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Reviews
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
Awful, but at least watchable
I'll be the first to admit that Plan 9 From Outer Space is an awful film. But at least it's watchable, which is a lot more than I can say for other films that cost much more, and used actors / actresses that are much more recognizable.
There are glaring and recognizable mistakes throughout the film, there's very little in the way of an actual story, and it's quite apparent that this film was made on the cheap - the sets are a pretty good indication of that.
But for all its problems, the movie does actually have a good pace, and seems to move along fairly quickly. It doesn't feel plodding, or fluffed up like other films, especially from the B-movie genre seem to be.
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Sounds like Clint's personal fantasy to me
Looking back at the movie, I wonder sometimes if this was a case of Clint acting out his own personal fantasies. In this movie he gets to be the tough as nails Gunny Highway, who has been in action in both Korea and Vietnam. There is plenty of patriotic imagery to be found throughout the film, and the film feels like a recruiting poster for the USMC. And of course there's the heavy combat towards the end of the film.
I did enjoy the film, but did not take it too seriously. The reason I didn't is because Heartbreak Ridge runs into problems when it comes to realism. As others have said, recon units are elite units with members who hold themselves to the highest standards at all times. Members of recon units are not the shoddy, lazy, poorly disciplined men seen in this film. They are consummate professionals, and would have undergone so much training and weeding out to make the accidental firing on the range unbelievable, as well as the general undisciplined behavior of the unit at the beginning.
The Book of Daniel (2006)
Good idea, the execution could've been better
I think the premise behind the series was a good one. Show a real life minister and his family - not a carefully polished, scrubbed, and fake image - who have to deal with all too human frailties. But the execution could've been better.
In some ways the series seems a bit contrived to me and a bit over the top, like the producers went out of their ways when it came to some elements. One example I can think of is the Catholic priest and his contacts with organized crime who just happens to be around when Daniel needs him.
I did like the scenes with Jesus. The producers certainly did a good job here, giving the audience a very different view of Jesus than what we traditionally see.
Hopefully NBC will continue with this series, and it will become an even better show. The series has a refreshing realism instead of a polished up and idealized view of the world.
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
The non MST3K version (contains spoilers)
Recently, I learned that a non-MST3k version of Manos: the Hands of Fate was available for sale. I was able to buy it for about $10.00 (about $7.00 + $3.00 shipping) from Amazon.com.
I wanted to see the film as it was originally presented. It looks like either the people at Best Brains did some cleanup and restoration on the film to make it more presentable, or the print used for the non-MST3K DVD version was in poorer shape. So the film appears more scratched up then the MST3k version, and the quality of the sound track is uneven.
The film does have a few extra scenes in it that had been cut from the MST3K version. (Here's the spoilers) There's a couple extra minutes in the car as Michael is busy getting the family totally lost, as well as some extended conversation between wife #1 and the Master as he's sacrificing her to Manos.
If you're interested in seeing how Manos was originally presented, or if you want to see what had been left out in the MST3K version, this might be an interesting DVD to watch. But be warned, without Joel and the 'bots to keep you company during this God-awful film, the film can seem like crawling on your hands and knees through broken glass.
Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)
what were they thinking... (contains spoiler)
What were they thinking when they made this film? It's just yet another example of how in many cases that sequels don't work. Now of course there are exceptions to that rule of sequels that do just as well, if not better than the original film.
This third installment of Smokey and the Bandit has little in the way of redeeming qualities. It seems that the studio wanted to milk the Smokey and the Bandit franchise for all it was worth, which resulted in this flop being made.
(Here's the spoiler). Other than a small cameo role right at the end of the film, Burt didn't have anything to do with this film. Sally Field was nowhere to be seen. With them missing, there wasn't much left to hold this film up. While Gleason and Jerry Reed tried their best, without Reynolds and Field the film was a house missing a large part of its foundation.
I still enjoy seeing the first film, and the second film has its moments. But not this third film.
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
Not that great
As much as I liked the first movie, I find that I don't really like the second film. While the film had it's moments, especially with Jackie Gleason as Buford T. Justice, there really wasn't much to redeem this film.
Everything about the film seemed rather contrived, especially the comedy. The comedy seemed to be forced most of the time.
While I can watch the first film over and over and it never seems to get old for me, the second film wore out its welcome almost right away. I don't know, but maybe if they hadn't tried so hard with the second film to measure up to the first film it would have been better.
Runaway Train (1985)
mixed feelings... (possible spoilers)
I have a lot of mixed feelings about the film. A lot of the action sequences involving the actual train were really good. But the film was ruined in many ways by what was tacked on to the film.
What happened once the train got going, a lot of that was really good. Especially with all the people at the dispatch office trying to control what was rapidly becoming a hopeless situation.
