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thomasam32
Reviews
The Black Hole (1979)
This was nightmare fuel as a kid
I saw The Black Hole at our local community college theater when I was ten years old. Yes, it's a Disney film but the visuals and particularly Maximillian gave me nightmares for weeks afterward. I haven't seen it since, but if I come across it at some point it would be great to watch it as an adult.
As I remember it, the details were a good blend of solid science and the adventure (though very dark) of a Star Trek movie. It was definitely not for kids though.
Before the feature film though they showed Hardware Wars, which my brother and I thought was very funny. It couldn't be more of a contrast with The Black Hole though.
News from Home (1976)
Your appreciation probably varies with your relationship with NYC
I didn't know any of Ackerman's work until a few years ago but now I've seen this and the Hotel Monterey. The Hotel Monterey is claustrophobic and, frankly, spooky but also makes it hard to avert your eyes. News from Home is mainly outdoors and doesn't have the same effect but the scenes are still small in their own way.
I first went to the city in the 70s with my father. We'd mainly go to the spots you'd expect: baseball games, the twin towers, midtown. I think this creates a fascination about life back then because I have hazy memories of a very different city. If you like getting drawn in by a certain nostalgia you'll be immersed by this to a certain extent. Even though I was however I couldn't help but feel like the scenes went on several beats too long. If anything I wanted a more extensive videologue of the city from that time.
It's tough to make it through in one sitting unless you're only partly paying attention. If you're the right audience it's worth it. If you aren't you'll either hate it as you get through or turn it off early on. I kind of straddle that, but can't deny that Ackerman's films (the two I've seen) have the quality of living through the time. When in the right mood I love this stuff.