unclejay73 Reviews

That's Adequate (1989)

Unknown and unnoticed...yet brilliant mockumentary!

[7/10 · 20 June 2008]

"That's Adequate" is a very funny, satirical romp that no one ever saw. It went to Sundance in 1989 followed by a very, very limited release in New York and L.A. theaters in early 1990. It came, it went...rapidly.

I first heard of the film when I saw Bruce Willis talk about it briefly in a television interview. He didn't say much except that it was a spoof on documentaries chronicling a fictional movie studio and that he was playing himself. My local video store at that time carried every movie, so I rented it and what I watched, was a very funny stab at the mockumentary. This was long after "This is Spinal Tap"...but long before the mockumentary went mainstream via Christopher Guest.

The film centers around the rise and fall of Adequate Pictures, a low-budget film studio, which is hosted and narrated as a documentary by Tony Randall (playing himself). The studio owner Max Roebling (a hysterical James Coco), is interviewed by Joe Franklin (also playing himself) and they discuss the cheating, double-crossing, and corruption Max endured to make his ridiculous films such as "Einstein on the Bounty," "Little Elroy Meets Baby Frankenstein," and "Slut of the South."

To write a full review would just give it all away, but the celebrity roster on this film is huge including...Robert Downey Jr., Richard Lewis, Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Robert Townsend, Stuart Pankin, Peter Riegert, Robert Vaughan, Marshall Brickman, Susan Dey and yes, Bruce Willis. The gags and the dialogue are silly but so much fun here from late writer/director Harry Hurwitz. This movie should've been bigger.

You're only bet is to track it down on VHS which is long out of print, but not highly sought after...do yourselves a favor, if you're a huge movie buff, and a big fan of this genre, check this film out...you will appreciate this film's humor...which is smart, sharp and risqué.

The Island (2005)

Bay's redemption...

[8/10 · 22 August 2007]

Do not believe any of the critics and do not be misguided because it's a Michael Bay flick, "The Island" is a very good movie; action-packed, well crafted and good sci-fi.

It's 2019, the population is very small and it seems to be confined into a large facility controlled by scientist Dr. Merrick (Sean Bean). Apparently, the Earth has been contaminated and those who live in this confined, Utopian society are considered fortunate. Everyone except the doctors and guards wear the same clothing, their diets are controlled, their knowledge is minimal and sexual attraction is prohibited. But there is chance for a fresh start. Twice a day there is a lottery, where a selected person wins a trip to The Island, a contaminated-free paradise where a new start on life can happen, helping to rebuild the environment and restore society.

Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor, just off of "Star Wars Episode III") is curious. He wants to know why society is the way it is. Why is everyday planned out for him. Why is he being controlled. He also suspects that something wrong is amidst. He tells all this information to Dr. Merrick who finds this behavior very interesting, and unfortunate. Of course, things get a little deeper when Lincoln's gorgeous best friend, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson), has been selected to go to The Island. After some investigation, Lincoln discovers that there is no Island, only certain death. All who have been picked in the lottery, seem to face some sort of medical treatment followed by death. Lincoln locates Jordan and tells her what he's discovered and after a successful escape from the facility, both 'fugitives' find out that there's nothing wrong with the outside world, and find themselves in the middle an Arizona desert.

Merrick then calls Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou), a special enforcement agent, to track down our two heroes. With the help of McCord (Steve Buscemi), an employee of the facility, Lincoln and Jordan realize that they are, as well as the whole society at the facility, clones, created by Dr. Merrick with the intention of adding an additional lifetime to the average human being. When a body part, organ, tissue or such ages or no longer functions on the human body, a replacement is taken from their 'ordered' clone. The clone is then terminated after the operation, but Merrick manipulates the clones to think that they are going to The Island. But the clones are people too, with human feelings and emotion, and Lincoln wants to put an end to Merrick's operation. McCord helps Lincoln and Jordan get to Los Angeles, to search for their sponsors (the original hosts), or any means of help. But Laurent's posse is hot on their tail...and the action commences.

"The Island" is an action-packed thrill ride. It's no doubt that Michael Bay is a great action- director, but he tried too hard to become the next James Cameron with "Armageddon" & "Pearl Harbor," and the "Bad Boys" films are just terrible. This is the Michael Bay that gave us "The Rock," this is Bay's redemption.

Reminiscent of "Logan's Run" and "THX-1138," mixed with Bay's trademark action and visuals, "The Island" is a well-done, solid sci-fi film.

Wilder Napalm (1993)

"Wilder Napalm"; odd, funny & original...

[7/10 · 30 July 2007]

Here's a rare gem for those of you that haven't seen or most likely not even heard of this. During the 80s, Dennis Quaid was a hot commodity, but in the early 90s, Dennis Quaid disappeared from the scene. In 1993, he burst back onto the big screen with three movies, all of which unfortunately bombed. Two of those films I liked very much, and let me elaborate on one of them.

"Wilder Napalm" is a crazy flick about two brothers, Wallace (Quaid) and Wilder (Arliss Howard), whom are...fire starters: yes they have the power of pyrokinetics.

