The Rage is going to be eclipsed by the far superior Carrie under any measure, but it's actually fine on its own. It's pretty dark & heavy though. Toxic misogyny causes a graphic suicide, the teenage cruelty just seems worse than it was in the original. A little cheesy at some parts. Emily Bergl is a good actor she's just not her best here. Amy Irving and J Smith-Cameron lend some nice, grounding credibility. Not as bad as it looks.
Reviews
7 Reviews
Give it a shot
15 September 2020
I've heard the stories, the experience of seeing Psycho, or Jaws, or The Exorcist in theaters at the time. Just nothing like it up til then, truly visceral. Now, H20 is no Psycho, but it was my first introduction to Michael Myers and probably the gateway drug to all things horror for me. I remember being really scared. On the one hand it's entertaining - there's the stacked 90s cast, very on-brand / of-the-times script by Kevin Williamson (of Scream fame), and plenty of homages to the original. On the other hand, there are some truly frightening murders - it does not skimp on the gore - and the famous Halloween theme adapted into a haunting orchestral score is just uncanny. I'll admit I have my thumb on the scale rating H20 an 8 because it is near and dear to my heart, but it deserves to be higher than it is. Jaime Lee Curtis & Janet Lee's endearingly layered conversation in the parking lot about midway through is a sterling example of why.
Sphere
(1998)
Give it a shot
15 September 2020
Intellectual overload that doesn't always come together, but don't think more than it's asking you to (and it does, a lot) and you won't be disappointed. There are a few indelible scenes even now make my blood run cold. I do wonder what kind of movie it would have been had it been cast with no-name actors though, without the sort of psychological short-cut that undermines a character when it's played by a movie star. That being said, I really do like this movie because of, in descending order: Liev Schreiber ("It's bigger than Copernicus!"), Sharon Stone ("Once in a while, sometimes I might take, like...a piece of Xanax or something if I'm nervous. Something like that. Not...much."), Samuel L. Jackson ("Follow the yellow-brick road"), Queen Latifah (you'll see), and Dustin Hoffman ("What happens if Jerry gets mad?").
Deep Blue Sea
(1999)
Give it a shot
15 September 2020
It's one of those movies you find yourself watching over and over, not because it's great, but because you think it might magically improve on repeat viewings - the cinematic equivalent of opening and closing the refrigerator door. No doubt actors do movies like this for the paycheck, it's just really apparent here (with the exception of LL Cool J) and that does take away some of the fun. I realize, despite what the title may suggest, it's not meant to be very "deep," but it seems to have not quite fulfilled its potential. Though due shout outs to Aida Turturro in a blink & you'll miss it, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard, and, of course, Sam Jackson.
Lake Placid
(1999)
Give it a shot
15 September 2020
Lake Placid falls somewhere on the spectrum between Jaws and Piranha - admittedly closer to Piranha - and rounds out the handful of decent animals-gone-rogue movies of the end of last century (Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea, etc). It's more entertaining/fun than straight horror, I've found myself reaching for it on the occasional Saturday morning. Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson & Betty White make it truly worthwhile. Disappointing Bridget Fonda plays such a shrill neurotic though.
Anaconda
(1997)
Give it a shot
15 September 2020
The bar is pretty low for the animal-gone-rogue genre so it's hard to judge a "good" one when there's some arbitrary curve out there. But Anaconda still meets a certain threshold of quality for B-movie fare. (Not to knock B-movies, just have to know what you're having for dinner, ya know?) That being said, Jon Voight is 50% of the reason to see this. Some unexpectedly beautiful cinematography, a pleasant pan flute score, and a strong 90s supporting cast - JLo, Ice Cube, Mr Ismay from Titanic ("Freud? Who is he? Is he a passenger?") and Owen Wilson playing Owen Wilson - balance out any negatives like bad CGI and a snake that shrieks like a squirrel.
Piranha 3D
(2010)
Give it a shot
15 September 2020
Piranha 3D is better than it should be. I see it bc I'm a fan of Alexandre Aja (The Hills Havs Eyes, Mirrors) & Greg Nicotero (Walking Dead). Putting aside the to-be-expected B-movie antics like excessive boobage & some bad CGI (which admittedly is a large chunk of the movie) there's something elevated about it. Nice shots on the water, it's funny enough, Elisabeth Shue's badass. Ya know, it's campy! For what it's worth, critics actually liked it. Surprisingly good time.
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