Movie #240 Super 8 *2011*

Here are my 3 Reason to see Super 8:

Reason #1.  Elle Fanning.  Mostly when she is acting in the movie, in the movie.

Reason #2.  All the scenes of the kids making the movie.

Reason #3.  The end credits.

I thought this movie was a bad mix of two styles that I really like.  It was even parts JJ Abrams and Speilberg.  The problem is that it kept the movie from having an identify of its own.

I give Super 8 ★★★.

Movie #189 Skyline *2010*

This movie doesn't deserve a full review.  That is bad B-movie schlock from hat to cattle.  This movie was made by a pair of brothers who have 62 credits on IMDB as visual artists, and it shows.  The movie does have excellent effects, but they are used so poorly.  An interesting comment in the movie comes early when Donald Faison (playing an self obsessed actor) mentions to Neil Hopkins (playing his squarmy agent) "How are the effects?" to which the response is "They look like shit, but the director loves them!".

The movie is an alien invasion flick.  It is one part Independence Day, one part Cloverfield, one part Skin-emax softcore porn.  The pencil headed Eric Balfour plays an artist or something, it is never clearly explained.  His recently pregnant girlfriend is played by Scottie Thompson.  Brittany Daniel (who can act, she plays the tranny on Always Sunny) is Faison's bitchy girlfriend.  Faison's personal assistant and part time human pin cushion is Crystal Reed.  Have you heard of any of these people?  There is probably a good reason for that.

The final cast member I would like to mention is David Zayas.  Holly crap is he terrible!  He delivers every line like it is the last thing he will ever say.  I can't recall a better example of over acting.  I would love to go on for days talking about how terrible this guy is, but I have a decent movie to review.

Don't get me wrong.  It's not like these actors had ANYTHING to work with.  This is what happens when you let visual artists make a movie.  Everything is only set in place to show off the cool blue lights that fall onto the LA landscape.  In the equally terrible mockumentary "I'm Still Here" with Q. Pheonix, Diddy points out that he hates it when actors think they can make a good album just because they have a cheap recording studio in their basement.  That is what happened here.

Anyway, avoid this movie.  It isn't even so good it's bad good.  I give Skyline ★1/2.

Movie #185 The Thing *1982*

I recently bought a book called "1001 Movies to See Before You Die".  I expected to see Fellini and Kubrick on there.  I expected to see silent greats as well as a few contemporary movies that could generate some debate.   I expected to see Citizen Kane and Seven Samurai.  What I didn't expect to see was The Thing.

John Carpenter's The Thing is the story of a team of researchers living in Antarctica.  Their camp is visited by a strange dog from a neighboring team of scientists.  Upon the arrival of this dog strange things start to unfold that leads to tense emotional Mexican Standoffs.

I liked the way this film built tension between the characters.  They were forced to question each other in order to survive.  Not exactly a revolutionary idea, but is was executed in a fresh way that kept my interested.

What didn't keep me interested was the effects.  It is sort of unfair to judge special effects of movies made nearly 30 years ago.  Maybe at the time these looked convincing or "real", but I found them to be stagey and sort of hokey.  The movie didn't seem to be making any commentary on the nature of state of the horror film, so I figured that the effects guy was lacking in skill or budget.

Kurt Russell.  What more do you need to say?  His character in this film is like a hairier version of Snake Pliskin from Escape From New York.  He is a total loner / bad mutha.

Outside of Kurt (and even including Kurt in some scenes) the rest of the cast is pretty stereotypical.  Haggard old doctor, stoner, angry black man, nerd, ect.  But then again, the script didn't give these actor much to work with.  I thought it was very formulaic.  You could have made this film by color in the numbers.

Overall I thought this was a mildly entertaining film with nothing to chew on.  I enjoyed it while I watched it and forgot about it before I went to bed.  I will have to read why this is in my book.  Great, now I am one movie closer to dying and I only enjoyed it about ★★★. 

Movie #158 Monsters *2010*

Whitney Able - Samantha Wyden
Scoot McNairy - Andrew Kaulder
Gareth Edwards (Director)

I am kind of taken with this film.  Shot for a budget of $800,000 this is a sci-fi monster movie wrapped up in a romance flick.  Kaulder is a photo journalist in Mexico where his assignment just got changed.  He is now to escort the bosses daughter back safely to America.  Why is is dangerous?  An alien race has landed and is currently "contaminating" most of Central America.

This movie is a mash up of Cloverfield and District 9 (Movie #155) all wrapped around love story.  Another film this reminded me of was last years Frozen (Movie #76).  Not really in plot or style but more in ambition.  Both films used normal, realistic dialogue to convey the absurdness of their situations. 

The locations for Monsters are all breath taking.  Both in the beautiful (the ruins, the rivers, wilderness) and the horrific (the villages, the former cities, those left behind).  I love it that first time feature director Gareth Edwards really took his time and developed the characters.  That is something that not every sci-fi film does.  Most nowadays are effects driven with character coming in a distant third behind product placement or marketability (toys).

