rayray06 Reviews

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Wow

[6 February 2001]

I think that this movie was wonderfully acted and show great promise for Sophia Coppola as a director. Don't even bother watching it, however, if you need your cinema handed to you on a platter with the plot sectioned off like peas and mashed potatoes in a TV dinner. You have to think and feel if you're going to enjoy this. More so than with a Keanu Reeves movie.

As a Michigander, it was kind of hard to believe that the movie spanned the course of a year without a single snowflake on the screen, and that anyone could sleep outside during football season without waking up frost-bitten. On the other hand, I got a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I heard soft drinks referred to as "pop."

Anyone who has ever had a crush that they didn't act on has the capacity to enjoy this movie. If you want a sad film with no validation in its denouement, this is it. Give it a look if you're feeling up to it.

Amityville: A New Generation (1993 Video)

Boo

[2 November 2000]

This movie was not nearly as entertaining as the first couple of Amityvilles. I think it actually had a budget that broke the triple digits. The flashback scene to the nut house was genuinely scary. That's about it. The "dancing demons" were pretty hokey. The idea of highlighting an art show with a poor shmuck coming in and shooting his friends with a Supersoaker was less than Grade-A. That is why most people hate artists.

Troll 2 (1990)

Utterly flawless

[2 November 2000]

This IS the best movie ever made. Nothing I have experienced has displayed the degree of perfection attained by the geniuses (yes geniuses and nothing less) behind Troll II.

The story-line is gripping, believable, and damn scary. The Waits family is on a month long vacation in the country town of Nilbog, as part of the family exchange program. They leave the modern conveniences of their home to "rough it" in Nilbog's rural setting. I'm on the edge of my seat already, but wait, there's more. Young Joshua's deceased Grampa Seth comes back from the grave to warn the family of Nilbog's dangers. The beautiful Holly Waites's boyfriend tags along with his blatantly homo-erotic chums. There's something strange about the curiously unrefrigerated "Nilbog Milk." Oh, and did I forget to mention that the town is full of GOBLINS?!!!

The acting in this film can be summed up in one word and one word only: superfine. Every member of the Waites family was portrayed realistically and intriguingly. The chemistry between Elliot and Holly was so intense that I would be surprised to hear that there was not something going on off camera. The town matriarch has full command of the screen whenever she graces it with her presence. One actor takes the cake, however. Scene stealer Draco Floyd as the Store Owner is a sight to behold. He truly takes this movie that extra step into masterpiece. Watch for him. He'll give you chills.

The special effects are top of the line for 1992, and some of these techniques are still used today. Watch for the spear throwing, the regeneration of Creedence's hand, Grampa Seth in the mirror, "the shirt buttoning scene," the vegetable transformations, "the popcorn scene," and of course, the goblin costumes.

The underlying social commentary of Troll II was truly ahead of it's time. Homosexuality is dealt with on many different levels. Elliot and his boys are obviously repressed closet homosexuals. Their's is a constant struggle for acceptance into the Waites family. The town of Nilbog is in fact run by a lesbian who lusts after Holly Waits and takes great pleasure in the demasculinization of Arnold. Vegetarianism is approached more directly. The goblins turn their human victims into vegetables before devouring them. This says in no uncertain terms that everything you eat (plant or animal) was alive once, and killing is still killing. Troll II takes a chilling look at organized religion in the sermon scene. The Preacher (played by my father, I'm pretty sure of it) has his congregation in the palms of his hands and easily turns them against the lovable, freckled Joshua. Power like that belongs in no one man's hands.

On the whole, realism sells Troll II. It's scary because it COULD happen. Don't watch this one alone or at night, but DO watch it. You won't forget it.

Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

Let's play a little game...

[1 November 2000]

Umm, this movie was not exactly of the same calibre as it's predecessor. I mean, come on, where's Grizzly Adams? Did anyone else notice that Sonny looks nothing like the picture of the killer shown in the original movie? At least there was some brother-sister lovin' and a drunken abusive father; that took me back home. ********oh yeah- as far as scary goes, the shotgun/death stalking scene was the creepiest thing I have ever seen. Worse than clowns.

The Amityville Horror (1979)

Grizzly Adams is a scary M.F.

[1 November 2000]

Yo, this movie was HYPE. I may have c****ed my pants the first time I saw it. I had nightmares for a week. When all that crazy stuff happened in the little girls room, like pig beast in the window and the babysitter in the closet, I was like: whoa, this is scary. The best part is when the wife drops the groceries in the driveway and you know Grizzy Adams really wants to hit her but he doesn't because the cameras are rollin. Yeah, don't watch this at night. It's damn scary.