I think that what really drug the film down was all the scenes at the prison. I think a lot of the prison scenes were superflous, and contributed nothing to the story. I was left wondering what boxing had to do with a runaway train. Some parts were needed in order to give the viewer the full story, but most were not needed. Same thing with all the really cheesy dialog in the story. That did a lot to damage the film too. All the speech making that the main characters had done added nothing to the story, and made them look like a bunch of idiots.
Runaway train did have its moments. But what was good about this story did not overcome the many shortcomings in this movie. If the cheesy dialog was cut out, and the story more tightly focused, the movie might have been a really good film.
The Birdcage (1996)
Headaches
This is one of those comedy movies that winds up giving me a tension headache about 15 minutes into the film. I like comedy, especially on television and in the movies. But what Robin Williams and fellow castmates are doing here is not comedy. They try, but the main characters are way too over the top. We see the unfortunate sterotyping of gay people here as well, particularly in the way gay men are portrayed. I personally have known people who're gay, and a lot of times you just can't tell it by the way they act. Also, it seems that the film suffers from uneven pacing - the film seems to be racing along at times, and other times it's like watching paint dry. If there was any saving grace to this film, it was Gene Hackman's performance as the conservative Senator.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
boring (may have spoilers)
I don't mean any disrespect towards the late Stanley Kubrick. Technically, Kubrick was brilliant. The effects were brilliant, and even today with all the computer technology, the simple 1960's effects still are very competitive. The effects make the story believable. But 2001 is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. What story there is gets lost in the flow of the movie because of the plodding pace of this film. It was such slow going I had acutally dozed off the last time I had seen the film. Others have commented that the story could have been told in under an hour. And that's true, particularly if some of the more psychadelic effects and the other fluff had been stripped away. But it would have shown just how weak the story was.
In the Heat of the Night (1988)
a rollar coaster (contains spoilers)
I think the show was kind of a rollar coaster as far as quality goes. It had a slow start in the first season. It really took off after the second season, and remained high up until the beginning of the final season. It dealt with just about every kind of issue that a community may have to deal with over the course of time. Racial strife, murder, love affairs, robbery, rape, incest, stalking, drunk driving, government corruption, and so on. The Sparta police force was able to deal with the problems with professionalism and a determination to do things right. Even if it wasn't easy, or struck too close to home. But then the last season and the following TV movies all seemed rather tacked on to me. I think the retooling of the show that happened during the last season was a blunder on the part of the producers. Especially with the departure of Anne-Marie Johnson and Howard Rollins from the show. I think that the show had its moments during the final season, and remained a good show throughout the entire run, but the final season and the movies didn't measure up to the seasons that came before.
Enterprise (2001)
Slipping
With Enterprise, the entire Trek franchise is slowly being flushed down the toilet by Paramount. I had stayed with the franchise throughout the years, even through the last seasons of DS9 and all throughout Voyager. But now we have Enterprise, and I find if I miss episodes I don't really care anymore. Enterprise is only a pale shadow of what all the other Trek series were. I find myself preferring the reruns of the other series. Even though I've already seen most of the reruns from the other series more times than I can count, they are so much more enjoyable than Enterprise. Even the original Star Trek is more enjoyable than Enterprise. Maybe the time has come for the franchise to be retired for a while.
ER (1994)
Put this horse out to pasture
A few years ago I said that ER was still one of the best shows around. But I don't feel that way now. I think the show is so far past it's prime that it's time for this horse to be put out to pasture, so to speak. Pretty much the entire original cast is gone, even Sherry Stringfield is going to leave ER soon - which will mean the entire cast who was there on the first day will be gone.
Over the past couple years it seems like ER has been declining. It's almost turned into the Abbey and Neela show.
In the past what made the show great was that it was an accurate portrayal of life in a hospital emergency room. And there were riveting episodes, episodes that drew you in totally. In some episodes you could go through just about the entire range of human emotions. There were times that watching ER was like watching a train wreck - with some stories you couldn't bear to watch but at the same time you weren't able take your eyes off the TV screen.
But that quality seems to have faded away. ER's just not the same anymore with almost the entire original cast gone. And the focus of the show doesn't really seem to be on the emergency room anymore. I think they should retire the show now while it's still good rather than letting it go on until it derails as a mere shadow of itself.
Eegah (1962)
Boring and disgusting
This movie is borning. It seems to be plodding along most of the time, it's to the point where I almost fell asleep because I was so bored. Fortunately, I watched this under the protective seal of MST3K. There are also a few things in this film that make it so disgusting that it made me wonder what exactly was going through the mind of Arch Hall Sr. when he made this film.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
One of the Greates Films Ever Made
I had just seen the Passion of the Christ. I have to say that it is one of the greatest films that was ever made. It details the suffering of Jesus Christ in detail - what he went through for all of us. What happened was brutal and violent - and for that the film does deserve its R rating. It is not a film meant for younger children. From what I remember of reading through the Bible, the story does follow what came down from the gospels pretty accuratly. Also the use of Latin and Aramaic, along with the buildings and props used gave the film a sense of realism. Plus everyone who starred in the film did an excellent job in making the Passion have such an emotional impact. I think that for adults and older teenagers, it's definetly a film to see.
Eegah (1962)
Boring and disgusting
This movie is borning. It seems to be plodding along most of the time, it's to the point where I almost fell asleep because I was so bored. Fortunately, I watched this under the protective seal of MST3K. There are also a few things in this film that make it so disgusting that it made me wonder what exactly was going through the mind of Arch Hall Sr. when he made this film.
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Not bad, but not great either.
While You Were Sleeping was by no means the worst of the "romantic comedies" but it did leave a lot to be desired. It just seemed like the movie's plot was awfully convoluted to me. Watching this film gave me a rather large headache.
Mitchell (1975)
Not only Awful, but disgusting too. (Has Spoilers)
Mitchell is a classic example of the bad campy 70's film. From Joe Don Baker's lines to the action scenes, everything about this movie was awful. Worse yet, this movie was also very disgusting. Joel and the 'bots do a good job taking this film apart.
(Here comes the Spoilers)
The bedroom scene with Joe Don Baker and Linda Evans is totally disgusting. I wholeheartadly agree with the people on MST3K that it was one of the most disturbing things ever shown during their run. Watching Joe Don getting it on with a woman is not the highlight of my day.
Joe Don Baker is a pretty good actor - in supporting roles, but not as the star of a film. I haven't seen a Joe Don film yet that suggests to me that he would be good in a starring role. So, watching Mitchell was a very painful experience.
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
I'd rather do almost anything else than watch this film...
This movie makes me sick. I could not stand any of the charachters in this film - they were all arrogant, holier-than-thou types. The plot was basically a jumble of several other 90's romantic comedies. I would rather do just about anything else than to watch this film ever again. I've been thinking of what some of those things would be - doing tax returns is even perferable to this film.
The Unearthly (1957)
Problems
When compared to films such as Cave Dwellers and Manos the Hands of Fate, the Unearthly was not really too bad, but it still had problems. Mainly it seemed like the film was dragging along most of the time, and the plot seemed convoluted. If it hadn't been for Joel and the 'bots, I would've probably fallen asleep about halfway through the film.
Space Mutiny (1988)
A Cheap Film
I have to wonder how much money the producers had to work with on this film? Were they given enough to come up with original material? The spaceship is clearly a copy from Battlestar Galitica. There's even a beam down which was copied from Star Trek. It has very cheap graphics during the title sequence - it's something that looks like it came straight from an 80's computer (Apple II, Commordore, Tandy, etc).
It's not the worst film I ever saw, but it's close. I watched the MST3K version, so at least it was watchable. And with the help of Mike and the 'bots, at least I had good laugh.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)
A great show.
I think MST3K was a great show. I knew about the show for years, but I hadn't really discovered the series until last year when my brother got the boxed sets and some other MST3K movies on DVD. I was able to borrow them, and got a personal introudction to some of the worst films ever made. These include Angel's Brigade, Cave Dwellers (aka Blademaster), Final Justice, Manos the Hands of Fate, and Space Mutiny. The running commentary was always so good. MST3k also did a great service by showing us just how bad films can really be - so that we appreciate the great movies so much more.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)
Tacked on
This movie seemed kind of tacked on to me. It didn't seem the same without Steve Guttenberg around. It almost seemed to me like the studio tacked this film on just to tie up the loose ends, they should've just let the series go with Police Academy V.
Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)
Should've stopped here.
As far as I was concerned, the movie was barely passable. If I had to give it a grade, I'd say either D+ or D. There was some humor in the film, but otherwise the plot was pretty thin. I think they should've let it go here instead of making two more films - especially without Guttenberg around.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Bad.
This is the worst film of the whole series. I wish they could've not bothered making this film and leaving the series at three films as the third movie wasn't really that bad. The special effects are cheesy and the story is pretty thin. The first film is immensly superior to this fourth film in every way despite the fact that the first film was 10 years old at this point. I wish studio heads would learn that when it comes to film series, sometimes it's best to quit while you're ahead. That's perferable to creating turkeys like this.
Ator 2: L'invincibile Orion (1983)
This is almost one of the worst films ever.
This is about one of the worst movies I'd ever seen. It's not the worst though - Manos the Hands of Fate holds that honor.
This movie has a lot of problems. To begin, this whole movie is a cheap rip-off of the Conan movies. There's the babe in a skimpy dress wearing a hubcap, the quiet Asian warrior, the cookie cutter bad guy, the almost mindless soliders, and so on. There's lots of continuity errors in this film. Some of the dumbest errors I've ever seen are in this film.
Fortunately when I watched this film I seen the MST3K version. Joel and the 'bots make the film watchable, otherwise I probably would've turned it off five minutes into the film.