watchitman Reviews

That Touch of Mink (1962)

Cute movie

[8/10 · 3 June 2002]

Very cute movie. It was very enjoyable and put a smile on my face. It's obviously a bit dated, I doubt there are many young, independant working women that swoon over losing their virginity these days. I even doubt it was quite like that back in 1962. It's still very sweet and it would make a good date movie.

I should also mention the movie looks beautiful. Movies from this era tend to look great. The quality of production in movies seriously declined the closer Hollywood got to the 70's.

King Kong Lives (1986)

Imagine if it was made today...

[19 February 2002]

Well, the only thing good in this movie is the split-second flash you get of Linda Hamilton's rack. I don't know who the hell the rest of these people were. There was some blond dufus named "Hank". And a lot of really bad special FX. All in all, it's an awful movie.

But just imagine if it had been made today, it'd have super-slick CGI effects for the monkeys and a sound track by Elton John singing about "shining stars" and hairy monkey suits. Joel Schumacher would direct of course. The female lead would be played by Denise Richards except she wouldn't show her boobs. There'd be long shots of Hank's naked ass several times throughout the movie. Wouldn't it be great?

Er, maybe I'll just watch to 80's version again.

The Cell (2000)

Despite it's faults, I can't help but like it.

[30 October 2000]

This isn't really a review, just a collection of random thoughts on the movie The Cell. WARNING: The is a spoiler at the end.

This film does have many faults but I still like it. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground with this movie, you either like it or hate it. I like it, a lot. Serial killers don't really interest me. The movie Seven probably did the best with the subject in the context of a horror movie. However, this film transcends the genre by treading into Lovecraftian Dreamlands territory.

I find it strange that horror fans seem to be strangely silent about this film. No one on the Fangoria BBS will even talk about it. They can't seem to get over the fact that the 80's horror film-thing is over and done with. To bad for them, they are really missing out on a good movie.

There are a lot of `gee-whiz-golly' special FX but there was still a noticeable amount restraint used with them. They never went too far (by this I mean, overindulgence) with FX; at times, I craved more eye candy and I'm sure they could have delivered. I also have the feeling that the pressure was there to do so. I'm glad they didn't cave-in.

Some of the sets felt very theatrical and fake, if you will. This is not a criticism, merely an observation. I actually liked that. Some people might not.

This movie, along with two other underrated and mind-altering gems, Dreamscape and Brainstorm, should not be watched together as it would be rather unhinging for certain "susceptible" persons minds.

SPOILER: By the way, modern dream research has proven that you can die in your dreams and you will NOT die for real. Hollywood likes to use this silly myth in movies a lot (see the movie Dreamscape and BTW, it's a good movie as well). Again, despite such flaws, I still liked The Cell.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

"Why is that watermelon there?"

[8 October 2000]

This has to be one of my all-time favorite films! I grew up in the 80's as a teen and hated it and movies were my escape. This film and a few other oddball movies are on the top of my list of favorite films of the 80's. There really isn't much I can say that hasn't been said by everyone else. Though no one mentioned just how COOL the theme music is!

There are a few other films that I remember from the 80's that kind of go together (at least in my mind) with Buckaroo: Repo Man, Streets of Fire and Highlander (the first and only tolerable version). None of these movies, with the exception of Buckaroo, are all that spectacular but they all have a sort of off kilter view of reality that really appeals to me - just like Buckaroo.

I think the 80's was the last decade that Hollywood took any chances with wide-release movies. All of these movies, if released today, would end up in art-film theaters or direct to video. I think it's clear that movies today are not as good as they once were. Not that the 80's were a golden-age in film or anything but at least Hollywood still tried to make halfway decent movies that weren't a bunch of expensive CGI FX and little else. When are people going to get tired of it?