What can I say? Forbidden Planet scared the bejesus out of me when I first saw it at age 7 at my aunt's house. I had nightmares about the id creature breaking down the door for weeks afterwards :) It was the first sci-fi worth mentioning that took itself seriously with no sly winks to the camera as if to say 'we know its a guy in a rubber suit, but just play with us here'. Its also the first movie to ever have used a fully electronically synthesized score. The sets are great, the visual effects still stand up brilliantly today (except that blasted robot, the only weak point in the film) and it proves that Leslie Neilsen was once capable of serious roles.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Idle Hands
(1999)
A very pleasant surprise
15 September 2005
As mentioned in the other comments, this movie is a awful lot better than it would first seem. Its still a rather brainless teen slasher flick, with the usual array of 2D characters ( the goofy friends, gorgeous love interest, aggressive hunk etc) and situations (school Halloween dance), but the great dialogue and great visual effects elevate it above the majority of other movies in the teen slasher style and doesn't do too much talking down to the audience. Where most other movies of this type give the audience 2 answers before a single question is answered Idle Hands has no fears about leaving things unanswered, where the viewer can make their own mind up (for once). Devon Sawa makes for a convincing and cute Anton, while Jessica Alba is all thats needed to keep the target audience of under 20's males glued to their seats. Don't get me wrong, this isn't up there with the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, but it never sets out to be; it's hilariously funny, satisfyingly gory and one hell of a lot better than you'd ever think. Go rent it, you'l be pleasantly surprised. Also, the soundtrack is great.
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