movie would have worked just as well though (assuming steroids can make girls crazy too). I'm glad there was no supernatural nonsense or one-dimensional killers with trite modus operandi such as guerrilla stabbings. "Disturbing Behavior" actually exhibits an iota of imagination; so maybe--just maybe--there is a ray of hope for the horror/thriller movie genre after all!

Henry Fool (1997)

Needed some serious trimming

[7/10 · 17 January 1999]

My biggest gripe with "Henry Fool" is its length, and the problem could have easily been avoided if the director focused mostly on Simon Grim and his difficulties of getting his poetry published. Instead, there are too many major characters and subplots that only hinder the progress of the movie. Once Simon overcomes the obstacles and finally has his poetry published, the movie should have been nearly finished. Unfortunately, it just goes on and on from there.

To the movie's credit however, the Simon Grim story is a very good one, and there are some memorable scenes, particularly the one where Simon annoints a vixen's buttocks with his vomit. (It looks like something Howard Stern would have on his show.)

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Deserves "Most Likely to Cause Seizures" and "Most Phallic" Awards!

[6/10 · 17 January 1999]

My eyes hurt after watching "Testuo." It's bad enough when the movie has everything moving fast and jerky half the time. It's even worse on the eyes when it's filmed in black and white. This B&W, accelerated motion image might work fine in a rock video but not for an entire movie. On the plus side, there are some interesting scenes involving the transformation of flesh into metal, especially the massive drill that juts out in the groin area. Yikes! Apparently, the writer has a fascination for penis size.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

Very funny but needed to distinguish itself from the series more

[8/10 · 16 January 1999]

"MST3K: The Movie" is funny, but I was somewhat disappointed with the format being so similar to the TV series. Although I am a fan of the series, it was a shame that the movie did not distinguish itself from the TV show more. When they were about to release the movie, I had really hoped it would boost the show (maybe having it appear on a TV network instead of some cable channel I don't get). Unfortunately, it doesn't really stand out from the rest of the MST3K works, and it got inadequate exposure when it was out in the theaters (most of them didn't even show "MST3K: The Movie," at least not in my area).

Phantasm (1979)

One of the most original horror films ever!

[9/10 · 15 January 1999]

"Phantasm" is a bizarre, charming film that I watch frequently. It has a campy quality where virtually anything is allowed to happen. Among my favorite weird occurrences in this movie are the giant fly (the fly rules, too bad it doesn't appear again in any of the sequels!), Mike's bike accident and the Tall Man growling "BOY!". The soundtrack complements the visuals very nicely, though they should have varied the music more as one composition in particular gets overused. The plot may or may not be just a bad dream from one of the characters, and it is not particularly coherent. However, the lack of coherence may actually be appropriate as dream sequences often just skip abruptly instead of flowing logically from one to the next. This quirk of incoherence may generate confusion and require having to watch the movie twice to fully appreciate it. Nevertheless, "Phantasm" has a wonderful chemistry mixing humor with horror, and despite its late '70's look, the movie transcends time!

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

Probably the whackiest of the four Phantasm movies.

[7/10 · 13 January 1999]

Like the other Phantasm movies, "Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead" has a colorful--arguably a little TOO colorful--set of characters. A kid with absolutely incredible marksmanship skills? A man who can transform into a small flying sphere and back again? Three zombies that look like rejects from a Quentin Tarantino movie?

Adding to the whackiness is the plot itself. The Tall Man kidnaps and hides Mike inside a wall for a while; Reggie and Jody (the transformer) rescue him, and then hide out in "the largest mausoleum in the western U.S." Their hiding plan sounds crazy enough to work, but it doesn't work and Mike gets caught again. Tall Man performs a little brain surgery and Mike can bleed yellow and make his eyes turn silver now. Reggie finds out that the Tall Man has a lot of balls and gets nailed to the wall while some dwarves take that Tim kid away...Now try to explain all that with a straight face.

Overall, it's a quirky, decent movie worthy of a 7 rating (10 being the highest). If you like some insanity mixed with horror/gore in your movies, then "Phantasm III" should be right up your alley, as well as the insanely funny gore-fest "Dead Alive."

Photographing Fairies (1997)

Seeing is believing, but should you believe???