With this somewhat revolutionary tactic a lot of responsibility was placed on somewhat newcomer actors and they excelled.  Both the leads were totally believable.  The script was smart enough to have them act in a manner fitting to their situations.  Scoot McNairy was charming and a bit of a "soft" protagonist.  He makes some stupid decisions, and is a little whiny at times, but that is how I think someone in that predicament might truly act.  I know I speak too much about how attractive some female actresses are, so allow me to continue.  Whitney Able is radiant.  She is vulnerable without being weak, reclusive and sheltered but also vibrant and full of life.  She won me over within the first 10 minutes.  This film has a lot of extras with bit parts, but they all seem very natural.  I'm not sure if they are trained actors or not, but it might be the best ensemble cast I have seen in a while. 

I'll spend a second on the effects.  They were great.  You are teased a lot with the promise of aliens, but rarely see them.  You can hear them (and the sound design was fantastic!) but when you see them it is generally at night or obstructed be other objects.  I will state without any hesitation that this film with is $800,000 budget had better effects than Spielberg's War of the Worlds with it's $132 Million budget.

I enjoyed this film and I plan on watching it again real soon.  I give Monsters ★★★1/2.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.  You can view Monsters on Netflix Streaming.

Movie #157 Paul *2011*

Simon Pegg - Graeme Willy
Nick Frost - Clive Gollings
Seth Rogan - Paul

Kristen Wiig - Ruth Buggs
Greg Mottola (Director)

Paul is the story of a mild mannered alien and the nerds that befriend him.  I suppose I should say that Paul is the story of a poorly mannered, foul mouthed alien.  The story revolves around the geeks attempts to get Paul to a meet-up location, and of course all the colorful character they meet along the way.

I enjoyed Paul a fair amount.  It is very referential to other sci-fi films.  Fans of films like Star Wars, the Alien films, Predator, Close Encounters, E.T., The X Files and the like should enjoy the all the homages.  The problem is that you had to catch the references in order to get to many of the jokes.  And it is a very jokey film.  I caught most of them I think, but there were times where the pacing was so that I knew that I had just missed something.

Frost and Pegg are the stars of the films Shaun of the Dead (Movie #43) and Hot Fuzz.  Both of those films make references to all sorts of other films, but catching these cues are not critical to the overall plot or enjoyment of the film.

Kristen Wiig may have been the best part of the movie.  She plays a trailer park dweller / Bible thumper that get taken hostage by the crew.  She abandons her religious way and joins the dark side.  She begins swearing after having lived a life without even hearing curse words.  It is not the most original gag, but her enthusiasm and delivery makes it sound fresh and funny.

I love Jason Bateman, but he is not given anything to do here.  He is a government agent that is tracking Paul.  Totally wasted.  The foul mouthed alien has a few funny stints, bout over all the film fell flat.  The story slugs along stopping only to set up the next bit of shtick.

I did laugh (though be it mindlessly) enough to slightly recommend the film.  Even though everyone involved has produced better work.  I give Paul ★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #155 District 9 *2009*

Sharto Copley - Wikus Van De Merwe
Neill Bloomkamp (Director)

I first saw District 9 in my hometown based on a recommendation from Filmspotting.  Both hosts enjoyed the film, but neither liked it.  They then had herds of fans coming to the films defense and calling it the best sci-fi film in years.  This peaked my interest and I attended a screening.  I remember being impressed upon my viewing.

District 9 is about a pencil pushing geek that gets put in charge of a mission to deliver evacuation notices to a bread of aliens that have been "infesting" Johannesburg, South Africa for years.  He runs into some complications along the way and the story progresses from here.  The first thing I remember about this film is how funny the first act is.  I love the character Copley plays.  He is set up to fail by his father-in-law.  The script is tight as a knot and delivered with grace and timing.  He even has a calculator attached to his bullet proof vest.

Then in the 2nd act things start to get real.  This is a relativity low budget sci-fi film, but you would never be able to tell by simply looking at it.  The effects are amazing, and I am not one to go on about effects.  And it is not just the big action scenes or the aliens either.  You can tell loving care went into every frame of this film.  There a shots of news reports.  If I didn't know I was watching a movie and I happened to walk into a room when these clips were playing I swear that I would think earth had been invaded.

The third act is where most critics of the film thinks it starts to fall apart.  Up until now the director has been cultivating a heartfelt, funny movie that had something to say about humanity.  It's true that in the third act it gets a little too much "Aliens" and not enough "Alien".  But I don't fault the film for that.  It stays true to it's self and the directors vision.  No wonder Bloomkamp's name is being mentioned for every sci-fi job that comes up these days.

Upon my second viewing I didn't feel the connection between the main character and his wife as much as I did in the theater.  I also felt the movie didn't pay off on a second viewing as much as I thought it might.  Perhaps it was because I was now watching it on the small screen?  Maybe I have seen some other effect driven films that topped it?  Maybe the "newness" wore off?  I don't know.  All I do know is that even with a bit of a diminishing return this is still a very good movie.  I give District 9 ★★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #115 Aliens3 *1992*

Sigourney Weaver - Ripley
Charles Dutton - Dillon
Lance Henriksen - Bishop II
David Fincher (Director)

This is the franchise that I think best personifies diminishing returns.  Alien is one of my favorite Sci-Fi films.  I personally believe it is better than Blade Runner (blasphemy to some).  Then came Aliens.  I found it to be a serviceable action movie but I think it has none of the charm and intrigue of the first film. 