Wilder has decided not to use his power anymore (for anything not useful anyway) after a fatal incident during his youth, where he and his brother blew up an abandoned house which killed a man who was inside unbeknownest to them. Nowadays, Wilder is a firefighter and is married to the wacky Vida (Debra Winger), who is under house arrest for, guess what, arson (see the movie to understand this better). Wilder also hasn't spoken to Wallace in 5 years, because Wallace set his hair on fire during his bachelor party.

Wallace loves his pyro power and uses it for amusement. He also runs a Carnival and is the head clown. When the Carnival comes to Wilder's town, Wallace decides to reunite with his brother and also to see Vida, whom which Wallace has been in love with! Vida's house arrest sees its end, but Wilder is preoccupied. So, Wallace steps in and the fun begins. Brother vs. brother...fighting fire with fire!

Some great fireball throwing in this flick...eat your heart out, Drew Barrymore!

The film also has some really weird, yet funny elements, like Wilder's fire unit sings songs acapella during firefights and after wards. Jim Varney (globally known as 'Ernest') pops in as Wallace's redneck carnival buddy. "Wilder Napalm" is brilliantly shot...and cleverly put together...very off the wall and avant-guard.

Give this one a look...

Slipstream (1989)

Cool film, yet needed more!

[5/10 · 20 March 2002]

My first viewing of "Slipstream" was on video in 1990. I never heard of it until I saw an ad for it in one of those 'Coming Soon on Home Video' magazines that video stores used to carry. I noticed that it was science-fiction, I noticed that it starred Mark Hamill and Bill Paxton and I noticed that Steven Lisberger, director of "Tron" and Gary Kurtz, producer of "Star Wars," were the team behind it. I WAS SOLD! I couldn't wait to see this film. So, I rented it, and was very disappointed.

Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, "Slipstream" follows the story of Byron (Bob Peck), a mysterious android who has the power of healing. He is also wanted for a murder that he didn't commit and is running from the so-called "law." The film opens with a chase scene of the ruthless lawmen, Tasker (Mark Hamill) and Belitski (Kitty Aldridge), capturing Byron and en route to taking him in. They stop at a dirty, rundown diner to eat and run into Matt (Bill Paxton), a poor, two-bit arms dealer that manages to outsmart the lawmen and steal Byron in hopes to cashing him in for a big reward. But not without Tasker shooting Matt with a poison dart.

Matt and Byron fly off into the "slipstream," a dangerous wind current that was created by man's destruction of the environment. The evil Tasker and the sympathetic Belitski, are trailing them in hopes to gain back their criminal. Byron manages to heal Matt of his poisoning and their journey leads them to friendship. They seek refuge at a confined location run by a newly reformed society (led by F. Murray Abraham). There, Byron finds true love with a human woman, and Byron himself starts to feel like a human, something he's always yearned for. But when Tasker enters the new civilization, all hell breaks loose.

That's pretty much the heart of it. There's more to tell, but I'll stop here.

The film has that "post-war" feel to it, as seen in many movies like the Mad Max films. The look of the film is great, the film's score by Elmer Bernstein is spectacular and the premise is very intriguing. Mark Hamill is most of the reason why you should watch the film, he delivers one of his best performances ever here. Playing the sinister lawman Tasker, Hamill sports a black trench coat, mustache and beard, a slick weapon and drives a wicked aircraft. The man is the complete opposite of Luke Skywalker, looks like he could've blended in with "The Matrix" crew; Bill Paxton is always cool, always funny, yet not used in this film properly, maybe miscast; Bob Peck (you might remember him as the Game Warden in "Jurassic Park") is perfect as the android Byron; and Oscar winners Ben Kingsley and F. Murray Abraham turn in respectable cameos.

Written by Tony Kayden, whose last effort before this was the ridiculous Anthony Michael Hall actioner "Out of Bounds," really dropped the ball on his script. There are so many things that are not explained, the characters are not well-developed at all, to the point where you're just watching a well-produced mess. So much could've been done with this material, the film had potential to be a really good science-fiction fantasy. Director Lisberger does all he can do with the dying script, definitely not a worthy follow-up to his admirable "Tron." Mark Hamill did a live Q&A on the internet a few years back and someone asked him about this film. He didn't say much, but he did say that the story kept changing during production, and there were production mishaps...so maybe the entire crew is at fault. But, it's definitely worth a look if your a genre fan, or even if its just to see Mark Hamill at his coolest. I admit, I find myself watching it from time to time...because even though it's not good, it still has a sense of charm. Probably because of its potential.

The R1 DVD from Front Row Entertainment is horrendous. Cheaply manufactured, no features of any kind, pan and scan with VHS video and audio quality. The R2 from In Video Entertainment has much better video and audio, but still no features and still pan and scan.

I would really like to know what the hell happened with this film. It would be great if some DVD company, perhaps Blue Underground, Synapse or Media Blasters, can get the rights to this flick and release a Special Edition DVD. I'm talking a complete remastered, anamorphic widescreen transfer in its 2.35:1, commentary, documentaries...the works.

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