[8/10 · 9 January 1999]

Don't let the title fool you into thinking that this is some children's movie about fairies. The premise of "Photographing Fairies" is not so much about fairies themselves. Instead it's more about the dangers of "seeing is believing." The movie dances on the question: Are these fairies real or am I hallucinating? It's also about the clash between mysticism and rationality. Whenever any of the characters becomes enticed by the fairies or uses piety as a shield, they end up causing grief for the others.

Like many British movies, "Photographing Fairies" is elegant, formal and very carefully put together. Also, Ben Kingsley gives a formidable performance as the reverend. Despite all these positive qualities, it does feel rather slow-paced at times and may challenge anyone with a short attention span. Nevertheless, this movie deserves high marks. I give it an 8.

Phantasm II (1988)

Very amusing despite the plot flaws

[8/10 · 25 December 1998]

I saw "Phantasm II" before watching any of the other Phantasm movies, and despite its shortcomings, it converted me into a fan of the series. While it has an effective atmosphere and an interesting array of characters, the plot certainly could have been more carefully written. There is one part where Mike risks his life handling a very dangerous flying sphere and uses it as a key to open some weird door, but the movie fails to show the purpose of opening that door. Sure, it shows you what lies behind the door, but that's it! Mike and his friends don't really do anything in there! Also, the Tall Man goes through the trouble of luring Liz into a trap, but he just throws her against a wall once he catches her. If Liz was such a threat to his evil plans (as the plot asserts), then wouldn't the Tall Man want to make sure she's dead? Still, when you have a couple psychics, an ex-ice cream vendor, a mysterious hitchhiker, an army of dwarves, flying spheres and a rather omnipotent--and scary-looking--old guy called the Tall Man rolled into one picture, the movie promises to be interesting, and it delivers for the most part.

Compared to the other Phantasm movies, I liked "Phantasm II" better than "Phantasm III" and "Phantasm: Oblivion," but it's not quite as good as the original Phantasm.

Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

Extremely abrupt ending makes it feel more like "Phantasm 3 1/2"

[6/10 · 20 December 1998]

"Phantasm: Oblivion" is easily the most peculiar of the series, and it's structured differently from the previous three Phantasm movies. Instead of Reggie & Mike seeking out the Tall Man in some mausoleum in some ghost town, this story takes place in a desert, and there is a lot of time traveling and sudden point-of-view shifts. If you were confused by "Godfather, Part II" or "Back to the Future: Part II," then this movie will probably drive you crazy. However, if you enjoyed the first Phantasm movie, then you'd probably like the previously unreleased footage of the first Phantasm shown in "Phantasm: Oblivion." I sure did. Also, the Tall Man talks more in this movie than the first three combined (which is a good thing), and in one part, he is a good guy for once. The subplot with Reggie meeting up with Jennifer really gets in the way of the subplot with Mike time-traveling in the desert, but it validates its existence by building up to a very memorable scene. Unfortunately, "Phantasm: Oblivion" has a very abrupt--and confusing--ending. I know it's a trademark to have the Phantasm movies end suddenly (and some fans like it), but this one takes it to an extreme--it felt like I've seen only half of a movie! Did they run out of money or something???

In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

A decent, underrated thriller with an unusually twisted plot

[7/10 · 20 October 1998]

"In the Mouth of Madness" has the great premise of books inspiring madness in people, and it's written and directed skillfully enough to effectively play with the question: "Exactly how insane Sam Neill's character really is?" The plot is so distinctive and twisted that it's a wonder why the movie never got the attention it deserved. If there is one drawback to the plot, it would be that it was unclear whether or not it went a little TOO far. The movie would have been just as scary and more believable if they left it with Sutter Cane's books causing mass insanity rather than going on with the books actually being self-fulfilling prophecies. But then again, the self-fulfilling prophecy angle could all be a delusion from Sam Neill too, which would be plausible. If that was the case, then it was too bad that they didn't make that clear at the end. Regardless of the shortcoming, it's still a worthwhile movie to check out at the video rentals...

Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992 TV Movie)

Nnnnoooo...Please make the bad movie go away!