Now I have seen the third film in the series. I looked through the internets to see how many more sequels there are and found that there is no easy answer to that.  Mostly due to the merging with the Predator franchise and continued support of the films. There is even talk of a new Alien movie directed by the original director Ridley Scott.

Alien3 takes place on a distant planet inhabited exclusively by ultra religious, convicts.  They are all violent killers and/or rapists that have now found God.  There living quarters at one point were a work release of sorts in where they used to refine lead.  The establishment has a warden, a guard and a doctor that used to be an inmate.  Of all the people on the planet the doc is the only one glad to see Ripley arive.  Of all the non-regular Alien cast members, I found his character and performance the most interesting.

Ripley arrives in a pod due to an electrical problem on the main spaceship.  And guess what she brings with her?  That's right another alien creature.  This seems to be a different breed from the first 2 films.  It moves differently and has strange and unique features.

This is David Fincher's debut feature and while like so many first films from will be auteurs, you can see glimpses of their style and sensibilities but as a whole the film is a mess.  The location makes for a very dirty, brownish green color that makes it difficult to get depth perspective.  I don't know what was going on with the music.  The script is a mess and some of the characters come off more like caricatures.  Poor Charles Dutton.  Either he is a bad actor, or he gets saddled in many films and TV shows with poorly written parts.

Sigourney Weaver is solid even though the script kind of hangs her out to dry.  The first ending was very anti-climatic.  Then there is a suprise and the second ending was ridicolus.  Then there is a third ending that I thought was beautiful and that The Matrix totally ripped off.  As a matter of fact this film reminded me a lot of The Matrix. Only not nearly as good.

Because of its pervasiveness the Alien franchise is availible in a multitude of collections.  I was given a DVD of the first 3 films for Christmas.  I would say if possible watch Alien of course.  Then if you are in the mood for a decent silly action movie watch Aliens.  Then if you need a nap watch Aliens3.  I would give Alien3 a 2/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #35 The Rocky Horror Picture Show

This past Saturday night I got to mark another thing off my bucket list.  I attended a midnight showing of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  For some bonus points I went on the night before Halloween.  In attendance was my girlfriend, an good friend, his girlfriend, and about 200 other freaks. 

We waited in line for about an hour in the freezing cold.  The line wrapped around an old dilapidated theater that looks like it should have been condemned years ago.  The line was populated with people dressed as characters from the film and if you have ever seen the movie you can imagine what a sight that was.

If you haven't seen the movie allow me to attempt to summarize it.  Two virginal newlyweds get stranded roadside and make their way to a castle in the woods in an attempt to get help.  To their surprise the master of the house is a flaming transvestite mad scientist in drag creating male lovers to fulfill his sexual desires.  There seems to be a party going on consisting of bizarre onlookers and perverts.  The party is seemingly to celebrate his (Dr. Frank N Furter) newest creation "Rocky", a muscle bound Aryen dream that is replacing his past creation "Eddie" played as a cryogenicly frozen rock star by Meatloaf.  Did I mention that the house is a space ship and that the inhabitants are aliens?  Did I mention that it is a musical?  Sound like a cult classic huh?

Needless to say the movie sucks.  Tim Curry is brilliant as the good Dr. and the music is cheesy and insane but definitely catchy.  The most recognizable of the songs is "Let's do the Time Warp Again".  What really makes showings of Rocky Horror famous is an entire second script that is yelled out by the viewers.  Along with shouting at the screen those in attendance are encouraged to use props to enhance the experience.  Things like rice, toilet paper, flashlights, news paper, noise makers, and toast are all part of the fun.  It is different than the Lebowskifest in a big way though.  While watching The Big Lebowski with a group of "Achievers", it is common place to shout out lines from the movie.  In RHPS participants shout out and entirely different script.  Also Lebowski is a lighter, laid back atmoshpere.  Rocky Horror is a sex filled seemingly angry crowd.  Many of the things shouted during RHPS are insulting to the characters.

This was my second venture to a RHPS viewing.  I have to say that the first time was better.  It was in a much nicer theater.  Most of the people there didn't know all the alternate lines so when they shouted the lines out it was more clear.  At this viewing everyone was yelling different things at different times.  It was very difficult to understand the dialogue.  The building was filled with a loud white noise.

The cool thing about this viewing was that there was a local acting troupe actually performing the film below the screen.  I was in the back of the room and couldn't see or hear if they were reciting lines or not, but they had the pantomime down pat.  It was very cool to watch.

Ranking this movie is somewhat irrelevant.  People don't go to Rocky Horror to see a great movie.  They go for the experience.  The movie is a 2/5 stars.  This experience is one that I will remember for years to come.  Check out the link below for a trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHNFkqPFBko