Reviews by moviebuff15

When it comes right down to it, "Poltergeist" is pure silliness, starring adult protagonists who soon prove themselves to be TOO STUPID TO LIVE. The problem is not merely that is 'out-dated,' although it is. "Psycho" was outdated, but it had a good story and a good villain.

I'm not impressed with "Poltergeist"'s story at all, and the villains (the ghosts haunting the house and ultimately, Satan) are only interesting if you make them interesting. I've never seen evil seem so lame.

Suburban mom Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams)- peppy, smiley and complete with 80's hair- does not seem the least bit alarmed when furniture starts moving by itself and her daughter Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke, whose life tragically ended not too long after the movie was made) begins conversing with spirits through the television.

Sure, why be concerned? She is as bubbly as ever while placing little Carol Anne on a spot on the kitchen floor which seems too be magnetized, only to watch her daughter go sliding around the room. Just when you think Diane seems like a pretty good arguement for sterilization, she goes and does something that hits spectacular new heights of stupid.

Mom is not so bubbly when the house begins showing signs of all-out possession and *GASP* Carol Anne is sucked through the television, a scene you must have some knowledge of unless you have lived under the ground for the last 35 years.

Together, Mom and dopey dad Steve (Craig T. Nelson,) along with their two older kids Dana and Robbie (Dominique Dunne) and Robbie (Oliver Robins) enlist the help of a group of wily parapsychologists to help locate young Carol Anne in- dum-dum-dum!- THE BEYOND!

This movie might be moderately successful if director Tobe Hooper didn't treat the situation in such a goofy way. As people get slimed, possessed toys go flying and a toy clown smiles menacingly from behind it's make-up, it's hard to take any of the other elements (including the unexpected Christian overtones) seriously.

Let me make this clear- I do like '80's horror. Not "The Thing," so much, but "The Shining," "An American Werewolf...," and Bernard Rose's criminally underrated "Paperhouse-" those I like. Hell, I even like "The Lost Boys" starring the late Corey Haim, which was pure cornball silliness with an extra topping of cheese.

Here's the difference between "The Lost Boys" and "Poltergeist"... "The Lost Boys" did the wise thing with a story like this and decided to go all the way as a comedy, while "Poltergeist" remained purely in camp territory. "The Lost Boys" featured genuinely fun, likable characters, while "Poltergeist" tried to make up for it's lack of character appeal by involving kids and dogs in the mayhem. This is my opinion. Take it or leave it.

The first part of this film, led by a manic Bette Midler, plays like "Toddlers & Tiaras" for the Great Depression era. Mama Rose (Midler) spends so much time immersing her daughters in showbiz and sick infantilism, insisting on making them wear little girl's clothes well into puberty, that she forgets what is best for her girls altogether.

Though not as dark a musical as Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" or Lars Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark,," "Gypsy" permeates a diseased kind of wistfulness, marked by broken dreams and shattered egos. Meanwhile Bette Midler plays Mama Rose as if it was her last performance on earth, but backed up by the stagy sets and old-timey attitude, her performance is actually a strength, not a deterrent.

Rose's daughters, Louise and June (Cynthia Gibb and Jennifer Rae Beck) , are as different as different can be, but remain close, their bonds strengthened by having survived their mother. Louise, gawky and shy, is innocent and soft spoken, while June, the 'star' of mama's show, is more political and assertive.

Mama Rose is both outrageously self-centered and ridiculously narcissistic, guided not so much by dreams as delusions. She ruins her daughters' lives and later expects them to thank her for it. But it's hard not to pity her as she struggles to find success in a world that doesn't hand out fame easy.

Into this disastrous dynamic strolls Herbie (Peter Riegert,) an agent who attempts to help Mama Rose on her way to success in exchange for her hand in marriage. But it seems that Mama can not be held down, and even Herbie may soon grow sick of her games.

There is some overtones in this film, which could be considered an allegory for loss of innocence in the entertainment industry. The acting is good but not amazing, but the story and the music are the real reasons to watch this. The plot itself is based on a memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee (AKA Louise) who found fame at long last at the price of her innocence. Overall the movie is worth watching as a very good musical, with Bette Midler running the show as crazy Mama Rose. Recommended.

Okay, confession time- this is my first "Planet of the Apes" movie. I have never seen the Charlton Heston original. Hell, I haven't even seen the crappily reviewed Tim Burton film with Helena Bonham Carter and Mark Wahlberg.

But I have to say, despite my lack of experience with the 'Apes' franchise, this one grabbed my attention right away. This is up there with Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" as science fiction at its most emotionally charged, tinged with social commentary.

This is a star-studded cast- James Franco, John Lithgow, Tom Felton of the "Harry Potter" films- and yet the film belongs to the apes. These CGI wonders are incredibly realistic, and through the magic of modern technology, given the facial expressions of actors.

The plot- Will (James Franco) works for a scientific research facility, where he is trying to create a serum that will help the brain repair itself, curing maladies such as Alzheimer's and other mental disorders. His heartache and his inspiration is his father Charles (John Lithgow) whose mind is in the grip of the disease.

For reasons I will not go into here, Will is put in charge of raising Ceasar, a highly intelligent ape. Ceasar's expressions are contributed by Andy Serkis, the face behind Peter Jackson's Gollum and King Kong. Will quickly gets attached to Ceasar, but Will veterinarian girlfriend, Caroline (Frieda Pinto,) wisely advises Will that Ceasar will not be young and cute forever.

Ceasar's presumed of abandonment at the hands of Will and abuse perpetrated by cruel ape handler Dodge (Tom Felton, mustering every bit of his meanness from his Draco Malfoy days) is upsetting, but crucial to Ceasar's development as a character. But rather than make Will (Franco) into a villain, the film makes him a essentially good character who grows to care for Ceasar deeply, but can not take charge of his fate.

It hurt me to see Ceasar abandoned and abused by the humans, so watching him break free and command a legion of primates in the ape revolution is gratifying. Most of the time, the movie makes you believe in it's characters and happenings 100% percent, which is hard to do in a super-intelligent-apes-take-over-the-world movie. Ceasar is an amazing character who grows so much throughout the movie, reaching a peak of development that some human film characters never even aspire to.

You don't have to be a "Planet of the Apes" fan to see there is some kind of genius at work here, and this timely and relevant film will thrill and engross you. Go see it. Really.

"Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is a willfully ridiculous, ridiculously bloody, balls-out and slightly touching film that allows the hillbillies to be the heroes for a change.

Tucker and Dale, far from the chainsaw-wielding, pig-raping rednecks we have come to expect form horror movies and West Virginia jokes, are just trying to have a nice time at their vacation home when out of the blue come a group of college kids who also want to have a nice time... but quickly become an uncompatant lynch-mob over a series of misunderstanings.

The progression of the plot is super simple- somehow, under various circumstances, these doltheads keep killing themselves all around Tucker and Dale's vacation home. Meanwhile, lovelorn Dale (Tyler Labine) harbors a crush on one of the college girls (Katrina Bowden,) while Dale ("Firefly"'s Alan Tudyk) encourages him to believe in himself.

What really matters here are the jokes- delivered steadily and envoking a lot of laughs, the dialogue is one of the funniest in recent indie horror-comedies. The kills are brilliant in their own way, straining credulity to the extreme while still remaining hilarious and entertaining.

I did not know how they did it, but I actually found the romance between bearish, backwoods boy Dale and slim, blonde college student Alison (Bowden) to be believable in the context of the movie. Anyway, it's no less plausible than the college students somehow killing themselves- whether by fire, woodchipper (shades of "Fargo") or tree branch (WTF?!)

But the "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" has a big, warm, squishy heart at the middle of it, for all it's guts and gore. It also provides a valueable message about not making snap judgements about people, with making the audience slog through the after-school special shit.

Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine give hilarious performances as the two harmless hillbillies at the center of the story, while Katrina Bowden is fittingly likable as the college girl that Dale falls head over heels for. The ending gets a little overly silly, but the movie will have won your heart long beforehand. "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is a awesome entry into the horror/comedy genre.

When my dad tried to get me to watch this movie, my response was "A western? I hate westerns! Blech-arg!" But considering the psychological mind-fuck films he had watched on my request, I figured I owed him recommendation-wise. So begrudgingly, I watched "Open Range" with him.

I didn't expect to like it. Heck, maybe I didn't WANT to like it, just so I could look at him all squinty-eyed and sigh and say "See? Westerns suck. Now I don't have to watch one ever again!"

But, to my surpise, I found myself engrossed in the plot and the characters, not to mention the unconventional casting choices (Annette Bening playing a character who ISN'T a stuck-up bitch? Michael Gambon playing a stone-cold killer?) If you, like me, claim to hate westerns, "Open Range" might be a good place to start.

So, anyway, a summary of the plot might be nice? Right? Boss (Robert Duvall) and Charley (Kevin Costner) are cowboys navigating a beautiful but barren Western landscape, accompanied by buddies hefty, fun-loving Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Mexican teenager Button (Diego Luna.)

When the men ride into a town crawling with corruption and greed, Boss and Charley decide they have no choice but stand up and fight. Meanwhile, Charley grapples with a violent past and his affections for Sue (Annette Bening,) the local physician's sister.

The actors all hand in good performances, as far as I'm concerned- I can't find fault with anyone here. I also appreciate the fact that there was plenty of gunslinging and action, but not to the expense of other things. There was also some great humor (always an asset, but also a rarity in the films that I usually watch) and beautiful scenery, capturing all the mystique and glory of the original, untampered-with American West.

To provide a concise closing paragraph, this is an entertaining, engrossing, and altogether likable movie, which broadened my appreciation, just a little, for the kind of movie that has until now passed me by. Everyone should be taken out of their comfort zone occasionally, and for me, this excursion into the unknown was a welcome surpise.

"Julien Donkey-Boy" is an occasionally emotional, mainly tedious foray into the art of Dogme 95, laden with grainy visuals and non-existant plotting. It recalls the much better film "Buddy Boy," which came out the same year. "Buddy Boy" director Mark Hanlon knew how to engage your interest and make you care about his main character, despite his shortcomings.

Julien is a 20-something Paranoid Schizophrenic played by Ewen Bremner, one of the most underutilized character actors of today. Julien lives with his equally disturbed father, younger brother, and sister, who he has impregnanted before the film's beginning.

Uncomfortable yet? The whole movie works to make the viewer feel discomfort while also invoking sadness and emotion. At this it is only moderately successful. The dialogue is often random and directionless. The experience of the film is akin to having hundreds of puzzle pieces of differing shapes and sizes, none of them fitting together in the least.

While watching, you come to a crossroads- should you spend a indefinite ammount trying to put together the pieces, or should you leave the Goddamned thing for somebody else to solve? The visuals of "Julien Donkey-Boy" are willfully awful, and presumably shot on a home video camera bought from the bargain bin of Best Buy for a total of five dollars.

Ewen Bremner does an excellent job as Julien, but although Julien isn't innately evil or unlikable, it's hard to emotionally invest in his plight. In fact, the movie has it's meaningful moments, but most of what is has to say isn't particularily innovative or profound, and it's hard to feel many emotions other than bewilderment and disgust.

Meanwhile, "Julien Donkey-Boy" functions more as a curiousity item than a movie, with famous filmmaker Werner Herzog playing Julien's gas-mask wearing, cough syrup- guzzling father, who offers to pay Julien's younger brother (Evan Neumann) ten dollars to dance with him in his dead mother's dress. Meanwhille, Julien's sister Pearl (Chlow Sevigny) prepares to have her brother's baby.

The film is dedicated to director Harmony Korine's Schizophrenic Uncle Eddy, and although I hate to criticize a personal film making project (unlike the soulless Hollywood moneygrabbers I love to have a go at,) I must. "Julien Donkey-Boy" is hard to sit through and willfully incoherent like a cross between a David Lynch throwaway project and a bad acid trip. It is one of the few movie I can honestly say had very little point, and isn't that a shame? Not for the majority of sober filmgoers.

I wasn't a fan of this film when it first came out, I must admit after three or four viewings I have quite grown to like it. It's an action movie, and for all intents and purposes an intelligent one, but don't expect a ton of depth in terms of character development or symbolism.

The plot is pretty simple- a colony of about 1.5 million bug-like aliens have their ship break down on them above Johannesburg. After several months of the ship just, well, hovering there, a team of people get inside the ship and find that the aliens are agitated, starving, and living in their own filth.

The 'colonization' of the aliens goes pretty much exactly the way I thought it would in reality- no laser beams, no probing, just good ol'-fashioned oppression and humans sticking their noses where they don't belong. The people build a ghetto for the aliens to live in squalor and fear, and tensions rise.

The 'her a the center of the story is Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) a clean-cut buearocrat who does everything asked of him with punctuality and zest. The film is told in found-footage 'flashback,' where friends and family lament the fate of poor Wikus, who seems to have gotten himself in too deep.

The turning point in Wikus' life seems pretty typical for movies like these, as he ham-handedly slimes himself with some alien goo, which incites his transformation from a man to... wait for it... one of them. As soon as he begins changing, he is considered barely even human and the people he once considered friends want to dissect him and use his parts for their own ends.

As you can probably guess, Wikus seeks help in the most (ahem) unlikely place... from the creatures he once feared and hated. The actor Sharlto Copley is great here, and I'm glad he seems to be getting more recognition. I don't usually like action movies (especially ones like the "Transformers" series that rely to heavily on CGI,) but this one was pretty good in that it didn't let the special effects dominate the movie and it had a point.

Despite the fact that it's a story about tolerance and a allegory of Apartheid, things don't get that sappy, and Wikus' change of heart, ever so slight, doesn't seem too forced or implausible. I would have liked to have seen some more development of the two main aliens, personally- the character development there seemed to be a little weak.

I know it's such a cliche to hail the special effects of a mainstream movie, but the creation of the aliens, or 'prawns,' as they are not-so-affectionately called, is really quite extraordinary. It's hard to make insect-like extraterrestrials sympathetic or even plausible, but this movie pulls it off.

"District 9" is definitely worth a watch, mostly for the strength of Copley's performance. None of the other performances really stand out, but then again, Wikus and the aliens are given the majority of the screen time, so it would take someone really extraordinary (maybe like Christoph Waltz) to steal the spotlight from them.

Action film skeptics and people who don't know the first thing about Apartheid should still like this, because the movie doesn't dwell in explosion territory and the theme is selective yet somehow universal- that people fear what they don't understand and that most people will do as they're told, and lack the strength to do otherwise. Chew on that, fimmgoers.

Bloody and brilliant, "Dead Man's Shoes" is an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. The 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is both a crying shame and a sacrilege, because this is Shane Meadows' masterpiece- a film that transcends the revenge genre, delivering a heart-pounding, intense story that lets events unfold in a way that is anything but simple.

Richard (Paddy Considine) returns home from military service with no intention of living a nice quiet life and settling down. The target of his rage- a low-rent drug gang that did some terrible things to his borderline simple brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell) some time before.

After Richard threatens a drug dealer and later gives him an unsettlingly twitchy apology, the gang of thugs suspect that ol' Anthony's brother might be a few screws short of a tool box, but don't know how to react. Sonny (Gary Stretch,) the most sadistic and smartest (and in a group like this, that's not saying much) takes charge as best as he is able, but they are no match for Richard's cool-headed brutality and military training.

This is when things get decidedly more ambiguous. What exactly happened to Anthony? What parts of Richard's viewpoint are unreliable. When he faces the thug who has broken off from the gang and raised a family, Richard grows less and less sure of himself, leading to a shocking conclusion that rivals the majority of thrillers in it's freshness and great writing.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Paddy Considine's performance here is one of the best acting jobs I've seen. He makes Richard thoroughly believable and doesn't stoop to any tough-guy cliches. What Richard lacks in size, he makes up for in calm, calculated violence. His performance is powerful and a testament to lesser-known actors who seem to slip through the cracks all too often.

Toby Kebbell, who gets overlooked all too often is also very good as Anthony, a simple-minded fellow whose naivete proves to be dangerous as he navigates a rough area without his older brother, who he looks up to, to protect him. He is very believable playing a mentally retarded character, and doesn't overplay his hand or make his character a ham-fisted caricature.

The other actors never match up to Considine's ferocious portrayal of a vengeful loner, but they do fine on their own. There's a scene between the reformed drug dealer and his wife that is very powerful and moving, and the thugs do good job as their drug-hazed obliviousness turns to fear.

There is also some humor (mostly derived from the stupidity of the antagonists) and some tender moments between Richard and his brother. "Dead Man's Shoes" proves there is still some smarts left in the thriller genre, and boy do I love it for that. I benefits from a smart script and a blistering performance from Paddy Considine. Watch it, and you will not be wasting your time. I didn't waste mine.

Despite a fairly small viewership, Bobcat Godtwait's pitch-black comedy "God Bless America" has proved to be somewhat controversial since it's release, which was no doubt what Goldtwait intended. Rumors abound about it's 'glorification of violence,' 'tasteless content,' and so-called 'Liberal agenda.' So here I am to weigh in my two cents.

First of all, the allegation that the film is political propaganda is pure bollocks. Despite the mockery of extreme right-wingers and 'Obama-as-Hitler' ridiculousness, "God Bless America" proves to be, like it's protagonist Frank, largely politically neutral.

By the beginning of the film, Frank (Joel Murray) is enraged and psychotically angry. Drinking and fantasizing about killing the inconsiderately loud next-door couple and their baby does little to quench his increasing blood lust.

To most people, Frank seems like a quiet, mild-mannered middle-aged man. But in his head Frank lives a much more violently intriguing life, as most of us do. Divorced, father to a bratty little child who cannot be bothered to spend time with him, Frank is fed up with what he perceived as the downfall of American society.

But it is not until he is diagnosed a inoperable brain tumor and loses his job that he finally snaps, cashing in his military service and targeting the b**chy star of a reality TV show, Chloe (Maddie Hasson) of "Chloe's Sweet Sixteen."

Joel Murray is outstanding as Frank, but Tara Lynn Barr is less impressive as Roxy, the sixteen-year-old girl who accompanies Frank on his killing spree. Roxy has feelings for Frank that are not reciprocated, and the platonic relationship between the two is one of the main points of the film. That and a whole lot of anger.

"God Bless America" has lots of satisfyingly bloodthirsty violence, a great soundtrack, and equally bloodthirsty satire as Frank and Roxy dissect modern American society. The fact that we sympathize and are to some extent compliant in the killings does not keep me from loving this movie, and is instead and interesting manipulation of audience loyalties.

Joel Murray proves he is every bit as good if not better than his brother Bill, and his rage and disgust is palpable. Roxy is a slightly annoying and overly sadistic sidekick, but some of her lines are funny and her presence is crucial to the plot.

So is Frank right? Have we become an ugly and cruel society? I would argue that the ugliness is intrinsic to human nature period, American or not. I think other countries have slightly higher standards when it comes to film and television programming, but I also think that the need to shock and degrade is in our genetic material, whether we live in the US or France or Timbuktu.

Nevertheless, I recommend this movie to people who enjoy the darker side of humanity presented in film. My dad argues that to like a movie like this, you must HAVE a dark side, which doesn't say much to the fans of this movie. But one could also argue that some extent, your reaction to this kind of comedy shows what kind of person you are. For better for worse, I am a fan. That is all.

The relationship between rival baseball-playing sisters Kit and Dottie is what lies at the heart of "A League of their Own." The film is set against the backdrop of World War II, where able-bodied men were sent to fight and society wanted it bother ways- for women to step up to the task of 'man's work' while staying true to their femininity.

Well-liked Dottie (Geena Davis) and tomboyish Kit (Lori Petty) live a tough and mostly uneventful life on a dairy farm in Rural Oregon in the 40's. When obnoxious agent Ernie Capadino (John Lovitz)offers them a chance to play baseball professionally, Kit jumps at the chance, but Ernie wants Dottie, resulting in a ultimatum- Kit can tag along if Dottie comes too.

Kit has never felt as capable, beautiful, or talented as Dottie, and resentment colors her behavior throughout the film. Dottie reluctantly comes to the tryouts, and she and Kit end up on the same team, the Peaches. Sound like a recipe for trouble?

It is, and Kit is in competition with Dottie though most of the film, culminating in a finale where tears are shed, bonds are tested, and the only thing bigger than the sister's strained relationship is the bigger picture- the liberation- and eventual attempted stifling- of women in the sports scene.

You don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this movie, and the result is a highly entertaining- if Hollywood- comedy/drama. Tom Hanks is fun as a once-great alcoholic manager who is put in charge- must to his disgust- of the girls team. For me the most engrossing story was that of Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh,) a dowdy, painfully shy Daddy's Girl who is considered too unattractive to play in a time in women's' sports when keeping up appearances was considered more important than skill or speed.

Controversial public figures Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell play 'all the way' Mae and Doris Murphy, two white-trash loudmouths who somehow make it (not on good taste) into the Peaches. Regretfully, I didn't find either of the sisters as compelling as I'd of liked to. However, with the movie covering the bigger picture (World War II, feminism, the personalities of the other girls,) it's hard to picture the director doing more with the two-hour format.

I think "A League of Their Own" has a lot to offer everybody. I generally won't even give movies that focus on sports a chance and this movie entertained me with it's mix of funny and bittersweet moments. It is, at it's best, a joy to watch a baseball movie for people who have never seen a game in their life.