[2/10 · 11 October 1998]

"Revenge of the Nerds III" is nothing more than an excuse to have a reunion of the cast from the original "Revenge of the Nerds." It astounds me how moviemakers keep making inferior sequels. Haven't they learned anything by now? After being subjected to the cruel pranks of the jocks in the first movie and then some more hardship from the mediocre "Revenge of the Nerds II," the nerds have finally received the death penalty: a TV-movie sequel! And what a terrible way to die! It's one thing to make a bad sequel made for the theatre, but making a weak TV-movie sequel is a catastrophe! "Revenge of the Nerds III" wasn't funny at all, and it looks like they just barely had enough money to throw away on this movie. Here's a visual summary of all this....

############################################################# ############################################################# #######################/------------\########################## ######################!---R.I.P.-----!!######################### ######################!---------------!!####################### ######################!----THE------!!######################### ######################!---NERDS---!!######################### ######################!---------------!!######################## ######################!-1984-1992---!!######################## ######################!---------------!!######################### ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!=*=***++++=!!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Zombie Nightmare (1987)

Rather silly film with a plot similar to that of "I Know What You Did Last Summer"

[3/10 · 9 October 1998]

I must make a confession here: I have seen "Zombie Nightmare" with the help of the witty and often hilarious remarks from M.S.T. 3000. The plot parallels that of "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Both movies involve someone getting run over by a bunch of adolescents and the unlucky pedestrian then avenges himself by killing the driver (and the passengers) one-by-one. It sounds like a decent premise for a horror movie, but like "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "Zombie Nightmare" is not very scary at all. Actually, it's more funny than scary on the account of some ridiculous acting. I did get a good chuckle out of one scene where one of the teenagers fights with his mom and throws some food at her (with some laughably stupid acting). While I can think of worse movies, I'm pretty sure that Tia Carrere and Adam West would prefer to forget this one and hope everyone else would do the same. Still, "Zombie Nightmare" is worth a look via M.S.T. 3K, or if you're up for a "golden turkey" hunt for bad--yet nominally charming--films. Otherwise, you might want to do West and Carrere a favor and forget this movie...

Free Wheeling (1932)

Among the funniest Little Rascals shorts ever!

[9/10 · 7 October 1998]

"Free Wheeling" is one of the best Little Rascals films. It's loaded with the sight gags and exaggerated sound effects that make films from Hal Roach Studios so funny. A whole variety of hilarious things happen in "Free Wheeling," from a mule that gets drunk to a traffic cop jumping 12 feet in the air. A must see for any Little Rascals fan!

Scream 2 (1997)

The killer killed the movie

[6/10 · 5 October 1998]

"Scream 2" could have been a good horror film with its fairly good cast, but unfortunately, it violates an important law of horror movies: the killer(s) and the slayings have to be distinctive, interesting, and inspire terror from the audience! If killing is the business of the killer(s) in "Scream 2," then somebody had better file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Except for toying with Sarah Michelle Gellar over the phone a little, the killer(s) in this movie just stabs and runs. How terrifying...Ironically, when "Scream 2" has an in-class discussion about sequels being inferior films, it ends up referring to itself. The Friday the 13th series often get maligned as mindless slasher films, but at least Jason killed some of his victims in unusual ways, such as swinging one of them against a tree like an axe or smashing & electrocuting another one by smashing a TV set on his head. If the killer(s) of "Scream 2" would employ methods of murder like those, then it could be deemed as a worthy sequel to the original.

Independence Day (1996)

Can't blame them for trying to camouflage this garbage as something great

[4/10 · 5 October 1998]

"Independence Day" was one of the most disappointing movies from 1996. The trailer looked promising, especially with the clip of the alien ship disintegrating the White House, and I thought that this was going to be a serious movie. However, Will Smith and Harvey Fierstein are in it; so I should have known better. Also, if the human race is about to face extinction, I think people are much, much more likely to fight out of self-defense rather than out of patriotism. That little pep rally speech from Bill Pullman really undermined the movie. The virus angle was kind of interesting, if not terribly plausible. Though it would be very likely that a spacefaring race would have some kind of protection against computer viruses, it's still possible that the aliens never used computer viruses on each other so they never developed anti-virus software (or they did have such technology, but it wasn't able to detect human-made computer viruses for one reason or another). It really doesn't matter anyway. Too many stupid things happened before they even tried out the virus, including where Jeff Goldblum got the idea of using it against the aliens. To summarize this movie in six words, can I get my money back?

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Tradition is out to kill you!

