Movie Time 2.0: TT mini reviews

[Voncaster]

Sometimes I see what is on sale for Apple TV. All 8 Leprechaun films were sold for $10 on St.Patrick's Day and I now own 8 Leprechaun films. I'm pretty sure I should be ashamed by this.

Leprechaun (1993)

A pretty unremarkable horror movie. A leprechaun terrorizes a family and a maintenance crew in a remote cabin.

This is a really cheap movie set almost entirely in one location; a cabin. It feels like Leprechaun is influenced by Evil Dead (cabin setting), Child's Play (diminutive antagonist) and Nightmare on Elm Street (antagonist quips).

I suppose Leprechaun is most well known for having Jennifer Aniston in the cast. I'm not a huge fan of hers of friends, so that aspect of the film is neither here or there for me.

This movie is not without its charms, but I think the sequels will improve on the original.

Rating (Out of 5):


Leprechaun 2 (1994)

I think this is a pretty big improvement on the original. Its set in Hollywood instead of a remote cabin. There are a lot more locations in the second film.

The protagonist is the adopted son of a con artist who gives celebrity death tours. Its a pretty fun job for a horror film. Both the Leprechaun and the con artist are tricksters. Its a fun setup to have them both try and out trick one another.

The production values are much better than the first movie. Its not a great looking movie, but it certainly looks better than the first film. Leprechaun 2 feels like an episode of Charmed with more violence and cursing.

This is not high art, but I enjoyed Leprechaun 2. I could see myself revisiting it on St. Patrick's day.

Rating (Out of 5):

 

[Neo Skimbleshanks]

When I watched them I remember thinking the original was the worst, at least of the ones with Davis. (Haven’t seen the other… others?) Just a pretty annoying film, mostly due to the characters, and the last death is like 25 minutes in to the movie? Weird.

 

[Violentvixen]

I adored The Day the Earth Blew Up. It's the kind of thing I can't believe exists. After decades of gimmicky reinventions trying to make Loony Toons relevant Warner Brothers finally did what they should have all along. Blew Up is an exercise in a classic style executed to a high degree. And you know what? WB was probably right to chase gimmicks instead. This style of cartoon--elegant and classy though it is--doesn't appeal to general audiences and hasn't for many many years. That just means that for animation fans Blew Up is that special kind of treat: not just an exemplar of the form but the rare passion project that exists despite its environment, like a bright chromide amid brackish waters.

Gorgeous movie! My daughter made it through the whole thing, even. (She got pretty squirmy by the end).

I am very disappointed that neither of you mentioned that there's a scene scored to Powerhouse. An important and delightful addition that I did not expect. My only complaint is that I wanted more Looney Tunes cartoon physics stuff in the movie but that's okay, it wasn't the tone they were going for.

I of course loved Petunia. "You're weird, you lick stuff you shouldn't and you're a nerd." She's great. Having a hard time finding screenshots of the scenes of her doing cool things but I was thrilled at how much characterization she got and that she drove the plot along in a few spots.

 

[jpfriction]

am very disappointed that neither of you mentioned that there's a scene scored to Powerhouse. An important and delightful addition that I did not expect.

Oh, definitely my favorite scene. “ooh factory scene I wonder if they’ll…there it is.”

 

[Voncaster]

The Mist (2007)
Fear changes everything

This is a first time watch for me.

A mysterious and dangerous mist engulfs towns people while they are in a grocery store. The towns people have to work together to survive.

During the first 30 minutes or so of this film. I thought it would be an all time great horror movie for me. I really like movies where people are trapped in a situation and have to figure a way out (Alien, Deep Blue Sea, Tremors, etc.).

Early on I thought the film was very good. There is a grocery store of people from different backgrounds and there is some heated discussion on what to do. Do you venture out into the mist or wait and hope help is on the way? Can you trust strangers (are people fundamentally good)? Who do you send out for dangerous exploration?

As the film plays out there were a couple of things that I didn't like as much.

This movie is too long: Its 2h 6m. I think the films should have been trimmed a bit to tighten it up.

The tone of the film is increasingly dark: A teenager dies early on. A worker dies from burns during an attack. Towards the end a religious zealot gains mind share of the grocery store. She acts a judge, jury and executioner. She sentences people to death.

This movie reminds me a lot of Tremors. Both have small towns where people work together to survive. In Tremors the towns people work together better and its more fun. In the Mist there is more division and the tone is bleaker. The Mist maybe more realistic, but I found myself wanting a little more fun injected into the film.

Comparing The Mist to Tremors, feels similar to me as comparing 28 Days Later to the Romero's Dawn or Day. 28 Days later may be more realistic with its bleak tone. Dawn and Day have a more fun tone despite the apocalyptic setting. I guess I prefer the later; I want more fun or moments of levity at the end of the world.

Despite my personal preferences for tone I did like the Mist.

On an aside, the CGI is all over the place. The first attack with CGI tentacles looks awful. It looks like fx work from Star Trek Voyager (early CGI vibes). Later there are extra dimensional spiders and giant mantis creatures shrouded in the mist that look really good. The creature design is mostly great.

Rating (out of 5):

 

[Octopus Prime]

I realized that, if I watch one a week, I’ll have time to watch every single Mission Impossible movie before Final Reckoning comes out.

The first one… is better than I remembered. Mainly because I remembered it being pretty different form the rest of the series so it’s less jarring that it’s a spy thriller rather than an action movie. And it does Spy Thriller very well.

It’s also the most 1996-ass movie you’ve ever seen

 

[Bongo]

I watched The Masque of the Red Death (1964), directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, adapted from a story by Edgar Allan Poe.

What a delightfully macabre, chilling, unpredictable, old-fashioned motion picture. Full of stunning sets and void of the slightest hint of realism. Vincent Price is on screen almost all of the time and everyone else is taking lessons from the master. I was especially pleased with Skip Martin as the jester.

If at all possible, someone should show this movie to Koji Igarashi.