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evileric13
Reviews
Fight Club (1999)
Best of the 90s, one of the all time bests...
Can't think of much to say about this that hasn't been said. But after trying to think of the words for over three years now, I decided just to say it's the only film i've seen that i'd give 10.5/10. Manages to be faithful to and different from the novel at the same time. Let's have another movie of a Palahniuk novel, soon...
Altered States (1980)
Pretty good stuff... bad ending - Spoilers
fairly neato "what if psychedelics really can change external reality/unlock various Why Are We Here mysteries" story. Hurt plays a character very loosely based on John Cunningham Lilly, the isolation tank doctor who later used acid, PCP and ketamine to communicate with dolphins. Hurt does a good job, though Lilly wasn't much of a hunky 30 something blonde type (I'm not saying Charles Haid shoulda played Jessup, but you get my drift). It would probably be better with an older actor, not mention Russell's bizarre handling of Chayefsky's dialogue, one of the main reasons Chayefsky disowned it (you really need subtitles, especially the scene after the climax where Haid and Balaban are shouting at the each other about what do with the experiment next, which is way more interesting and drawn out in the novel).
Some stuff, takes too long, such as the sand figures when Jessup first takes the peyote/Amanita mixture with the indians, and the whole ape-man thing takes up way too much time and shoulda been shown more from Jessup's viewpoint. As the wife, Blair Brown supplies way too much unneccessary nudity (not as much as Hurt of course) and says the word "love" too much. Of course she's overcompensating for her husband's inability to say it once, and the scene where she proposes to him is truly gut wrenching ("ok, we'll get married since it's that important too" I'm a guy incapable of saying 'I love you' myself so i can relate to Jessup in some way, but that is grotesque).
The ending is very lame (guess what Jessup is finally able to say to his wife), but Paddy wrote that one so he only has himself to blame. Should be remade with a better director, namely anyone but Russell, who's way too obsessed with throwing in the visuals out nowhere (it would be better if the 'trips' were kinda eased into and shown in more detail (watch the first tank trip and also how those sand figures take up more time in the first shroom trip than the cool parts of it). And let's not get into his obsession with getting Hurt and Brown naked at any opportunity (yeah, they're both then-unknowns getting cast as leads a major movie by the writer of Network and they have to in the beginning, but the ending when they have clothes on in the book? Please Kenny, save it for Whore and Crimes of Passion) Chayefsky probably has something he did with disowning it that prevents it from remade.
Flawed would be near-masterpiece with good supporting performances from Haid and Balaban, and a concept that would become very influential later on in lesser movies (that awful J.Blo movie The Cell and the red pill scene in The Matrix, anyone?). Actually parts of it clearly influenced better films like Dark City (the visions of Murdoch's childhood/former identity) and as it as pointed out before, Fight Club (featuring a completely hallucinated main character). 7 outta 10.
Foxfire (1996)
Bad book adaptation, still a decent movie
Watched this for the first time in 2 or 3 years the other day, having read the book since then. Hate to agree with the popular viewpoint, but it's true... moving from the 50s to the 90s is a bad idea. In 95/96, you don't get suspended for 3 weeks for accusing a teacher of molesting you, the guys aren't all 50s style jock bullies who try to gang rape a character who they have no reason to be concerned about (she's walking one's abused girlfriend home... "let's rape her." The four other guys... "yeah why not." Not one of these supposedly 1996 guys try to stop him. There's at least one, probably three, who realize their coach/teacher is an a**hole who forced himself on a pathologically shy virginal redhead).
However, there's a good performance from Jolie before she became a major annoyance (anything after Gia), a great performance by Burress, able to convey that she is rebelling against the evil male hierarchy of a hick town in upstate New York in 1956 that somehow got transported through the Donnie Darko time vessel into 1996 Portland (why not just set it in Seattle and cut out the middle man while yer butchering a pretty good book for the flannel generation?). She also has great chemistry with the always scenery-chewing Jolie, back when it worked... see Girl Interrupted for a case where Burress woulda been much better (or even Claire Danes, who auditioned and like Burress would be much more compatible with Winona, not resorting to all those notice me Oscar antics) She'd be a way better cop in Bone Collector too.(i saw some show where she played a butch, kinda guncrazy cop or Secret Service agent, damned if i can remember what it was now). Maddy's transformation into walking on top of the bridge thus works way better than it has any right to (the first time I saw it, I was almost as moved as when Jack Nicholson inspires Will Sampson to lift the tub. And just like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I then read the book).
Had this been set in the 50s and directed by Figgis (who ended up just producing) instead of a casting director it probably coulda been a classic "chick flick that guys like too." If Figgis could remake it with the original 50s story (maybe Jena Malone as Maddy, Lauren Ambrose or Christina Ricci as Legs... no they're both 23 or 24 now. i'm no casting director, but Carter could stick to that job)...
6 outta 10. It's not mediocre because of the very good leads but too unfaithful to the source and poorly directed to be considered good.
Wow, I'm a guy and made it thru the review without talking about the scene where Jolie and Burress take their shirts off. Woops. I just did.
Los nuevos extraterrestres (1983)
"Hideous Control Now!!!"
What to say about Pod People... besides IT STINKS! Well most of the MST3K crew's classic lines have already been summarized. This is definitely one of the worst movies to be shown on MST, but the classic riffing of Joel and the bots makes it pretty painless. The sketches with the keyboards and Joel and the bots rendition of "Hear the Engines Roll Now" are classic.
"Hear the engines roll now... Idiot control now... Hideous control now!"
Daddy-O (1958)
ROCK, ROCK CANDY BABY!
One of the better MST3K episodes. Wouldn't wanna watch it without Joel, Servo and Crow's help though. Dick Contino's singing is pretty funny though. I'd watch the movie just for his classic song about rocking a candy baby...
The Thing (1982)
"That thing wants to be us..."
There's not much to say about this movie that hasn't already been said, but i've watched this movie literally dozens of times over the past few years and it keeps getting better. All that can be said is it wears well with the time, unlike all the crappy horror movies they keep making today. Definitely the best movie Kurt Russell and Wilford Brimley have been in, and it features another great performance from Keith David, a truly underrated supporting actor. All the actors work well together, adding the tension needed to push the story over the top. Carpenter has made some other classics (Halloween, They Live, Christine, etc.), but this is his best. Just find someplace warm to hide, and trust no one (except this review of course)...