[5/10 · 5 October 1998]

A lot of people may abhor the idea of turning Santa Claus into a deranged serial killer, but I'm not one of them. Why does society openly celebrate lying to children about Santa Claus? Political and religious authorities are always delivering speeches against TV shows and movies because they might warp children's minds, yet lying to children about Santa Claus is considered harmless! Since when does dishonesty amount to anything constructive? Santa Claus may be a jolly, benevolent myth that contributes to the spirit of Christmas tradition, but jolly, happy lies are still lies! And lies spawn all kinds of bad things. So it only seems appropriate to me that the Santa Claus is inverted into a life-destroying monster. What has created this monster both in real life and in "Silent Night, Deadly Night"? Religious authorities. The only difference between the two cases is that one fosters the Santa Claus myth to enhance their power over people around Christmas while the other created a monster thanks to extreme Catholic discipline (which is really strict, especially in the "good old days"). So this movie has a good premise, but the execution is mediocre, largely because of the obviously low budget and amateurish acting. Nevertheless, the killer Santa Claus murders his victims in rather unusual ways, and unusual murders (and unusual murderers) constitute a major reason to watch horror movies in the first place. In short, this movie, despite its shortcomings, has a good plot and some good scenes, and is worth watching at least once if you like horror movies.

Tron (1982)

Unique gladiator movie with a beautiful futuristic setting

[7/10 · 5 October 1998]

"Tron" is an interesting fantasy/gladiator movie. The setting for most of the movie--sort of like a futuristic city at night time--is nothing short of spectacular, and the plot is quite distinctive. Imagine, a man having to risk his life by playing dangerous video games in a strange new world in order to get back his OWN video game software that was stolen from him. I had to see it a couple times before I understood everything said in the movie, though. They pass that computer terminology by rather quickly in those conversations. Nevertheless, "Tron" is still a pretty cool movie.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Call it "Scream Lite" instead

[5/10 · 4 October 1998]

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" hardly qualifies as a true horror film. While it doesn't resort to anything mystical, it simply isn't very scary, which is unfortunate because it tries to sell itself as a horror film. It also had seemed to be banking on the theory that the appeal of popular actresses from popular TV shows should carry the movie, even if it isn't as scary as it tries to be. If Neve Campbell worked out just fine in "Scream," why not get Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar to bring in the audience? (never mind whether or not the movie truly passes as scary) Actually, the scariest thing about this movie is that the theory appears to hold true, and, like a popcorn machine gone awry, Hollywood seems to be spitting out these watered-down "horror" movies left and right. Hopefully by the time they get around to making "I Know What You Did Last Winter," they would have taken notes from truly disturbing movies like "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer," "Seven," and the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

Se7en (1995)

Great serial killer movie, worthy company for "Silence of the Lambs"

[9/10 · 4 October 1998]

Just when I thought I was de-sensitized to horror films, "Se7en" comes along. I felt completely unsettled after seeing it for the first time. When Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt were checking out the "Sloth" victim securely tied to the bed, I saw one of the nastiest surprises ever! For a couple of days, I didn't want to talk or even think about that particular scene. Religious people were scary enough, but Kevin Spacey--playing as the religious fanatic serial killer--just made them a little scarier,as if that were ever possible! Overall, this is a great serial killer movie and ranks right up there with "Silence of the Lambs."

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

One of the best movies from the 90's!

[10/10 · 4 October 1998]

"Glengarry Glen Ross" is an excellent movie, especially for those who value acting over action. With such a talented cast of Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin and Jonathan Pryce, it's no surprise that the acting really shines in this movie. Equally wonderful is the plot: everyone vies against each other to sell the most real estate and whoever loses gets the unfortunate runner-up prize of being fired! While technically not a comedy, it has some funny moments with Alec Baldwin verbally abusing everyone else in the office and Al Pacino telling off Kevin Spacey for ruining his real estate deal. My only gripe with the movie is that it seems to end too early. An epilogue would have been cool..."Glengarry Glen Ross" has quite a bit of caustic language which may readily offend some people, but aside from that, this is clearly one of the best movies from the 90's! And it doesn't even rely on explosions, special effects, and mindless bloodshed to excel as a movie...

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Covet this film, and you will see it everyday...

[10/10 · 4 October 1998]

"Silence of the Lambs" will never be silenced. It easily ranks among the best movies of the 90's. Anthony Hopkins steals the show here, even though he is not the serial killer at large. He manages to be menacing yet charming at the same time, which is often a quality of our most infamous serial killers. Jonathan Demme did an excellent job directing this move, and rightfully received an Oscar reward for best director. He kept everything going at just the right pace and allowed enough time for character study to flavor the film further. "Silence of the Lambs" is loaded with memorable scenes; my favorite one is where Jodie Foster has to feel her way around the dark while the killer (wearing night-vision goggles) just toys with her for a while. Since "we covet what we see everyday," try not to give in to the temptation of seeing "Silence of the Lambs" everyday as there is no telling what might happen then...

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Indeed, a worthy portrait of one of the most notorious serial killers.

[8/10 · 4 October 1998]

"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" portrays Henry Lee Lucas quite well, but the beginning of the movie is rather discouraging. The problem with the first several minutes is that all you see is Michael Rooker as Henry Lee Lucas SILENTLY going from place to place and leaving a trail of death behind. I was wondering if the whole movie was going to do just that, and it could have easily done so for at least an hour since Lucas may have murdered as many as 200 people. Fortunately, the silence ends, and Rooker finally does some acting when he mets up with his moronic partner in crime, Otis. Michael Rooker is convincing as Henry Lee Lucas, but they could have put on some makeup to make Rooker appear to have a dead eye (the real Lucas was stabbed in the eye during childhood by his own brother, and his mother did nothing about the eye). The rest of the small cast also does a good job. "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" must have read a biography of Henry Lee Lucas, as both the fourth Friday the 13th movie and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" have a scene where a victim gets a TV smashed on his head and is subsequently electrocuted. Of course, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" executed that scene much more effectively than "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" did. This serial killer movie is unusual in the sense that no cops are shown trying to catch the killer. All of the scenes are devoted either to Henry or Otis. On the other hand, most of the other serial killer movies, such as "Silence of the Lambs" and "Se7en," have detectives trying to catch the killer. This is a good, distinctive movie overall, and if they changed the first few minutes, it could be an excellent movie.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Three words: "Taxi Driver" rules!

[10/10 · 4 October 1998]

Some more words: This is my favorite movie directed by Martin Scorsese! "Taxi Driver" is such a tense and compelling character study of a lonely man who slowly but surely loses his sanity as he observes society just degenerating all around him. And all this is done with a very high caliber cast. No one could have acted out the taxi driver role better than Robert De Niro. He is simply unbeatable. Harvey Keitel also shines in this movie as a Puerto Rican pimp, as well as Jodie Foster playing as the child prostitute. Martin Scorsese even acts out a role and actually does a fairly convincing job as a jealous madman. There is no sugar coating on this slice-of-life movie. Everything is brutally real here. In short, "Taxi Driver" rules!

Braindead (1992)

Insanely funny!

[9/10 · 3 October 1998]

Dead Alive (a.k.a. Braindead) is one of the most INSANE movies ever made, and probably among the few (if not the only one) that manages to generate laughs with outrageous gore. This is undoubtedly the only movie that has an intestine preening itself in front of a bathroom mirror! Also, the plot of Dead Alive is funny in and of itself. It gets SO carried away with itself that literally anything can happen! If you were lucky enough to see this one at the theaters, then you would know that the viewing experience is even crazier with all the contagious laughter coming from the audience. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it and invite as many friends as possible to watch it with you. Simply put, it's insanely funny!

Heathers (1988)

Good satire of various teenager issues, full of dark humor...

[8/10 · 3 October 1998]

Heathers does a fairly good job satirizing the whole high school scene, but the best moments come from the dark humor with Christian Slater and Winona Ryder trying to humiliate a couple of obnoxious jocks by making them appear to have committed suicide over their repressed homosexuality. The funeral scene is the icing on the cake, where one of the jock's father (who is struggling to accept his son's apparent gaiety) laments "I LOVE MY DEAD, GAY SON!" I'm pretty sure that Heathers would offend some members of the gay community, but I can appreciate how the movie boldly pokes fun at something that is taken SO seriously. My biggest gripe with the movie is that the climax pales in comparison to some of the earlier scenes. If they wrapped it up with something as funny as the jock's funeral, then I'd give it a higher rating. Nevertheless, Heathers is still an above-average dark humor movie, and anyone who has ever been alienated in high school may very well find a little solace with this movie.